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Castle Rock, WA 12 & 13 December, in the cold...

Started by Earl, December 06, 2009, 07:18:38 PM

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Earl

December 06, 2009, 07:18:38 PM Last Edit: December 17, 2009, 10:34:10 PM by Earl
I have been working on Saturday's Appleseed, inventorying what material I have on hand (not enough, never enough), sending out the POI for the two day event to the IITs and interested parties - those day's will be shorter than this weeks. I had tried to get the lawn mower to turn over and start so I could cut, thrash and bag the clipping and wayward leaves, the mower is smarter than I and I put it away, chore undone. It is cold, bitterly and the wind is blasting more of that Artic Global Unwarmed stuff our way, it is cold. But then, being just a Library Keeper, I keep remembering Henry Knox, fine man of books that he was, and his mission to get the guns from Ticonderoga to Boston for General Washington's use. So, between the 82nd's work during the Battle of the Bulge and good old Henry Knox's example of leadership and perseverance - I guess I can weather well the two day Appleseed, wish you were here.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Earl

#1
December 10, 2009, 09:29:41 AM
I seem to have a box of Appleseed Shoot goodies, promised delivery is tomorrow, Friday, so with all the help from my friends, the RWVA Central and my own preparations we should have a great Winter Appleseed - what did they call that Apple cider that was frozen to remove the water content and only the alcohol was left - the good stuff? Applejack? I probably have the whole process wrong, but that is what happens to fellows that quit drinking badly so very long ago. If I don't see you on my range this weekend, okay Wade's DAR, you have a great one and remember to make every shot count, targets were put on the Earth for a purpose. 8)
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Pa Rah

#2
December 10, 2009, 10:00:35 AM
Looking forward to it, see you there.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
Ronald Reagan

Wade

#3
December 10, 2009, 02:58:47 PM Last Edit: December 10, 2009, 03:10:07 PM by Wade
Cold or not I wish I could be there :-[ :( , Finaly going to be able to get in my replacemet truck maight be on the road saturday  if not then monday  :wb:. :P

Have fun,  I hope you make good use of it .

Wade
Got Tired of looking for a Rifle Range So we Dug one up!
WOOF!
4 box's #1 the soap box#2 the letter box #3 the ballot box #4 the cartridge box, The founding fathers picked up the Cartridge box so that WE could use the first 3,,IMO If you don't use those 3 then you dishonour the founding Fathers !

Kratos

#4
December 10, 2009, 06:22:02 PM Last Edit: December 14, 2009, 04:51:12 PM by Kratos
.

kornphlake

#5
December 11, 2009, 06:02:46 PM Last Edit: December 11, 2009, 06:05:17 PM by kornphlake
I'm looking forward to being there, I even went and finally bought a set of chains for my car after 3 years of telling myself it's not worth it since I never drive if it's bad enough that I need chains.  I'm not going to let some Arctic Blast stop me and I'm certainly not going to worry about some grass that hasn't been cut or a few leaves on the ground.  See you there, I'll be the guy who didn't shave for a week hoping that the stubble would some how keep his face from freezing to the stock.

If there's a spring clean up I could probably get a half dozen or so Boy Scouts to join in the clean up, if we can find rifles for all of them I'll bring them to one of the spring shoots, although not officially as scouts.

Earl

#6
December 11, 2009, 06:55:07 PM
UPS and Bulkhead have just delivered the Appleseed support package, bring lots of bullets, there are lots of targets awaiting your best attentions. Don't you love it when a plan comes together, I think the weather will be just right, the stories you will tell your grandchildren about when they come to listen to the GOOD Old Days.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

Wade

#7
December 11, 2009, 07:45:05 PM
Quote from: Earl on December 11, 2009, 06:55:07 PM
UPS and Bulkhead have just delivered the Appleseed support package, bring lots of bullets, there are lots of targets awaiting your best attentions. Don't you love it when a plan comes together, I think the weather will be just right, the stories you will tell your grandchildren about when they come to listen to the GOOD Old Days.
The weather forcast looks good  for this weekend over that away , It does not look like it will get really cold intell about the time I get there .

Have fun

Wade
Got Tired of looking for a Rifle Range So we Dug one up!
WOOF!
4 box's #1 the soap box#2 the letter box #3 the ballot box #4 the cartridge box, The founding fathers picked up the Cartridge box so that WE could use the first 3,,IMO If you don't use those 3 then you dishonour the founding Fathers !

RL

#8
December 11, 2009, 08:45:58 PM
I am starting to think Wade is afraid of the cold, since he missed this shoot last year too.
...and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.
John Adams, from the Boston Gazette, February 6, 1775

We live, my dear soul, in an age of trial. What will be the consequence, I know not.
John Adams in a letter to Abigail, 1774.

Wade

#9
December 11, 2009, 09:26:42 PM
Quote from: RL on December 11, 2009, 08:45:58 PM
I am starting to think Wade is afraid of the cold, since he missed this shoot last year too.

What chould you possably mean by that  ::) :cool2: . Can I get flash reports this year also ?

Wade
Got Tired of looking for a Rifle Range So we Dug one up!
WOOF!
4 box's #1 the soap box#2 the letter box #3 the ballot box #4 the cartridge box, The founding fathers picked up the Cartridge box so that WE could use the first 3,,IMO If you don't use those 3 then you dishonour the founding Fathers !

Earl

#10
December 12, 2009, 11:55:23 PM
Well, what a wonderful day to shoot, forget what the weather wizards told you about bad - today was cold but clear, the rifles and shooters performed well, and all marks except the shoot boss handing out the t-shirts were met, it was dark as the pictures demonstrate when the rifles cleared the line.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

RL

#11
December 13, 2009, 01:31:13 AM
The weather was terrible, nary a rain drop, hail stone or snow flake to be found. I was disappointed, last years weather was better.  ++) Lots of fun, I forgot what it was like to be on the other side of instruction.
...and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.
John Adams, from the Boston Gazette, February 6, 1775

We live, my dear soul, in an age of trial. What will be the consequence, I know not.
John Adams in a letter to Abigail, 1774.

Wheeler44

#12
December 13, 2009, 10:52:41 PM
Another fantastic days with some huge achievements for our corner of the country........I'll let the Shoot boss and other instructors share the day with you...Fantastic......That's the only word......

Wheeler44
"Appleseed,  putting the second amendment into the hands of American citizens."     -Mrs. Wheeler

"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship instructors on the planet."   -Son of Martha

Kratos

#13
December 13, 2009, 11:23:03 PM
Great day for a shoot.  Cold but clear, and it actually did warm up for an hour or so!  I was very impressed by how consistent many of the shooters were, and how their groups were tightened drastically from the previous day (this is what I was told when asked, since I wasn't present Saturday).
And of course several people shot Rifleman scores, and there are a few that are knocking on that door.

TruTenacity

#14
December 14, 2009, 01:06:05 AM
I can't wait to read the day's report from the shoot boss and others that attended this northwest winter shoot plus, pictures, pictures, pictures please.
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

Earl

#15
December 14, 2009, 01:29:08 AM
TruTenacity, patience is a virtue you have in abundance, and I wouldn't forget you, there is a terrible video of me presenting two fine RWVA Instructors their Red Cap, on Facebook for the world to see. But I have some pictures to share of shooters, too. It was better than Wheeler44 said, it was my Best AS as Shootboss in 2009, great instructors to work with, wonderful shooters picking up all we said and locking it in and proving it on the targets. Now to the lady's request for pictures.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

TruTenacity

#16
December 14, 2009, 02:03:36 AM
Thanks for posting, Earl.  I can now go to bed.
"We are fighting for our country, for posterity perhaps.  On the success of this campaign the happiness or misery of millions may depend."  Henry Knox

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Galatians 6:9

Earl

#17
December 14, 2009, 02:48:59 AM
Am I done yet, no, not by a large amount of paperwork, money, emails and reports.... well, someone has to do it, just not tonight, there are shooters and Instructors still on the road, may they make it safely.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.

JoeCool

#18
December 14, 2009, 05:31:33 AM Last Edit: December 15, 2009, 07:32:03 PM by JoeCool
The first southern view down into the Castle Rock shooting range gully was awe inspiring early Sunday morning as we carried our rifle cases down. The fog made the sunlight soft enough to look at the low hanging sun, yet lit up the skyline in bright white. The rolling hills across the country scene was completely covered in glistening frosty grass blades and sparse trees. This white tapestry framed the old wooden barn standing guard over the shooting range where people were about to learn more about "what they were about" and where our country came from. That was a great moment and event thanks to the people of Appleseed.

hawkhavn

#19
December 14, 2009, 07:25:46 AM
Great looking shoot folks!
Details! Details! TruTenacity and I are awaiting the real scoop...

HH
Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

Reformed Redneck

#20
December 14, 2009, 10:34:03 AM
Earl and all,

Great pictures. Good video on Facebook also. Caught in the act!

Sounds like a very good shoot. Congratulations to the new Riflemen(women), and to the new Red Hats.

Best regards,
Reformed Redneck
I'll keep my faith, my family, my church, my liberty, my property, my money...oh, and my guns. You can keep the chains.

"...Of Zebulon, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war...which could keep rank: they were not of double heart..."

Wheeler44

#21
December 14, 2009, 01:36:45 PM
By my careful calculations, If we (western Wa.) adopt Western Rose, we would be much better off...What do ya say RR ???????

W44
"Appleseed,  putting the second amendment into the hands of American citizens."     -Mrs. Wheeler

"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship instructors on the planet."   -Son of Martha

LTR

#22
December 14, 2009, 02:50:43 PM
Wow - Kevin Shot a 195 - Excellent!

kornphlake

#23
December 14, 2009, 03:52:51 PM
This weekend's shoot was my first live marksmanship instruction course and my first Appleseed event.  I arrived early to find that I was one of the only participants who wasn't an instructor, as more participants started showing up I found that I was not only one of the only students I was one of the only first time Appleseeders.  I got a lot of help from Ethan and his dad when the other instructors were working with other first time Appleseeders down the line, they gave me the same answers and suggestions as the instructors would have given, even though they weren't wearing an orange cap. 

My first redcoat target was dreadful, my sights were off about 3" to the left and an inch low, I hit the 100 yard target and missed the others, I did manage to hit the headshot but only because I missed another target by just enough to hit the headshot.  After shooting a couple sighting squares I got the sights zeroed well enough to be productive the rest of the day.

During the sighting in process I learned that I was doing the respiratory pause backward, I'd take a breath and hold it then squeeze the trigger before exhaling, my groups significantly improved when someone coached me on when to squeeze the trigger.  I improved my form in the prone position by putting my elbow directly underneath the target, holding the trigger back after the shot and shifting my body to achieve NPOA. 

I learned a little bit about the off hand and sitting positions too, but these are the positions I've done most of my shooting in the past so I felt pretty comfortable before hand.  NPOA is one of the main things I took away from the instruction in these positions, I've always used my muscles to hold on target in the standing and sitting positions rather than finding my NPOA.  My offhand group on the first greencoat target was better than Ethan's by a few points and he was wearing a rifleman patch!

I promptly forgot what I'd learned about form in the prone position during the AQT and watched my sights move diagonally across the target without giving it a thought until cease fire was called.  My AQT score was 171, which I thought was pretty respectable considering I only fired 2 shots from the sitting position before cease fire was called.  If I'd changed mags faster and gotten 5 more shots off consistent with the first 2 shots I would have scored about 190.  I know that I could have improved my score by quite a bit if I'd had time to shoot another AQT target knowing that I need to shoot the sitting stage faster and taking a little more time to work on my form in the prone position on the final stages. 

I regret that I wasn't able to shoot again on Sunday, I feel a little cheated that I don't know the story of the 3rd strike and I missed out on a whole lot of useful practice and instruction on Sunday.  I'd really like to attend another event later in winter or this spring.  I'd planned on carpooling with two women who are friends of my wife, but they ended up backing out at the last minute.  I spoke to one of them yesterday and both she and her husband would like to attend an event in the spring ,I hope I'll be able to join them. 

As I mentioned above, I'm a scout master and I think this would be an excellent opportunity for the boys to learn some of our American heritage and marksmanship skills.  Unfortunately the BSA has some rules that are a little restrictive.  First, Scouts are only permitted to shoot under the instruction of a NRA certified rifle instructor and when on the range must be supervised by an NRA certified Range Safety Officer.  I don't know what the requirements are for the RWVA certification for instructor and safety officer or if they could be substituted for the NRA certification.  My gut feeling is that unless RWVA starts working with the scouts directly at the national level I don't see them recognizing RWVA certification [I am personally frustrated with the way the scouting program is run at the national level as well as locally, unless BSA can profit (financially) from an event they generally don't support it.]  Instructors would need to have both NRA and RVWA certification to supervise Scouts, which may or may not be true of the current instructors and range officers.  Second, Scouts are only permitted to fire single shot .22 rifles, which isn't a huge concern, although a semi-auto or at least a bolt action repeater is more practical.  That said, our troop is first and foremost a youth group sponsored by our church.  We do have flexibility to participate in activities that do not fall within the BSA standards and I don't think it would be too big a deal to get permission to make the event a church outing rather than a scouting activity.

Wheeler44

#24
December 14, 2009, 06:19:41 PM
Excellent reply Kornphlake.... Stories like that warm my heart....PM me about your Scout group...We'll work something out.


W44
"Appleseed,  putting the second amendment into the hands of American citizens."     -Mrs. Wheeler

"We intend to produce men who are able to light a fire for Liberty in men's minds, and make them the finest rifle marksmanship instructors on the planet."   -Son of Martha

Pa Rah

#25
December 14, 2009, 07:52:20 PM
It was great to get a little trigger time under the tutelage of Earl and his great crew of teachers and instructors.

Congratulations to the new Red Hats tdow and Western Rose. A special congratulations to Mrs. tdow. You worked hard and earned you badge.

I 'm looking forward to next time I can work with and learn from my friends.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
Ronald Reagan

KJ

#26
December 14, 2009, 10:04:25 PM
My wife and I had a great time learning and shooting at Appleseed this last weekend. I want to thank all the instructors for all the hard work they did to make it so enjoyable. Kari was unsure on what to expect and she left there knowing that we would be back and we would make rifleman. We met so many great people both shooters and instructors and look forward to seeing all of you at the next Appleseed shoot.

tdow

#27
December 14, 2009, 10:16:06 PM Last Edit: December 14, 2009, 10:49:22 PM by tdow
We had a great time.  Out of 14 shooters, I believe that 6 were returning riflemen, and we made 3 more (including my very significant other  :)).  That's a whole lot of riflemen on the line.  Kevin was shooting rifleman groups with a bolt action .22 with open sights, but the time just kept cutting him off.  It was the first time he had shot that rifle by the way.  Kevin, come back and you will go home with a green patch!  

Tanya shot an amazing target.  I saw a solid standing score, and an amazing perfect score on stage 4!  You hardly ever see that!.  Unfortunately for her, the rifle crapped out on her on stages 2 and 3 and she barely made any shots off.  Fortunately for us, that means that she'll be back to earn a patch.

Brent shot a 200.  I would say that's knocking on the door.  Way to go!

Kornphlake, I hope you had a good experience at Appleseed.  I'm glad you got some help from Rod.  We're lucky to have instructors like him.  He is a class act, and really goes out of his way to help people.  He gave my wife some great advice, and shot some amazing groups as well.  I would have liked to see you on Sunday.  I hope to see you out on the trail.  My boy is a cub scout, and I'm considering getting my NRA instructor certification so that I can help out with marksmanship there.  If you have any more information on the requirements, I would be interested.

Mark and Andrew, GREAT JOB!!! 

--Todd

Reformed Redneck

#28
December 15, 2009, 12:18:01 AM
Reply to Wheeler,

Fat chance. As in no chance. We are always pleased to help you folks out in Washington as we have been the recipients of help from you all. But adoption? NO.

Let's get some more shoots scheduled in eastern Washington. We certainly have a very good start on a more localized Instructor Team for the Inland Northwest. We should be able to crank it up.

Best regards from Idaho,
Reformed Redneck
I'll keep my faith, my family, my church, my liberty, my property, my money...oh, and my guns. You can keep the chains.

"...Of Zebulon, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war...which could keep rank: they were not of double heart..."

Earl

#29
December 15, 2009, 01:53:45 AM
Well, I wouldn't go trying to adopt Western Rose, just point out to her that the real West is a bit further than Moscow and she is always invited to work ranges. She is better than that good. I have watched IITs get distracted or off talking shooting, but she locks into analyzing a shooter's every move, eye twitch and finger pop, and won't let up until it gets corrected. No matter the size, age nor shaggy brows - reminds me of a terrier, won't let up until you are in the Natural Point of Aim and relaxed. And if you are a lazy shoot boss or distracted by all the paperwork she does bring the problems to you with her solution (which is normally the correct one - she must have a hotline to Fred somewhere). I am looking forward to working with the entire clan again, someone had best tell me when Heather is shooting again, I think she could ace the whole AQT and make us mummmm.
... to catch the fire in another American for sharing the skills and our heritage to our posterity. Maybe my perfect shots will be made by those I met along the trials and trails of Appleseed. I know that America is a nation of Riflemen.
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