AAR: Lake Village, IN - Aug 13-14, 2011

[AuntieBellum]

Another great Appleseed in Northwest Indiana!  A HUGE thank you to our range hosts - your hospitality is top notch and your location perfect (I will again emphasize how amazingly awesome it is to have a range a 1/2 hour from my house!).  More than that, though, your range is perfect for Appleseed.  Plenty of space, room out to 200 yds, camping by the pond - fantastic.  So thank you, and I look forward to the next one!

And shooters - thank you to all of you, from both Illinois and Indiana, for joining us for the weekend.  We experienced a whole lot of weather - hot, cool, rain, wind - and you pushed through.  Bill 3 was still pretty damp all the way through dinner, though, after standing in between the canopies during 3rd strike.   

Congrats to our two repeat Riflemen - James and John!  Dan - you were so, so close.  Next time I know you'll be there.  I know everyone took something away from the experience - 7 year old Joshua ringing steel on Sunday, Beth engaging in the history, Rita learning how to use a loaner rifle, Margo discovering the magic of the sling, George who came not even expecting to shoot, Lucas discovering the awesomeness of tech sights, the entire Clausen clan taking notes every step of the way, ... Just a great time.

And yet all of it pales in comparison to the sacrifices we learned our forefathers made long ago.  And not even sacrifices for themselves - they were thinking about us, for posterity.  We learned about the importance of educating ourselves and getting involved, and we learned about the role marksmanship played on that first day of the American Revolutionary War.  So, just as we heard the in words of John Adams - "...I hope you will make good use of it," I sincerely hope that we all open our eyes and work a little harder and keep our eyes on the goal - saving this glorious Land for our posterity.  Thank you each and every one for joining us, and I hope to see you all again soon.

[AuntieBellum]

Our attentive group:



And how one family is gonna help us double-fill our lines (also known as the daddy steady hold factor  ):

[NWIeng]

Thanks to all the instructors for another great shoot.  I'm already looking forward to September in Rochester.

[Wild Deuce]

I have to echo the "Thank You" and add my expression of gratitude to the host for providing such a perfect location. Thanks a ton!!

Another excellent Appleseed by this group of instructors! I was not a participant this time around (son was shooting) so I had the opportunity to witness the behind-the-scenes assessment and adaptability of the instructors. I know there was a wide range of shooters in regards to both experience and ability. The ability of the instructors to assess on the run and strike the best balance possible between covering the material in the alloted time and making sure no on was left behind was impressive. It seemed (to me) a daunting task given the large (to me) group and wide range of experience (age too). They made it look smooth. Good job!

*We were only there Saturday. If they made it look that good on Saturday, I can only imagine how good Sunday was once they were familiar with the shooters. BTW ... Was it windier on Sunday? Did you guys move out farther to ring the steel?

[AuntieBellum]

Wild Deuce, it was definitely windier on Sunday, but the shooters were helpful and held the canopies down during the really windy/rainy parts of the day!   

And we absolutely moved back to ring steel!  We moved back to 100 yards, and every single person made some "dings!" 

Thanks for coming out with your son.  Looking forward to seeing you both again soon!