If you were not in Laramie, you missed the greatest tribute yet to colonial shooter. This PPC/IBC/RBC/AS was a full ten days, 09-18June 2023. Sam must be grinning! This series of events was the greatest I've attended, in numbers of attendees, distance traveled and just plain fun. I will let Captain fill in the details, but I have to say that I feel recharged and optimistic that our mission will prevail.
LIBERTAS! M1bzrk
Thank you, sir. I know Sam would be happy 😊
I wish I could've been there to raise a glass to him with you.
Huzzah, Wyoming
What a wild time! Even with the unseasonable weather I had tons of fun. It was great meeting so many people from all over, I think when we counted there were people from over 10 states there. As a newer orange hat, I was grateful to have a massive and diverse event like this to really help me saturate myself with all of the things there were to learn. I could go on and on but I'll leave it with these two points- I can't wait to be back next year and thanks to M1Bzrk, Captain, and RegularGuy/ LRR for making all of this happen!
Huzzah!
One of these days!!! Gunjunkie and I have agreed that one year we have to make the trip to participate in this amazing event!
Laramie 6-23 is officially over and it was an event for the record books. The Laramie Rifle Range welcomed 39 Appleseeders, families and kids from eleven states (Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming)! The LRR opened a field on the range for camping and most of the participants brought tents and campers for the duration; 23 campers and 1 shower! To give you an idea of the size of the event, Wyoming is the least populous state; 39 in Wyoming is equivalent to nearly 1400 in Florida or 1900 in Texas! We were able to count 14 youth and 14 ladies who took part in the event! Altogether, 16 shooters shot Rifleman, 4 shot Pistoleer™, 5 qualified KD, 4 Cold Bore Shots, and one requaled distinguished. Inconceivable!
It was the longest continuous Appleseed in history; four events back-to-back for 10 straight days of Liberty, History, Shooting and Camaraderie. Laramie 6-23 kicked off with a Pistol Clinic on Friday and rolled right into an IBC/RBC combination (with a one day overlap). The Boot Camps were followed by a regular Two Day 25m Rifle Event where each Appleseeder had a chance to put their skills to work passing on the skills of marksmanship and igniting those bushfires of liberty.
It was the highest Boot Camp in the world; the Canyon Range at LRR rises to over 7500 ft! The effects of high altitude and dehydration were felt by many. Laramie weather in June is normally dry with cool nights and hot days and the famous Wyoming wind. However, weather in the high country is always unpredictable and this year was exceptionally wet and cold. We had nighttime temps down near 40, sleet, rain, thunderstorms and even a funnel cloud. The wind didn't make an appearance until the last day of the event.
Before continuing with the comments and pictures, we must give a special recognition to LRR. The club is amazing and exceptionally supportive of the Appleseed mission. Our "local boots on the ground" is RegularGuy. He spent the months leading up to the event arranging classrooms and ranges; smoothing things over with the board and answering a ton of questions from participants. Colonial Shooter is the Appleseeder who started the Wyoming tradition, and we raised a toast in his memory (a bottle of "Chattanooga" from Ramblin' Wreck on his last visit). Finally, thanks to M1Bzrk. He kept the Wyoming "Big Event" alive during the dark times after Colonial Shooter passed and COVID decimated the numbers of Appleseeders on the line. When it was suggested by many that the event be abandoned, M1Bzrk did what Rifleman do best; persist in the face of adversity. He is a role model for many of us Appleseeders and the epitome of one Rifleman making a difference.
Now on to the pictures . . . click on any picture to see it larger and click again to shrink back down.
Several group photos taken during the four events. This one was taken on the overlap day between the IBC and RBC.
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If you weren't there, you might be curious about all the kids. With so many camped adjacent to the range and classroom/clubhouse, many took turns watching the smaller kids so others had a chance to shoot or attend class. The IBC classroom had a whole slew of kids occupied with homeschool lessons etc. so everyone could attend. All the kids, dogs, husbands, wives, families gave this entire event a special atmosphere.
There are many more pictures to come, but I hope anyone else who might have a photo or comment will chime in and post.
"Those of us who were born free and have known freedom all our lives sometimes forget what a precious blessing it is."
This was an event that moved the comparison bar pretty high. I hoped to experience wind on the KD range and will have to return for another attempt at that. Even breezy FL did not fulfill my wishes to shoot a KD with wind. Many of those travelling longer distances had issues to overcome. Persistence was pervasive for all of us. We found a way to get there and be part of this incredible event. I have memories to share for a lifetime. The inspiration derived from attending will fuel my Appleseed fire for some time. We made a lot of new friends and added some people to our Appleseed family during this series of events too. I have a picture of the 'campground' before it got full. Attending an RBC on both sides of the Mississippi River in the same year is something I recommend to all that can do it. As many know, the more time you spend with Appleseed folks, the more time you want to spend with Appleseed folks.
I did feel just a touch of guilt staying in my glamper with M1Bzrk in his tent. He is someone I can only aspire to be like. I will persist in making him proud of me. The enthusiasm Captain brought to the event is a goal for me to replicate. You folks are the best anyone could hope to meet.
AMAZING!!! Like I said previously -- I will make it up there one of these days!!!
There were a lot of Red Coat Targets cleared. There was a special Saratoga commemorative quarter for the first 8 or so who cleared the target.
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"Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."- John Adams
The IBC and the RBC overlapped/shared a day. Our new arrivals for the RBC fit right in and spent Sunday learning to teach the safety rules, positions, etc.
Pictures are inside the IBC classroom and a quick photo during a break (warmup for the bigger group photo later).
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"These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."- Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
Friday kicked off with a One Day Pistol Clinic! Two new Pistoleer™s and two requals.
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"If you lose your country, it will soon become the great enemy of your family."
Almost everyone scored a personal best which means there were a lot of shooters scoring expert.
Some of the new Rifleman patches . . .
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Roger and Caleb were both knocking on the door scoring 180 and 197 respectively. A fantastic showing for a first event. Little Bits went from scores in the 60s/70s to 181! Impressive improvement.
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them…"- Richard Henry Lee, Declaration Signer (Letters from a Federal Farmer to the Republic)
NicenJehr came out and had a slow start with some equipment issues but persevered and would eventually turn in 7 Rifleman AQTs with a high score of 228!
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As you can see, he also decided to take a hat and volunteered to teach a few blocks during the last couple of days! NicenJehr will be joining the Kansas Cadre! Welcome aboard!
If you live for a higher purpose and you're ready to sacrifice in defense of those ideals, then you are one of us. - John Lovell
Shooters would take a turn on the famous Canyon Range - shooting positions available out to 1200 yards and steel everywhere. We gathered data and shot full size targets out to 400 yards. Weather would force us off the range a little earlier than expected.
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Since KD was split across a couple of days with some weather issues, we got pictures where we could. Here's everyone we could round up who made the Cold Bore shot on Morgan's Shingle as well as those who earned their Known Distance patches.
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It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.- Samuel Adams
There were 14 youth participants at this event! This picture has most of them. All but four actually shot. Three earned their Rifleman patch and two others were knocking on the door. And Sergent Tx is a new Orange Hat! They all took part in the camp and each one was present out on the range and/or in the classroom.
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"Politicians look to the next election, Patriots look to the next generation."
At the final 2 Day, 25m Appleseed, we had Appleseeders working on PCs and SBITs.
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Big congratulations to JaysHoneyBunny and CheriesGeek for earning their Red Hats!!!
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"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult."- Seneca, Roman philosopher and statesman
CheriesGeek and JaysHoneyBunny had the longest drive to attend at nearly 1200 miles . . . one way!
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We also took time to recognize those who brought the most people to the event. Joe Bauers, Shipwreck, ApprenticeCarpenter and Lara Croft brought a group which made up 14 of the participants at this event. Each received a 2ACopper Challenge Coin with Isaac Davis. Way to personify Seventh Stepping.
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"We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor"- Declaration of Independence
Shooters be shootin' :)
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After the shooting was done, we shared dinner together, had outdoor movies (and indoor) and generally spent some quality time hanging out. And bubbles :)
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Group Photo of the final 2 Day Appleseed
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There were some quiet moments of beauty . . .
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These were all taken from where we were camping on the range.
The weather conditions were pretty challenging. That is a funnel cloud! It grew significantly bigger but never touched down. We were already off the range. That last rifle is on a shooting mat right after another gust front came through. There were several nights where shooters were up late cleaning rifles.
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What an awesome event! It's on my bucket list for sure. I see some of the Florida RBC Palm Bay 04-23 were able to make it. Congratulations to those promoted!
Dennis
It was a great opportunity and a great experience. The instructors were all fantastic and very encouraging. I am looking forward to taking my entire family to the next event. Thank you to everyone.
Before the shoot Captain asked each of us what we hoped to get out of the boot camp. I wanted to improve my trigger control and achieve rifleman. My previous best was 209.
It was great having a large number of red and orange hats and multiple days of fundamentals practice, it really let us find the nitty gritty details that turn those 4's into 5's and I achieved my objectives. Thank you all for bearing with my relentless questions.
Here are some keys to success that I learned at this shoot:
- Bring your support elbow even further over, beyond the rifle, towards your belly button. This makes your support arm self supporting. Imagine pressing down on a Z vs pressing down on a J. Works in all positions.
- Improved Standing without a sling got me better results than traditional standing with a loop sling.
- You can mitigate dragging wood by moving your trigger thumb alongside your trigger finger (no longer wrapping across the stock.)
- You think you're relaxed but you aren't. Especially on AQT stage 4, take another breath, relax your eyebrows, let all support muscles go, and see just how much that NPOA moved.
- You have to find some balance between good-enough NPOA and time constraints and muscle the rest. For me on AQT stages 2 and 3, "good enough" was about 8MOA off.
- Free and clear baby wipes were good for cleaning my action of sand between courses of fire because they didn't leave fibers like paper towels or tissues
- Before transitioning to prone, mark your support elbow with your chamber flag and mark your trigger hand with your mags. Now when you transition, you can place your trigger hand down on mags, then support elbow down on flag, and you're most of the way to NPOA.
- Two verbal drills:
MAGS, FLAGS, SCOPE (BOLT) SLINGS: Manipulate every one of these at the start of each preparation period. "BOLT" is specific to stock 10-22 trigger group.
MAG BOLT SAFETY GO: Manipulate every one of these when "FIRE" command is given.
- Move your watch to your inner wrist or to your support hand so it doesn't interfere with your sling.
- Do not case a wet rifle, it will rust.
- A spotting scope placed directly behind a shooter, focused closer than target at about 50-70% distance, will show a visible bullet trail to let you call shots off paper.
Great shoot and photographs!
Thanks Captain, M1Bzrk, and everyone else who came out to make this a great event!