AAR: Rio Rancho, New Mexico (Del Norte Gun Club) 16-17 October 2010

[nmmi9100]

Location:  Rio Rancho, New Mexico (Suburb of Albuquerque)
Range:  Del Norte Gun Club (range fees graciously waived)
Date:  16-17 October 2010
Saturday Participants:  12, ages 5 years to 50 years
Sunday Participants:  9, ages 11 to 66 years
AQTs Shot: 11
Total rounds fired:  742  (378 Saturday, 364 Sunday)
Rifleman:  5 Riflemen!!! Tom, 8x; Tim 3x; Jacob 3x; Alan; David
Knocking on door:  Several shooting 180's

Special thanks to the Del Norte Gun Club.  They offered us the use of their premier central New Mexico facility for the weekend and GRACIOUSLY waived all range fees for participants.  They also accomodated us bright and early, sending a member down 12 miles or so of wash-board road to open the gate for us both mornings.  If you want to shoot out to 1000 yards (or do anything else shooting sports wise) and live in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area, Del Norte Gun Club should be TOPS on your list.  THANKS GUYS!

This shoot had a model group of students.  They were totally involved at every phase of the Appleseed weekend.  From small children 5 years of age (Wyatt) to Alarm Listers, it really was a first class group.  One strike at morning break and two during lunch, these shooters we fully engaged in the History.  As the day progressed, these Americans just continued to stay attentive...at 378 rounds on day 1, these folks all persevered.  We had one rifleman on Saturday...and on the first AQT no less with a score of 228...   Four more riflemen on Sunday, including a Father and Son team, as documented above and in photos below.

All told, the folks that were able to stay both days endured sending a grand total of 742 AIMED rounds down range....  Only HITS count...suppressive fire is for the beltfeds...rifleman don't care about rounds per minute...only HITS per minute.

It was absolutely an honor to play a part in helping these fine Americans learn about their Revolutionary War forefathers and that most traditional of American skills...marksmanship.  On behalf of the instructor corps of New Mexico, I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming...and for persevering.   I'm sure we'll run into a number of you down the Appleseed trail...a few weeks of letting all we "fed ya with the firehose" sinking in and you'll be ready to continue your quest.

And a special thanks to the FOUR that took the Orange Hat today...we need your help teaching every New Mexican and every American what you learned today...so that in our memories, the men and women that gave so much for us, their Posterity, to have Liberty continue to live.

Thank you.

Shooters learning Points of Instruction on Saturday morning under a beautiful clear NM sky:


Devnull presents the First Strike, Saturday morning:


Appleseed is a family affair...Walker's family learns the Steady Hold Factors for Standing, totally engaged, 1 and all:


Tom, our 1st Rifleman, gets patched up on his 1st AQT Saturday...he did it 7 more times on Sunday!  On Saturday, it was hit or miss if Tom or his son Austin would be patched first....we expect Austin to earn his patch very soon!


In NM, students start their second day  on the road to the 7th step...they present the morning review to their classmates and do quite well at it:


Father and Son are Riflemen TOGETHER!  Tim (left) and Jacob get patched up on Sunday...I can't think of a better way for a father and son to spend a weekend together!


Shooters to the line!


David earns his Rifleman Patch!


Alan, after shooting a heart-wrenching 209 at Raton last month, gets Patched Up with a 232 and dons the Orange Hat!  We actually ran out of standard AQTs but Alan was happy to send this Redcoat AQT to the grave, Rifleman style!  Way to persevere, Alan!


My favorite license plate I've ever seen at an Appleseed...courtesy one of our new IITs:


The motley crew of instructors...Gideon (left), Precisely Advantageous, Devnull, nmmi9100:

[TaosGlock]

Great job guys and congrats to all those Riflemen!
And a hearty thanks to DNGC for waiving the range fees.
And a huge "welcome aboard" to the new IIT's!

Yup, another great New Mexico shoot!

[Devnull]

Wow! What can one say about this weekend?

We had a EXCELLENT group of students. They all worked very hard and listened to the instruction very well.

On Sunday I actually told everyone they were making our jobs hard because we had to look REALLY hard to find things to correct! 

We had over 50% make riflemen out of those who stayed for both days. It's almost hard to say that as I still can't believe it!

Folks remember, this is but a first step on your road to being a Rifleman. The patch is more of a license to learn and you will find that there are a great many more challenges on the road to saving our nation. I want to thank ALL of you for making those first steps and we look forward to seeing you at the Albuquerque City range next month!

[oladcock]

 Good job guys and congrats to all the new rifleman and IT's, GOOD SHOOTING!   ....O.L.

[tdhop1]

A Big Thanks to all the Red and Orange Hats @ the Del Norte Appleseed!! Jacob and I had a Blast. Like I said yesterday The only thing better then shooting Riflemen is your son shooting riflemen!! We are looking forward to the Albuquerque Appleseed in Nov. I have 2 more sons that to qualify and the youngest set the bar high.

Thanks Again

Tim

[BobABQ]

Hmmmmm, Gideon looks very familiar; I  believe I know that gentlemen.

It doesn't surprise me that Tom shot Rifleman scores several times. I seem to remember meeting him at a NRA High Power Rifle match earlier this month.

[Devnull]

Hmmmmm, Gideon looks very familiar; I  believe I know that gentlemen.

It doesn't surprise me that Tom shot Rifleman scores several times. I seem to remember meeting him at a NRA High Power Rifle match earlier this month.

He even asked about becoming an Instructor! Once he gets signed up on the forums were going to try and get him setup as an IIT. I think he is going to be an EXCELLENT addition to our team.

High Power matches, fun.
Helping save your country and TEACH others to shoot, PRICELESS! 

[Precisely Advantageous]

This weekend we had some of the best students I have ever seen. It was easy putting that many rounds down range when your students are the ones ready to get into prep before you have even cleared the line!   GREAT job guys! Thanks for coming out and spending a weekend with us learning about rifle marksmanship and OUR American heritage. You all made it a fun shoot and I look forward to seeing you all again.

Congrats to all the Riflemen and our newest IIT's you guys worked very hard and earned it!

Until next time,
Ryan

[duc-dog]

Congratulations all around, looks like New Mexico is steadily growing.  5 riflemen, 4IIT's way to go. Good job as always Devnull and it looks like NMM19100 is all over that SB stuff.  PA,Gideon good job see you all on the trail.
      Milt

[WindRider]

I can't thank the instructors enough.  As an Alarm Lister with a long neck, I had some sighting and eye-relief issues.  Coaching cleaned up a few mechanical aspects in the morning, and switching to Precisely Advantageous' scoped version of my Marlin 795 and Devnull's shooting jacket with padded shoulder helped with sight picture.  But it still wasn't all coming together consistently enough to produce a good total score.

Late in the afternoon, NMMI9100 and Devnull had run out of visible things to improve and were reduced to offering major encouragement while watching through the spotting scope.  Scoring had crept back up to 190 but that sense of not really owning reliable rifleman skills made getting a 211 (which I once shot at home) a very unattractive prospect.

Around 4 PM we were getting ready to shoot what might be the last AQT of the day.  I was tired, sore, and frustrated, but still game.  But then after a little break, a little prayer from a fried brain (coincidentally, I found out later, matched by a better prayer by my wife at home), something interesting happened.  As I walked up to the firing line to get ready to shoot that lovely red AQT, I noticed I wasn't tired, or sore, or frustrated.  I was light, happy, confident, and couldn't wait to connect with that target.  In short, prior to actually shooting for confirmation, I had become a Rifleman.

Other than paying special attention to keep my head back a bit for good eye relief in prone, the shooting was just a joyful process of connecting with the target and putting rounds where I intended.  As the hits piled up the NMMI9100/Devnull Peanut Gallery at the spotting scope behind me got a bit boisterous (in spite of their best efforts at suppression) but that just added to the fun.

The 232, followed by cleaning the Red Coat, just confirmed what I already knew.  I wasn't a Cook any more.

The result was one Giddy Rifleman and several Happy (and Relieved) Instructors.  Never give up!  Never Surrender!

Rifleman, it's more than a Patch!

- Alan

[duc-dog]

I wasn't tired, or sore, or frustrated.  I was light, happy, confident, and couldn't wait to connect with that target.  In short, prior to actually shooting for confirmation, I had become a Rifleman.

  I wasn't a Cook any more.

Rifleman, it's more than a Patch!

- Alan

         Amen.   Thats what it's all about.

[SamD]

Congratulations WindRider,
Any time you manage a 232, it has ceased to be luck.

All too often we try to force ourselves to greater performance, when we need to just let it happen. 
Shooting is a predominantly mental discipline and a forced mind rebels. It's like holding a bird,  hold too strongly and you can crush a beautiful thing, when what you need is just enough where it doesn't get away, and best of all, where it wants to be held.
You spoke

the shooting was just a joyful process of connecting with the target and putting rounds where I intended

I am reminded that  "He has made everything beautiful, in it's time".

Sam

[MacMcM]

I wasn't tired, or sore, or frustrated.  I was light, happy, confident, and couldn't wait to connect with that target.  In short, prior to actually shooting for confirmation, I had become a Rifleman.

  I wasn't a Cook any more.

Rifleman, it's more than a Patch!
- Alan

I had the same experience, but could not put it into words... Alan I bow to your ability to stick words together in the correct alignment! 

MacMcM

         Amen.   Thats what it's all about.

[Gideon]

It was a great weekend to see so many Riflemen together, and so many new Instructors.       I hope to see many of the students again at future AS events.  I truly hope all the students enjoyed their weekend as much as I enjoyed spending it with them.

Gideon

[Lead_Sled]

Sorry it's taken me a while to reply.  I fat-fingered my email address when registering for the forum and finally got it straightened out today.  This was my first AS and I came away very impressed.  Impressed with the instructors, impressed with the participants, impressed with the quality of instruction (I've been shooting all my life and have never received this great of instruction), and impressed with the Appleseed message.  This is a cause I can believe in and I can support.  And I'm willing to provide that support.  I look forward to working with all the Appleseeders and making my contribution to teaching others the essential, critical skill of shooting and keeping the American heritage alive!  Thank you all for providing this experience to my son and me.

[nmmi9100]

To all the folks that signed on to be new IITs, we need your help at Albuquerque on 20-21 November 2010.  As soon as your account switches over to reflect Instructor in Training status, please PM "Instructor Scheduling" and ask to be put on the schedule to instruct at the Albuquerque shoot, 20-21 November.

We've already got more folks pre-registered for the ABQ shoot than we had for Rio Rancho and it's a month out!  The last Albuquerque City Range shoot in June 2009 had about 50 attendees!  Lets see if we can beat that by telling everyone we know about Appleseed.  And if we do indeed have some seriously good attendance, we'll need all of you that can make it to help teach...

Thanks for grabbing a bucket and joining in the bailing...

And don't forget to VOTE!

-David
Edgewood, NM

[JustJeff]

And don't forget to VOTE!

[Devnull]

And don't forget to VOTE!

Any IIT who doesn't vote gets to taste the plastic switch. The dreaded CLOWN BAT!!! 

Seriously folks. Let your voice be heard.

Lead_Sled, great to have you aboard. You know I was just joking when I called your rifle a lead sled right? 

[Lead_Sled]

Oh, yeah, but I liked it so kept with it.  Unique.  You should pick up my match AR...
Tom