News:

We need volunteers in sales, marketing, PR, IT, and general "running of an organization." 
Maximize your Appleseed energy to make this program grow, and help fill the empty spots
on the firing line!  An hour of time spent at this level can have the impact of ten or a
hundred hours on the firing line.  Want to help? Send a PM to Monkey!

Main Menu

AAR - Piru, CA June 15-16, 2013

Started by gonejohnny, June 17, 2013, 10:04:21 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

gonejohnny

Father's Day weekend in Piru, Ca saw 12 lovely Americans intent on broadening their horizons. Weather was perfect and conditions clear for instruction, shooting and sharing the history of our great nation.

Shooters Shane & Lorraine did a fabulous job keeping up with the instruction and showed tremendous improvement on Saturday.

Chris is still at it... showing gains every time.

Our birthday girl, Crystal... A previous Appleseed'r who decided to make a weekend with us her birthday celebration and invited all of her girlfriends. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate your birthday by celebrating a great American pastime! You friends, Kirsten... Tatum... Vicki... Monica... Anastasia... all such great people who did so well, many having very little experience with firearms able to pick it all up very quick for one of the steepest learning curves we've seen in a while! It is always especially encouraging for to watch new shooters step-up eagerly to shoot at M1 for the first time and apply what they've learned for successful hits at 100-yards :)

Shane, Joseph & Derry were only able to make the Saturday portion of our weekend. Remember that you guys all now have the information you need to be on your way. Read your hand-outs and dry practice, dry practice... D R Y - P R A C T I C E ! ! !

Experience shooter, Milo was able to make it out for Saturday and spent all day in the dirt developing a little more of a relationship with his M1. The positions we teach aren't just about creating a stable shooting platform, but also are meant to withstand recoil for followup shots. Milo worked very hard,  an definite example of perseverance - and was able to significantly improve his rapids. All that is needed now is a little more of a sense of urgency to send scores right over the top.

We hope to see all of you again very soon!

Thank you to Woburn210, MrB, Gratefuldog, Ventura-Steve & MarpatPippi for allowing me to spend the weekend with them waking American's from slumber. A special thank you to MarpatPippi for working so diligently before the weekend to ensure nobody had to drop out.

'till we meet again...
GoneJohnny

rocketsci

Johnny,

Thanks for the great shoot!  I had a great time and learned a lot.

Joe

woburn210

What a great way to start a Father's day weekend, with Marksmen (and women) who are willing to participate and advocate for the American Revolution and learn about our Founding Fathers along with the sacrifices that they made for our freedom.  Just a beautiful day all around. 

Most notable was how quick the new shooters picked up the whole process of handling the new rifles along with handling them in a safe and competent way.  That along with steady hold factors and shooting positions made the instruction easy as you only needed to say something once and they got it!   Vicki, great job with your new 1022 and great score on the stage one off hand shooting on the AQT.  Superb shooting by all. 

Sorry I couldn't make it back for Sunday.  Hopefully everyone enjoyed Piru as much as I did and will be back soon.

See you then, 
Woburn210


ShootinCritter

I hate to be the downer in the group, but I have to say, this was my 3rd Appleseed, and was BY FAR the worst Appleseed I have been to.  Let me rephrase: if that had been my first, I never would've gone back!  The first two were SUPER fun!

I brought my closest girlfriends w/ me to help me celebrate my birthday, by taking them to one of the coolest places I have ever been to.  However...

Notwithstanding the incredible frustrations I experienced shooting my brand new Ruger 22 and Ruger 22 Takedown, in that they were all over the place despite multiple attempts to adjust sights, screws, and such, the rest of the weekend I felt was such an aggravation.  I was really hoping to have fun, but I left in tears both days.

I felt like the whole weekend was chaotic, poorly managed, and lacked necessary 1:1 coaching, despite there being 6 instructors on Saturday and 3 on the less-attended Sunday.  And of course, seeing as how one of my friends came Sunday only, her first time ever, she needed lots of 1:1 help (Thank you Grateful Dog!) so I felt like I couldn't even ask for help.  Yes I had been there twice before, and made rifleman my 2nd time, but it's been a couple years since then, and that's the last time I've shot, so I was VERY rusty, and having a lot of trouble finding my NPOA. (Special thanks to Steve for sitting w/ me on Sunday and helping me find my shots!)

So here's how the weekend went.  Saturday, they didn't even get started till 9am.  Then, after the basic instructions, we started shooting the red coats, then the grid.  I realized very soon I needed to make adjustments to my sights, but did we go make adjustments? Nope.  Did we even talk about MOA? Nope.  We shot the black squares again, with all our sights all goofy!  So then, we look again at our shots on the grid, learn about MOA, and wouldn'tchaknowit?  It was lunch time!!!  We FINALLY got to making adjustments on our sights after lunch, but then didn't even get to check our adjustments on the grid!  We went right into green coats, then AQT!  Forget making additional adjustments to sights.  The one thing that COULD have redeemed it for me was shooting golf balls all over the place... that WOULD'VE been fun if my sights were adjusted correctly!  So we did our AQTs, me with my sights not properly adjusted, then my take-down totally went goofy.  We'll be contacting Ruger about it.

So we were done shooting, and it was time for the end "talk".  AN HOUR LATER!!!  GoneJohnny is still yapping about truly some interesting things, but it was after 6pm!  I left my "exclusively nursed" newborn at home w/ my hubby and a bottle, and PROMISED I'd be home by 6:30... It's at least an hour drive home, plus a shower!  So I finally just told my girls to get in the car, we were leaving.  Steve was super nice & helped us carry our stuff to the car, took some pictures of us (which GoneJohnny wouldn't let us do), and off we went, with high hopes of a much better day on Sunday.  Um, yeah, not so much.

Sunday, we basically went through ALL the training from Saturday... again.  I guess that worked out, b/c my friend got the info she needed to kind of catch up, but we didn't start AQTs again till after lunch... after basically repeating all of Saturday's "lesson".  I kept trying to ask GoneJohnny for help, but he was always busy watching the line, and I'm guessing is a tad hard of hearing?  Or maybe just has selective hearing to block out my voice.  The man repeatedly "didn't hear" me throughout the weekend... or was he ignoring me?  I'm not the kind of person to think the worst of someone, but by the end of the weekend, I'm certain he had some vendetta against me.  Here's why, and what RUINED my birthday weekend! (As if the rest wasn't enough)

I brought my new Ranch Rifle that my husband specifically wanted me to take to see what it feels like, and I wanted my friends to shoot it, too.  So I asked Mr. Shoot Boss when I first got there Sat. morning.  Response?  "That'll come later".  After our last AQT... response?  "It's time to wrap up", yeah, that was at 5:05 (he showed me his watch).. and then he proceeded to talk for another hour!  Sunday morning, I asked again.  "Later."  Then after our last red coat...  Response?  Blank stare.  No. Joke.  So I said, "I just really want my girls to feel something with a bigger kick" He said, "Oh, yeah, we're getting to that now"  FINALLY, I thought, so with permission from GratefulDog & Steve, I got my rifle out of the car and put it on the line.  Steve suggested I leave it cased while he got his & that we'd shoot together.  Cool!  So then, they have GratefulDog get out his Garand, and Steve's got his heavier hitter out, and they gave us each turns shooting, which was fun.  So then, I go to uncase mine, and wouldn't you know it?  GoneJohnny says, "We have to be out of here in 5 minutes" Really?  REALLY????  You went an hour over time yesterday yapping, and I want to take 5 minutes to run 6 rounds through my ranch rifle and "we have to be out of here"?  Really?  Oh, did I mention that the day before, his personal friend was allowed to shoot HIS ranch rifle... ALL.  DAY.  LONG???   I couldn't help it.  I burst into tears, but managed to pull myself together enough to DEMAND that we get a picture of all of us in our pink Appleseed shirts holding our rifles uncased.  GoneJohnny fought it, but I insisted, handed my camera to Steve or GratefulDog, don't remember, and we got some nice shots.  Then we cleaned up and busted out of there.  I was SO MAD.  Oh, and the shooting the 'big guns', in GoneJohnny's words, was officially "after Appleseed was over".  So I wasn't holding anyone up. 

Seriously, and this is no joke:  the next time I go to Appleseed, I will for sure be finding out who Shoot Boss is.  GratefulDog? Steve? The Marpats? Ducky? No problem.  I will NEVER be shooting again at Appleseed w/ GoneJohnny as Shoot Boss.  Ever. And by the way, if this post gets deleted or edited, I am saving a copy and I will forward it to every person I can think of on the boards.  Am I throwing a fit?   !@#) Maybe, but I feel like my request was a simple and not uncommon one.  And seeing as how I and my girlfriends paid a combined total of $360 plus ammo to celebrate my birthday there, I think I should've been treated a little better.

gratefuldog

What a challenging weekend in Piru! While our more experienced shooters worked to master NPOA and beat back the time monkey, several others grappled with more basic skills, 'sight picture,' especially.  There were many new and untried rifles on the line, and we were plagued with frequent equipment problems.

That said, all participants displayed much perseverance, and despite frustrations, remained safe.  Much improvement was seen across the line.

I would like to say that a good time was had by all, but that seems to not be the case.

Crystal, I'm sorry this weekend was disappointing for you.  If you'd like help "test-driving" your Mini-14, either up here in Piru or @ Angeles Ranges (which, I believe, is the closest public range to your house) please contact me.  I've got nothing I can't get out of this coming weekend.

MR B (549)

What a marvelous weekend in Piru. The weather was picture perfect !!!  Many thanks to the fine group of shooters who showed up regardless of the ammo shortage to learn ,and in some cases relearn the fundamentals of marksmanship. I am grateful for the commitment to the upkeep of the fine traditions this country stands for and to celebrate and honor those who gave so much so that we could continue this experiment of liberty. Marapat gave a wonderful first strike and I welled up with emotion with the devoted delivery of the account of that great day. It's amazing how even after all the shoots I have instructed , hearing the strikes from other instructors can sometimes drive home the bigger picture of the importance of what we do ,and give a solemn reverence to the sacrifices of our founding brothers and sisters.

I was so happy to see my dear friends Shane and Rain finally showed up on the line. We've been friends for years and I've been working hard on trying to encourage them to come since I started my own journey It seems that my constant seven stepping worked.  :sb: They both braved the slew of info from the firehose and even though Rain had never fired her mini 14 and struggled a little with the prone position , I was proud of her for sticking it out and got a lovely text message from her on Sunday , thanking both myself and the crew for helping her work through the challenges. I'm sure ill be seeing them both again soon .

Returnee Chris did well and both Joe and Derry also showed great improvement by Saturday evening. Keep at it lads!!!!!!!!!!!! I see a patch in your futures.....

Most Impressive was the ladies breaking out those welcome packets BEFORE the shoot had even begun!!!!!
Wow O0
I'm sorry that Crystal didn't have the experience she was expecting for her birthday ,sometimes it can be a little frustrating when we have equipment issues. I'm grateful that you brought so many shooters to the line. Thanks for that.

Marksmanship is a perishable skill. If we don't practice our performance diminishes and we forget what we have learned both as riflemen and as citizens of this fine country So my advice to all is to stay engaged and to stay positive and of course d r y p r a c t I c e

Remember there are those who know what's been lost and those who have lost it !!!!!!!
In a time of universal deceit,
telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
George Orwell

ShootinCritter

I received a very pleasant phone call from my dear friend Marpat Pippi regarding my rant earlier.  She was very gracious to remind me of some basics I had forgotten amid the cloud of my frustration.

First, since it wasn't my first rodeo, I had unusually high expectations, especially since I was bringing my closest friends and wanted them to really enjoy it as much as I have.  All ALL of my friends had a wonderful time, and have told me so repeatedly.  My best friend is already planning a weekend for our husbands to go, and another who went is already planning to go to the all-women shoot in November.

Second, equipment issues can really taint your experience, which I was "fortunate" to have all weekend, with two different rifles.

Not that this in any way excuses my frustration, but it certainly added to it was that I was running on very little sleep and had my newborn at home for the first time w/o me all weekend, for whom I was very worried, especially w/o cell service.

I admit my post was blunt, loud, and aggressive.  I have a hard time knowing when it is ok to be "real" and to say what I really think, and when I must "grin and bear it".  Truly, despite my equipment issues, my high expectations, my lack of sleep, and my worry over my baby, there were some real issues I felt were handled very poorly, such that w/o all the other factors, still would've given me an intense disappointment w/ my experience.

I try to follow the rules, but not knowing what the rules are on posts here, I took my chances and posted my honest thoughts.  I originally had intended on not mentioning who was shoot boss so as to not publicly criticize anyone, however, it was unavoidable as "Designated Shoot Boss" was under Johnny's name at the top of the post.  In real life, you can't please everyone, and in this case, I was the "not pleased" person. 

In the end, I hold my position.

HOWEVER...

Johnny - As I have "publicly criticized" you, I will also use this opportunity to publicly apologize.  I recognize that, while my complaints I felt were 'mostly' founded, my method of complaint was poorly chosen.  In retrospect, of course which is 20/20, and with the kindness of the Marpats for calling and standing on your behalf, not excusing your actions, but defending you as knowledgeable Shoot Boss, respected Appleseeder, passionate patriot, and their friend, I admit that I should have taken some time to digest the weekend, and find a way to contact you privately via email or on the forum to bring my complaints to you directly.  I had no idea when posting this that it was publicly viewable (I thought only Riflemen/women could view it; not that that makes it any better).  I am sorry for using such a public avenue to address issues I should have discussed w/ you in private.  I am sorry for not taking into consideration the incredible amount of hours, work, planning, commitment and passion it takes each shoot boss and trainer to put together a successful Appleseed weekend.  I want to also thank you for not backlashing on the forum.  I certainly would never hope to derail your desire to do what you do.  I feel that there are some areas that you could improve on, as we all can, but I would never dream of causing you to reconsider your involvement with Appleseed as a result of "one unhappy customer".  So, I hope you accept my apology for publicly accusing you, and hope you can forgive my impulsiveness and lack of grace.

Very Sincerely, Crystal

PS.  I have tried to find a way to edit or delete my previous post, but can't seem to.  If an admin can delete it, but leave this up I would be ok w/ that.  I want those who've read my rant to also be able to read this apology, but I would like it if no one else was able to read my original post.  Thanks!

Marpat Pippi

#7
This is a post of my personal experience on Saturday...and is not a response to previous posts.

This weekend I had the pleasure of donning a red hat (rather than green), thank you Johnny! and the pleasure of participating as a shooter too! (An experience I also needed).

I must thank Johnny and the instructor crew for doing an excellent job. Johnny beautifully wove our heritage in with the shooting and teaching points throughout the day. It was a pleasure to hear the stories told again from new (to me) voices.

I came to Piru this Saturday, at the request of my friend Crystal, whose only birthday request was for her her friends to participate with her at Appleseed. 4 other friends joined her, all new to shooting. Johnny was kind enough to prepare loaner rifles for two of the shooters who do not yet own their own rifles. He ran the day at a pace appropriate for new shooters to maintain safety and maximize learning. He made it a safe and comfortable environment to ask questions from the beggining of the day, and maintained this throughout the day.

I was able to help instruct during prep times and plopped down to shoot during the course of fire due to the number of instructors we had on Saturday. I centered myself between Monica and Victoria, in order to be able to assist, but I found often that they were being helped by the other instructors, and didn't need my assistance.

Although Monica had trouble hitting paper most of Saturday morning, she persevered, and after an instructor was able to verify the problem was the shooter and not the rifle, she discovered proper sight alignment, she was not only hitting paper but hitting targets! Great improvement by the end of the day!

Honestly, I had not shot in way too long, and I know it is a perishable skill. Although teaching and knowing how, really helped me coach myself through when I was back on the mat. Marksmanship takes practice and focus, it is not like riding a bike, it's more than just muscle memory. I personally was satisfied with my shooting, as I was shooting my tech sighted .22 . Due to vision deficiencies I normally shoot a scope, but my mount had been removed from my rifle when I loaned it out previously and I had not replaced it yet...so irons it is! I could see the 100 and 200 yard targets without assistance, and I could even see the black squares, but those 300 & 400 red and ghost grey targets were barely visible to me. (Which is why I ended up with a scope in the past) despite this I enjoyed shooting the targets and focused on my group size re: consistency on those smaller targets rather than group location. If I had a good group, I was satisfied. If not, I had called my shot and identified my errors to do better next time (breathing or not really getting my NPOA). 

One of the funnest exercises of the day for me was shooting the golf balls as part of a NPOA shift drill. I have never seen this exercise before and really enjoyed it. It was interactive and immediately rewarding. Both Monica and Victoria who were on my team hit the balls at least once. Having them painted neon colors really helped me with my sight problem when they got the distance of the backers and farther.

In all it was a great day. Johnny ran an excellent shoot  and did a better job than I would have. He has my respect and admiration. I wish I could have made it on Sunday, but was unable to.  I look forward to coming back to Piru on a Sunday in the not too far future.

Fred


   ShootinCritter, honesty in the AAR is always appreciated, so your post stays, so all concerned can read it, evaluate it, and take whatever it offers as a guide to avoiding future problems to heart.

    Some of the complaints you have are really non-issues - starting at 9AM is customary for most Appleseeds, even if the prior ones you went to started at a different time.

    A lot of the rest is letting frustration "get to you". As a veteran of multiple AS, you should know better. For example, after the first shot groups on your target, you, as an AS veteran, could easily have done IMC and adjusted your sights. You don't have to wait to be told, and you don't have to wait, like the other students for whom this is all new, for the formal IMC presentation to learn how to do it.

    One important lesson to learn here is that "it's not all about me". One of the things you learn as an instructor in this program is about the "ball and dummy test for ego". Letting yourself "get emotional" is a key part of that test.

    Here's a lesson to be learned. Never get emotional. Emotion interferes with being effective. As a rifleman, your goal is to be effective. Hence, consign "getting emotional" to your pre-rifleman past...

    Again, your honesty is appreciated. I hope you will volunteer to become an instructor in the program - we need as many women instructors as we can get!

    Once on the instructor path, you'll look back on this and say (I think) "Wow! Was I ever really like that? Really?" :)

    The takeaway of this is to always aim for personal improvement - always!

    Please don't interpret this as my singling you out or laying all the blame for your experience on you. Any non-emotional issues you raised will be, I am confident, addressed in the future by those concerned.

    In fact, I hope you will be part of addressing them, as a future instructor. O0
"Ready to eat dirt and sweat bore solvent?" - Ask me how to become an RWVA volunteer!

      "...but he that stands it now, deserves the thanks of man and woman alike..."   Paine

     "If you can read this without a silly British accent, thank a Revolutionary War veteran" - Anon.

     "We have it in our power to begin the world over again" - Thomas Paine

     What about it, do-nothings? You heard the man, jump on in...

Eljay

It's nice to see some honest criticism here.  The tone tends to be mindless optimism and positivity.  That seems to be an official thing - like the volunteers will be discouraged if they ever hear a discouraging word.  We had an Appleseed where the whole thing was cancelled because they didn't get their insurance in order, and everybody got sent home.  They posted an AAR anyway like it was a huge success because the shoot boss yapped at the people anyway and exposed them to the Appleseed philosophy without even having to teach them any markmanship.  Whoo hoo!  Nice spin!  Luckily we never saw that shoot boss again.

milotrain

I've been meaning to get out to an appleseed for a while and I'm glad I made it out Saturday.  I'm very used to shooting similar courses of fire with an AR but brought the M1 because I needed some serious trigger time with it, and knew that Johnny and Brian would be there (both accomplished M1 shooters).  Needless to say, expectations are my enemy and I showed up with a pile of them.  I'm happy that I was able to keep the mantra "shut up and listen, you don't know how to shoot this gun" running in my head all day, but I would have been frustrated if I had not followed this path of failure before (with the AR) of never really settling down with a gun and getting into a rhythm.

I really appreciated the Talk, Shoot 5, Look, Talk, Shoot 5 system.  It made me conscious of how important it is to make the position second nature.  That's the key to dry firing, it's not so much dry firing as it is dry positioning.  Everyone on the team gave me at least one great piece of advice throughout the day, and that really impressed me.  I had an "aha" moment when marpatpippi came up and started chatting with me about my strong side leg and bringing it higher up to support both the position and the recoil.  I had always felt like it was high enough, but her instruction made me actually look at my leg realize that it was very low and slack, and move it to a much more stable position.  Occasionally Johnny would come over and dope my enblocs with dummies so that I had a modified ball and dummy drill, which was a great way of seeing how my trigger control was doing.  He also advised me to move my trigger hand elbow much further forward than I'm used to, also a recoil mitigation adjustment.  Finally by the end of the day I had an idea of how the M1 needs to be handled in the prone position, now begins the long journey of making that position second nature.

I didn't make rifleman Saturday, and I didn't deserve to.  I couldn't get my act together around rapid fire; I guess I'm just too used to the slower rapid fire pace I've been shooting and I didn't get into prone correctly even after practicing it all day.  I shot surprisingly well for being in poor position, but I would have felt cheap had I actually made rifleman.  You don't just make the score on paper, you make it in the mind.

Not sure why but I was slow that day, and I apologize to everyone if they were waiting on me or if I slowed down the day.  I know you've got to keep things moving to get through everything and I was dragging butt.  Thanks for the good instruction, and the time with the M1.  That gun isn't my friend yet but I'm sure she will be.

milotrain

Also, of course.

Thank you to all the instructors who make this happen and gave us help throughout the day.  I know how hard it is to show up to the range and not shoot all day because you are guiding others.  Much appreciated.

gonejohnny

Hi Everyone,

From the moment I first heard about Appleseed, through my currently writing this post... through countless mentors and wonderful people together in this thing we do... one phrase I've never heard was "this is going to be easy".

Fun, sometimes... Hard, you betcha... Rewarding, totally... Worth it, absolutely without a doubt.
Just as our Founding Father's intended: What you get back, depends fully on what you put in.

What started to occur to me along the journey - was all the little tidbits surrounding what else we learn, beyond just marksmanship - on our way to becoming, once again - a Nation of Riflemen: situational awareness... preparedness... responsibility... courtesy... self reliance... self awareness...  accountability... persistence... attention to detail... followthrough... patience... trust... focus... dedication... teamwork... community... empathy... integrity...

... character.


I've been taught and learned to understand, that a Rifleman proves everything... The journey is never over. You musn't be easily distracted... You've got to be quick on your feet... and, above all else... You've got to have a sense of urgency... based on priorities.

Here are some of my personal priorities: I love my country very much. I also love my native State of California. These are interesting times we live in, here in particular. Never has so much been on the line. Never has what we're up against been so unchallenged, biased & aggressive. Never has time been so short. Although I cannot speak for anybody but myself, I feel an obligation to do the most good, for the most people that I possibly can... especially given the (unfortunate) little time available.

I often wish the Appleseed Project would have started many years earlier...
Actually... & more to the point: I wish it really didn't need to exist at all...
But it does. So I've got to do my thing.

Do your dance... get your feedback and focus on your next shot...
Bubble, ya'll.... b-u-b-b-l-e.

Till next time,
GoneJohnny

ShootinCritter

After trying several different avenues to get my first post removed, or at least modified, I have resigned myself to the fact that it stays (at least for now, until I can convince the powers that be otherwise).  I have also spent several days agonizing as to how to make this all better.  Tone and intent don't come across so easily in text sometimes, so I'm going to try my best and I hope I am "heard", not for the words written, but for the meaning behind the words.

So here is what I SHOULD have written, and above all, what I'd like to have remembered.

I went to Appleseed that weekend with the following expectations: that I would go with a "clean-slate" mindset, as if I'd never been before so I could learn as much as possible, that I would have a great time, that I would maybe improve on my previous "bottom of the barrel" Expert Rifleman score & that my rifle would be functioning properly.  Silly me!

I went with a couple of hopes:  that I might get the chance to shoot my ranch rifle (might! I never expected to, I anticipated it might not be a possibility) and that all my friends would have a really good time.  Thankfully, my most important hope was met:  all of my friends DID have a REALLY good time!

Unfortunately, we all have bad days.  I was running on very little sleep (not a good start, no matter how much caffeine you have) and I was leaving my infant home without me for the first time (can we say, worried mommy?).  As the day progressed, my frustrations over my non-functioning rifle compounded, which of course affected my AQTs... not good.  There were some other things I had perceived to be issues regarding the way the days were structured, but I realize now that I was not fully remembering past Appleseed shoots, and not recognizing the liberty shoot bosses have to get creative and to tailor instruction of the individual Appleseed weekends based on the needs of the shooters.  I've been accused of being   "overly emotional".  Well, maybe, but women tend to be more emotional thinkers than men, who excel at thinking logically!  So I ask for grace regarding my "bad days" and how I let my frustrations cloud my judgment and get the better of me.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever had a bad day... I think! :-) Regardless, we all have bad days, and I allowed my cloud of my frustrations to affect me so much that I couldn't see the MANY WONDERFUL THINGS of the weekend.

What were those many wonderful things?  Well here are ten of them.
1) I brought several friends who didn't have their own rifles or ammo.  Through my friends the Marpats, we were able to purchase more than enough ammo for everyone at a SCREAMING GOOD price, I believe from another instructor.  Also, without the extra effort put out by Johnny in acquiring more extra rifles than we ended up needing, most of them wouldn't have been able to shoot at all!
2) We got there and were so excited to see girly colored shirts!  We all went home with hot pink or light purple Appleseed shirts!  That was so cool!  Thank you Johnny for making sure we all had the color and size we wanted!
3) My cousin brought her tube fed rifle.  One of the instructors had the great idea of using a Baja Fresh straw as a makeshift magazine so that she could load quickly.
4) My friend was having trouble shooting right handed as a lefty-eye, so one of the instructors (not sure who) taped up the left eye on her glasses, helping her to use her right eye more effectively.  By the end of the weekend, she was dubbed by Johnny "The girl who can shoot anything!".  He was right!  Not only could she shoot any of the guns she tried without there even being an appearance of recoil, she could hit ANY target she aimed at! Oh, btw, she's 14 and tiny, and it was her 1st time shooting!  She also received the special youth patch, presented by Pippi.
5) I was never questioned about skipping lunch to go to the car to express milk.  I was only sorry to not get to hear all of the stories, which I understand were mostly "women" stories, to keep the interest of all the ladies!  What a cool idea! On Sun. during lunch, we got to say "hi" and "bye" to Bob.  At one point, we were all stunned to begin hearing shots fired from where our cars were parked!  Immediately, the instructors all rose to action shouting "Cease Fire".  When they got to the edge of the burm, they found Bob giving his hand-gun some exercise in the hand-gun range between the parking area and the rifle range!  Whew! :-)  Made for a funny memory!
6) The first of many issues with my rifle was on Sat morn: I couldn't get the bolt to release.  Johnny came over and figured it out.  Thanks!  On Sunday, I brought my other rifle, hoping for better results, but wasn't hitting the broad side of a barn!  Steve took a lot of time with me, coaching my NPOA, giving me tips, and posting up a huge butcher block paper backing for me to see where my shots were landing.  He did this with my cousin on Saturday and helped her find her NPOA and get her sight alignment figured out so that her groups were tight and on target!  If he hadn't done that, knowing her personality, she might not have had as much fun.  As it is, she wants to go back, and take her husband!
7) Johnny came up with a game even some of the instructors hadn't seen before:  hitting neon golf balls down range to help us with our NPOA shifts in a seated/squatting position.  The girls all LOVED this game, and it was a fun break in between the "instruct, shoot, check" repertoire.  My young friend totally rocked this game!  This game put me to shame; I might as well turn in my patch! ;-) Let's just see how I do after I get my sights adjusted!
8) At the end of Saturday, Johnny spent extra time passionately sharing more of our founding fathers' words.  I got all misty-eyed, as I always do, when he quoted John Adams in regards to what the progeny ought and ought not do with the freedoms he and others fought so hard to preserve!
9) Sunday, Johnny was sure to go through the instruction from Sat., so that my best friend who came Sun. only, could catch up.  After lunch, Steve helped her to realize her "pumpkin" was "in the valley" instead of "on the post".  Her groups immediately improved!  Grateful Dog also took some time to give her 1:1 coaching!
10) In the evening on Sunday, Grateful Dog and Ventura Steve very generously brought out their long guns and let us each put several rounds through each of them, with no request for repayment for ammo!  That was a lot of fun for everyone!

My one and only comment for improvement: communication.
Several of the things that irked me over the weekend would have been total "non-issues" had the rules been explained when the questions came up. 

First, when I asked on Sat. morning if my friends and I would be able to shoot my ranch rifle, (again, I had no expectation of being able to, but hoped I might) instead of telling me "later", I would have appreciated being told that the shoot boss does not allow participant's rifles to be shot by anyone other than the participant, but that I could shoot it during any shoot period.  This would have solved the entire issue.  Even at the end of the day when I asked specifically about the "rules" about shooting other guns, I was not given a straight answer. 

Secondly, when I asked about adjusting my sights, it would have been helpful to be told that I was allowed to adjust my sights during any prep period without permission.  I was trying to "do as told" so I waited for the group. 

In the end, all of my friends had a wonderful time and all of the instructors... ALL OF THEM... did a wonderful job and it was quite apparent they worked their tails off to make it a good time for all, especially for me and my friends.  Looking back, I realize that I had an awful time because I responded to lack of information, miscommunication, and equipment issues poorly.  It was wrong of me to attack Johnny, making him the recipient of all of my frustrations.  It was wrong of me to threaten to further spread malicious gossip about him. 

I hope that in the future there will be no hard feelings between me and any of the instructors as a result of my bad attitude and poor decisions. I hope to shoot in Piru many more times with Appleseed with any of these passionate and dedicated instructors.

Thank you all for an amazing program, for all your hard work, and for your service & dedication... and especially your grace (Johnny and all of the instructors that weekend) to those of us who let our "bad days" ruin what could have been good days for everyone else!

Johnnyappleseed

#14
Humility is the most important criteria for a good instructor .
Thanx for the detailed analysis and a sincere welcome aboard .
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge