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Monroe WA May 23-24, 2009

Started by Wheeler44, May 25, 2009, 02:11:51 AM

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Wheeler44

Wow.......What a weekend......It's weekends like this that remind me that I have met some of the finest folks I know at Appleseeds....

We (Mrs. Wheeler, Garth Vader, our dogs and I) arrived at SNODAR to the warm welcome of STRAT and a cadre of eager Appleseeders.  After a rousing chorus of the safety rules and the six steps to making a rifle safe we trotted down to the beautiful covered range provided for us......Wow again...covered firing line...Sturdy target backers up and ready.. Porta Potty on site...Water available..and a million dollar view...Just WoW... a shoot bosses dream...I had to have Garth Vader pinch me (which he cheerfully did) just to make sure I wasn't really dreaming.

We started out with a red coat target and it was clear that we were gonna make some riflemen this weekend. We had a fine mix of new and experienced shooters...We had small groups of friends..We had a father/daughter team.

We had some of the finest instructors and IITs in the PacificNW on hand...Yep this was gonna be an Appleseed to remember... And I'm sure that I will, for quite some time...

After the sighter squares focusing on the six steps, steady hold factors (including the proper use of the sling), ICM, Riflemans cadence and NPOA. We took a short working lunch..Three strikes were the topic of discussion and I feel that we were able to work the importance of that day with the importance of Memorial day..an interesting tie-in, to be sure..We covered Paul Reveres ride and discussed communications then and now...I think that Fred himself may want to come out here and learn how a teen aged girl solved the problem of alerting 14,000 good people in just one night....

Back to the firing line for more instruction..The dreaded after lunch sitting stage and transitions followed by the standing stage and then we were ready for the fabled AQTs......My memory is holey as Swiss cheese but I think that we had a Riflemans score on the first AQT.. If not it was the second and we just kept rolling from there.. We made a couple more Riflemen before afternoon frustration started to settle in...So we kept on shooting...Stars that is..

Shooting STARS.........

We broke the line into four person fire teams and had the teams post one star target for each team....
We had the shooters prep mags with as many as they could and had the friendly RWVA Instructor corp stand ready to help re-prep mags for the teams that didn't have the capacity of the others... We instructed the teams to fire on the star targets as fast as they could for one minute.....The ammo companies loved it....The teams shot those stars into asteroids and meteorites......The center of those targets were shot UP....but fire team #4 (those heavy hittin' .30 cal slingin' shooters) got three Huzzahs for removing the most of their star and we were ready to start back to grinding out AQTs.....With good result....

By the end of that beautiful day we forged four new riflemen and had two others shooting over 200....

Time for a quick AAR over Mexican food, some lively conversation with our host and set up the tent for a good night of sleep (well sort of)....

I still have to unload the truck and sort out the gear so I'll have to leave ya hangin' fer now about the events of Sundays shoot...Check back soon to see how that went ..

Wheeler44

"Appleseed,  putting the second amendment into the hands of American citizens."     -Mrs. Wheeler

"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship instructors on the planet."   -Son of Martha

RL

Sunday went just as well. More beautiful weather and some dedicated shooters. I don't know if it was something in the water out here...but we made 4 more Riflemen! Out of a total of 18 shooters we made 8 Riflemen! 2 of those Riflemen said that they would put on the Orange Hat. One of our Rifleman was my dad. It was his third Appleseed. A Rifleman persists!

We made sure on Sunday to do more history, especially highlighting that it wasn't just the men out there fighting to secure our Liberty. We also did an inspiring Memorial Day Volley, similar to what we did on April 19th...I'll let Wheeler tell that story...
...and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.
John Adams, from the Boston Gazette, February 6, 1775

We live, my dear soul, in an age of trial. What will be the consequence, I know not.
John Adams in a letter to Abigail, 1774.

STRAT

No way words can express the appreciation and respect I have for all the effort the volunteers put into making AS what it is. hats of to you and thanks.

Big thanks to all the folks for making this event, without you there would be no AS project.

I am highly impressed with such magnificent progress, seeing new shooters making RIFLEMAN at their first AppleSeed, wow simply impressive.

Do not know if we can top this AS but sure going to try.

Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property . . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.
— Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War (1775).
location  SNODAR   Snohomish County WA state

Earl

The weekend weather was beautiful, the range ready, and the two young bucks (really their antlers were sprouting) that greeted the early RWVA instructors were cool. A Memorial shoot in honor of the forty fallen Americans from April 19th 1775, and helping America gain more riflemen, and participating in safe shooting events make all the time and effort priceless. Thank you shooters, thank you Appleseed, and thank those Founding Fathers who saw beyond all the old ways and days.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Riflemen!
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Roberta
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Family of Riflemen, RL and Dad.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Kelly
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Sunday at the range...
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Using a bullpup and red dot and no sling.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Rifleman!
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Rifleman!
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

Day one.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Rick

What a great way to spend Memorial Day weekend.  The weather was perfect.  My daughter and I were only able to attend the first day but we both left with a head full of knowledge, a body full of aches and a face full of smiles.  After all those years of shooting, I realize how little I really knew.  I am sure we will be back.  We already have some other families who are interested in participating.  Thanks to all who made it happen.

Wheeler44

#14
Day two....
A chorus of the safety rules and steps to make a rifle safe and we were back at the redcoats.....

Only six shooters, five returns and one new (been to two other Appleseeds) shooter..

What these shooters lacked in numbers they certainly made up for in spirit.... Chorusing instructional points loudly and in unison...I'm sure most of the city now know the six steps to firing the shot by heart...

We had a quick review of IMC followed by carding the sights and ball and dummy drill and then back to AQTs..
The shooters were beginning to believe the whole 6 steps NPOA thing and we instructors could tell as shooters struggled to find NPOA.....and of course when they found it and mastered it we started handing out Rifleman patches..

One shooter struggled around 160-170 all afternoon... RL diagnosed a problem with equipment familiarity (mag changes) and since this was a brand new shooter (never fired a rifle before) we assisted her with a mag change drill...load, dump...load, dump...load, dump over and over.......she soon shot something like a 220...(Edit to add: 228)

Another shooter was diagnosed with a severe trigger problem..... so we drilled him on trigger squeeze...follow through and then release just enough to reset the sear...probably close to 50 simulated shots and another AQT and we handed him his patch..

One of the most rewarding was a young man with a SWEET M1-A.....He fired every course of fire with that rifle..Refusing offers of loaner .22s he just kept at it (I guess he heard that a rifleman persists) until near the end of the day he nailed a 213.....Congratulations Rifleman....

Also very rewarding was watching RL coach his father to a riflemans score and better.....Good job both of you..

We broke up a long day with one fun shoot.......

MEMORIAL DAY REDCOAT...........

Since there were only six shooters on the line we posted one Redcoat target...for all six shooters...
We instructed them to prep mags with 40 rounds...The line boss called the name of a fallen Patriot.... Aim...Fire...   Forty times...  You can see the results on one of the pics that Earl posted (thanks Earl)..
I assure you those smiles are sincere, especially the one on this old shoot bosses face.

We finished with four more riflemen for the day... A total of eight for the weekend.... I am sure that I will be handing out patches to the shooters that didn't quite make it, the very next time I meet them...

One a personal note;   So far I have been blessed to have a family member at every Appleseed shoot that I've been to..Son, Daughter, Mother, Wife, Step-Dad or a Nephew or two ( Ohhh.. I can't forget my cousins)....I was dreading the first time that I would attend as the only member of my family......Those concerns have been erased as I have come to realize that first, they are always with me in my heart...and second, the folks that I meet on the trail are like family to me.....
I started this AAR stating that I have met the very best folks that I know at Appleseed and I'll close the same way... Thanks to the Instructor corps...Our host and all of the attendees.... You are the best folks that I know and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.....

Wheeler44    (wiping a small tear from his eye)
"Appleseed,  putting the second amendment into the hands of American citizens."     -Mrs. Wheeler

"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship instructors on the planet."   -Son of Martha

roelofk

This was the second Appleseed for me.  I missed the first day of the first one and I figured I missed out on some good stuff - I was right!   I consider myself a very experienced rifle shooter, but the wealth of information that was conveyed during the first day was incalculable.  I finally got to understand why the things I were doing intuitively after many years of trying worked for me and discovered why certain things just did not work for me.  If I think about all the thousands of rounds that I could have saved by attending an Appleseed, years ago I am very much in two minds about this.  Burning powder is always enjoyable, but it could have been much more so if I was honing my skills that I learned at an Appleseed rather than trying to develop the basics by trial and error.

My heartfelt thanks to Wheeler, RL and Earl for all the instruction, encouragement and feedback that were provided during the course of the two days.

K MAN

I would like to thank all those who made this weekend possible. Thanks to the excelent instructors.  Great Event, Great Facility.  Great People.