Hello Group; I would like to Thank the Appleseed Staff Gumballhead, Dana, Boomer EOD, and Mrs Pappy for the personal help to the Shooters and the program. This was quite a weekend for Illinois as there were two other
shoots going on in other areas of our state at the same time.
Two young shooters Celeste & Blake were awarded a Young Patriot Shooters patch for there effort...
Keep up the efforts with your marksmanship....
Heat was a real issue at this event, we had a shooter leave early on Saturday due to heat.
We had some real marked improvement from all Shooters who attended.
Again Thanks to all who attended Staff and Shooters...
Boomer EOD, made it back to Ft. Bliss from Ohare on Sunday without any issues...
It was a great Shoot, I hope to see you all at the Waterman 300 Shoot, till then - Keep them in the black.... :~ :--- O0 Pappy
PS...Ottawa shoots have a way of putting the weather on you---- One way or the other.
Boy Pappy, you had your work cut out for you Saturday with the weather :sos: :sos: Pappy left the easy day for me. I stepped in as Shoot Boss for Sunday. We started the day with 5 determined shooters, but one got called away to work. Funny, he was smiling the whole time he loaded his gear. Must have been the triple time he was gonna get. :o He stated it all relates to ammo ;).
Our remaining shooters continued through the day with persistence. Pappy had warned me of the previous day, so "drink water" was not used as a suggestion. Most prepped mags, then drank water. Many don't know, but if you are getting dehydrated, things get blurry. You lose your ability to focus. Oh yeah!! Step 4 of firing the shot!! If you can't focus due to not drinking, you won't score well. HYDRATE! Even if you are "not thirsty".
One of our returning Appleseeders, Marty, finally put it all together and shot a 213. Marty has been chasing that patch since April. Pure determination, persistence, and practice gave him the leg up this time. Congratulations Marty!! I'm expecting to hand over an orange hat at the "300 Shoot" in Waterman this Sept. 11. ;) You'll notice our hints around here aren't so subtle. **)
Had a couple other shooters breathe on the door with a 204 and a 207. Persist, persevere. Never give up. Remember to do dry fire practice. Operative word is DRY!!!
Hope to see all I met at the 300 shoot or another 'seed soon.
EEL
Substitute Shoot Boss ;)
Hello Everyone,
Thanks again to the great Appleseed volunteers for the time they invest in these events. :bow: Good weather or bad you guys and gals are out there to inspire all comers to be more complete citizens of the good ol' USA. O0
The last Waterman shoot I attended, Crystal Mountain looked at my un-adorned shooting jacket and said, "We need to get some patches for that jacket". I agreed. I shot very well for most of the day Saturday, but, buy the end of the day my old injuries won out and when I came back on Sunday I shot poorly. Crystal Mountain was almost as disapointed as I was that it did not work out for me. :-\ I came back to the August 21-22 Ottowa, IL event few weeks later, to try again for that elussive (for me) rifleman patch. You see I don't cook very well so this was important for many reasons. And while it may not have been my best performance of overall marksmanship I was determined, sore neck and all, to get the job done. And get it done I did. I earned the rifleman patch at just the moment the Ibuprofin kicked in. It was a great feeling. ^:)^ Thanks to all of the volunteers that help me achieve this goal. I'll be back!!
Now EEL, I am not sure if I understand you properly. #) Was that orange hat comment, ment for me? ::) If you are you saying that I might be welcomed into the Appleseed community at the Waterman 300, I would be honored. Let me know what I can do to make things easier for everyone. O0
Marty
P.S. I am a paid shooter for the Waterman 300. If its not too much of a problem I will want to do a little shooting (mostly Sunday) during the weekend to prove to myself that I can do it again. However I believe that I have the basics down well enough that I can be more available to help out than not for the weekend. It will also be nice to observe the event from a different perspective. I will still be listening closely to everything, because, I love the history, and, I do pick up something new each time I attend an event. -Some of the many great things about Appleseed.
Marty,
Uhhhhh, yeah !! ^:)^ Got one in the shoot box w/ your name on it. By all means shoot! Heck that's what we all want to do. We'll prolly rope you in Sat night at the Benediction.
Sheesh! Picking up an orange hat at the 300 !!! Guess you'll be able to "remember when", eh?
For those that haven't signed on yet...How would shooting your Rifleman score at the 300 be?? Does the word AWESOME leap into your mind? Get signed on via eventbrite and come on out.
Congrats again, Marty O0
EEL
Hello Group; Welcome Marty, wish I could of been there to see you make your score, happy for you just the same... Castle Mountain takes great pride in helping each person who he contacts where ever he is!!!!! Philip has the spirit at heart.. Most of us do.. We will see you on the range at THE WATERMAN 300!!!!! :~ :--- :) ;) @@) O0 ^-^ >:D ??? ::) :P &) **) ^:)^ :o :)) with all my pals.... Pappy
Thanks EEL,
I am truly looking forward to getting more involved with Appleseed. As you said what a weekend to get included. My birthday, 9/11(bummer) and the Waterman 300. Yes, I think I will remember when! :) I will be more than a little happy for the shooters that make "Rifleman" that weekend. I wonder how many there will be?
As I said I will be happy to help out any way I can for the whole weekend. Just let me know what I can do to make things easier and safer for everyone. I can hand out targets and be a gofer. Whatever. Got plenty of help and I will be happy just to be there for THE WATERMAN 300 :~ piece of history. Founding fathers are smiling!!
Thanks Pappy, I look forward to seeing all of my favorite Appleseed volunteers in September. O0 Thanks for correcting me on the Castle Mountain thing. I had just read an article on crystal formations and must have had that stuck in there. My apologies to Castle Mountain. No disrespect was intended. I hope you will be in Waterman so I can show you the new look for my shooting jacket.
See you all soon,
Marty
Marty, That is AWESOME. I'm sad I wasn't there to see the Rifleman's AQT, but I'll be there for the Orange Hat ^:)^
Sounds like Ottawa was another great shoot.
G.B.
Thanks Gopher Boy,
I am really stoked about it myself. ^:)^ I hope to get even better. I can't wait to thank you all in person for your patience and help. Looking forward to the Orange Hat too. I believe the Appleseed folks to be a truly fine group of people. I will be lucky to call all of you my friends one day soon. :)
Ottawa was fantastic. Imagine the quality of instruction given to such a small group. O0
Marty
Hi everyone!
Sorry it's taken me some time to get in here, I've been under the weather. Gotta save my strength for Waterman! ^:)^
As it's been said, we had a great shoot. A nice, small group, allowed for some good instruction. I was pleased to see some returning faces to the group (you know who you are!). Yeah, it was a little warm out, but everyone seemed to do alright. Plenty of hydration, and breaks in the shade with some history sprinkled in always does the trick.
Congrats to Marty! Getting over that hump to rifleman is certainly a challenge (trust me I know!). Glad to hear you're thinking of picking up an Orange Hat. We could certainly use your help.
For everyone else knocking the door, be sure to keep practicing! Practice the positions, practice finding your NPOA quickly, mentally do a dry run of your COF. Know what you will do before you do it. Know where the mags are, which one is 2, which one is 8. All of these things can save you time when it counts.
It almost goes without saying, but I will anyhow...WATERMAN 300. All of you who were there with us last weekend in Ottawa have a pass to come see us again in Waterman. I strongly suggest you find a way to make it to the "best" shoot ever!
Thanks again to all, and see you on the trail! O0