AAR- DFW Quail Creek- Ladyseed, Tx, May 29-30, 2011

[doubleLL]

We had another sold out event here in DFW. The Quail Creek Ladyseed was sold out months in advance due to the DIVA-WOW organization and the support from the range. We had 22 shooters registered 5 cancellations and 2 walk ons. The majority of the ladies were new shooters and kids. We promoted the event as a mother daughter event and I believe this helped fill the line.

The weather was HOT- so we modified our COF and shot most of the morning, taking breaks to tell the strikes. The Truck Center of Fort Worth donated lunch both days. We were spoiled with a catered lunch from Jason's deli. The range put in a proper A/C unit in the classroom that provided a much needed break from the heat. 

We took the pace a little slower this weekend, making sure everyone took mandatory water breaks. Sunday during our AQT grind our second DIVA-WOW member made RIFLEMAN!! Plinker is a supporter of Appleseed and the main reason we have a DAR here in DFW. I was so proud to present her with a patch.

We had several mother daughter groups on the line- Spitstickler's family came out to shoot. I remember his daughter on the line shooting with me during my first Appleseed. I was glad they all came out again. Angela and her daughter Sami (who just graduated from college in NY) spent the weekend in the hot Texas heat. Sami is like her a mother a natural with a rifle.  We also had a lady from Cheaper Than Dirt who came out to this weekend. She wrote up a fantastic article about her Appleseed experience: 

http://cheaperthandirt.com/blog/?p=8420&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=20110531-Blog-MemorialDayAppleseed

Many of the shooters have never fired a gun before until this weekend and by Sunday were cleaning the red coat target out to 300 yards!!! 

Donna joined the instructor crew this weekend. Donna will be an excellent addition to our instructor corp. She made rifleman on April 19th shoot. I was proud to be the shoot boss to award her the patch and double proud to present her the orange hat. Welcome Donna!!

Thesheepdog passed his IIT-3 PC this weekend.

Many, Many thanks to our DFW instructors, you guys are the best. I am so proud to be working the line with you all.

[starfox]

What a weekend!  The Ladies continue to prove why women make some of the best shooters!

We started off the day with alot of instruction and shooting as the forecast was for high 90s and humidity.  After running the morning fast, we retired to the luxurious confines of the air conditioned classroom for a catered lunch and Zach giving us the first strike.  I wasn't there for all of it (running back and forth between the range and the classroom), but you would not be able to tell that it was Zach's first time telling the First Strike.  He did an amazing job!

After lunch we took more breaks during the afternoon as the temperature and the heat index climbed.   Criss gave a great second strike under time constraints.  We wrapped up Saturday with everything except Standing as everyone, instructors included, were starting to wilt under the heat. 

12 hearty souls made it back for another round in the heat on Sunday.  We covered everything we missed on Saturday and shot 3 AQTs.  Criss did an exceptional job running the line and making sure everyone was drinking water throughout the day. 

On the second AQT, the second DIVA Rifleman came forth.  Marietta (plinker), shot a 224, cleaning stages 2 and 3!!  She has been an ardent supporter of our program and it was a distinct pleasure to be able to award her patch.   We are truly appreciative of the DIVA-WOW organization.  Appleseed's growth in the DFW area is in no small way thanks to Marietta and the other DIVAs. 

We had a lot of new shooters at this event, and all were showing remarkable improvement by the end of the weekend.  It is always inspiring to see someone who has never handled a rifle before be able to consistently shoot 4 MOA groups by the end of the weekend. 

Congratulations to all our shooters, through the heat they all showed the spirit of the Rifleman.

[plinker]

If you think DFW was hot last weekend, just wait until you get down in the Houston area!  The humidity is always a factor there and when you add in summer heat, it's a sauna!  Be sure to do the same mandatory water breaks because not everyone pays attention to their hydration in the summertime!

I had a lot of fun shooting the new 10/22 and I'm already thinking about a few things I'd like to do to it to customize it a little more.  Pretty accurate for an off-the-shelf gun though!  I'd still like to see if I could clean an AQT with the Anschutz, but that's a pretty tall order for a single-shot bolt action on a timed COF.  Maybe with a little practice, who knows?

I ordered a "Flames" patch to accent the Rifleman patch.  Seemed appropriate with the kind of heat we had to endure!  Too bad we can't design a "melted" Rifleman patch!  It would be perfect for us down here in the hotter climates!

Thanks to all of the instructors for their time and patience with us this weekend!

[spitstickler]

Pictures are here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.176420175748485.43985.112988112091692

and here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150200090091771.314584.365883406770

It was a pleasure to have the DIVAs out again to Appleseed with us!