Saturday:
There is only one way to say it HOT, HOT, HOT!!! This was the hottest Shoot I've ever been at. It was AT LEAST 100 degrees. Honestly I'll call it higher.
We started the day with 35 Shooters and they hung in there.
We did have to go slow in this heat. We couldn't push them or ourselves for that matter.
If you've ever been to Calverton you know that is a "Hardcore Range". You have NOTHING but a large sandpit. Thanks to one of the shooters who brought 5 large pop up canopies we did manage to survive. Just barely. I don't think I can get the point across to anyone who wasn't there. IT WAS HOT!
We did get through the COF as planned and had two Shooters make the Rifleman score. The first was a repeat who made Rifleman at the April event. The second was a first time Rifleman.
Sunday:
20 Shooters. We expected the heat to keep some from returning, it was brutal.
It was slightly cooler . Oh, lets say 99 degrees. Still very HOT. No relief from the burning sun until about 3:30 when it started to rain.
But again the Shooters hung in there and were asking for more. They were all very eager to get that Patch.
Two more Rifleman on Sunday.
Again we did follow the planned COF and learned from these Guys/Gals Rifleman do persist, and they did.
kDan will be jumping in here with a more specific AAR but he asked me to get one started until he gets time to post the names and numbers.
Congratulations go out to all the shooters that attended (and survived) this Shoot. It was a pleasure not only meeting you but to witness some fine Americans enduring such rough conditions without complaining and wanting to continue. I salute you all!
Here are some photos taken during this Shoot in random order....Enjoy.....
I'll just add a few more here.....
Had to add this one which was taken by someone else.
This is the "Calverton Crew".......
Standing left to right- Myself, bravo_juliet_mike, kDan, ChrisO
Kneeling.................- Lentil, Josey Wales
I did not envy you guys down there this weekend, But I sure am proud to know ya,, Outstanding Job Guys,,, I know how hot that place can get,, It will sure test your grit,, And you all have it,,,
Made from tough stock out on the Island,,,
sgtrock
I was firing the .308 bolt-action at the event and let me tell you, trying to keep up with the AQT transitions with a bolt action is some kind of "good training". A big thanks to the guys who let me fire their ARs when my shoulder started threatening to go home without me.
Brought my special lady with me and she is very grateful for all of the help, advice, supplies, and personal instruction both from the instructors and everyone else at the event. As am I.
We will be back!
..Yes the sun was brutal, yes the range is hardcore, but with the sense of urgency in which the Instructors work, our minds were mainly on winning the hearts and minds of our fellow NYers.. Teaching history to inspire and incite and marksmanship skills to enhance ones own personal goals..
..What a good bunch of shooters we had! resilient, determaned, focused & teachable.....I learned that years ago growing up in the city we would make fun of long Islanders a bit, but now I have learned different, Long Island has been a staple of rifle marksmanship events including AS events, and The People of Long Island have inspired me. They have been there holding on the whole time while the city has let me down....We will work our way to the city very, very shortly.....
.........Thank you Long Island for being there for NY State, we need you in Appleseed and we need you active in our Republic......
.................Remember 7th Step....................Strength & Honor......................Josey Wales...........................
..ChevalierdeJohnstone..It was good to meet you and your special lady, you both make a fine couple. Hope to see you both again soon and I am so glad you both enjoyed your weekend at our Appleseed event..You handled that 308 like a real trooper..
....Strength & Honor.......Josey Wales..................
Okay,
Here's the stats:
SB - kDan
IIT's - VietVet, Josey Wales, Bravo Juliet Mike, Lentil, ChrisO
Riflemen:
Saturday - Steve
Sunday - Mike, Chris
# of shooters
Saturday - 32
Sunday - 20
Total individual shooters - 36
Red Coats:
Sat Morn Sat Afternoon Sun Morn Sun Afternoon
100 14/32 13/26 13/20 10/18
200 9/32 13/26 5/20 8/18
300 2/32 7/26 3/20 5/18
400 1/32 4/26 3/20 4/18
HS 3/32 4/26 5/20 3/18
clear 0 3 1 0
Round Count: 525
AQT Count: 7
RFAQT Count: 0
Hot indeed. Saturday was actually really bad - like bad... We all pretty much agreed that it stopped being fun at around 10 am. It was actually kind of a kick, but Instructors had to spell each other and alternate taking breaks under the tarps. It was interesting how different you'd feel just sitting it out for five minutes and sucking down a bottle of water. That fact speaks to how bad it really was. And I guess to the fact that we need to get a couple more local Instructors out here. We were on the edge. It was humid, sunny, and over 100 degrees with no wind. It was the first time I ever experienced eye ball pain. I don't know what that was about - were they drying out inside my skull? I probably dumped as many bottles of water over the back of my neck as I drank, and I went through four cases in two days mostly by myself.
I can't say enough about the NY Calverton crew. I have spent most of my time at AS traveling to other people's ranges and helping them set up their own instructor crews. It's nice to have a home. Josey, VietVet, ChrisO, and Bravo Juliet Mike have been steady, reliable and progressing Instructors and staples at this range. It's nice to start to feel the cohesion of a tight group and I'm beginning to understand what those guys in Ohio and Florida are so proud of and you know what, we don't want you coming into our state either. Just kidding.
This was seriously one great group of shooters too. I like the fact that, each time we do this, we have about 75% new faces. If we can put one of these together with a bunch of returning folks, plus the usual number of first-timers, we should be able to run two lines at some point. How many people live on Long Island? I think it's something like 14 billion.
We ran through a rifleman's cadence drill, an NPOA non-firing drill (in addition to carding sights), a trigger drill, and ball and dummy, but it was necessary to take it easy and we skipped some of my favorite things. We never got to Rapid Fire AQT's and you know what...? I don't care. It wasn't necessary. We were meticulous and deliberate with our instruction and our shooters improved considerably. They were pretty ready for the event too. We had no tube feeders, one bolty (.308 savage "ouch"), and a whole mess of rugers and marlin rim-fires. There was a Cetme, an AK, and a couple AR-15's. Where was our BAR man (Peter? are you out there?) I didn't even notice our new shooters they caught on so quick. On Sunday, BJM worked with our two sunday only new Appleseeders until they came up to speed and they came on strong too. I wish Harry would do something about that pile of smoldering garbage in the middle of the clearing so we could go 100m for some kd, but well, like VV and SgtRock have both famously said - "Calverton is hardcore." We shoot around garbage, lay on shredded tires and dodge ricochets in an oven miles from any food or water. It's like some sort of test out there isn't it?
JW gave a stellar second strike and surprised everybody by getting IMC into the conciousness of the most stubborn left-brains. Nice work, Nick. VietVet, you call the line as well as anybody in this state, we just gotta convince you to do it from a chair until your foot heals. This guy's doctor tells him to stay home and he's out doing two straight weeks of Appleseed. Rich has set up all the events out here this year too. He's the boots out on LI. BJM is a big help for shooters. He's engaging and informative with the marksmanship tips and knows his rifles too. ChrisO is the next generation, but I still taught him the advanced instructor technique of yelling out from your chair at no one in particular and watch how many alter their positions "GET THAT LEG UP!" "DON'T DRAG WOOD!" "ELBOW UNDER THE RIFLE!" Even though this is part of the Master Instructor PC, he seemed to get the hang of it pretty quick and was soon getting more reaction than I was. Lentil is the new guy and thanks to him for coming out. I saw him engaging with shooters on the left side of the line and I NEVER saw him wander away from his RSO post or space out talking to shooters instead of clearing the line. Remarkable.
I'm getting to know some of the Calverton regular shooters pretty well. Daniel's gonna make Rifleman soon if he just puts his second and third shot where his first one went. Franky is 12 or so, and drags his mom along. She's shooting now and may be able to get her husband out there too someday - kind of a reverse dynamic from what we're used to in the shooting sports. They think they may be able to pull some more kids away from the Playstation console too. Matt is a repeat offender and will be back with his son again I hope. And then there's other Matt who can do one stage well at a time, but just has to put four of them together at once. Tommy, did you notice the orange hat in the rear windshield of my car? Well, it's yours, brother. TAKE IT!!! We've got a whole mess of other shooters that didn't make this one, but I'm sure will be there in September. August, no thanks. VV had enough fore-sight to realize that we didn't need to push for an August shoot against the other stuff scheduled at the range because, well, wasn't July bad enough?
We finished out on Sunday in the gracious rain. We saw the clouds coming and heard reports of tornadoes in Nassau County. Some folks wanted to go, but nooo... a rifleman perseveres, and we got one more Rifleman on a dark-sky aqt before a final redcoat in a light rain. A gentle and gratifying way to end a brutal week-end.
See yooooooo in Septemberrrrrrr... or loooose yoooooo to a summer loooooove..... - what like golf? I don't think so. We'll see you in September Long Island. And remember, there are Appleseed shoots all over the place, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Upstate NY... what? yes, there is an upstate New York. It' on the other side of the Bronx. No, not Yonkers...
I'm not sure what I can add to kDan's eloquent summary, but here it goes. It was a great weekend to save a country. Hey, at least we weren't freezing or soaking wet, right? ;D We had a great group of shooters and instructors that combined to make this event a rousing success. It was great to work with the Calverton Crew again, Lentil you fit in perfectly. I must admit that it felt a tad odd not to be yelling "Prep forty" on Sunday afternoon, but we had to make a small concession to the heat. Working with our Sunday only shooters was an honor and it felt great to see their groups shrink and improvements on their redcoat scores.
The rain felt good on Sunday afternoon. I also really enjoyed the looks of horror that I got from the weekend renters on their way back to the city on the LIE as they saw a crazy guy driving a Jeep with no doors in a torrential downpour as they rolled by in their high-end German coupes. 8)
Such a great bunch of shooters for a ridiclously hot weekend. Im still amazed at how many stuck through it. Im certainly proud to say my town is tough and will persevere the weather, NO MATTER WHAT.
Once again it was great to see the Calverton Crew. Looking forward to September!
Quote from: bravo juliet mike on July 28, 2010, 04:30:12 PM
I also really enjoyed the looks of horror that I got from the weekend renters on their way back to the city on the LIE as they saw a crazy guy driving a Jeep with no doors in a torrential downpour as they rolled by in their high-end German coupes. 8)
When I passed you goin' west in my high-end american sedan and smiled at the cloud of spray filling the cockpit of your jeep, you were like, "What? I'm driving here."
disappointed i couldn't make it this time. sounds like it was hotter than last year i didn't know that was possible. looking forward to September and another shot at the aqts. i want my patch already.