Well, this shoot in Sunland, CA showed that SUNLAND lived up to it's name...
Saturday morning we were dealing with 20-30 MPH winds, which made Admin difficult trying to keep paperwork from flying around. I said "I sure hope this wind goes away." Well, be careful what you wish for, because it did, dead calm by 10am, which means it got HOT! 90-95 degrees hot! Then, in keeping with the tradition, I said "I sure hope the breeze comes back again." No luck this time.
12 on the line Saturday, the redcoats showed why they came, much work to do. 2 at 100 the rest, needed work. We lost 2 before lunch due to the heat (youth), and had no shade except a strip of shade next to a storage container, where we lined the shooters up under while the instructors endured the sun for the history presentation.
The afternoon showed the sun was affecting their progress. We took water breaks (not enough) and tried to keep focus with the blazing sun, but they were falling off. Glad to hit the last redcoat, which showed some improvement.
Sunday, cooled off a bit (if 85 is cool) we had 8 return, and 5 walk ons 13 total. Brandon, had seventh stepped and brought them all, including Steve, who had shot rifleman before at the first Sunland shoot last year under V's tutalage. Steve requalified as rifleman with a 222. And Mark also shot rifleman with a 211. Way to go, guys! O0 He almost wished he shot a 210 so he could have the water barrel dumped on him by his friends.
We also had one of our IIT's show he had the stuff... Tom (LOcke03) is a new Full Instructor now... CONGRATS. he has worked hard to instruct to standards and will continue to do so.
So, all in all, not a bad shoot, one new rifleman, one new instructor, one requalified, and a lot of folks hit right in the heart with their heritage, and spreading that to other Americans. What could be better?
More later, and I will post some pics after I resize them. Looking at the pics on my camera, I see that the heat may have affected the quality of the photos. The sun cooked my Kodak!!! We will see when I post pics later....
Thanks to all the shooters, I was glad to meet quite a few good people as always...
Others, feel free to post your experiences for this shoot.
Way to go, Tom! Bear that hat with pride, you've certainly earned it.
Sounds like a great shoot. Yep, sure was hot in the canyons last weekend... :o Standing by for pix.
Hey Cam,
Thanks for stepping up and teaching this weekend. I learned a lot about shooting my rifle and some good bit of history. Just wanted to give props to Tom for making instructor and getting the red hat. Also, a big thanks to Steve for all his pointers for me throughout the weekend.
Tom
P.S. Here is a story you can consider using for the "women" section of the lunch talks. The female "Paul Revere"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Ludington
I want to thank the staff for their diligence in continuing to put these weekends together. One of my pals that came with me last year returned this year with his 13 year old son in tow. I felt a little proud for introducing them to the program and a little wistful that I didn't join in this time.
Congrats also to L0cke... "I was there" to see him get his orange hat last year.
CONGRATULATIONS L0ck3!!! You have earned it!
Sounds like a good event.
Wow, what a weekend we had at Sunland! I don't think I've see it that hot in the spring before. Is there a DesertSeed patch? ;)
I'm happy and thankful to all those instructors and SB's that helped me get my red hat. Especially to Cam for giving me great notes on my history and instruction components. I really feel like its just the beginning though. I've got more readings to do to get a deeper sense of the history and need to keep the perishable skill of rifleman strong.
See you all at the next 'seed,
L0ck3