Project Appleseed

 
  Fred, Funfaler,and Golfer7080 all flew into LAX on friday morning and before we knew it, we were all together at an In 'N' Out Burger enjoying Double-Doubles. After a little strategizing over burgers, we headed up to Wes Thompson's Piru Rifle Range. After stopping and checking out the public full distance range (steel plate to 700yrds and a 1000 yrd gong on the hill), we proceeded to the Appleseed firing lanes. Fred, Funfaler and Golfer started  measureing the firing line to try and squeeze as many spot as possible out of the lane. With Golfer checking for debree in front of me, I headed down to the range office to see a man about a tractor. Once I got the brush cut back as far as possible, we proceeded to move the shed farther from the firing line and we managed to make room for 40 shooters! I left the gang to set up the location for the target backers as I went to the 3rd and 4th firing lanes to clear the brush from what would become our parking lot for those two lanes.
   With daylight left, we put up a couple of target backers and with Funfaler calling the line, we proceeded to put up a redcoat and send lead down range. Then we switched Fred to Line Boss duties as Funfaler joined us on the line for an AQT. With the sun going down, we went to check in at the hotel and drove into Ventura for some BBQ.
   Saturday morning had us catching Fred picking oranges from the trees at the motel. We tried to explain that these were just juice oranges and despite this and the fact that I brought 2 crates of fresh picked tangerines from the tree at home, we couldn't disuade him from relieving the local fauna from all that extra weight. From the motel it was off to a fast food breakfast and on to the range, where we found several Appleseeders anxiously awaiting our arrival. The shade canopy went up along with the flag and several Revolutionary War flags brought by our fearless leader. Also hung with great care was the April 19th Project banner which was met with great appreciation. At this point the staff was split up...Kool-aid, Minerva and several volunteers headed off to lanes 3 & 4 to set up target backers and the second banner and set up the firing line. As admin began, headed up by Francis Marion, Videobrat and Hollywoodmarine at the main firing lane, volunteers helped kDan set up the target backers as golfer, funfaler and Johnnyappleseed took care of traffic control.
    69 folks showed up ranging from 9 to 87 and after the introduction, including a talk from the range owner Mike Thompson (he gave us all a heartfelt welcome and also had an M1 Garand to raffle off at $20 a ticket )and the first strike of the match, we went into the 4 safety rules and line commands. Before sending the shooters off to their respective ranges, we divided them into two groups, centerfire and rimfire and sent them on their way.
  As I worked the centerfire lane I leave the details from the rimfire lane to someone that was there. I worked with Golfer7080, kDan, Francis Marion, and Johnnyappleseed and we opened with the standard redcoat and met with standard results...the redcoats were safe. Then it was onto sling use and prone position check points, and the dreaded 1" black squares. Then onto 6 steps, complete with chorus and then our journey took us to the land of IMC. Before we got to ball & Dummy we took lunch in order to be on time for the nationwide redcoat course of fire.
  Lunch brought us the second strike of the match by our adopted Texan, Golfer 7080 who did an excellent job as he brought home the idea of the commitment shown by the founders.
   After lunch, we lined up on the line and went into prep period....the excitement mounted as we explained the impact of the first ever nationwide rifle marksmanship event coupled with the first ever nationwide simultaneous course of fire and before we knew it, it was upon us..."FIRE!!" Then it began....boom...boom..boom boom.....boom boom boom and as the sound increase in volume and frequency, I could swear I heard distant and quieter booms going on off in the distance....oh it must have been the other firing lanes....but wait a minute they were only shooting 22lr....hmmm could it have been the rest of the country? I wonder......
  From there it was onto ball & dummy and allowing the students to become teachers. Then onto more black squares and the NPOA drill. As we asked the shooters to get into npoa and then carded their front sites, the shooters were shown that they were actually muscling their way into what they thought was npoa and so they were able to correct themselves.Then more black squares!
  As the sun was starting to go down we did our first AQT and then began cleaning up so that we could gather the folks back up at the main lane and present the third strike of the match and the benediction. Fred also took the time to explain the places the Revolutionary flags were flown. Then it was back to Fillmore and Yanni's Charbroiler, after which we had the standard "tupperware party" back at the motel to go over the days events with all the instructors.
  Day two dawned cool and sunny, and it was back to the range for more instruction and improvement. A morning welcome including a safety rules and line command refresher, especially for the 6 new shooters that joined us, and we were back to the firing line. We started off with a single shot redcoat, where each shooter would load one single round, fire and then fire another single round, etc......until they fired the entire 13 round COF, similar to what the founders had to go thru as the British Regulars charged them. One shooter, Tom, cleared the entire target....GOOD JOB! This was followed by a regular redcoat COF to emphasize the advantage of modern firearms in comparison!! What an eye opener! This was followed by a trip back to the land of 1" black squares and then we settled into the AQT grind.
   As the day progressed, Fred and I took four shooters that were grouping very well, down to the full distance range to show them that everything they learned at 25m, also worked at distance. As the boys started to reach out from 200yards to 300, 400, 500 and even 600 yards ringing gongs, I noticed something very interesting......other shooters at the public range with race guns and trick scopes were shooting at the same steel gongs evidenced by the spashes of dirt all around the targets, even as our boys were ringing the gongs with iron sights!!!! Hey, what do ya know...the stuff works!!
   Well, it was time to head back up to the main range and rap it up. After everyone gathered back up at the main range, Fred and I gave some closing remarks followed by Funfaler's heartfelt benediction. Fred also recited some very moving quotes from the Revolutionary War period. We handed out rifleman patches to 3 skilled shooters, Cindy, Casey, and Bruce. We also commended 9 year old Holly for her great improvement and after a great big round of applause Kool-Aid closed us out by the reading of the t-shirt. As usual, nobody seemed in a very big hurry to leave, especially the range owner Mike and a couple of other dignitaries  ( people affiliated with adjacent firing lanes). It was interesting to here from Mike, that after we left the full distance range, some of the shooters there were very interested in learning the skills that our shooters exhibited on that range!
   It was time to pack up all the stuff, lock up the shed and head for the beach. We were trying to get Fred, Funfaler, Golfer and James (Golfer's son who shot a 202 on the AQT) to the beach before sunset (kDan left early to catch his flight) so they could get the ultimate view.....well we didn't make before sunset, but we did make it before dark. The visiting Instructors got to see the big blue Pacific Ocean....and surfers doing their thing on the waves! As the sun set we headed over to The Habit (burger place) and had dinner with most of the other instructors and a few shooters, reminiscing about the day....we actually closed the place down. So it was back to the motel for a little good thing, bad thing, where each of us pointed out something positive and something negative about the shoot. After some good constructive criticism(Bob Bashing ) we said our good nights and went our seperate ways....but not before Kool-Aid got a great big hug on Fred....I didn't think a man could turn such a bright color of red!!!   It was time to turn the page on another excellent Appleseed weekend...a weekend of many firsts, but above all a weekend the Founding Fathers would be VERY proud of!!
   I wanna thank all the Instructors for their diligent performance, the attendees and their perserverence, and Fred and Funfaler for coming out and making this another successful event. Hope to see you all back on the Appleseed trail very soon!

Bob 210

   Ahhhhh. Adventures of the RWVA Engineers!   Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, then shoot!  JB   

The most important revalation that I got this week-end was that Fred and Funfaler are go together like Martin & Lewis, Abbott & Costello and Cramden & Norton.  Look out Hollywood.  Could the Appleseed telethon return the country's foundation?

Quote from: golfer7080 on April 22, 2008, 05:14:09 PM
The most important revalation that I got this week-end was that Fred and Funfaler are go together like Martin & Lewis, Abbott & Costello and Cramden & Norton.  Look out Hollywood.  Could the Appleseed telethon return the country's foundation?

And that funfaler looks totally different on the forum!

Photos of Piru

More photos

more photos

More photos

  Sweet pics! Beautiful site! Thanks for letting us "be there"!  JB

What a great weekend!!!  If anyone gets a chance to shoot in Piru California GO.  What a great range to shoot at.  All I can say right now is that it is going to get even better. 

A big thank you to Mike Thompson and Mom for hosting us this week-end.  Two of the most enjoyable people to be around.  Mom has been teaching NRA youth hunter safety courses for over 45 years.  Mike has been actively teaching and shooting for 40+ years also.  The are wonderful folks that I will make every effort to get back to visit and if I am lucky will have an opportunity to spend more time with.

The shooters at Piru this weekend were great.  Each and every individual that I had time to talk with were very pleasant folks.  Dennis and George, Dave and his son Derrick, Ken, Tony, Tom, John (my staplegun provider), Ken, Ian, Milo and his dad and brother, Jaques, the list goes on and on.  Everyone eager to learn and to persaveer. 

The instructor group, the people and the setting were unbelievable.   

My 11 y/o son shot his best ever AQT of 202.  Missing rifleman by 8 points.  We were on separate ranges (by choice) and it was about 3/8 of a mile between them.  He ran all the way to where I was at to show me his target.  He was so excited that he helped make sandwiches at lunchtime for the instructors so they would have the strength to get him over the hump.  Problem was he forgot to feed himself and he petered out in the afternoon.  He is already planning our next trip to Piru. 

I cannot say enough about the shoot boss Bob210, Kool-Aid, VideoBrat, Fred and Funfaler.  They got him over the 200 hump and have been instrumental in building his skills to where I believe that James will be dropping off of the cooks roster at his next Appleseed.  Great job guys and thanks.


Chris
aka golfer7080

     Chris, I heard it was 203, not 202! Lots of full-grown men would love to be able to say they can shoot over 200 on the AQT. That James is gonna make a great rifleman! After that comes the most honored profession - rifleman-instructor!

     That picture of "Tony and his Dad" shows what I believe to be the oldest Appleseeder to date: 87-year-old "Dad".

     He was a little stiff, and had just a touch of trouble with the iron sights, but he hung in there for the entire weekend. What a guy!

     Him being from Wisconsin, we sent him back with some flyers to hand out for Shiocton.

     Yep, it was easy to spot Fred both days - he usually was eating an orange - plucked fresh from the tree, in the morning...

VideoBrat thank you for jelping me in the shoot.  You taught me toh most about the Appleseed.  Your were nice, Kind and generous in giving knowledge to me.  There were a bunch of people there also that were very kind.  Bob210,  Hollywood Marine, Kool-Aid, golfer7080, funfaler, Kdan, Jonny Appleseed, Francis Marian and Fred and they are all good instructors.  I loved going to that Appleseed so much.  I wish I never left.  I will miss all of you instructors except for golfer7080 because he is my dad and I see him everyday.  He says that we might be able to come back because you will be shooting more at Piru.  I hope so.

No doubt, I was most likely the "supreme newbie" at Piru having never been to such an event.  So many positive comments I could post here--but I'll be brief.  I left the Piru shoot a different person than when I arrived.  I thought I was a patriot before this Appleseed. But now I think I understand what true patriotism is about. Funfaler has the patience of Job!! Thank you to the other instructor for the use of your loaner(s).  I actually preferred the bolt action rifle.  Am working on my sister to get her to Ridgecrest.  My husband is also spreading the word with friends and co-workers about this great project.  Thanks a million for making a mamabear feel welcome--as well as her 2 cubs!!    

Arm 11 said it so well , He summed up my feelings."I loved going to that a
appleseed so much, I wish I never left."
My thanx to everyone for making this April 19th such a wonderful weekend.
Johnnyappleseed

CAmamabear,
I felt the exact same way after the first Appleseed I attended which was in Corona, Ca. I am not yet sure if I will be in Ridgecrest, but if I do make it I will be taking my granddaughter again (if she can make it). She has now also been bitten by the Appleseed bug. I, of course, take no credit for that.   
It was a beautiful weekend in Piru. I will never forget it.
All the instructors were great at helping out and just getting the job done, whatever it entailed. Thank you all for putting out the effort to see to it that things ran smoothly. I could see that the instructors are passionate about the program.

Bob210 you did a great job on the shoot as well as on the range. The range looked great. I didn't see it before you "engineers" got there, but I know you all did a lot of work. I did see the pics.

Well I am finally accumulated back to Wisconsin.  It has been a very very busy week.  My dear brother in law Ron passed  away when we were in CA.  So we were  meet with a lot of issues when we got home.

My dad and I had the best time ever!  I can't thank everyone enough for their hospitality
and instruction.

I did not make rifleman again although everyone thought I would. " If it is easy, its not worth achieving."  I will make it next time!  I was so close.

It was so great to meet Fred,  He is much more than I thought he would be.  What a great Man!!!!!!!

    Aw, shucks - another guy who mistook funfaler for Fred! I hate that!

    BTW, the 7th pic down on the prior page, labeled "James the Flagman", shows some of the Rev War flags on display.

    The white one James is holding up is the Culpepper Minuteman flag - they were part of Colonel Patrick Henry's First Virginia Regiment of 1775. The rattlesnake was a common image back then, symbolic of the American colonies.

    The rattlesnake is also on the flag on the lower right, the flag used on ships (at least some) of the Rev War Navy, also known as the First Navy Jack or "Continental Navy Jack". And after 9/11, and for the duration of the War on Terror, that same flag is flown by all modern US Navy ships. That shows spirit, on the part of some admiral. Thanks to him for a nice Rev War touch. (By an instruction dated 31 May 2002 (SECNAV Instruction 10520.6), the Secretary of the Navy directed the use of the rattlesnake jack in place of the union jack for the duration of the Global War on Terrorism.)

     The flag on the upper right in the distance, blue with a white canton, is the flag flown at Bunker Hill.

     The flag to the left of the Navy Jack is known as Grand Union or "Continental Colors". Here's a description of it:
     This flag was never officially sanctioned by the Continental Congress but is considered the first flag of the United States and was in use from late 1775 until mid 1777. This flag was an alteration of the British Meteor flag. In its blue canton was the red cross of St. George, signifying England, and the white cross of St. Andrew, signifying Scotland. The thirteen stripes signified the original colonies. Retaining the British Union in the canton indicated a continued loyalty, as the Americans saw it, to the constitutional government against which they fought. On January 1,1776, this flag was first raised on Prospect Hill (then called MT. Pisgah), in Somerville, Massachusetts. At this time the Continental army came into formal existence. At the time it was known as the continental colors because it represented the entire nation. In one of Washington's letters he referred to it as the "Great Union Flag" and it is most commonly called the Grand Union today.

     People at Piru seemed to like the flags. They were donated to the California RWVA by National RWVA, so you will see them at California Appleseeds.

    We are working on making those flags part of every future Appleseed, but it'll take a few weeks until they are distributed.

    BTW, if you look at the impressive edifice behind James, it's been renamed "Mt Appleseed" by our California contingent. 

http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/FLAGS.HTM

Hey SavageShootr, CONGARTULATIONS!!!!
I don't know how I missed the fact that you hit the Riflemans number at Piru!
Welcome fellow IIT.
Did you do it on your bolt rilfe?

SS did in fact shoot it with a bolt gun, surf.

BTW, we missed you bro! But there is that whole pesky 'gotta make a living' thing........

Thanks Kool Aid! I'll see you at Ridgecrest.

What I didn't say was that at Corona I saw SavageShootr worked that bolt like Col. Townsend! It is very impressive to see rapid and smooth bolt manipulation,
a very old timey skill not often encountered these days.

Well done again SavageShootr!

Hey Socalserf,

Thanks so much.

Yes, I did use my Savage bolt .22.

Thank You for the encouragement at Corona, I think it helped me to know that I was doing well with the bolt so I could concentrate on the steps. Shooting by the numbers got me there. The instructions of JB were excellent. Thank you JB.

I worked on mag changes, which in Corona, were a bit ummmm sluggish. I also worked on positions, not necessarily the transitions, but getting better at shooting in the sitting and offhand positions. I believe prone to be my best position so I did shoot some prone too, so I didn't give up entirely. The key is to practice in order to persevere.

I will miss you all at Ridgecrest. I would be there if I were needed, but it looks like you guys can handle this one. Have a great Appleseed. It looks like the next Piru Appleseed is where I will hopefully get my feet wet as an IIT.

~Savageshootr

BTW  I was wondering when someone would refer to me as "SS". Thanks KA!! It has a nice ring to it.    

I enjoyed the flags that were on display at the Piru Appleseed.

I tried to go to the Homestead flags website and there is too much traffic on it and it was unavailable. I wonder what (or who) made that site so popular?

Colycat, I agree with you, meeting Fred was an honor.

I'd like to start off by saying a very heart felt "Thank you!" to all the instructors working with all of us "cooks".....My son-in-law has had -very- limited shooting experience so far, and even though he didn't get to shoot as much as he should have (equipment & ammo failures, all mine), he's already pounding my toes to go to another AS, or just out to the range ASAP. Gotta love the enthusiasm! And since I've resolved the equip/ammo issues, we can! I won't be able to get him to Ridgecrest due to prior commitments , but NV or AZ is a possible...(unless we have -another- PRK event!)....we'll see how it works out....

The instructors were awesome (we had Fred personally on our end of the line down in "Dirty Bottoms") and even though I don't do well with "accountability" personally, enjoyed the individual attention that they were able to give to us...and the target is the scoreboard, no argument there .....up topside on the center fire range, Bob210, JohnnyA, & Golfer were awesome at keeping up the pace, and encouraging us to do our best...at whatever level we were shooting....and James running up with his 202 was a lot of fun too....way to make a 20 y.o. feel "pwned"? Have a 11 y.o. show him how to "git 'r dun".... Now he really has a fire lit under his butt to do better........
Driving home we reviewed the weekend, what we had learned, how it changed things, and what we could do better next time, and when we would be able to get to the range to start working on the "7" steps..... One week later, Alex already has one committed friend who wants to be at the next AS.....as it should be, eh? Again, I learned a lot, learned what I personally need to focus on to improve my accuracy, and saw the start of something that may just save our state. And for that, I salute all of you that make these happen. Thank you.

Now, a bit of a soapbox that began from a conversation with Bob210.....

It took me by surprise we had Fred out at our "lowly PRK" event, but Bob210 said we had high registration out of all the AS shoots the weekend of the 19/20th.....how did -that- happen? Could it be there might actually be a few hundred Patriots lurking out here in our land of latte slurping millions? 
Because of legislation, and "public opinion" here, most of the shooters I've known tend to keep to the shadows, never talking about their guns, their shooting, or anything related to the folks at work, or at their kids school, or at their church. And I've been as guilty as the rest here.....geez, last I checked, we've been out of high school a -long- time now, & even then, I didn't much care for "peer pressure", or "public opinion". Gotta change back to that....now....
Most folks will feel that PRK is a lost cause, it's gone too far under to recover, it just isn't worth fighting all the liberals for, etc, etc......maybe, maybe not. It might be easier to pack up & move somewhere else, but in all my traveling lately, I haven't been seeing much in the way of viable alternatives. Most states seem to -want- to emulate Cali....Why? Fred is dead nuts right when he notes that the average American has gotten to be one lazy son of a gun....and asleep to where the waterline is.....and so is Patrick Henry, all these years later...."When shall we be stronger? Will it be when we are totally disarmed?"
What came to mind after talking with Bob is that we do have a -lot- of folks here in PRK that are in the shadows....thinking they're all alone, and no one else knows, or understands their shooting heritage.....and I will focus some effort on reaching them.....my center of influence is not great, but it is out there a bit.....we have organizations we can tie in with, whose members can also become true Riflemen/women....it is do-able. And yep, Fred has seen this already...it just takes getting up, & -doing-.......7th step.

That's all, I hope I didn't bore anyone.....Thanks again to all that set this ball in motion, past & present.
God bless.

    Goodness Gracious! Stay on your soapbox!

    Does this mean there's hope in California?

    There's enough gunowners in California that if we can wake half of them up, they'll take over and run the state - and be able to send missionaries out to the rest of the country!

    What a turn of the wheel that would be!

    I'm packing my bags! ("Hope" is kinda rare, regardless of where you go in this country - except at Appleseeds. If there's a just a faint whisp of smoke, I want to be there to gently blow on it, and see if a conflagration can be started. Is that a whisp I see in California? )

Laylopro,

Well said. Not at all bored by any of it, as a matter of fact I will probably quote you at one time or another. Like Fred said, keep on that soapbox. California needs people like you.

I finally came out of the shooters closet, and talk about the fact that I shoot. I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "Oh, you shoot? I don't want to P*** you off." To which I reply, "Oh, you drive? I don't want to P*** you off!" I know, it sounds sarcastic, and I just need to try to rise above their remarks. I am a work in progress. I will try to be good.

Hopefully, we can change the negative attitudes that people have of shooters. I have two of my instructors wanting to learn how to shoot after I graduate in May. So I think we are making some progress.

Fred, Yes, I think there is hope for California. I will keep talking to people about getting to Appleseed. I already made 100 fliers since the last Appleseed and am getting them distributed. Thanks for all you do.

~SS

Laylopro,
Welcome to the forum.
Good new sir, we have planned another Appleseed for Piru on May31/ June1.
Hope to see you and your family there!

Hi all,

and thanks all for the kind words for a newb.....they are appreciated.

SoCal...thanks!! That falls on a good weekend, & we should be able to get a good group out there for that. Mike's range is a hidden gem, & the surrounding countryside is -realllll- pretty.....

SS....sarcasm is yet another service we should all offer!! It might just be the "kick in the pants" some of Fred's "doofus's" need to get 'em up & to the range. But you probably drive the same freeways with those folks as well, & there is a whole lot more misery caused by them & their cars, than with us & our guns. I'll put a $100 bill on -that- bet all year long!!

Fred, there are quite a few gun owners here in PRK, but most of them are just flat ignorant of what the rest are going through.....I've had previous conversations with duck/dove hunters that "don't care what happens to assault rifles"....they think their semi auto shotguns are "safe" from the Brady bunch, et al.
Shooting a rifle well doesn't matter to them because they don't "shoot rifles" at all.....some of my IPSC friends are the same way....they don't care about "rifle shooting"......I guess the primary sin here is most of these folks are just too "self-absorbed"......
I'm going to give some serious focused thought on how to break through that wall with these folks.....in the meantime, flyers are a good thing at collection points (gun shops, ranges, reloading stores)....and I will be working on incorporating some form of tie-in with some of the organizations I am either with as a member, or Board member.....

One person at a time, just like one step at a time......

TTYAS, & God bless.

Laylopro,
With folks like you I know we can turn this state around!

Laylopro,

   First of all, welcome to the forum! It's good to have you here.....how does it feel to know your not alone? I'm really glad we had that little conversation....especially since it lit this fire in you....don't hold back and never get off of that soapbox!!! I appreciate any effort you put forth to reach the "hiding" masses and I would love to brainstorm with you about how to do just that! Please send me a PM (personal message)  so that we can talk about this.....I have a couple of idea's I would love to share with you.....

Bob 210