What a great shoot ..:.. 58 of America's finest came out for the weekend to bask in the liberty and heritage, that is Appleseed. The shooters ranged from 84 to 9 yrs old, beginer to experienced, male and female. 5 new Rifleman were made and all looked like Riflemen by Sunday afternoon, to me.
We had a wonderfull host range, The Oklahoma City Gun Club. Thank you very much for hospitality. And a big than you from me to Old Grunt, Henschman and the rest of the OK crew for making me feel so at home. Oklahoma is is good hands with this crew 8)
Iwill post again when it's not on my I touch, as I'm nothing but thumbs with it ++)
It was great to get back to my home state and see that Oklahoma can still represent!
The range was AWESOME, as were all the shooters who came out to experience Appleseed. It was great to finally meet the Oklahoma Instructor Crew, and huge thanks to ColyCat for making the trip south to run the event. I hope to cross paths with all of you again in the future.
Riflemen continued to emerge throughout the weekend, and they came from a full-spectrum of experience. From at least one first time Appleseeder who shot over 210, to those who had attended multiple events in the past. This time they came back this time and achieved their goal. A Rifleman persists, indeed.
The one thing that stuck out to me the most at this event were all the families and young ones that were there. We had several groups of mom, dad, and kid(s); father and son teams; and at least one group that stretched 3 generations. WOW!!! It is great to see the Rifleman legacy being continued on for OUR future generations. What better way to honor those that came before us and gave us the opportunities we have today.
My only regret of the weekend was not getting over to see the Known Distance range where a group of shooters and instructors broke off to Sunday afternoon. Full distance with pits?!?! I hope you guys post some pics.
Here are a few snapshots from the weekend. More to come later.
It was really awesome! Thank you for a really great experience. I'm that new rifleman in the pink hat :)
It was fun and educational. I learned so much. The rest of the family did too. This is definitely not our last Appleseed. We had been trying to get to one for a couple of years. It was totally worth it. Thanks again!
Here are a few shots from the weekend...Perfect weather no sun plenty of wind and temps. in the 50's lol... And my first lady Riflemen " The head of the household for sure" ~~:)It was so my fun to see many families return to shoot. This is not my AAR by a long shot just random thoughts..Sure did appreciate the comments on the other websites.We can fix it if we don't know whats broken...But you want a bullhorn lolololol I make sure to get one maybe next time ..Either way you guyzz made the shoot if not for fine folks like you we wouldn't be here...Well enjoy the pics I'll post more later...Grandfield isn't to far off so lets all do it again .Sounds like its going to be shorts and tanktop weather for that shoot..
Just a post and run but here are the photos that my wife took. JuniperLimb you made the front page.
http://okcfirearmstraining.shutterfly.com/
Very cool! I'm at work so I can't see the Shutter Fly pics, but I will check them out when I get home.
The other pics are great also. Gave a target to my boss. He's a member at that gun club. Trying to prod him into coming to the next shoot. Talked to another co-worker that wants to bring his son out next time.
It was a great shoot... the biggest I've been to so far. The facilities were outstanding, as has been mentioned, so the OKC Gun Club deserves a big thanks for the invite. I hope they get some new members out of the deal.
We made 7 Riflemen. Not too shabby.
The Known Distance shoot went well... since the 100 yard line was really overgrown, we did an abbreviated AQT with just stages 2, 3, and 4, and we doubled the 200 yd. as well as the 400 yd. score. A couple guys who had shot Riflemen on the 25m line confirmed it at full distance, which just goes to show you that if you can do it at 25, you can do the real thing... and vice versa! Dividing the shooters in two (with one half working the pits for the other half) worked really well.
All that was great, but for me the highlight of the weekend was being on the range with my mom, dad, and grandpa, who were all first-time Appleseed attendees. I was able to get them to come to a shoot since we finally got a nice, centrally-located OK shoot that is a short drive for them. My dad overcame a bad shoulder and a bad knee and shot Rifleman on Sunday, doing the transitions and all. My mom went from being all over the paper and not even knowing how to line up an aperture sight to being able to almost clean the Redcoat... she nailed everything but the 400 yard silhouette, including the head shot. My grandpa, 84 years old, defined "persistence" as he kept up with the rest of the shooters for the entire 2 days, never taking a break and doing every transition... a "dangerous old man" for sure. They all had a great time and want to start coming to the range with me for practice, to sharpen their new skills! All of them absolutely loved the history.
All the IITs and other instructors did a great job. Guys, thanks making this a wonderful experience for my family. I really appreciate it.
Colycat, you did a superb job as shoot boss, and it was a real pleasure to meet you. See you on the trail!
I am really disappointed we were not there for the second day I bet it was awesome. This was our first Appleseed, my son and I learned a great deal. He is the little rifleman that was awarded the challenge coin in the picture above. I know both of us will never forget the great time we had with all of our fellow Okies. We cant wait to make another Appleseed, good thing we don't have to wait long Grandfield one month out.
Here is my write up of the weekend. I know I left a lot out
http://injennifershead.com/?p=1430
Mods-let me know if I should cut and paste instead of linking.
Quote from: JuniperLimb on March 08, 2010, 11:16:24 PM
Here is my write up of the weekend. I know I left a lot out
http://injennifershead.com/?p=1430
Mods-let me know if I should cut and paste instead of linking.
Fantastic write up Jennifer ^:)^ ^:)^ You should cut and paste the whole thing here and in the Women of Appleseed. http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?board=254.0
I see that pink hat turning orange after the next AS ..:.. I was great to meet you and your family. BTW, Michael shot 200 with a loaner rifle. Next time, for sure.
Jennifer,
I hope you don't mind but I included your link in my email to the club president about the weekend.
Quote from: bratch on March 09, 2010, 11:29:10 AM
Jennifer,
I hope you don't mind but I included your link in my email to the club president about the weekend.
I don't mind at all!
Since AARs are usually one of the first places on our forum that new Appleseeders look, I like to post the links for the things that they commonly want to buy: GI slings, the studs and swivels you need for a GI sling, downloadable Appleseed targets, and Tech Sights. Here they are:
Downloadable target thread: download Appleseed targets for free, and keep your skills sharpened. http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=9833.0
M1 slings: this is both the cheapest and the best source I have found. They don't slip, the clamps don't come loose, and they have plenty of length for any rifle. http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=984970&chrSuperSKU=&MC=
Here are the extra sling clips, so you can have one on each end of the sling like lots of us instructors do. This is great for using the loop sling, because you can leave the sling dangling on your arm when not shooting, and just clip the front hook onto your rifle's front swivel when you're ready to shoot. At this price, there is no reason not to buy one of these for each sling you're ordering. http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd.asp?chrProductSKU=537280&chrSuperSKU=&MC=
If you don't have sling studs and 1 1/4" (1.25") sling swivels on your rifle, you will need them to use a GI sling. Most sporting goods stores don't carry 1 1/4" swivels -- they usually only have 1" ones. I have seen 1 1/4" ones at a couple Wal-Marts, though -- I think they were Winchester brand. If you want to order these items online, the Uncle Mike's part number for the stud/swivel combo is 13113. The Part Number for just the swivels is 14033. Search for whichever part number you need on www.midwayusa.com, www.cheaperthandirt.com, or www.brownells.com. They all carry them.
Here is the website for Tech Sights. They make inexpensive adjustable aperture sights for many rifles. This is where to get the sights you saw on the Ruger 10/22s at the range: www.tech-sights.com
Some more pics.
Awesome pictures. Hope you don't mind me using the one for my profile picture. I didn't even notice you there taking it.
Quote from: JuniperLimb on March 10, 2010, 09:30:39 AM
Awesome pictures. Hope you don't mind me using the one for my profile picture. I didn't even notice you there taking it.
Feel free to use as you wish. Obviously you didn't notice them being taken, you were in the Rifleman's Bubble!!! O0
Isn't neat how we can take pictures along the way..lol I always take a few at first then on sunday to see just how much they change the shooting they do..
They go from not using the sling and laying all messed up to looking like a highpowered shooter over night ..look out Camp Perry Appleseed is coming very soon ..Side note I Haven't had a lady shoot riflemen since I came on board..So she the first one..1st but not the last hope to see more try this out soon we need more ladies in this state to get out shooting..They do learn allot faster and retain more..lol
This would be the second time I've seen a woman shoot Rifleman, and the second time I've seen her do it by out-shooting her husband!
Great pics, indeed. I really like the one of my family. That might have to go in one of our albums or something. Good one of the Henschman, Sr., too!
Mad photo ninja skills there ;D
Honestly, I think hubby would have earned a patch too had he not been fighting with the malfunction with a folding stock.
Yes, that was very gallant of him to let you have the better equipment. Equipment issues can be really frustrating; especially when you know you'd have that patch otherwise. That's what happened to a couple of our IITs on their first shoot.
Still, the fact remains that you technically did out-shoot him, so don't sell yourself short... hopefully that will motivate him to persist even more at your next Appleseed! ;)
Good times......need to practice for Grandfild.......maybe the third times charm for my badge!
I have to say... I had such a fun time and learned so much. I am really still just learning on the rifle but ALL the instructors were so patient and helpful. I do not have one bad thing to say about the whole weekend other than I wish I'd gone to an Appleseed sooner. I am going out to the range with my new sling and scope this weekend and hope that I can continue to improve. Whether or not I ever make rifleman, I was so proud to attend. I have 4 ancestors that are listed on the DAR rolls so hearing all the history was just the delicious icing on the cake of one of the best weekends of my life. Thanks everybody and hope to see you all in Grandfield.
Quote from: spitstickler on March 10, 2010, 10:14:54 AM
Quote from: JuniperLimb on March 10, 2010, 09:30:39 AMI didn't even notice you there taking it.
Feel free to use as you wish. Obviously you didn't notice them being taken, you were in the Rifleman's Bubble!!! O0
I also didn't notice anyone taking a picture. I thought I did such a good job of avoiding the camera all weekend so as not to have people laughing at my sad lack of skills. %)
PS: I lost count of how many times my rifle gave me a mis-feed and/or stovepipe. My husband thinks it might be because the magazine was being pushed up from the ground. Is that possible? Maybe I should get some of the 10 round mags if I am going to be prone? Thoughts?
Tx you did wonderful dont beat yourself up to bad.I for one enjoy seeing you problem solve.I have the same rifle and had to find ammo that would feed correctly each rifle is different. As for the mag hanging to low sure try 10 round mags an if you find them for sale let me get two as well.S$W told me they are back ordered till may so it might be awhile.At badlands I will have mine there so maybe we can see what works for the both of us.lol Hope you make it down there ..One other thing if you dont have a center fire rifle let me know I could turn you loose on my rifle or others there.We kinda share time on the KD range..Seeya soon
OG & OKTX,
Will the S&W work with Black Dog Mags? If so they have a nifty mag the size of standard 20 rd AR mags that holds 15 22lr.
Wow , great shoot guys + gals O0 O0 O0
Oklahoma has always been 1 of my favorite states, reading the aar furthers this belief.
Living in California IM sometimes reminded of a Will Rogers quote. " When the OKIES moved to California , the collective IQ went up , in both places "
Semper Fidlelis
JA
What a wonderful shoot! It had been almost two years since I'd made an Appleseed shoot, and I was impressed at the huge turnout! The facilities at the OKC gun club were also wonderful, and a big thanks to them for hosting it, and to Colycat and the other instructors for coming out! ^:)^
I had a blast, and I loved the pics, I borrowed one for my Avitar too! Looking forward to my next one!
Glen ..:..
This was my first Appleseed but most surely will not be the last. I had not had any formal marksmanship training since Army basic in 1975 although had been around firearms most of my life. Although I did not even come close to achieving Rifleman, I am ordering a boatload of AQT sights for the range. I will be ready next time. If the folks at OKC gun club are gracious enough to allow another in the fall, I will be there. I have talked to a number of gun enthusiast folks at work and most have not heard of Appleseed. I think at least two or three will be there as well as my daughter and son (if he does not deploy AGAIN).
I can only say thank you to Colycat, oldgrunt and the other wonderful instructors who showed so much patience and passion to "telling the story".
I was really heartened that I was still able to hit 5 out of 10 at 400 yards with my military sights AR15. I had not shot at that range since 1977 and figured old eyes might not be up to the task. More time practicing the techniques you folks taught will get me there.
As old grunt spoke to the assembled youngsters - They are the future and it was GREAT to see the young folks there.
Sorry for being so long winded here - I just want to say thanks.......