Wow! What a great shoot. Eight eager compatriots mustered at Red Brush Rifle Range for a day of marksmanship instruction and history under sea blue skies.
The first day was slowed by some equipment issues but that didn't cause anyone to lose heart. To the contrary, drawing on the lessons of the three strikes everyone persisted and by the end of the day improvement was seen throughout. And it set the stage for a day two full of achievement.
Brian was the first to strike powering through into the 230 range on the AQT, which he backed up with additional rifleman scores later in the day. This was closely followed by Brandon who broke through in an impressive manner. Cameron was right on the cusp of earning his patch and Cassie was seeing quickly shrinking groups when they had to leave right after lunch. 12 year old Savannah then decided to put up a string of 200s with a high of 208 with several shots lost due to equipment. Neil, who earned his patch seven years ago, and Carter also had improving groups as time ran out. And Alexandra was a true case study in a rifleman persistence. After fighting with a wandering zero she "liberated" Brian's rifle to use in earning her patch.
Congratulations to all the shooters on the progress made!
I also would like to give a shout-out to IITs Darkfoot and Tundra Badger who designed and crafted a new wind-impervious target line for use at Red Brush. It is incredible.
This was a great time. Thanks to all the instructors for volunteering their time and showing us the ropes!
Cassie and I have very little shooting experience. I convinced her to do this to try to give her a little exposure and a positive experienced. As the day got closer I could tell she was dreading the idea of spending the day laying on the ground shooting guns. But when we left Sunday she said "it wasn't as bad as I was expecting". Pretty much a 5 star review. We were both pretty sore when it was all said and done. I had a a lot of fun and learned more than I could have expected. Can't wait to make it to another one and hopefully get that patch.
All I can say is wow! What a wonderful group of shooters. This by far has been my all time favorite! Here's a few pictures to sum up the great weekend.
Tundra Badger
Another round of pictures! Rifleman Brian, Rifleman Brandon, Rifleman Alexandra! The family that Appleseed's together, has fun together!
Tundra Badger
Thanks for the pics Dan! From Brandon and Neil!
What an absolute great time!