Piru Appleseed Aug 23-24 AAR

[bob 210]

  Another fine Appleseed weekend come and gone. Another chance to meet like minded folks. I saw some new faces and I saw some

familiar faces, but above all, I saw Patriots. Common folk from all walks of life, taking the time to come out and exercise their 2nd

Amendment Rights and get immersed in Heritage and the events of April 19th 1775. I saw boyfriend and girlfriend, father and son,

co-workers, and buddies, but I also saw Americans. These people that are the salt of the earth came together not knowing what to

expect and a little leery of those around them and left knowing that it was O.K. to be involved in rifle marksmanship and that it was

important to know the debt that we all owe the Founders and also knowing that they are not alone in there beliefs. I saw folks that

have fired rifles for many years, come out and to their surprise learn new things. I saw folks who have never fired a rifle in their life come

out and at the end of the weekend qualify at 400 yards and get the 250 yard head-shot on the last Red Coat Target of the

weekend.....Daniel Morgan would be proud. I saw people have fun. I saw volunteer instructors give up their weekend to come out and

pass on what they have learned to the next generation of shooters and what could be the next generation of instructors. I saw

improvement by all. I heard the history. I heard of the sacrifices the Founding Fathers made for the Liberties most of us take for

granted. I heard the stories of a sixteen year old fifer, of several dangerous old men and also a couple of women of the Revolutionary

War.....proving that it doesn't matter if you are young or old, man or woman, that anyone can be effective in the fight for Liberty. The

only limits are the ones you put on yourself. I saw people begin to awaken and start to shake off the slumber of years of programming

and political correctness. Another weekend where I felt I made a difference in this country......my country. Where else would I rather

be.....what else would I rather be doing. I can't wait for the next one.....see you there.

[V]

This was my third appleseed at Piru and my personal best.

I want to thank Bob210 for approaching me at the range and introducing me to this program, I want to thank F-Stop for working with me this weekend to really zero  in on what my problems are (an M1A stock is just to short for me and my eyes are getting too old, need to start using those glasses!)

I'm an ornery old guy, I want to qualify with my M1A on the Quick and Dirty AQT. I've bought and built an LTR for practice but I want to qualify with the M1A!

As to the program, its good for both the body and the soul.

On my first Appleseed I was a wreck by the end of the first day. Trigger leg up in prone, transition to sitting and sitting position were all a joke for me. Now I'm pretty good, in fact sitting at 200 is now my best stage. So shooting and practicing and dry-firing for these events is as good as or better than a gym membership for me.

As for the soul, I no longer feel alone.

I had sunk below being an iceberg spotter to being the loner in hiding, after all whats the point about shouting about icebergs when nobody listens or cares? I was  considering the usual approach of decamping from CA to a more forward looking,  liberty friendly state just to stay ahead of the gun bans.

A lot of people think that the liberalization of gun ownership is sweeping the nation, shall-issue, Castle Doctrine, etc, and that its only a matter of time before the "hold out" states on the west and east coasts, CA and MA, "give in." I didn't and don't believe that. Yes, progress has been made in those other states but I see them as the one step forward, the other shoe to drop will be the two steps back.

I see CA and MA as being the states where the bureaucrats try out their schemes before rolling them out nationwide. In the long term these most populous states will lead where the nation goes (sorry guys, but we're a democracy not a republic now, what ever the Constitution says). So I was just trying to shoot and teach my kids to shoot and get them used to a personal responsibility, liberty oriented way of life for as long as possible, simply delaying the inevitable.

Appleseed has changed that.

I don't want to hear about PRK. This state is the front line in the battle for liberty. We need more shooters and liberty oriented people moving here to help bail and change direction not everyone moving out to easier, greener climes where life is easier. Sure you'll have to sacrifice being able to shoot your "assault weapon" for awhile but you can shoot here - look what Bob has done, he's got more events, ranges and instructors going than some of those "smug" states where everything is rosy - for now.

We need to come out of hiding and stand-up for liberty. For me guns have never been about guns, its about who's in control.

Hi, My name is Phil. I am a gun owner. Deal with it.

[kool aid]

Hot water, soap and a stiff cleaning brush has gone through my rifles and extracted the suprising flood of black carbon fouling.

And this is not the first go round doing it.

And I ask myself " Where is all this keep coming from?

Well, it's in there in layers. In the actual structure of the metal.

Kind of a metaphor for the shoots here. When you clean one of those old war horse bolt guns, and you think you have it pretty clean, you go to the range and loan it to some willing .22 shooter, it knocks loose worlds of stuff 'issues' of carbon and metal fouling prevously unreachable.

Like our issues of marksmanship.

Like our issues of the return to liberty- heller, shall issue, casteldoctrin et al.

Just a coffee fueled product of the metaphor machine that is Kool Aid.

More Haiku to follow as well.......

As for the soul, I no longer feel alone.

I had sunk below being an iceberg spotter to being the loner in hiding, after all whats the point about shouting about icebergs when nobody listens or cares? I was  considering the usual approach of decamping from CA to a more forward looking,  liberty friendly state just to stay ahead of the gun bans.

A lot of people think that the liberalization of gun ownership is sweeping the nation, shall-issue, Castle Doctrine, etc, and that its only a matter of time before the "hold out" states on the west and east coasts, CA and MA, "give in." I didn't and don't believe that. Yes, progress has been made in those other states but I see them as the one step forward, the other shoe to drop will be the two steps back.

I see CA and MA as being the states where the bureaucrats try out their schemes before rolling them out nationwide. In the long term these most populous states will lead where the nation goes (sorry guys, but we're a democracy not a republic now, what ever the Constitution says). So I was just trying to shoot and teach my kids to shoot and get them used to a personal responsibility, liberty oriented way of life for as long as possible, simply delaying the inevitable.

Appleseed has changed that.
[size=15pt]I don't want to hear about PRK[/size]
. This state is the front line in the battle for liberty. We need more shooters and liberty oriented people moving here to help bail and change direction not everyone moving out to easier, greener climes where life is easier. Sure you'll have to sacrifice being able to shoot your "assault weapon" for awhile but you can shoot here - look what Bob has done, he's got more events, ranges and instructors going than some of those "smug" states where everything is rosy - for now.

We need to come out of hiding and stand-up for liberty. For me guns have never been about guns, its about who's in control.

Hi, My name is Phil. I am a gun owner. Deal with it.

Brother, it is really good to know you!

What was once a 'never gonna happen' is now a monthly occurance and could be ho hum, but in reality we see a miricle every time we put on a shoot at the 'home range' in california.

Bob- cover your ears, and don't read what follows. I would rather SEE as sermon any day than HEAR one

Our shoot boss is a walking sermon as to what one man with determination can do with persistance and dedication. I am happy to help and hold the man's coat in any way I can.

As to the rest of the AAR, I will write more soon. Y'all have heard enough from me- I want to have some of the other participants weigh in on their thoughts, impressions, and conclusions as to what they saw over the weekend..

[Fred]

Our shoot boss is a walking sermon as to what one man with determination can do with persistance and dedication. I am happy to help and hold the man's coat in any way I can.

    K-A, may I say "dittos"?

    That's the nice thing about this program - there's a lot of hard-working, dedicated people - and I'm willing to help them whenever and however - and if holding their coat is a help - well, hand it over.

    But [Bob 210, cover your ears!] there is not a doubt what one person can do. And one person has taken on the state of California. He doesn't come across as aggressive or pushy, but somehow things get done on his watch, things that are amazing to the rest of us.

     You California guys are lucky to have him. One Bob 210 in each of the other 49 states (or 57, if you're an Obama supporter), and this program would be moving ten times as fast.

[highmeh]

Thanks for a great class this Saturday; wish I could've stayed for the second day. We need more events like this in California. I'll see you at the next one.

Jayme

[LayloPro]

Yeah........
I'm just kind of contemplating here.......thinking about the depth of what has been posted so far, and the various "layers" of it all (KA, you are an amazing writer.....and your analogy factory is awesome!) Rock on, bro!!
V, yes...you can be an ornery ol' man....I appreciate that, since I tend in that tack myself....I "try" to be civil & polite where needed, but sometimes the truth outweighs the need to be PC, & we both speak our minds. And, from what you just posted, we are similar in our thoughts to an amazing degree...... BTW, what you write resonates well. Thank you for stating it in the way you did.
Bob210..... incredible......This guy brings such an outstanding array of varied experience & life decisions to the table, I am truly honored to serve alongside him...... In getting to know him better, he is one of the few that inspires me to try harder, which is kinda tough here....
"Aggressive"? "Pushy?" Good God, no man!! NOT how he is built inside. But he is very very persistent!!
And "dedicated"?? Oh, yeah, for all the right reasons.......
Oh, did I just describe a "Rifleman"??

Now.....Cali....what to do about Cali?? .......Gotta admit, the last few years I have been in heavy "rabbit mode", looking for a "freer state" to move to, someplace the "authorities" didn't feel they had the power to tell you what you could or couldn't do. (As ARC pointed out, any time you need "permission" from a government agent to "do something", it is no longer a right, and considered a "privilege"...). But then, AS comes to Cali, and the 1st one I can get to, I do.....I drag along a young cat who wants to learn how to shoot my Garand better than I can teach him. While there, we meet this group of people who "know what they are about", and determine we need to come back again.....there's more training for us that is obviously needed, & we have found a fire hose that is willing to take the time with us to get better....Yay!! we improve, we get better, we have fun doing it......why doesn't everybody want to do this?? They don't know it's here!!??!! Oh, gotta tell 'em about it.....Been reading SGN so long, I thought(?) everyone knew about Fred & the AS Project..... We gotta tell 'em!! This is great stuff!! You too can improve beyond your personal expectations......being somewhat of a marketing type (financial planning), I start dropping "suggestions", which most others likely thought of as well.....start with the places the gun folks go.....let them know we are here, get them out to an AS, they will see the value.....they go home, tell their buddies & family about this program.....we grow....need more instructors.....more ranges....soon, we have a statewide organization......weekly shoots going on all over the place......great!!! But, we also (& also very importantly) have more Californians that can look through their target, & see what is beyond it.....which has given them the power to look at current day situations & policies, and see what is behind those as well.....THAT is what will save California from becoming a politician/bureaucrat's playground. When John & Debbie American wake up to what the game plan(s) are, they can stop calling out about the icebergs, bail, patch the leaks by getting "correct-thinking" pols in place, and tying the bureaucrats hands by letting them know in no uncertain ways, that they (the people) do not work for the system. The system is there to work for them. Period. If we can get to that, Cali can become a beautiful pace to be again. And if Cali can stop trying to become a Socialist state, that -will- send a message to the other states that want to emulate Cali, that it was tried, & didn't work......who knows, we might even get a footnote in the history books.....

For this shoot, I tried an experiment, just to see if I was thinking about the training correctly. We found a young guy who has never fired a gun before in his life, but wanted to.....plopped him on the line, stuck in the fire hose of training & started the weekend. As expected, his first redcoat had almost nothing on the paper, but on his final redcoat Sunday, he kicked in an awesome group on the 400 yd target, & centered the 250 yd head shot.....he clipped the edge of the 300 yd target with one bullet, which was the only "almost' that kept him from "clearing" the whole thing. Big improvement?? Gee, ya think??!!! All on a Tech sighted 10-22 LTR loaner..... So what did he prove?? Only this....the program works.....the instructors can put it thru in a clear & concise manner.....the value is there. Now, he's convinced, & can start telling a whole new bunch of folks that have never shot before that this stuff works, is fun, and is needed in their life, for a variety of reasons.

This was my 1st time under an orange hat.....loads of fun, got to instruct some great folks (V, cal7.62, Cameron, Mike & Sam) with all levels of competence.....(Cameron deciding that yes, the target was telling him he needed to improve, making the mental decision to "listen", applied, & rocked on with a Rifleman score on the only QDAQT on Saturday!!YEAH!!!!).....voice got worked a bit shouting over ear protection, so today I sound like Darth Vadar....but hey, phone calls can wait ....Working the line was great, and the training from all the other instructors a valued resource to draw on......Do it again?? Yep, get to go out next weekend & spend the weekend at a beautiful range in Santa Barbara......again, among like minded folks.....thank you again, Bob210, KA, SS, SoCal, JA, & F-stop!
Thanks again to all who brought this to us, Past & Present......
Now I'm gonna help finish the NatMap, so Fred can promote yet another way of making Appleseed "easier" for the newbies in SGN....
Yeah, we can all make a difference individually, but together, we get -much- louder.......
And as KA knows, actions and pictures speak volumes....

Peace, with honor,
Laylopro

[colycat]

I was so lucky to have been to two of Bob210,s shoots.  His first at Corona, I think he almost  Read the the first strike.  I loved it anyway, thinking this guy(not a public speaker) is dedicated to the cause.  I will be doing my first history next weekend and I only hope it is as well received as Bob,s.

Thank you to all the CA people for getting me on the AS trail!!!

Colycat

[Wheeler44]

We watch from up here in the NW and think to ourselves " Man, I gotta go get me some o' that and carry it across the land" Hmmmmmm.
That gives me an idea................Hmmmmmmmmm.


Wheeler44

[kool aid]

We watch from up here in the NW and think to ourselves " Man, I gotta go get me some o' that and carry it across the land" Hmmmmmm.
That gives me an idea................Hmmmmmmmmm.


Wheeler44

What could this mean, oh me, oh my?

[funfaler]

  I loved it anyway, thinking this guy(not a public speaker) is dedicated to the cause.  I will be doing my first history next weekend and I only hope it is as well received

Thank you to all the CA people for getting me on the AS trail!!!

Colycat

Remember, it ain't public speaking! 

It is story telling, and it is not just story telling, it is sharing stories of great Friends in Liberty, to new Friends in Liberty. 

It is more of an introduction of two great friends. 

They (those of 1775) want to be remembered, they (those of today) dearly want to lean more. 

The "Story", it is what people want to hear, it is what they need to hear. 

You tell them the story, from your heart, because that is where this story lives, in the Hearts and Minds of real Americans.  We plant it, nurture it, and it grows into another Appleseeder, another real American.

Share the story with Friends, about Friends......You will do fine!

[LayloPro]

Wheeler,

I hear you're going to be "visiting" our beautiful range here in Santa Barbara this coming weekend.......we -will- get a chance to sit down together, the 5 or 6 of us, & see what your Apple munching under the Liberty Tree has come up with......

Bring the kids, they'll love it!!

[Johnnyappleseed]

Another great AS event, if only for sat. Serf, 1st strike was really good.^5
Thanx to Bob 210, KA ,SS Laylow,fstop,was good to see Francis + hollywood marine.
Congratulations to Cameron+ arc for achieving rifleman scores.
Thanx  to all the shooters. It was an honor to meet each + every one of you + Im looking forward to seeing everyone again.
Coly , it was our pleasure having you attend your 1st AS in Ca. good work getting Wisconsin on the way to a return of tradition.
Semper Fidelis
JA

[SavageShootr]

Highmeh, Welcome to the forum. It was a pleasure meeting you.

I just wanted to thank Bob210 for putting on another great Appleseed at the RWVA West range.

Congratulations to Cameron and Andrew for making Rifleman.

Congratulations to all who attended, you are the cream of the crop. Thanks for attending. There were many shooters who were knocking on the door of Rifleman. I enjoyed working with everyone this past weekend. I would suggest, to all attendees, to take the skills you learned at the AS and go out to the range and practice..... by the numbers .

~SS