AAR - Leonard, TX - Aug 13 & 14, 2011

[scuzzy]

Another good shoot at Top Gun in Leonard, TX.

Chuck and I pulled up to Top Gun Friday evening and pitched our tents. Boy was it hot, even until 2 in the morning. Without a fan in the tent it was just about impossible to sleep. Throwing my sleeping bag on the ground outside might have been a good idea except for the fact that the ground was crawling with bugs to include some really big spiders. I finally nodded off to sleep around 2 or so. Then a front rolled in with a high speed wind at 4:15, which blew my tent over. ha. So I pretty much couldn't get back to sleep. That made for a loooong Saturday and I definitely was not firing on all cylinders. Looking back now it's kinda funny.

We had the line filled to capacity at 15 shooters on Saturday. The day was actually cooler than I've seen in months with temps in the high 80s. It actually dizzled for an hour or two at the start of the day.  Which would have been nice except for the very high humidity which resulted for the rest of the day.

We had me, Chuck, Dan, and Andrew as instructors.

The shooters were a great bunch of people who were cheerful and paid attention. What more could you ask for? There was a wide range of experience levels with the shooters.

After the shoot ended on Saturday Chuck ran a Civil Air Patrol NRA shoot for two of the shooters who both received an NRA marksman patch.

Sunday was the typical summer day here which highs at least a 100 or more. But at least it wasn't as humid as Saturday. There weren't as many shooters as on Saturday, I think it was about 10 or 12. By the end of the day it had been reduced to 4. Yup, the heat got to many of them. The instructors were a bit beat too.

We gave out 1 patch to Dennis. He actually shot 3 Rifleman scores in a row. I think his high score was 217, although I might be mistaken. I think he might be thinking about taking an Orange Hat. I hope that is the case.

Terry, the owner of Top Gun, was cordial as could be.

[CouchTater]

Yes, it was a good weekend. Thanks to the instructor crew, who went above and beyond on a weather-challenged weekend. I learned a lot, including that you should put on the elbow pads on Saturday, and that sunscreen and lots of it is a good idea. I hope reddot's neck is doing better than mine.

Next time, for sure. I think my most pressing area for improvement is mental, rather than shooting technique (although that could use more work, too). I found that a small issue (like a sticky magazine or misfire) would spoil the rest of the string. It would be a lot better to leave a round or two in the magazine, instead of spraying the last five shots every which way.

See you again this fall, I hope.

Richard

[Charlie98]

...and I thought I knew a lot about rifle shooting... 

It's funny... we were at the Leonard, TX  'Top Gun' range... what was that line from the 'Top Gun' movie... "...we'll make you better!"  ...and that they did!

My hats off to our instructors for their knowledge, patience, perserverance and humor through the very hot weekend.  It was so hot out, the brass that was hitting me felt like ice cubes.... well, maybe.

All in all a very good and worthwhile weekend.  You know you will see me again... and I'm dragging my daughter with me, next time!

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

I stopped by on Sunday afternoon since I was in the area on other business.

I got there in time for the final Redcoat. Even 45 minutes of an Appleseed is better than no Appleseed. 





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