Columbia Falls, MT Jul 28-29, 2012

[RangeRat]

This shoot was held at the North Valley Sportsman's Club just north of Columbia Falls. The Big Sky Country lived up to its name with nary a cloud in the sky all weekend.  Cool in the mornings and 80-85 degrees all weekend with humidity.... And hail Friday night.  Sure glad we took a detour from our vacation in Helena to be a part of this shoot.

There were 11 shooters on Saturday and 11 on Sunday.  We had Scott and Kathy who are youth rifle instructors for a very serious youth competition program, Sylvia and Robin who'd been encouraged by friends to give AS a try, Charlie and Ken who were also there at the behest of friends, and Virgil and Mark who'd happened to see notices about the shoot and wanted to check it out.  Lastly, there were previous AS attendees: Ivy looking to patch, and Craig and son Jedediah who'd both patched and were looking to improve their skills and up their scores.  Instructors were RangeRat, SniperCat, Persistent_1, and LumberJack55 (LJ55).  Steve (IIT) also showed up for the weekend and was a huge help in filling in around the edges.  Steve's son Blaine (also an IIT) returned from Scout camp on Saturday and helped us out on Sunday.

The morning Redcoats started off with 5 qualifications (2-300, 3-100) and 2 MRC members.  One of our shooters who shall remain nameless had cleaned their rifle Friday and hadn't function checked it; lesson learned the hard way.  I thought in Montana one only had to open the back door and let fly in a safe direction.....

We ran thru the Course of Fire and the students showed rapid progress throughout the day.  We had several breaks and weaved the story of April 19, 1775 as the day progressed.  SniperCat did an outstanding Wedding.  This group was very interested in the history and I expect several of them to further pursue their interest in our heritage.

Overall the shooters came very well prepared.  We had a few loaned rifles on the line and modified a few others to ensure they were suitably equipped and fit their shooters properly.  We had a couple of side discussions on technical aspects of rifles, sights and ammunition which slowed down the instruction a bit but not significantly.   

Two AQTs were completed with a high score of 226 by Jedediah with several shooters very close to the elusive 210.   The afternoon Redcoat was an affirmation of the rapt attention paid by the shooters to the instruction and their ability to implement it.  We had 3-300, 2-200, 4-100, and 4 MRC members; simply outstanding when compared to the morning.

We had one shooter not make it back on Sunday AM but had another, Kent, take his place.  The overnight respite from the action showed on the Redcoats:  EVERYONE qualified!  3-400, 1-300, 5-200, 2-100 but no MRC members.

On Sunday we instilled more good habits, polished existing ones and successfully banished the bad ones in most cases.  We accomplished a total of 7 AQTs and had a fun target to counter the early afternoon sag most shoots experience.  Lastly, the parting Redcoat showed the student's skill with everyone who shot it having qualified:  2-400, 3-300, 3-200, and 1-100 with 3 MRC.  Solid improvement to say the least.

Now the fun part....  This was the most productive AS I've ever been at percentage-wise and the most Rifleman patches I've ever handed out at a single shoot.  Being from Las Vegas let me frame it this way - we had a full house; ladies over Jacks...

Kathy hopped over the line mid-Sunday and never looked back.   I hope you can pass on some of the lessons you learned to your students; sure would be nice to see them in the limelight, wouldn't it?

Sylvia was a very new shooter and progressed rapidly over the weekend having shot 190+ on Saturday.  She took instruction in like a sponge and the results showed it.  Share your results and promote Marksmanship in your vocation.

Ken was solid right out of the gate having his rifle "almost" sighted in and having his gear in order.  Once we got him rolling there was no stopping him.

Charlie.... Charlie....  I knew you could do it even when you were having your doubts (and were being crossfired upon).  Ken and you need to gang up on your mutual friend(s) and get them to a shoot.

Lastly there was Ivy, Steve's 13 year old daughter, who'd been soooo close in her previous 'Seed and was almost there all weekend long.  She borrowed Persistent_1's "loaner" and shot a 238.  Yep... a 238 and a perfect 100 on Stage 4.  All weekend long she was actively involved in all aspects of the instruction; a nice jump on the instruction she'll be performing since she chose to join us in the Instructor's ranks.

And not to forget Craig and Jedediah who shot consistent 220+ all weekend long and showed they've gotten "it"; now your challenge is to get others to the line and make them better shooters too.

For Robin and Mark:  Don't look at where you ended up but rather view how far you came during this weekend.  We found issues you can work on alone and with a partner.  You saw how solid this program is so make it work for you.

Scott and Virgil - Age has a way of sneaking up on us and we have to modify our skills to maintain our proficiency.  You know what you have to do.  Scott - Good luck with your students; I bet you're a great coach.  Virgil - Teach your brother a thing or 3 when you see him...

In parting let me say it was an honor and a pleasure to have instructed this group and shared our heritage.  LJ55 has done an admirable job of promoting AS in the Flathead Valley and is well on his way to bigger and better things in the Instructor Corps.  Steve, Blaine, and now Ivy are IITs with a mission.

Many thanks to the North Valley Sportsman's Club for hosting Appleseed shoots.

'Til we meet again - Dan (a temporarily displaced Montanan)

[lumberjack55]

Indeed, and excellent job on the part of all the instructors and shooters, a very rewarding shoot to be a part of!
And remember, next shoot in COlumbia Falls is sept 22-23.
lumberjack55

[mvtrnty]

The Columbia Falls July 28-29th was my first Appleseed. (the first shoot I've ever participated in, actually) And I had an amazing time!  I'm looking forward to the next one.  Everyone was super nice and the instructors were great, safe & patient.  The history lessons touched my heart; brought tears to my eyes. (I just start to learn about shooting; I'm 53)

Oh, also - I was out at our local range on Saturday practicing with my 22.  A young man came out to sight in his rifle with his grandfather.  I was going to head down range so I let them know I wanted to retrieve my target.  Grandpa was busy with a scope and the grandson was sitting by his rifle on a shooting bench.  What I learned at Appleseed came to mind, "make sure those around you obey the safety rules"  So, I asked the young man to move away from the bench (he just looked at me like, why)  I pointed out the safety rules post at the range and then gramps kicked in: Oh, yes, yes - Safety very important . .. .

[Mark Davis]

Thank you mvtrnty, for taking on the responsibility of saftey when no one was looking.
Lumberjack, I should be at the Sept shoot,
Range Rat, thanks for covering Colombia Falls, there was no way the wife would agree to me apleseeding on our annerversery.

[Countree]

It sounds like a great shoot! To see everyone on the line qualify on the red coat is perfect! This is just another fine example of how well Appleseed works. I would like to see more and more shoots across the state. MT has a lot of potential and I think we are just scratching the surface. Good work everyone!

We will have another indoor AS in Great Falls on December 1-2