San Luis Obispo (SLOSA), ca 30-31 July '11

[artkat2]

Outstanding weekend!

4 Riflemen
3 New Orange hats

and a full house all weekend. Details posted soon.

in the meantime, chime in if you are so inclined!

Also, LOST 1 pair of green electronic ear protection with the word "DAD" written on them. If you policed them up would you please contact me at 805 234 2252. Thanks!

[artkat2]

Where to begin...

We started with 18 pre registrations, added 4 walk-ons to a line that only holds 20!
  So our list shows 22 shooters, but with tk6151 giving up a spot, and 2 walk-ons (as well as the rest of the line) working together for the common good, we ended up with 21 shooters on the line.
   Hold on, It only gets better!

Thanks to 2 of our repeat offenders, tk6151 and Bigjacobus for help clearing the line all weekend, That left L0ck3 and I clear to alternate between Line boss and Instructor.

Our Shooters were top shelf, all the way across; Jacob is well on his way to becoming a great young shooter, brothers Mathew and Andrew with little experience with rifles took instruction well and will continue to improve as long as they do their part. Kenny, came with a walk-on repeat, improved all weekend. All 4 earned the Luther Blanchard patch for their part in our Appleseed weekend.

We had another shooter with little or no experience; Lilly worked hard Saturday. She never quite pulled it all together at the same time but was an attentive student. Let's get her back in the dirt Maria!

Our "grown-ups" were pretty good too! Bigjacobus, tk6151, Maria and Pshuman wrap up our repeats. Kelly talked Jean-ann and Tim into coming out  and we're glad she did! Tim shooting an M1A shot a 216 on Saturdays only AQT, and by close of business on Sunday decided on an Orange hat.

Christian and Pete learned a lot, and will most likely earn the title "repeat offender" shortly before earning their patches (as long as Pete stays away from the Chevron sandwiches ) Thanks for coming over from the Valley fellas'!

Mark and Joshua, Saturday only's didn't to get to show what they learned in the AQT grind, and Eric missed half of Sunday (he also pulled off a fantastic brass dance, prone to standing in about 4 miliseconds with his muzzle never deviating more than 3 degrees from perpendicular to the firing line!). You guys need to make the next one, I'm not finished with you yet.

Ray and Ray, thanks for coming out, you guys were a lot of fun on the line. Keep it up and keep me posted.

Terrance, now that you've got your zero, you and Jacob use well what you have learned and I'll see you on the line.

Maria, glad to have you on the line again and thanks for bringing a couple of young shooters! See you in Nov? Bring that 'ol man of yours too...

Monty, what do you say about a guy like Monty the guy shoots a 238, followed by a 231 and a 220 and a 228 and the only guy I've ever seen shoot the score on the first stage! Some of his neighbors decided to "help him out" on one of his AQT's He came up with 40 or 50 holes in his stage 1! It gets better... He counted the 10 lowest scores (30) and still finished the AQT with a 210! Marty also took an Orange hat. Thanks Marty!

John, not bad for a hand gunner I'm glad you came out and spent your weekend with us!

Pshuman; I shot next to Phil at my first Appleseed, 19 April '09. Phil clearly has used what he learned, after knocking at the door for a few, a rifle malfunction for one or two AQT's came up with a clean 210 (and was promptly doused with North bridge water by his line mates) and using Marty's rifle for the last redcoat posted 4 cloverleafs punctuated with a dead center head shot. Nice goin' Phil!

Then there's Bigjacobus, he's been knocking on the door since I met him last year, I think he's wanted an Orange hat since then as well. Well Ben, a Rifleman perseveres! Nice work (219) you earned both I look forward to working with you!

Outstanding weekend! Thanks L0ck3.

And to all you students, 

You made this Appleseed for me!

[helicopter mech]

HolEEE COW!
I had FUN!
Even though I had 3 ibuprofen's before leaving the parking lot to come home and promptly getting into the Hot Tub whirl pool when I arrived home!
It was Pshuman who invited me and even tho I'm a stay at home kind of guy when I'm not puttering around the clouds ( in an airplane.. ) I am so glad I decided to go. With my new super dooper rifle fresh out of the box....well...you know how well it performed.
The personalities there for both days really made for icing on the cake. I was shooting alright even while my bones and sinew were screaming in protest and coffee jitters were brightly visible in my scope.
The people there were so much fun!
Andy, Tom, Tony & Ben were very friendly and disciplined linemen.  Very likeable personalities. 
The other shooters were having a great time all through the whoopsies (I thought you said FIRE... ) and murdering "Safties off" ( ...he's trying to kill us all....)episodes.
I was impressed that by Sunday afternoon there wasn't a chaotic atmosphere of unsafe behavior nor a tumble or dropped firearm! Nice going people.
I have to say I really enjoyed the young men I was fortunate to meet and be apart of their weekend. They were respectable (rarer these days than when I was a kid ) intelligent and wanted to learn! Terrence, that's a sharp young man you're raising there buddy!   
Great fun. Lots of laughs and really it was therapeutic.

[Deuce2]

I had a blast this weekend

I have to give a huge thank you to Andy, Tom and Tony for all of their time, patience and encouragement.

I met a lot of great new people, got to to hang out with Jean-Ann and Tim, and of course I got to shoot things, which makes for a great weekend.

I learned a lot in 2 days and will be back for more soon. Hope to see some familiar faces next time.

-Kelly

[Johnnyappleseed]

Excelent event at SLO 
Welcome new IITs and congratulations Riflemen.

Looked like you guys may have been shorthanded ,but the results say otherwise

Job well done !

[pshuman]

First off, big thanks to everyone who helped out this weekend putting this together, especially Andy for running shoot boss, and Tom for making the long drive up to SLO!

This was the 3rd Appleseed weekend I've attended, but the first one I was able to attend the complete weekend and as Andy said, I made rifleman with a 210 (with a new Marlin 795 with a 3-9x scope). This was the first Appleseed I've shot left handed and I could definitely seen an improvement. I've steadily seen my scores increase and my groups shrinking over the past few years thanks to the great instruction from Appleseed. Thanks all! I'm looking forward to blowing that 210 out of the water next time!

L0ck3 presenting the Rifleman patch to me:


And yes, I'm pretty proud of the first 13 rounds I ever shot out of Marty's dressed up 10/22 on Sunday afternoon for the final redcoat!:


And props to Ben, my lefty shooting buddy! Here is Artkat2 presenting both Rifleman patch and orange hat to Bigjacobus:


This was the first weekend I actively recruited others to come. I purchased two Marlin 795 rifles just to have to invite guests. I had a fair bit of interest and ended up getting two people out this weekend and I've got at least two others who plan to make the November shoot.

I boast to people about how safe an Appleseed is run and this weekend was no exception. It is easy to feel confident in your safety when the line is run as well as it went this weekend. Great job!

Having been to three Saturdays now, I think there is some room for more visuals in the 'curriculum' for Appleseed. I find I'm just a more visual learner and some of the info given is just hard to digest verbally. For example, I made myself a QnD AQT cheat sheet to remind me how many rounds per target and from which mag. Once I looked at this for about 30 seconds, I didn't really need to refer to it again.


http://www.shuman.org/image/appleseed/QnD_AQT_Hints.jpg

I also missed the drawing HollywoodJoe drew out on the targets at my first Appleseed explaining why we zero at 25m so sighting will be zeroed in again at some further distance. That one little graph has helped me sight in much faster, like this one:

from http://www.gunsmoke.com/guns/1022/22ballistics.html

Also for the Inches/Minutes/Clicks, having a quick picture of the shooter, the angles expanding out to 25m, 50m, 100m, 200m, etc. made it easier for me to remember how to correctly calculate adjustments for a given distance.

The visuals don't have to be fancy, though I love the transparent front/rear sight alignment demo over a target. Even just sharpie on the target backer board or a spent AQT is good enough to get the point driven home.

The only other potential improvement I'd mention was the space on the line. Everyone was very accommodating on the line and I certainly would rather squeeze in and see more walk ins welcomed than turned away, but just a few more inches would have been nice. Our first Appleseed out at SLOSA was on the back black powder range, which while we did have to dodge some cow patties, it had a lot more room and shade. As I'm hoping the turnouts will increase in numbers, would it be possible to use that space again?

Finally, I wanted to give props to both Andy and Tom for their skills in learning and using peoples names all weekend! It might seem like a little thing, but picking up 22 names for a weekend is impressive in my book and helped add to the friendly atmosphere. It was a pleasure to see a few familiar faces and meet the rest of you all. I look forward to the chance to shoot on the line with you again! Hope to see you in November!

Thanks!

[asminuteman]

.

[artkat2]

pshuman!

Nice shooting! And good ideas on the visuals, asminuteman is not the only one that will be "hi-jacking" that AQT!

Trajectory and zeroes should have been covered...That's on me as Shootboss trying to keep it all together! When I'm half the Shootboss that HollywoodMarine is, I'll be damn good! 

Kelly, keep at it, I'll see you next time.

helicopter mech..PM inbound, you too pshuman.

[asminuteman]

.

[pshuman]

I made the cheat sheet from the text on the AQT, so those times reflect what was printed on the QnD AQT I had in hand at the time. I will update the times and repost. Anyone is 100% welcome to take that and pass it on. I hope it proves helpful for others as well!

Andy did a great job! It is a big job balancing the material, helping folks with problems, pushing paperwork, keeping everyone safe, etc. Keep up the good work!

[pshuman]

Images updated. Enjoy!

[bigjacobus]

It was truly the best weekend we have had at SLOSA that I have been to for Appleseed.  With Rifleman being made left and right it was a blast.   

The Line was the fullest I have seen.  Not only that but it was the most Rifleman I have seen in a Weekend for SLOSA.  Arkat and L0ck3 this only happens with great instructions and those patches that you handed out this past weekend prove that.   

Pshuman it was a pleasure to be shooting southpaw next to you and to make Rifleman as well.  It was a honer to be a part of all those who "know what they are about"!!  For those that did not make it I do expect to see you in Nov. as I begin my trail of IIT (Instructor in Training Orange Hat).

Arkat and L0ck3 Not only was it a packed firing line but the instructions that were given for first time attendees were excellent.  Maria it was great to see you back out and I hope to see you back in Nov. Still curious what Rifleman you took home to show the husband even though you did not make yours? 

Tim and Marty,  I have not seen groups like you have shot in a long while.  It was a blast to see grouping like you guys put together. 

For everyone else that was on the line it was a honer to be there with you all.  Your overall performances were fantastic and I could see much improvements from day 1 to day 2. 

It was a pleasure meeting you all and I hope to see you all down the road sometime.

[artkat2]

Bigjacobus!

I think I'm almost as happy about your hat as you are!
I'll be in touch. You'll be a fine instructor!

asminuteman, I can't remember what was going on and exactly when, if they ask me I'll ask you,   you highwayman you!! (personally, I've "stolen" strikes from Phenry, who knew Florida was so Knowledgeable!!)

WHERE'S TIM, and JEAN-ANN and MARIA and TERRANCE and JACOB??

[tpf68]

WE'RE HERE, WE'RE HERE!

Its been a busy few days since the shoot.  Both Jean-Ann and I have been able to look through the posts a couple of times since last weekend but just haven't had a chance to post yet.

First, a huge thanks Andy, Tom, Ben and Tony for putting on a well run, fun, organized and SAFE shoot  .  Andy kept thanking the shooters who showed up for giving up one of our weekends to attend the shoot, but in reality it is us shooters who owe a huge gratitude of thanks to you guys, the volunteers, that made the day and event possible   

Jean-Ann and I also owe one to Kelly for letting us know about the shoot and passing along an invitation to attend.  I've read raving reviews on other forums about the Appleseed program, so we were both excited to have an opportunity to attend and event so close to home.  After attending this event, we see the why the excitement and enthusiasm for this program exists, and the raving reviews are not underrated!

Shooting 216 on the first AQT attempt Saturday afternoon was a proud moment, and not being able to replicate the results on Sunday was equally humbling.  I guess that just means more range and practice time is in order, and that's certainly not a bad thing!

After attending and experiencing this event, there was no way I wasn't going to accept Andy's invitation to help with the program and wear an orange hat.  I look forward to contributing what I can to promote and support the program.

Jean-Ann is as excited as I am about Appleseed, is already looking forward to the next shoot and is looking to improve her fundamentals before November.

Somehow, I suspect we'll all be seeing more of each other in the very near future!

Thanks again to all

Tim & Jean-Ann


Artkat2 - I'll send a pm with my contact info. shortly.

[bigjacobus]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, April 1860

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,-
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

North Church
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,-
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,-
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and somber and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,--
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
>From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,--
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

[asminuteman]

.

[artkat2]

Tim and Jean-Ann!

Got your contact info, expect a couple PM's soon. It was surely my pleasure meeting you both, look forward to seeing you guys again!

For the sake of argument, without you shooters giving up your weekend, we don't get to have all this fun!

And every so often, Riflemen just seem to fall out of the sky, sometimes life is good!

asminuteman, I can't remember what was going on and exactly when, if they ask me I'll ask you,   you highwayman you!! (personally, I've "stolen" strikes from Phenry, who knew Florida was so Knowledgeable!!)

**) .... you know I enjoy our friendship right?   

Range master / president @ April 19 shoot....saw me in "full dress out" asked about an apearance for  a meeting?...yearly ...board of directors?....other folks would be there?
I too don't recall it all, what I do remember was us 3 (you LLP & I) saying SURE anything for you (andy) to help promote and sure! presents of Appleseed at a range function for future shoots.
<---anything to go to the beach?   *L*

Ken,
I remember all that part, what I can't remember is the details. C'mon I've slept since then, 2 or 3 times!

Seriously, thanks for remembering though. I think, after seeing you in full kit, it was just a flash of an idea for him. He's got so much going on with matches and shoots I think He is just keeping his "house" in order!

[L0ck3]

Hi again to Artkat2 and SLOSA shooters;

A very productive weekend indeed. I was amazed at the eager and driven shooters we had. The mild weather and isolated range made for a conductive environment for these new and experienced shooters to dial in their 6 steps. 

I will again encourage everyone to practice the skills we covered (its in the packet too)  at home and then take it to the range and practice with a timer.

As Artkat2 pointed out, there were 3 folks to accept the orange hat and begin their road to red hat (and then green hat and then...)

Congratulations to the many first time appleseeders. Thanks to everyone for making this a safe and fun weekend, especially our linemen Ben and Tony.  I'm looking forward to SLOSA in November.

[choprzrul]

Would have loved to be there, but had to work each night & I remember how tired I was last time!  Did manage to take a few pictures when I checked in:







Thank you for going out of your way to make room for Maria.  She does love the Appleseeds!  She even had me get her a spare rifle so that she can bring friends.

I am going to be making reservations for Nov here soon.

Maybe some Thursday nights @ SLOSA for a tuneup?

Outstanding weekend!

4 Riflemen
3 New Orange hats

and a full house all weekend. Details posted soon.

in the meantime, chime in if you are so inclined!

Also, LOST 1 pair of green electronic ear protection with the word "DAD" written on them. If you policed them up would you please contact me at 805 234 2252. Thanks!

[helicopter mech]

LOL....you must be the husband who wanted Maria to bring home a Rifleman.....she mentioned it... but none of us wanted to go. 

[Johnnyappleseed]

bigjacobus,
thanx for posting "The midnight Ride of Paul Revere"

I look forward to hearing you read it as a "Shoot Boss"
JA