Red Bluff, CA - December 12-13, 2009

[James E]

Thanks to Tehama Shooters Assoc. for welcoming us once again to Red Bluff.

Yes, we had rain, and cold, and wind.  But we're 28 Americans becoming American Riflemen.  We improvised, adapted, and overcame.  Our experience level ranged from many brand-new shooters, to a veteran of both the USMC and Special Forces.  Our age range varied from 12 years old, to a couple married for 46 years.

We shot the Redcoats.  We learned.  We practiced.  We persisted.

When we got too cold, we retreated to the clubhouse to hear the stories, told with passion, of the Three Strikes.

Comparison of the Saturday evening redcoats with the morning effort shows what we Americans can do if we want to.

Morning   Evening
Redcoat   Redcoat

28         17         Shooters

9         8         100 yard
2         2         200 yard
0         2         300 yard
2         3         400 yard
5         4         Headshot
1         2         Cleared Redcoat


Sunday brought an improvement in the weather, with brief patches of sun.  Ten Americans returned to join us in celebrating the heritage of American Marksmanship.  After review of the previous day, we shot some squares, then went on to the AQT.  At lunch, we talked about the Bill of Rights, and Dangerous Old Men and Women.  By the end of the day, we all saw improvement.

Three shooters saw their scores meet the Rifleman standard.  And all three expressed a desire to attend a second Appleseed and step up to help with the Project.  Dale achieved the first Rifleman score with a 218.  Caleb showed persistence and brought in a score of 222.  On the last AQT of the day, Curtis scored a 225.

Many thanks to my fellow instructors, Eaglescouter, Norcal22gal, and Chris H.  Also, it was my privilege to hand Chris H his well deserved Red Hat.

Some photos

A glorious morning:




We persisted:




We worked on Ball and Dummy:




American Rifleman Dale:




American Rifleman and respected veteran Caleb:




American Rifleman Curtis:




The complete web photo album here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/emanuel.james/AppleseedRedBluffDecember2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCL3w_t2D6OCFcQ&feat=directlink

[eaglescouter]

The dedication of the participants at the Red Bluff Appleseed was impressive.  I honestly expected complaints about the wet and cold Saturday morning, but instead we encountered smiles from dedicated patriots who were focused on achieving their personal goals.  Their perseverance was inspiring. 

[DesertDog]

Congratulations to Chris H , a true patriot

[LayloPro]

Amen to that!!
Chris, congrats!! You've come a long way in a short time, and it's all well deserved!
Look forward to working with you again soon!

Red Bluffers sure got it done this last weekend!! Great results, and good effort make for an outstanding time.....and I doubt much of anybody would have gone home complaining.......

The numbers show the facts, the faces show the truth.....looks like a lot of folks were having a good time!

Awesome job, all!! You persisted!

LLP

[Chris_H]

Thanks to everyone!

I knew we had at least 20 pre-registered shooters, but with the cold, the rain, the mud and the fog, I was expecting to see maybe half of that.

Then 28 showed up! Awesome!  

I had a great time with all of the shooters, as well as JamesE, eaglescouter & NorCal22gal.

Our two oldest shooters both showed a determination that would have made Samuel Whittemore proud. This was Jean's first time ever firing a rifle, & had a hard time on Saturday - what with the weather, our firehose of info, getting into unfamiliar positions, & not even being sure how to hold the rifle!

When she came back on Sunday, she was overjoyed to get on paper on her first string of fire!

I think the weather is a part of what made this particular Appleseed so great, & I'm looking forward to continuing on the trail.

DesertDog, LayloPro, thanks!

Lynda (my wife) wanted to come, but hurt her wrist on Friday night, and it's been swollen & wrapped since then. She & my kids were able to come to the range to see James present me with the Red Hat though. We'll all be down in CA visiting family in a few weeks, & she wants to shoot at the Corona, CA AS on Jan. 9-10!  


Chris_H

[NorCal22Gal]

Cold, wet, gloomy, muddy. A day meant to be spent on the couch with a cup of cocoa and a good book........OR  a day to spend at the range with 28 fellow Americans.  Many of our shooters were very new, and very excited to be at an appleseed.  We had kids and families and couples.....of all ages.  Despite the rain washing the targets off the backers, there were lots of smiles and laughing and learning.  We were the lucky CA range that had a covered cement shooting line.  we put up ez ups behind the shooters that could be used to keep stuff fairly dry. the parking area is gravel. We also had access to the club house that has a wood burning stove.   Mid morning Saturday the heat and hot cocoa was a nice break, as Chris went over talking targets and IMC.  Lunch and history both days in the club house was nice. 

Monday night Eaglescouter and I attended our Tea Party meeting. Several members of the Redding and Red Bluff Tea Party groups were at the shoot.  We asked several of the shooters who were there to tell abt their time. All were positive. 

Even though I managed to catch a cold thursday, which resulted in the almost total loss of my voice, I still enjoyed helping to the best of my ability. Seeing everyone have a good time despite the cold wet was amazing. 

Caleb & Dale camped at the range with us.  they were alot of fun around the wood stove in the evenings, especially hearing abt caleb bungee jumping from a hot air balloon....you'll have to ask him when you meet him....

It was a real treat to watch even the kids have a great time and learn.  We had a Hannah in our line....should have seen her eyes when James mentioned Hannah Davis...really connected for her.

Well another successful shoot over and thanks to the happy comments from the other tea party members, there are many others looking forward to the spring shoots.

Hope to have pictures up soon.

NorCal22Gal

[LayloPro]

well, that'll work!!
If Lynda wants to shoot on the Corona range, you know the drill....gals shoot free, except for range fees (in this case. $20/day....)

Come on down, we'll be happy to have you!!

Keep up the great work, all!!

LLP

[NorCal22Gal]

You know......you guys are more than welcome up here too....come on up. we have three shoots next year.  could use the help.

[Camljr]

Would love to see you guys, but that is at least a 1200-1300 miles round trip!

$200 worth of gas, wear and tear on the 1997 Bonneville, and a 12 hour drive each way...

Unless I shoot boss, RWVA won't pay for me to go when there are closer folks to do the shoot.

[Rio Bigg]

The family had a great time.  We all got colds, but not sure we can blame it on shooting in the rain.  We'll be back for the next Red Bluff event.  When will it be?
I'll bet we could make this work at our home range in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  For some reason there's no events in Oregon.
Perhaps I'll have to remedy that.

Thanks to the dedicated instructors for turning out in the rain, too!

[NorCal22Gal]

Rio Bigg...next shoot is march 6-7....hope to see you.

NorCal22Gal