It's a bit bittersweet to have to say goodbye to our beloved Chabot rifle range, as this will be our last shoot there before they are closed down, but we sent it off in grand style. The shoot was sold out at over 50 participants, although we had a number of no-shows, which was unfortunate as there was a waiting list. 7 new riflemen. Gorgeous weather both days in the mid 80's with a slight breeze.
Saturday began with morning introductions, Americana, and safety, and then launched right into our program and a full day of position shooting with nothing but a sling, stories, 2 AQT's, and the last round of the 2nd red coat right at the 5pm cutoff. From just after the first round of prone instruction everyone was looking for group size and location, maybe wishing their best friend would lie to them just a little, but by the end of the day we had a full 3/4's of the shooters effective at 100 yards or better. 10 shooters got the plank on the final redcoat, and 1 even cleared it.
Everyone was worn out by the end of the day, except for Charlie and Hudson, 8 and 10 years old. They were both still going strong, and when I asked if they were coming back tomorrow, Charlie turned to dad then lit up with a big YES!. Those 2 were amazing on safety, keeping their muzzles in a safe direction even when doing transitions. Just really impressive.
Sunday brought back a full contingent of sore but motivated shooters. We started the day with a thorough review, and began to emphasize flow and how it all ties together from the steady hold factors to sight alignment to trapping the trigger to staying in your bubble and operating at cadence while you dance with your target. We reviewed IMC, and saw a lot of really great student instruction during the ball & dummy+ drill. I especially like it when I overhear shooters who were not talking to each other before that drill, afterwards discussing all the fine points of making the shot among one another. Shows the teaching and learning will continue to the next range.
To get everyone out of their zen state of rifleman's bubble and ready for fast transitions, we did some single shot transition drills. On the first 16 second round for seated, only a small fraction of the shooters got the shot off. By the last 8 second transition to prone, nearly everyone got the shot off. And some of them were even well placed!
We took a break for lunch and stories, and then managed to punch out 8 AQT's in the afternoon grind. And lo and behold, something worked out as we ended up with 7 new riflemen! David N. shot a 211, Ted T. a 212, David K. a 211, 214 and a 219, Valderrama a 218, Tristan W. a 219, Anders H. a 220, and Ray shot a 229 for high score for the weekend! Congratulations to all these new Riflemen! They know very well what they are about. And for those of you that were close, or not, keep practicing what we taught and come back out and you will get there too.
I've added a chart showing the shooter's effective range as the weekend progressed. We want the percentages to increase and to shift to the right (longer range), and that's exactly what we saw, even with shooters tired in the evening, and groggy the next morning.
We will look forward to seeing some or all of you at the next shoot, wherever that may be. We are actively looking for a new home in the Bay Area, including private land, and anyone can contact me on the forum if they have a suggestion or offer. Otherwise, watch the calendar to see where and when we will have our next Bay Area shoot. In the mean time, consider Sacramento, Hat Creek, Redding, or any of the other nearby shoots.
It's been a pleasure and an honor to teach such good students at such a wonderful range.
The Staff (and forum handles):
Hans (Shoot Boss) - Libertarian777
Ron - The Horse
Mike - Edheler
Andy - 700x32
Matt - just.a.guy
Marta - 22calibear
Bob - BobS
Lauri - rifles-n-reeds
Ron F. - gecko
That was a great Appleseed send off to the Chabot Range and alot of fun too. Thanks to everyone for making this weekend's Appleseed such a memorable event. Hope to see you all out at the next one, wherever that might be.
Thanks for running the event! What a fun time and a great way to say goodbye to Chabot.
You'll be seeing me again when a new range is located. I might have gotten a rifleman badge, but I didn't manage to clear that pesky red coat target. I've got to clear that target!
- Tristan
This was a fantastic rendition of Appleseed, and a fitting end to our range. Thanks to everyone for coming out and bringing such great teachable attitudes.
Matt and I got some photos of the weekend:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5vwJAARuB9feVZTT2llZDE5OTA
Check near the end for Rifleman photos!
Hope to see you all back again at our new location, wherever it will be.
-Andy
A big thanks to all the people helping out making the shoot possible! I had a great time and improved way beyond my expectations.
I didn't take a whole lot of photos but I've uploaded a few of them here:
https://goo.gl/photos/uRDwiZ9XD53k6kz19 (https://goo.gl/photos/uRDwiZ9XD53k6kz19)
Hopefully Appleseed will return to the Bay Area soon enough.
- Anders
Great job and great send off for Chabot!!!
As always it looks like the Instructors did an awesome job...7 Riflemen!!!
Those students who want to come out to another event sooner, check out Sacramento, Hat Creek or Red Bluff. Sacramento is closest and you are more than welcome to join us!
All you instructors already know, but I'll mention it again, you are also more than welcome to join us at any other event. Looking forward to seeing all of you on the Appleseed trail somewhere, sometime.
Chabot sure gave us a nice send-off. It was perfect shooting weather. Not too hot. Not too cold. Made it all the more bittersweet.
Many thanks to shooter C. for kindly letting me try out his beautiful rifle. It was awesome!
It was a real pleasure watching all of you improve your marksmanship skills throughout the weekend, pushing through the exhaustion. A rifleman persists!
Hope to see you again at our new Appleseed home, wherever that may be.
This was my second Appleseed in two months. I had planned to attend the shoots scheduled for Oct. and Dec., but plans change. Chabot, only a ten mile drive from my home, will be no more. It's a terrible thing to see such a resource simply thrown away. But enough of that
I have had the best time spending my weekends with the talented instructors and friendly students at the shoots. I especially want to express my deep gratitude to the volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen. I have seen my skills improve and I am sure that with one more Appleseed I will make Rifleman!
And I would like to say congratulations to David K., who shot Rifleman three times (or was it four?) with a bolt-action. That man REALLY knows what he's about!
Calibear22, you are very welcome and I am glad you enjoyed it. My eyes are not quite good enough to use the peep sight anymore, so I'll be looking to pick up a scope for it soon. Next time I'll bring another really nice M39 for you to check out.
Thanks again to everyone, instructors and students, for what has been the highlight of my summer. Wherever you go next, I will be there with you.
PS: I'll put up some pics ASAP! Are videos ok as well?
Sad day to see the Chabot range close after all the years of doing Appleseeds there.
It has consistently been the most attended event location in California for quite a while...
A lot of people have been to those events, learned how to safely and accurately handle a rifle, and were educated about their history and heritage, and many have also become instructors there, too!
I am proud of all the Instructors, Shoot Bosses, and AppleCore volunteers over the years that have made the program such a success at Castro Valley, CA. Huzzah!!!
What a fantastic event. This was my first appleseed and after having so much fun and learning along the way, I am looking forward to bringing some more guests to the next one (wherever and whenever that may be). One of the most memorable moments of the weekend for me was during the "empty round" exercise. My partner for that is a seasoned shooter and we both had a huge laugh after an empty round got the better of him and his front sight post moved all over the place after he squeezed the trigger.
Thanks again to the instructors for the entertainment and the fun.
Sorry, i meant 22Calibear.
Great shoot and congratulations to those who achieved Rifleman! O0
Sadly while 34 other states are unified (politically) in support of gun rights, Californians are frragmented into something else.
Expect lots more range closures and LEO targeting of range patrons in the golden state. :(
ran across this!
posted for california gun owners to become more politically relevant.
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1236925
Uggh. Thanks for posting that. We had been planing on approaching them as a possible new home as one of our SB's lives near by. This doesn't feel like winning.
While at Chabot yesterday I heard someone say that the United Sportsman range in Concord is re-opening its rifle and pistol lines after closing last year following a training accident. I'm not familiar with that range; might it be a good replacement for Chabot?
Last day at Chabot tomorrow. Think I might have to go and say goodbye.
Hey Dipstick,
Think I might stop by too.