Boulder City NV AAR, OR A weekend pass to the Rifleman's Bubble

[kool aid]

As promised, here is a little more on the weekend.

But first, some words to ponder:

Master Sergeant Oddis L. Lowe fires the M1 Garand rifle so fast and
so accurately that the Army chooses not to show his feats in
training films ... fear(ing) that impressionable recruits of only
average ability might conclude that anyone can do likewise without
half trying!

In his "Mad Minute" of firing, Sergeant Lowe goes from standing to
prone and fires forty-eight rounds from a Garand rifle in sixty
seconds, or less.  His average for the forty-eight shots in one
minute is forty-five bull's-eyes and three fours.  About every fifth
time he shoots a perfect score.  (This on the old 5-V target with 5
being the high score and the V equivalent of the X).

With the service pistol, he fires fifty rounds per minute at
twenty-five yards, using an "E" silhouette target.  His scores here
are comparable to those he chalks up with the rifle.

Although shooting since age seven, Sergeant Lowe says that there are
no born marksmen.  "It's all a matter of learning simple fundamentals."

Top enlisted man in the M1 Rifle Group at the Infantry School, Fort
Benning, GA, Sergeant Lowe has been in the Army twenty-three and
one-half years.  Born in Catchings, Mississippi, Sergeant Lowe calls
Palestine, Texas, his home.  He was a member of the National Rifle
Teams of 1930-31, 1935-36, and 1940 --- the only enlisted man ever
to coach the Infantry's entry in the matches.  The Lowe-coached
teams won in 1939, and took second place in 1940.

Sergeant Lowe is a Distinguished Marksman, having won thirteen "leg"
medals, making him a Distinguished Marksman four times over -- one
"leg" plus.

The foregoing was edited for brevity.  dave daniels

Now why would old Kool Aid put that in his post? Is he padding the word count so as to lessen the clown bat beatings from Fred?

NO.

I bring this up to point towards the fact that, although this fellow was a total bad hombre, he himself says it's all about learning the fundimentals. Hummm...... kind of like we do at appleseed And he started shooting at a young age. I bring this up because this appleseed was rich in potential Sgt. Lowes. We seemed to have kids spilling out of our ears. And this was very satisfying for yours truly.


Saturday was the 'drinking from the fire hose' day, and sunday was the 'lets polish what you learned yesterday' day.

Once again, we had to be off the range by 1600 hours, but time seemed to expand to our needs. My rough count was 14 shooters on the second day. Of those, I do not know if any one crossed the golden threshhold to the promised land of life on the AQT beyond 210, but I personally saw some groups on the targets that were knocking on the door. We had some good shooters on my end of the line. But more importantly, we had individuals who brought and eagerness to learn and open eyes and ears to soak it all in.

People were heard to say some nice things about the crew. That's much appreciated.

I would like to thank the local range members who were at the shoot for easing our way through the shoot, the participants who found the wherewithal to bring their kids out to get a dip in the pool of the heritage we all enjoy, and the whole group in general for finding value enough in embracing the rifleman  concept to give up their weekend.

But I am here to tell you that, even though the marksmanship training is second to none, it is the particular take on the events of April 19, 1775, and what the rememberance of that days significance means to us here and now, that makes the attendance at Appleseed weekends something so much more than an opportunity to turn money into noise. My high school english teacher would put the red pen all over that one- but it needs to be all in one sentence.

Anyway. It's not an appleseed without the heritage of April 19th AND the marksmanship.

We trade our money for ammo. Then we take the ammo and our rifles and we add our sweat and concentration to it in the crucible of our rifles at appleseed. We MIGHT aquire some skill in the deal. We may be able to say we are TRAINED. And if we know a little something about the history, it allows us to be a part of that lineage.

And I am using that word in the sense that we are almost taking custody of something by seeking these skills. Like these ideas we express around here are available to the people whose ancestors weren't even on the North American continent when that all occured.  It connects us to people and things beyond our lifetimes and our current world. Heady stuff.


A gem from fred this weekend:
One hit is luck
Two hits is coincidance
Three hits is SKILL



I got into the rifle thing later in life. I have an astygmatism, my eyes don't focus too good. What ever.  This  has been one of the hardest undertakings of my life, to put it all together and shoot rifleman.

Kool Aid's dirty little secret: He is stalled at 196 to 201. For a guy for whome many other things in life have come easily, this is quit pain in the you-know-what. Yep. I am the kid on the short bus of marksmanship. But I have persisted.

If all I can take home from the weekend was that one shining moment on sunday, when the heavens parted and a shaft of golden light came down from heaven. And miraculously,I had NPOA at the same time as my eye was focused on the front sight at the same time as my mind was focused on keeping said sight on the V ring of the 400 yard AQT target, and the trigger broke like a glass rod and I didn't blink, flinch, buck or jerk. And the angels sang and trumpets blew and It all came together at least  that one time.

The target didn't lie on that one....... Never you mind what happend after that (The rifle jammed). Let's just say I got something to build on with THAT one.

Speaking for myself: A weekend pass to the rifleman's bubble for Kool Aid: The sweetest thing.

Helping someone else get there?

Beyond priceless.

[Dirtrhodesscholar]

Thanks Kool Aid! 

I am racing to get the SWAT article done by end of business tomorrow, Friday, so it is good to hear your thoughts.  I welcome anyone else's thoughts on the Boulder shoot, and on Appleseed in general.  You can PM me, or post your thoughts here. 

I will also ask on the general discussion board for some thoughts on why people attend, participate, and/or teach. 

Stewart

[kool aid]

Geeze

Put a guy on the spot.

I guess I would have to say that the task of becoming a 4 MOA shooter, using iron sights on a rack grade rifle and ball mil surpluss ammo is daunting. Humbling even.

Why I teach? Humble line coach and paper pusher that I seem to be, I like the idea of a program that is accessable to the 'misters' of American society.

Mr. used to be the term of address (others being your lordship, your emminance, Sir, Count) used to address people who had undergone an apprenticeship in some trade where they would pit their hands and their eyes against some material and bring forth something usefull. Blacksmith, cooper, carpenter, silversmith, collier, tanner, what not. Now everybody is Mister so and so. Not always the case.

And by and large, that is whom I find on the line at the Appleseed shoots- regular guys who can get behind the idea of 'training for everyman'. Not so many cops or 'high speed low drag' types. Tradesman. Ironworkers. Plumbers. Chiropractors and Heating Ventilation and cooling guys.

Just regular Joes pitting their eyes and their bodies against the proposition that what it means to be a 'rifleman' is to be able to hit a man sized target at ranges up to five hundred yards using the implements that our forfathers used  to push back the tide of darkness that was the Axis. Kind of like they do in their everyday lives, be it with sheet metal, sheet rock, or a lathe or a plumbing or electrical system...... only a little louder 

No need to find a couple of grand extra, to take a whole week off from work, and spend all the expeses to get there and back.

We come to you, we accept the rifle you bring no matter what it is, and we do it in two days instead of four or five.

Nobody is getting rich off of this, and once you come around a couple of times we invite you to step up and put on the funny red ball cap that serves as the robe of assumption in this outfit, and lend a hand. The 'preisthood' is open to all.

I hope this gives you something you can use, Mr. Rhodes.

And if I didn't make it clear enough in the first post of this thread- Oddis didn't learn to shoot that well in the army. He got that good in the army because he had a rifle in his hand before he was a grown man. He was a member of the 'gun culture', so to speak, in good standing from the time he was six.

And the kids at the Boulder City shoot (especially yours Rhodes) can and will be like him too. We get there covered in dust, with a big old goofy grin on our exhausted faces at the end of an appleseed weekend wondering "Is the next one close enough that I can make it?

Gotta pack the truck for PHX now.

Kool Aid out

[Dirtrhodesscholar]

Thanks Kool Aid!  Very well said.  I will certainly use some of that.

Hey, where did you get that quote about Master Sergeant Oddis L. Lowe? 

Stewart

[kool aid]

American Rifleman reprint, 1940's - my rabbi sent it to me.

did you google him?

[Dirtrhodesscholar]

Yes, but did not turn up much.  Good example of what is possible. 

[Vermontagnard]

Just a question on an AQT "legal" range.

The 300 acre site in central VT has numerous options, but is there a maximum elevation or depression by which the range becomes unuseablefor AQT purposes?

We have a flat shot to 400 yards.

We have what looks like a 5 degree elevation for shooting 300, and a 3-5 degree depression for 200. 100 flat can be found anywhere on the site, along with multiple 25 yard ranges. We can't choke up on the 400 cause the ground slopes parallel to the targets at about 15 30 degrees

Without any real dozer work, we can have about an 8 shooter station on the 400.

Monty

[Old Dog]

I'm not calling the shots here but my unofficial "opinion" would be that a real target won't wait till you have the best shot or the best angle before presenting itself.  I can only think of one deer that I've killed that was pretty much a level shot (and that was just luck of the terrain between me and him).  While you wouldn't want something for the range that was so extreme as to not reflect real world conditions I'd say what you are describing sounds pretty good.

[Son of Martha]

As long as the range is safe for rifles and willing to let us run all or part of it for a weekend it is good.

Kool aid:  Fine expression of your thoughts, Sir.  I am looking forward to our next meeting around a campfire.

SoM

[Buttshot Comanche]

I attended my first Appleseed at Boulder this month.    I started shooting in the late 40's, fired expert in the Marine Corps over 50 years ago.    I have taught my sons and grandsons what I knew.    After Saturday's training (with Fred on our range), I stand all amazed at my level of ignorance.

The fire hose analogy is accurate as to the speed, quality, and quantity of information.     We barely began to understand one topic when we were on to another.    The Leadership and instruction were outstanding.    Fred couldn't help it if I didn't know beans from buckshot about being a Rifleman.      I now have some new goals for this 70 year old frame.

I am preaching Appleseed far and wide.    I have interested over a dozen people in the next shoot.    We'll see how many of them put their time and money where their mouth is.     

I have been to the local range attempting to put into practice what I have learned, with some progress.     I look forward to the next Appleseed in January so that I can learn more of what I don't know and can put into practice what I do know.     Several of my sons and grandsons have committed to the next shoot.      Being with them and learning to be a Rifleman - it doesn't get any better than that!

My thanks to all who gave of their time, money and expertise so freely.     And a special thanks to Fred for starting the whole shebang!    I visualize a long, pleasant, and profitable association with a fine group of Patriotic Americans.

A very humble Buttshot Comanche

[Fred]

     BC, we are all very humble when standing the presence of our forebears, which we do every time there is an Appleseed. As pointed out at Boulder, "to remember is to honor", and you can argue that EVERY Appleseed is a remembrance of April 19, 1775.

     I enjoyed your story of how you got your handle - the pretty Indian wife, and the outraged Indian husband!

     And the news you are working on your grandkids - you've prob never heard of Appleseed's "Project Grandkid" - is music to any RWVA instructor's ears. Can you get any closer to the notion of "passing on the tradition"?

     I appreciate you bringing Silverwhiskers to the Boulder Appleseed with you (or, was it the other way 'round?

     He showed up in Phoenix this last weekend, red-hot and ready to go (as the girls used to say to him).

     It's people like you who make the program worthwhile, I can tell you that.

     Look forward to seeing you on the Appleseed Trail. Maybe Jan 19/20, when we come back to Boulder?