Lodi, WI Winnequah 10-11-08

[Old Glory!]

Thanks goes out to Mike for opening the gate this morning and being the WinGunClub liaison.  Also the other club members who came out to meet us.    VMT, Wiskers, and Aftermath; thanks for coming over from MN.

23 shooters today, one rifleman at 216.   Congratulations "Shake"!   Hang in there "Bake"; your next!

[Old Glory!]

REALLY TIRED, SO WILL POST SOME PICS FOR NOW.  COLYCAT'S REPORT TO FOLLOW.

[SavageShootr]

Hey OG,

Way to go with the Riflemen and Riflewoman!! It surely runs in the family.  How proud her dad must have been giving her the patch. Matt (Shake) too, what a great weekend you all had. It was nice to see Rich make it to an AS also. I saw Trish in the background, she looked good in the pic.

I guess they will be in CA soon. Unfortunately it is not an Appleseed weekend that they will be here.

Good job out there in Wisconsin.

~SS

[Old Glory!]

Savage,
Andrea received her own shooting jacket on Friday from Fred's M14 Stocks, in time for the Lodi shoot.  And we just ordered it two weeks ago.    It made ALL the difference in the world for Andrea.   Her sling stayed up on her bicep where it was supposed to; the rifle butt stayed in her shoulder pocket; her elbows were fully padded for comfort.  Oh, yes, Coly just reminded me what she said just before shooting rifleman.  "I'm not doing ball and dummy, and I'm not doing carding".  Instead she took a nap in a chair in the sun for 20 minutes while the rest did those drills.  Next COF, QDAQT - BANG! 216!  Guess she was ready! 

And "Shake" 216 also on Saturday.  Then he continued to shoot rifleman all day Sunday with 223, 217, 221, etc.  Guess he was ready too. 

Rich "Bake" was knocking on the door all day today. 

Beth "Beta" came out too on Saturday and persevered through bugs, heat, sling-sliding, and learning to shoot on a brand new rifle.  The rifle was kind of stiff and awkward for her; new mags that didn't work too smooth, no automatic bolt release, but she hung in there all day and had some good groups.  Colycat and Johnny Appleseed should be proud of their sister!

Trisha continues to work hard and her groups are really improving on the 1-inch squares.  Next time it is all going to come together for her on the QDAQT. 

OG 

[Fred]

Unfortunately it is not an Appleseed weekend that they will be here.

    Good Grief, there, SS - someone come all that way, to see you, and you tell them "it's not an AS weekend"? Heck, make it an Appleseed weekend, with a mini! (I bet I beat Bob to saying it, too!)

    OG, what's this about you being "tired"? Did you instruct? 

    But, you didn't say "unhappy", right?

     Congrats to the new WI riflemen. And those who didn't make rifleman? Persist! Each of you has embarked on a journey, a journey you can never give up on, because giving up would mean you'd be "a quitter" - and Americans aren't quitters, right? (At least, they didn't used to be... )

     Take the knowledge from your "weekend with the Appleseed firehose" and persist, and you will make it to 'Rifleman" - some sooner, some later - but all will, with that "P" word!

     And when you finally do it, when you shoot "Rifleman", you will look back on the journey and say "that wasn't so bad - in fact, it was kinda fun!" (Remember, when you catch yourself saying it, that you heard that from Fred - first! )

     Remember the 7th step - it's that tricky "7th step" that can be the hardest, as you find out your fellow Americans who are couch-bound actually like laying on the couch. Amazing!

     So it's gonna be an uphill battle to get them off, and get them to the next Appleseed.

     Make a personal goal, to get as many as you can to the next AS.

     The ship is sinking! We need more hands bailing! You can make it happen.

 

[SavageShootr]

Unfortunately it is not an Appleseed weekend that they will be here.

    Good Grief, there, SS - someone come all that way, to see you, and you tell them "it's not an AS weekend"? Heck, make it an Appleseed weekend, with a mini! (I bet I beat Bob to saying it, too!)

    OG, what's this about you being "tired"? Did you instruct? 

What a cute future Appleseeder she is turning into!!

OK Fred, I will hold a mini when they come out. I will talk to Bob210 and get things set up at Piru.
We can start Shake and Andrea on their IIT duties (if they haven't started already).

Congratulations to all the new Riflemen and Riflewomen, who persisted and made the score to go along with already having the Heart of a Rifleman. Keep up the good work.

[LayloPro]

Hey! Don't you already have one of those cool green hats??!!
You can set your own mini up, and run it!
How cool is that? Get to show the "out of towners" how we roll out here.......

[Fred]

     Even tho this is an AAR about Wisconsin, it seems to be taken over by Californians, so in that spirit I will inform Californians that Illinois needs some help.

     And that the best way you can help is to first clean up and "Appleseed" California - take all the time you want - is 12 months long enough? ( )

     Then start moving east, Appleseeding each state along the way, shaming them that California, the hitherto feared laughingstock of the gun world, is spreading eastward - first to the Rockies, then across the Great Plains. Making people learn to shoot, making them learn their heritage and history.

     And watch the laughter fade from their faces, as the word spreads: "The Californians are coming! And they're Appleseeding everyone!"

     The horror!

      No one ever thought it would come down to this!

     Grown men stir uneasily on the couch, curious and somewhat frightened as the sounds of external alarm filter into their houses, and onto their couches.

     Keep the wave spreading until it reaches the Mississippi, and a pall of fear falls over the state of Illinois.

     Maybe a few will be motivated to get off their Illinois couches - some in fear, some in eager anticipation, most under compulsion to finally "do something".

     When are you guys gonna reach the Mississippi? Two years? Three? Five?

     Can we make that the rallying cry for California: "On to the Mississippi!" ( )

     In the meantime, can we make masculine knees all across the fruited plains and purple mountains shake in anticipation - whether if fear or joy?

     Maybe the future Appleseed Museum will not be in DC - maybe it will be in California!

     Maybe we can get Texans to join up as you reach OK, creating a surge that will take you across the great river. Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi - all those states where patriots are measured not in thousands or in tens of thousands, but in dozens.

    What a golden field of opportunity.

    And around the campfire, five years from now, somewhere in central Illinois, or west of Nashville, or on the Mississippi-Alabama border, you'll reflect on the long journey that started way back on the little range in Piru, and one of you will say, "From little acorns, do mighty oaks surely grow" - and heads will nod, and there'll be that quiet that signifies deep satisfaction, of a tough job well-done, as you bunk down, your last sight, before well-deserved sleep, all the stars in the night sky overhead...

[LayloPro]

Fred,
you're gonna scare 'em!!! Besides, they don't realize they've already been infiltrated by the advance wave of "ex" Californians, who have been leaving the state for the last 20 yrs, in search of "someplace better".......heh!!

Looks like we have some work cut out for us here, but really.....7 months ago, before the 4/19/08 shoot @ Piru..... what was everyone thinking about Cali?? Poor old lost Cali, home of the fruits & nuts, flakes, & freaks.......12 rolling months go by, & we're going to have -13- 4/19 shoots!! Uhmmmmm, any other states that have been in the program longer doing anything like that?? Even half as much?? A quarter as many?? AN EIGHTH AS MANY?? So, what's up with that??

OK, I can hear it now....."but you have more people than we do".......sure, about a quarter of them are illegal, and the rest are asleep on their couch.......Alaska & Texas both have far greater land mass, so? Don't you guys in all the "cool hunting states" have a bunch more "gun guys"?? Even "per capita"??

Come on folks, we don't have FOID cards here, or complete bans like Taxitwoshhets, but it's been a pretty ugly picture for awhile now......
And really, we -used- to own this state!! Bad election material came up, gun owners voted in mass....bad bills went away.....then the bunnies started running away to "greener pastures".....kind of took some of our numbers away......but the ones who stayed, are pretty "starchy" about their rights.....and personally, I would far & away rather have 10 that stand with me, then 10,000 sofa-taters snoring during the game.......

When will we get there, Fred? I'm not real confidant in my crystal ball right this second.....it's taken us 12 months already to go from one statewide shoot to 13 concurrently.....(possibly more, wouldn't that be a hoot!!??) We have not even begun to broadside DiFis' home area, & I don't think Elton John is gonna be real happy when we put a range outside his back yard........but we will get there....

BTW, since he never gets near the accolades he deserves, I'm gonna -really- jack this thread for a nationwide shout out for Bob210......This -ONE- guy, who is probably one of the calmest demeanor-ed guys I've ever met, has pretty much taken on this state, single handedly for the most part, and negotiated -our- way into -dozens- of venues.....this last weekend, we did a gunshow (props to SS for handling Sat in her own excellent way!!)(along with SoR!) to promote our "dual shoots" this coming weekend....
Bob scored us the table (Free!), and drove out to set it up, & make sure the flags & banners were in place. The guy just flat gets it done!! Quietly, then quickly ducking from any praise........The dude flat ROCKS!!! Thank you, Bob!!!

OK, BOM.....
I have a bit of aversion to "bashing" other states.....probably 'cause I have family almost everywhere.......but it looks like you have the bat out for Illinois....got some family out there too....and they are gun folks.....I'll be talking with them in December when I go out to shoot with them.....their duck club is "only" about 1.5 miles away from the range @ Chillicothe....we'll have to do a little "stop by".....

"On to the Mississippi"?? Fred, why would we stop there It used to be "Head West, young man, head West!".......now we've gotta back track to slap the nodders awake? Oh, boy, this is starting to look like a job for Dangerous Old Men........ "Just watch..."

Coly, you & OG are doing an awesome job out there!! Good to know you got your start in Cali, & even tho' it kind of hurts right now, Fred is (as usual) correct when he says 5 yrs from now, it will be a badge of honor to "admit it".......

All right everyone, back to the pails......

[SavageShootr]

How about that Lodi, WI. Appleseed last weekend?

I sure do wish I'd been there. But, having my brother and sister in law out there doing their part is just as good.

Congratulations again to colycat for a great AS.

Congratulations to all of the new Riflemen. OG, Andrea will have to get you to sew that patch on her new jacket. 

~SS

[Johnnyappleseed]

Great Job Wisconsin
Congratulations to Matt + Andrea on making Rifleman.
Coly + OG your work is fantastik!
I will be so honored to attend an AS with the Wisconsin crew. Beth, Rich, Trish , sure would be fun to make Rifleman in California + get the coveted (CALIFORNIA ROCKERS)
Although based on what I see in Wisconsin ---- I would be very proud to be a badger state Rifleman
Semper Fidelis
JA

[griffin1340]

Much thanks to Colycat & OldGlory for setting up this weekend. Thanks to the rest of the 'orange hats' as well,  for taking time out and coming to the first of I hope many more Appleseed's in Lodi. Nice to see a good turn out on a great weekend! Thanks a lot!
P.S. Nice facility at Winnequah!

Griff out.

Boy I do need to get more ammo!

[colycat]

Wow!  For a State that is totally asleep, it sure has the interest of the nation Wish I could have wrestled the computor away from OG last night and did my report on Winnequah   Thank you all for your posts, really!

Saturday started out wonderful for me.  I took the ferry across Lake Wisconsin in the early light of the morning.  Was reminded of what seems like a lifetime ago, watching the last light of the day over the Pacific Ocean, with Fred, Funfaler and the California crew of instructors.  What a life changer Appleseed can be I also thought about that the same early light on the green, a very long time ago.  And thought, TODAY, they will all hear about it, and they will feel it, and remember the day.  April 19, in the year of our Lord, 1775.

The weather was in the low 80,s and the trees are almost at peak colour,  And Im thinking,  with a day like this,  Yes, I am doing the Lords work.

We had a really good turn out on sat. considering the lack of promotion (on my part) and the short time between the listing and the day of the shoot.

Thank you Jennifer for bringing your crew, I hope they enjoyed themselves and want to go an other AS. We also had 2 girls from the Winnequah club, shooting fancy german rifles, single shot and at the pace of F class shooters.  First time I have heard of putting a time limit on the 4 min. squares   They could shoot though, and had posture, six steps, everything down pat.  Next time all they need is a different rifle.

We also had a group of die hard Minnisotans who made the trip.  Vmt not only got his feet wet in the instructer pool, but was thown in head first.  Thanks Mike, I really don't know what I would have done without you.

Also OG was wearing a Orange hat this weekend, great job girl.  Wisker also came with a fellow student from St Thomas College,  and helped out on the line on saturday.  Nice job Kyle.  He also shot rifleman scores, one after the other with his AR.  It's always a treat to have him present.

This saturday we had a lot of first time shooters, a lot of borrowed guns. There wasn't time for much personal instruction,  but we got in everything on the COF and by 1700, everyone was ready to call it quits for the day. It was a great day!!!!  I hope they had a good time, and will come again.

Sunday, the shooters came. 10 in total.  The team of Shake n' Bake kept the LO in chuckles,  as they would  yell out comments like,  "YEA, HEAD SHOT!"  They had a blast and brought a lot of humor to what can be the Sunday grind of QDAQTs.

Andrea, who is a veteran of 2 Appleseeds, said to ME, THE SHOOT BOSS, "I'm not doing ball and dummy and I'm not doing carding either".  She then sat in her chair and took a nap in the warm October sun.  Shot 216, after her nap.  I guess this is a gal who knows what she is about!  I really like day 2 of the AS.

Jeff,  shot his M1A all weekend,  and on Sunday he got the attention he needed.  Don't remember his rifleman score, but it was Way beyond 210.  I said I hope your wife doesn't find out how much this patch cost.  He shot store bought ammo all weekend.  But the look on his face, definitely priceless   Doug,(Griffin) is already 7th step, as he helped with flyers, getting the line ready early Sat a.m., scored rifleman also.  He brought both an AR and a cool M1A.  Both of these men will be important to the program in the future, as they have both stepped up.  Aftermath, made a 6 hr drive from MN.  First one there on Sat and the last to leave on Sunday.  Shot rifleman groups all Sunday, just not quite in the right place.  Next time, Alex   He is also a 7th step all ready.  Keep it up, Man.

So, after a weekend of AS,  when you get back to work, and people are talking about the big game, and you are asked "How was your weekend?"  How do you even begin to explain the pride you feel, the joy you felt, the fun you had?  I just answer, "Oh, it was REALLY GREAT,  wish you could have been there."

Colycat

[AFTERMATH]

Knock- Knock

It was an honor to attend this Appleseed, and I am looking forward to many more.

I would like to thank Colycat and Old Glory for throwing a fantastic Appleseed!
As well as their excellent insruction. 
Thanks as well for the wonderful instruction of both VMT193 and Whisker.
I had a long drive, but their's was no cake-walk either.
Extra thanks to VMT for his kind generousity, in lending me his rifle when mine went down, as well
as letting me use his hand-selected ammunition.

Also thanks to the Winnequah Gun Club for letting us use their fine facillities.

And thank you too every one who showed up and made this shoot great.  I hope you've learned something
and I hope to see you on the Appleseed Trail.

Congratulations to the new Riflemen (and Riflewoman!)!  You've got the first 6 steps in spades, time for the 7th.

To those of us that didn't make rifleman(yes, I said us: that includes me ): PERSIST!! You will make it,
Persistance pays off.  I have confidence in you.

This was my second Appleseed, and all who I've encountered have been really good people.
Maybe that's why more people aren't flocking to Appleseed, as it is getting harder and harder
to find good people. People willing to sacrafice a little time and money to better themselves(well worth it, by-the-way).  People who believe in something greater than themselves. People who know what they are about.

Thanks again to everyone.   I hope I didn't forget anyone.  I look forward to seeing all of you on the trail.

In the mean-time, lets start shaking people.  Wake them up!  Enlighten them.  Perhaps they are in denial.
We need to fix that.

It is a sad soul who would refuse to bail water once they realize the ship is sinking.
And it is a good soul who grabs the bucket and starts to bail water.
But it is an exceptional soul who can wake people up AND help bail water.
And Appleseed is filled with exceptional souls.

Woah, I didn't realize I was going to be that long-winded.
My battery's going dead.

Sorry if I started ranting too much,


-Alexander


P.S.  Sorry, Fred, if I am out of line in using your analogy.  You are a more-than-exceptional soul.

[Fred]

     Heavens-to-Betsy, there, Alexander, no need to be "sorry" about using it. All any of us need to be sorry for is that it's not used more, because it so clearly reflects what we have in this country today - a sinking ship. (I daresay I'm not the first one to use the analogy, so can't lay claim to it in the first place.)

      You made a great post, showing you "get it" - get what AS is all about.

      And, if we can manage to save this country, it'll be people like you that can take the credit.

      Now, sir, 'fess up! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to take credit for saving your country. Not the "credit" part. The "saving" part.

[vmt193]

Another super Appleseed!

My first AS as an official IIT! Lots of fun! Congrats to all the new Riflemen. We should have a fine crew of instructors for the April shoots next spring.

Coly, thanks again for everything. I have some things to work on to get up to full speed but this was good experience and you never really know where you're weak until you actually try to do something. I'll get brushed up a bit more on that history for next time.

Alex, it was pleasure to let you use the rifle. That's why I bring it. It would be a shame to have somebody with the skills to be handicapped just because of equipment issues. Wish I had brought more so those target shooters could have given it a whirl with a decent LTR. I have no doubt we would have had another Rifle(wo)man.

The Winnequah range and it's members were super! Wish I had had the energy to take the lunchtime tour, but I just really wanted to sit in the shade and play with the beetles.

vmt

[Old Glory!]

Aftermath, you are a great encouragement to us all.  Your persistence and understanding of what AS is about are commendable.  PM a mailing address and I'll send you some targets for a range near you.  Duh!  How did we let you leave without giving you those on Sunday.      And while you are at the range, see if they will host an AS.  You know, help save your part of the country.      That would help cover north-eastern MN/north-western WI! 

VMT, I didn't know that was your first time with the first strike.  You did an excellent job, kept it moving quickly, easy to follow, use of all the important names everyone needed to hear. 

[AFTERMATH]

OG, thank you for your kind words and generous offer.

Actually, though, I already have some targets (I ordered some from Fred a while back).

The range I use most(if not my back yard), is not well-regulated and I hardly ever run into anyone else when I'm there.
(Heck, we could probably have an Appleseed there and no one would even know.  ; but I wouldn't want to risk it.)
I can't even find a contact number for them.

With deer season coming up, there should be more people there sighting in their rifles.
I plan on heading up there more with some red-coats and wet their appetite.

I am looking into a couple other ranges as well.  Hopefully, we can have several up this way next year.

[colycat]

GREAT, FINALY, GOT THIS THREAD AWAY FROM THOSE PESKY CALIFORNIANS!!! GOOD GREEF YOU POEPLE ARE REALLY SOMTHING!

I don,t know why I thought of it, but in my little world,  15 mi. radius, we have 6 riflemen.  With a population  in the radius, maybe 25,000 people.  In the area between Corna and Piru, what to you have 20 million??

I will have to have slim work out the percentage,  but off hand, I think you have enough to do out there

WOW, I just high jacked my own thread,(OG and me are kinda tight), by challenging you all.  Love you all out there in the land of what-ever.  Bob, you rule!

coly

[phoneprone]

as greatly said by bob... "you get more by just asking, what are they gonna say?! no...pfft!" the guy who goes around simply asking, "have you heard about project appleseed? how would you like to learn to shoot better? would you let our group use your range?"  and other such simple questions to blow the other states out of the water...
Bob is awesome!
~layla

[LayloPro]

Actually, I think he stated: "If you don't ask, then you already know what the answer is....."

Not to worry so much about "blowing the other states away" per se....(after all, our family is out there....), but to expand the brotherhood..... I have no fear while standing with Riflemen(& gals) from -any- state!!

Actually, the numbers for LA/Orange/San Bernardino/Ventura counties could be somewhere between 12-20 million, not real sure....folks moving in, folks moving out, folks hopping the fence....it's pretty hard to keep track of most of the time.....
But think of the potential!!! 

Is there a reason we should be busy?? Gee, ya think?? And with 365 day sunshine & palm trees, we don't have to worry about "weather" shutting down the range...... We -do- have our work cut out for us, no doubt in anyones mind on that.....but we can work smarter, by finding the ones who -want- to go, instead of say it, then never "do it".....

Yep, all those poor bunnies that ran away to "greener pastures....and get to shovel 3' of snow out of their driveway now before they can even get out of their garage......

But I think Fred's crystal ball is working pretty hard, cuz if we do start "expanding" our network, & getting a few hundred Red Hats out there, "outa State" is gonna start looking pretty good instead of all the "crowded" ranges here.......

OG, you and Coly are some blessed folks.....you get love from -both- sides of the Mississippi......y'all come on out & visit any time, we'll keep the light on for ya......

LLP

[Old Glory!]

Expand the band; it does at every Appleseed.  Here are few more pics I just found from Lodi of a few more of the band.  No palm trees, but plenty of sunshine.     Might have to head west of the Mississippi when there is no sun, no leaves, no-vember. 

[Old Glory!]

Still more.......

[Fred]

    On that "Lodi Junebug" pic, can I ask why those trigger knees aren't pulled up tight? Heck, not even pulled up at all!

    Is it because all the shooters were riflemen?

    Or are you simply testing to see if Fred might be looking at this thread...

    Whatever the reason, let's get that fixed, before I look at the Instructor Schedule to see who was "on deck" for this shoot...

[Old Glory!]

    On that "Lodi Junebug" pic, can I ask why those trigger knees aren't pulled up tight? Heck, not even pulled up at all!

    Is it because all the shooters were riflemen?

    Or are you simply testing to see if Fred might be looking at this thread...

    Whatever the reason, let's get that fixed, before I look at the Instructor Schedule to see who was "on deck" for this shoot...

Alright SHAKE N BAKE!  NOW YOU'VE GOT FRED MAD, and I'm gonna get fired!  Or sent to an IBC.  I told you all day long to get that leg up there!  Unlearn!

That picture is a bad example of prone position shooting, removed, SIR!

[LayloPro]

MM, MM, Mmmm!! 

Now you're gonna have Fred get on a plane, fly up to Wi, bring out all his T shirts, & start kicking feet all over your line......

OOhhh, the horror!! Ohhh, the humanity!!!

[Old Glory!]

If anyone is missing a nice pair of earmuffs, we ended up with a pair.  PM me. 

[Johnnyappleseed]

Great posts , Hi  Mike --- congratualtions 
Midwest is moving -- we will try to keep up in ca.
If half those who left ca , because of bad laws would do AS in their "new states" the restoration of liberty would be that much further along .
Coly -- sure is a beautiful animal 
Semper Fidelis
JA

[mooser]

Quick question, in the pic of everyone sitting and shooting with their slings, what sling is that everyone has? It looks like everyone has the same sling. Are slings provided now, or is it just everyone happens to have the same one?

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, I'm sorta new here (registered awhile back, but just started reading now).

[colycat]

Welcome to the forum, mooser.

They are GI web slings, 1.25 inches wide.  It is the most important item to bring to your first Appleseed, other than a rifle.  Check out the LTR thread elsewhere on the forum.
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=32.msg194#msg194

Now start reading