Wow....another fabulous Cali weekend, spent doing Appleseed with the best Americans available to us.....
Starting off the new years season at Mike Raahaughes Shooting Park, we formed up early Sat am, and by 8:30, had 33 hard charging shooters champing at the bit....
All ages & skill levels represented, we had a nice amount of returning Appleseeders, as well as some new faces who "had heard about this Appleseed shooting thing, and wanted to check it out to see if it was something they could bring the family to....."
Yeah, they figured that out pretty quickly!
Our first redcoat showed that we had one shooter (a returning RM) clearing the redcoat, and 2 others effective out to 400 yds....but also as importantly, 10 folks who admitted that they "needed the musket"...... ???
Lots of room for improvement, and that's what we specialize in!! ^-^
As we began going thru the instruction, we found that the vast majority of the shooters did not need much "hand holding", and were ready to charge along, looking for the details that would help them get to the QDAQT, and RM success.
The beauty of our COF is that it, like all RM, is adaptive, and can be modified so quickly to move forward that none are aware of anything changing.....
Short story, by the end of Saturday, of the 10 shooters who were unable to hit effectively even to 100 yards, there were only 3 now who fell in that category, and most had jumped up to at least 200 yds..... O0 Works for me...... ;)
The history/Heritage presentation was nicely done, and as we had more red hats than orange for a change, showed the difference experience in this function can create.....it was a quiet group who returned to the line after lunch, with much to think about....
At the end of Saturday, we had only "lost" one person, so we ended the day with 32 shooters....and on a 94' wide line, that means they were all "joined at the hip".....
Sunday AM dawned a bit warmer (indeed, it got up to a very nice 78 degrees by midday, for those of you that follow these sorts of things...) :o, and yet with the roving clouds, no one sunburned.......(this is, after all, SoCal...)
But most importantly, we had most of the shooters return so we started the day with 26 shooters, only dwindling to 24 by days end......
By having covered the basics on Saturday, Sunday allowed us to not only polish those techniques, but also add in a few "new" targets to see about tracing some specific gremlins......I had decided to try a multiple square target focused strictly on changing seated positions, to determine for the shooter, which form was the most accurate (group building) for them.....
The 2nd target was also a multiple square target to show the shooters the various effects of cadence, and it's effect on their accuracy. Both these were fairly well received, and showed some definite spots for improvement in the shooters......Real eye openers, quickly....(Thanks, Guy!!) O0
We also were able to do an unusual promotion, as we have a husband/wife combo who have been here since last year. We were able to present Scavenger & Recruiter with their very well deserved and hard earned Red Hats Sunday after our DOM presentation. They have worked diligently for Appleseed, and personally I look forward to them accomplishing many great things as they are able to expand their reach of things here......some of the greatest people I know of to deal with...... O0 O0 O0
We finished our weekend with a slew of AQTs, and the desired results were there....we had a total of 5 RM shooters (altho' 2 had already scored RM last year, and had returned to AS after running into us @ the Ontario gun show last weekend...)
Of the 3 "new" RM, one is active mil, one is just out Mil, and the other simply listened, and has been shooting "for awhile"...... O0
Not too bad at all........ :cool2:
I can only say that if every AS went like this one did, we would find it much easier to gather more instructors.....it really was like rolling down a hill.......Having such a great set of Instructors, and participants, sure makes this easy....... @)
Great folks, good times, great Instructor group, and gorgeous weather.....now I ask ya'.......How is it gonna get much better than that?
I'll post some pix when I'm not still so "toasty"...... ++)
Folks, feel free to post with your experiences, or photos!!
LLP
As is always the case, I met many tremendous Americans at this weekend's Appleseed. And no matter how tiring the weekend may turn out to be, it is the people, the new faces, the folks with a heart for Liberty, that is so refreshing to the soul. When you have folks who have paid to be there stick around long after the shoot to help clean up the range, and talk about the future of the program and the country until it's so dark we can't hardly see our hands in front of our faces, well, I think that's pretty cool, don't you? O0
Congrats to Scavenger and Recruiter on their shiny new Red Hats, and to America's newest Riflemen! ..:..
And of course, many thanks to all my fellow instructors who made their way out to share one heck of a weekend with me! :bow:
Great weekend with Fellow americans... both shooters and instructors! We had a good time making a few riflemen, but we woke up quite a few more attendees to what it means to BE an american in their hearts. I met some wonderful folks, and also met some instructors that I had not previously had the pleasure to work with, and am encouraged at the caliber of folks I meet at these shoots...
I got some numbers here: we have 3 new riflemen... Matt shot a 211, :~ Soren shot a 219, :~ and Dennis shot a 220. :~
We had a few knocking on the door too... Finchy shot a 176, Chris B. shot a 181, and Ron shot a 209...Just missed... Not bad for a guy who told me he didn't care about the score... He cared... he didn't fool me! You guys did good and the rest showed great improvement throughout the weekend.
Good times had by all!!! I will post some pictures up tomorrow as I have to downsize them first before I post them...Got some good ones, you folks back east don't know what you are missing weatherwise, but we had blue skys and 75 degree weather all weekend. 8)
Let's hear from some attendees....
Another weekend shoot in paradise...great weather, super people who came to learn and did, and a fabulous group of instructors to work with. A big congrats to Recruiter and Scavenger and their new status as Red Hats. AWESOME!!
Sunday was very special for me. My son Bud and his friend Marcus came to shoot. Bud has lived hearing about Appleseed since I first attended in March 2009, and he decided to see what it's all about. He and Marcus had a BLAST and are already planning on returning and bringing friends. They get the 7th Step! Bud has asked for his own shooting jacket for his birthday on 1/18. I'm working on it.
It's so impressive to see the people who choose to come to Appleseed shoots, to hear what they have to say, and to see the looks on their faces when the hear about the Strikes, the Dangerous Old Men and Fabulous Females. It makes me feel pride in our country and to have hope for our future as Americans and as gun owners.
Project Appleseed changed my life, and it's an honor to pay it forward.
Jackie :~
22calgal
I enjoy Appleseed shoots a little more every time I'm at one.
While every AS is unique, there are always things that I find encouraging & helpful.
I had an opportunity to visit some family I have down there for all of last week, which made it really easy to sign up not only to teach more Americans, but to learn from all of the other instructors. My wife Lynda was able to come to the Appleseed in Gardnerville, NV last August on the first day. She had such a great time, although she couldn't find a sitter for the next day, she came back to the shoot anyway the next afternoon, just to come back, with both of our kids, who got to meet all of the instructors at that shoot, including LayloPro & 22calgal.
This time, since we were staying with family, she was able to come shoot on Saturday again while my folks got some "grandkid time", & then brought the kids on Sunday afternoon who were happy to get to say Hi to LayloPro & 22calgal again.
Everyone's attitudes were fantastic.
Congratulations to Recruiter & Scavenger on your new Red Hats!
Congratulations not only to those who shot a Rifleman score, but everyone who hung in there and improved their shooting abilities! Good job!
And thanks to all of the other instructors, who all helped me to learn more about how to teach! I hope you don't mind that I'll be stealing at least one tip or another I picked up from each of you this weekend! ^-^
I've gotta say, it's hard to leave an Appleseed shoot when it's over.
Chris
Congrats to Liz & Justin for the Red Hats! You two are totally capable and more importantly WILLING!
Just as a fyi for us SoCal Orange Reds Greens and shooters, I made a Shutterfly account for the sole purpose of sharing appleseed pictures. Shutterfly is great, especially when you don't have a program to copy edit and save a picture that's posted on the forum. Just upload your picture under the tab for the location and link it to the forum, then we can all share. Its semi-private in that only those that know the address and password (appleseed) can view the pictures.
So for example the pictures of Liz & Justin getting promoted could go under the Corona Tab, just date the album and you have shared! As far as I know sharing is caring (except with germs, eww)...
Have fun
I've created a web site called "AppleseedCA" to share pictures with shooters and such. I'd like you to be a member of the site. Come check it out at http://appleseedca.shutterfly.com/. Once you're a member you can add content to the site
OK, we have gotten all our important paperwork done now, and found the "better" pix to post so that everyone can see something of possible interest in at least -one- of them..... :))
It was a really blessed event this last weekend, and I really wish they were all "this easy".....
Now, if I hadn't been sick the week before, and then during the event, it would have been much better, but hey, we "got 'er dun", and it was a good one......
I can live with that.....
mid to high 70's thru out the weekend, no real breeze to speak of, freshly bladed shooting area, and variable clouds to keep some sun cover on us.......
Some of those things the folks in Wisc aren't getting right now....... >:D ^-^
So, how was -your- weekend?
LLP
Some more pix....
And some more....
First of all, thank you to all of the volunteers who put their time and effort into this weekend. It was both an extremely enjoyable and instructive weekend. I consider myself to have become both a better shooter and a more passionate American as a result of the Appleseed event.
Without question, the best part of the weekend was the people there. To a person, everyone I had a chance to interact with was great. It is rare that an organization draws such a large, diverse group of people without a bad apple in the bunch (pun intended). This was true of both the attendees and the instructors. Every one of the instructors, whether red, orange or pink-hatted, was willing to go above and beyond for anyone of the attendees. In my case, SoCalSerf allowed me to use one of his personal rifles for much of the weekend when the ones I brought turned out to be less than ideal. In addition to SoCalSerf's time and help, Camljr, Recruiter, Scavenger and Grandson of Liberty all made concerted efforts to improve my shooting.
When I got to Appleseed on Saturday morning, my first groupings surprised me. I had imagined that I was a better shot, but as we learned over and over throughout the weekend, the targets tell a story. My first target did not tell a flattering story. By the time the weekend was over, I had somehow managed to shoot a 181 on the AQT. This improvement is a testament to both the training curriculum and the investment the instructors made in me.
I am already planning for next month's shoot and cannot wait to get back out there and try again to become a rifleman. Perhaps I will have a proper LTR by then. If not, I will just have to go a third time. I'm sure I can handle a couple more weekends spent with such a good group of people... 8)
Freeman,
1st of all, let me welcome you to the Appleseed forum.... :)
You will find it rather amazing, but true, that here you will find folks "just like us" all around the country......and don't be surprised if you (or your posts) get a visit from "Fred, the Helpful" here..... 8)
I like to think we have a great group of Instructors in our neck of the woods, & it does my heart good to hear kind words such as yours about our people....it really is "We, The People", that end up making the difference in things. :bow: O0
I do, in all honesty, have to warn you in advance......too many weekends spent in the company of Appleseeder's can be habit forming........and we have not yet found the high limit of "too many" yet!! ^:)^ O0 @)
We'll see ya in a few weeks!!
LLP
Quote from: LayloPro on January 14, 2010, 01:03:46 AM
We'll see ya in a few weeks!!
LLP
Looking forward to it.
-Freeman (Chris B.)
.
Congratulations to our three new riflemen.
And to the returning rifleman who shoot 240+, WOW!! And a big congrats to Recruiter and Scavenger for their new a hard earned Red Hats!
Freeman, it was great working with you, look for a Personal Message on your menu bar.
It was a wonderful group that came out to Corona last weekend, but have we ever had a bad one? It always seems as if the best people in the country are the one who attend and get the message.