Ottawa IL, Nov. 7-8/09!!!!!!!

[Garand69]

Near record warm (& Dry!!!!!!) Weather in Ottawa?? In November??

A sold out shoot plus walk-ons??

3 more Illinois Rifleman?? 

2 more Folks stepping up to become Instructors In Training??

Orange Hats launching out of a Mortar?? < <


Yes it all seems hard to beleive, but it is all true! Stay tuned for the rest of the story!!!!

[Ashes]

Seems like someone just woke up. 

There were also border raiders and TVs being blown to bits.

[Patriot Gal]

What a great weekend!!!  A bazillion shooters (or something like that), everyone improved, weather was superb.  The shooters were persistent throughout the 2 days.  Even Dana, who said he was feeling pretty tired by Sunday afternoon, stepped right up and shot Rifleman on the next AQT!!  Woo-Hoo!!!!!

EEL did a stupendous job as SB as usual.  He also improvised an adaptive seating situation for one of our shooters who had physical needs for such.  She was able, as a result, to shoot each COF w/o missing a beat.  Great job there Boss!!!

Congrats to George, Dana and DOM for achieving Rifleman!!!  You are obviously men who know what you're about!  Pats on the back for y'all!!!

Thanks to all the instructors for showing up.  Together we can all  accomplish what each of us could not accomplish separately.  I'm glad we had some border raiders!!     It was great to see Trisha and Deacon again. 

I so enjoyed calling the line even tho' I don't think I was able to complete it w/o one slip up in wording at each try.  Thanks to all the "helpful" words of encouragement!!      Even when I turned around and was presented with....'THE GUY" 6" from my face!!!!   Ahhh!  The sweet memories, I shall never forget! 

Speaking of which...I was so glad to be present when Garand and Pappy's orange hats were ceremoniously shot out of Pappy's cannon!!  That was AWESOME!!  It rained orange flakes of material for 10 min. 

Walking the Appleseed Trail is certainly an adventure.  I look forward to 2010 with the addition of more shoots and many more Riflemen!!

Thanks everybody!!
Patriot Gal

[charlie06]

This was a great weekend, we all had a blast! The boys are still talking about it. And when they are going squirrel hunting, (thanks pappy   ) lol! It was nice to put faces to all the people I have heard the mean ole hubby talk about!

[The Guy]

I had a good time.

A swell way to close out the year in the Land Of Suck.

Good to see two new Orange hats step up!

Good to see a high I/IIT turnout as well.

Can't wait for the next Illinois(ucks) event, the IBC at Pappys in Jan!

Keep the Faith,

Guy

[EEL]

Yeah, I know.  I can almost hear Garand saying it now...."EEL, when did you get here ".  An unbelievable shoot!  The "Curse of Ottawa" is officially broken!!!   We were 8 for 8 on Appleseeds this year with rain!    Whoda thunk it possible    But this 9th one was the charm.  And what a charm it was.  Nice weather, a full line, eager ON TIME shooters, with open minds.  All ready to drink from the firehose.

Before the shoot started on Saturday, Garand hoisted the flags to full staff and then lowered them to half in honor of those slain at Ft. Hood.  The minute of silence that followed was moving.

We worked our way through all the positions and found....did I mention it didn't rain?....we had some good shooters in our midst.  Some were returning Appleseeders, others that were newer to shooting just got in the correct position, walked through the 6 steps of firing a shot, and.......found it really does work!! <
So much so, we did, in fact, add 3 new Riflemen to Illinois ranks.  Perry and Dana found that even if it's not raining, you can still get soaked here at Ottawa.......when you shoot a 210      Luckily George cleared that hurdle and then some.  Andrew (Ashes) and Perry (D.O.M.) decided they needed some new headgear and stepped up to help save our Nation.  Welcome aboard guys, Illinois can use all the help it can get!!

Speaking of help, yes we had 2 border raiders. Yup, us instructors still like to shoot and we NEED to shoot.  Like we tell you folks, it is a perishable skill.  If we don't keep up with our dry fire, live fire, and instructing skills....they will fade.  Trisha crossed through Checkpoint Charlie Saturday into Illinois to get in some trigger time.  Deacon arrived on Sunday with his posterity in tow.  Nice to see our youth learning marksmanship, history, and most importantly, the Heritage.  The obligation we all have to our Forefathers cannot be stressed enough.  They sacrificed seeing their children grow up so future generations could be free men.  We ARE that future generation.

With daylight savings time over, it got dark early.  Like real quick!!  We almost had to shoot the Redcoat in the dark.  But a Rifleman adapts, he persists, he will persevere.  Our shooters agreed to arrive at 0730 and get rolling by 0800    This early start paid dividends, as our 3 new Riflemen will attest to.  

The sun set on Sunday, not just on Ottawa, but on our 2009 Appleseed season.  Now, Fred is gonna want Coly to come down and snow blow some shooting lanes for us, and maybe we'll take him up on that one day.  Right now we are planning our 2010 schedule.

Look for our IBC in Ottawa in January, more shoots at Buffalo Rock here in Ottawa, multiple shoots at a new site, Waterman (600 yrds poss), adding some shoots down state, a record making shoot in Sparta (you WILL want to be a part of this!!), and of course, border raids!!  

My thanks to all the instructors and IITs that make the Shoot Boss look good!    All your hard work and dedication make running a shoot easy, right Guy??

See you all in 2010.  Dry fire over the winter.  Keep those skills sharp.  Remember, it's FREE.

EEL
Shoot Boss  

P.S. Ix-Nay    on-a   a-they    orange -a   at-hay    etting-ga    ot-sha    om-fra    a-they     annon-ca.    Fred reads these ya know!!!            

[Pappy]

Hello Group; WOW !!!!! Another sold out Ottawa event! Thanks to those who left the couch and TV to enjoy one  of Illinois best held secrets, Indian summer. The shooters who attended were never far from a Instructor who were ever watchfull for who needed coaching. The Instructor Corps is growing in Illini.
Congrats to our new Riflemen, George, Perry, and Dana. Funny as it may be Dana did not know about the 210 Baptism,  < , Oh yes, he will remember it now
Congrats to our new Orange Hats. Look at it as a way to save AMMO, 
The Recycling of the IIT hats was found to be far from green but well worth the time and effort to fire them into the History of Appleseed.
It was a pleasure to meet each one of the Shooters And I hope that they took away a Lasting fondness for the skills and freedoms that we are so passionate about. See you on the Appleseed Trail.  Stay safe and keep them in the Black. Pappy   

[colycat]

Dana made rifleman, at last.  Is his picture in the Websters dictionary along with the definition of persistence?  It ought to be,  Well done sir. 

[EEL]

Just after he got soaked, I told our shooters "Dana is our poster child for persistance.  He has probably been to more Appleseeds than 3 of us put together!".  It was a very good moment.

[Dangerous Old Man (D.O.M.)]

Hello to all, Thank you to all who worked with me to help me reach rifleman.  Its hard to admit you need optics to shoot, but the proof was on the paper. EEL, Pappy, Garand  and Guy its hard to believe I have come along so far in such a short time. Gumballhead (my son) made me proud when he made IIT, but has now set the bar pretty high for our family. I look forward to next year working with everyone and learning the Appleseed ways and performing teaching duties at least as good as Gumbie does.

DOM

[Trisha]

Wow! I had a great time shooting, I haven't shot at an AS since March, when I scored Rifleman! Thanks for the great opportunity. It was really nice seeing you all again, and finally getting to meet Pappy at the shoot and I even got to meet Sheepdog at the dinner. Thank you all for not picking on me too bad.  Viper, it was great getting to know you better and I really enjoyed shooting with you. I wish I could have been there for both days, but unfortunately I had to get back up nort for my daughter's birthday party. That's actually ironic, since over a year ago Colycat and OG didn't want to leave an AS when it was my birthday(and ahhshoot's might I add), and now I wished I could have had her birthday on another weekend...oh well.

Well I hope to see you all at the winterseed January 10th in Hubertus!

Trisha

[Gumballhead]

Oh man - I didn't get to postin fast enough...goes to show how much it takes to return to normal after an Appleseed.  

Yes, DOM shot his rifleman!  Shot a 210, then went right back and shot a 222...must have wanted the shower first .  I'm very very proud of you.  You did persist, and after all you got us involved with Appleseed, and you made the effort to break through.  It can be very frustrating to keep shooting 190's, but only a true rifleman will persist, and get over that hump.  I'm proud to have you as a fellow IIT - now we can border raid together...tag team style!!  

I must say, although I've been with this program for only a few months, this was by far my most exciting event.  Closing out the 2009 season, FABULOUS weather, and a FULL line.  I love to see so many interested folks here to learn  about our heritage, and maybe a thing or two about marksmanship  .  You guys are the reason we keep doing this.  Without the shooters, a valuable opportunity is lost.

Thanks again to all of the instructor corps.  I learn so many new things from everyone.  Ashes - you taught me 3 new things, and what an improvement.  I'm happy to see you'll be joining us on the trail.  You have a great deal of knowledgeable, and are a good teacher.  That sight black didn't hurt neither!  

I hope to see everyone in January...psssst don't forget there is a border raid opportunity the week before the IBC in Hubertus.  Let's see if we can outnumber the interlopers!!

[Ashes]

I think this was the first shoot where I've seen such a full line AND a better than 2 to 1, student to instructor ratio..
There were a LOT of red and orange hats floating around and I'm not even making any references to the pieces of Garand69's and Pappy's hat floating in the wind!

Thanks to everyone for voting me in and the extra push from The Guy. I have a tendency to strive for perfection so hopefully you will never find out what a monster you have created!

[Viper]

Another GREAT AS weekend! I think The Guy put it best by saying that he is always learning at every AS, and that everyone there can teach him something. Remembering EEL's encouraging comments on my first AS (when I wasn't as good as I wanted to be), I made sure to help keep up the spirits of the 2 Mikes at my prep table. I shared with them that the first AS is just so overwhelming, just trying to wrap one's mind around the different positions, how to use the sling properly, and the 6 steps of firing; and that the second AS is then when you can concentrate on applying that 1st AS knowledge to really acquiring your NPOA. Both said they would be back and they even wanted to know the 2010 schedule!

Trisha, it was a good time getting to shoot with you Saturday and getting to chat when we weren't shooting! Glad to hear you made it home safe! I look forward to chatting with you soon.

EEL, it DID rain at the AS! Maybe not the H2O kind of rain, but those of us shooting in orange headgear uniquely experienced the extremely localized rain of small, round, ground-like objects. However, we mastered the 'shooting bubble' and focused on the target! Even when The Guy was lying down next to me, observing while I was shooting, I was able to forget he was there..... or did he turn sideways, so I couldn't actually see him?!?!

I finally received my Paul Revere's Ride book, so I'll have my winter reading to do. Karl already has his, so he's got a head start. Yes EEL, I have MY OWN book, because we know how that goes. =)

D.O.M: See, the Jujubees really help! Can't shoot without the Jujubees!

I plan to spend this AS offseason by reading MY OWN new book and practicing DRY firing to finese my shooting positions & NPOA (now that my scope is moved forward, I really have to get that cheek-plant familiarity).

Thanks to ALL of the Instructors who continue to make me a better AS participant / IIT!

Viper      (Sorry Garand, 'Fuzzy Bunny' never crossed my mind as a name option!)

[Castle Mountain]

Great weekend eh?

This being my first Appleseed event as an IIT, I must say, it was a weekend of marvelous education for me. People were living life
to the fullest and enjoying every minute of it. The weekend read like a book where it starts out by beginning well and ending well.
From the raising of the flag, in salute to our great country, to a memorial period in honor of the Ft. Hood slay en, to the firing of the
cannon at noon (the half way point) to witnessing new IITs stepping up and new riflemen honored for their accomplishments.
A 21 gun salute to you Ashes and DOM.

Witnessing shooters grow their skills, deal with their frustrations and persevere. Watching intently our shoot bosses and IIT work with people
and have opportunity to study them. Watching the GUY, EEL, PAPPY and GARAND put on a clinic of instruction with individual shooters.
Working with Fellow IITs who were so helpful to me personally while doing my best to stay focused as an RSO while paying heed to PATRIOT GAL
while she was calling the line. She is going to make a great shoot boss on day.

The day ended with Garand's youngest son coming up to me from behind, gently pulling on my sleeve to get my attention and handed me his red coat target. As I looked at it I burst out with an exclamation ...."you are fantastic look at what you have done!!!! You blitzed the red coat... I gave him a hug and took his hand and rushed him to EEL who promptly took the target and roared with enthusiasm for what the boy had accomplished....."THIS IS WHAT APPLESEED IS ALL ABOUT" and proceeded to remind shooters about the values of what we all learned this day  What an ending of the day and with Garand's  superlative words of closure for the weekend we were all left edified, feeling prouder than ever to be a part of something so wonderful as Appleseed and what it means to our future.

Last but not least I want to salute George,  Dana and DOM ( Gumball Head's Dad). From the first day I was certain you guys had every reason to cross the Rifleman's barrier and earn your badge. Come Sunday, I for one felt that there was no way these men should leave not accomplishing what they set out to do. Pappy, EEL and The GUY put the finishing touches to these men and brought the seed to  fruition with the shooters'  persistence at hand.
Witnessing the process is reward in itself and I know why.  Thank you EEL and THE GUY & Pappy for the private IT coaching in during my instructor efforts. You both empowered me to do even better.

I asked the question before privately but do so publicly.... how is it that such a band of brothers  and sisters as we have encountered here in Illinois
and yes I include my cheese head brothers to the North, have managed to come together?  Your character, your teaching skills, your people skills,
your comradeship, your dedication, your willingness to serve, your love for one another and love for our country and history is infectious. I can but say
you are all exemplary as men and women 'Par excellence'.    Illinois does not suck, Illinois ROCKS!!

On my wall in my den, I have a large picture of a fierce Mohawk Warrior Lacross player . Inscribed on a small box I had placed on it are these words which depict so well the character of these riflemen. With these words I salute you Dana and DOM for being such an overcomer's and to all who achieved Riflemen this year. I think I read about you guys in Paul Revere's ride.

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't. If you'd like to win, but think you can't It's almost a cinch you won t.
Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins is the one who thinks he can. 

Congratulations everyone and thank you for a memorable experience this year. Patriot Gal and I have greatly appreciated both the opportunity and privilege to participate.
Pappy and Mrs. Pappy thanks for sharing your home this weekend. You sir make an incredible sausage cheese & egg casrole!!!
Deacon, (brother from another mother)  thanks for reminding me that as an instructor your shooting skills
remain a constant high. .. Wow 245 eh? .  Gopher boy.... thanks man for bringing your coaching observations
and comment to me regarding Dana to my attention. You accelerated the process of making sure he was able to win the day, you have no idea.
Just all it cause and effect.

Oh man, I could go on and on and on and ..... .          Just thanks  ya'll,    eh!

Warmest regards,

Castle Mountian

[MikeH]

Awesome weekend and beautiful weather! As a first timer I wanted to thank all the red and orange hats, even the ones hiding in the line for all their help. I learned something from each of you. Mike and I have already lined up a practice field and have list of about 10 guys we are working on getting out for a shoot next year. Great program!!

[TreadCarefully]

Well done all! Wish I coulda been there.

[Gumballhead]

Uh Oh - this thread doesn't seem to have the same life as the previous shoot...

[charlie06]

uh oh gumball, are you trying to get people fired up! lol
Well, I can add that the boys had a blast! And M1 is still boosting about shooting  a 190 on the aqt! And that he should. And M2, is still in amazement at his last red coat. And yeah, Wetfoot is still pouting that his little brother almost made rifleman in less time that it took him, hehehehehehehehehehe! I wish I was feeling better to shot more. Although, I still enjoyed watching everyone make there accomplishments this weekend. And the weather well that for Ottawa was awesome!

[EEL]

Not to worry Gumby.    It's only a day or so old!!  Besides, there was no chasing of rogue IITs, hats being stapled on, or border raiders that outnumbered the locals.  

Just a calm, normal, run of the mill Appleseed, 'cept for the cannon.  Which we are not talking about  <  

"Nothin' to see here folks, keep movin'.  Nothing to see here!"  

Edit to add:
Charlie06, coulda been that nasty Canadian Ottawa water, eh???        

[Karl]

What can I say, this weekend had so many great moments. First the weather could not have been any better. As EEL stated earlier the string of 8 AS with rain is over.

The AS was a full line with a bunch of great people. One item that I was happy to see was the number of "Youths" at this AS.    Some of whom have never handled a rifle before; a great way to start.    

DOM, Dana & George; Congratulations on Achieving Rifleman!!  

Ashes & DOM took the Orange Hat. Congratulations!!!  I'm sure we will meet again on the trail.

We had flecks of Orange fiber floating in the air

This was my first AS as an IIT, I learned a great deal and would like to thank the entire instructor corp for your coaching and teaching me to become a better instructor & a better American. I'm eager to learn & thankfull for your help.

MikeH... Look forward to see you again & thanks for the kind words for everyone involved with Appleseed.

Thanks,

Karl

[Patriot Gal]

Hey Gumby!!!!!

I was thinking the same thing about Ottawa's postings.  We need to keep it up. No Slackers here!!!!!

BTW  I forgot to congratulate Ashes and DOM for steppin' up and taking their orange hats!!!!  Woo-hoo!!!    Thanks for steppin' up!!!  I hope you both attend the IBC at Pappy's house in January.  The more the merrier!!  

(I'm re-modifying my post to add back in some deleted comments I made previously to help make the subsequent posts, which were written in response to my earlier comments, make sense )

[BTW I'm starting to get tired of the "Illinois(ucks)" thing.  Other than some legislation I disagree with, I think Illinois is a great state!!!  If we don't think so, how do we expect others to think so???  And I do like to "visit" Chicago.    Seeing the Illinois(ucks) repeatedly is starting to remind me of the jokes poking fun at America and Americans I had to suffer through when I lived in Canada for two years.  The jokes were real funny... yeah right, the first 100 times!!!! ]

There!  Hope that helps!  
Patriot Gal

"Three men were in prison, behind bars.  One looked out the window and saw only the mud.  The other two looked up and saw the stars"

[Boba Fett]

BF

[AFTERMATH]

 Yoos alls know that if yoos keep that up; yoos is gonna gets carpal tunnel....

Sounds like a this shoot was blast!
Keep it up; yoos will gets your Liberty back.

.....jokes poking fun at America and Americans

WHAT???  If it wasn't approaching winter; I'd be all over them now!  On to Canada! 

[CortJestir]

Alright people, egregious use of emoticons aside, let's stick to the topic at hand and SOM SOM.

That being said: 

Thanks,
CJ

[The Guy]

Actually, this is on topic.

For the land of suck anyway.

And folks wonder why I hate this place.



Ashes, DOM, thanks for stepping up here.

Boba, if you make the next one, you won't have to sit at the comp a week latter crying....

egregious use of emoticons aside,

+1

Sheesh.



As a reminder, IBC in IL in Jan!!  See you there!

[EEL]

"egregious" ?? ??  ??  Sheesh Guy!  You think I was using fancy words       
Oops.  I mean crazy face, grin face, cheesy face.

[Gumballhead]

This is more like it!

Ha! 

[Boba Fett]

I was merely trying to convey my overwhelming sense of agony having missed the last shoot in IL for the season. The fact that there was no rain in Ottawa, the shoot was full, all my closest friends were there, I missed my chance to turn in and perform my PC3, Orange things were blown out of cannons (allegedly  ), and I was stuck at home because of my daughters first sleepover which she ignored me the entire time and later confided in me that "I could have gone to my Appleseed because they really didn't need me there after all" was more than I could bear. I thought this was a safe place I could share my true feelings, but instead I get spanked for "egregious use of emoticons". 

Boy you sure can feel the love.


BF

[CortJestir]

No one is spanking anyone. Just trying to keep things from getting too out of hand. From your reply #22, BF, it was not clear what you were conveying. But judging by the responses in this thread, things seem to be more on topic in light of your most recent post. Carry on.