Davilla Dec 6-7

[metalbot]

37 shooters on the line on Saturday.  12 instructors.  28 shooters remained for Sunday, and 3 Riflemen were forged on the AQT.

Had fun calling the line today, though I'll be hoarse tomorrow.

[txpirate]

Fantastic time. Congrats to the new riflemen. I'm proud of the way all the shooters improved. Shooters that were'nt even on paper during the redcoat were shooting above 120 by Sunday. I only took a few pics:
Scout delivering the Sat safety briefing:


Scout explaining redcoat targets: (Also credit Smoky Joe, Top, Kevin, and Labrat's shiny new redhat)


metalbot and Scout going over prone position:


Hammering out AQT's on Sunday:


One of our 3 new Riflemen getting his slow fire prone on:


One more BIG huzzah for Big D's persistence to get to Rifleman. Congrats. I'm already counting the days till the next 'seed.

[(Sim) Σμ]

I wish I had remembered my camera. 

Eleanor of AQT enjoyed calling the line too, although she wasn't expecting to have to explain the positions. 

MB,

Come to our house with the four boys for about a month and your voice will be amply prepared for shouting loudly for extended periods.  I thought you did an excellent job with the history and with calling the line, although I should warn you that my opinions are reputably questionable (see, for instance, my avatar).

Scout was outstanding, as always.  Steve did a great job with the "Dangerous Old Men" supplemental. 

I had three no-shows, but they all had moderately acceptable excuses.  Like my AQTs, I was aiming to get four and got one.  Unlike the AQT, I'm allowed to try as many times as I like to hit the target.  Next time I'm pushing for twelve new appleseeders (we've listed some names). 

My father-in-law had a great time, although he almost fell when making a transition.  He's in his mid-70s and isn't what he used to be.  He wants to get his boys and grandsons out to the next Appleseed as well.  I think we can get one out, but I don't know about the other three.

Eleanor can make it to the next Appleseed for Saturday, but has to teach a class that Sunday.  I'll probably stay and shoot on the second day of the next appleseed. 

[wcmartin1]

My father-in-law had a great time, although he almost fell when making a transition.  He's in his mid-70s and isn't what he used to be. 

I think it's OK for Dangerous Old Men (or Women) to stay in position after the prep period should they so choose. 

[Junior Birdman]

  Quote from txpirate above: One more BIG huzzah for Big D's persistence to get to Rifleman. Congrats.

   This almost slipped by unnoticed!   

    CONGRATS TO BIG D!  For those who may not know it, Big D is a "minimalist", which I greatly admire. He showed up at one of the first Appleseeds I worked in TX with an AK, 5 gallon bucket of ammo and mags, and a field jacket, (which doubled as a shooting mat). 

   He has worked hard and perservered with one of the best attitudes I've ever seen on the line, and EARNED that Rifleman's patch!  HUZZAH!!!  Oh, for a thousand more D's! Texas could be the great Republic it once was! 

[TheUpsetter]

Way to go BigD!  Now just repeat said RifleMan score with your favorite AK of choice and you'll be a legend in your own time.  I heard that it helped greatly that I scooted off to Washington State, so I'm glad I could do my part. 

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

_TheUpsetter

Oh yeah, and for the record, I think BigD has been to EVERY Davilla Appleseed ever, sans maybe one.

[LabRat]

Congrats to Big D! Wasn't able to stay for Sunday, but good shoot as always. Great job by everyone. Glad to see familiar faces and new ones as well. Texas instructor numbers growing all the time. Huzzah!

[CaptG]

Thanks to Scout and all the instructors. Excellent job! My first AS will not be my last. Till the next I'll be workin the 1" squares.
CaptG

[Big-D]

    CONGRATS TO BIG D!  For those who may not know it, Big D is a "minimalist", which I greatly admire. He showed up at one of the first Appleseeds I worked in TX with an AK, 5 gallon bucket of ammo and mags, and a field jacket, (which doubled as a shooting mat). 

I still do.

Way to go BigD!  Now just repeat said RifleMan score with your favorite AK of choice and you'll be a legend in your own time. 

Still workin' on it

I just want to say thank y'all to all the great instructors.     

By the way when they say "The beatings will continue until marksmanship improves." thy don't joke around!!!  ouch! 

[metalbot]

    CONGRATS TO BIG D!  For those who may not know it, Big D is a "minimalist", which I greatly admire. He showed up at one of the first Appleseeds I worked in TX with an AK, 5 gallon bucket of ammo and mags, and a field jacket, (which doubled as a shooting mat). 

That's the OLD Big D.  We've civilized him!  The NEW Big D is a rifleman, and he uses a carpet remnant for a shooting mat. 

Congrats Big D!

[Lonestar]

I enjoyed the shoot very much. I was somewhat dissappointed in my shooting performance . The AQT was alot harder that I thought it was. I managed to score 168 on the final AQT which was a marked improvement that I credit the instructors for. I also had some equipment failures namely my front tech sight kept working lose. I also had numerous rounds that misfired [remingtion golden bullets] I would not recomend that 22lr load. I sure was sore after those two days of shooting............
Here are a few pics I took.

[POP]

Davilla had an excellent Instructor to Student Ratio; better than 1 to 2.  As an orange hat (IIT) I appreciate the comments below from the shooters.  The key is the Rifleman Spirit, the Rifleman Teamwork, the Rifleman CAN DO Attitude.  As a Newbie coming up to the weekend shoots that spirit, teamwork, attitude transferred from the instructors to me.  I must say, though, that we get excited when we see so many shooters on the line; then we get the Rifleman "Want To" Attitude!

Oh, read Big D's post below.  The beatings also continued until he asked Scout "How do I get one of those Orange Hats?"  Fellow Riflemen, Big D is now an IIT.  Congrats Big D.

My hat is off to all the new shooters this month.  This AS blood is now running through my veins and, I am still riding high.  I thought after the November Boot Camp here at Davilla that the rest of the AS events would be a letdown.  All the shooters on the line, instructors, the improvement in scores / marksmanship skill, SNAITF's Dangerous Old Men (and women) Stories, Scout's Third Strike over campfire, making new friends from all over this great state, husband/wife teams (at least 5), and some very young riflemen trainees who shot quite well.

I should also note that Sunday night post AS event 5 of us stopped at Benito's Cerrilla  Restaurant in Davilla. Food and conversation were great and Scout stopped by with daughter and joined the conversation.

Well, enough for now.  Will post some PICs later.

Meanwhile, take a respiratory pause, have a safe and meaningful Christmas and New Years and, See Ya'll at Davilla in January (should be January 10 and 11).

POP

[AdamSelene]

Howdi.  For my wife and I this was our first Appleseed (we were the ones from Kansas) and I cannot articulate how impressed we were with the program.  I personally have learned more about rifle marksmanship from this weekend than I have in my entire time in the Army and my 6 1/2 years as a civilian side shooter.

We may not be back to Texas soon but I went from a low 80s to topping out around 189.  My goal is to make Rifleman next time and hopefully become an instructor. 

Thank you to all the cadre for your help and patience.

[(Sim) Σμ]

Howdi.  For my wife and I this was our first Appleseed (we were the ones from Kansas) and I cannot articulate how impressed we were with the program.  I personally have learned more about rifle marksmanship from this weekend than I have in my entire time in the Army and my 6 1/2 years as a civilian side shooter.

We may not be back to Texas soon but I went from a low 80s to topping out around 189.  My goal is to make Rifleman next time and hopefully become an instructor. 

Thank you to all the cadre for your help and patience.

It's tough to get the time off, but go to one of the bootcamps if at all possible.  If not, we'll see you on the trail.

[wcmartin1]

For my wife and I this was our first Appleseed (we were the ones from Kansas) and I cannot articulate how impressed we were with the program. 

Looks like Kansas is fixin' to take off anyway http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=4676.0

[BDG]

w00t! This AS was a mixed bag for me in terms of happenings, but was a great experience. In short, it was an 800 mile round trip well spent.

Since my one way drive from McAllen is just under 400 miles, I pretty much have to take off friday and monday from work if I want to arrive at a respectable time. I departed friday and drove north to Three Rivers. I decided to take the "scenic route" and detoured to 72 instead of continuing north on 37. This took me through Kenedy, Luling, Lockhart, and lots of other small towns I had never been through. It shaved about 13 linear miles  but added a half hour or so drive time. I arrived at about 8:30pm with Doug about 2 minutes behind me. We opened the gate and went on back to the grounds. It was looking a bit forlorn. One camper with 2 shooters and 2 Instructors. Where was everybody? People started to show up about 10pm and set camp. That night was pretty damn cold. See, I'm a native boy from the Rio Grande Valley. Life in the RGV is daily highs of 95-105 with 70+% humidity. Pretty warm. We chuckle at Houstonians occasionally (sorry SNAITF)... btw, just checked temps outside... 93. December and 93 outside. Yay! Anyways, it was damn cold that night. I wore: 2 pair socks, longjohn bottoms, jeans, tshirt, 2 longjohn tops, fleece hoodie, leather jacket, mechanix gloves, 40 degree sleeping bag on an air mattress and 3 blankets (1 of them a thermal blanket). I was still chattering away trying to find a not so cold position to sleep in. It gave me a newfound respect for our Colonial Forefathers. They were definitely men made of sterner stuff than we. Sometime that night around 2AM, 2 of my compatriots from the Valley arrived. They enjoyed the luxury of the Birdhouse that cold, cruel night.

Saturday woke to an iced over car. Weather forecast was said to be 34, Doug relayed a temp somewhere in the range of 29. Yowzers. After grub and greets, we met for the safety briefing and morning duties. Site was set up and the shoot began. A few shooters looked unsure of what to expect. Some others looked relaxed, with having past shoots behind them and already knowing the schedule for an AS. The day proceeded apace. Several LTRs, and a couple of 30 cals the first day. I was surprised to have 30+ shooters with 11 Instructors. That allowed for an excellent Instructor-Student ratio. I basically had 3 charges to steer towards the path of Rifleman. It allowed much interaction and correction of flaws including sloppy trigger work, finger grip, off hand platform grip, fidgety trigger finger, dragging wood, and some more. Oh, and there was something about one of the 308 powders. The owner thought it was Brit berdan primed, but when floating in the air with the x39 powder next to it, I just smelled something woderful! Did I mention I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning?

Sunday worked well. The day dragged a bit for me, as I had essentially no sleep the night before, and was in the saddle for 7 hours prior. But a Rifleman perseveres! We made it through the day and completed our shoot with 3 brand new Riflemen! Congrats to each and every one. You worked hard for it and have earned the right to wear the patch.

I had originally intended to spend the night and leave in the morning. My compatriots had other ideas. They were going to drive home that night and arrive home around 2AM. OK, guess we'll convoy. We packed up our gear and headed to La Sevilla to join Respiratory POP and his fine wife for a dinner and convo. We even had a surprise visit by Scout+1 for a bit. Convo turned to our recollections of the 2008 Texas Republican State Convention and POP's ultimate experience there. We had all been there as delegates, but had not met on site. Imagine my delight at last months RBC to meet him. Every time I see ole Respiratory POP, I still chuckle. Alas, time was flying and our arrival time was approaching 4AM. We departed. Not 10 miles later, my compatriots flagged me with a high beam. We pulled over and their front passenger tire was low on air. I whipped out my air compressor and topped it off. We drove the remaining 10 miles into Bartlet and checked it again. Low air, but still no punctures/cuts I could see. A call to AAA while I attempted to remove the lug nuts (and even 1 hex nut!  ) failed due to 2 stripped hex nuts. My compatriots were not amused. I took it all in stride. My recommendation was to head back to Scouts, sleep it off, then drive into Temple or elsewhere monday morning if Scout didn't have a pneumatic drill to remove the lugnuts. We eventually did so. I enjoyed the Birdhouse that evening.

Monday morning we woke, stoked fire below the Jethro Bodine Memorial shower and had breakfast... My compatriots drove up to Scouts and sure enough, he had the necessary tools to pull the tire off. Thanks Scout! We moseyed on out sometime prior to noon. On the way to Round Rock, I got a call from Respiratory Pop that SamD was on the radio again. This time, he was on Alex Jones. hory crap! He's on AJ! Reception was still too spotty there so I couldn't tune in. No problem, I'd get the podcast that night. We had lunch at IHOP and reminisced on my compatriots' experience and thoughts on their first AS. They liked it. I think they are hooked.

Congrats again to the new Rifleman. Thanks to Doug for braving the weather and environment. Just till December 2012, right Doug? Let's hope plenty longer. Thanks to Scout as usual for hosting such a fine event. I've got some other friends across the state, and I'm working on getting them out there. Thank you to all the new shooters who got up off the couch and decided to ACT. Even if you did not score Rifleman, you now have the knowledge to practice practice practice. A Rifleman perseveres. If you persevere, you too will earn that coveted patch in time. I hope to see you all in the future, and meet new people as well.

Thanks to all the Instructors who turned out. Such a high turnout allowed for a pretty darn great ratio. I think the shooters really enjoyed that.

[POP]

Davilla eleven-oh-eight.  A legend in our own time.  and its only been a month.

Great Post BDG

yours was a long post.  much more, however, needs to be said.  we will save most of it for later.  it's the sort of thing that Appleseed legends are made of.

Your compatriots from the RGV are now our compatriots.  huzzah!

i look forward to many more AS events with them.  let's continue to work on DAR's closer to  South Texas. 

POP

[Oroboros]

...

Anyways, it was damn cold that night. I wore: 2 pair socks, longjohn bottoms, jeans, tshirt, 2 longjohn tops, fleece hoodie, leather jacket, mechanix gloves, 40 degree sleeping bag on an air mattress and 3 blankets (1 of them a thermal blanket). I was still chattering away trying to find a not so cold position to sleep in. It gave me a newfound respect for our Colonial Forefathers. They were definitely men made of sterner stuff than we. Sometime that night around 2AM, 2 of my compatriots from the Valley arrived. They enjoyed the luxury of the Birdhouse that cold, cruel night.

...

Oh, and there was something about one of the 308 powders. The owner thought it was Brit berdan primed, but when floating in the air with the x39 powder next to it, I just smelled something woderful! Did I mention I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning?

Ditto on the cold factor! I thought I'd come prepared, thermal pants under jeans, thick socks, thermal shirt, t-shirt, hoodie, BDU shirt, heavy-ish jacket, hat, hood, sleeping bag, ground cover.... all to no avail. Started out nice and toasty, but as soon as the ground heat dissipated (around 4am), I awoke to some serious chilly – and not the good kind momma used to make – the freeze-your-face-off kind. Oh well, lesson learned! Next time I will not be caught off guard by our fickle Texas Winter Nights! I agree, our forebears were made of sterner stuff than I

I was right next to that British powder – contributing some of the x39 to the mix – and you're right; it's quite the breakfast blend

I had a great time, despite the cold, and I will certainly be back again ASAP. Thanks to all the great instructors, I can already feel the improvement when I dry fire. Next time I attend, it will be as a much-improved shooter