Basics:
Our goal in KD was to transmit as much information as possible about this topic so that the instructors present could take this material back to their Appleseed venues.
Attendance:
Twenty people signed up for this event - fourteen showed, most no shows declined with last minute cancellations. Thirteen participated with one withdrawl mid event. Six (6) of the thirteen (13) qualified.
Administration
StevenK organized and was Shoot Boss for the event. SgtRock instructed at the event and was instrumental in all phases of range set up and execution.
PA State Coordinator Chainsaw attended and assisted with range construction and various matters that arose during the course of the event.
Also - Many thanks to FFJim who arrived early on Friday to help lug steel and set target lines.
The Good:
Start Time was 8:28 Am. The topics in KD were covered in detail and at length, both in the extended morning instruction and then in topics presented during the development of the shoot. The atmosphere in the early morning was focused and serious, but with some lighthearted moments. The Shoot Boss requested all bring a sense of urgency and attention to the goal of this event- all shooters were readily motivated to this end. The initial instruction phase closed at 9:28 and Zero Check shots were downrange by approximately 9:45. The line moved in a high speed low drag pace; shooters obtained their data and returned for the next prep. Next the line confirmed their zeros at each stage. Lunch started 12:03 after the final sight adjustments were made for the 400, and these were confirmed once the shooters returned to the line at 12:35. All shooters confirmed that they were ready to go, and the first KDAQT began at 1:18.
The amount of work to get to this point is considerable, but it was the shooters who helped these checks run in a smooth order - they cleared their rifles and then jumped into one of two pickup trucks. The line was cleared and we moved downrange with the alacrity of troops on a mission. The joking was saved for the trip to and fro, but the shooters spent little time in gathering their data and getting back. They needed little prompting (for the most part) in the morning hours, as the mood was friendly but certainly remained goal oriented. They would then return and get on the line again in short order - self motivated and ready to go.
The KDAQT
There is little that can detract from the excitement of the first KD AQT at these events. By now the technical instruction had, for the moment, relaxed its hold - the focus was now on performance. Sgt Rock had shifted his class to some final thoughts on performance - basic things, mental focus, the isolation of the immediate moment- and then the preparation for stage one began.
First AQT/Results:
The first AQT ran at a comfortable pace though without delay, and by 3:00 the targets confirmed that three Rifleman had qualified KD (80% or better) (Navybowhunter/FFJim/Arrigetch). Arrigetch marked high with 100% of all rounds on target, then retired her golden rifle for the day and thereafter assisted with the line.
Second KDAQT/Results:
The second KDAQT started approximately 3:00 after a review of some issues identified in scoring. By 4:20 targets confirmed that four shooters (three "new" ones) had also qualified KD (Medieval Engineer, FFJim[2x], Eroyle, and ABC Garand).
Six of the thirteen shooters who had participated qualified KD. This is Roughly 50% of shooters who attended. Those who didn't qualify had issues which might be worked out easily enough, though all demonstrated a skill set for success at the next event.
There were no issues to report which bore on safety or problems at the event.
Conclusions:
We accomplished our goals. The organizers of this event will seek two more events in the spring and fall of this coming year.
A huge thanks to StevenK for getting us onto the range, running the shoot and "herding the kittens".
To SgtRock - I was impressed with your knowledge and "no bull" approach to instruction. Thanks for making the trip down to pass this knowledge on to fellow instructors.
Chainsaw - I was truly impressed with your knowledge and consider myself a better instructor just from listening to the info you passed on.
To all of the students who made the trip - My sincere thanks for doing so. I can't understate the value of spending time with other instructors at the range particularly from other regions.
GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!
Jim P.
Good shoot.
Glimpses of the "Old Line," August 1776.
First off I would like to thank The Mifflin County Sportsmen's Association for hosting this event at their facility.
It was a pleasure to be asked to come and help out at this event. I always have a great time when I get a chance to come to Lewistown, Pa, the mountains that this range is tucked into are magnificent.
If anyone gets chance to come here I believe they would agree.
My thought process was to teach as much information that is relevant to Known Distance Shooting (KD) to the students as possible but at the same giving them as much shooting time as daylight would allow.
Allowing time to fully get sighter information at all distances is paramount for accurate rifle data.
Every rifle is different and every load combination is different. When even the slightest change is made the results are or could be staggering.
That is why sighters at all distances are a nessessity and it takes time to get this info.
But I do believe the one most important aspect is your position, it cannot be expressed enough that it needs to be rock solid. With center fire rifles you can and will be pushed out of position during the firing sequence. This can only be remedied with practice, the more you get a chance to shoot the better you will be able to work on your position.
Time factor when firing,
It is always going to be a henderance or I should say a monkey on your back, I look at it this way, if I get 8 good rounds on target and timed out, I feel better than getting 10 bad rounds down range. With knowledge that we have been taught, that includes the steady hold factors (SHF) and the six steps of firing the shot, we only have to worry about a smooth transition and magazine change.
Position, without a good position nothing else can be maintained, our Natural Point of Aim (NPOA) cannot be maintained, sight alignment cannot be maintained, sight picture cannot be maintained.
Without all these,,, shooting accurately is impossible.
When I practice I stay focused on my position more so then anything else, with enough range time, everything else just drops into place, my eyes will fatigue faster for me than any other problem. My ability to focus on my front is problematic but I shoot well because of my position and therefore my NPOA stays intact.
I expressed this throughout the day because of its importance, and I noticed that with the shooters as well, I did not see a lot of repositioning which is a good indicator of having a properly built position.
I am very happy with the overall results of this shoot and the New 5 (KD) qualified instructors and 1 requalified.
Now we can take all this information back to our own areas in which we teach and help folks to be better with the rifle and enjoy our sport that much more, but also teach others, weather it be with Appleseed, or with any other shooting discipline.
I hope all enjoy Lewistown, Pa.
I look forward to seeing you again and it was, as always, nice to put faces with the names of folks that are so important to this program. I look forward to more events at this location. So promote it, this range is really under utilized, and promotion has been very hard in this area, hopefully with time and the influx of Orange, Red, and Green hats coming into this town on regular basis people will really want to know what fuss is all about and follow us up on the mountain for a great time.
Again Thanks to StevenK for setting this up and to Chainsaw and FFJim coming in early to help with range set up, and a big thanks for all the help from everyone to tear it all down and loading it in my truck.
Next year the range set up will be with no hiccups, the one we had was of little concern, but as always, it is in a riflemans blood to pay attention to details, it is not a perfect world in which we go.
I hope you folks had a good time.
sgtrock
Hi Everyone,
What a blast! Saturday started out a bit rainy, but the rain stopped and some sun poked through in the afternoon (pretty windy all day though). I love that range, and try to get out there whenever I can!
It was great to see SgtRock, Chainsaw and StevenK again, and it was great to meet a lot of people, including the Maryland contingent! Great friends, great range, superb instruction, and some great shooting across the board..... what more could you ask for? Well, maybe a little better weather - but you can't always get everything you want, right? :)
And THANK YOU SgtRock, Chainsaw and StevenK for a job well done!
I can't wait to get back out there next weekend!
I had a great time!
This was very comfortable shoot, the instructors did a great job to make us all feel welcome. I was impressed that others came from as far, or farther than I did. As FFJim stated, it is great to mingle with instructors from other states, and always something new to learn.
StevenK, Chainsaw and SGTRock, you guys did great! StevenK, thanks for putting this shoot together. I had absolutely no idea how much pre-planning goes into one of these shoots. The end of the day, taking down the target lines, showed me how much work you guys put in on Friday (in between range cold times) to set the target lines up. Thanks for that! SGTRock, I enjoyed your obvious passion for marksmanship. You were all a fountain of knowledge. Position, position, position, Got it! Don't "Fuss" the shot, Check! Get your DOPE, Check! Even ONE shot on paper, is DOPE! CHECK!
Never knew what DOPE stood for till this shoot. 22 years Navy, qualified with the Marines a long time ago, and never was explained what the acronym stood for. Data On Personal Equipment. I heard after posting that I learned the meaning of the acronym on Facebook that it is also Data On Personal Engagements. Either way, it makes sense to me now.
Not that the wind was insurmountable for this shoot, but it was surely present. I really enjoyed the opportunity to deal with the wind past 100 yards! That was fun! And educational.
No matter how many times one teaches the 25M AQT, or shoots the 25M AQT, there is truly nothing like the REAL DEAL! This weekend was truly the real deal! Thanks for that.
I look forward to the next shoot up in Lewistown, I'll make every attempt to attend.
Man, them targets at 400 look tiny!
More importantly, I was able to learn some new things, and re-enforce some things I have already learned. I'll be adding those to my Instructor Tool bag for future KD lessons. What did I learn? Mentioned above, but to recap "Position Position Position, Don't "fuss" the shot, and get data on EVERY shot.
Arrigtech, was a pleasure to meet you also. You obviously "know exactly what you are about"!
Respectfully,
Chris
StevenK, Chainsaw and SGTRock, job well done!
Thank you!
First off, thx to everyone for a great shoot and a great time.
Invictus.. Multiple reasons... 1) we've never been asked..period.. 2) Having NO KD ranges (except for 1 day/yr at Ft Meade), running a KD shoot wasn't our strongest attribute.. until now! 3) 30+ shoots of our own to staff in MD. (never seen you or ANY PA crew, at a MD shoot either !@#) ;))
Having said all that, we're going to be doing our best to help fill the line full at Lewistown, AND I'm sure some of our IC will be more eager to help now that they've shot there, know what materials they're likely to need, are KD qualified, and know the drill. The answer isn't us (although we'll help as we can), it's growing the IC...
BTW, this is the FIRST time I've been at an AS event in 5+ yrs without wearing a hat.. We took this opportunity to learn, and learn we did. We're all better for it. Keep the faith brother... B
In an attempt to move a few of the posts here to the IAAR they got deleted. Please repost them in the IAAR section so that the issues brought up may be discussed.
WOW That looks like fun to shoot the actual distance. I would love to shoot up there anytime. :---
Glad it was a great shoot and you all were exposed to this great range.
From talking with Deb Pfeffer I get the impression the board wants to see the number of shooters at the regular AS shoots increase. It was mentioned that the range we use rents out for $100 or $150 a weekend. We are not bringing in any way near that much and even had to cancel several shoots this year there due to no pre-regs.
Please send shooters to the regular shoots there especially from the range sparse states. I would hate Appleseed to lose this wonderful but painfully under utilized range.
See you on the trail.
Chuck
I've been thinking about this lately. Where is Appleseed needed more - around major population centers where there are people that have less exposure to what we teach, or in rural areas where people often grow up with it?
I think we may have the cart before the horse here. Just because we have a nice range does that mean we should be trying to get people to go there from far away? Or should we be going where the people are?
BTW, Appleseed uses the pistol range for ordinary shoots at Lewistown, not the big rifle ranges. You do not need a big rifle range if someone cannot hit the targets at 25 yards.
Good points, and definitely worth discussing, but shouldn't we be discussing them on the IAAR, rather than the public AAR? :cool2:
HMMMM!
Much wisdom has EZ3. If you listen, you someday soon will snatch the pebble Grasshopper. He knows what he is about and does not mince words, even if it is painful! But learn you will. Open your mind and your heart.