Just to give everyone a place to talk about the Appleseed, the Halloween Appleseed.
Congratulations Earl..... That was as fine a first day as I've ever seen.......A whole bunch of new shooters learnin' how to shoot....Some Riflemen returning to take up the Orange hat....Our good friends from the East side of the state... Truly, a fine shoot indeed......
Wheeler44
Well, how did the first day as Shoot Boss go, Newbie Shoot Boss?
Like all those really important things one does in life, it was becoming more and more of a worry as my imagination gnawed at it. And then the day began, the IITs started to arrive, the shooters came in and like every Appleseed I have been a part of - from shooter to Shoot Boss - a great day with great people doing great stuff, learning how to shoot much better, be safe with rifles, and learning more about what it takes to start a Revolution and make a better way possible. I like to keep it simple, the shooters today were promising to return tomorrow for more challenges (meeting them all the way) and they went home with our Historic Heritage in the heart. Did I have much to do with it, well, I was there and I like to think I was doing my part, it doesn't get better than to have people look forward to another day of shooting and heritage. I will be sleeping soundly tonight, there are new shooters for America out there working to become Riflemen, and tomorrow I get to help them do it.
Earl,
Seems like the much preferred way to spend Halloween. More productive by far.
Thanks for the photos. Keep it up. Looks great, even if it's wet. What does one expect in Washington?
Reformed Redneck
If a second day can top a great first day this was it....The instructor corp really connected with the shooters... Great progress was made.......So sad our friends from the other side of the mountain couldn't stay all day...
Earl, you really out did yourself..
And one new IIT.......Congratulations and thanks to Julia for accepting an Orange Hat...Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah...
W44
The weather cooperated and was dry and a bit cold, but it was a great weekend. Once again a wide range of shooter skill levels was present, and everyone showed measureable progress within 1/2 day of instruction. Shoot Boss Earl assigned me Line Boss duties for 2 1/2 segments, so that made my weekend even more memorable as I journey down the Appleseed Trail. I am proud to say that Julie finally made her break through and earned her Rifleman patch!
Julie and I talked about it later that evening, and I was glad to hear her say that it was a mental block that she erected (not trusting her NPOA) that was finally broken down by constant positive Instructor feedback, and some detailed instruction from Wheeler on what it means to be dragging wood and how to fix it. I remember seeing how well Julie did at a previous Appleseed (I let her use my rifle and would like to believe it possesses magic powers), so I kept reminding her how well I and the other instructors had seen her shoot, and that she just needs more time to digest the info and believe in her abilities. I mean, come on, a Redcoat target with 3 in the 100, 3 in the 200, 3 in the 300, 3 in the 400, and 1 in the head shot, and all very tight groups? I seriously want her on my team! Positive reinforcement is crucial for all shooters to break their personal walls, and all require different "information marination" periods before understanding the concepts get turned into automatic action.
The beginner tutorial at the beginning of Saturday was very beneficial to new shooters to help them overcome their intimidation of a shooting event and firearms. When a shooter comes to an Appleseed, you never know what pre-conceived notions they have about a shooting event, run mostly by men. After talking to several females, their notions align with my guess: dominated by males, some macho/testosterone in the air, some high fiving and horseplay. Wheeler's private tutorial on the names for the parts of a firearm, how it operates, how the shoot will go, etc. really put them all at ease and erased whatever ideas they had about what this Appleseed thing is all about.
Great Appleseed, great people, great weather. I hope to see everyone again soon!
Trouble posting, but Julie's Rifleman Patch and AQT.
How it went, really well, thank you...
Keep working those positions, lock them in correct.
You can't see any first time shooters here - they were there yesterday...
GREAT! job Julie...I knew you would get your patch.
Thanks for stepping up to the next level and becoming an IIT, it's really encouraging for all the other lady shooters out there to know this is not just a 'mans world'. I told Her Highness (my wife) that you got fifleman and she was over the moon, she's tried calling you but can't get though on the number you gave us (just keeps ringing). Hopefully we'll see her at the next Castle Rock Appleseed in December.
Cheers for now,
Dave
(AKA British Bob)
Quote from: Earl on November 02, 2009, 11:17:18 AM
Trouble posting, but Julie's Rifleman Patch and AQT.
I'm so proud of Julie's accomplishment! Guess a few weekends of doing babysitting duty with our 3-year old really paid off. ;)
Being the quantitative and analytical sort that I am, I got out my calipers, measured the holes, and regraded Julie's AQT, just to make sure you guys weren't cutting the girls any extra slack ;) Sure enough--using the ".30 cal rule" I validated the Appleseed instructor's eyes and Julie did, indeed, score a 214!
Now it's my turn and the pressure's on. I hope I can join the rifleman ranks soon. My hunting schedule conflicts with the December event so I'll be signing up early next year.
All my best to the instructors who've helped Julie earn her patch,
-Cal (Julie's husband)
Another great and beautiful day at Wades place. M1A's all day long and exhausted by the end, what more could one want? Many thanks to Wade, the boys in Orange, and Wheeler too.
Long live the Republic.
It was worth the 6 1/2 hour drive even though we had to leave early but that's only one more reason to go back for more.
Thank you to the wonderful people who let us barrow rifles on the 2nd day Rex's shoulder is grateful and the extractor on the 10/22 will be fixed soon.
It was a lot of fun and we all learned a lot.
-Chris
This past weekend was my first Appleseed, but it won't be my last. Everyone, from instructors to participants, were great to be around, and most importantly, I learned a lot, and I mean a lot, about shooting. The improvement over a short two days was remarkable. My only regret is that the December shoot is on a weekend I have to work! A big thanks to Earl, Wade, Rich, Todd, and everyone else who gave so freely of their time, property, and knowledge!
What a great weekend. I was really glad I could make it. More so that Lore agreed to join me. She was a little tense at first, not knowing what to expect. By the end of the weekend she was enjoying herself and her shooting improved by leaps and bounds. Got to meet some great people and see some familiar faces. I would encourage anyone to attend an appleseed event. Would also like to give a big thanks to all the instructors for donating their time and doing an excelent job. Big thanks to Wade for creating a place for appleseeds. O0
Two nights of sleep, and some more pictures.
Great shoot, thanks to the crew, the host, the shooters and the weather - seems I have run out of pictures to share this time. I still have much learning to go, things I will work on to make our Appleseeds even better. Again, thank you very much for coming out and giving it our best.
Abide in Love and Liberty, Earl
I wasn't sure what to expect on my first Appleseed shoot, and I'm happy to report that I wasn't in the least disappointed. It was very refreshing to be around folks of a similar mind, as well as to get all the excellent instruction. I will be back again next spring (after a 3 month sojourn in Viet Nam this winter) to pursue the Rifleman patch. I would have gotten it this time, but I did all my best shooting at Art's targets.
Thanks to all the great instructors, Earl, Rich, Lee, Todd, Wade, and any that skip my mind. And special thanks to Art for putting 10 rounds in one of my AQT targets, all in the scoring part, which, if they'd have only counted it, would have put me over 250 points!
Hope to see you all again soon,
Bill H
I had a wonderful time, as usual, at this Appleseed shoot and also, as always, met some great people.
Many, many thanks to all the splendid instructors for helping me to finally get my patch at this Appleseed! All along the way, I've had some great help - everything from Lee loaning me his wonderful Ruger and also giving me lots of tips and pointers along with it, to Rich's also loaning me a rifle and giving me the trigger pulling wisdom that took my skills to the next level, to Earl's nuggets of wisdom always coming at just the right time and of course to Wade for providing the range along with the wisdom. They and the rest of the Appleseed instructors all contributed to my going from terrified newcomer to getting a Riflemens patch. Thanks again to all of you!
Now, it's my husband Cal's turn. He actually deserves all the credit for finding out about Appleseed in the first place, and getting me to come to the first one with him way back in Wilsonville. He then let me continue to attend time after time, by being chief babysitter. After he gets his patch, I'm looking forward to helping other people at future Appleseeds make that transition to Rifleman.
The tutorial at the beginning of the weekend to help familiarize people new to the program with rifles, etc. is a great idea. I think that you should keep it up Rich.
Thanks again and good luck to everyone at the December shoot!
-Julie B
Lee's been pressing me to get this feedback to you, after I shared it with him verbally. I've just been extremely busy. :(
So, here goes (thanks, Lee!): :~
1) Instructors need to be more polite when clearing line, e.g. if there is a "safe rifle" step missing, just say to shooter, "can you please make your rifle safe?" and let them figure out what is missing. And, instead of saying something like, "put the safety on."
2) Metrics for success seem to be skewed towards getting so many shots off, instead of making each shooter successful. Can this be tweaked? Or maybe it should be announced how the day will go so people know what to expect. I didn't feel like I got the time I needed to internalize what I was just taught before we were moving on to something else!
3) Instructors shouldn't bark so many corrections. It takes time for the information overload to digest. See above.
4) Make it more clear to instructors to look for problems, and help shooter. But also make it more clear to shooters to RAISE HAND to ask for help; instructors can only be in 1 place at a time and sometimes don't see errors when walking their part of the line.
5) Line was always safe.
6) Range was easy to use, but could use a good mowing on the far half.
Thanks,
Dave