Well, the shoot didn't take place in Montpellier. Everybody except on person got the word before hand and he arrived early on the first day so it wasn't a problem. Work on the range didn't get approved in time so the range was moved to the neighboring county to a private range, 400 M, though we only shot at 25. This was my first shoot and I brought a 14 year old friend of mine. We had a BLAST! We both learned a tremendous amount and both improved from 154 or so to 208 for me and 200 for him by the end of the second day. He attends a private school and gets a great education. He said his history teacher spent two months on the same info on the battle at Concord, and he still learned information he didn't know during the lecture piece of the weekend. I am very grateful for the instruction I received and would have paid much more for it. I realize the quality of the instruction I received, and I plan on becoming an instructor when I qualify. The instructors were all very professional and kind and adhered to and taught good safety techniques constantly. There were about a dozen students the first day and 5-6 the second. There were AR's and 10/22's. At the end, some of the instuctors pulled out their .308's and M1's. Everybody had a great time. I will be attending as many as I can in the future as much as I am able to afford away from my family. I live in PA and am aware their is a lack of instructors here.
There is a big 4th of July event here in Philly put on by the Campaign for Liberty people (Ron Paul's organization) and I might put together some pamphlet and go hand it out to everyone in order to expose people to the movement and help wake them up and get involved and educated.This was the birthplace of the nation afterall. If anybody has anything prepared already that might help pass it my way. In light of the rush on guns and ammo there are a lot of people out there who have newly aqcuired rifles that they don't know how to use. They could benefit from Appleseed!
Thank you to everybody who played a part in making this weekend happen. I can't wait for the next one!
I noticed you guys looked a little bummed out after the last AQT for scores. It was a long, hot two days of shooting and information overload. You did great. You both shot good enough for Sharpshooter which is better than 90% of rifle owners. You still need to become an RWVA Rifleman. I hope to see both of you and help you get over those last few points. You will find that you learned so much in those two days it takes your mind some time to process it all. The next time you come to an Appleseed, A lot of what you just learned will be in your subconsious mind: sight alignment, sight picture, respritory pause. This allows you to concentrate more on NPOA, and keeping the sight on the target as you squeeze. You are also familier with the stages of the AQT, how to use your prep time and pre prep time. I look forward to seeing you both in the future. Wolfman
Quote from: Grego on June 16, 2009, 07:05:34 PM
I live in PA and am aware their is a lack of instructors here.
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=3329.0
Hit that link and it should take you to a post with the names of the Appleseeders in PA who will be looking forward to hearing from you about attending future appleseeds, becoming and instructor or helping out anyway you can.
Thanks. We weren't that bummed. We had a great time. My buddy turned to me at least twice throughout the weekend and out of the blue just thanked me for bringing him. We were a little disappointed, me more so than him, but both recognized that we learned a LOT and have nothing to be ashamed about. We will keep coming back and bring some more friends as well. Thank you for your encouragement.
Yes it was HOT, a few of us hung in there till the very end. Thanks to all the instructors, and the guys that made this shoot possible instead of canceling it. The history lesson was well taught, and very interesting. This was my second Appleseed, and each is run and taught slightly differently. I did learn many things that I didnt pick up on last time. Maybe it just sunk into my mind or made better sense this time. I did take a few pics. I made a lot of new friends as well. Next time my daughter will attend with me. Is there a Mini this weekend at Mechanicsville?
No Mini at Black Creek this weekend. VaShooter will be instructing up in Stinson, WV.
It was definitely a good weekend. The Buckingham DAR saw it's first Appleseed (with no small thanks to Woody, Ed, and Danny for getting things ready in a day). Turnout might have been better, but we had some dedicated people there. We also had enough IIT's and Instructors that we were able to offer a good bit of individual coaching and every instructor that wanted to had a chance to shoot sometime over the weekend. It was a pleasure to work with everyone.
Grego, Sam, and Beowulf_357, I want to congratulate the three of you for sticking it out to the end. I can assure you that your persistence will pay off.
Beowulf_357 earned his second Rfileman's patch there at the end. Greg and Sam finished up the weekend with scores knocking at the door or Rifleman. I believe that Greg's high was 209 and Sam's was over 199. You two learned alot and I believe with some practice at home. You will make Rifleman.
Even if you can't do any dryfire exercises at home, you can practice your positions. If you can practice your positions and dryfire, so much the better.
For prone, remember not to have the support side foot in the air. Try to get it flat. If you are balancing on that toe you may be tempted to use muscle instead of NPOA as you switch targets. Also, remember to keep your trigger hand knee pulled up and your support elbow under the rifle. This may be more difficult for you Sam, because like me you have short arms. Get it as close as you can and make sure that the sight moves up and down rather than at an angle when you breath. Each point in the fourth stage is doubled, so get a good position, make sure that you have your NPOA for each target and use the six steps. By the end of the weekend you were both doing well at the Standing and sitting stages. Just a few more points on prone would have put you over the top. So, hang in there.
Thanks for the encouragement. I have been dry firing and practicing the six steps for each shot. I got out my new M1A and tried it out too. I was surprised by the long sight radius. I think it actually made everything that much easier. The sights just sat there, didn't move that much when I breathed in and out. I feel like I have the essentials going well. For me, the sights just go up and down. I think I would have had rifleman on the last AQT except I had a mental lapse that led me to forget to use my sling on the first two shots seated. Both flew outside the silhouette. Oh well. I just can't wait to get back and do it some more! I know Sam feels the same way. He had a great time, thanking me several times. Everyone there was very kind and helpful. Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing everybody in the future.
Related to another thread, I saw that fuzzy thing in the peep sights of the M1A too. Weird.
This was our first Appleseed, and although we read what to expect online, being there was completely different. The instruction was outstanding, and the history information in itself was worth the entrance fee. And yes it was really hot - I know the heat got to both me and the better half, but we were able to take a break, get hydrated, and keep on shooting!
Thanks to Ed, Woody, and Danny for pulling everything together at the last minute. I'd also like to thank ALL of the instructors for their patience with me and the better half. Since this was our first event we were a little lost at times, but we'll do better next time. Turns out that after the event, the better half went to the eye doctor and discovered that she needs cataract surgery. Hopefully she'll have an easier time at the next event!
Thanks again gents!
I can honestly say for me, I look forward to seeing all of you again. Wolfman