In the Harvard, MA tradition, we had 1 day of sun and 1 day of rain... though no hurricanes!
We had 16 preregistered students, and ended with 20 shooters in all.
Even though Henry didn't quite get that 210, I bet he was still glad that he returned on Sunday to shoot in the rain with us, instead of attending that indoor pin shoot! O0
Congratulations to our two new Riflemen! And to our three young shotgunners! ^:)^
Also, to those of you who left on Saturday, two of the orange hats who instructed you have stepped up and taken their red Instructor hats... Congrats again to Matt and Mike! :cool2:
Thanks to you shooters for a great weekend! And thanks to you Instructors for doing a great job!
Some more photos here.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02539.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02540.jpg)
Shoot Boss In Training Luv2BFree starting things off with attendees Bill and Jackie in the background
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02541.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02542.jpg)
Instructor Mike93LX and IIT Lupis42
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02543.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02545.jpg)
An Anschutz, a couple of ARs with .22 uppers, several 10/22s, and (IIRC) Marlin made up one line. Sunday saw another AR and a Garand join in.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02546.jpg)
Brand new (still got the shiny on him!) IIT Steve at his first shoot was a big help on Saturday.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02547.jpg)
Third shoot was the charm for Rifleman Joe! He shot a 229, I think.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02548.jpg)
As it was for Rifleman Tyler - just needed that Rifleman score to go with the Orange Hat he got with a waiver at his last shoot. Welcome, young Jedi IIT!
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02549.jpg)
Left-handed shooter Jackie tries out an LTR...
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02550.jpg)
and decides to go back to her left-handed bolt action.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02551.jpg)
Now, why didn't I think of this? :wb: Luv2BFree comes up with a GREAT training aid.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02554.jpg)
Boy, that line got empty Sunday afternoon. Was it the rain? Heck, no! We shot all morning in the rain, but 5 shooters (three teenagers and their parental units) had family obligations to discharge in the afternoon. But they've promised they'll be back. Note shooter Steve in the foreground - he soldiered on all afternoon in the rain, alone, shooting a borrowed LTR and getting his scores up from the low 100's to a 192. Well done, Steve! See you at the next shoot and we'll finish polishing your Rifleman skills!
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02555.jpg)
Don't throw those Orange Hats away, boys - wash 'em and pass 'em on. (L to R) Stratocaster1422 and Lupis42 receive their new Red Hats from Luv2BFree.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02557.jpg)
The MA instructor crew is growing fast. L to R we have Luv2BFree, Sprocket, Mike93LX, Crak, Dwarven1, Stratocaster1422 and Lupis42.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/Appleseed_Shoot_Harvard_8-21-10/DSC02559.jpg)
Some miscellaneous thoughts about the shoot.
- Remember to use Loctite (or any other brand of thread locking compound!) on your sight screws. We had two sets of sights come loose this weekend... including one front sight that fell completely off. (http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a29/canthsrider/smilies/rolleyes.gif) Fortunately, I keep a tube of thread locking compound in my range bag for just these little occasions.
- Don't order stuff out of a catalog and assume they'll work. One shooter came with a couple of brandy-new Butler Creek 10/22 mags (plastic lips, in case you were wondering) and couldn't understand why they kept jamming. He's buying factory mags after seeing the ones I loaned him run all day long without a problem. CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT FIRST!!
- Elbow pads. They beat having bloody elbows.
- Check out the ammo and only bring one brand - this way you're know what you're getting and you don't have to re-sight your rifle in during the course of the shoot.
- Make sure your rifle shoots with your ammo. Getting to a shoot and having to deal with jams and misfeeds all day long is a serious buzzkill... and it means you'll be fussing with the rifle and not listening to what you're being taught.
- We had some very dedicated shooters this weekend. They kept on shooting in the on-again/off-again rain we had on Sunday even without rain gear.
- If you leave early, please police your brass before you go.
Whoops... still more to add:
Redcoats (for the line at the 65 yard pit, that is)
Saturday - 10 shooters.
| Distance | AM | PM |
| 100 yards | 4 | 8 |
| 200 yards | 3 | 7 |
| 300 yards | 1 | 5 |
| 400 yards | 1 | 3 |
| HeadShot | 2 | 3 |
| Cleaned | 0 | 0 |
| Zero hits | 4 | 0 |
I have to point out that on Saturday afternoon, one of our teenage shooters (a shotgunner who's now learning the rifle) missed cleaning his target by ONE flyer - I think it was on the 300 yard target. This was a young man who started out the day with "groups" that looked like, well... shotgun patterns.
Sunday - 5 shooters (AM), 1 shooter PM.
| Distance | AM | PM |
| 100 yards | 5 | 1 |
| 200 yards | 4 | 1 |
| 300 yards | 1 | 0 |
| 400 yards | 0 | 0 |
| HeadShot | 2 | 0 |
| Cleaned | 0 | 0 |
| Zero hits | 0 | 0 |
If you bring elbow pads, try to make sure they're the soft kind. Hard elbow pads like to slide around on the mat, and for at least one shooter they were more of a hindrance than a help.
Well done, Tyler! O0 See how much easier it is to get around without that monkey on your back? ;D
Some judge success through numbers - I'm more inclined to read between the lines and see who progressed, who is determined and who will be back.
One guy scheduled for Sat had "stuff to do" on Sunday - blew it off and came back for Sunday...
The father, Mom, son team on Saturday did not return on Sunday - this Sunday...
The folks I met on a weekend shoot a month ago will certainly be back - I hope I am there to see them get their respective patches.
On Sunday I met a man shivering with cold, wet to the bone and a smile wider than his ears. I thought of Ted. I forget his name - we had so many Steve's and Mikes. His first shoot, not his last - he has resolve. He will get his patch, no doubt. "Barney" & Matt shall take the credit for working him through his efforts.
I watch the shooters too - you see them making connections with each other - "Hey call me next week" - and so on. There's a lot more to waking Americans up than just shaking one at a time. Sometimes they wake each other up because of Appleseed...
He told 2 friends and they told 2 friends, and so on...