Beautiful, windy, lots of sun and sunburn. We had 52-54 shooters on the line and made four riflemen today. About a half dozen non shooters who wanted to check us out today and will be coming back to shoot next time.
We had more great food than we could eat, and the RWVA industrial sized donations jar was stuffed solid with fives, tens and twenties by people donating money for the BBQ donated by Dr. Bender and his father who drove up from Bay City to cook it.
All the instructors did a great job, Horn from Wyoming was here helping also. We will do it again in the morning and will get back to you tomorrow night with pictures and the rest of the story.
Scout
Whew! Whatta weekend. Excellent crew, excellent host, excellent chow, excellent attendees, excellent weather, a little breezy but not bad, good but slightly disappointing turnout. Several new riflemen, I got a new, very bright red hat. Will get it a little faded as the year progresses.
I had several people I'd pitched tell me they'd try to make it (?) and five "for-sures." How many showed? Zip. Gotta run those rascals down this week. Give 'em one more push. If they still weenie out, on to new pastures. Which will happen anyway.
It never hurts to bring an extra rifle or two. I loaned out two 10/22's, one to an experienced shooter whose own rifle had mechanical troubles right off the bat, and the 10/22 compact to one young Saturday-only shooter, by pre-arrangement, then to another young first-timer Sunday walk-on.
Thanks, gentlemen for the quality instruction and motivation. It's a rare thing to have a such a mix of hard work, fast learning, and fun all together. The emphasis on safety is appreciated.
My son was very impressed and pumped about the great teaching. He and I both have some prospective attendees in mind.
Where do I begin without running on and on and on...
What a great weekend! My kids both bailed out on me for Saturday, but I drove on with the mission. This was a truly great weekend to celebrate the heritage of human freedom. Saturday morning was spent shooting and learning about the heritage of this most amazing country. I got home, showered and went to a Seder (this weekend also being the beginning of Passover). It was a long day, but a day entirely devoted to celebrating freedom! My youngest daughter was actually willing to get herself out of bed on Sunday to attend the second day, and I could not be more proud of her!
Here's where the instructors come in. I got my shooting in on Saturday, but my daughter was still a bit apprehensive. I talked to Dennis, and he advised me to do whatever it took for her to have a good time. So, that's what I did. And it worked. She's already asking me about when we can do it again. When we showed up on Sunday, Dean saw us walking towards the firing line and without me even asking, offered up the use of one of his youth sized 10/22s. I had brought a full sized one hoping to make the best of it, but I took him up on his offer. Then, for the rest of the day, several of the instructors would ask her, out of the blue "Are you having fun?" Now that's dedication to the cause!!!
My daughter learned a few things too, and was shooting noticeably better by the end of the day. Those first six steps are still giving me trouble (all six every time), but I'm doing well with number seven. I just cannot think of another group of people (instructors and shooters alike) who I would rather have my kids spend a weekend with.
Me? I still haven't shot Rifleman yet, but I added 25 points to my average score from my first Appleseed. But that's my challenge, and I'll just have to keep on doing what I have to do to make it. My first Appleseed was back in February, and I don't recall seeing anyone else shooting an M-1 at that one. There were several on the line this weekend, and it encouraged me to see that there were others out there who were gluttons for punishment, or traditionalists, or whatever you might call them. All weekend long, shooters and instructors alike were asking me something to the effect of "doesn't the recoil beat you up shooting it that much..." My answer is always this, and it's true (Regardless of what you shoot): As long as you do what the instructors tell you to do, you'll be just fine. With a proper position, ANY rifle is shootable all day long without ill effect.
As if I haven't gone on long enough... The empty case burn on the back of my neck was a great way to spread the word about Project Appleseed this morning. A co-worker asked me what that funny mark was on my neck. I told him, "I was on the firing line all weekend, and I had a shell land on my neck"... etc. Don't complain about those burns! Use em! They're great conversation starters.! "You did what?" So, instead of focusing on how that case that went down your shirt screwed up your shot group, chalk it up to Good Training and drive on. The battlefield to come will not be neat and orderly. We don't keep coming to these events and facing our own deficiencies because we think it's supposed to be easy. Dean told my daughter that "shooting a rifle is hard". He's absolutely right. Our friends who want it all to be easy are watching TV, or shooting from a bench with a scope while we're out there battling it out with the AQT.
But I also told her it was fun! I hope she agrees with that part, too!
Quote from: bsinger427 on April 21, 2008, 08:23:54 PM
My first Appleseed was back in February, and I don't recall seeing anyone else shooting an M-1 at that one. There were several on the line this weekend, and it encouraged me to see that there were others out there who were gluttons for punishment, or traditionalists, or whatever you might call them. All weekend long, shooters and instructors alike were asking me something to the effect of "doesn't the recoil beat you up shooting it that much..." My answer is always this, and it's true (Regardless of what you shoot): As long as you do what the instructors tell you to do, you'll be just fine. With a proper position, ANY rifle is shootable all day long without ill effect.
bsinger - I was down on the end of the line with my M-1 when you arrived Sunday. I never thought to feel handicapped by shooting the Garand, especially with the loan of Dean's two-shot Garand clip. I didn't even have a bruise to show for 400 rounds, just a sunburn.
I also appreciate the attention given by the instructors to the young people. Voertrekker (sp) worked very hard to get my son going in the right direction on Saturday, even though we were both fading by the end of the afternoon. We were literally shot out.
Glad that the kids are getting into it.
Quote from: didactic on April 21, 2008, 08:50:53 PM
But I also told her it was fun! I hope she agrees with that part, too!
Yes you did!!! She wore her T-shirt to school today... so, I offer my sincerest thanks for your support and encouragement.
I forgot to thank Scout. Words just cannot express... Thank you.
We had 55 total shooters this weekend and made seven Riflemen. The weather was beautiful, even if it did get pretty windy with a cross wind on Sunday. Everyone came with an expectation of learning and they were not dissapointed. The instructors did a great job herding folks on Saturday and fine tuning them on Sunday. ThreeHolePete, Groundhog, Didactic, Voortrekker, LabRat and from Wyoming, Horn came down and assisted.
Dr. Vernon Bender, who was a friend of Voortrekkers, (now a friend to all of us) and his father who drove up from Bay City, cooked for everyone on Saturday. Brisket, beans, sausage, cold sodas and new potatos with garlic and onion butter. He provided this service free of charge. He put up a donation jar so that people who ate lunch could make a donation for it that would be given to RWVA. The total for the donations for Saturday lunch- $375.00 Dr. Bender made a check payable to RWVA for that amount and gave it to me to send to HQ. So we had a lot of thankful donors, ( I did see a jar full of $5s, $10s, and $20s) and I would not put it past Dr. Bender to have donated a good bit of that himself.
As with every Appleseed, new friends were made and new volunteers were added to the rolls of Appleseed Workers. I can't wait until May for the next chance to be in the company of Riflemen, and get to see the friends made at this Appleseed again.
Would like to thank Scout, all of the instructors, and everyone who had a hand in making the April 19th Davilla, TX event happen.
Although I was unable to attend Sunday due to business travel plans, I was able to shoot with my fellow Appleseeders on this historic day Saturday. It's always a pleasure to be on the line with a fine bunch of Americans trying to do something positive for themselves and their country and having fun doing it.
This is the second time I've been to Scout's place and it won't be the last. Thanks again.
Quote from: wcmartin1 on April 22, 2008, 02:06:25 PM
This is the second time I've been to Scout's place and it won't be the last. Thanks again.
I always check the line to see if WC is there and if he brought the rest of his fire team with him. He could not this time and could only do one day, but that one day was enough for him to get his Rifleman Patch and to drop off an industrial sized box of ear plugs so that "RWVA SouthWest" always has earplugs for shooters that show up without them.
WC has been working hard within the org and across the Nation to get the RWVA name out and get it recognized, I want to thank him for this. He has been working not just on getting the word out in Texas, but across the Nation. So, THANKS WC!! ;D ;D
I look forward to seeing you and you sons on the line again soon. Until then, keep up the outstanding work and keep spreading the Appleseed word.
Sounds like another IIT on the way.
How 'bout it, WC? Want to become an IIT?
I'm sure Scout has asked you, but I've got to ask, just to make sure it's been done.
Quote from: Scout on April 21, 2008, 10:29:27 PM
Dr. Vernon Bender, who was a friend of Voortrekkers, (now a friend to all of us) and his father who drove up from Bay City, cooked for everyone on Saturday. Brisket, beans, sausage, cold sodas and new potatos with garlic and onion butter. He provided this service free of charge. He put up a donation jar so that people who ate lunch could make a donation for it that would be given to RWVA. The total for the donations for Saturday lunch- $375.00 Dr. Bender made a check payable to RWVA for that amount and gave it to me to send to HQ. So we had a lot of thankful donors, ( I did see a jar full of $5s, $10s, and $20s) and I would not put it past Dr. Bender to have donated a good bit of that himself.
I grilled Dr. Bender about this and got the skinny on it. Voortrekker reached into his own pocket and put $100 into the operation also. Brett, you are a good man. Your dedication to the cause is phenominal. You are at
every event. You are there until the last piece of brass and the last target backer is put away. You give every bit of yourself in your instruction and I am sure if some one asked you, you would take your shirt off and give it to them, to top it off, you are just plain nice. (in a John Wayne nice way, not Mr. Rogers) ;)
Thank you Brett.
Quote from: Nickle on April 22, 2008, 04:45:34 PM
Sounds like another IIT on the way.
How 'bout it, WC? Want to become an IIT?
I'm sure Scout has asked you, but I've got to ask, just to make sure it's been done.
Am in a transitional phase at work right now and need to see how it's gonna shake up, so my answer is Yes, the only unknown is when.
Should know more later on this year or early next and be able to make the commitment. In the meantime, I will continue helping as I have and any other way I can.
I'll get there, Nickle. Count on it.
Quote from: wcmartin1 on April 22, 2008, 05:00:54 PM
Quote from: Nickle on April 22, 2008, 04:45:34 PM
I'm sure Scout has asked you, but I've got to ask, just to make sure it's been done.
I'll get there, Nickle. Count on it.
I did, and he told me basically the same thing a while back. It is in the pipeline waiting to be loaded up. I am looking forward to it.
By the way, congratulations to wcmartin1 and the others who scored Rifleman at Davilla.
Hey Guys,
Any pictures?
Ramsuer has tons of them and even the Piru shoot has a few posted!
I'd love to get a few from each of the sites that held an event last weekend and make a nice collage or powerpoint from them.
I was in NC not to far from Ramsuer at a Rev War/F&I event at Ft Dobbs where we did demos for Iredell county scholls Friday and the general public Sat and Sunday.. We, cwc400 and I handed out about 100 of our RWVA general info flyers and a full pack of Rackcards to our home site, Ft. Morris. When asked if they knew the significance of the date, almost 100% of the reenactors knew it, BUT, only 1 member of the general public knew it when asked and he fessed up that he's heard it earlier from another reenactor at another venue he saw before my artillery park. Sooooo, I guess we still have a long way to go educating people.
Way to go Scout and all the rest for pulling off this feat.
CM61
(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll175/bwanderson_308/001.jpg)
This is the line after a ceasefire on Saturday.
Notice the second flag in the background, this is the Bedford Flag.
According to David Fischer, the author of "Paul Revere's Ride" :
"Some units carried flags of great antiquity, which had been passed down from the Puritan founders of New England. One of them survives today in the town of Bedford, Massachusetts. It was made in England sometime in the 17th century, and used as early as 1659 in Massachusetts. Against a crimson background, it shows the arm of God reaching down from the clouds, with a short sword in a mailed fist. A Latin motto reads, "Vince aut Morire" (Conquer or Die). According to the traditions of the town, this flag was carried on the morning of April 19th, 1775, by Cornet Nathaniel Page of the Bedford militia." see page 163.
This is the only still picture I have unfortunately. Battery gave out.
I did get some good video footage however.
My compliments to Scout, Dennis, Brett, Horn and the other instructors/volunteers who were at Davilla. Absolutely excellent instruction in an absolutely beautiful place. The quality of attendees was equally good.
This was the first time I have attempted to involve my wife in a rifle shoot. I had high expectations for the help she would receive and they were surpassed. This was also the first time I have been in a shooting "clinic" atmosphere and I really felt like I made a lot of improvement. I came close to a 210 score on Sunday despite (or maybe because of) shooting a bolt action 22.
We are focusing on the 7th rule-telling everyone we can about Appleseed. We'll bring others with us the next time!
Now I have to start planning those 10/22s we are going to need to both clean the AQT!
Thanks All,
Dan
Quote from: Scout on April 22, 2008, 04:48:31 PM
Quote from: Scout on April 21, 2008, 10:29:27 PM
Dr. Vernon Bender, who was a friend of Voortrekkers, (now a friend to all of us) and his father who drove up from Bay City, cooked for everyone on Saturday. Brisket, beans, sausage, cold sodas and new potatos with garlic and onion butter. He provided this service free of charge. He put up a donation jar so that people who ate lunch could make a donation for it that would be given to RWVA. The total for the donations for Saturday lunch- $375.00 Dr. Bender made a check payable to RWVA for that amount and gave it to me to send to HQ. So we had a lot of thankful donors, ( I did see a jar full of $5s, $10s, and $20s) and I would not put it past Dr. Bender to have donated a good bit of that himself.
I grilled Dr. Bender about this and got the skinny on it. Voortrekker reached into his own pocket and put $100 into the operation also. Brett, you are a good man. Your dedication to the cause is phenominal. You are at every event. You are there until the last piece of brass and the last target backer is put away. You give every bit of yourself in your instruction and I am sure if some one asked you, you would take your shirt off and give it to them, to top it off, you are just plain nice. (in a John Wayne nice way, not Mr. Rogers) ;)
Thank you Brett.
Was glad to meet Brett and have him calling the line on the East end. His dedication shows in his instruction and he is a hell of a nice guy. Thanks Brett.
Quote from: cannonman61 on April 22, 2008, 07:47:25 PM
Hey Guys,
Any pictures?
Ramsuer has tons of them and even the Piru shoot has a few posted!
I'd love to get a few from each of the sites that held an event last weekend and make a nice collage or powerpoint from them.
CM61
My camera batteries are getting old so I had to take stills with the digital movie camera, now I have to figure out the software to get them. But I have some good pictures of the historical items table. Cannonman61 sent a truckload of stuff down here and we had them out for display.
A full set of Rev War clothing, numerous small items, bullets, handmade cartridges, and a British bayonet, so that people could finally understand why it was so important to be able to hit the oncoming Brotish soldiers at a distance, before they could sink all 16-20 inches of it into the flesh of the men in the Colonial lines.
Cannonman made or purchased all this equipment on his own and then donated it to the program. And not just to me, he has sent boxes to several of the shoot bosses. He also has a program that goes into schools and teaches U.S. school children about the American Revolution, how it was fought, how people lived and dressed, what they fought with, what they ate. He has brought this program to over 10,000 American school children so far.
Think about that for a minute. I said 10,000 American school children. He and his band of Rev. War Merry Men are keeeping our history alive in our schools in the South almost by themselves, history that the school systems have decided is no longer important and not worthy of being taught to American school children. No wonder our country is full of wandering souless children. How can a people become as great as they should be, if they have no knowledge of who they have been, how much the people who came before them sacrificed so that they could live free.
Thanks Cannonman, you are one of my Heros ;)
Quote from: Counselor on April 22, 2008, 06:08:42 PM
By the way, congratulations to wcmartin1 and the others who scored Rifleman at Davilla.
Thank you, Sir. It was nice to meet you and as you said - put faces to names you see on the forum.
Hope to see you again, Sir.
Some Pics
Quote from: wcmartin1 on April 23, 2008, 11:36:19 AM
Quote from: Scout on April 22, 2008, 04:48:31 PM
Quote from: Scout on April 21, 2008, 10:29:27 PM
Dr. Vernon Bender, who was a friend of Voortrekkers, (now a friend to all of us) and his father who drove up from Bay City, cooked for everyone on Saturday. Brisket, beans, sausage, cold sodas and new potatos with garlic and onion butter. He provided this service free of charge. He put up a donation jar so that people who ate lunch could make a donation for it that would be given to RWVA. The total for the donations for Saturday lunch- $375.00 Dr. Bender made a check payable to RWVA for that amount and gave it to me to send to HQ. So we had a lot of thankful donors, ( I did see a jar full of $5s, $10s, and $20s) and I would not put it past Dr. Bender to have donated a good bit of that himself.
I grilled Dr. Bender about this and got the skinny on it. Voortrekker reached into his own pocket and put $100 into the operation also. Brett, you are a good man. Your dedication to the cause is phenominal. You are at every event. You are there until the last piece of brass and the last target backer is put away. You give every bit of yourself in your instruction and I am sure if some one asked you, you would take your shirt off and give it to them, to top it off, you are just plain nice. (in a John Wayne nice way, not Mr. Rogers) ;)
Thank you Brett.
Was glad to meet Brett and have him calling the line on the East end. His dedication shows in his instruction and he is a hell of a nice guy. Thanks Brett.
WC,
I have to say I've never seen groups shot on the 1" black squares that you shot on last Saturday. Never. Centered and .5" or less. And shooting .223.
Some are born to be Riflemen, and you are one of the few. Others have to work hard, like me, to achieve it.
In addition, we were running a tight ship/line last weekend and you stepped up to help whether you knew or not, you helped out giving advice to the shooters to your side, I was watching and listening. I found no need for correction.
You know the path of the Rifleman.
You are articulate with words as well.
I for one, and I think other instructors would say the same, WC, you would make an outstanding RWVA intructor.
You've got my vote to the hilt.
No pressure bud. ;D
Some pictures from Davilla April 19-20th (if they post this time).
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Voortrekker: He is nice in a John Wayne sort of way, but also in a Mr. Rogers sort of way.
Mr. Rogers, Methodist Preacher, was a successful sniper in SE Asia, and reportedly had a sleeve of tatoos on his arms, hince the sweaters and long sleeves. I didn't know this till Mr. R went to meet with his Maker. Kind of reminds us not to mistake niceness for weakness, as we traverse along the Appleseed Trail.....
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Well to identify myself I am the Marine who shot with full gear and a multicammed M1A that weighed more than 18 pounds who is hoping to shoot kd at a later date.
First off I'd like to say thanks to the instructors for giving up their time to this noble effort. Once my PTR 91(HK 91 clone) is finished, I will be back to run the course again. I am telling everyone I can about this phenomenal program and hope that I can help out and become an instructor once I have a more suitable main battle rifle that will fit into the program better. I am working on convincing my buddy who was firing the suppressed M4 to become an instructor as well. He is one of the true gun nuts left out there. He has a 750 round minimum weekly round count and is scared that becoming an instructor might cut into his weekly range time. We are trying to get him to join AA now to help him with his gun addiction. Unfortunately his condition seems to be getting worse and it's contagious a fact my wife can attest to.
Also whats with all the people who are full of excuses of why they can't go?
Scout keep up the good work. You are making difference in people's lives.
Well Semper Fidelis and thanks again to all the instructors.
Spartan14
I've gotta ask, what can you put on an M1A to make it weigh over 18 lbs? Besides a big chunk of lead.
Just curious.
Heavy barrel, National Match (filled with resin) stock, big scope, or like mine (which has no NM parts), which can wear my AN/PVS-2.
Don't fear the night, fear what hunts at night.
Troy Industries SAS modular chassis system, magpul adjustable buttstock, Grip pod (vertical foregrip/bipod) Troy folding front and rear backup sights, and a 3.5 power Trijicon ACOG for .308 until I can pick a scope. (http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll40/SpartanPatriot14/Weapons/HPIM0724.jpg)
(http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll40/SpartanPatriot14/Weapons/HPIM0703.jpg)
Quote from: Spartan14 on April 30, 2008, 09:17:13 PM
First off I'd like to say thanks to the instructors for giving up their time to this noble effort.
Well Semper Fidelis and thanks again to all the instructors.
Spartan14
Spartan14,
I was working different areas of the line that weekend, so you probably don't remember me.
I took a quick peek at your rifle a few times. We don't see those much. Was it a Sage stock with the ACOG?
Doesn't matter at any rate.
Just know you will be a future owner of the AQT, the "Rifleman's Quarter Mile". PERSIST!
Don't give up on that M1A! :)
HK-91 is a good reliable rifle, but I think you will shoot better, ultimately, with your M1A.
Heck, bring both next time!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE as a
U.S. Marine!!!!
ADDED LATER :
OK now I see the pics. Thanks.
I would suggest mounting your front sling swivel in front and below your forestock.
And getting a USGI M14 sling.
Looking at the pics, I'm thinking your sling and where it is positioned on your stock is definitley not helping your NPOA.
But again, I've never shot a rifle with that stock and didn't get the opportunity to work with you on the line.
If I was shooting the AQT, knowing what works in my hands, was given your rifle, I would take the ACOG off, put on a conventional M14 stock(preferrable USGI synthetic) and use the iron sights.
Earn a Rifleman score and then think about putting the ACOG back on.
I've got several spare M14 stocks. If you attend another Davilla shoot when I'm there, I will be more than happy to lend one to you, with a USGI sling.
Think about it.
Hmm I already own a traditional stock but it doesn't work so well for the mission I built this rifle for. The ACOG is just holding a spot for Nightforce illuminated reticule 3.5-15x56 Scope. The ACOG belongs to a PTR91 that is having a few modifications made to it. As for the loop sling method it works great for shooting at matches but there isn't normally time for that sort of thing on the battlefield except for certain rare types of ambushes. More importantly using one of Larry Vickers tactical two point slings allows you to quickly transition from strong to weak side to maximize the use of available cover. Another important reason for functioning effectively in both strong and weak side shooting is in most patrols you stack every other man facing outboard to the left ,right, left, right etc. in order to affect maximum fields of fire(Just visualize 13 Marines all right handed being engaged unexpectedly from their right flank. And yes I agree iron sights are great for new shooters to learn marksmanship on. There is obviously a reason the Marine Corps began issuing ACOG's to combat troops, at 500 meters my front sight post completely covers a man sized target. Not being able to properly identify the target you are shooting at can be a problem in modern warfare. Perhaps if we were firing at redcoats all lined up it wouldn't matter if we could identify our targets then again if Fred is right perhaps the blue helmets will help with identifying charlie. Obviously environment dictating, most combat take places within 75 meters. So one could clearly argue optics are unnecessary but me personally if I am outnumbered and outgunned I want to be out a lot further to maximize the available standoff distance the 7.62x 51/.308 cal offers me over the 7.62x 39, 5.45 and 5.56 carried by most troops these days(Average NATO soldier fires effectively out to 300 meters). So you are asking yourself what does all this have to do with shooting a civilian version of the Army AQT? I guess the answer is simple. Marines train like they fight. We all have the pleasure of annually firing our rifles for a week and a half at 100-500 meters, firing at night, wearing gas masks. We also make it a point to fire the entire annual marksmanship course wearing full gear just like we would if we were shooting something other than a competition rifle shoot. You know, sweat while you train so you don't bleed when you fight. Chest rigs and body armor massively effect all my firing positions and my zeros so I try and always shoot wearing them. I don't wanna be an expert at firing my weapon without ammo, cleaning gear, food and water to support my weapon. Back on iron sights the troy front and rear folding back up sights are zeroed and work great in the event my optic goes down.
Anyways Appleseed is a great program that is good for fine tuning and teaching the fundamentals of marksmanship. Once I get my PTR91 setup I will be back to play some more. I may not be the typical shooter but I have been promoting the program to others as much as possible and hope I am able to help.
Semper Fidelis
Nice stick, Spartan14.
I appreciate your promotional efforts for this program and thank you for your service to our country, Sir.
I also agree that in your situation - training as you fight has it's advantages.
Although I didn't meet you in Davilla, I was there and hope to see you again.
BTW - I love the humor in your screen alias. ;D
Quote from: PJEVANS on April 28, 2008, 06:08:50 PMMr. Rogers, Methodist Preacher, was a successful sniper
Sorry, that's one of those internet myths.
Since that's Spartan's fighting rifle (for all the right reasons), that's exactly what he should be practicing with.
Yeah I must admit the rifle doesn't exactly meet definition of Laconic/ Spartan but the screen name is pretty universal for forums. What can I say, my heroes are Jesus above all else, John Wayne And King Leonidas ever since I first read Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire." I wish kids these days had heroes like that as opposed to Sponge Bob and crack dealers hmm maybe I'm not to up to date on kids heroes.
Semper Fidelis
Spartan14