Castro Valley, CA April 17-18, 2010 AAR

[bob 210]

The beauty surrounding the Chabot Gun Club Range is astounding and Camljr and I breathed it in as we rolled up on the range Saturday morning. Meeting ASMinuteman at the range, we started setting up the target backers and admin table, 35 shooters arrived to join in this weekend's celebration. It was good to see some past attendees,
(anotherZebra and Mark) but most of the folks that arrived were new faces. We had several pre-reg no shows, but made up some of that with walk-ons. After the morning welcome and introductions, we touch a little on history and went into safety and line commands, followed by the first Red Coat of the day. The results were:

400yds  4
300yds  3
200yds  2
100yds  1
UQ       12
HS        6
CL        3

Wow! 3 folks cleared the Red Coat, and 6 got the Head Shot....It seemed we had some shooters in the crowd! We proceeded with instruction on squares and had some great groups come from the process. 1:00 pm arrived very quickly and we proceeded to join the rest of the nation in the Simultaneous commemorative volley. Although it was tough to hear anything at this range (there is a viscous echo in this valley and it seemed all the other firing lanes were full of people) we managed to get into a steady pace near the end. It was nice to see (and hear) almost as many center fire rifles on the line as 22's. We made a joyful noise! It was time for lunch and the 3 strikes. A big thank you goes out to ASMinuteman and Camljr for not only doing a great job at the history presentation, but for bringing the period clothing and Brown Bess! The history seemed to be well received in spite of all the noise from the other firing lanes. Then it was on to seated and standing position. The time monkey got the best of us at this shoot, because as we hurriedly complete stage 2 of the first AQT and prepared for stage 3, the range master informed us that we had to stop all shooting at 5:00pm. We left the second half of that AQT hanging and proceeded to clean up. I got to tell you, between the three of us, we were beat...but in a good way.

Sunday morning we finished off that AQT and another Red Coat and with 25 attendees, started into the AQT grind. The results from Sunday's AQT's was the following:

               Sun AM      Sun PM
400yds         3               1
300yds         4               4
200yds         5               5
100yds         7               10
UQ               5               1
HS               12              4
CLR              2                0

I think we wore some of these good folks out with the AQT's all day.....I know it wore us instructors out! ASMinuteman had to depart after lunch, but not without giving an excellent account of David Lamson, Mother Batherick, and others! Camljr shared the story of Samuel Whittamore and we made our point that regardless of age or gender, everyone can be an important part of the cause of Liberty!

The weekend saw us come away with 5 rifleman.

Jorge   219
Robert  213
Jon  215 and 211
Tom  216
Hank  215, 212, 234 and some others....he said he lost count!

We had Bob knocking on the door with a 203 and Zak with a 191. Kris shot a respectable 189 and Ron, Mark and Rick were all the the 170's. I'm sure these good folks will make it at the next Appleseed......remember, dryfire practice at home! After cleaning up, we proceeded to raffle of items using the RWVA playing cards and everyone went home with something to remember the weekend by. I hope the attendees got as much enjoyment out of this special weekend as I did. Looking forward to the next one! 

[asminuteman]

.

[Herr_Berg]

Great report! I'll be doing my first Appleseed shoot there in June.

[asminuteman]

.

[Ronin]

I want to thank Bob210, ASMinuteman and Camljr for a great shoot. I brought my wife Sarah (2121sgrl here), my son Jason (1st time shooter), Sarah's Dad - Jim and Uncle- Bob and our friend Eve. I want to thank all instructors for the calm, personal attention and help for my family. How's your hand Bob, that broom handle was an SOB. Borrowed rifle, what can I say. Great stories and presentations. Sarah had some bruises that raised eyebrows at work but she 7 stepped the whole crew. I'm very proud of her. We hope to see you all, or others in June.

Ronin762
Ken

[Camljr]

The beauty surrounding the Chabot Gun Club Range is astounding and Camljr and I breathed it in as we rolled up on the range Saturday morning.


That is an understatement! I never would have thought there could be such beautiful scenery less than 30 miles from San Francisco.
Here are a few shots...

[Camljr]

Since I was the resident photographer for this shoot (along with my other duties), I did not make the photos...

Probably better that way, anyway!!!


More photos.... Enjoy....

[Camljr]

More pics of the attendees....

Remember, you can click on the picture, make it larger, right click, and "save as"   put it in a folder to your computer.

If anyone wants the full version of a certain picture, send me a PM and I will send it to your regular e-mail address...

[Camljr]

By the way, the date was wrong on my camera....

If that was the only problem I had all day, that would be a good day!!

And here are our RIFLEMEN!!!!

The last picture is of 2 deer we saw grazing on the side of interstate 580, right on the onramp to the freeway!!!

I was lucky to get that shot!! we were merging onto the freeway at the time.

[DesertDog]

I remember that view well form last year when we were all up there, awesome!! 

Looks like you guys were on a different range, hope that reduced the noise issue we had then.

Nice pic of Bob in the Rev War outfit, but I'm not sure they had wrap arounds back then

[asminuteman]

.

[asminuteman]

.

[Hank Dodge]

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all.

It was nice to meet all of you this weekend.  It was an absolutely fantastic experience. The whole affair was well structured and very informational. Not only was there precise instruction in the art of rifle marksmanship, the history surrounding April 19, 1775 provided to the group in the heartfelt presentations by the instructors was beyond compare.  I left there with a renewed appreciation for the sacrifices made by those Patriots at Lexington and Concord that fateful day.  I will highly recommend attending one of these fine events to everyone I know.  I am very interested in assisting with any further Appleseeds in the area as well.  Please keep me in the loop and contact me with any information as to how to become more involved in the program.  The Appleseed Program is a great asset to preserving the future of this Republic. 


Hank

[Puppy]

Thanks to everyone involved last weekend. I had a blast and learned a lot. I appreciate the dedication of our instructors and the friendly nature of the other participants. I have some photos and comments that I'll post later. - Tom "Puppy" Levesque

[bob 210]

Great to see you new folks on the forum! Welcome and I'm glad to hear your input.

[angst18]

 I want to Give my heartfelt gratitude to Bob210, ASMinuteman and Camljr for all their hard work and dedication last weekend. There were at least 40 of us there and most of us had never gotten a chance to learn to shoot off the bench. You were all so patient, informed and enthusiastic, it was impossible not to respond in kind.
I think it speaks volumes to the importance and effectiveness of Appleseed that a marksmanship event like this, 30 minutes from San Francisco, ended up being 'sold out'. You guys are a sorely needed resource for this country and I'm proud to have been able to learn under your instruction.

I also just wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet all my fellow shooters and I hope to see you all again at future Appleseed events. Congrats to those that made Rifleman!!

Thanks Again!
Eve

P.S. Paul Revere's Ride is on order from Amazon.

[Camljr]

I also just wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet all my fellow shooters and I hope to see you all again at future Appleseed events. Congrats to those that made Rifleman!!

Thanks Again!
Eve

P.S. Paul Revere's Ride is on order from Amazon.


Ahhh,  the seed has been planted....

It was truly a pleasure to meet everyone and instruct at this particular Appleseed, since I met the nicest folks this weekend.

My only regret is that I did not have more time to work with everyone personally, as we were spread pretty thin. Normally the instructor to student ratio is less than 1 to 5-6, but we had some really sharp people that picked up the instruction quickly and were able to apply it without one on one coaching. Besides, when Bob instructs the steady hold factors and such, it is easy for everyone to pick it up and run with it.

Thanks again to my fellow instructors, and all who attended...

A side note... One of our attendees, Bob, had a rifle malfunction with his AR... the trigger pin fell out of one side and would not fire.

and after the frustration, he still came back and shot a high score of 203!  way to go Bob... I thought for a minute he was going to let it get the best of him and pack it in, but decided to stay and persevered... Rifleman score next time, Bob...

See you all next time at another Appleseed. Remember, Bring a Friend!!!!

[Mogget]

Very nice pictures!   We will shortly be back to harvest a selection.  Thanks for coming and thanks for the pictures.

Mogs

[indgosky]

I just wanted to thank everyone there for a great time, and especially the instructors for all the fantastic education.  Buckets (Zack) and I had a blast, and are looking forward to the next one we can attend.  Cheers!   Mark T

P.S.  I've enjoyed having these pictures to download and remember the weekend with; thanks to all who took and posted them!

[Koz]

I too would like to give a heartfelt thanks to Bob, Cam and Ken......the weekend was great....I learned a lot and all the shooters were a great bunch to learn with....Zak was still mad at himself for only getting a high of 191....he really wanted that 209!!   

Hope to shoot with all of you again soon.

Michael 

[Dr Rick]

Thank you Bob210, ASMinuteman and Camljr, for volunteering your time and knowledge. I have been a gun owner for many years but all I know about marksmanship I learned form you guys last weekend. I was moved by the heartfelt 'talking story' of our forefathers, and must admit I feel like I have been asleep on my watch. I am going to practice, rustle up some more people, and go to another appleseed.  And I guarantee next time when a neighbor asks me what I am doing that weekend, I wont bashfully dodge the truth, I'll proclaim...I am going to celebrate our heritage and practice to be an American Rifleman!
Dr Rick

[Puppy]

As promised, here's what I got on Sunday. I mostly got shots while everyone was doing the "shoot the star" game. Enjoy! - Puppy

[Puppy]

And here's some more. Bonus freakin' Yahoo's to Rick & Jorge for doubling their car back to make sure I was okay when I pulled over to take the shots of Lake Chabot. Note the hilarious hat Rick is wearing in the closeup.

[asminuteman]

.

[2121s girl]

First let me say, what an awesome experience.  That does not encompass even remotely what the weekend of the 17th and 18th held for me.  What a tremendous organization full of wonderful men and women, I am SO proud that I was able to participate those two days.

As a woman on the firing line, I never once felt inadequate, or intimidated by the men around me.  I feel an amazing amount of gratitude toward Bob, Cam, and Ken for giving their time, wisdom, and their love of this great nation to pass on their instruction to us.  To be reminded of what our heritage really means in the way in which they incorporated the stories of those that fell, loved, died, for our future, is moving beyond words. 

Encouragement, striving toward the same goal, and all of us dealing with the same difficulties made the playing field equal.  I can not wait for the next shoot in June in Castro Valley ... to which I have already registered... and taking the 163 up over 200. 

xoxo
Sarah
2121s girl

[asminuteman]

.

[Camljr]

I am so glad to see so many folks responding with positive feedback on this after action report...

I can tell that they all had a good time, and definitely got touched by the history, as all of us instructors do. It is 90% of the reason that we feel the need to give back, to folks we don't know at the beginning, but find they are just like us by Sunday afternoon...

Strong, determined, faithful, and rock solid in the belief that we all, each one of us, can and will make a difference in someone's life.

I have met the nicest people at Appleseeds, the kind I would hang out with, at a backyard BBQ, and would talk with for hours after the shoot, if we didn't have such a long drive to get back home to our families...

My only regret is that I don't get to spend more time with my fellow Americans, and get to know each of them a little better. Just remember though... I still remember Appleseed attendees from shoots over a year ago, and will remember fondly some that I have just recently met...   Just great Americans, sharing the heritage, keeping our founding father's memories and ideals alive, not because we have to, but because we want to.... AND....   It is just the right thing to do.....

Thanks to all whom I have had the pleasure to meet at an Appleseed...... Really!


By the way, that pink hat actually says:    "Shoot like a girl.... If you can!"

[asminuteman]

.