AAR: Davilla, TX June 19-20, 2010

[voortrekker]

There is a bumpy ranch road, about a half a mile long near Davilla, TX on Adam Ranch.   If you are not paying attention, you'll miss it.

Past the the cattle guards, gates and grave yards of old tractors from a better time, you will find a special place where our Creator decided, evidently, that here where the sun sets orange and red, Riflemen will be forged.



Indeed, this past weekend, Riflemen were forged, once again, in Davilla, TX



16 attendees.


4 scored expert on the AQT, Rifleman.  CONGRATULATIONS RIFLEMEN!!!   


All of the attendees had great attitudes and the WILL to PERSIST.    STRONG WORK ALL!!!


The weather was terrific at 97' and 105' heat index with a gentle 5-10 mph breeze.


Attendees : 16 total.


Riflemen : 4 total      Jim(from Louisiana), Darin, Lonnie, and Marvin.  Welcome to the other side.  You have earned it.

BTW, Lonnie and Marvin are brothers.  That was the first weekend I have ever witnessed, two brothers earning a Rifleman patch on the same day and event.   OUTSTANDING!!!


Three others were pounding at the door with 198, 209, 207.  Keep going guys, don't stop, practice, practice, practice dry firing.  We've given you the knowledge, hone it, make it happen. 


A BIG thanks from me to our Instructors this past weekend : POP, TXRifleman, Reddot, Reliable, CaptG, dragit, Doug T, starfox.



This weekend has found Texas blessed with a new Orange Hat, Alarmlist76.  Huzzah!    I am really looking forward to Instructing with you!! 


Lastly, and very importantly, this past weekend's sunshine on Sunday litforth on our newest Texas Red Hat....starfox!!!       HUZZAH!, HUZZAH!, HUZZAH!!!!!!!               Congratulations Andrew!!!


"Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedoms.  I hope you will use it well.  If you do not, we will repent in heaven that ever we took half the pains to preserve it."      -   John Adams






Brothers




A gift from Marvin to his brother, Lonnie




2:30ish, Sunday, gettin' weary from hot, it's time for some North Bridge water!!!




What happens while using the North Bridge water?!   Another Rifleman shines!!!! 






That's all the pictures I have, anybody else got pictures?   



Brett out.

[Texas Rifleman]

That is a 1:4 ratio or 25 %. Wish they could all be that high.
That was a great group of shooters that came out and endured the hot Texas summer.
Enjoyed seeing some old faces and making some new friends.
Can't wait to see ya'll again and forge some more rifleman.
This was the best shoot I have been to.
Got my instructor feet wet in April on the line but jumped in the deep end of the pool this shoot and feel like I made some good progress towards becoming a better instructor. Thanks to Andrew, Chuck and Brett for helping me along. A big thanks to my good friend and camping buddy Larry aka Mr. Reliable. Thanks to Brett again for the opportunity. I really like Guy's camping rig...Swweettt !! Good to see Pop again (what a gentleman) and glad to see Doug again. Tommy did a great job on the line Saturday afternoon. AND.....wait for it....Andrew got his Red hat !!! Woot!!!

[Reddot]

I agree with David, what a great shoot (aren't they always??)--14 motivated Americans, off the couch and on the line.  Starfox testing for his Red Hat and doing a great job on Saturday; David, Tommy and I getting a chance to line boss on Sunday.  My good friend (and the guy who got me to Appleseed), Bill took the Orange Hat --glad to have another to help bail...
My thanks to the shooters, a truly great bunch who endured the Texas heat and took the instruction to heart.  All brought a teachable attitude and all left having learned more about their heritage and rifle marksmanship---Huzzah!!

[Grumpy]

Being my first Appleseed event, I must say that I was truly impressed.
The Instructors were VERY helpful. Thanks Pop, the motivational "talk" helped on the transitional stages.
I will definately be back in July with friends.

[doubleLL]

Sounds like Davilla had another successful shoot. Thanks for the shooters and instructors who came out in this heat.  Congratulations to Lonny and his brother for making rifleman.     I hope there is a photo of this statue I heard about. I know you two worked hard.

Glad to hear that Bill took up an orange hat, Bill and I shot together on my first Appleseed and I was there to see Bill get his rifleman patch that he worked so hard for on April 19th -Welcome to the Texas group of instructors. 

I noticed that Starfox came home with his new red hat on and a big smile, both look good on him.  I stayed behind this weekend to catch up or "repair" the house from being gone for two weeks. I promised a good home cooked meal to celebrate, now that we have food in the fridge. 

[Johnnyappleseed]

Nice shoot Brett 
Best regards
JA

[wheelsee]

As a newbie, just wanted to say THANKS to all of the instructors. 

I think the comment from one of the instructors of learning more at a 2-day Appleseed shoot than having spent 3 weeks in a class preparing for the Army Rifle Team spoke VOLUMES to me.

The BEST part (IMHO) was the constant encouragement from the instructors.

This was my first and looking forward to many more.......

Showed my "red-coat" (or was it red-hat ) to my father (age 69) and he expressed an interest.  Maybe we can make this multi-generational 

Sincerest thanks!
William

[starfox]

This was one of the best shoots I have ever attended as a Rifleman-to-be or as an instructor.  It was an amazing group of shooters both days. Highly motivated and willing to learn with teachable attitudes.  The attendees deserve the lion's share of the credit for the shoot.     It was inspiring to see so many off the couch and on the line working as Riflemen!!! 

My great thanks to Brett for throwing me into the deep end of the pool for instruction.  I honestly couldn't have made it without the support and help of my amazing fellow Riflemen this weekend.  Thanks to Tommy for being a great "model" for the points of instruction, and to Chuck, Dave, and Guy for providing such a constant presence on the line for safety and instruction.  Having Brett and POP to back me up made testing for the Red Hat a breeze.  Strive to be the best, by learning from the best!! 

Many kudos to my friends Darin (first Appleseed, first time firing a rifle) and Lonny (second Appleseed and the example of persistence) for achieving Rifleman status!!  All respect and admiration for everyone who persisted, adapted, and overcame through the hot afternoons to achieve so much in two days.    You are the reason we do this. 

To everyone I met this weekend, Grumpy, James, Amanda, William;  You are what makes Appleseed so great.  You are all Riflemen, even if you are on the cusp of the Patch.  You have the heart, desire, and qualities that make you Riflemen.

To my fellow instructors: Dave (Texas Rifleman), Tommy (dragit), and Chuck (Reddot); you, among others, are why the Texas Corps of Instructors is going to take a quantum leap forward this year.  You should all be very proud of the job you did this weekend and particularly on Sunday.  High praise and admiration to Bill for taking up the Orange Hat this weekend!! You all will be donning your Red Hats with pride soon enough!! (And I promise not to call you out as targets at future Appleseeds!).

This was truly the best group of shooters I have ever seen at an Appleseed.  Thanks to everyone for making this a memorable shoot!!

Regards,
-Andrew

[Jimmy76]

I can only echo all that was said about the instructors and students.  As my first Appleseed, I am very glad I came to this event.  All the instructors we very motivated to not only teach the rifleman skills, but to inspire us to remember the history of our past.  The instruction was first rate and I can't say thanks enough for all the help!  I truly enjoyed the experience and hope to make more events there and in Louisiana!
Jim

[dragit]

Well another hot one in Texas and 5 weeks is too long to wait for the next one.  Congrats to the new riflemen, and Andrew for his red hat.  Although donning that red hat now makes him a target since he would rather shoot red hats than red coats  .  Great job all shooters for doing push-ups all weekend in the heat.

Thank you fellow IIT's, instructors and participants for advancing my education on the Appleseed trail.  I always feel I get back more than I put in.  What a great way to spend father's day, around people enjoyable to be with. 

Thank you Brett for staying and making me recite IMC until it was acceptable.  Last night I gave my chickens a lesson in IMC while feeding and watering them.  The rooster did not attack me so I guess it was decent.

Scout and POP, I will be in Fredericksburg Friday for the "little" AS.  Let me know time & place in a PM.  I think my girls and wife will be with me as participants, maybe Dad too.

See you next time.

[CaptG]

It was a Great shoot. All the students worked really hard, had great attitudes and showed lots of improvement. The level of professionalism amongst the instructor corps was as good as i've ever seen. It was great to work with all of you and to meet so many new friends and brothers.

Darin, I told you you could do it. Grumpy, keep at it, you're sooo close. Same to you James, and it was great to see Amanda hang in there. All of you on the line showed great persistance and lots of improvement despite the heat. It would have been easy to let fatigue, discomfort and frustration set in, but you all hung in there like Riflemen.

I am better for having had the experience of working with you all.

Guy

[POP]

Now that you mention it Jim, there is a Shoot just North of you this weekend coming up ... Shreveport.     See you there!
I know you will be at the next Sherburne event which I'm sure will be on the schedule soon.
Thanks for coming all the way to Davilla, and, Congratulations on earning your Rifleman Patch.

Congrats to Lonnie and Marvin, two wild and crazy brothers on earning their patches, and to Darin.  And, Darin, bring your son back, he will earn his patch before too long, just a matter of putting it all together.

Andrew ... nuff said you old RH.  Now git to work up thar in DFW.  You and DoubleLL will be Texas' version of Taos Glock and Bluefeather in New Mexico.  I didn't say it would be easy, they are some of Appleseed's best.  Ya'll would do well to emulate them. 

And Brett ... a pleasure as always to work with you.  And, yes, I have pics.  They will have to wait until next week until I can be where I have a fast uplink that can handle them.

Well, lots more to say about a great weekend, but its late.
POP

I can only echo all that was said about the instructors and students.  As my first Appleseed, I am very glad I came to this event.  All the instructors we very motivated to not only teach the rifleman skills, but to inspire us to remember the history of our past.  The instruction was first rate and I can't say thanks enough for all the help!  I truly enjoyed the experience and hope to make more events there and in Louisiana!
Jim

[BDG]

hey, congrats to Brett for teaching so damn well that we have 4 new riflemen! Well done good sir! Those scores listed are also knocking right on the door. One more Appleseed and they should be scoring the Patch as well..

And that statue sure looks good...

See ya next month.

[zonkertx]

Congrats to the 4 new Riflemen!

Looks like I missed a good one; had to take the family down to Port A for a beach "fix" this week.  All these naturally occurring berms, and I'm not allowed to shoot at them?!  Didn't even get any decent waves.

I'll be back in Davilla next month, assuming I survive my trip to see the in-laws in NJ.  Looking forward to seeing everyone again!

[CaptG]

I finally got around to getting my pictures off the camera. All these are from Sunday. I haven't figured out how to do captions.
Guy

[Eagleeye]

Thanks to all the instructors for a hot Appleseed.  Thanks Doug for the North Bridge water.  It did the trick. 

It would have been a long ride home with Lonnie if I had not gotten the patch.

Congrats Andrew on the RH.

Marvin