We had a small but productive Appleseed in Tulare.
The weather was hot, but not unbearable.
I thought I was going to have my hands full with only one IIT (Noah_RN) and myself and 10 pre-regs.
Out of the 10 pre-regs on the roster ONLY ONE showed up! What we lacked in numbers was compensated by the attitude and determination of our lone student, Eric. O0
Right from the start, I could tell this guy "knew very well what he was about". For starters, instead of using the wagons provided by the range to haul your gear to the firing range (which was quite a walk), he humped it all down by himself. And once on the line, put a tarp under his shooting
mat to catch the brass. After the safety brief, it was time to get down to business. On the first Redcoat, although he laid his mat perpendicular to the target, he indexed his body properly. A rare sight right off the bat. Eric's groups were pretty decent, but the application of firehose water got them to shrink. We broke for lunch and immersed ourselvels in the events of April 19,1775.
Feeling refreshed after lunch, the firehose was turned on and Eric continued improving, when around 2PM IIT Noah had to leave. What a shame because later on that day Eric shot a rifleman's score! WooHoo! Congratulations Eric! After a few more AQT's the heat and sore muscles eventually forced us to put up Saturday's final Recoat.
Appleseed has a way of finding the bugs in a rifle and Sunday AM Eric found out he needed to put Lock-Tite on his Tec sight screws. Eric almost
cleared the final Redcoat on Sunday except for one missed shot on the 400 yd.
Another great Appleseed in Tulare! ^:)^
Hi, this is Eric. Thank-you for the kind words Cal 7.62! First of all I'd like to sincerely thank Noah and Steve for not cancelling the event when I was the lone student to show up. The fact that you went ahead and spent your weekend volunteering to tutor me still blows me away. Talk about value, where else could I get two days of private marksmanship training and history lessons thrown in for $60?! Thank-you!
The Rankin Field Range in Tulare was great. They had plenty of ranges to accomodate multiple groups, the staff was pleasant and helpful, and the firing lines were shaded from the afternoon sun. Thank-you for supporting the Appleseed program!
I really enjoyed the history especially the part about us "old" timers having a positive effect on the events of April 19, 1775. Underestimate the capabilities or resolve of an old salt at your peril! There is much more history to Paul Revere's ride than is commonly known, and I was inspired to learn more.
As for target shooting I haven't shot a rifle more than a few times in the last twenty-plus years since leaving the Army. I don't care for bench shooting. Shooting from prone, kneeling, and standing with the drills thrown in was a lot of fun and reflected my real-world experience. It was a weekend full of "oh yeah, I remember that" for me. Natural point of aim, steady hold factors, all of the details for each shooting position. I absolutely benefitted from Steve and Noah's patient instruction and demonstrations. I squeaked by with a 211 and avoided the Gatorade bath (phew!)
Things I should have done before the event:
1. Know your rifle! It had been a while since I bought and stored the Ruger 10/22 and it took a bit of fumbling to get down the procedure for locking the bolt back and releasing it. Thanks Noah for not laughing at me...too hard.
2. Know your rifle accessories! Remove the bipod? Sure thing! Now how the heck does that thing come off?! Wait, why are the instructors looking at me then at their watches? Oh.
3. Ensure you Lock-Tite your Tec sight screws. Good intentions don't keep the sights from moving on the range and I spent a puzzling hour-plus Sunday morning trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. At least it was an exercise in patience, but still.
4. Make the time to lie in a prone position and stretch out before attending an event. I was more sore Saturday night and Sunday morning than I would have been if I had bothered to acclimate my body beforehand. Having said that, it wasn't anything that a couple of Advil didn't help relieve, but why suffer due to a lack of preparedness?
I heartily recommend an Appleseed event for everybody. I've given positive feedback to interested coworkers and friends with kids, so hopefully we'll get some new folks on the firing line soon. Expect to see me return in the future with friends in tow.
Many thanks to Project Appleseed, Rankin Field Range, and especially Cal 7.62 and Noah_RN for a fun and inspiring weekend. Thanks for planting the seed!