AAR Como, MS Dec 11/12 2010

[dart67eb]

Well, there's Appleseed and Winterseed, so how about Waterseed?  Yup, it's Como.  Yup, it rained.  And rained.  And then some thunder and lighting for kicks.  Christmas parades cancelled.  Sensible people not daring to venture outside.  Mo, Josh, Mike, Bill and Jim braved the rain for day one under the whip of Wesm, Banzi and myself.  The running joke was, "At least it's not cold!"  We already decided that tomorrow's joke will be, "At least it's not raining!"  The pics don't do the rain justice.  More to come tomorrow when the highs will be in the low 30's.  Yeah I know that's not so cold but this is Mississippi, for cryin' out loud!

[TruTenacity]

WOW!!  I'll take snow over rain any day.

Way to persist all!

[colycat]

In the 30's and wet in MS,  yea, thats winterseed material

[dart67eb]

Sunday's weather was completely different.  High 20's/low 30's with snow flurries on and off all day.  We started off with five shooters.  Jim had to leave after a while because his glasses kept falling apart.  Hornet41 got his winterseed patch with  a 220 AND took an orange hat!  Welcome aboard!  Mike went from shooting a 1-teen something to a 180+ and Josh had some good scores, too.  They'll be back and they'll get patches, too.  I'll post some pics later.

[wesm]

Wow, what a great weekend!  Seems like Mississippi Appleseeds always have something new to challenge us with!  Dart has done a good job of showing what our Appleseeders were working with on Saturday.  It was really not too cold on Saturday, but Sunday would be a different story.  (Most of) the water was gone, except for ponded spots, from Saturday, but dawn Sunday brought a drastic temperature change.  The high on Sat was ~58, the high on Sunday was somewhere in the 30s, with a 20-40 MPH wind advisory all day - putting the wind chill down lower than we cared to know!  WOW! We actually saw snow flurries throughout the day Sunday - a rarity in Mississippi, and the second time this has occurred at a Mississippi Appleseed in 2010.  Is it a sign??

Four brave Appleseeders from Saturday returned on Sunday, and Dart's son Pete, a old hat at this by now, showed up again too, for our 5th shooter. We all learned how thick winter coats require sling adjustments, and how bulky layers of insulation can affect how easy/hard it can be to build a steady position.  I am especially proud of how our participants took everything in stride, from the torrential rain on Saturday to the Arctic winds on Sunday.  We saw scores improve throughout the weekend, and I think each participant learned a lot they can take home with them.  One participant jokingly (I think) commented that the mental health professionals ought to look into us for getting out in the weather as we were, but everyone had a good time   .

My appreciation goes out to all of the participants, and a special congratulations is in order to hornet41, who shot a 220 on Sunday! Due to the extreme weather for MS at this shoot, the instructors all agreed that if anything in MS qualified for a Winterseed, this was it.  So Hornet41 was awarded the first MS Winterseed patch, and since this was his 3rd event, he also accepted an orange hat!   He may well be our most senior MS Rifleman, although you wouldn't know it by watching him.  He is certainly our most senior MS IIT!  Congrats again for stepping up to take the hat, Hornet!  I look forward to working with you in the future!

Although he was the only Rifleman made at this event, I'm sure we'll have more in the future out of this bunch.  They all exhibited that Heart of a Rifleman that we as instructors hope to see, and I can't wait to see these guys at another event soon.

[Johnnyappleseed]

welcome aboard Hornet 41 --- nice shooting -- 220 with those conditions--unbelievable ^5

Well said wesm " The heart of a Rifleman " sure sums it up 
Awesome !
JA

[dart67eb]

Wesm,
Any of your pics turn out?

[wesm]

Working on them... I don't have a download cable, so I have to "text" them to my wife, and she'll email them back to my email account from her phone.  Kind of tedious, but we'll see what we get.

[wesm]

Obviously, my cellphone camera is not as good as your cellphone camera.  Regardless, here is the best of what I got.

[dond]

CONGRATULATIONS MO! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT. AND THANKS FOR TAKING THE HAT.

   

[banzi]

Congratulations Mo!

Dart, it was great working wit you again.

Wes, it was very good to meet you and see you teach.

The snow flurries followed us all the way back to Atlanta and probable continued east when we stopped in Marietta. That wind on Sunday was something else!

All in all we had a good group and a good shoot. It was good to see all participants make steady, measurable prgress. I am confident that all can with practice achieve a Riflemans score in the foreseeable future.

Thank you all for the opportunity to spend a weekend wita great group of Amricans.

(come visit us in Georgia)

cheers!

[dart67eb]

Nice pics, Banzi.  Thanks for coming.  Now if you didn't have that red hat with the brown coat uglying them up...

[wesm]

I enjoyed meeting you too, Banzi.  As well as Michael. Thanks for showing your commitment!  You did a great job as Line Boss this weekend.  Best of luck to you back in Georgia.  If you get a chance, look up Oldfudd over around Atlanta and work some Appleseeds with him.  Tell him you come with WesM's high recommendation.  He's our first Honorary Mississippian Red hat.

[hornet41]

A heartfelt an humble thanks to all!! When I began the quest to become a rifleman at my first 'seed, I thought this would be easy. Well, was I in for a surprise! I had not shot from positions since Navy boot camp in 1958. So, I figured I better practice and get in shape. I thought I was going to break my body especially in prone! On my first attempt I managed to get down and in position. Oh my gosh I'm gonna be crippled for life after this! Then I tried to get up. I was flopping around on the floor of the den like a beached whale!! All the while my wife was cracking up at my antics! My wife, bless her heart, would not hear of my whining!! She pushed me relentlessly to get on with it and "man up"!!! Push ups, stretches and positions at least every other day. With my beloved taskmaster not letting me slack up, I was in reasonable shape for the events on the firing line. Not only did I discover I had developed bad habits but I also began to realize via the story telling just what a legacy we Americans have been given. I was disappointed in my performance but determined to improve. I ordered Fred's AQT package and began to practice in earnest out at my shooting range.
My second 'seed saw some improvement but not what I expected. I was blaming the rifle, the sights, my eyes, the phase of the moon, everything but me!! Finally there were no excuses left. I had to knuckle down and develop the skills taught by the instructors. Not some of the time but ALL the time. Every single shot!! Without fail!! Also at my second 'seed I was more attentive to the story. I bought the book Paul Revere's Ride and read it cover to cover. It sure puts a fine sharp point on what our forefathers fought and died to give us--LIBERTY!!!
Then came what has become to be know as the waterseed shoot at Como, MS.. My groups began to tighten as I adhered to the six steps, steady hold factors, breathing and follow through. Amazing!!! Although the weather conspired to confound all efforts at marksmanship with rain, lightening, wind and bone chilling cold (for Mississippi) and snow flurries on Sunday, I stayed with it. When I took down my AQT and looked at it, I thought maybe this is close!! I need to take my shooting glasses off and dig out my bifocals for this one!!! Low and behold--a 220!!!!! I was in shock!! I was almost brought to tears over what I had accomplished. I hope the forefathers were looking down saying, he stayed the course and made us proud!!! Another son of liberty!!
Please don't think I'm blowing my horn. Far from it. Just trying to explain my journey to becoming a Rifleman. I have a renewed reverence and respect for those who give us this great Republic and the liberty we enjoy today.
Respectfully, Hornet41

[dart67eb]

A heartfelt an humble thanks to all!! When I began the quest to become a rifleman at my first 'seed, I thought this would be easy. Well, was I in for a surprise! I had not shot from positions since Navy boot camp in 1958. So, I figured I better practice and get in shape. I thought I was going to break my body especially in prone! On my first attempt I managed to get down and in position. Oh my gosh I'm gonna be crippled for life after this! Then I tried to get up. I was flopping around on the floor of the den like a beached whale!! All the while my wife was cracking up at my antics! My wife, bless her heart, would not hear of my whining!! She pushed me relentlessly to get on with it and "man up"!!! Push ups, stretches and positions at least every other day. With my beloved taskmaster not letting me slack up, I was in reasonable shape for the events on the firing line. Not only did I discover I had developed bad habits but I also began to realize via the story telling just what a legacy we Americans have been given. I was disappointed in my performance but determined to improve. I ordered Fred's AQT package and began to practice in earnest out at my shooting range.
My second 'seed saw some improvement but not what I expected. I was blaming the rifle, the sights, my eyes, the phase of the moon, everything but me!! Finally there were no excuses left. I had to knuckle down and develop the skills taught by the instructors. Not some of the time but ALL the time. Every single shot!! Without fail!! Also at my second 'seed I was more attentive to the story. I bought the book Paul Revere's Ride and read it cover to cover. It sure puts a fine sharp point on what our forefathers fought and died to give us--LIBERTY!!!
Then came what has become to be know as the waterseed shoot at Como, MS.. My groups began to tighten as I adhered to the six steps, steady hold factors, breathing and follow through. Amazing!!! Although the weather conspired to confound all efforts at marksmanship with rain, lightening, wind and bone chilling cold (for Mississippi) and snow flurries on Sunday, I stayed with it. When I took down my AQT and looked at it, I thought maybe this is close!! I need to take my shooting glasses off and dig out my bifocals for this one!!! Low and behold--a 220!!!!! I was in shock!! I was almost brought to tears over what I had accomplished. I hope the forefathers were looking down saying, he stayed the course and made us proud!!! Another son of liberty!!
Please don't think I'm blowing my horn. Far from it. Just trying to explain my journey to becoming a Rifleman. I have a renewed reverence and respect for those who give us this great Republic and the liberty we enjoy today.
Respectfully, Hornet41

Orange hats!  They just go on and on and on...   Seriously though.  You did a fine job and made quite a few of us proud.  As an added bonus, you got the first rifleman patch AND orange hat I have given out as a Shoot Boss.  Now with your help, let's make more!