AAR Ramseur AS 11/21-22

[7.62BBQ]

  It was a great weekend in Ramseur for an Appleseed. We had  perfect fall weather on Saturday, and Sunday got a little chillier with about 20 minutes of rain around 3:30. There were 37 shooters on Sat. and 27 shooters on Sun.

  We had a great bunch of shooters all eager to learn the 6 steps, sling use, NPOA, and Rifleman's cadence. After a full day of instruction, 4MOA squares, CAQT's, and then the AQT's we turned 7 cooks into Rifleman. Fred stopped by and gave the benediction and we told the other shooters to persist and we would be there to help them on Sunday make the Rifleman score on the AQT.

  Sunday got off to a great start with a little more history and then settling down to the AQT grind. A few shooters went up to the full distance range with the bulk of them staying on the 25 yard Firing Line. By the end of the day we had another 7 cooks join the Rifleman club. One of the shooters was a young boy named Colt. He was feeling a little sick on Saturday(upset belly/barf). He was there with his father for the 2 day shoot. He didn't shoot so well on Saturday, but he was back on Sunday feeling 100% better, he borrowed a 10/22 from another Appleseeder and shot a Rifleman's score by the end of the afternoon. Way to go Colt!

  I'd like to thank all of the Instructors: Hawkeye, len1459, Arpjoe, Law Man, The Kid, prepguy(new ITT), wildman and Fred. These are a great bunch of Riflemen/Instuctors, and I'm proud to work with them all!

  And to all of the shooters, remember the 7th step...get out to the range and bring a buddy and teach them how to shoot. Dry fire is the best practice too. Stick with it and you will earn that Rifleman patch 

  Three weeks to the next Ramseur Appleseed, hope to see you there.
  Kevin

[sleepy Joe]

Wow 14 new riflemen ... congrats guys

[Fred]

   What BBQ said - a heck of a high percentage of Riflemen!

   Sleepy, those pics look like they are from Midland, TX. I like 'em, and you can leave 'em here, but I bet the Midland folks would like to have them over there, too.

[sleepy Joe]

Yep somehow I mixed up the post ... these are from Midland forgive me for the mix up

[arpjoe]

Congrats to all the shooters who qualified Rifleman.  Those that did not, if you persist you will become a Rifleman too.  If you thought qualifying as Rifleman was rewarding then become a Project Appleseed Instructor because teaching the shooters marksmanship and the heritage is even more rewarding.  You always meet the greatest people at Appleseed Shoots.

I traveled from northeast Ohio (border raider?) to attend and instruct at the RWVA home range.  I just got my Red Hat at the Athens, OH Appleseed three weeks before and had never been to the RWVA home range so it was also my objective to see it in person.  The other instructors and Fred are now new friends.  A great bunch of guys with the spirit of this country's Founders, a voluntary association of individuals for the purpose of saving the country.

[JAG2955]

AAR for Ramseur, 21/22 NOV 09

My wife and I went to this Appleseed with a guy I deployed with and his wife.  We're used to Marine ranges, so this was a nice change of pace.  I'll list my points and suggestions below:

1.  Redcoat:  Awesome target, and great point taken by me.  I have many rifles, but most are in one stage or another of BZO'd, due to changing optics, changing ammunition, etc.  A rifle that's not BZO'd is about as good as a club, or if it has a bayonet, as good as a crappy spear.  As 7.62BBQ said, the militia didn't have time to zero their rifles at 0200 in the morning when they met on the green.  I plan on ensuring all of my weapons are BZO'd, and that they have a BZO card with pertinent information about sight settings, adjustment values, ammunition preferences, etc stored with them, ideally laminated and put in a storage compartment in the buttstock, pistol grip, or under the buttplate.  This might even be a good project for one of us to post onto the website.  I'll check in my M16 range book for ideas, as I think an example is in there.

2.  BZO:  This brings me to the first change that I'd like to see.  I think that it would be beneficial to move the zeroing section of the shoot closer to the beginning.  For me, it was frustrating to be concentrating on the lessons being taught while trying to get my new TechSights on the paper (4in high, 2in right).  Even splitting the shooters into experienced and inexperienced strings would allow the shooters who knew what they were doing to zero their rifles quickly and allow them to focus fully on the teaching points.

3.  Binoculars:  I would add that binoculars or a spotting scope should be a highly recommended addition to the gear list.  It would have really helped to see my groups while I was trying to sight in, or on occasions during AQT when we were unable to approach the targets. 

4.  Slow down:  We were really rushed on Saturday while trying to fit in two full AQTs.  It would have been more enjoyable to only get one in, while maintaining a slower pace.  I had to leave early on Sunday, but it seemed like Sunday had a better pace while we were there.

Learning points:  I'm a Marine who has qualified expert on our range twice, so I had heard what was taught before several times.  I still did learn a number of new things, most notably

1.  Loop sling while standing is not taught by the Marine Corps.  I have no clue why, as it should be.  We're not allowed to use a hasty sling either while standing.  This was a new concept to me, and it did improve my standing groups.

2.  Firing on empty lungs.  I was always taught to exhale half a breath prior to shooting.  After attending the Appleseed it does make more sense to fire on empty lungs, since it's easier to stay consistent with no air as opposed to guessing where half a breath it.

All in all, it was a very good experience, and I plan on attending another, and hopefully a Boot Camp as well.  I was fortunate enough to get my rifleman patch on Saturday, even after staring at those tiny targets all day long. 

[The Kid]

Another great shoot this weekend at the Home Range.  With a total of 14 rifleman and 41 shooters (37 Saturday-4 Sunday Only) that comes out to a 34% rifleman rate.  The October Appleseed resulted in similar stats with 16 rifleman out of roughly 40 shooters which turns out to a staggering 40% rifleman rate. We had a terrific group of instructors and shooters alike.  Along with great weather and a top notch facility the numbers are understandable.  I would like to thank all of the shooters who came prepared and eager to learn.  You can have the best instructors in the world, the nicest facilities, and the highest quality equipment but if the students are not willing and eager to learn then none of these accomplishments could have ever occurred.  I would like to thank the shooters who come to home range first for being prepared, open minded, and persistent because if it wasn't for that than we wouldn't have nearly as many rifleman. 

To JAG2955's comment about slowing down:I attended a the July 4th Boot Camp at the Home Range this year as an Instructor.  When our SB, SoM, sped up the course of fire by shortening prep periods, eliminating time to go down range, and down time the shooters scores went through the roof.  Almost every single shooter had their AQT scores go up rather dramatically. Even though the shooters were not happy about this increased pace they could not deny the fact that their scores had improved.  Granted we were running out of sun but heck, you can't argue with the results!

On a final note, congrats to all of those who stepped into the rifleman class and for all of those who didn't make 210 I urge you to persist as a rifleman must.  That patch does not come with out some effort but if you come with an open mind and listen to what the instructors have to say you will get that patch.

See you in a Couple weeks  back at the Home Range!

[Wink and the Gun]

My wife and I were at this shoot as well.  I echo most of what JAG2955 had to say.  Particularly the take-away about keeping your weapons BZO'd and ready to shoot. 

Starting out on Saturday morning, my wife was becoming rapidly frustrated, and the prospects of an enjoyable week-end for her (and consequently, me) were getting pretty dim.  After the first few rounds of shooting, one of the instructors, Robert, took her aside and worked with her on an individual basis.  He was fantastic, and quite literally saved our weekend.  She came out of it not only able to shoot (though not quite a Rifleman yet) but better yet, she enjoys shooting and is looking forward to both getting a new rifle and getting her parents to attend another AS with us next year.  We both owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. 

Overall it was a great shoot, with takeaways even for experienced shooters.

[DadOf4]

This was my second appleseed - first time I brought 3 of my kids, this time 2 and my brother from Va. We all had a great time. I improved the 213 from my first appleseed to a 223 with my LTR on Saturday, so day 2 I spent half with an AR (22 bolt) and half with a Garand. Didn't manage to
score rifleman with either, but learned a lot about both, and I can now load and shoot the Garand at AQT pace, which is a big improvement.

A big thanks to the instructors for a great job, both on marksmanship and on reminding us what our freedom cost and our responsibility to maintain it!

Next spring - all 4 kids, and a couple of new guests!

Jim