Ramah CO May 30-31, 2009

[RifleWoman]

Well, I thought I'd get in here and post before I forget the stats for the weekend.

What a great weekend.  After not being out on the Appleseed trail for along time, I got the chance to attend an Appleseed close to home.... Finally    It felt good to be rubbing shoulders with the hard working instructors in the program and to see the program up close and personal again.  Even though I'm sunburned (I used SPF 45  ) and tired but it was a really great weekend.

There were 69 people total that attended, and we made 2 riflemen, and a lot really close to it. 

The weather was beautiful, nice and sunny and then the big thunder boomers came in Saturday at 5:00pm.  It's really nice of them to hold the weather off for our Appleseed this time.  As we were trying to clean up for the day, the rain came then the hail, then trying to get back to the hotel on the dirt roads was great fun.  Did a little fish tail once or twice or more but managed to get back alive. 

This morning I expected the roads to be wet, and the berms to be flooded but everything was dry and wonderful. 

I had the opportunity to work with some of the finest instructors and IIT's I've ever met.  The student where awesome as usual.

After being in my black hole of obscurity for so long and not getting an opportunity to meet many Appleseeder, I hope they weren't to disappointed at who RW really is.

I'll post more later but time to hit the hay.

[003402]

Riflewoman,

This is Robert, and I attended with my son Thomas.  Let me first say, what a wonderfully organized and executed event.  Everyone was great, we learned a lot about a subject we already thought we knew a lot about, and had a great time.  We are definitely hooked.  We came away from the event with a renewed passion to achieve this great honor and have already planned our strategy for becoming riflemen by the end of the summer.  We are sore in spots we forgot we had, but all in all, a great event I will be telling many folks about.

Hope to see everyone at a future Appleseed.  I have already been spreading the word and hope to have some future riflemen/women attending the event.

Let me know if there is anything we can do to help.  You can count Thomas and I among the CO appleseeders now.

Great Job and pass along our thanks to the entire team.

Regards
Robert and Thomas

[Ridge]

This is Dave here, I also had a great time this past weekend!

Sunblock didnt help me either, and I'm as red as a firetruck right now...

I really learned a lot about the Battle of Lexington and Concord, much more than I ever learned in school about it. Was a great experience to have 60+ people all sitting around hearing about the battles and the actions that led up to them...

I'm hooked now, and doubt I'll ever just blindly through rounds down range like I used to

Thanks again!

P.S. Found this hiding on my hard drive...

[tnavman]

RifleWoman. This is one of the many "Toms" that attended May 30th. What a great time I had! History, shooting skills, sunburn (even tho I used sunblock) and a few aches.

Thanks again for helping those who couldn't make the April 19th Appleseed due to weather.

[Blue Skies]

Just wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks to Riflewoman, Dad, Cindy, Paul, Rich, Ben and all the other instructors and IIT's who worked so hard to run an outstanding event this weekend.  I owe special thanks to Paul and Rich for their exceptional work and attention to my son and daughter - Alex and Erin.  A childs' interaction with their instructors can make or break their experience and willingness to learn, and I am proud to say both kids made good progress and left Ramah excited and enthusiastic about going to more Appleseeds in the future!

Speaking of that - apparently, they will indeed be attending several more with me later this summer in my new role as an IIT.  I was honored to be invited to join the ranks of those I respect.  Appleseed and what it stands for has made a significant impression on me and my children, and has exposed them to things most kids their age will regrettably never see.  I am looking forward to making the difference for other families in the future, and I thank you for the opportunity!

It was a great weekend with great weather and a beautiful facility.  I wish we could have stayed the whole day on Sunday.  Instead we had to get home because of my work, where I promptly got teased for my "raccoon eyes".  Priceless.

Hot tip:  If you want your kids to stay excited about shooting a 10/22, don't let them send a few downrange with an AR.  Shoulda seen that coming....

John

[zombiehunter]

What a great weekend!  Thanks to all the Colorado Appleseeders who showed up and thanks to all of the instructors who showed up to dispense premium 91 octane knowledge and wisdom.  Also, we owe a very big thank you to Ben Lomond Gun Club for hosting us this weekend.  I encourage everyone who attended to call, email, or send the club a letter if you appreciated being invited to their range.  

We had enough shooters, Instructors, and IITs to fill 3 full berms.  RifleWoman and I were able to grab some photos of our beautiful Colorado day that was much more comfortable that our last shoot in April.  Of course, when it comes to weather, Blizzardseed didn’t set the bar very high.  


Beautiful morning as the Appleseeders arrive.


Dad begins with a welcome and then passes it off to ashrn03 for some history leading up to April 19, 1775.


The Bennington berm dry firing at sighter squares to practice that prone position.


Lunch break in the shade while getting ready to hear the 1st Strike!


More trigger time following lunch.


A view of the line over at the Continental berm.


Posting new targets for more practice


Quickly quickly!  Get those Green Coats posted and then back to the line!


Dry firing during the prep period - that's the cheapest practice your money can buy!


The Navy Jack berm.  Ben Lomond Gun Club has some great facilities! 


Pulling it in for some instruction over at the Navy Jack berm. 


Stage 1 of a full AQT over at the Bennington berm. 

Thanks again to everyone who showed up - you guys are some 1st Class Americans with your hearts and brains wired together cooking full tilt boogie for freedom and justice!  Keep practicing that dry firing, getting to the range, and get signed up for the next shoot on August 29-30! 

[Colorado Pete]

Sunburned right through the SPF 30. Ouch. I'm gonna get a BIG hat for August.
What a fun weekend. Lots of stuff learned as a first-time IIT and more to learn in the future. And helped several folks to 'see the light' through rifle sights, from a teenage girl and her mom shooting .22's to a couple of big strapping fellows with M1A's. Got some big smiles back from them. How nice!

[zombiehunter]

After being in my black hole of obscurity for so long and not getting an opportunity to meet many Appleseeder, I hope they weren't to disappointed at who RW really is.

RW - Heh, I certainly wasn't disappointed... in fact, I didn't find you any more (or less, for that matter) goofy than any of the rest of us.     It was great to finally meet you!

Z

[MattEcho]

It was a great weekend and I want to extend my thanks to all involved with setting up a fine shoot.  It was my first Appleseed and I took my daughter who also had a great time.  I was on the line with Ben, Pete and Fred, each of whom were extremely helpful and offered good, timely advice.  I've hunted all my life, mostly using lever action and bolt action rifles, but had never been instructed in rifle marksmanship.  I thought the level of instruction I received was outstanding.  I only wished the weekend was longer.

I shot a 22 Marlin on Saturday and an M1a on Sunday and I have 2 regrets: 1)  I should have brought the M1a both days, and 2) I should have brought more ammo.  On Sunday, I spent too much time getting comfortable with the M1a in the different positions during the AQT's.  Which wasn't nearly enough time, and could have been done on Saturday.

So, next time I hope to have it dialed in and make Rifleman.

As for the history, that was outstanding too.  The instructors were all excellent storytellers.  I was particularly impressed with Ben, as he could keep you on the edge of your seat.  All in all, it was a great time, and like I said, I only wish it was longer.

Matt

[ashrn03]

SPF 75 and a wide-brimmed hat worked well, but I made the mistake of rolling up my sleeves Sunday afternoon. 

A couple of important pictures below; the two new Riflemen!

Jake receives his patch from me with the blue Moultrie flag in the background, and Joel receives his patch from Shoot Boss Dad with the rolling spring-green hillls (and typical afternoon weather) behind them.

[CoLJ]

Hi all, I attended this as well and loved it- beautiful location, plenty of cool people, and snoozing under the shade of the trees during lunch wasn't so bad either.    I'm looking forward to another event this summer.

I don't see anything on the calendar yet for Ramah... any word on that?  Hopefully, it'll get on the schedule soon.  I'm optimistic about bringing a couple of new shooters with me this time.