AAR Gibsonburg, OH 4/25 & 4/26

[posterboy]

Well I'll kick this off......

Another great appleseed in Ohio ! We had 16 shooters on Saturday and 12 return on Sunday. With Dinky at the helm and Slim and myself assisting ohio cranked out another 4 ..yes 4 riflemen ! All arriving at the score on Sunday. That second day is so important for digestion of Saturday's course of instruction I can't stress that if you can come for the weekend do so ....you will be rewarded for your effort with skill. There were several other close to mark as well and I have no doubt will become riflemen soon. The only issue we had was a bad breeze on Saturday(20-30 mph) which slowed us down a bit with target repairs and line fixes but we managed to secure the thing well enough to not be a major distraction. Sunburns, Smiles and Riflemen .....a trifecta ! hope to see many return in a month

posterboy

[slim]

What a motivated bunch of shooters! Everyone was willing to strap down all their gear and work through the wind. Paperweights (ammo cans) were everywhere and we even erected several downriggers and outriggers to secure the line from flopping around. We removed all the extra cardboard backers (also known as sails!) that weren't being used and finally, after a few strings of fire - and punching enough ventilation holes through the sails - we were in business!

The fire hose was on, and like the wind, was on full-force. Several shooters told me how they weren't sure they'd digest all the information but with great personal instruction and assessment by Dinky Dao, they proved they got it! Improvements were made by all and by the end of the day some very, very nice groups of vent holes were being punched through the cardboard sails. We left pretty late in the day (isn't daylight nice?) and everyone was tuckered out but still ready for more.

Sunday was absolutely perfect. We cracked the whip (Indiana Jones whip loaned to us by PB's son..... gotta get me one of those!) and the shooters enthusiastically responded by shooting some awesome groups. After working together in a few team-building exercises we started the AQT grind and added four more names to the list of Buckeye Riflemen. We also had several shooters with 200+ scores and just about everyone was 175+ with three or four rounds sitting at their feet when time expired. Jams plagued many and the whole "hurry up and shoot" ensured fliers would come back to haunt. I'm sure we would've had a few more Riflemen if their equipment cooperated a little better. I fully expect they'll iron out the issues by the next Appleseed and come back shooting very well.

I also learned that not only are fractions not hard, but math can be fun! (Did you know that 5/4 of all people have been misled about the difficulty of fractions?) There'll be at least one more Riflewoman at the next event. (Thanks too for the "secret" camping food!) And our Sunday shooter, who was at the last event, he'll be a Rifleman next time as well. (Along with his wife, maybe?)

I was encouraged to see friends, family, and neighbors all out together supporting one another on the line. It's great to see folks show up to Appleseed events, but when I see a father and his two adult sons, two brothers, two college buddies, two co-workers, etc., it shows me that folks have taken the initiative to spread the 'Seed and there's hope that the word will get out even further. When someone shows up on Saturday and by Sunday they have a buddy with them, I know our program is going to be a success and I know we have hope for our future. Real hope and real change, not the stuff we're hearing about on CNBC.

Personally this was somewhat of a milestone for me. Gibsonburg was the first place I ever did IIT and coming back allowed me to note the progress I've made and also what I still needed to work on. It also impressed upon me the fact that not only have I come full-circle, but Ohio has come full-circle. We're getting to where we need to be!

Special thanks to P.B. for his efforts at getting these events set up and for graciously hosting us. (Happy b-day to the wife as well. And keep your son away from me with that whip!) Keep up the great work you're doing. One of the magic things that happened at this event happened after it was over and everyone had left. One of the club members was getting ready to sight in his varmint rifle and he noticed we were going to shoot steel at 300 yards. Quite interested, he joined us and was amazed by the fact we could hit a target at 300 yards with open sights. (He was struggling at 100 with his scope.) Well, after a "quick and dirty" version of the Saturday morning instruction, he manned the rifle and made repeated hits himself! The big smile, surprise, and immediate understanding was evident. "I"m sold. Whatever you guys are doing, it works! I'll definitely be at the next one. I can't wait to tell my buddies about this!" Seventh Step. And posterboy made it happen. Great job!

I hope to see all of you from this weekend back again and anyone reading this who wasn't there, come out and join us at the next one. This Appleseed stuff really works!

Modified to say - DRY FIRE!!!! And practice those reloads, NPOA shifts, etc. The difference between a 175 and 210 is dry firing at home. Get to know your rifle. Get down on the floor and practice stretching out, getting comfortable, and running through those Six Steps. If you do that for a few minutes a day in the next couple of weeks, you'll be able to shoot Rifleman scores at the next event. DRY FIRE!!!