Flash Report! California, IBC 608!

[Junior Birdman]

    The first California IBC is under way now at the RWVA west range, Piru, CA!  I arrived yesterday and spend a grn evening dining in style on Grilled tuna, and hanging out with Bob 210 and family, eating way too much, staying upi way too late, and enjoying myself immensely.  I could get used to these California events! 

    Up at the crack of dawn and after a splendid California breakfast we headed to the range where we hung the huge new RWVA Project Appleseed sign before the entrance to the RWVA west range.  Man! It REALLY looks nice and was attracting attention all day long as passers by stopped in to check us out.   The RWVA west range is a sight to behold! If you haven't been there yet, get thee to the place! Nestled in the shadow of Mt. Appleseed, there is a KD range out as far as 1000 yards, the main line will hold 40 shooters for the 25m stuff, as well as another mini range for 25m which wil take about 10 shooters. There was a back hoe working today to clean it all up and it looks really nice now.   Can't wait to see it full of shooters for the Independence day shoot!  If you're not registered, don't dely, this venue is HOT!

   We set up the "classroom" on the range and were soon under way. There was Bob 210, Kool Aid, Hollywoodmarine, f-stop, Savageshootr, Johnnyappleseed, and Sonoftherepublic there to proudly launch the first ever IBC in the state of California!  10 and a half hours later we struck the tents and left for the day.  But what a day it was!  Lots of things covered in detail with an eye toward teaching the shooters at an Appleseed how to do their best on that ride toward Rifleman!  Then we stopped at some kind of bear place and chowed down on some mighty fine BBQ pig and chicken. AT least I think it was, It might have been bear.  And now I sit here stuffed, and dreaming of the morrow when I get to dive back into that pool of Riflemen.  But it's late, I'm whacked, stuffed, and headed for bed now, if Brutus will quit trying to eat the BBQ sauce off my fingers.......

   Pictures on the way, and more to come with day 2.  California is going to be in good shape and is poised to really take off!  And as California goes.....so goes the nation!   JB

   

[Fred]

    Ditto on all the above. Every one of you should be envious of JB and the opportunity he's seized to conduct the first CA IBC.

    What, you're not even an instructor in this program, yet?

    What, not even a Rifleman, yet?

    Man, time's a-wastin' - what are they gonna say at your funeral - "holds the record for more couch-hours than anyone else on Planet Earth"?

    Is that how you want to go down in history?

    JB is right about CA. There's an excitement there about Appleseed that is infectious.

    You need to experience it.

    So, here's Fred's three-step plan to put YOU in the driver's seat at a CA IBC, so you can catch the fever and Experience the California Experience:

         1. Attend Appleseed; become a Rifleman.

         2. Attend an IBC to become an instructor. Work your way up to Full Instructor, then Master Instructor (along the way, pick up your "50-mission" hat! ).

         3. Sign up for the next CA IBC.

     Man, can it get any simpler? Only three tintsy steps, and you're there, at Mt. Appleseed, the Pacific in the far distance, ocean breezes cooling you off... No hot, humid midwest for you; no tornado sirens going off; no sweltering in the dank South - no sir, you are smart enough to get trained, and "head West, young man!"

     Out to California, land of orange blossoms, a blessed land of people ignorant of their heritage and national skill, all of them, even the unknowing ones, crying out for a missionary - just one missionary - to Bring Them The Message. And it turns out, of all the nine zillion people on this planet, that it's you who gets chosen.

     What are you waiting for?

     Glory. Fame. Excitement. Adventure. Saving a Nation.

     It's all there, waiting. For you.

     All it takes, is that first step...

[kool aid]

Here sits your intrepid rifle addict. Still with the sweat and dust and grit on his brow, full of yet another massive dinner at the Bear Pit BBQ, where no bears were harmed in the filling of this belly.

Okey, now down to business ( a working board indeed):

We had a total of five at the weekend: Savage Shooter, f stop, SoR (not to be confused with SoM), Johnie Appleseed, and Hollywood Marine. Bob210 and Myself holding JB's coat as he opened a can of instrutorial Whoop-Ass for us, and away we went.

Shade. We had Shade and picnic tables. We had astroturf. We had breeze. And oh boy did we have flies....... But by the second day it was down right homey in the instructor hooch. Lawn chairs, cool drinks and Lots and Lots and Lots of practice of the principal aspects of presenting the safety briefing, the line commands and the six steps, sling usage, IMC's, talking targets. The deeper neuances of NPOA and building a stable shooting position.

And a couple of rounds did go down range at lunch...... These things happen, you know........We are rifle folk, after all.

I am particularly impressed with the 'Birdman way' of breaking down the seemingly simplest aspects of running an appleseed, and the truth be known I had a few of those 'gosh all fish hooks, I ain't been doing it that way' moments along the way. There is more to this stuff than meets the eye, I guess.

By the end of the IBC, we had some very scary individual performances. And I mean GOOD scary. Watch out for these guys- I expect to see a blooming of the Appleseed project here abouts in the months to come.
Simplicity and precision, shameless promotion, and all six ready to step up to the plate and swing for the bleachers in the months to come.

Large thanks to JB, and to bob. So well worth the effort when you finally see what comes out after the final bell rings.

Other than that, my heartfelt thanks to the attendees who took the time to come on out and come on in for the big win that Piru has become.

A very happyily yours
Kool Aid

And now it is time for yours truly to find his bed.

[SavageShootr]

Hi All,

What a fabulous learning experience an IBC is. I feel that all of us IIT's improved significantly over the course of the two days, particularly on day three  (post lunch day two). If there is an opportunity for you, as an IIT, to attend an IBC, go for it. I think even our red hats learned a thing or two. 

I'd like to Thank JB for coming out to instruct us at the Ca. IBC, you are a great instructor. 
Thank you Bob210 for the invitation and getting this thing set up. I know you would never admit it but the time you spend on AS stuff is phenomenal, you are inspiring. Kudos to Mrs. 210 as well.
Thank you KA for your input on how I can improve, I appreciate your honesty. How can I fix the problem if I don't know of it?
Thanks to JA, F-stop, HM, and SoR for the knowledge that you all put into this. I learned much from each of you.

I want to take the opportunity to post a couple of pics from the weekend. The most important being that of our new sign. It made me proud to be there when it was put up. I am glad I had my camera.     

Also a pic of the classroom. I think you will notice how nice our classroom was, with all the shade it was practically air-conditioned. 

~SS

[Junior Birdman]

   I'm back in the real world, after a FANTASTIC time at the first ever California IBC!  Day two was great. Got there at the RWVA West range bright and early to find most of the participants there already, and practicing marksmanship on the local fly population, and with much success I might add.

   We got down to business promptly. One thing about a 2 day IBC, it's INTENSE! No slackers here, just ordinary Americans doing the extraordinary: Learning to teach other Americans how to shoot a rifle well, so they can teach other Americans how to shoot a rifle well, etc, etc.

  We hammered on the basics and worked hard until lunch break, and then right back in the barrel.  I saw a lot of improvenment across the board. The IITs worked hard to improve, and it was begining to show. Most of us "hit the wall" about mid afternoon. (We'd just covered that phenomenon in class), and during the break we got to play with the mortor.

   HUH?  Did you say MORTOR, Birdman?  Yup.  See California folks CAN have fun!  In preparation for the big Independence day Appleseed, they were testing out a few things, and among them was a 40mm mortor for the folks to play with.  What did it shoot, JB?  Why beer cans filled with concrete, of course!  And shoot them it did!  Launching the improvised projectiles into low earth orbit and about 100 yards downrange!  BIG smiles by all in attendence.

  Warning: The following is a shameless plug for the Independence Day Appleseed in CA:
   If you people aren't signed up for THIS Appleseed event, YOU'RE CRAZY!  If I weren't already commited to be 2500 miles away having my OWN fun at the Ramseur event, I'd climb any mountaim, swim any river, and brave any spouse to BE THERE!  I only got a small glimpse of the fun to be had that wekend, and if you're west of the big muddy, it's the place to be!  Sell your watch, hock your kids video games, heck, hock your kids!    The point is, GET TO THIS SHOOT!

   Back to the IBC......  Now things changed. The IITs began to "jell" and improvements greatly accelerated. In the last 3 hours of the class there was marked improvements all around. We finished up and began the final exam. I was blown away at the results! The instructors all aswered every question smartly, correctly, and with confidence! Even the evil "come ups" problem! 

   After a brief "graduation" ceremony, (A thanks and a handshake for each participant), I was back on the road. Bob 210 dropped me off at the airport and I began my red eye back to NYC.  A few hours sleep and here I am.

   The CA IBC team has the second half of the quest before them: Now they must teach at the next Appleseed, employing all those newfound skills and helping sleeping Americans on their journey toward enlightenment!  There is no doubt that they ALL will fulfill their duties splendidly. I am proud to be associated with such fine Riflemen, Instructors, and Americans!  JB

   

[SavageShootr]

Launcher.

[SavageShootr]

classroom

[socalserf]

Looks like I missed out again!
Working for a living sucks!

[Junior Birdman]

   That's OK SoCal. We'll get you in there in time. Just keep the faith buddy!  Lots of things going on in CA, so you'll not suffer for Appleseed things to do!  More IBCs planned, so it's going to happen.  JB

[rock-chucker]

Man, I wish I coulda been there, too.  Would love to have been at the first California IBC.  I guess second IBC will have to do.  Looks like you are really thorough with making sure everyone is familiar with the workings of every sort of "rifle" a person might be using.  Honestly, it never occurred to me to bring a MORTAR!  Teaching NPOA on THAT would be interesting, indeed!   

Glad to see that all the superstars from the 5-31/6-1 Appleseed experience were there.  I already think a lot of you, and am excited about seeing already great instructors and IITs get even BETTER.  Fantastic!

Shoot, I missed an opportunity to meet JB (who has provided lots of info links guidance to help get me started in IIT) in person.  JB, sounds like you'll be back, so I'll just have to wait.

See you in a couple of weeks for the July 4th Appleseed extravaganza!

R-C

[SavageShootr]

hey Socalserf and r-c,

we missed you both at the IBC. yeah, working sucks. but gotta do it.
I hope to see you both on Independence Day weekend. I want to apply my new knowledge.
Socalserf, you did a fantastic job at Corona (March '08) with some of the stuff we learned over the weekend. 
so take heart my friend.

~SS

[Fred]

    Man, what a gorgeous sign! And nicely placed, right in front of Mt. Appleseed - so we can enjoy looking at both at once.

    You people in CA are starting to make the rest of the nation look sick. (Never thought I'd say that!)

    Keep up the good work!

[SavageShootr]

    Man, what a gorgeous sign! And nicely placed, right in front of Mt. Appleseed - so we can enjoy looking at both at once.

    You people in CA are starting to make the rest of the nation look sick. (Never thought I'd say that!)

    Keep up the good work!

Never thought I'd hear that!!

Thanks Fred. The sign is a work of art. I was jazzed to have been there when it went up. We even had a couple of visitors, after it went up, who had been signed up for the Saugus AS and did not realize we were out there. So, it is doing it's job of attracting attention already. 

~SS

[Fred]

     You know, it's not like Bob to miss an angle - but I'd say if you didn't get video (backed up by stills) of the California crew "raising the Appleseed sign" in the way they planted the flag on Iwo Jima in Feb, 1945, then a good PR opportunity was missed.

     Well, the pictured flag-raising on Iwo was a retake, so maybe all is not lost?

[SonoftheRepublic]

Hey All,

Just want to chime in here and say that California's first IBC was a privilege and an honor to be a part of!  My thanks to Bob210 for inviting me in, and to JB for really putting on a fantastic IBC loaded with info that most of us (even Instructors) had never heard before.  Also thank you to the support I received from my fellow IIT's.  The road to becoming a "better" rifleman never ends, it just continues to reach 'loftier' heights!  And Fred, I know its been hard to believe at times, but . . . there IS truly HOPE for California!

SoR 

[colycat]

Why does everything really cool have to happen in CA.  You all already have the best climate in the planet. You have always led the way to cool for the rest of the country.  For how screwed up your politics are, you do not deserve to lead us in the fun of riflemanship. I just hate it!!!  I wish I could have been there. 

  You all have a great AS program going,  and I am really jealous,.

Colycat

And my days of flying out every month are over for awhile.

[SavageShootr]

Why does everything really cool have to happen in CA.
You all have a great AS program going,  and I am really jealous,.

Colycat

And my days of flying out every month are over for awhile.

Colycat, at least you were here for the first ever California Appleseed. The timing of your vacation could not have been better. Then you were here for the first ever Appleseed at Mt. Appleseed. You have much to be proud of. You helped make ours a success, now get your area successful too. 

~SS

[Johnnyappleseed]

I have been looking for this venue for nearly a week! Finally had to ask SS
1st off thanx to JB for making this IBC such a fun learning experiance.Thanx to Bob210,KA + all the ITTS who made this weekend a real pleasure.
Fstop the steaks were great + TY to Ms Fstop for her hospitality. Looking forward for her to join us in IIT ---BI
Coly --  your Shicton group is still the envy of AS nationwide . With 30% Rifleman You can be proud of your achievements.
BTW your room in ca is ready for your next visit
Once again it is an honor to be part of AS. Never have I felt so positive about an organisation it's program + it's People . Truly the best
Fred + all the staff . I have no idea how you do it all. But thanx again for all Your       hard work+ dedication .
JA

[colycat]

Johnney appleseed,

Thank you so much for everything you have done for me.  Thru out the years you have helped mold me into the person (Man) i am.  Thank you for suckering me into the Corona AS.  Changed my life in so many ways.

Oddly enough airfare is the same from wi to ca as it was this spring.  Midwest Arlines is about to declare bankruptsy. Midwest , the best care in the air,  they just loved seeing me there with two rifle cases.  Really!!!!
So I might make another trip to CA, as you seem to have a lot going.

I am really proud of all the shooters at Shiocton.  But as of now that was it for WI.