Wow! Whatta hott'n,
Feels like was steady 104 plus it was a saunna not to mention to wade out to the target line we had to trudge through 4" of water and black stinky muck. No secret if you showed up to this event you experienced,battling the elements we had hot rain no cool breeze wth it on Saturday. Then the steam bath effect.
These incredible folks took all that Mother NATURE had to throw their way and a thirst for knowledge in our discipline.
So, Tomblin, Mr. Pete, Douglas and I turned on the Marksmanship Fire hose of knowledge, most of the patriots showed up with minimal skills and knowledge, quickly resolved as the rolled out despite cadre fighting to resolve a multitude of equipment issues, as sat poi got up to speed with time the sky started to fall the already saturated ground caused the posts on the taget to allow line to sag, it usually takes a jackhammer and slammer, but I was able to push these 10" into the ground with little effort.
Then God spoke loudly and directly to us from above. This shut down operations for the day,causing us to miss the 3rd strike Aqt and final redcoat. I Hate that, but, we had to get the students out of harms way.
Sunday started bright and early as everyone showed back up with more pep than I expected, I finished the third strike and this allowed three more firefighters, to arrive from Naples,fresh off from a 24 he shift, these fella's impressed me with there mental strength. Pam and Craig showed durability, and she shot his AR all weekend.
I need to pause for technical reasons so until I get get on a better working computer or get this tablet re-charged, I am opening the floor for others to log on and share!
Thanks to all the instructors that were out there! It was HOT! When your the one on the line you at least get to sling some lead, but when your an instructor your all over the place in that heat. We had some rain in the afternoon that brought some relief from the heat. Well that lasted all of about 10 minutes before it stopped and the sun came back out turning the day into a steam room experience. I remember looking down at myself at one point thinking, "I look like I just got out of a pool." My clothes were soaked. Well this being my second appleseed I thought I would leave the 10/22 at home and bring the M1a. I learned a lot just by switching calibers. I found out that what you could cheat or muscle with a .22 you cant with a .308. What was a small thing with the .22 was a big thing with the heavy caliber and would put you in your place. Despite the heat and humidity I was able to shoot a 220 and earn my INFERNOSEED patch!!! Again a big thanks to the instructors that were out there volunteering there time. I will be without a doubt at next months minus the M1a. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again and improving my marksmanship skills.
We also saw Uncle Tom bring 12 yo Zac and both graduated from boot camp with marksmanship scores!
Craig and Wayne showed persistance and grit one with a CZ boltie and the othe a tube feed composite!
Dave thinks he could rally 30-50 men I forgot which but either number is the most impresive I've heard in some time!These folks received instruction very well!
:sb: :pics: :pics: :pics: :pics: :pics: :DH: :slap: :shootself: :--- :~ ~~:) ..:..
First off, I want to offer a huge round of thanks to Sly223, Tomblin, Mr. Pete, and Douglas. You guys were awesome, hands down! While I was impressed with the knowledge, teaching skills, and mix of practical & historical lessons you guys came with; what I really appreciated the most was the patience you all showed for all of us who were cutting our teeth on a new skill set that included a host of contortionist body positions. Although I was able to absorb quite a bit over the two days, I know I've just scratched the tip of the iceberg & will definitely be back for more...although hopefully under dryer & less humid conditions.
Sly223 - The number was 30 but I'm already working on getting a lot of these guys geared up for future Appleseed events so I'm hoping that number will grow even a bit more.
Overall, what a great time and unique experience the weekend was. My eyes have been opened to say the least and I will be back for more. Too bad FLORIDANATIVE won't be bringing the M1A back though. That was one sweet rifle, along with some damn fine marksmanship behind the stock...great job and congrats on the rifleman patch!
Regards,
HateTheSnow
And sorry guys, no pics to post from my end. I'm pretty sure Tom got a few on his phone, so I'll pester him this week to put some up. Next time I'll bring a camera. And I do have one with a dive case, which might come in very handy with the Florida summer we're having this year.
Are you planning on going in August snow hater?
That's the plan at this point. I'm also working on getting a few of the guys out, so it should be a good outing.
Aside from that, I have a new stock coming in for the 10/22 this week that should give me the proper LOP and check weld, but worst case, I'll fall back to the AR clone or M1A. This last round illustrated how woefully unprepared I was in regard to my equipment, so I want to make sure I have that all squared up so I can put all my focus into learning the skill set.
"This last round illustrated how woefully unprepared I was in regard to my equipment, so I want to make sure I have that all squared up so I can put all my focus into learning the skill set."
If you spend any time with Appleseed you find it is a real test of equipment. None of the semi-auto 22 and most of the semi-auto Center-fires that I owned 2 years ago have a home in my safe now. Some of them I owned for more than 35 years. But if a rifle can't come out from under the water, given a shake and shoot a 210 it's gone. Sights, slings, scopes, caps, mounts, rings, swivels, mags, oil, grease :etc have all had to pass the Appleseed muster. But when you get all the gear squared away it really helps you get quickly into the shooter bubble.
Huzzah, Floridanative, I've wanted one of those Infernoseeds Patches, a hard one to earn, plus it's great to tick of the Yankees with it, Congratulations. ..:.. ..:.. ..:..
I used to get it because so&so has one,
or it looked cool,
now it has to function.
Finally, some pics came through. They're a little foggy, but it shows just how humid it was that weekend was...even the cameras were affected.
Here's Sly badging Zack for completing his first Appleseed
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz121/FLTF3/Appleseed/Zack1_zpsbade093a.jpg)
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz121/FLTF3/Appleseed/Zack2_zps1e673cc9.jpg)
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz121/FLTF3/Appleseed/Zack3_zps2957106d.jpg)
FLORIDANATIVE earning his Inferno Marksmanship Patch
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz121/FLTF3/Appleseed/Gregg1_zpsbe002740.jpg)
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz121/FLTF3/Appleseed/Gregg2_zpsccddc794.jpg)
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz121/FLTF3/Appleseed/Gregg3_zps5add3aaf.jpg)
HUZZZZZAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! :~ :~ :~ :~ :~ :--- :---