It's hard to imagine a better way to commemorate Patriots' Day than with a group of like-minded fellow Americans at a rifle range. HUZZAH!!
Hobbs Island Shooting Range (HISR) hosted us for a one-day instructor-only KD. We were blessed with glorious weather, albeit a bit nippy until mid-afternoon, for our group of 14 folks that gathered from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. We monitored the time throughout the day and reminded ourselves of the events that would have been happening at the same time 247 years earlier. It was a sobering to think of our forefathers and what they would have endured on our behalf. At the end of the day we fired a Memorial Volley to honor those that sacrificed for us on that day.
Our shooting for the day included sighter rounds at each of the KD distances to collect Data On Personal Equipment (DOPE) followed by 3 AQTs. Several of us requalified and a few had rough days. It just goes to remind us that these skills are perishable and we must persist despite the rough days.
Thanks to everyone that came out to share the special day with your fellow instructors. Thanks especially to Swift Bolt and upacreek who RSO'd all day! Oh, I can't forget another thanks to Swift Bolt (and his wife!) for providing Red Coat cookies made from cookie cutters that he 3D printed! How cool is that (pic below)?? O0
Here are a few pics:
Group pic!
(https://i.imgur.com/tIjuHWN.jpg)
Registration with Redcoat cookies, courtesy of SwiftBolt!
(https://i.imgur.com/UaeCqr8.jpg)
Starting the day
(https://i.imgur.com/euN9Rtb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FWDYE6j.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/u3mHoE3.jpg)
Shooting sighters
(https://i.imgur.com/YCT0M4F.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IkLdHee.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Vw9jtI1.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/RxZTkRw.jpg)
You can't always shoot on the concrete. Gotta move like Riflemen.
(https://i.imgur.com/swzPQ5Z.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/24weihe.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2dltc6Q.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/bhb57jG.jpg)
Our bionic Shoot Boss
(https://i.imgur.com/F0vugvo.jpg)
400 yard group
(https://i.imgur.com/7prwpuC.jpg)
KD Riflemen
(https://i.imgur.com/Q5rkuxj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/kzD3YmI.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/M5wYwWz.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/iwsgZ6B.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ppcioSw.jpg)
The Shoot Boss posing with her newly decorated boot
(https://i.imgur.com/2ei2T4s.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/NURbBMe.jpg)
Gathering up to brief the Memorial Volley
(https://i.imgur.com/BSD7Mzm.jpg)
And solemn words after
(https://i.imgur.com/qwx0cAK.jpg)
The Shoot Boss & State Coordinator presenting a framed & signed poster to the range
(https://i.imgur.com/d6lggCu.jpg)
A very good April 19th
(https://i.imgur.com/yb9N2jU.jpg?1)
You all certainly know how to commemorate Patriot's Day - Huzzah!
I should confess. On April 19th of this year, it was more than 2 year since I had qualified at KD.
Pressure was on, as I hadn't taken the time to do what I preach. (I was under the weather at the 2021 New Year's Eve KD, so that went poorly for me. But excuses don't matter, because only hits count.)
Google, Swift Bolt, and UpACreek stepped up so I could take a few minutes to shoot. Thank you for being so selfless and serving the instructors who came to celebrate Liberty requalify.
I debated which rifle to shoot and decided on a Rifleman's Rifle... a caliber that starts with a 3. This AR10, I hadn't shot in more than 6 years. I challenged myself to ONE sighter round before the AQT. That should be enough for this crusty old Rifleman. It was.
(https://i.imgur.com/yb9N2jU.jpg?1)
If I can do it, anyone can. Rifleman persist and you should too.
From a very personal perspective, thank you to everyone who attended. It was a good day to recharge and fellowship with Liberty-loving folks. Y'all are awesome!
best,
MO
Sounds like an awesome event!
Super duper fun. Good to see friends again and make new ones. The 400yd KD challenge is always a...... blast. Super pumped to finally get my Distinguished KD patch! And on a red dot, at that! I was confident that I would qualify, but that was a really great feeling!
Looking forward to the PD event this weekend!
Get well soon Google. We love you!
Some of my own pictures.....
Main rifle. 48/50 and a 44/50. Had some magazine/misfeed problems, but scrambled to fix it under time pressure and pulled it off. Malfunction drills pay off! Riflemen persist - you're not out of the fight until they call cease-fire!
(https://i.imgur.com/MqB0z4T.jpg)
Other rifle. 41/50. Fumbled the reload on Stage 2 and lost a bunch of points. Something to practice.
(https://i.imgur.com/hkSpNLh.jpg)
At every KD, I try to take a POV picture at some point during one of the prep times. Just a fun little thing to do :)
(https://i.imgur.com/3gp44sL.jpg)
It's always a good time when you're hanging out with fellow instructors... especially on Patriots' Day!
The day was super long with the commute to & from the range, but it was worth it. Carpooling with Palousie & Booney Stomper was a treat, shooting a personal best (47!) felt good, and hearing a firing line full of center-fire rifles was awesome. I even got to fire the first shots through my freshly acquired M1 Garand on Patriots' Day. :F Thanks to Ramblin' Wreck for getting me hooked up with a loaner 1907 sling.
Swift Bolt brought some adorable and delicious Redcoat Cookies. You know what they say: Give a person a fish, and they'll eat for a day. Give a person a 3D printer, and they'll change the world. :cool2:
Thanks to Google for being the shoot boss and instructor-wrangler, and thanks to Hobbs Island range for hosting us.
Huzzah!
Quote from: Maximum Ordinate on April 21, 2022, 12:40:23 AM
I challenged myself to ONE sighter round before the AQT. That should be enough for this crusty old Rifleman. It was.
One sighter round !?!?!?!?!?!?! ???
I think it's time to change your forum name to Jack Reacher :bow: :snipersmi