Corona, CA 2/16-17/2013

[Camljr]

We wer blessed with beautiful weather this weekend, which made for a sold out shoot.

Saturday saw a slight breeze with a high of 80 degrees. Sorry you guys back east...    

We started out with 16 shooters Saturday AM and almost everyone was a first time shooter, or a first time Appleseeder. We had a few previous Appleseeders return to get their elusive rifleman patch, but most were new. I love that! we had 5 @ 100 and 3 @200 on the redcoats.  the redcoats showed we had a lot of work to do. Through out the day, groups got better as they put together the instruction. Everyone had a great attitude.

At lunch, the history was well received by the shooters, and was well given by the instructors.  After lunch we dide ball and dummy which gave everyone a chance to instruct and see position errors as we see them on the line.

By the end of the day Saturday, we did not see any riflemen, but Previous Appleseeders Tom had a 189 and Drew had a 170. Sat PM redcoats showed improvement 8@100, 2@200, 1@300, 1@400, and 3 got the bonus box target.

Sunday showed a much cooler day, with a high of 68. PERFECT!    We started with 14 return despite soreness found from positions they had been in before.... never.....  

Instruction was given well, and the shooters soaked it up like a sponge. Groups started shrinking, sights were dialed in from Saturday, they were finding their best positions, and trying their best. Sunday's Dangerous old men stories were listened to intently and phil discussed how to relate what they did back then to what we should do today... A lot of heads nodding in the crowd...

Sunday ended with vast improvement but alas, no riflemen. Some high scores for Sunday were: Bruce=175, Mike P=179, Sherri=179, Dennis (DJ)=186, Drew=186, and Tom=189. All good enough for a Sharpshooter score... Next Appleseed, RIFLEMAN!

I met a lot fo very nice folks at this shoot, and a few old friends from previous shoots... I meet the nicest people at an Appleseed event. Glad to have met you all...

I also want to congratulate UpChuck for making his Full Instructor status and I presented him with his shiny new Red Hat. Congratulations Chuck!    You deserve it and have worked hard to get it. By the way, Chuck's son Grant, who is an IIT was there to see his dad get his Red Hat. We have another father and son instructor team in Appleseed. Always great to see that!

I also want to thank the rest of the instructor crew who did such a great job, I really didn't need to be there... They are efficient, and very capable. Also thanks to "V" (Phil) for teaching me everything I know about instructing, those many hours on the road together traveling upstate to get Appleseed going in NorCal were the greatest of memories for me. 

I hope to see all the shooters bring one or two people back with them to an Appleseed. 

Let's 7th step and help wake america up to each person's individual rights and Duties to spread our american heritage as a nation of Riflemen....   

I will post a few pics later, but it seems Athena may have Crashed the server with her picture posts....LOL

Cam

[Athena 1775]

What a wonderful weekend!  We had a great group of shooters and plenty of Instructor staff to go around.  The weather was good too - a little warm on Saturday, and a little windy on Sunday afternoon - but good overall.  We shared a lot of history history, taught a lot about marksmanship, and ate a lot of Redcoat cookies. 

Tom, Sheri, and Joy - It was great to see you guys at a shoot as a family.  Tom (a returning Appleseeder) obviously kept practicing what we were teaching, because he massacred the Redcoats on Sunday afternoon.  It was great to see Sherri and Joy improve as the weekend went on, and to become more comfortable with their rifles.  A special thanks to Joy for spending her birthday at an Appleseed event!

Jeff and Jennifer - I was glad to get to see you guys again!  It's always nice to talk to you both, and I look forward to running in to you at more shoots.

Mike P. and Drew - I know you weren't attending the shoot together, but I had to list you as a team.    You both exemplified the "fast friendships" that can be made at an Appleseed event; I was SURE you were long-time friends on the line!  And Drew - remember to keep a pen in your pocket at all times!   I know Drew talked about returning, and I hope we'll see Mike P. again too.

Ray, Arina, and Rob - We missed you guys on Sunday!  I hope that I'll see you guys at a future shoot, and you can have the full Appleseed experience.

"Other Mike" - Thanks so much for being a part of the weekend.  You were such a pleasure to work with!  I know we wore you (and a lot of the others) out by then end of the day on Sunday, but your attitude was fantastic, even in the midst of AQT-induced exhaustion.

John and Johnny - Again, it was wonderful to see you guys work together as a family.  I was impressed by how carefully you both followed instruction; it was much-appreciated.

Clara, DJ, and Christian - I feel like a broken record, but again - great family dynamic!  I hope that Clara benefited from the extra pointers on Sunday, and we hope you all had a great time we us - we really enjoyed having you there.  And DJ gets my special thanks for being so easy-going when his AQT target kept flopping around in the wind on Sunday afternoon.

Bruce - We're glad we got to work with you, even if it was Sunday only.  Thanks for sharing your tarp too - I'm sure your neighbors on the line were very grateful.

To those of you getting closer and closer to a Rifleman patch, remember: a Rifleman persists.  So keep on persisting... it makes you a Rifleman at heart, and the patch will follow from that.  You'll get there.

I'd like to extend a special thanks to our two youngest shooters, Christian and Johnny.  You guys had awesome attitudes all weekend, and I was very impressed by how well you both absorbed the safety information and the history we taught.  Your attention spans (and sniper skills) are very impressive.  Bravo! 

I look forward to seeing you all at future Appleseeds!  Thanks for making the weekend a success.

Photos will follow later today.

Jen (Athena 1775)

[Athena 1775]

Tom, Joy, and Sheri (Saturday)


UpChuck telling the Second Strike (Saturday)


Johnny and Camljr with Cam's musket (Saturday)


Ball and Dummy drill (Saturday)


John and Johnny, Ball and Dummy drill (Saturday)


DJ and Christian, Ball and Dummy drill (Saturday)


Sheri and Joy, Ball and Dummy drill (Saturday)


Rob and Clara, Ball and Dummy drill (Saturday)


Tom, Joy, and Sheri - sitting positions (Saturday)


Sitting positions (Saturday)


Johnny and Mike - trying to settle into their sitting positions (Saturday)


Talking Targets (Sunday)


Johnny and V demonstrating the benefits of correct sling usage (Sunday)
No instructors or shooters (or dummy rifles) were harmed, I promise!


Redcoat cookies (Sunday)


Sitting positions (Sunday)


Sitting positions again (Sunday)


Stage 4 of the AQT (Sunday)


DJ, Mike, Johnny, John, and Clara (Sunday)


Christian, DJ, Mike, and Johnny (Sunday)


Drew, Christian, and the brass-blocking cooler (Sunday)


Jeff and Jennifer (Sunday)


Bruce and Tom (Sunday)


Sheri, Joy, Tom, and Bruce (Sunday)


Jennifer, Mike, and Camljr (Sunday)


UpChuck and Camlrjr - UpChuck's promotion to Red Hat (Sunday)
Congratulations, UpChuck!!

[Bheard1836]

What an outstanding day Sunday!  Thank you again to Cam and all our instructors - your selfless dedication is appreciated and your passion and caring  for people comes through loud and clear!  Special congratulations to Chuck on the red Hat!!!

This was my 5th day of Appleseed in search of the elusive Rifleman score.  Progress is being made as I let go (one by one) of bad habits...  I did achieve a personal best of 175 - sharpshooter!  I attribute that much to the prone dry practice finding NPOA.  Learnings from Sunday - need to practice not just acquisition of NPOA but the transition and reacquisition of NPOA from target to target.  Need to find a seated position that will allow me to relax into my sling.  Need to forget the timer and just make hits - you really cannot miss fast enough to shoot a 210.  Turns out that you really have to do what they teach us in order to improve - us stubborn old guys want to think that we can do it our way!

Looking forward to transitioning from a stubborn old guy to a dangerous old guy   - see y'all for the full weekend at Corona in April.

[V]

Christian, one of our younger shooters, asked about the minimum ages to be an instructor. I said I'd confirm my answer (I overstated the Red Hat age) so here are the official answers.

To take an Orange Hat and start the Instructor In Training (IIT) process you have to be at least 13.
To become a Red Hat (full instructor) you have to be at least 16.
To become a Shoot Boss (green hat) you have to be at least 21.

Wear that Luther Blanchard patch with pride my friend and don't forget to bug your parents to bring you all out to lots more Appleseeds     and tell your friends...

Cheers
V

[Athena 1775]

V's post just reminded me that I had one more picture to share!  (And don't worry, Camljr, these photos are hosted elsewhere; they shouldn't effect the photo server at all.) 

Camljr with Johnny & Christian, and their proud parents

[djmajors]

V thank you for taking the time to reseach that answer for Christian he's interested in attending more appleseeds unfortunately the next one is sold out. My family and i would also like to thank all the instructors for your help. We've let our family in Arizona know about your quality training, knowledge of history, and program that you run and they look forward to attending appleseeds.
Thanks
Dennis Majors (DJ)

[V]

V thank you for taking the time to reseach that answer for Christian he's interested in attending more appleseeds unfortunately the next one is sold out. My family and i would also like to thank all the instructors for your help. We've let our family in Arizona know about your quality training, knowledge of history, and program that you run and they look forward to attending appleseeds.
Thanks
Dennis Majors (DJ)

Not if you are quick, we upped the capacity from 15 to 25 today so there are currently 10 spots available on Eventbrite... quickly, quickly 

Thanks for spreading the word.

Look forward to seeing you again this year.

Cheers
V

[djmajors]

thanks well see you there

[SniperCat]

djmajors,
The southern Nevada and Arizona shoots have room for additional shooters if you want to make the trip.
Kingman, AZ, February 23-24
Buckeye, AZ, March 2-3
Boulder City, NV, March 16-17
We are very familiar with young shooters as my daughter had to wait until she turned 21 to become a Shoot Boss!
Congratulations on raising a young man who knows what he is about!   

Bobbi

[V]

I mentioned to some people, shooters and instructors, a few stories and quotes about "unreasonable men" and Ebenezer Hubbard.

I wrote a quick summary of links and history around this which may be of interest.

Cheers
V

[djmajors]

snipercat thanks my family will be attending the tucson one in april