AAR: Mobile, AL 4/30-5/1

[ARJJ]

I figure since I apparently had the shortest drive of the instructors, I'd go ahead and start an After Action Report thread for the shoot this weekend. Of course, we still have another day to go!

First of all, I want to tell all of our shooters that I saw a lot of SAFE gun handling today. I was very appreciative that we had no safety issues. I hope this will continue tomorrow. Along those same lines, several shooters started out unfamiliar with their rifle--whether it was manipulating a bolt release or adjusting the iron sights. By the end of the day, I saw a marked improvement in those same shooters' manipulation. Good job!

We had a couple of shooters who came very close to shooting Rifleman. One was plagued by malfunctions unfortunately. There were quite a few shooters who I've seen improvement in since the last time they attended an Appleseed.

That's all I have off the top of my head. Hopefully others will chime in, and I'll see y'all tomorrow!

[4merUSMC1803]

Other than the strong gusty winds, and the significant delay they caused, today was a great day at Mobile, AL.  As ARJJ mentioned, the attendees did display a great deal of care and concern for safety.  They showed marked improvement throughout the day; displaying a solid grasp of the instruction given, and asked some very thoughtful and valid questions.   Below are a few photos from the first day.  Stay tuned for more.

Darrell

[ChileRelleno]

We had a couple of shooters who came very close to shooting Rifleman. One was plagued by malfunctions unfortunately.

I being the one with the malfunctions.
Rifle ended up with a barrel full of sand and grit, patched it clean, and it seemed GtG.
Shortly after experienced two failures to extract with double feed, both during AQR course of fire.
First time was during the 200yd course, managed two of the 10 shots, and still managed to complete the AQT with a score of 195. 
195, 15 lousy points from rifleman, I was pissed.
Second AQT my rifle again FTE during the 3rd course, again only two shots fired, both were touching in the V.
So with only two shots into the 300yd course I had a score of 96...  BAH! 
I was so pissed at that point that I quit, packed it in rather than finish this AQT.

At home I broke down my rifle and thoroughly cleaned/checked it.
I found that the fine talc like dust and some sand had got into the extractor pockets on either side of the chamber, mixed with lube and become a thick, viscous sludge.  Undoubtedly the cause of my frustrations.

Overall I had a great experience with this Appleseed, and it isn't over, I'll be back out today for more shooting & history.
I rank ya'll higher than my experiences with CMP, for your in-depth instruction, but more-so for the history lesson taught.
So many citizens don't know our Country's history, its a shame.

[ChileRelleno]

Hot day with light breezes and lot'sa safe shooting.

My rifle malfunctioned, again, multiple times, and today I held my tongue rather than blow my top again.
One of the Instructors was kind enough to loan me her's, and I promptly shot a 220 AQT for my Rifleman.
I shot the AQT again and was confounded at whether multiple rounds went through the same holes in the 200 yd course.
I was told that I could have benefit of a doubt considering my shooting, but went ahead and scored it as 208, rather than 218.
Happy shooter here.

And another participant, William, shot for his Rifleman too, posting a 212 IIRC.
Congrats to William!

A fine days shooting, and once again a great day for learning our Country's history and what we can do to help ourselves return it to what the Founding Father's envisioned.

[ChileRelleno]

AQT qualifying with 220pts.
Missed my last RedCoat by one shot, never did make 400yds as my Effective Range.

[4merUSMC1803]

We had the pleasure of seven returning shooters for the second day; what a great group of sportsmen (and sportswomen).  Because of the high wind gusts on Day 1, the entire group pitched in and moved the original firing line & target line to a different range, surrounded by tree growth, buffering the winds' effects, and still managed to get in 2 AQTs.  As we began to shoot the 1st of 5 AQTs on Day2, we were informed by one of the club officials that the range we were using wasn't cleared for use and that we'd have to move back to the original range.  Once the import of that sunk in, everyone cheerfully packed up all the equipment, including the (surviving) pop-up canopies, the target line materials, and the ,firing line equipment and materials, and had the new lines set up in just over an hour.  The cooperation and willingness to do what needed to be done just reaffirmed my conclusion that Appleseeders are the absolute BEST folks on the planet!  Groups like the one at Mobile are the reason I keep on journeying the Appleseed Trail!  Anyway, after that little "goat rope", everyone settled in to the task at hand and we were graced with two Riflemen; John C with his 220 (see the photos above) and William B, a prior Appleseeder from last July, who shot a 212.  Congrats to Mobile's two newest Riflemen!  The other 5 shooters showed steady improvement throughout the weekend, and I'm sure we'll have a few more Riflemen in Mobile before the year's end.  A special Thank You goes out to the Moss Hill Sportsmen's Club, and our local liason guys (aka 'Boots On The Ground') Frank, Gordon, and William; without your help and assistance, this event wouldn't have been nearly as successful (or pleasurable).   TheBOTGs have just about talked me into attending one of their 3-Gun competitions: if I can only punch a hole somewhere in the schedule before the end of the year.  Seriously, it was a pleasure working with all the shooters at Mobile, including Dave, Ralph, and Joe; spouses Callie and John G; LZ's beau Brian and daughter Karrie, as well as those named above.  The turnout was better than expected, even with the disatrous weather earlier in the week, and its lingering effects. 

More photos are posted below:

[Piker]

Adapt, improvise, overcome.  SOP for us AppleSeeders.

4 State Corps of instructors, FLA, Sweet Home Alabama, MS with GA bringing up the rear. Darrell, as always a pleasure to work with you. Good to meet Ladyzipper, and hear her stirring 3rd strike o' the match. And last but not least, great to work with one of MS finest law enforcers, ARJJ.

ChileRelleno, way to persevere. Also, your personoal story is one of resilience and honor.

Lest we forget the wages to pay to Mr. B, great shooting with a borrowed rifle. GAOTU for us Squares.

[BrainMylar]

  Having fired a rifle all of two times in my life, I found myself in a bit of an uncomfortable situation as LZ and I pulled into my very first appleseed.  I was nervous and ready to pretty much look like a fool.  The people (both instructors and attendees) readily accepted me with open arms. They were very friendly.  Then we sat and listened to a bit of history which kept me on the edge of my seat. We went over some basic safety (I am a handgun kinda guy so I am familiar with the basics).  After a bit of a delay (because the wind blew everything over and we had to relocate everything), we got everything to the line and got ready to shoot some redcoats.  Sadly, I was the only one there that didn't get 3 in anything. To my surprise, no said a word. The instructors (and some of the other shooters) gave me tips and tricks. John P worked with me to get my sights where they needed to be. Due to having to relocate everything we didn't have enough time to shoot a redcoat at the end of the day.  While I wasn't the best shot in the world before I left that day, I was a lot better than I was when I had arrived (and a lot more comfortable).

  The next day started with another redcoat shoot.  To my surprise, I had put 3 in every silhouette except the 400 yd (I only had 2) and hit the head shot!!  I was putting 4 on average in the 1" squares.  I was imagining rifleman for the first time.  Sadly, we had to move everything once more.  Everyone chipped in and we got it all move.  Apparently I left my aim at the old range because things weren't going nearly as well. My brand new rifle started falling apart (the sling post in the front came out and the rear sight came ridiculously loose.  I got a bit frustrated and was ready to just sit the last couple AQTs out. When I failed to hang the next target, I think everyone realized my frustration and had at least 3 people offer to loan me their rifles and others were encouraging me to keep trying.

  I learned a lot about rifles over those two days but, that pales in comparison to what I learned about MY country and our history.  I look forward to learning more (I think that I am going to go out buy David Hackett Fisher's book this week). With all that said, I wanted to thank all the people there that taught me so much. To all the other participants, thanks for your patience.  To Darrell (the history was inspiring and your advice was appreciated). To John P, just move the leg next time, you don't have to ask.  Jason, thanks for all the help getting me on target (and I still don't have a problem with you....).

  Congrats to the two people that got rifleman and I look forward to joining your ranks soon.  See you all at the next one.

PS. You should let new people know how sore they will be for the next two days

[ARJJ]

Problem? Man, I enjoyed your enthusiasm and your positive attitude! Your discipline showed through, too, with that Redcoat! Equipment issues come up, especially with new stuff--don't sweat it too much. I fully expect you'll have a Rifleman patch at your next Appleseed.

[4merUSMC1803]

BrianMylar,
I'm 100% with ARJJ on this one!  An Appleseed will most definitely test your equipment, and you'll learn a lot of good lessons aside from the History & marksmanship instruction.  I, too, fully expect you'll earn your Patch at your next event; besides, you have an inside track with one of the BEST instructors on the Gulf Coast.    I hope to be there when you do it (and don the orange hat?)  .  As ARJJ pointed out, you brought a lot of enthusiasm, discipline, and, most importantly, a TEACHABLE attitude.  A Rifleman persists and I know you'll persist past your equipment issues    until you reach that lofty goal.

[ChileRelleno]

Ah heck Brian,
you're a natural, and you came with no bad habits, like they said, good attitude and teachable.
You'll definitely qualify rifleman.


You think you were frustrated?
Man, I've had my Model 60 for 16 years and can count maybe 3-4 stovepipes.
Then my rifle runs fine all day, both days, until we get to AQTs and then it decides to become problematic.
Dude, I was about to nuckin futs.

And on that note, I found the main problem with my extraction issues.
Short story...  Heavily fouled chamber.