Evansville, IN. Fritchley range Sept 14-15 3013

[Mudcat]

Another shoot at the wonderful Fritchley range in Evansville, IN. with only 2 preregistered shooters we did some serious 7th stepping on Friday and got a total of 9 shooters on the line for the weekend. With 4 previous Appleseeders  in the bunch it made it easy on the instructor crew. The willingness to learn and try new things really made it easy on us. We started out with 2 young ladies Tessa and Ryan shooting off of bi-pods as our designated marksmen. But by Sunday they both had ditched the bi-pod and were really making progress.  Here is a picture of Ryan.

But she comes by it naturally as her dad Paul finally got it all together and shot a 220! Congratulations Paul you not giving up really paid off.

Paul on the M1 Garand.

Robin Craig and Tessa were fairly new shooters and Robin struggled on Saturday with becoming familiar with her rifle. But by Sunday she was doing great and was always safe. Craig really made some steady improvements on Sunday after giving our way a good honest try. He was surprised at the results and shot the United States Rifle model 1 better than he shot his .22. Huzzah!
Here is Robin ringing the .30 cal bell of freedom.

Tom was taking it in all day and kept improving as well.

This brings me to Sara and Shanta who I spent a little bit of time with last week getting ready for the shoot. I just knew they were going to blow through and get that coveted Rifleman patch. But Sara had an issue with her rifle where it began throwing random shots. Now those that know me have heard me say it is almost always the shooter and not the equipment. But this time is was the equipment. I shot it and could do no better than 6 moa the scope was tight, action screw tight no ammo change. We finally puller her rifle and put her on another got her zeroed used to the rifle and then the extractor, spring and plunger decided to separate from the bolt. So another rifle and go through the process and by that time she is beat. The AQT wins this round but I am positive that next time she will overcome. Shanta just bounced around all day 200-209 and could never get that one extra point. Real good stages but getting 4 good ones on 1 AQT was the hard part. We will be remedying that.


I want to thank Steve (Loose Nut) and Shanta for allowing us to come onto their range and help to save our country. You won't find any bigger patriots than these 2 in fact their whole family. Feeding us and bringing us into their home and their range. Thank You Thank You! I didn't get many pictures but feel free to post the ones you may have.
I hope to see you all back on one side of the line again soon.

[Mudcat]

Well with a little 1 on 2 coaching both Sara and Shanta got their Rifleman patches with a 213 and 211 respectively so Huzzahh! I am adding it on to the AAR, well just because. The were the models of persistence and was not going to let me rest until they got another chance. That and they are my cousins.  Congratulations ladies, I am very proud of you both!

[redbaron]

Huzzah! Another great shoot at the Fritchley range. Congrats to Paul, Shanta and Sara on making rifleman! And to all the others for showing great improvement and persistence throughout the weekend. As always, its an honor and a pleasure to work the shoots at this range.

[Honey]

What a wonderful weekend!! Mudcat, Red Baron and Loose Nut were great instructors. I had a fun weekend and I learned so much! Mudcat kept me on track but I could not break my 209. But last night I sure did!!!!! I was so excited to shoot a 211!! I AM A RIFLEMAN!! What a great feeling. 
Having the shoot at Loose Nut and my house was awesome. We love hosting everyone. Saturday night after our shoot we sat around our back porch and had dinner and relived the days events....Oh how we laughed!! So much so my niece, who lives next door, sent me a text and told me she could hear us laughing. She wanted to know what was so funny and all I could tell her was BANANAS 
I am looking forward to my next Appleseed!

[Loose Nut]

Another great Appleseed Weekend....................Huzzah!

Mudcat and redbaron - you guys made this shoot a GREAT success!  You are true patriots, you are helping to make our Country a better place, you guys selflessly give your time presenting the historical background and beginning of the American Revolution and helping all of us to become better marksman - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You - you are great men of our time.



Mudcat giving us some marksmenship instruction




Lots of questions and interest in the steady hold factors required for making a good shot from the prone position.  Look at those shooters learning the technique.

[Loose Nut]

redbaron presenting the 6 steps of firing the shot.  Tim you did a GREAT job.  It would not have been the HUGE success without your help and instruction.




not saying anything here, but NOT everyone was paying attention to redbaron's instructions   

[Loose Nut]

during our review of the prone position, Mudcat demonstrated and redbaron instructed.  These guys do a great job in breaking down the fundamentals so that everyone can understand..............then they follow up with drills on the firing line so that all the shooters get a chance to develop and practice their new skills.






If you get to share the line with either of these guys, you are in for a treat.  They are great instructors with the patience and persistence to really help. 

[Loose Nut]

so proud and excited for my brother to get his Rifleman score, Huzzah!  it took a couple of tries, but Paul's persistence paid off and he was all smiles all afternoon.




Congratulations Paul - GREAT shooting

[Loose Nut]

Paul wasn't the only one to develop his skills and cause the Shoot Boss to take notice.........here's a couple of young shooters that stuck it out and showed real improvement as their marksmanship skills are beginning to take shape.  Ryan, Tesa Congratulations and GREAT shooting.



These girls will definately be future RIFLEMEN!    HUZZAH!

[irishrose]

Another shoot at the wonderful Fritchley range in Evansville, IN. with only 2 preregistered shooters we did some serious 7th stepping on Friday and got a total of 9 shooters on the line for the weekend. With 4 previous Appleseeders  in the bunch it made it easy on the instructor crew. The willingness to learn and try new things really made it easy on us. We started out with 2 young ladies Tessa and Ryan shooting off of bi-pods as our designated marksmen. But by Sunday they both had ditched the bi-pod and were really making progress.  Here is a picture of Ryan.

But she comes by it naturally as her dad Paul finally got it all together and shot a 220! Congratulations Paul you not giving up really paid off.

Paul on the M1 Garand.

Robin Craig and Tessa were fairly new shooters and Robin struggled on Saturday with becoming familiar with her rifle. But by Sunday she was doing great and was always safe. Craig really made some steady improvements on Sunday after giving our way a good honest try. He was surprised at the results and shot the United States Rifle model 1 better than he shot his .22. Huzzah!
Here is Robin ringing the .30 cal bell of freedom.

Tom was taking it in all day and kept improving as well.

This brings me to Sara and Shanta who I spent a little bit of time with last week getting ready for the shoot. I just knew they were going to blow through and get that coveted Rifleman patch. But Sara had an issue with her rifle where it began throwing random shots. Now those that know me have heard me say it is almost always the shooter and not the equipment. But this time is was the equipment. I shot it and could do no better than 6 moa the scope was tight, action screw tight no ammo change. We finally puller her rifle and put her on another got her zeroed used to the rifle and then the extractor, spring and plunger decided to separate from the bolt. So another rifle and go through the process and by that time she is beat. The AQT wins this round but I am positive that next time she will overcome. Shanta just bounced around all day 200-209 and could never get that one extra point. Real good stages but getting 4 good ones on 1 AQT was the hard part. We will be remedying that.


I want to thank Steve (Loose Nut) and Shanta for allowing us to come onto their range and help to save our country. You won't find any bigger patriots than these 2 in fact their whole family. Feeding us and bringing us into their home and their range. Thank You Thank You! I didn't get many pictures but feel free to post the ones you may have.
I hope to see you all back on one side of the line again soon.

I want to thank Steve and Shanta for allowing my family to come to your range . It is awesome and so are you all! What a wonderful experience we had! After Craig Nathaniel got his wings wet the first day he settled the second and learned a lot! History is among  one of his favorite subjects in school, he has really talked about our history ! awesome and Tesa had a great time as well. I was a little surprised on Sunday when she bounded out of bed and was ready for round 2! Thanks to everyone who made this a great day of learning and encouragement for us, It will not ever be forgotten!

[Loose Nut]

Here's another SUCCESS story from the weekend (and follow-up shoot)

I know that there were mechanical issues that left them disappointed.  There were lots of unsuccessful attempts at rifleman scores that tried to defeat their efforts and emotions..............The two ladies stuck with it, they tried harder, they did not give up, they persisted, they developed their marksmanship skills, they practiced their steady hold factors, they utilized the six steps of firing each shot...............and wiith just a little follow up and one on one instruction, Mudcat was able to coach my sister and my wife to their RIFLEMAN scores.............I'm sure that the neighbors heard the hollers of delight.

CONGRATULATIONS girls - I know it was frustrating at times and seemed to be just out of reach, but you stuck with it and did a GREAT job...............so very proud of you!  There is a lot more to being a Rifleman that just being able to shoot a score - without a doubt, these two understand and will be great example for others!

Huzzah!  Huzzah!  Huzzah!

[Loose Nut]

Robin, it was great to get to meet your family and spend some time on the range with them.  It was certainly a fun weekend for all of us.  It was an encouragement to me to see you show up at Red Brush for another shoot last weekend.  Don't ever give up.  it has been very rewarding to watch your knowledge and skill level develop from a new rifle shooter at our range on Saturday morning two weeks ago to you shooting some really nice groups and putting them together on the AQT's this past Sunday at Red Brush.  This past Sunday, you clearly understood the shooting positions........it didn't look like the Hasty or Loop sling ever gave you any serious trouble..........you were practicing the steady hold factors.............the six steps of firing a shot are starting to make sense............you were not looking near as rushed during the preparation period..........you are handling the rifle with more confidence............you are understanding and focusing on NPOA and the NPOA shifts.........you are getting all of your shots off during the transitional stages........

and your target scores and groups keep getting better.  KEEP UP the GREAT work - I know you can do it!

Hope to see you on the firing line in the future!  Huzzah!

[irishrose]

Here's another SUCCESS story from the weekend (and follow-up shoot)

I know that there were mechanical issues that left them disappointed.  There were lots of unsuccessful attempts at rifleman scores that tried to defeat their efforts and emotions..............The two ladies stuck with it, they tried harder, they did not give up, they persisted, they developed their marksmanship skills, they practiced their steady hold factors, they utilized the six steps of firing each shot...............and wiith just a little follow up and one on one instruction, Mudcat was able to coach my sister and my wife to their RIFLEMAN scores.............I'm sure that the neighbors heard the hollers of delight.

CONGRATULATIONS girls - I know it was frustrating at times and seemed to be just out of reach, but you stuck with it and did a GREAT job...............so very proud of you!  There is a lot more to being a Rifleman that just being able to shoot a score - without a doubt, these two understand and will be great example for others!

Huzzah!  Huzzah!  Huzzah!


So happy for these great women! They are a great encouragement to me! So happy to see Chanti on Saturday at Redbrush her tips helped me a lot!  Looking at my sitting position I see I need to not put my head down at the angle to the Rifle I need to bring it up to me and get my elbow under it more.... I will keep this in mind as I practice my dry fire... and need practice shifting while sitting as well.....