Waco, TX IBC January 20-21 AAR

[AF5US]

Well . . . after a lot of planning and coordination, the 49th annual boot camp at Central Texas Rifle & Pistol Club is in the books.  I think this may be the 5th or so iteration of the 49th annual boot camp, and it wasn't too shabby - if I do say so myself.  It was a bit poetic that the first IBC I ran was at the same location of the first IBC I attended, which was also the first IBC where I initially scored rifleman.  Ah, memories.

First and foremost - this absolutely would not have gone as well as it did had it not been for the assistance of many other instructors during both the planning and the execution phases of the boot camp.  It is with absolute sincerity that we offer our thanks to all of you 

Secondly - a HUGE shout-out to our wives that prepared delicious breakfasts and dinner, and helped keep the chaos organized.  You made the event that much more enjoyable.

The boot camp unofficially kicked off Friday with a one day KD.  And wouldn't you know it - 50 degree weather the week before.  60 degree weather this week.  And what do we get? An Arctic ice blast.  Of course.  Nevertheless, "Gus" came through and earned his first KD Rifleman score.  Well done sir! 

Saturday starts us off with lots of coffee, and a review of the Appleseed Guidelines and a discussion of what makes an Appleseed Instructor.  Ghostring provided a great discussion of the standard course of fire, which was led to an excellent discussion.  Then it was off to the races with small group exercises around slings, the 6 steps, NPOA, the Steady Hold Factors in the arious positions, and how to teach others trigger control and how to dry fire.  Lunch also provided an excellent discussion of the "how to" behind telling an excellent history.  Hmmm . . . History Boot Camp in the future, anyone?  Saturday dinner we were treated to homemade beef stew, and excellent conversation all evening long.

Sunday morning started us out with a state of the union and general Q&A, and then it was on to the "How To" of teaching Inches-Minutes-Clicks.  This is often the most challenging topic for others, and a good deal of time was spent on how this can be broken down.  Props to the Appleseed Academy!  The work done there is paying dividends, and instructors were reminded that there are excellent videos on the Appleseed Standard for every Point of Instruction.  We reviewed Rifleman's Bubble & Dance, then lunch time found us discussing the nuances of Registration drills, Parking lot drills & Firing Line drills.  We covered some common mistakes and pitfalls that tend to pop up, and helped clarify a few confusion points.  Finally we had a fantastic discussion around the "How To's" of diagnosing shooter issues, before giving our models various scenarios to "trick" our instructors on what they're doing wrong.  Some of them were pretty darn tough, but someone always figured it out.  Way to go!

And finally, since AF5US is writing this and he's related to Ray of Sunshine - it is with no small amount of pride that AF5US observed Ray of Sunshine participate in the IBC.  Ray of Sunshine recently took an orange hat, and was by far the youngest instructor at this IBC.  Ray of Sunshine was very intentionally assigned to one of our most experienced instructors that she hasn't worked with before. The instructor, and entire cadre, was given very clear instructions to not give any special favors.  Reports were universally positive - there are 2 or 3 things to work on, but she knocked almost everything out of the park - extremely impressive for her young age.  And that's what Project Appleseed is about - preserving and passing on to posterity.

Every participant was provided with an exit survey, and given strict instructions to provide critical feedback.  Based on these surveys, I do believe that we can say this was a smashing success.  Your recommendations to make future events even better are much appreciated, and taken seriously.  We plan to make this an annual event to help train up the orange hats, knock out the cob webs and knock off the rust for our red & green hats, and check in with everyone to see how things are going.  We can't do this without you, and we offer our humble thanks for making this IBC a success.  Thank you everyone who participated!

[AF5US]

More pics

[ScottInTX]

An excellent event by all measures, quality points of instruction, and great camaraderie.  Many thanks to the instructors, as well as to my fellow participants, to CTRP, Eric and Brass Valley range, and last but certainly not least to Mrs. Ghostring and Mrs. AF5US for the hot chow (hot stew on a cold day? what could be better?).  I look forward to the next IBC, and getting to spend more time with the great Texas cadre.

Edited because of my terrible short term memory

[paul.rome]

Huzzah, Huzzah, Huzzah to AF5US - for running a very successful IBC.

[scuzzy]

last but certainly not least to Mrs. Ghostring and Mrs. AF5US for the hot chow (hot stew on a cold day? what could be better?).

Yes!! I forgot to add kudos for them. They are great ladies. If only the women of today were more like those two this world would be a much much better place.

Jim & Jason - give your sweetie a hug for me and say thanks. I'm about to do the same with Sharna - who supports Appleseed and all we do. We're really lucky to have them.

[Steck]

Looks like the IBC was a smashing success, congrats to all (and especially Jason!)

History Boot Camp is SUPER-useful, attended one years back, that should be on the schedule somehow too.

[Locke Enload]

Incredible weekend! It made me so much better and inspired me to be even more so. I can't wait to get on the line and, as humility and The Lord gives grace, impart these things to a generation who so badly needs to be inspired.  Thank you to the cadre for trusting me to carry the message.  The only thing missing was STECK!