Corona, CA, February 15-16, 2014, After Action Report

[Psych Doc]

  Awesome Weekend! 

We had an outstanding group of Americans join us for some marksmanship and heritage. As we usually do, we had a mix of experience levels and ages, but all of the instructors agreed that this was about the most squared away group we had ever seen on the line.  Everyone showed up with the most important ingredient, a teachable attitude. Also all brought serviceable rifles and were familiar with their basic operation, giving us a jumpstart on the instruction.

We had two shooters earn the patch this weekend. Our first Rifleman, Vlady, shot a 210 on his very first AQT. Earning him a bit of North Bridge water in addition to his patch. Then on Sunday, Harry laid down a 224, and backed it up with what looked to be a monster score, though I never got the point total.

The difference in the Redcoats between Saturday AM and Sunday PM was awesome. Numerous people cleared, or nearly cleared theirs, and big-time improvement by all. You folks did the founders proud!

This was an unusually skilled group of shooters. Although only two got to 210, I saw excellent groups from everyone. On the AQT's, it looked like everyone had the skills by Sunday afternoon, but as fatigue set in, consistency was hard to maintain. Getting good results on all four stages of the same AQT was elusive. Also, toward the end of the weekend some equipment gremlins surfaced. My prescription is consistent dry practice for all. Come back fresh, with clean/lubed rifles, and a few weeks of dry practice under your belts and I believe that each of you will earn your patch next time around.

There was just too much good stuff this weekend for me to put it all into this write-up, so please post up additions. Thanks to all for coming out and sharing the weekend with us. I hope you all had as much fun as I did and I hope to see you all again soon!

All the best,
Robert (Psych Doc)

[Athena 1775]

This weekend was awesome!  You shooters were so friendly, attentive, positive, and teachable that it was my sincere pleasure to be a part of your Appleseed Experience.  I'll let the Shoot Boss write up his recap, but here's a bunch of photos for your perusal.  Feel free to chime in with comments, or to add your own photos.  I hope to see you all again (especially Judy, since I work with her...  ).

Gunman Doc (Joe) teaching everyone about Inches, Minutes, Clicks


The "Secret Sauce": NPOA.  Demonstrated by our fearless leader, Psych Doc


Psych Doc uses our new maps (thank you, Boy Scouts!) to tell the story of the Second Strike


Lunchtime... it was full of good stories AND great listeners


Gunman Doc and Psych Doc teaching the Seated Positions


Judy and Scott shooting from their Seated Positions


More Seated Positions: Brendan, Harry, Curtis, Vlady, Denim


Jorge, Brenden, Harry, Curtis (and several others) settling into their Seated Positions


More Seated: David, Angie, Carlton, Darrell, Rob, John, and Jorge


David and Angie


Darrell, Rob, John


Did I mention that this group had good form??  I guess I was really impressed with the Seated Positions....


Preparing to shoot from Standing


More Prep in Standing: Harry gets into position, Brenden takes a rest, and Jorge is itching to get that mag out of his pocket


Jorge... right before I jumped in to adjust his sling


Darrell and Rob


David, Angie, and Carlton


The firing line, finishing up Stage 1 of the AQT on Saturday


Our Saturday Rifleman!!  Congratulations, Vlady!


After a good night's rest, David, Angie, and Carlton get back into the swing of things on Sunday


Preparing to decimate some black squares down range


Vlady, Scott, and Judy, under the watchful eye of Gunman Doc


IS THE LINE READY?


David, Angie, and Carlton in the Prone Position


Rob, Darrell, and John finishing up their String of Fire


Brenden and Harry, next to Denim and his left-handed bolt-action rifle (that's a lot of hyphens!)


Denim again, with Curtis and Vlady


Scott and Judy


Looking good, guys!


The AQTs begin anew!  Scott and Judy shooting Stage 1 of the AQT


Good standing positions!  No surprise that we had some really excellent results downrange on Stage 1


Safety Rule Number 1 is king during the Transition Stages


... and a safe transition is followed up nicely with some solid Seated Positions


The rest of the line, shooting Stage 2


Aaaaand more Stage 2


Aaaaand from another angle...


Brenden and Darrell showing off their Standing Skills, while John takes a rest


Newly-rested, John gets back to sending rounds downrange


David, Angie, and Carlton's back


The remaining Redcoat Cookies, mid-afternoon... they didn't last much longer


Shadows grow longer, muscles get sore, and our shooters persist!


I took this nice shot... not realizing that Gunman Doc is hollering for my assistance (really, he just wanted my multi-tool).  Sorry Curtis!  I'm coming!


Congratulations to Harry, our Sunday Rifleman!

[Johnnyappleseed]

^ 5 For the Corona crew !
Nice pic s

[Kertys]

As a newbie I had a blast and learned so much at this clinic! Thank you so much to Robert, Jen, and Joe for the instruction!

Yeah, I was one of the ones with "equipment gremlins". My dirty rifle started getting failures to extract and eject during the last few AQTs.

[DavidR]

Thanks so much to everyone for such a great event! I enjoyed all the marksmanship training, and definately improved over the course of the weekend.  The professionalism and personalities of the instructors make this event a must in my book. I can't wait for the next shoot