19 shooters started on Saturday morning with most returning for Sunday with 2 new rifleman. :~ Voortrekker (SB) and Alonso1 did a great job instructing. Three new IITs got the chance to break in their orange hats. Below are a few pictures from the weekend.
Thank you to all of the shooters who showed up, it was nice to meet you.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5936.jpg)
Blessed with a little cloud cover over the weekend.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5857.jpg)
Alonso1 giving the first strike
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5873.jpg)
Voortrekker demonstrating NPOA with his laser equipped training rifle.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5891.jpg)
Centerfire alley.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5895.jpg)
Shootboss keeping an eye on the line.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5902.jpg)
Proud rifleman with future riflewoman.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5898.jpg)
Another proud rifleman.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5942.jpg)
Ball and dummy.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5951.jpg)
Returning the favor.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5973.jpg)
Larry line bossing.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5978.jpg)
Kevin and Doug.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5976.jpg)
Even red hats need a break
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5970.jpg)
A break in the shade is even better.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/bustafazzoo/DSCN5921.jpg)
A special thanks to Scout for the use of his land and hospitality.
Great pictures and a nice group of shooters. Keep up the good work in TX :~ :~ :~
Colycat
That was the most fun I've had in a long time.
Many thanks to all the instructors for their help, and it was great meeting the other shooters. Thanks for hosting, Scout. Many friends were made and it was overall just a great clinic. I apologize if I exposed myself to anyone on day 1, my trouser's seam did not survive the first stage 2 drop'n'shoot ++)
Congrats to Spitstickler for earning his rifleman patch and kerighan for her special award. Nice shooting.
-Eric
What a great weekend!
First of all, Scout. Your hospitality is unmatched. Thank you so much for hosting these events and everything you do to make them happen, month after month without fail. It was really nice to get to meet the person behind the mic from the Appleseed radio show and enjoyed talking to you Sat night.
A big thanks to the Red Hats, Brett and Mark, for coordinating and conducting a fantastic shoot. The three strikes were awesome! I know you guys do this a lot, and I want you to know that the personal sacrifices you make to come back time after time are very much appreciated.
Nick, Larry, Kevin, and Doug: Thanks for keeping the line safe and all the personal attention and helpful instruction throughout the weekend. Larry, thanks for cooking our hotdogs for us Sat night too!
To all the above: HUGE thanks for all the personal attention you gave Kerighan throughout the weekend. This was definitely a big step for her and she had a great time. On the ride home she was already asking when we could come back again. As soon as we got home and showered up she insisted that we put on our Appleseed T-shirts, and this morning we put them on again at her request. It was a weekend full of great memories for me, but the one thing I know that will stay with me forever is her being awarded a RWVA patch. I thought my chest was going to bust open. ...I am so proud of her. Of course, the first words out of her mouth were, "My patch is bigger than Daddy's!" which brought a pretty good chuckle from everyone who heard.
(from Kerighan)
Thank you so much for teaching me how to be a better rifle girl. I really appreciate all your help! ;)
A few pics I was able to get throughout the weekend:
Old Glory
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/Flag3.jpg)
Alonso1 giving the Third Strike
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/AlonsoGivingThirdStrike.jpg)
Voortrekker and Aromatic giving a demo
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/ProneBreathingDemo.jpg)
Kerighan and Alex in prep
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/KerighanAlex2.jpg)
Aubrey and Kerighan
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/AubreyKerighan.jpg)
Finding some shade for the Third Strike
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/FindingSomeShadeForThirdStrike.jpg)
Kerighan and Mike ready for the Third Strike
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/KerighanMike.jpg)
Great Instructors
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/Instructors.jpg)
Kerighan and Steve
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/KerighanSteveOnTheLine.jpg)
The only casualty of the weekend (Well.... except for redcoats)
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/Casualty.jpg)
Checking Targets
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/CheckingTargets.jpg)
Getting a patch
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/KerighanPatch_4.jpg)
(http://www.kirkwheeler.com/pics/appleseed/KerighanPatch_7.jpg)
Sounds like an excellent shoot!
Excellent photo's as well.
Maybe, Texans can shoot... ;)
Keep it up!
Aftermath,
I cannot see the "skill sets of shooting" sub-forum anymore, but you get a lot of the credit for that patch you see in the 7th picture up there. Thanks for your advice.
Way to go Nick! I'll see y'all at Davilla next month.
Guy
Quote from: E. Massey on August 17, 2009, 11:55:52 PM
Aftermath,
I cannot see the "skill sets of shooting" sub-forum anymore, but you get a lot of the credit for that patch you see in the 7th picture up there. Thanks for your advice.
Don't mention it. You did all the work. I just typed on a keyboard.
Congratulations!
Now, don't forget the Seventh Step.
Looks like another great Texas shoot, and real nice to see you fellows are still treating the ladies right!! O0 O0
Good on you guys! You are keeping the bar as it should be...... <:) O0
We'll see y'all shortly..... ^-^
LayloPro
Hey! What a great shoot y'all had! Outstanding! Great to see Aromatic, Larry & Kevin in the pics too. Larry, I fondly remember breakfast on 6/7, too! Thanks again for the scrambled eggs & sausage that morning.
Vic
Alonzo1, aren't you the guy who go my sling issue squared away so I got my patch back in June? You look familiar. If so, thank you too!
Looks like a great shoot. I wish I could have been there! Will be back on the line in Davilla starting next month...
I stuck a few pictures together and made a quick video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAFzp6gnO1E
Nicely done spitstickler!
At the very least, I feel cool knowing my way around a rifle. At the very most, I feel humbled to the women of the revolution who defended their homesteads with babies strapped to their hips.
Mom and I have much gratitude to instructors Alonso1 and shootboss Voortrekker for their consistent attention and feedback. And to all our line bosses, a million thanks.
I loved story time. How about some tales about dangerous old ladies next time, eh?
Hello All,
As the posts and photos already posted on this thread show, we did indeed have a good shoot.
It was hot, as always in TX during the summer, nothing new here.
All the shooters really did a terrific job in persisting.
Everyone of the attendees had great attitudes and the willingness to learn more.
And they persisted, despite the heat.
It was evident that the shooters increased their rifle marksmanship skills during the course of the weekend. The target will never lie to you.
In addition, this group of Appleseeders were especially mindful of safety. GOOD JOB GENTLEMEN AN LADIES!!
We had two heavyweights punching the AQT out with M1A's, Dave and E. Massey all day on Sunday. Outstanding Gentlemen!!!
Two or three Ar-15's giving the report that Red Coats were not welcome in Davilla, TX as well.
"reliable" and "aromatic" , both brand new Central TX ITT's, did a very good job as Line Boss for their first time on Sunday.
As linebosses, they were not perfect, but they were as perfect as I have seen a new ITT being lineboss.
THANK YOU reliable and aromatic!!!!!!!!!!.......VERY GOOD JOB!!!!!!!
"mp.moore", yet another new Central TX ITT, did a great service whilst instructing and gave shooters instruction again, again, again and again about the "Six Steps to firing the shot". Thank you very much, Kevin, you did very well.
This was an extraordinary Davilla, TX Appleseed weekend shoot in my mind.
At least four families shooting together, learning our Republic's history as well.
It was a pleasure to be present.
Pearls :
1) Amber and Linda, mother and daughter team <------- Terrific job gals!! Practice dry firing at home. You can do it!!
2) Kerighan, at 9-10 years old, I've never seen such a young shooter exhibit the tenacity and persistence that she did while instructing. In addition, understanding how to safely handle firearms at such a young age.
3) Dave K., dogged to earn the "Rifleman" patch with his M1A........... He will.
4) Andrew, at about 12 yrs old, he's knocking loudly on the door that will open soon to the path of the "Rifleman".
Riflemen forged :
1) E. Massey
2) spitstickler
Riflemen......Guardians of our Republic.........these are men that know very well what they are about.
It was good to be in the company of Riflemen once again.
AND a very big THANK YOU to the August 15th-16th 2009 Davilla, TX RWVA Instructors!!
alonso1
aromatic
reliable
mp.moore
Doug T.
Brett
Hey Y'all,
Sounds like it was another good Appleseed. I've missed the last two shoots and I have missed seeing all your ugly mugs. Heck, I even miss seeing Big-D. **)
I'll be out to the Sept shoot to get my patch.
Good vid there spitstickler. I see you've got some other AS vids up too on youtube. I really got a kick out of the story about Kerighan and her patch.
I appreciate all the photos too. Makes me miss being there even more, dang it.
Take care and God bless, y'all are fine examples of what a Texan should be.
scuzzy
I and friends will be attending the next one. Looking forward to camping and shooting and meeting everyone. Thanks to everyone involved in supporting this whole project. I just built my first rifle here it is.
(http://ftp://www.jamesvessels.com/wwwroot/Images/My_AR.jpg)
Quote from: jazv on August 20, 2009, 11:50:51 PM
I and friends will be attending the next one. Looking forward to camping and shooting and meeting everyone. Thanks to everyone involved in supporting this whole project. I just built my first rifle here it is.
(http://www.jamesvessels.com/Images/My_AR.jpg)
Hey Jazv, Great to have you forum and glad to hear you and your crew will be at the next shoot. Nice looking AR. Appleseeds are a great time and I've learned a lot at the events I've attended. Good call on the camping too! You just can't find a better group of folks anywhere.
If you haven't been before, I would definitely suggest taking the time to get zeroed at 25m (82ft) before you come. It will save you some time and a potentially a little frustration at the event. However, the biggest benefit of of having your rifles ready to go before you show up is that it will let you focus on the instruction.
Quote from: jazv on August 20, 2009, 11:50:51 PM
I and friends will be attending the next one. Looking forward to camping and shooting and meeting everyone. Thanks to everyone involved in supporting this whole project. I just built my first rifle here it is.
(http://ftp://www.jamesvessels.com/wwwroot/Images/My_AR.jpg)
Assuming that the picture quoted below is the one that is your AR (it shows up as a broken link in mine), I'd recommend a USGI sling. The sling you have is probably fine for carrying the rifle and for bringing it up rapidly in the standing position. However, you'll have much better stability with a sling that can be configured as a loop sling - especially in the prone position.
And I will add...... Don't just zero at 25yds off the bench as when you sling up the impact will be slightly off. Sight in off the bench to get it close, then sling up and fine tune it. Also of note after you do all this you will be aprox 1/4 off at 25 meters at the actual shoot. You may not be able to tell this with the sights on the AR but if you ever sight in a scoped .22 this way you can tell the difference (ever so slight) between 25 yds and 25 meters. Hope this made sense.
Thanks SS;
Getting it zeroed in was the first thing I did! Guided by a new co worker just back from Iraq, I found the instructions to do it military style. I went thru this procedure(I created a link to the instructions below) and I also printed out Fred's 6 steps to shooting and I was amazed at the tight groups I was getting. After getting it zeroed I put 14 of 17 in the black(at 25 meters) in one set. This is just the start. I am looking forward to developing the real skills that go with the responsibility of exercising our God given rights garanteed by the 2nd amendment.
Just in case any one else can benefit from this,here is the link to detailed intructiosn for zeroing an M16/Ar15 style rifle. http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/m16a2/zero-and-m16a2-rifle.shtml (http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/m16a2/zero-and-m16a2-rifle.shtml)
You can go to my website and look under the downloads page to get printable targets that you will need for this.
http://www.jamesvessels.com/default.aspx?pg=f24c1996-2f58-4896-815c-113912c98533
I can hardly wait.
That is my rifle in spitsticklers message. Apparently he was able to repair the link I submitted. It is a 3 point sling, but I have been trying it out and it seems it would serve as a simple sling. Do you find that to be incorrect? Is it the side mount that makes it difficult? I can easily break this down into a simple strap. Any input/opinions is appreciated.
This time I got the iamge to load.
(http://www.jamesvessels.com/Images/My_AR.jpg)
I've used a similar sling as a Hasty Sling.
Just a matter of adjusting. Side mount is a non-issue. I've used issue AK slings on an AK and a Dragunov, they work, and are side mount.