Alton, Oct. 22-23

[Patriot Gal]

What a great day for a shoot and hearing the history which connects us as Americans with our heritage!!!!!
We had a super great Appleseed weekend in Alton, Il this weekend.  Thanks to John Ross who allows us to hold shoots on his range.
Great weather, great group of shooters for this sold out shoot. 

We had 25 shooters on the line over the two days, moms and daughters, dads and sons, husbands and wives, shooting buddies...everyone was represented this weekend!! 

Congratulations go out to our three new Riflemen Steve #226, Jennifer #228, and Christy #218!!!  You all beat me  on my first Rifleman score!!!  Good on ya!!!
(Please send me a PM if I put the wrong score.  I didn't write the scores down and by the time we thought to think about the scores,  well, there was no memory left with which to work!! 

We started the weekend bright and early on Saturday with registration at 8:30 and the safety brief at 9:00.  Students learned quickly that there was a lot of walking down to the target line and then centering up.  Positions learned and slings, slung!  All had a great time functioning as instructors for carding the sights and then ball 'n dummy.  All the while checking steady hold factors and trigger control!  We had an entire line of burgeoning instructors!!! 

Shot group analysis was a new and handy tool to learn by.  IMC looked scary, but once learned, it was a cinch!!  We all "got it!"

David and Gabriel showed us that 9 yr. olds can have the perseverance the same as the grown ups!! They shot every COF and hung in there until the two days had ended and then some.  They earned their youth participation patch and the flag and the AR-15 girl Appleseed poster!!!   

Some were worried we would only be doing one AQT.  "Will we be doing another one??...Great!!"  Later that day.  "I think this'll be the last one"  But then she stayed for just one more and...shot Rifleman!!  Perseverance pays, right Jennifer?? 

I can't forget Doug and his hot brass dance and wiggle.  Not once, but twice that hot brass found its way down his backside and into his jeans!!! He wiggled, he jumped, he moved about quite rapidly, but ALWAYS HE KEPT HIS MUZZLE IN A SAFE DIRECTION (DOWNRANGE).  I wish I had videotaped it.  Doug you win the prize of keeping that muzzle perfectly still while you freed yourself of that hot brass!  Well done!!! 

We heard the three strikes of the match along with some interested Dangerous Old Men and Women.  A few even came to speak to us personally in the persons of Samuel Wittemore and Mother Batherick!  We also got some first hand experience holding a 1742 Long Land Brown Bess Musket and Sea Navy Pistol which were replicas of the same type of musket and pistol which would've been used during the American Revolution.  That 75 cal. ball is pretty darn big!!   Brings history right into the present. 

Yes, we had a good time!

More pictures will be forthcoming tomorrow, but I'll leave you with the pic. of the group Sat. p.m.

[mtbrass]

Great weekend and the people we met were all great to work with can't wait to hear from you all here and look forward to seeing you all again sometime and in some pictures here soon when Patriot Gal and CM get rested up.

[Patriot Gal]

Ok.  Here's a few pictures.  With more to come.

[Patriot Gal]

A few more~

[Patriot Gal]

And a few more yet  (sorry, I can only upload 3 at a time!)

[Rule #2]

I'm finally getting around to posting. Sorry it took so long!

I just want to say thank you to Patriot Gal, Castle Mountain, MTBrass, Out of Ammo, Plenty of Ammo, and MTBrass's son whose Super Secret Code Name I have forgotten. I had such a great weekend! I got so much more out of it than I imagined I would. Since I hadn't picked up a rifle since I was 10, and have only shot a pistol a couple of times (not very well, I might add), I assumed I would learn something about marksmanship. Until that weekend, I had always done everything right handed, so switching to left handed was odd at first. I'm SO glad I made that switch, though! Who knew that a righty could (and should) shoot like a lefty? I can't wait to get back out and shoot some more. I felt like I was really starting to get all Zenlike with the NPOA on the last couple of AQTs. Next time, I'll beat Jennifer. Of course, I'll get there with a perfectly functioning firearm. I appreciate Rob letting me borrow his 10/22, and I am extremely appreciative that Out of Ammo let me borrow not one, but TWO of his rifles when Rob's started freaking out on me! Oh, and not to mention all of his ammo I polished off. You were right about that rifle, though. It likes to shoot Rifleman. 

Thanks to all of you, all of your hard work and dedication, your amazing instruction, and your history lessons. My whole crazy clan had a great time, my hot brass wounds are healing nicely, and I get to listen to my Dad tell all his customers that his daughter shot Rifleman.

Thanks!
Christy
(that's RIFLEMAN Christy, to you....  )

[Rule #2]

Correction: I get to listen to my Dad tell all of his customers that his daughters shot Rifleman. Silly forums that don't let you edit your posts. Grmph 

[mtbrass]

Rule #2 good to see your post and great job on the patch. It was great to meet your family and I hope to see you all again at a shoot somewhere, bring a friend of course . My son's super secret code name is mtclip 

Thanks again for coming out and earning that patch.  

[Patriot Gal]

Rule #2 - LOL!!  I love that "it's Rifleman Christy to you"!!!  I'm glad to hear your brass burns are healing.  Those are trophy wounds, I call them!!!  You earned them honestly!  I'll attach the picture of your poor cheek where the brass hid under your glasses!! OUCH!! 

We so enjoyed the weekend and ALL your family!!!  I hope to see you again at an AS.  We'll have 4 more weekends next year at Alton, there and probably one to two more ranges further south that we're working on securing. 

Yes, having the right rifle makes a huge difference.  But that's all about being a Rifleman.  Knowing what to do, and then doing it.  I'm sure your rifles will be all set to go when you come to another shoot.  Perseverence!  That's what we Riflemen do.  We Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome (and we do a little trigger job on our rifles).    It was great. 

Thanks for posting.  It's good to hear from you!
Oh!  And mtbrass' son's name is "mtclip". 

Give everyone my warmest regards!
(And tell them we'd love to hear from them, too!!!) 
Patriot Gal

[Trojan]

Well, the Mac Clan paternal leader finally gets around to posting.  I think this has been the most education, the most training and the most fun our clan has had in a long time.  I have been telling every customer coming in to Trojan Arms about Appleseed, have the brochures on the display case and the large picture of our 14 year old star on the wall (almost).  Kudos to all of you who donate your time and your talent to preserving or rebuilding our heritage and our capabilities.

[mtbrass]

Thanks Trojan. Good to see you on the forum. Hope to see you at another shoot and hope to stop by your shop some day.  Great meeting you all.

[Patriot Gal]

Hi Trojan!

Good to hear from you!  We had such a good time at the shoot.  Glad you did also. Boy, your girls sure do know how to shoot!!!!  Must be your good influence on them.  They showed LOTs of perseverance that's for sure!!!   

Did you get that poster(s) yet from Don?  If not, I did find a couple more and can send them off.  (Actually, I'll ask Castle Mountain to do it tomorrow.  He's got a lot of running around to do).

Hope to see you all back on the Appleseed trail.  I haven't heard about a date in Centralia yet, but when I do, I'll PM you through Appleseed and you'll receive it there and also in your home email if you put that in your AS account info.

Take care and see you on the trail!
Patriot Gal

[AlphaJ]

Thank you so much to our Range Boss Patriot Gal and to the other instructions that helped with the Alton Appleseed Shoot, Castle Mountain, Empty Brass, Empty Clip, Out of Ammo, and Lots of Ammo. 
This was my first Appleseed and it definitely met and exceeded my expectations.  Who would have guessed that a GI Sling and NPOA are so important to becoming a rifleman?  I sure didn't, but Patriot Gal, CM, and EB made a very convincing case, especially when CM is in his Wibble Wobble sitting position.  You can hit him, kick him, push him, but he always returns to NPOA. Great job CM!
I also had the pleasure of bringing my nine year old son along.  He loved it!  The six steps taught at Appleseed are definitely easy enough for a child to learn.  Once we got him fitted for a rifle, he started putting down Redcoats like it was old hat. 
Also, a big thank you to our instructions for the history lessons they shared about April 17, 1775. The first person narratives were very heartfelt and moving and can only be shared that way by people who truly walk the walk.  We also greatly enjoyed handling the Musket and Sea Navy Pistol.  What a blessing the Appleseed project is! 
We both look forward to attending more Appleseed Shoots and becoming Riflemen.

[Castle Mountain]

I created an Avatar for you if you like. There are a few to choose. Let me know if you like one?

Best regards to you good sir.

Castle Mountain

[mtbrass]

Good to see you here AlphaJ. Glad your son liked the shoot and we hope to see you both again in the future. You will make rifleman and he will too just keep at it and the patch will be a prized possession he and you will remember for years to come. See you on the trail.