A Rifleman persists, shooters persist and an Appleseed persists!
It was a dark and stormy morn! The rain poured, the wind blew and a chill swept over the rain soaked range.
Kansashwy1 (Rob) was doing this shoot as an Shoot Boss In Training and connibear (Ben) was coming from Missouri to give kansashwy1 the benefit of his experience as a DSB and because I wasn't originally going to do both days. Connibear has covered this event every year since it started and his efforts have been very much appreciated.
We had 35 shooters, 8 instructors signed up and an awesome Applecore ace to keep things on track! It didn't take long for that scenario to change.
One red hat got new orders from Uncle Sugar and had to bail a few days out. Connibear drove 4 1/2 hours the night before the shoot with a van full of kids and a dedicated wife with one in the oven. As they settled into the hotel he felt the first wave of a fever wash over him then the cold embrace of chills.
The forecast called for rain and temps approaching 90 and we got it all! The day started with a 60 degree rain and a nice breeze. Connibear met us at the range looking like he'd had a rough night and let us know he was out of commission.
We ended up having 24 shooters on the line Saturday morning, 6 instructors and our Applecore ace in the hole firefly (Megan).
Here's what the range looked like as we were setting up early!
The good news is that the sandy clay of the range dried incredibly fast!
30 minutes after the rain stopped it was solid again and an hour later it was like it never rained.
Here's the firing line.
We had one Rifleman Saturday who earned the badge and showed he very much knew what he was about!
A couple more of the firing line!
ksdiver (Randy) gave a great MOA/IMC presentation that helped make things click as we prepared to make sight adjustments.
Throughout the shoot our ace Applecore worker fyrefly (Megan) kept track of the time, round count, progress and stats for the shoot. Her help is invaluable in keeping things run smooth.
Lest anyone think she's just another pretty face Megan has score Rifleman multiple times at every shoot she's attended. She's a very competent Riflewoman!
Day 2 dawned with more rain and an even wetter firing line.
We lost quite a few shooters overnight so consolidated the firing line to the dry end of the range and set up rows of tents. SBIT Rob brought 5 of them and we put them to good use!
After a couple hours the rain lifted again and gave us dry ground.
As the day drew to a close Rob and the crew awarded 5 more badges to new Riflemen. In spite of cold rain, temps approaching 90's and crazy humidity they persisted and reminded us all that it can be done!
Thanks to all the shooters and a great crew of instructors! Please let me know what you thought and how we can improve it next time.
Many thanks to the staff for hosting a fun, fast-paced weekend! I'm looking forward to attending more Appleseeds!
Thanks to Kansashwy1 (SBIT Rob) Lomshek (Roger) and all of the Instructors, IITs, and SOs for all their hard work in difficult conditions. Six new Riflemen on a weekend with so many weather challenges is outstanding! You could really see the improvement among all of the shooters on the Red Coat targets. ^:)^
Not having covered concrete for the firing line presented plenty of challenges with all the rain but Rob really came thru with the 5 popup shelters. I question whether we could have held the weekend without them! It was also convenient that the rain was falling almost straight down and the sandy soil at that range did drain quickly and well.
It was a humbling weekend for me in a couple of ways. I discovered that my 59 year old eyes are no longer capable of accurate marksmanship with iron sights. :'( I also learned a lot about all the help and guidance provided, not to mention the responsibility taken, by the Instructors, Range Masters, and Shoot Bosses. Thank you for inviting me to join the team! I am really looking forward to Bone Creek in June, although it will probably be another HOT Appleseed!
I am late to the discussion as a result of being gone for a military training exercise. First, I want to say a big, heartfelt thank you to the Appleseed team for investing their time and talent into such a great event. Although I have three decades of military service, I left all of my beliefs and experiences at home and came with an open mind to maximize my opportunity to learn. I was not disappointed. All of the instructors had well timed and valuable tips and feedback. It was interesting to see my scores gradually improve from one block of instruction to the next. I was very impressed with how the instructors maintained professionalism but were also able to be personable and talk to you like another shooter. The adherence to safety was also great.
It was encouraging to see some kids at the event learning to shoot. I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of days. Although I qualified as 'Rifleman', I will definitely shoot at additional Appleseed events in the future. I will never consider myself to be 'good enough'. Every trip to the range will reinforce the skills and techniques required to maintain basic skills.
Roger and crew....Thank you again! You guys (and gals) did an amazing job. I hope to become part of the Appleseed family in the future.
Quote from: minuteman1636 on June 18, 2018, 10:07:55 PM
I am late to the discussion as a result of being gone for a military training exercise. First, I want to say a big, heartfelt thank you to the Appleseed team for investing their time and talent into such a great event. Although I have three decades of military service, I left all of my beliefs and experiences at home and came with an open mind to maximize my opportunity to learn. I was not disappointed. All of the instructors had well timed and valuable tips and feedback. It was interesting to see my scores gradually improve from one block of instruction to the next. I was very impressed with how the instructors maintained professionalism but were also able to be personable and talk to you like another shooter. The adherence to safety was also great.
It was encouraging to see some kids at the event learning to shoot. I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of days. Although I qualified as 'Rifleman', I will definitely shoot at additional Appleseed events in the future. I will never consider myself to be 'good enough'. Every trip to the range will reinforce the skills and techniques required to maintain basic skills.
Roger and crew....Thank you again! You guys (and gals) did an amazing job. I hope to become part of the Appleseed family in the future.
Glad to help! Hope to see you on the range soon.