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Watervleit, MI - Apr 14&15 2012 - AAR

Started by Grindstone, April 14, 2012, 08:17:20 PM

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Grindstone

Well another great shoot halfway done. What a bunch of enthusiastic shooters. Who can say no to a group of Americans that drive over in a rainstorm to learn marksmanship and some history about our country's first veterans.
Let's see some pictures! Post-em-up.

Pitmaster

A great day. I was so busy shooting my rifle I forgot to shoot my camera.

Rifle has been cleaned and prepped for tomorrow.
Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member

waveman

Sounds like a good weekend in Michigan.  Divide and conquer!  ^:)^

Swamp Thing

I spoke with Intheburbs on his drive home today.

Sounds like everyone had a great time, learned lots, and dodged the rain to boot.

A word to the wise though, I just looked at the radar, bring your duck boots tomorrow. :) And remember to embrace to mud, embrace it!  >:D

Have fun folks!

ST

Pitmaster

I think Rural King opens at 7:00 am on Sun. :wb:
Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member

waveman

Any of you guys know is coloma rod and gun doing breakfasts on Sunday still?  If they are I highly recommend it.  good food and helps the club  O0

Grindstone

No, haven't heard anything about the breakfast, but I second that was good last year. This year we have the Boy Scouts cooking lunch for us as a fundraiser for backpacking.


Pitmaster

I just checked their website. Breakfast starts at 7:00 am. I may get out of here early and head up.
Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member

Pitmaster

In addition to the excellent marksmanship training, which I expected, the story telling by the instructors was outstanding. Every instructor did an excellent job telling the stories in a manner that captured attention, delivered a message, instilled humility regarding what our ancestors did and sacrificed for the freedom we know in the United States of American. I was particularly impressed by the IIT's who chose and told a story when prompted by the shoot boss.  :bow: :bow:

Thanks guys, and gal!  O0   I can't wait until my next one. The sooner the better!
Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member

SteelThunder

#9
Fantastic and enthusiastic bunch of Americans we had this weekend.  Thanks to ~28 shooters  that braved constant threat of thunderstorm to shoot all weekend. 

2 new Riflemen (congrats Tom and John), several knocking on the door (guys, practice at home -- especially those 400 yd prone shots -- and come back to the next one) and LOTS of improvement -- by personal favorite is Shirley who barely hit the 100 yard redcoat on the first day and came within 1 shot of cleaning it at the end the Sunday.

Special thanks to the Boy Scouts who served delicious hot lunches (imagine...pulled pork and freshly grilled hamburgers...at an Appleseed!) as well as the 6 scouts who shot with us all weekend.  Great improvement and shooting guys!  I can see a few future Riflemen in there.  What I liked the most was that many of the scouts and their parents came up and thanked us for the history and asked further questions.  Very gratifying.

































NRA Patron Member, SAF Life Member
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor, RSO
Warlord of the West

Ultima vox civis
"Learning occurs only after repetitive, demoralizing failures." - Pat Rogers
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart." - Tecumseh
"Never attribute to treachery, that which can adequately be explained by incompetence" - Bonaparte, Hanlon, et al

Pitmaster

Appleseed After Action Report

I was paired up with Treadcarefully's son, a fine young man who is seven years old doing some drills Sunday morning. I learned a lot working with him, especially enthusiasm. We also had lunch together which  was great. I really enjoyed everything equally. Great instruction, storytelling, and the explanations of why things are done a certain way. Way too many programs tell you what to do and leave out the why. I like why!

In addition to the excellent marksmanship training, which I expected, the story telling by the instructors was outstanding. The instructors did an excellent job telling the stories in a manner that captured attention, delivered a message, instilled humility regarding what our ancestors did and sacrificed for the freedom we know in the United States of American.

I will point out that the historical information told during an Appleseed and that comes from the book Paul Revere's Ride provides quite a perspective of the sacrifices made. I recently completed reading the book about a month ago. People today do not have any understanding of the internal qualities people had back then to survive, much less fight for their freedom against what could be described as overwhelming odds. Think about it this way. We have instant communication between individuals and groups. Back in that day absolute fastest way to deliver a message to an individual was riding a horse. If a written message was sent that was written with a quill pen and ink. I would almost bet that nobody who reads this post has ever done that in his or her life. I know I have not. Think about the time it would take to write a message.

Most of the people who responded to the Battle of Lexington were normal people with the normal obligations of the time. Firearms for them were not hobbies and interest. They were just a tool used to hunt and protect them. There was no "tacticool" crap being sold, just a musket/rifle, powder, and lead. I remember reading many biographies 45 years ago. Many of the heroes of those times learned to shoot by being given 1 bullet to go hunting. If they missed, they didn't eat. These kids today would be in middle school.

People do not really get the sacrifice our ancestors made.

I also clicked in my brain and remembered my uncle did a genealogical search of our paternal family history. I learned that I am a direct descendent of a passenger on the Mayflower who survived and lived through that experience. That click on my brain gave me some humility and pride that it is very possible I had a descendant who fought in the Battle of Lexington. I am going to try to follow up to find out if I did.

A couple of photos. I have a couple of videos but I need to use a wireless connection to upload them from my Droid.





I'm toying with the idea of attending one a month until the Patriot's Day event next year. However, the next 2 months will be extremely difficult to work in with my schedule. July on is much easier.  I have to decide if attending Saturday or Sunday only will meet my dedication.

I will be heading to my local range Sunday for my personal Volley For Liberty  :---




Pitmaster

Captain Noah Cook a Revolutionary War Veteran was my great, great, great,...great grandfather. Noah Cook enlisted in the militia on April 21, 1775 at age 18 upon learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that morning. His company left on that day for Concord arriving April 24, 1775.*

*History of Northampton, Massachusetts: from its settlement ..., Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 25, Page 359


"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home." Antonin Scalia

�The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule.� G.K. Chesterton

NRA Endowment Member