Sweet Home Alabama! AAR, Columbiana

[Junior Birdman]

   Columbiana, Alabama was host to the April 19th celebration for me. I only had a day off, and determined to spend it in the company of Riflemen. I was not dissapointed.

   It's a little over 2 hours driving to get there and I had much to do at home on my day off, but needed a little .30 caliber therapy, so I packed up the Garand and headed south.

   The facilities were fantastic! Thanks Shelby County Sherrifs!!!  The local folks who ran the show were all great! I believe we had 18 shooters Saturday morning, all under the shaded firing line. The history was rivetting. The instruction was superb. The camaraderie was good, and it was great to see a couple of TX boys again as well as meet the Bama folks.  Weather cooperated and we got a lot of instruction done and I saw good improvement down at the target line. (And not just on my target!  )

   A few of those covetted purple patches were earned and we all learned the reason behind them. Sure wish I could have one in honor of a great lady and Appleseeder.

   Alonso1 ran a great show and I was quite impressed with his instruction, history, and benediction.

   I'm still al little sore today but it brings back some good memories from Saturday. Looks like it's time to stay home for a while and work with the good folks around here to get more shoots going in the heart of Dixie.  (Sounds of Skynard's "Free Bird" fading)  JB

[The Wolverine]

That was my first AS shoot, I really did not know what to expect. It was a great time, Great facilities, and Great people.

I shot more rounds with a rifle Saturday, than I have shot my entire life. I learned a lot about our history, and about marksmanship. I was honored to get the first purple patch.

It was good to meet you, you were pretty impressive with that Garand, shooting better groups with iron sights, than I could shoot with my scoped AR.

Alonso1, is very passionate about our forefathers, history, and shooting. It was a honor to learn marksmanship, and history from him, (and the others) not to mention he let me use his shooting mat. His passion has me wanting to learn more about our history.

Thanks to all, Paul

[alonso1]

What a great weekend!  SNAITF and I left Houston Thursday morning for Alabama.  We made the trip without incident, well, except for the time when we stopped at the Alabama state line to take a picture of the "Welcome to Alabama" sign and SNAITF locked the keys in the car ...all we could do was laugh about it and wait for a wrecker.

So anyhoo, we get to Bama and someone told me the CMP south store was near by, what luck! I had no idea the CMP was in Bama   well 2 Garands and a couple hundred 3006 rounds later, we arrive at the range and meet Tlawley.  The range was at the Shelby County Sheriff's Office in Columbiana, AL.  It was a 4 star facility

Saturday started with a wonderful suprise, Jr Birdman was there    and then I met the rest of the Bama crew. Tlawley introduced me to 4merUSMC1803, Dane, Jim, Michael (Kalash?), Mean Machine, Jon, Brandon, and that big guy who could only work Saturday and returned Sunday near the end of the day(sorry, so many names but I remember you were there).

We statred with 18 shooters on the line which included 4 youngsters, Jack, C.D., Kacey, and Gnat.  They did did a great job with noticeable improvement and Gnat and C.D. knocking on the Riflemen's door.  In fact, C.D. topped out with a 206!

We also had a young man named Dalton who was there.  Dalton was a really fine individual, he was extremely respectful and open to instruction.  He really impressed me because when I tell the story, I ask the shooters to think about the "Choice".  Would I? would you? make a stand for what was right?  Well I know what "Choice" Dalton would have made because he has made the "Choice".  He joined the National Guard and will soon be leaving for basic training.

There were so many good folks I could go on forever...the program continued as usual until we neared the time for the national volley.  It went off without a hitch and we enjoyed shooting with all of you around the Nation as he Honored our Fallen Hero's

Sunday arrived and we cranked up the pace.  I believe it was near mid day when we had our first Rifleman, Paul C , then Mark M and Mike S.  Well done ya'll!

Before the day was over, Shelby County Sgt. Dennis B. earned his Riflemen's patch

I will never forget this trip to Bama, the Instructor's were great, the Lawley's are some good folks you just have to meet, the Alabama shooters, BamaNurse, Bob, Doc, Ron and the many other were a pleasure to work with.

A special thanks goes out to Sheriff Chris Curry for granting Appleseed access to his range and for his support of the program.

Thank you to Steve Rabe, aka SNAITF, for your help and for being a friend.

and a big thanks to Fred...yes, one person can make a difference.

Until next time, keep those actions clear and I'll see you on the beach.

                                                                                                                     Mark

[tlawley]

 Great time. Great instruction.
Thanks to alonso1 for being SB and snaitf for coming with him all the way from TX. Thanks to all the other instructors and IIt's for all their hard work.. Most of all thanks to each shooter. All came with a teachable attitude and all left having shown tremendous improvement. Don't let this be your last AS.
As  I stated in a previous post every AS I have attended has been wet but this time the weather was perfect both days
I have pics to post as soon as I can figure out how.

[Bama]

I sure missed my friends at home this weekend! I had a great time in South Louisiana with many patriots and kinfolk, but I thought of ya'll often.

JB, I can't believe I missed you!?!? You may live in Bama, but you ain't met him yet? 

I look forward to seeing Alonso1, SNAITF and JB on the trail sometime in the near future. The more venues I work at, the more Appleseed volunteers and participants I meet, the more my hope flourishes!

Hooray for Appleseed! Hooray for Alabama!

I was forwarded these photos to share......



























and this is was an attempt to take a photo but apparently the camera was in video mode....
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1264/dscf6592.mp4


In Liberty,
Bama

[The Wolverine]

T,

It was my first, It will not be my last. My wife wants to go to the next AS, and my two girls want to come also, I am not sure my 8 year old is ready yet, but my 12 year old is.

Paul

[Gnat]

Hey Alonso1 u did a real good job of locking ur keys in ur car haha I had a really reallyyyyyyyyyy fun time. Thnx all yall soo muck especially Darrell. U helped me soo much on the first day the highest I scored was 125 then on the second day I scored 207    soo close I almost made it bamanurse and meanmachine and me gnat want to hitch a ride to Florida to get that purple patch haha  I can't waitn till my next Appleseed I really want a patch thnx so much 

[Gnat]

I finally am able to post I love to shoot

[Bamanurse]

Gnat my 12 yr Ol' is typing his reply and making me nervous. LOL. I had the joy of my husband and son attending their first Appleseed with me this past weekend. This was my second and I had been building up how good the instruction was and how wonderful the instructors were and they lived up to all my hype. ThanK you Darrell for all your individualized attention and Steve as well being a lefty for my lefty husband.  I won't blame meanmachine for jinxing me I topped out at 206.  I got to nervous and kept making stupid errors.   Oh well more practice before June. The practice paid off I wasn't near as sore and uncomfortable as I was last time. Dry fire is my tune till June. I will survive being outshot by my son who scored 207 his first time out. It was all my instruction before hand (not).  I'm really proud of him and how he handled himself.  Now all he wants to do is shoot.  

[Aromatic]

SNAITF, your RH prone demo looks good, now lets see the RH kneeling 

[FLEA]

A great weekend indeed. This shoot was my first as an Orange Hat, and it was a lot of fun. Mark and Steve did a fantastic job all the way around. All of the history presentations were passionate, and I had no trouble 'painting the picture' in my mind, which always makes it enjoyable. I too was able to watch the shooters progress which was exciting to see, especially the youngsters.

On Sunday the line was a little less crowded, so I got to shoot a little bit... That resulted in me making a run at the Rifleman with a 14 lb. bolt-action Remington 700 in 308 (with 100 yd dope). It didn't quite work out for me, but that was the most challenging and fun experience I've had shooting the AQT yet, and I look forward to attempting it again.

And finally, I must make it known here on the forum that Mark gave the clearest, simplest explanation/ definition of MOA I've ever had the chance to hear. If it could have been put to me like he did the first couple of times I heard it, I would've been trackin' a little sooner! I know everyone here in Columbiana took some good knowledge and a great experience in celebrating our heritage home with them this weekend, and I certainly did too. Thanks again to Mark and Steve as well as all of the other instructors.

"Aim small, miss small." GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

[POP]

Great Pics.
Did I see the Birdman in a few of those?  Naw, Couldn't have been. 
Ya'll are so very fortunate to have had JB, Alonso1, and SNAITF at your shoot this weekend.   
Congrats to the new Riflemen, and, to those who won't quit.
POP

[Meanmachine]

This was my 5th Appleseed and it was awesome, very well put on.   Project Appleseed is something that I am very proud to be a part of. Thanks to the guys from TX that came over to help out, we really appreciate it. Thank you to all the Red and Orange hats that worked this event. I was glad that we were all able to participate in the world's largest volley. I'm always happy to see new faces and especially new girls and young people. No offense to you older guys, but being a female, it makes me proud to see the girls out there showing those boys what we're made of. It's always good to see the younger generations getting involved, it gives me hope for the future. It's also good to see the returning faces, some shooting for rifleman and some just shooting. I wish that I could have stayed until the end on Sunday. I'm very excited about the new shooting venues opening up on the Alabama Appleseed circuit and hopefully the new people that we will see there. I have started an Alabama Appleseed facebook group page and I hope to see you all joining the group. I'm about to update the page tonight with the pictures that I have received from this appleseed.

I can't wait to see more people out there at the next shoot!

[Royal Flush]

What a great Appleseed!!  My friend Chad and I came down from Nashville, TN, we had a great time.  Thanks to Mark and all other red and orange hats ... this was my second Appleseed and was a great way to reinforce and practice good shooting habits, plus giving all of us a greater appreciation of what the early and current patriots did and continue to do for all of us and our liberties, which most Americans take for granted today.  Chad and I had a serious 4-hour discussion on that subject on the way back to Nashville.  This was Chad's first Appleseed and definitely will not be the last one for either of us.

Thanks again guys ... Shoot straight and God bless!!!   

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

We made the trip without incident, well, except for the time when we stopped at the Alabama state line to take a picture of the "Welcome to Alabama" sign and SNAITF locked the keys in the car ...all we could do was laugh about it and wait for a wrecker.

This picture sums up Alonso's initial response to my "key trick"...


but this sign, within walking distance of where we were stranded, did cheer us stranded travelers and saved me from certain Alonso wrath:


When you mean something - say it in concrete!

Friday morning we got a little lost. Defying our male pride, we stopped here and asked for directions...


What strange devices made of metal and wood filled the shelves inside. It is said that they can summon up fire without flint or tinder...


Man, what a great AS this was, but of course the BEST Appleseed is always the last one you attended. The Lawley's ("anyone who is not a Lawley please raise your hand!"), Jim, Michael who is not Irish, Mean Machine, Jon, Brandon, Flea and the other instructors (forgive me if I left someone out - I'm sometimes better with  remembering faces than names) really made this an easy and enjoyable AS. The range is superb - that range has the highest berm this Texas coastal flatlander has seen yet. Alonso and I were spoiled rotten by the Lawley's having the range all ready and prepped before we arrived.




Alonso and I arrived for the shoot Saturday AM and were filling out our Shelby County specific release forms when a mysterious tall shadow appeared in the doorway - backlit by the morning sun. The shadow exclaimed "Alonso - get a haircut!" "Steve - you too!" What a wonderful surprise to have Jr. Birdman join us on his day off. He said that he had stuff to do at home, but I suppose the thoughts of spending the day with Riflemen instead of cleaning cheese puffs out of the couch just sounded better. Glad you could join us!

The shoot went smoothly and the shooters attitudes were wonderful. The teamwork was superb.

What Alonso meant to say was that we had 3 Riflemen on Saturday...


And then Sgt. Dennis B. joined their Rifleman ranks on Sunday. Dennis also received an Appleseed plaque on behalf of the Sheriff thanking Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry for his generousity towards our program.




The young people stand out in my mind. Jack and Kacey firing centerfires. CD and Gnat just below that 210 score. You guys are just knocking on that Rifleman door. Believe me CD, I tried to find that extra point.

Keep persisting! You will make it!

Part of our instructor group for this shoot


Alonso and I received some lovely memoirs from our experience. How'd you know we needed muzzle erosion gauges? Thanks so much!


Congratulations to our new Riflemen and to those who are knocking on the door and persisting.

Alonso - thank YOU for being a friend/accomplice and dragging me along. 

At last on Monday afternoon, we were back to our fair Texas.


I hope there is a day in the future when I can return to beautiful Alabama.

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

SNAITF, your RH prone demo looks good, now lets see the RH kneeling 

Funny that you would mention that - when I actually sent a few rounds downrange it felt peculiar to use my "correct for me" left hand as strong side prone position. I've practiced demonstrating right hand strong side for so long my own strong side isn't used to it. 

It was fun working with Jon and Kacey - both were southpaws like me.

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

I look forward to seeing Alonso1, SNAITF and JB on the trail sometime in the near future. The more venues I work at, the more Appleseed volunteers and participants I meet, the more my hope flourishes!

Hooray for Appleseed! Hooray for Alabama!

In Liberty,
Bama

Likewise Bama! Thanks for taking the wheel in Sheburne. Alonso and I waved as we drove past on the way to Columbiana. 

[Aromatic]

Wow SNAITF, great pictures.  I had to wipe the drool off my keyboard after seeing the rows of Garands.

[CaptG]

Alonso & SNAITF, I should have known you'd take off for someplace dry. The accidental visit to CMP is just a litttle to much to believe though.
Thanks for upholding the Texas tradition on the road.
Guy

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

Alonso & SNAITF, I should have known you'd take off for someplace dry. The accidental visit to CMP is just a litttle to much to believe though.
Thanks for upholding the Texas tradition on the road.
Guy

The Lawleys (an Alabama family heavily involved in Appeseed) said this was the first Columbiana shoot where the weather was nice!

Thank you for holding up the tradition at home in Texas. I'm sure I'll be back in the muck and mire soon. 

[Dane]

I thought you both (Alonso & SNAITF) took credit for bringing the weather with you from TX!  You both are welcome to come back and bring weather like we had anytime!  You know we always say in Alabama, "If you don't like the weather here just hang around for a few minutes.  It will change"  I learned a new phrase too!  "Hammers falling, shots a callin'"!

It was great to meet all three of you.  Alonso, SNAITF and Jr Birdman!  You all are welcome back anytime!!!

I really enjoyed your instruction both in marksmanship and history!

I hope you all felt at home enough to call this your "second" home for AS.

Thanks again!

Dane 

[The Wolverine]

What a great Appleseed!!  My friend Chad and I came down from Nashville, TN, we had a great time.  Thanks to Mark and all other red and orange hats ... this was my second Appleseed and was a great way to reinforce and practice good shooting habits, plus giving all of us a greater appreciation of what the early and current patriots did and continue to do for all of us and our liberties, which most Americans take for granted today.  Chad and I had a serious 4-hour discussion on that subject on the way back to Nashville.  This was Chad's first Appleseed and definitely will not be the last one for either of us.

Thanks again guys ... Shoot straight and God bless!!!   

What Royal Flush was too modest to mention is that he had a Rifleman patch in his pocket on the way home, Great job!!

You or Chad need to shoot me a email.

Paul

[Kalash]

The fact that its taken me a week to respond doesn't downplay the experience one bit. I was pleased to see a crowd of instructors show up (I think I counted 5 red hats and 7 orange hats!) that included Alonso1, SNAITF, and Jr Birdman. It was a pleasure to meet all the instructors and students I haven't met before and a pleasure to work with the ones I've known. I couldn't have asked for a better group to spend the day with. The dedication and persistence of the shooters was evident as the crowd on Sunday looked as energetic, if not more, than on Saturday with many approaching that 210 mark. Keep up the practice and you'll make it next time! I almost forgot how much I enjoyed these events since I had been MIA for the past ~6 months, but I'm definitely excited about the remaining ones this year and optimistic for next year.

Thanks to the Texans for bringing that great weather with them and as always, a big thanks to TLawley and SCSO for providing a top notch venue and I look forward to the next Appleseed!

[sleepy Joe]

Good job all  .. CMP   hmmmm

[The Wolverine]

Hey Bamanurse, sorry about burning your arm with my AR brass. It is great to see your son so excited about shooting. My 12 year old daughter can not wait until the june Appleseed, she loves to shoot.