D-Day! Raton, New Mexico. June 5-6, 2010

[TaosGlock]

65 years ago this weekend, allied troops stormed the beaches at Normandy. The Americans were pinned down under heavy fire by their formidable enemy, the Germans . The only way out for our boys was to advance against the heavy fire because staying put would be a sure death. By late noon the beaches were being stormed by our troops. By the end of the day, the 5 beaches were secured by our offshore shelling and the courage of our American Riflemen. As one soldier remarked, "the area looked like the craters of the moon and the beautiful white sand was littered with bodies".  

This weekend we celebrated another tremendous event, April 19th, 1775. The day we became Americans....also by the end of the day. But more specifically, also by late noon, at a place called Merriam's Corner, where one of our boys later remarked, "when I got there a great many lay dead and the road was bloody".

20 of America's finest Patriots arrived at the NRAWC in Raton, NM to learn about the sacrifices made on April 19th.
It was one of our most remarkable shoots to date.

BlueFeather and I just got in and will post more later.  The IAAR will be up this week too.
The rest of you can start now...

[TaosGlock]

Ok, here is a quick pic or two:

Colorado Pete in the straw hat, BlueFeather instructing on the line with her French foreign legion style red hat and Long Rifle as line boss. Temps nearly made 100 degrees.

A tremendous group of shooters who persisted thru the grueling heat and the torrential rain at night (many camped out) and were back at it on Sunday.


It was an honor to work with them.
Our instructors for this event were top notch and it was a pleasure to work with all of them.

[Colorado Pete]

Quite the crash-and-flash show late Saturday night from a monster storm. Fortunately, neither the lightning nor the local campsite bear got me!
A great group of shooters toughed out a hot Saturday and some late rain Sunday to make a strong finish. Lots of very new shooters and some pretty impressive improvement by Sunday afternoon!

[TaosGlock]

Instructing on the line; BlueFeather and Long Rifle:


Mother-Daughter team. Long Rifle's family. This was the first Appleseed for his wife Mary, who shot a 201 on her last AQT and improved each time!


Father Daughter team checking AQT's on day 2.

[TaosGlock]

Just look at that line of prone shooters! As one British officer later noted, after April 19th, "they fired at us from behind stone walls on their bellies".


Advancing to the target line to check those AQT scores.

[TaosGlock]

Long Rifle with his excellent handouts make "The 6 steps to Firing the Shot" clear, concise and easy for the students to grasp.
Later for IMC, we used our white 4 minute squares at 100, 200 and 300M. Can you spot them above the target line?


This coyote wisely keeps his distance. Actually, kidding aside, "Cease Fires!" are routine at the NRAWC to allow the local wildlife to pass thru.
4 antelope and 2 wild turkey's caused 6 separate delays over the 2 day event. The line is cleared and the cameras come out.  


Prep period back on the line with the sitting position.
Colorado Pete in the cowboy shade hat on the end. BlueFeather watches muzzles. Long Rifle is line boss.
The heat reached nearly 100 degrees. A near record at the NRAWC.

[TaosGlock]

Saturday nite, a huge thunder cell moved in and dumped about a half inch of rain with incredible bolts of lightning crashing on the peaks and near the actual range.
Most of the shooters were camped at the primitive range, but like all Riflemen, they all arrived bright, early and rarin' to go next morning.
We were rewarded with clear skies and cooler temps.


The weather got windy before the rains came. But the shooters persisted.
And by the end of the day the Rifleman were  turning out!!!

First to emerge were Mike and John, a father son team. Also Ande, our youngest Rifleman at, drum roll please..... 11 years old! CONGRATS!!
L to R: Long Rifle, Mike, John, Ande, TG, Colorado Pete and BlueFeather.


Oh, and John got the 210 "Rifleman Baptismal!"


John, his dad with a 224, looked at him and said, "whose your daddy!

Great work all you guys!!

More later and more Riflemen to patched up!....

[voortrekker]

Thanks for the terrific AAR TaosGlock!


CONGRATULATIONS to the new Riflemen!



Especially you Ande, 11 years old and has earned the Rifleman's patch.  OUTSTANDING!!   

[TaosGlock]

The AQT grind continues. Long Rifle and BlueFeather at bat for instruction and tips on firing the AQT.
Also short history vignettes were added like:
When the colonists believed that their homes and their way of life were at stake, they fought with courage and resolve-not for the
sake of fighting, but for the sake of winning. And to win, marksmanship played a pivotal role in driving the British Army back to Boston...
in a most embarrassing defeat on April 19th, 1775.


Quick breaks for water and first aid and then it's back to the line. Colorado Pete quickly gets Kristian's elbows bandaged, then it's back in the ring.
Kristian used a beautiful Mitchell's Mauser Yugo Mauser all day Sat. to learn the fundamentals.


Finally just before quitting time on Sunday, and in a light drizzle, we got our final 2 Rifleman.
Congrats to Kristian and John!!

[TaosGlock]

"Shoot like a girl"...Ande shows off her Rifleman rig, a custom built/custom painted 10/22 with hand picked colors.
Better get that sling rigged up again......



While John prefers a more traditional style rig. Here he gets ready to shoot Colorado Pete's M1 as a very light rain continues.
By the time we went home, that M1 made hits at the 600, 750 and 1100 yard targets.

[TaosGlock]

BlueFeather awards 2 Patriot Patches. For 2 long days, these 2 gals did not miss a beat.
Congrats Ande and Beka!

 
We want to thank the staff at NRA WC for bringing water each day and for the use of the Coors Range and making it a DAR for the Appleseed Project.
This range is seldom used and is not a public range.
The money to create the Coors Range was a gift from Harold and Juanez Broughton whose dream was to have a world class benchrest range.
It will hold 75 shooters on 6 foot spacings. It's tucked in to a very beautiful and efficient space in the mountain.
During the rainy monsoon season that hits Northern NM, we set up between the benches under the roof.

I want to thank the shooters who came and heard their heritage and learned marksmanship skills.
We had husband and wives with kids, couples, a father daughter team and a few singles. An incredible cross section of Americans.
It was an honor and pleasure to spend 2 days with you. Our founders would be proud of all of us for keeping the heritage alive.

I want to thank all 3 of my instructors Long Rifle and Colorado Pete, both from Colorado and my wife BlueFeather.
This was a smooth running event and a Shoot Bosses dream.

Also a big thanks to Jonah from Taos Mountain Outfitters for coming back and bringing half of the folks...all from Taos.  

Mary and Ande officially close this fantastic event!
Thanks again to everyone who participated!


Remember our next shoots are right here on August 28-29 and September 11-12.
Be there!

[Colorado Pete]

Nice pix Dan! I like that one of the coyote! Some of those rocks look a little familiar too....
Thank God for the cold water the range supplied, and for the clouds and drizzle in the PM. I was getting ready to melt.
I think young Miss Beka has a Rifleman patch in her future. She is a very focused and disciplined young lady!

[Erebus]

It was a great event.  Excellent focus on teaching the fundamentals I think, especially safety, the six steps to firing the shot, NPOA shifting, and cadence/breath control.