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AAR: Fenton, MI April 16-17, 2011

Started by ITB, April 18, 2011, 04:29:26 PM

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ITB

Wow, Mother Nature threw everything at us including the kitchen sink, but everyone had great attitudes and the instructors and shooters did great!

Saturday was 50° and rainy, and we got started with 22 shooters on the line.  The range was soft and very muddy, threatening to suck your boots right off your feet.  Everyone persevered, and a great time was had by all. 

Sunday was much colder, temperature was around 39° in the morning.  The next four hours we saw snow, hail, bright blue skies, more snow, light rain and SERIOUS winds (gusts over 40 mph). 

Thanks to all the shooters who braved the weather.  We need more Americans like you.

Thanks to all the instructors for "embracing the mud" and getting down with all the shooters.  Special thanks to those instructors that were actually there for the whole weekend..... &)   ~~:)   ;D

We had two new Riflemen (congrats to Mad Hatter and Brad), and one repeat Rifleman (Gary), and we have a new junior IIT - Mad Hatter!!!!

Everyone showed much improvement, and we all know Riflemen persist, so I expect to see some of you again at future events.

Thanks to Softseller and Fenton Lakes for being such gracious hosts.  One of these days, we might actually have an event in Fenton with good weather!

I'll post some pics as soon as I find my camera, which is currently buried somewhere in the back of the Burb.  In the meantime, here's a link to Softsellers multitude of photos:

Fenton April 16-17 photos

One pic I had to post - this made me laugh out loud - Old Mother Batherick and a "grenadier."  Shamelessly stolen from Softseller.





"I will either set my country free, or shed my last drop of blood to make her so." -  Dr. Joseph Warren

" ITB glides through the highways of the Midwest like a Velvet Fog, unfettered by mortal speed limits, leaving only the knowledge of American Heritage and Marksmanship (and a faint whiff of ghost pepper sauce) in his wake." - Oz

CF KD requal - Muenster, TX  11/25/23

Paramagic

We had a great time at the shoot and learned a lot. I will be returning and bringing(or dragging if necessary) people with me. This is an unbeatable program for shooting fundamentals and history. Two very full days of military quality shooting instruction with extremely knowledgeable and friendly instructors. There were no "gun snobs" on site as we all typically see in local gun stores and establishments, just friendly people looking to train their fellow citizens to shoot. Thank you for everything!

Brad

Bill Winkle

Wow, what a weekend. It was my first shoot of the year and it all seemed to come back sooo quickly. What an amazing group of participants; now I can easily remember why I do this. Congrats to Brad and Mad Hatter for scoring their Rilfeman. You both know well what you are about!

A special shout out to Gavin; you 'd man ;) Min, you can do it! John; the challenge has been struck; Al, your positive attitude is contagious; and to everyone else - you are truly amazing and an inspiration to us all!

Also, a pleasure to see some familiar faces on the line and many new friends to add. It was my honor to be present during our time at Fenton. Speaking of, a special expression of gratitude to Softseller. Thank you!

I am looking forward to the upcoming Appleseed trail of 2011. See you there.

Here are two of my favorite Softseller photos of the weekend. Saturday followed by Sunday.

....Bill Winkle....

ITB

#3
Quote from: Paramagic on April 18, 2011, 05:48:20 PM
We had a great time at the shoot and learned a lot. I will be returning and bringing(or dragging if necessary) people with me. This is an unbeatable program for shooting fundamentals and history. Two very full days of military quality shooting instruction with extremely knowledgeable and friendly instructors. There were no "gun snobs" on site as we all typically see in local gun stores and establishments, just friendly people looking to train their fellow citizens to shoot. Thank you for everything!

Brad

Brad - you're most welcome.  And thanks for the kind words.  Congrats on shooting Rifleman.

Next time we see you, I'll have an orange hat with your name on it........  &)  **)

"I will either set my country free, or shed my last drop of blood to make her so." -  Dr. Joseph Warren

" ITB glides through the highways of the Midwest like a Velvet Fog, unfettered by mortal speed limits, leaving only the knowledge of American Heritage and Marksmanship (and a faint whiff of ghost pepper sauce) in his wake." - Oz

CF KD requal - Muenster, TX  11/25/23

Bill Winkle

Why do I get the curious suspicion that this photo will wind up haunting me? Could it be because it is sooo classic?!? Miki, you are awesome! even if it makes me look like a baboon, I mean scardy-cat grenadier. :) Now where did I put my tall funny hat???

Quote
One pic I had to post - this made me laugh out loud - Old Mother Batherick and a "grenadier."  Shamelessly stolen from Softseller.


....Bill Winkle....

Superheat

Yes Bill Winkle I have to agree, MIKI was awesome.   :bow:  Nice job.  Saturday morning was a slow start but after that we all seemed to just embrace the conditions and shrug.  The rest of the weekend went great.  ^:)^ All the instructors were having a ball and the students were taking the instruction well.  I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THESE STUDENTS BACK ON THE LINE.  By the end I felt like we were saying goodbye to old friends. 
Now to clean the mud off of everything! 
(sorry I have no pictures to post my camera is now broken :()
SUPER


Miki

Paramagic, love the name! It was a pleasure to have you and your Dad on the line. All the shooters at this AS were awesome! The teachable attitudes you brought with you were such a delight to work with. You all stuck with it through the mud and snow and mud and rain and mud and wind and mud and mud and mud....well you get the idea.

Maverick, you ROCK! You tried everything I asked of you with a smile on your face and that is an instructor's dream student.

I so agree with Bill about the contagious positive attitudes. This Appleseed was oozing positive energy. Which was good because the mud was trying to suck it out of us. But, in the end the mud lost big time!

I really hope to see you all again. Seriously, this shoot had positive energy to spare!

Bill, thanks for playing the 'grenadier' to my silly Mother Batherick. I think that picture is going to come back and haunt the both of us.

JAWS

I just wanted to say I had a great weekend (mud, rain and all).  This was my third Appleseed and first one as an IIT.  I couldn't have asked for a better group of shooters or instructors to work with and learn from!   

It was an absolute blast working the left side of the line.  We had a great crew on Saturday with Mark, Paul and Nick.   Then on Sunday I got to watch Mad Hatter make rifleman and Gary shoot rifleman score with iron sights!  Great job! 

ITB thanks for putting up with me even though I was one of those "part time" IIT's.   Your enthusiasm is contagious and your M1 Garand is also a lot fun even if the girls out shot us  :bow:

It was great seeing everyone else too.  It was really nice meeting Bill Winkle (great name for a great guy) and his daughter Emily. 

Tenthumbs, Miki, BeeFree, Sprocket, Superheat - Thank you for all of your help and support.

Superheat sorry to hear about your camera!

ITB

OK, finally got the Burb unloaded and found the camera.  On with some pics...

This was taken on Sunday, at 8:54 AM:



This was taken 1 hour and 4 minutes later:



Superheat laying down on the job:



Not exactly textbook form for standing...



But you can't argue with the results.  A score of 48, and the flyer was called.  Good shooting, BF!



More pictures in my photobucket album.  Password is intheburbs

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS
"I will either set my country free, or shed my last drop of blood to make her so." -  Dr. Joseph Warren

" ITB glides through the highways of the Midwest like a Velvet Fog, unfettered by mortal speed limits, leaving only the knowledge of American Heritage and Marksmanship (and a faint whiff of ghost pepper sauce) in his wake." - Oz

CF KD requal - Muenster, TX  11/25/23

Paramagic

Thank you to everyone for the congrats and MIKI I appreciate the compliment on my name! It's a joke name for medics but most of us embrace it so I figured it fit  :)  I will say it again since I feel it was huge at this event, the attitudes of the instructors is what made the weekend great. Everyone was friendly and knowledgeable and like I said before, there were no "gun snobs" here. I feel the "gun snob" attitude deters most people from pursuing firearms and shooting sports and it was refreshing not dealing with it. I also really liked the wide ranging methods of teaching as everyone benefits from different styles of instruction. I will be back! Stay safe everyone, as much as I liked all of you I don't want to see you when I am wearing my paramedic costume.

Brad

mac66

What can I say. This was my second Appleseed and even though I shot rifleman in my first I came back. Why?  Because the program is great, the instructors are top notch and it is a heck of a lot of fun.  As Paramagic said,  "no gun snobs here". Just a lot of nice people wanting to learn to shoot and share their heritage.

I will be back, perhaps to help others.
Status quo, you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in'.
Ronald Reagan

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers

The King has degenerated into a tyrant and forfeits all rights to his subjects' obedience."  Patrick Henry, 1765

Motivation?...The best solution to morale problems is to kill all the unhappy people  Ghenghis Khan

Johnnyappleseed

Fenton sure looks different in April  :o
I learned from Fenton folks Aug 09 . Today I learned again with the term "gun snob"  a condition not part of AS.

Well done Fenton  O0
Hi to everyone there 
JA
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge

Swamp Thing

Hey all - Just wanted to notify everyone that I have officially removed all of the mud and sand from EVERYTHING! I also want to say thank you to all the instructors and the shooters. You were all incredible and I will be back. Extra motivation next time too, after comparing notes, my friend Robert outscored me by 1 point on our highest AQT's. He's not available for the next shoot in May, but I will be. And for his motivation, I told him the next time he shows up for a shoot, I'll be wearing an orange hat. Carry on people, I'm headed back to the swamp.

Superheat

Quote from: Swamp Thing on April 19, 2011, 06:07:23 PM
I told him the next time he shows up for a shoot, I'll be wearing an orange hat.
Wow, I don't know what to say.  Yes I do.  Bring everyone you know to the shoot.  We need to fill the lines in Bellvue.  None of the instructors live there so please help.  P.M. me with you address and I'll send you fliers.  LOVE THE AVITAR. Can't wait to push you along to get that rifleman patch. ~~:)
Superheat.

BeeFree

Quote from: Swamp Thing on April 19, 2011, 06:07:23 PM
Hey all - Just wanted to notify everyone that I have officially removed all of the mud and sand from EVERYTHING! I also want to say thank you to all the instructors and the shooters. You were all incredible and I will be back. Extra motivation next time too, after comparing notes, my friend Robert outscored me by 1 point on our highest AQT's. He's not available for the next shoot in May, but I will be. And for his motivation, I told him the next time he shows up for a shoot, I'll be wearing an orange hat. Carry on people, I'm headed back to the swamp.

Sweet!  And that avatar is hysterical!  I want the pattern!

BeeFree

Make Orwell Fiction Again!