AAR: Afton, OK Sept. 18-19, 2010

[henschman]

This was the first Appleseed to be held at Excalibur Sporting Goods in Afton, OK.  Excalibur is a gun shop and shooting range that was opened in April.  Mike Nelson is the owner.  Mike, his wife, and his friends who help run the facility proved to be outstanding hosts.  Mike allowed Instructors and attendees to camp at the range, and he had the range and the camping area mowed on Friday.  The range is in a large field, right next to the gun shop.  The camping area was on the other side of the range.  On my advice, Mike had stocked up on Tech Sights, GI web slings, sling studs, and sling swivels before the event, and these all proved to be very popular sellers -- by the end of Saturday, Mike had sold all 12 of his slings, all his sling swivels, and all but one set of Tech Sights.  It was VERY nice to have all of these items available right at the range, and consequently, the vast majority of the shooters on the line were able to experience the joys of the loop sling.  Mike was kept very busy all day Saturday installing all of this equipment!  Mike also built several full LTRs.  He sold one rifle, but still has a couple left -- a Marlin 795 and a Ruger 10/22, both all set up with Tech Sights and GI slings.  If anybody is interested in a ready-built LTR for a good price, Mike should have them posted in the "Deals and Steals" section soon -- or you can PM me, and I will put you in touch with him.

We got started a little before 9:00 a.m., after having to add a few more target backers to accomodate all the shooters.  We used every bit of Excalibur's large berm, with 38 shooters on the line.  This is the closest to Tulsa that we've yet scheduled an event, and lots of people from that area showed up.  Greg in MO also decided to come down, and upon discovering our dire supply situation, CookieLady also drove down with a shoot box for us, though she couldn't stay very long.  The shooters made a lot of progress and persisted in the heat.  Both Greg and I noticed that there were more center fire rifles on the line than either of us had seen for quite a while -- there were several M-14s and M-1s, quite a few AR-15s, an M-1 carbine, and one gentleman was taking care of business quite nicely with a Norinco AK.   Mike's wife and family cooked hamburger and hot dog lunches for us, which were sold for $3 and $2 apiece, respectively.  History was taught in Excalibur's air-conditioned classroom, which Mike uses to teach concealed carry classes. 

We shot until after 5:00, though we didn't get to shoot an AQT for score on Saturday.  However, we got right into the grind on Sunday, after a recap of Saturday's instruction and some transition practice.  The most memorable moment of the weekend was when we awarded a Rifleman's patch to our first Rifleman of the weekend, who shot a 210 right on the nose.  The young man had shot this score despite not being able to make much use of his sling, which wasn't very well suited to being used as a marksmanship aid.  This achievement earned the young man an unexpected dunking with our water cooler, as well as the admiration of all.  This moment was made extra special by the fact that just after the dunking, it was discovered that our teenage Rifleman's father had also shot a Rifleman's score on the following AQT.  It was a pretty special moment for that family... a moment that was captured on camera.  Hopefully pics will be up soon (and hopefully someone can remember the names of our Riflemen, because right now for the life of me I can't).  These were our only two Riflemen of the week, but we had at least 2 others who were in the 190s. 

To me, the best thing about this weekend was how many new volunteers stepped up to take an orange hat.  Big thanks to floydf, wood, and Eppie (who is not on the forums) for stepping up and volunteering for the cause!  floydf had attended shoots in Missouri and Sallisaw, OK, and decided he wanted to be involved.  wood had also shot in MO and had been in contact with Greybeard, and had already helped with a little 7th stepping in this state, trying to get a new range on line.  Eppie is an experienced NRA Hight Power shooter who comes to our events to practice, and who has been attending Oklahoma Appleseeds for longer than I've been in the program!  He has helped out before with shooters who have issues with their M-14 type rifles (his weapon of choice), but we were just now able to convince him to actually put on an orange hat!

I want to wholeheartedly thank all hosts, Instructors, and shooters alike for making this a wonderful shoot.  I am also pleased to announce that Mike was so pleased with how the weekend went, and with the competence of our Instructors, that we have been invited back.  The next Afton Appleseed will be on October 23-24, and it should be available for registration very soon. 

Thanks again to everybody!

henschman

[wood]

Thanks to henschman, OG, and the other instructors and IIT's who I am looking forward to getting to know better in the coming months - and who did a great job out in the late summer heat.  It's good to see Appleseed growing in Oklahoma.

wood

[Verdigris]

Greatly enjoyed the event this weekend.  The hosts were outstanding.  The time and effort of the instructors was most certainly appreciated.

[Grendel]

I'll post a few brief thoughts since this was my first Appleseed in my home state.

I brought my brother, who had just come home for a short stay after finishing his AIT at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. His permanent duty post is Fort Hood, as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. He was somewhat excited since he had only gotten to shoot one day during his three month long AIT.

What can I say? I don't think he enjoyed it as much as I told him he would. A big contributing factor was the low quality rifle that he was using. He had our Father's Mossberg 702, which I think is just crap. His groups were all over the place. He shot 34 out of 40 during basic training at Fort Benning, so I know he can shoot well. Had he had an AR I think he would have done much better, but we don't have any of those in my family. Being a tall lanky guy, and pretty damn thin you wouldn't think it but he enjoys shooting the bigger guns, loves the 91/30 and our dad's S&W 500 revolver. I think the .22 was just too small for him?

I was fully committed to coming back on Sunday to continue honing my skills. And, I think I had about 97% convinced him to come back on Sunday, but he ended up having car problems and we had to deal with that on Sunday instead. So I didn't make it back.

The shoot overall I enjoyed. I think there were too many people there for the size range. Unless Mike extends the back stop I think a hard limit of 25 people would be better for this range. I was aggravated more than a few times when the kid next to me kept shooting my targets, and then I think his dad shot a couple also.

Not sure when I'll get to another Appleseed. I'm pretty much booked every weekend from now through mid May.

[Greg in MO]

Oklahoma christened their newest range in fine style!  A great turnout for the first shoot at this location.  Mike and clan were excellent hosts, bending over backwards  to accommodate us.  I was very glad that I was able to attend at the last minute.  It was great meeting and working with the OK crew, and the shooters were all great!  All of them worked hard and listened to instruction well. 

I am looking forward to the next shoots at this range and the planned range improvements including known distance!

Thanks for having me guys, and I hope you enjoyed the cookies!

Greg

[K98Al]

This was a great shoot, the A/C at break time, burgers cooking right at the line, a gun shop next door....hard to improve on that! The line was packed tight, no doubt, but the shooters persisted and by Sunday were showing much improvement. It was a pretty warm weekend, lots of water and Gatorade consumed.

There was heat, tight firing line, I saw plenty of brass landing on shooters, yet shooters all maintained safety, and great attitudes. This says so much about the attendees! I know there were quite a few that were very close to scoring Rifleman, even to those that still have a ways to go - please work on these skills, dry fire, think about the six steps, and please don't forget the history. Share this with someone, and bring them to the next Appleseed.

I look forward to seeing you all October 9th.

[oldgrunt]

  What a great time at a new range..The shooters all walk away with a few new skills ..I asked one if it was worth the money he spent..And yes was the answer .lol I hope to see him and his other buddies soon..I cant think of nothing other than the line it needed to be longer .Mike said it will be next time ..I look forward to next time myself..We had alot of first time shooters and to see a few of them on sunday was a treat they all did well..I realy had a good time sunday but why didnt our new rifleman try to go past the 210???I asked him he said I cant do any more it all I can do .So we all agreed it was time to wet him down and we did Congrats my friend your a rifleman wet but a Rifleman all the same ..lol

We will be back Oct 20ish  So it should be cooler..I would still bring a over head cover the suns rays still burn ..seeya in a month  i had a ball hope you all did .And if there's anything we can do to help let us know..All the targets we shoot are on here print them off and practice ..dry fire and follow the 6 steps..then go out and follow the 7th step bring a buddy ...

[Surveyor1653]

Instructors and IITs:  Thank you.  You guys made a lasting impression on a first-time Appleseed shooter.  The next time I see you guys I intend to trade my cook's whites for a green patch.
To Mike and crew at Excalibur:  Thank you for hosting and extending such great hospitality.  It was appreciated very much.

I got close but didn't get the cigar.  Oh, well:  Persistence right?  I will be hanging AQTs at USSA over the next month to practice and look forward to more quality instruction.  If you're lurking and trying to decide whether or not this is for you:  It is.  If you own a rifle you owe it to our history and to your posterity to attend this clinic.  Vets, BRM it isn't.  This is waaay better.  You might be humbled come Sunday afternoon but it's worth the trade.  The Instructors were infinitely patient and maintained a professional attitude throughout.  Safety was the paramount consideration and it showed.  You just don't find this kind of dedication very often. 

This clinic was more than worth the money.  I told OG that it would have cost that much for half a day's instruction someplace else.  Two days of great instruction & coaching for this price is more than worth it.

I was very impressed with the number of father/daughter teams at the clinic.  I have two little girls of my own and I can't wait to take them to an Appleseed (as soon as I convince Household 6).  In a few years we'll be having a fun homeschool field trip.

I never knew how much history I didn't know.  Thanks for the stories, especially Greg's.  Anyone have a link to the broadsheet?  I want one for my office and my house.

Folks thanks, again, for a great time and fun experience.  Hensch:  don't forget about the known distance layout.  With a couple of weeks' notice I will get it done for you.