Smithville, TX AAR 29-30 September

[didactic]

 

Abso-double-lutely the best shoot we've ever had at this venue!  LabRat and I agreed that this group was an unalloyed pleasure to teach.

Eleven shooters yesterday, ten today.  A total of five riflemen, of whom two were repeaters, all of whom MIGHT BE TALKABLE into taking orange hats, when the time is right.

And new seeder Melozi and her might-as-well be sister Amber got patches and pink hats.  And I do truly LOVE giving out those pink "Shoot like a girl, if you can" hats.

Pictures had better follow from Amber's phone, or somebody's in trouble!  Too bad (good thing, actually) Amber is already married and Melozi has a fairly serious young man friend, and they're both 35 years too young for me, or I'd be tempted to forget how long I'VE been married, and go after either or both of them.  Smart, attractive, friendly, and they shoot!  How could it get any better?  And fire-eaters, too. 

After they had qualified with .22's, Amber shot an AQT or two with her Dad's M1-A, and thought it was pretty neat.  Needs to get one of those for herself, she said.

(Native Alaskan, temporary Texan) Melozi shot two AQT's with my heavy AR, then shot a couple of stages with my old Springfield 03-A3, steel butt plate and all!  Now she wants a .30-'06 of her own, to go after a moose or an interior grizzly or black bear.  I did tell her that the cartridge was adequate but arguably marginal for BIG coastal brown bears, and she seemed to think that it would work fine for filling a freezer with moose meat, and that sounded like a capital idea, first opportunity she had.

Amber's dad Steve Shot a repeat Rifleman score, after a long absence.  With dad knocking off the rust, and both young ladies going home with patches and pink hats, I'll bet that car floated away from the range toward home!  Just on the emotional energy - no guzzle-ine required.

Robert shot a centerfire Rifleman score after his rimfire Rifleman score of a while ago.  And his wife Joy showed strong improvement throughout the day Saturday, but had to stay home tending an ailing calf today.  But she'll be back.

Don and Danna showed STRONG improvement over both days, and from their previous shoot.  Danna broke into 3-digit scores today, which had eluded her last time, and Don knocked on the door with 190-something on the last AQT of the day today.

Newcomer Phil ended up with a best score in the 170's, real strong improvement from a newbie to Appleseed and shooting in general.

Lee, who struggled at College Station in March, got his patch today, with a really nice Garand.  He attributes it to superlative instruction (a given) and lots of dry-fire practice since then.  His son, Nicholas, AS first-timer, shot a score in the 190's this afternoon, improvement that I sure wouldn't have dared predict on Saturday morning.  Do like your dad did, Nick, and you'll have your own patch before Christmas!

Technoronin (Matt) fought through rifle troubles and arthritis and shot his personal best, by about 40 or 50 points.  His patch will come soon, I predict.

Pictures will follow from those who had magic phones on site.  But I've never been to a 'seed with nicer folks, or one with more universal solid progress, in spite of the off-and-on rainshowers and the wind gusts turning the canopies over from time to time.

The six steps and NPOA really do work, and cadence does beat the time monkey!

[lescobar]

Many thanks to Didactic and LabRat for a terrific weekend. The weather forecast had me thinking I needed an inflatable shooting mat and a paddle. Turned out to be a great weather with just a little bit of liquid sunshine.

My son Nicolas was excited to see such dramatic improvement in his shooting. His American History class will be discussing the events leading up to April 19th, 1775 this week -- he was really pleased to have learned so much. In his words, "Now I'll have all the answers and so much more for discussion this week!". I can't thank the volunteers and participants enough for making this weekend a huge win for Nicolas' enthusiasm for America's history, the great presentations that will enhance his classwork, and his excitement and personal pride in becoming a better shooter.

It was a great pleasure to meet you all (or see some of you again) !

-- Lee

[Goertex]

Indeed a fantastic weeekend, stellar instruction and great company. Now how do I go about getting a letter stating I attended a marksmanship class? CMP is calling my name! Can't wait until the shoot in November! - Don Goerner goertex@gmail.com

[glocktopus]

Amber here, and I'll agree it was a great weekend! Melozi and I expect we will be showing up to more of these in the future with more ladies in tow (hopefully).

I was very pleased to shoot my second Appleseed free of AQT-spoiling malfunctions now that I replaced my inconsistent Marlin 795 with a Ruger 10/22.  Nothing was coming between me and my patch this time!

Thanks for all the help and instruction to help me get there. 

Requested photographic evidence is attached. 

[stevetull]

Yes absolutely Don, I believe a CMP M1 would look very cool on you. In my humble opinion, those are the most beautiful rifles ever made. I think after Amber's experience shooting my M1a yesterday she'll be itching' to make the move into a .30, and she's always wanted a Garand.
Thank you all for a terrific (though tiring) weekend. I enjoyed the good company. Robert, thanks for letting me punch a couple holes in your first stage, I'll try to pick my targets more carefully.
John and Dean, it was a pleasure meeting ya'll and receiving extremely worthwhile instruction, it's because of you I was able to qualify with the .30. You both are very interesting history teachers and story-tellers, too.
Provided I've done this correctly, I've attached a pic of my daughter Amber, complete with big smile.

Don't step on the time monkey.

[stevetull]

Thanks Amber for posting pics. I tried but the proper technique escaped me.

[sleepy Joe]

Good job John and Dean  hope to see ya'll soon

[perdurabo]

Robert here.  It was a damn good time and despite a failed extractor in my M1A and numerous FTE drills from the less than stellar cheap Indian 7.62x51 I brought, I managed to shoot my first centerfire Rifleman score with my AR10. 

I'm planning on showing up again to try and make a rifleman score with a bolt action rifle!  Time to do some more dry firing and hit the range if I'm going to beat that goal.

[LabRat]

Indeed a fantastic weeekend, stellar instruction and great company. Now how do I go about getting a letter stating I attended a marksmanship class? CMP is calling my name! Can't wait until the shoot in November! - Don Goerner goertex@gmail.com

Don, let me dig around in my magic shoot box and see what I can find. Remind me at ************* when (not if) I forget as it has been crazy at the business. Oh, and thanks for the eggs, delicious! Kiddo was fascinated by the green ones, but we didn't have ham to go with them.

To all, great job last weekend. You meet the best people at 'seeds and this is the best group we've had in a long time that I can remember. I hope to see you all again on the line at some point.

Keep dry firing and 7th stepping!