Second Las Cruces Appleseed

[SamD]

 

[Captwa]

  Bluefeather,

        I did not order two things like a shooting jacket or sling , in light of the Appleseed, that would have made sense .  I did order some things that were rendered surperfluous ( bandoleers and stripper clips)  when other backorderd rifle accessories like magazines and the Radway ammo came in from elsewhere.  I did however order one of Freds target and riflemans guide packages just because I thought the skills were worth learning and also passing on to others.  The buttstock cleaning kit from Fred was in better condition than the one I had previously aquired .  Like I said , he has his priorities and I agree with them.

     If I order the slings and jacket now I'll just have to be a bit more patient. Discomfort is relative ,  I've lived outside for a few weeks at a time in several different climates and can appreciate what those Revolutionary folks put up with. I was content with the gear I had and wasnt distracted by anything but the malfunctions. I bought the M1A because of previous bad experience with an early model M-16 that I swore was sent my way by the devil himself. That rifle and I parted company many years ago and I never missed it. Just shows you to be ready for anything. Feces Occurs.

    I was actually puzzled by the different symptoms as they were atypical of my experience with the rifle. I never thought of it as a crew served weapon but it worked out that way. I was determined to send something/anything down range until the last "cease fire!"  My firing partner/loader deserves praise for his assistance.  I owe you a beer friend !  ( Sadly I am bad at remembering names, refresh it if you will)

      As for my tenacity I've had two good teachers, my wife of 30 years and the ocean.  They have shown me that there are times when things are NOT going to go your way and you had best stop the snivveling and wishing and get to the buisness at hand or die.  It'll go easier for you and those around you if you smile while you are dealing with the crap. A bad attitude doesnt make things go better.  I'll leave it to your imagination as to who taught what.  

       It seems I have the opportunity to spend time at both ends of the state so if y'all want to get in contact just e-mail me. It might be a while before I answer as I feel the need for a Canyon walk coming on.  I'm looking foreward to attending another Appleseed but when is subject to the return of "Bertha" and a few other things.

                                                                                            Warren
   
     

[SamD]

Your assistant was CSHR, and a fine one he is.
Good guy.

"Bertha" was having some issues and the symptoms were strange to say the least.  Hopefully Springfield will put her right.

Sam

[TaosGlock]

Welcome Captwa! Watching you run that M1A for two grueling days...I was impressed. You hung tough, not to mention the sand and dust that made it into every nook and cranny of our bodies and rifles! The man and the rifle kept right on going folks. When it became a single shot, no problem, just grab an instructor, in this case CSHR, to work that bolt. Persisting is doing what it takes to keep moving forward no matter what.
We look forward to seeing you again in either Alb or Raton!
TG

[CSHR]

Captwa,
I too was impressed by your smiling and determination. Knowing Sarducci and reading your note I nod and go 'Ahh haa' makes perfectly good sense to me. In my younger years it was "Losers quit when they feel pain. Winners only quit when the mission is accomplished." Sorta got ingrained.
Later on day two, when it appeared most things had been tried and you still had an M1A single shot, I figured I'd put in my two cents and cycle the beast for you. I enjoy the company of those who want to play no matter the conditions. Just thought I'd let you concentrate on the '6 steps' instead of having to kick start it (which got me laughing and loosing my concentration).
Big 5 has Marlin 795's for a sale price of $149+. You'll need a sling and extra mags, all of which can be 'borrowed on site' from most of the instructors and a few of the IIT's, and they'd be happy to do so. Ammo might be a problem also but some of us have purchased lots so we can sell it at cost to those who show up short. It is a good rifle right out of the box. I hear Walmart can order you one for about $135, unknown wait time.
Suspect we'll cross paths again.
CSHR

The Machine: My Canon SD850 is small enough to fit in a loose pocket so it's with me most of the time, and talented enough to obtain fairly long & close shots. Most difficulties are operator error. I've even enlarged a few prints and with 8 mega pixels they are fine. It also has one important feature I look for, a view finder. Learned on a prior camera that had one so when the screen cracked it was still a camera I could depend on. Probably a newer version of it out there by now.
CSHR

[Captwa]

CSHR,

         I have a Marlin 60 I used for rat control in the boatyard. I didnt think tube feed would be as much fun as the M1 .  Ammo is an issue these days for all of us, no matter the calibre.  I do try to keep some in stock but seem to hover at a certain # since shooting is fun and what I aquire seems to go bang!  One of my kids is up visiting here in Santa Fe and dissappointed that "Bertha" is busted to say the least.  Probably go to Camel tracks one of the days to let him shoot Redcoats.

        I appreciated your extra assist on the bolt.  Glad you were laughing , to tell ya the truth so was I .  I just couldnt believe she would do me like that!  All I could think was that I'm glad Springfield has a good guarantee. Sam thought she was "allergic" to the Brit ammo I was using.  I got some good old Lake City for the next Appleseed. I'll see how that works.  In the meantime its .22 for a while.

       I'm heading to the Canyon for a walk with junior to keep occupied until "Bertha" gets back.  Talk to Y'all later.

                                                                                                                   Warren

[Precisely Advantageous]

Las Cruces's second Appleseed! What an event it was. In just 3 weeks we nearly tripled the amount of American's we got to the line.

Less than half of our shooters were local, one man was visiting from Denver (about 650 miles), one couple had driven 400 miles from Phoenix, and we had several from Santa Fe and Albuquerque and a lady from Deming who worked at Border Patrol from midnight to 6 before and after the AS! A few were from Columbus, NM.
What a fantastic group!

We had two new IIT's step up to teach: Staplegund and traveler. A huge thanks to both!
Our other IIT's, Buck, spinner, CSHR and duc-dog all returned again with bigger buckets to help out!  Thanks again!
SamD, BlueFeather and I filled in the gaps.

We had an amazing diversity of rifles. A couple of old vintage Marlin levers, an M1A, 4 AR's, a couple of AK's, a few bolt guns and the usual mix of 795's and 10/22's. AQT scores got close to 180's with lots of improvement on day 2.

The temp was a very reasonable hi 70's to lo 80's. The usual bright NM sun required all of us to use sunscreen. The wind required staking the targets wire down a bit more and Sunday wind hit gusts to 30mph which caused a couple of mats to go airborne. We got that handled and and did not let up on the AQT's. Despite precautions, by about 4:00 Sunday, the wind was blowing sand such that eyes and firearms were taking a toll. We then finished up with the last Redcoat and the usual closing ceremonies.

Thanks to all you great shooters for making this Appleseed a success and also for hanging out with us later to pack up.

The Land of Enchantement is perfectly complimented the RWVA flags.
 

CSHR starts it off with the Redcoats.


Prone demo with Buck & CSHR


Buck fires off the 6 steps to firing the shot.


Instructing on the line.


Sunrise on the target line.


Admin table with SamD and BlueFeather.


Traveler lends his expertise on the loop sling.




Dangerous Women of the Revolutionary War. Amid the cheers of the women shooters, BlueFeather tells the story of Nancy Hart.


This young shooter worked a detach 5 rd 22 bolt gun faster than most grown rifleman can work their Mausers.
And for 2 grueling days of sun and winds. Impressive!


These AR shooters drove all the way from Albuquerque to join us!
Geneva, center, a dance instructor and her crew really made those AR's sing.
We are looking forward to working with them again at our Albuquerque shoot in June.


SamD finds a hat suitable for desert Appleseeding.


A change in the COF requires a small pow wow. BF, me and SamD discuss, while duc-dog watches the line.


This M1A shooter was plagued with problems but persisted big time throughout the whole weekend.



Staplegund watches the line just as the shooters get in prone.


A huge thanks to everyone who attended!
CSHR took a few of the pics posted here too! Thanks!

Hah I finally got an approval. First of this is Ryan the one to the right; from genevas crew. I just wanted to say that the event in Las cruces will go down in history as one of the best times of my life! I also would like to thank all of the appleseed instructors for volunteering their time, money and effort to teach us a thing or two, it is greatly appreciated. We are already recruiting for the ABQ shoot, I printed some flyers and am going to distribute them... so guaranteed expect more people at least from our group. You guys are a great bunch and we would like to hang out with ya'll more if possible . I'm trying to get my brother a little prepared for the shoot in june. He is 12 years old and he is coming to visit me from california.I was wondering if you guys can give me some pointers on what to do to get him ready to be safe and have fun; maybe a list of range commands and safety rules that I can get him to memorize and go over when I take him shooting before the event. Also geneva is trying to get approved for this forum her name is FreeFireFly or FreeFyreFly I forget the spelling;but if ya'll admins could take a look at that we would grealty appreciate it.

[SamD]

Welcome aboard Precisely Advantageous,
We have been waiting anxiously for you to come aboard.

We thoroughly enjoyed having you with us in Las Cruces, and look forward to Abq in June.

Trying to get a table at the 6-7 June show up there to do some promotions.  We would love to have you come join us. Tell more Abq folks about Appleseed and your experience.  Be fun shooting with you too.

We'll be looking for FreeFireFly to come aboard too.  She said she would post as "Deflicted Eyeball" 

You were a great bunch to shoot with and we look forward to meeting you again.

Sam

[TaosGlock]

It was great to meet and work with you 3 guys. Two long days on that line and you guys stuck with it.
We will be at the next gun show in Alb. June 6-7 and will be ready to go on June 27-28 for the Albuquerque Appleseed.
And yes, bring your friends, relatives and keep up that good recruiting work! Thanks for stepping up!
PM us if you need anything! In the short run, the forum has some good pointers to help you prepare your little brother.
The same range commands and safety rules are used. I will get back with you after April 19th.
TG

[Precisely Advantageous]

Do you guys know what the USGI Slings are made out of? I found a couple and some are cotton and some are nylon/cotton mix and some claim to be treated with anti rot chemicals? Any direction on whats the better would be appreciated. Thanks

[BlueFeather]

Someone else probably knows better than I... ours are all cotton.  Appleseed seems to be creating a huge demand for them, so a lot of places online have inconsistent stock.  They should be about $6.50 to $10 a piece.  They also come in different lengths... get the M1 version as they are longer.

There is a rumor that they will be available at the Appleseed online store very soon too.

So, twh731 is working on getting some tables for the two gun shows coming up in Albq.  I am sure he could use some help!  Dan & I will work the Albq Appleseed, along with ashrn03 (Paul S).  We got a couple of local volunteers from the Raton event this past weekend, so we should have a great group for Albq in June!

[Precisely Advantageous]

I would help out at the gun show but the only show before the June AS is next weekend and I work next weekend  I've been telling just about everyone who will listen about AS. I've passed out flyers talked to people and bought a new gun for AS. So if theres any other way we could help out let us know and we'll try to make it happen

[Devnull]

I'll help out at the ABQ gun show. It's at expo nm lujan building right?

Just let me know what time and what I need to do 

[Nickle]

About the slings, it depends on what they're going on.

For an LTR, best ones I've found so far are from e-gunparts.com, the black nylon slings for the M1 or M14.

$7.10, if you buy 3 or more. Fairly quick turn around.

[SamD]

Did we ever get Geneva registered?

Anyone willing to help at the show this weekend please contact twh731 ASAp.
thank you

Sam

[freefyrefly]

HI-II every1!!!!

Finally got my registration through the other day. I'll be there to help next weekend. I loved coming to the appleseed and can't wait for the next one. We're in the process of trying to bring the rest of our posse too. Ryan has also been recruiting randomly so hopefully it'll be a really big event. See you guys soon!

[twh731]

Denuvall,  I sent you a PM.  Precisely, I am still trying to get a table at the June 6-7th gun show in Alb.  No reply from the promoter yet.  You still might have a chance to help out at a show.  Anyone else wants to work the May 2-3 show please PM me or e-mail me as it is easier for me to keep track of responses that way.  twh731@taosnet.com   Thanks   Tom

[SamD]

Welcome to you freefyrefly!

Been looking to see you here adn I'm glad you came.
You were going to use a different handle though, what happened?

Sam

[freefyrefly]

I got two eyeballs now, Sam TWO eyeballs now...

[SamD]

 
Gonna make Rifleman in June too I bet.
Looking forward to meeting you all again

Sam