Azusa CA 18-19 October 2014

[Rocket Man]

It's that time again -- time for pumpkinseed!

Things were just about perfect last weekend at Burro Canyon, in the shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains near LA.  Any time's a good time to shoot, but good weather makes it so much sweeter...  Myself and long-time pal Bucklenose were joined by seven great Americans, five newcomers and a father-daughter team who are hot on the chase for the Patch.    We got off to a great start, reviewed our safety rules, and it was game on...   

Our opening Redcoats proved to be a little more bulletproof than they looked, however, so it was time to get down to business.     By lunchtime we had our prone position worked out pretty well and had pinpointed a few mechanical issues, with some rifles now sporting stylish pink pool-foamie cheek pads, and our groups were starting to tighten up nicely.

Over lunch we recounted the real birthday of the USA, and how we were saved from a fate worse than any two-bit horror movie, thanks to some brave men and women -- and even kids.   But ghosts aren't all scary.  The Spirit of '76, for one, will always be there to encourage us.   

With Saturday drawing to a close we'd logged our first AQT, and while we found no Riflemen in cook's costumes just yet, the closing Redcoats found themselves on the losing end of the deal this time, much as they did at the North Bridge.  To their surprise (but not the Shoot Boss's  ), our standout gunslingers were the mother-daughter team of Susan and Sami, who knocked off every target between them, and the rest of the class not far behind.   

On Sunday, tired and sore I guess, we headed back to the grind and really put the finishing touches on our technique.  We had no shortage of volunteers and the last few equipment gremlins were pretty much exorcised, so it all came together pretty nicely.  But there's always room for some fun.      Brandon was awarded the prize for Best Appleseed Pumpkin (Target) Carving, and we rounded out the day with some real pumpkin carving -- a little like yours, perhaps, except ours was done at a range of 70 meters.   -:)  All of our students got on pumpkin -er, target, and by the time we were done that poor little gourd was leaking like something out of a slasher movie...   

But to finish off with a BANG, we also demonstrated that Appleseed skills aren't just for rimfires.  The gang took a turn at a BIG rifle -- the legendary flinch-inducing .45-70 -- and proved to themselves that it was a piece of cake. All the same skills apply.  What little remained of our poor pumpkin was soon pulverized to plasma.  poof!

We've got one more scheduled for this year, coming up on November 22-23.  Maybe we'll try to make pumpkin pie the Appleseed way??  Who knows?  See you there!

[Rocket Man]

My pictures from the shoot.  PM me for high-resolution 3D Sensurround!


The light of Liberty shines down brightly on Appleseed.  O what a morning to be an American.


All lined up and ready to make confetti, on Saturday afternoon


Sami gets a taste of instructing, as she both learns and demonstrates the Steady Hold Factors for the prone position


Sunday afternoon.  They're as squared away as they look.  Nice.


Our pumpkin carvers show off their work.  Nicely done!

See you at the next one!

[TJ Kackowski]

That Pumpkin Carving Target is awesome!  Would you please post an electronic copy to the forum for the rest of us to use?

[Rocket Man]

Here you go...  print on standard sized paper.

I was thrilled while they were shooting it, because I could actually see daylight through some of the carvings, all the way from the target line.