May RBC, Ramseur

[jmdavis]

This is a place holder. The AAR will follow in the next day or so. If anyone has any photos to post, have at it.

[CaptMac]

I'm going to jump in and write something, because jmdavis is probably busy digging out of something(s) that were waiting for him when he got home.

At the May, 5-10, Ramseur RBC, jmdavis was the shoot boss.

Lawrence was there as an IIT for the whole week with us, each day driving to Ramseur from the High Point, NC area.  I don't think Lawrence even picked up a rifle to fire a single round for the entire week.  It seemed to be that when things needed doing, Lawrence was on it.  I don't think Thank you can be said enough for his work during the RBC. 

FuzzyMath was also there doing what seems to have been his last stint as an IIT.  Much thanks also to FuzzyMath. 

Heavy Cav came as a student, fired off the high AQT score of the RBC, then put on his orange hat and got some time in as RSO adn Line Boss, bfore we switched to the known distance range. 

The other attendees at the RBC included Brickhouse, Hugh, Smithy, Firewall99, Michelle (who I believe is now on the forum as Shootslikeagirl), Doug (Michelle's husband), Nathan (who was also known as "Naps on Dirt") and myself.  Everyone who attended except for Lawrence and Firewall99 camped out at the range. 

We had a bunch of other campers with us, Michelle and Doug brought several of the children out with them (seven I believe), oh and Michelle was pregnant, about 21 weeks so, IIRC.  We formed a tight community in the week we spent together, including the children. 

"Naps On Dirt" camped out by just dropping his sleeping bag under the trees, onto the dirt and leaves, and set about "getting comfortable with the bugs." 

Hugh had taken a different approach, showing up a day early, with basically everything one might take camping and then some, and setting it all up.  Hugh's camp became one of the social centers for the week, particularly for the breakfasts involving Spam; Spam and eggs with fried potatoes, and meat salad, all prepared by Heavy Cav.  Good stuff. 

We arrived on Sunday, myself driving in about 1/2 hour late.  First off was our introductions, some of which I missed.  I did recognize a familiar face having attended two Appleseeds at which Smith, now a Red Hat, was an IIT.  The rest of the names I picked up on Sunday, except for Hugh's, I guess I only thought I heard people referring to him as "you."   The rest of Sunday was much like a speeded up Appleseed, with one AQT at the end of the day.  I am not sure who shot a rifleman score on the first AQT, but I think it was only Brickhouse.  THe first instance during the week of when it was good to shoot like a girl.

On Monday and Tuesday, we ran through a whole bunch of AQT's.  By the Wednesday morning, everyone except one person, had shot a Rifleman score on and AQT, most shooters shot several.  The remaining shooter was at his first Appleseed event, and, on the FINAL AQT on Wednesday morning, he shot a 210.  I watched as it was scored, and his whooping in celebration was LOUD.  An immediate stampede headed his way, mostly of his own children.  Soon, a small conspiracy developed to plan to how to go about baptizing him.  A bucket of water was retrieved, and while we heading toward the office, a quantity over a gallon got dumped on his back and head.  I think all of the shooters were pretty happy at the amount of improvement each made.

My shooting highlight was Tuesday when Brickhouse loaned me a rifle named "Shifty."  The rifle was named for one of the men who was depicted in the "Band of Brothers" series.  I borrowed Shifty because I wanted to shoot with iron sights, and had only brought scopes.  It was an honor and a pleasure to shoot a rifle so-named, and I got a few rifleman's scores while shooting it.  All of my prior 210+ scores were using scopes. 

Wednesday Night, Doug, Michelle, and their family invited all of those attending to visit their campsite and enjoy eating and conversation together.  The menu was hotdogs on long skewers followed by S'Mores.  While, I think all of the shooters were coming together as one community, I think this event solidified that process.  It was a lot of fun, and we really bonded. 

Thursday we spent the day on the distance range, shooting a KD AQT.   "Naps On Dirt" unsurprisingly shot a rifleman score on the KD AQT.  And he did it with a bolt action.   

Thursday night, we all assembled at the Golden Corral for an early after action review.  Also, our first shooter departed that night, as Brickhouse had to head home. 

Friday, we had a mock Appleseed to give all of us some time to practice working an Appleseed, then we went back to the distance range and got to shoot at pop-up targets. 

That's a small synopsis of events at the RBC.

Saturday, Lawrence, Doug, Nathan, Firewall99, Michelle and myself all spent time working at the Appleseed.  I packed up Saturday night and Sunday morning and departed before the second day of the Appleseed began, eager to get home, but also sad to be leaving. 

I wasn't really sad at all to be leaving Ramsuer, because it and the events of the week were really a small part of the experience.  As with eveything I've done with Appleseeders, the best part of Appleseed is the people.  I am not going to put down any of the events, I learned a bunch, I got in a whole bunch of shooting, and shot a bunch of riflman scores with both a scope and iron sights.  I shot at distance, and it was great.  But the best part of all is always the people.  Appleseeders are simply some of the best people, and thanks to all of those at Ramsuer 5-10, I had a wonderful time. 

[Naps On Dirt]

These are in random order:



From left to right, Lawrence, myself, Dan, Jim, Hugh, Betsy, Doug, Mike, Gordon, John, Tony



Pictoral evidence of the infamous meat salad.



Mike presents Betsy with a Rifleman patch.




A view of the known distance course.



Noah by the campfire.



Abigail, Victoria, Betsy, Mike, and Noah cook hotdogs earlier that night.



The dunking of Doug by Tim as Michelle laughs.



Betsy and Dan early in the week on the 25 yard range.



Another rimfire photo.



We were doing something extremely cool here, I can't remember if it was pop-ups or full distance qualification.



This was during the ballistics class.



Our RBC AAR at the Golden Corral.

[ShootsLikeAGirl]

What a fabulous 9 days we had in Ramseur! Though this account of the RBC is very late, it does not at all speak negatively on our experience. We still talk about all we have learned and all we have yet to learn.
   My husband (his forum name is drdug) and I decided to attend the RBC for our wedding anniversary, with 7 of our 8 children. And yes, we are expecting number 9. We were 21 weeks along at the time, and while it was a challenge, it was great!!. We wanted to have a family experience and increase our skills at the same time, and we achieved both!
   Most of the family camped out for the week, but I stayed in a hotel for the A/C. The camping facilities were great, not nearly as rough as we've had during other camp outs. We had everything we needed. No huts as of yet, but what is already in place works well.
   Even better than the facilities were the people we met. We were such a diverse group of people, and yet had so much in common. Our whole family made new friends, and we are hoping to cultivate our new friendships in the future. Our 17 year old son enjoyed sleeping out and away from the group with Naps On Dirt and our daughters enjoyed Brickhouse quite a bit. Everyone was very happy to include our children whenever they could and so enjoy all of the antics that children bring. What a blessing this group of people was.
         I have to say a big thank you to all of the instructors that came out to help. They all had good knowledge and were very helpful, each offering their own gifts and perspectives to our training. For me, it was Shoot Boss, JMDavis first. He provided excellent leadership for the week and I am grateful to him for answering ALL of my questions. Lawrence has a gentle way of instructing that was most helpful, especially when I was feeling like I would never reach my goal of becoming a rifleman. FuzzyMath put all the details in place for me, and finally helped me get over the last obstacles. I appreciated the time he spent next to me while shooting in prone, just troubleshooting, being an extra set of eyes. And Fred was even able to make it out on several different days. The man has great insights. ALL of the instructors were great.
   I had two main problems to overcome. The first was that I am strongly cross-eye dominant, which I didn't figure out until after my third AS. The second is that I cannot see the 4th stage of the AQT at all when I focus on the front sight. (Smithy actually shared this same problem, so we were able to help each other work though it. It helped having another there to encourage and commiserate!) Both problems were hard to overcome, and still require practice, but much progress was made. Persevere, adapt and overcome, right? I started this RBC having shot a 191 as a high. After we started shooting AQT's, it seemed like I camped at a score of 203 for forever, (at least I am consistent), but when it finally all came together I scored a 219. YES!! I have been working towards this goal for many months and I finally did it!
   While we were learning the shooting skills, and learning how to teach them to others, we were also forming great new friendships. Most everyone camped on site, so there was good time spent just visiting around the campfire. We invited everyone to our fire pit for some hot dogs and fellowship. Almost everyone showed up and we enjoyed getting to know our fellow Appleseeders even better. That BBQ really went a long way towards cementing all of our new friendships. I must say, there are no finer people than the ones we found at Appleseed!
   A couple of highlights I'd like to share, from my own experience. On day 3, we were shooting AQT's and I was in the Rifleman's Bubble- just trying to get that elusive patch. My husband was to my left. It was getting VERY hot, but I had on my shooting jacket, buttoned, and a tank top. Well, I don't know how he did it, but my husband managed to get a hot shell down my shirt and bra right at the start of our next AQT. Now, having trained at AS, as well as Frontsight, I know the first safety rule very well...ALWAYS keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, no matter what! So, as I tried to stop the burn, the gun was always pointed straight downrange. I sure did a dance, though. After the burning was gone, I realized that my 2 minutes to finish this stage was running extremely short, so I started knocking them out, FAST! I got all my shots off, made the gun safe, and asked the line boss, Heavy Cav, if he would wait for me to get some first aid before continuing the AQT, which he did. Thank you!! I ended up with 3 separate burns that needed treated. Anyway, I came back to the line and shot the rest of the AQT. It was this AQT that I scored my 219! How funny is that?! Oh, and I have taken steps to ensure I NEVER have a piece of brass go into the bra again!!
   Right after that AQT, we did a fun shoot for a prize. It was a star target and the goal was to shoot 20 rounds into the star in 1 minute. Whoever got the most rounds into the star, won the prize. After we were done, I didn't even want to walk downrange to get my target. It was too hot and I was still hurting from the burns. So my husband got it for me and turned it in for scoring. Turns out that I won the prize! I had gotten all but 1 of my shots into the star. So much fun!!
          We were able to go up to the KD range later in the week, which was a fabulous experience! I highly recommend going if you ever get the opportunity. Anyway, we did a simulated field shoot with the pop-ups. I ended up shooting a gun I had never shot before. This is where the rubber meets the road, I guess. There was some trouble with the targets, which they got fixed. Then it was my turn to give it a try. What a sweet thing it was to hear my fellow shooters cheering me on as I hit the targets, especially the 500 yard. They all said it is a good thing to be able to shoot like a girl! More proof to myself that I am making progress. Afterwards, jmdavis came up and said "you do know that you did really well, right?" It made my whole day.
   I have to say that Brickhouse, the only other woman on the line, really helped inspire me. She really was the one that showed everyone how to shoot like a girl. I just followed her example. So, while it is my forum name, she is the one that inspired it. I appreciated the time we got to visit and hope to meet up again somewhere on the trail!
   At the end of the week, we were able to get our feet wet, learning how to run an Appleseed, how to present the history, just ...everything.  And we learned that we have much more to learn! So, we press on towards the goal.
   So, was it a worthwhile thing to spend our anniversary on The Appleseed Trail? Absolutely! Would I call it a family friendly endeavor? Again, yes! We look forward to continuing to grow in skill, and also to being able to share what we have learned with others. We know that what we have learned, we learned because others invested some of their lives in us. What a privilege it was. We are so thankful for the opportunity.   

[jmdavis]

Thanks everyone for posting and providing the photos. You were are great class of Riflemen. I was extremely happy to have been able to work an RBC where everyone attained rifleman status by Wednesday. But I was even more proud when all of those new Riflemen took on Orange Hats and picked up a bucket to bail.

After each event, I find myself reflecting on what was accomplished and attained. Every event is special, but RBC's always seem more special. Everyone remembers their RBC, the new friends and acquaintances, the challenges, the heat, the pain and the fun.

The success of this bootcamp was due in no small part to the efforts of Lawrence, Fuzzy Math, Heavy Cav and Fred. Thanks guys!

I'm off to the KD clinic in Ramseur...

[smithy]

It was my first opportunity to shoot KD. Very interesting experience in spite frustration caused by bad mags for my M1A, I just bought for this event.
Also I achieved unachievable - I shut Rifleman with iron sides and without seen fourth stage. Actually my objective was 200 on AQT until ShootsLikeaGirl scored rifleman which made me to modify my original objective. Scoring without scope makes for me my previous scoped scores less important. Now I need to figure out what exactly I am doing when I shoot, so I could communicate it to shooters on the AS trail.
After this RBC I intend to use every opportunity to shoot longer distance than 25m.
To my surprise I am getting better hits with center fire than rim fire. Wider front site could be explanation - easier to focus.
Camping out with friends made excellent vacation I would not exchange for anything else.
See ya'll  on the AS trail.
Tony

[ShootsLikeAGirl]

Smithy, what a great encouragement you were to me down on our end of the firing line! I am so glad you were there, struggling with some of the very same issues with which I was struggling, (not that I would wish the struggle on anyone else). I really feel like we helped each other achieve our goals. And I would like to say thank you again for sharing your perspectives as one coming to America from Poland. What a blessing for me and my whole family to be able to benefit from your experience and encouragement! I know your AS students will benefit from all of your hard earned achievement.

Blessings my friend.

[Gordon]

I somehow missed this AAR, though I sure was looking forward to seeing it. Glad to find it; I've been wanting to say hello to everyone and post a few pic's.

I'd post here if for no other reason than to bump this to the top: ShootsLikeAGirl's story should be part of the Appleseed canon, as an example not just of safety mindedness, but also rifleman's bubble, perseverance, and achievement. (OK let's face it, Michelle, you make it sound funny too). She tried to bury it down in the middle of her post, but it should be prominent:

On day 3, we were shooting AQT's and I was in the Rifleman's Bubble- just trying to get that elusive patch. My husband was to my left. It was getting VERY hot, but I had on my shooting jacket, buttoned, and a tank top. Well, I don't know how he did it, but my husband managed to get a hot shell down my shirt and bra right at the start of our next AQT. Now, having trained at AS, as well as Frontsight, I know the first safety rule very well...ALWAYS keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, no matter what! So, as I tried to stop the burn, the gun was always pointed straight downrange. I sure did a dance, though. After the burning was gone, I realized that my 2 minutes to finish this stage was running extremely short, so I started knocking them out, FAST! I got all my shots off, made the gun safe, and asked the line boss, Heavy Cav, if he would wait for me to get some first aid before continuing the AQT, which he did. Thank you!! I ended up with 3 separate burns that needed treated. Anyway, I came back to the line and shot the rest of the AQT. It was this AQT that I scored my 219! How funny is that?! Oh, and I have taken steps to ensure I NEVER have a piece of brass go into the bra again!!

Inspiring!

NapsOnDirt, thanks so much for the excellent pictures. I was hoping to see them.

I've got a few pic's to post also, not of the quality of NoD's, but fun. I can't embed them so I'll attach them:

• A picture of how Naps got his name. He slept out on the leaves, just as you see him, every night.
• DrDug, ShootsLikeAGirl, and a small portion of their family
• Yes the rumors of the "Meat Salad" are true, and here is the photographic evidence conclusively linking it to HC! And there accomplices: it was Hugh's campsite --- you do the math.  
• Brickhouse gettin' serious with her M1 at KD.
• The range truck. There's Brick again, hammin' it up
• Hugh, pasting a "V" at full distance

What a great week! Y'all stay in touch now, OK?
-FM[/list]

[ShootsLikeAGirl]

In wanting to make contact with all the wonderful people we met at our Ramseur 5/10 RBC as efficiently as possible, we thought this might be the best way to do it. SO, if deemed an inappropriate place to post, please forgive.

ShootsLikeAGirl and drdug would like to announce the arrival of baby number nine!!

Lydia Shanae Michele Irwin was born on 10/10/2010 at 12:55 am.

She weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 oz and is 20.5 inches long.

We are thrilled she is here and she looks forward to meeting everyone on the trail!!

[brickhouse]

 

Huzzah!!! (eleven dancin' smileys--one for each immediate family member)

Congratulations! Congratulations to the entire family!

I am guessing from the time of your post that she is already feeding well.    With all the love of her brothers and sisters, that child's feet will not hit the ground until she is three.

I wish that I could come out to your shoot scheduled in a few weeks to do some cuddling in person.    (I figure it is about a 7-8 hour drive from my home here in West-by-God-Virginia.) But should you ever have a shoot over a long week-end or in the summer, I can make it.

What an auspicious day! 10-10-10 (and the same day I earned my Red Hat).

[CaptMac]

First, to the Irwins:  Congratulations!!!  Awesome, fantastic news.   

Second, to Brickhouse:  Congrats on the Red Hat! 

[jmdavis]

I second Capt.Mac's sentiments.

Congratulations to Michelle and Doug on the birth of Lydia.

Betsy, an Huzzah, to you as well. It sounds like Annapolis was  a good shoot.


Mike

[brickhouse]

Thanks Mike, I drove out to Annapolis specifically to work with VAshooter. The rest of the WV instructor corps spoke highly of their experiences with him. I figured I had to see what all the fuss was about. I learned tons and tons.

Here's hoping that he washes "old crusty" before he spends 18 hours in a car with you driving out to MO next week.