What a great weekend at the Leroy Rifle Pistol Club and American Heritage Range. This is the 3rd clinic we have had since they relocated, and the third sold out event! :F Some schedule changes for folks on sunday let us fit in a few walk ons, so sold out plus! Even better 9 of 12 were first timers. Shout out to OutaAmmo, pretty sure he was responsible for most of the shooters. Great 7th stepping!
Everyone arrived on time Saturday and we quickly got into it. Shooter 30-06 set the tone with the first strike and we were off.
(https://i.imgur.com/KZHSPqW.jpeg)
Our morning redcoat saw two shooters earning their own IL Appleseed wooden nickel, and also showed we had a great bunch on our hands.... Now time to craft some riflemen.
Points of instruction we met with great attention, and some fantastic questions. Our first squares showed that we indeed were at risk of having to hand out some patches.
(https://i.imgur.com/9SfOy9o.jpeg)
Group sizes continued to shrink, and after some lunch, IMC, and a second strike by AK we saw continued improvement as the first R/W/B AQT was unveiled. And what do you know, AQT #1 for the weekend and Jake earned his patch with a 219 and Vopps requalified with a 222. Everyone was getting a little tired at this point, so we posted the Red Coat. Scores improved, but the SB got to hang on to his nickels until tomorrow.
We spent a little time discussing the amazing gift our founders gave us, the sacrifices of men like Isaac Davis, and how we have a responsibility to our posterity to defend liberty. Our 5 youth shooters were awarded a Young patriots patch, and we gave some tips to be ready for tomorrow. (https://i.imgur.com/xplzGNt.jpeg)I also had the great honor of recognizing Shooter 30-06 for his dedication to the program with a 50 event pin.
(https://i.imgur.com/PtRQvDW.jpeg)
Sunday was even better then Saturday, the sun was out, no deer cut off the shootboss on the way to the range, and everyone showed up on time again. Thanks to OutaAmmo and Vopps for taking on double duty and helping with RSO duties. After some refreshers and a safety brief we got right into it. The Sunday AM red coat pried another wooden nickel out of the shootboss's fingers, but it was well earned. It also showed that brains had absorbed the lessons of Saturday. few squares verified our equipment, and we learned a lot from some ball and dummy drills.
Some stories of Dangerous Old Men were sprinkled in as we got into AQTs. On the First, Jake requaled along with Doug, Terry, Keith, and Morgan. The next AQT had additional requals from Doug, Jake, and Keith, all over 220.
Since we had some early departures at lunch, we shared the story of Prince Esterbrook early and distributed the patches to all. We discussed KD shooting and promoted our Rimfire KD (which we only mentioned 100 times this weekend). We knocked out another AQT and Colton earned his Rifleman.
Some discussion was had as we thought ahead for the Memorial Volley and weighed energy levels and time.. a rapid fire AQT was just the trick to get a little more zip. 2 more requals. We broke out Parkers Revenge for a change of pace. Congrats to team 1! A few more shooters had to leave before the Volley so we broke out the Bloody Butchery. Following our volley, another poll of the remaining 6, led us to a final red coat. 4 shooters showed skill to 400, 3 hit the shingle, and 2 cleared for a second time.
I have to say, I love events at this range... I see amazing wildlife every trip (bald eagles, pheasants, deer, crazy field mice....) The range is also great to the program.
Looking forward to the rest of the events we have here this year!
(https://i.imgur.com/MBMzRwT.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vzwGEc6.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/gPHRLEN.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/s7oBClo.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/CLsXgFh.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vCWSSz7.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/J2UZ3rX.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4LG64kV.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/fy1G30P.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8u3hNdI.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/uPkR4TE.jpeg)
It was a great weekend to get together new and old friends and learn some history of the beginning of our great country and polish up our marksmanship at the same time. The weather was ideal for this time of the year and ideal for learning.
Would like to congratulate the new Riflemen and requals. There was a great group of marksmen on hand who showed that the skills taught can be applied with a bit of hard work.
Especially want to thank the LRPC for use of their fine range. Thanks to instructors for their time and knowledge putting together a great learning experience. Also want to thank Bundt Pan for all the work he has put into building the Illinois Appleseed program. Huzzah!