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St Augustine, FL OCt 16-17

Started by ThaiFighter, October 22, 2010, 11:18:33 PM

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ThaiFighter

October 22, 2010, 11:18:33 PM
T'was a beautiful weekend at the Ancient City Gun Range in lovely St Augustine, FL.  This was the first Appleseed I've attended where it was just flat pleasant all weekend.  We went the weekend without the benefit of shade and it was a nice opportunity to work on the tan without the risk of falling out from the heat! We found ourselves Saturday Morning with fourteen eager shooters chomping at the bit to get out of the gate and practice their heritage!  After a brief intro, the safety rules and line commands were given.   

After the first strike, we sent the shooters to their vehicles to bring their rifles to the line in a safe condition.   We had no less than four young patriots, Shona, Joann, Brian and James, on the line who impressed all of us instructors with their attention to safety and their teachable attitudes.  They remind us why we serve.  I couldn't imagine leaving them a country lesser than what I enjoyed when I was their age.  Shona and Joann struggled early on, but stuck to it with grit and determination that took them from not hitting paper to keeping their shots on target.  That left two proud Papas beaming. Brian and James both displayed excellent marksmanship improvement with Brian taking on a couple of .30 cals by the end of Sunday. 

Rounding out the lineup were Brian's folks, Ken and Janie.  Janie seems a natural with her .22 and we were sorry she couldn't join us Sunday.  John and Tamara are repeat appleseeders at the Ancient City events and in spite of some equipment issues, toughed out the weekend hunting that elusive rifleman's badge.  I've no doubt some dry fire practice at home will get them over the edge into the "expert" realm.  Frank brought out his SOCOM M1a to show us all how to do it with a real rifle.   This generous soul lent out his rifle and his ammo at the end of Sunday to let some of the younger shooters feel what a true MBR feels and shoots like along side IIT Bruce's field grade M1 Garand.  Watching these youngsters work a priceless piece of America's history (Brian shooting offhand) was worth the work of the whole weekend!

They all spent the better part of the weekend drinking from the fire hose of marksmanship wisdom.  We had all the usual issues, dancing fingers, comfortable positions, wood draggers, and ppl trying to shoot the target while forgetting to shoot the rifle.  I was blessed with a crew of patient and capable instructors who worked these issues with the shooters while keeping a sharp eye out for safety issues.   

I can say that as an instructor, I thoroughly enjoyed working with this group of shooters.  Watching them take each issue they ran into in stride and come up with ways to resolve them reminded me that a rifleman's greatest tool is the one between his ears. 

By the time we hit the KD portion of the event, I was pleased to no end that ALL of the shooters were shooting good groups at 100 yards!  CHris was shooting < 3MOA with his bolt action .22 and scored a 47 on offhand stage at 100 yards! Great work everyone! 

By the end of Sunday, we completed 8 AQT's, a KD instruction and all instructional courses of fire.

After a short benediction, we left the range cleaner than we found it and put another event in the books. This one will stand out in my mind for the quality of the attendees and the great volunteers that kept me on track all weekend long.  Thanks to all y'all!       
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people."

-GBS

Proud to be funding TG and BF's retirement account... ;)

9mm4545

#1
October 24, 2010, 11:15:23 PM
Hey, it didn't rain, it wasn't beastly hot, and we had a fantastic group of eager shooters. What could be better? For me it was a chance to dip my toe into story telling and to further refine my instructing skills under the guidance of our very capable shoot boss. I was very impressed at the grit and determination of our two youngest shooters who followed directions well and made great strides in their marksmanship over the whole day Saturday. It was a real pleasure to spend a weekend with this great bunch and I hope to see every one of them again at future events. And yes, I will bring the old Garand and some ammo for our young recoil junkies, who seemed to really enjoy shooting "the finest battle implement ever invented".
The American Constitution is remarkable for its simplicity; but can only suffice a people habitually correct in their actions, and would be utterly inadequate to the wants of a different nation.  Change the domestic habits of the Americans, their religious devotion, and their high respect for morality, and it will not be necessary to change a single letter in the Constitution in order to vary the whole form of their government. - Francis Grund 1837

caseyblane

#2
November 06, 2010, 11:23:22 PM
14 in October? I'm proud of those that were there but it shows we've got some NE FL promotions to do. Can't slow down or it shows!
"Boy, there are Do'ers, Thinkers, and Wonderers, be a Do'er!" My Grandfather.
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