AAR: Alto, MI June 11-12, 2016

[SteelThunder]

I great weekend!  Heat on Satruday drained us, but the fire liberty burned brightly!

Thanks to the Caledonia Sportsmans Club for being a great host.  The lunch and air conditioning (!!!) in the clubhouse were truly needed!

Was wonderful to see the great shooters -- attitude and improvement.  I appreciated how you took to the marksmanship as well as your great questions during history!

Congrats to Bill W for requal-ing at 231.  And Jeremy!  Huzzah!!  I'm proud to have  been your instructor at 3 events and now see you with a Rifleman patch!  Oz also reports that you took an Orange Hat!  Double Huzzah!!

I heard great things about scores on Sunday.  Roy and Eric within "whispering distance" to that 210.  See you guys next time!  Becca -- no one can believe this was only your second time shooting a rifle.  Awesome and thanks for taking a Blue Hat.

To all others, thanks again for coming out.  To my instructor crew -- DSS, Toobeauku, Rascal21 and Snipette -- you guys are the best.  Special thanks to Oz for taking over SB duties on Sunday and Zazzles coming up too.

Pictures here   https://www.facebook.com/MichiganProjectAppleseed/


ST2 out

[MINUTEMAN MI001]

An absolutely awesome time, full of fantastic marksmanship instruction, and great segments about the historical events surrounding the birth of our nation. Could not have been more impressed with the Shot Bosses (Steel Thunder, and Oz) totally awesome instructors and volunteers! (D.S.S, Rascal, Snipette, Too Blekeau, Zazzle) (forgive me if I forgot anyone/misspelled any handles, you were all amazingly welcoming, awesome people)

I wanted to give a special thanks to both D.S.S and Snipette who I believe took extra time to help me improve my technique, and improve I did!

I can't say enough positive things about this Appleseed event. I have personally taken quite a few "high-speed" tactical type classes but I decided to try this to get back to fundamentals. I was amazed at how much I learned, and how much my shooting was able to improve with Appleseed techniques. Truly a challenging and rewarding experience.

I didnt quite get Rifleman this time (short 3 points), but I will definitely be back after how much fun was had this weekend.

Thanks once more to the awesome Shoot Bosses, Instructors and Volunteers! You guys and gals made this even what it was!

(Steel Thunder, Oz owes you $15. I ended up purchasing that sling after seeing how much it helped me improve! ) 

[Oz]

It was a great Sunday!  What a wonderful group of students.  It was a genuine pleasure to see some old friends and meet new ones.  I wish I'd been there to see you Saturday as well!  I hope to see each of you again.  I know I have some patches just waiting for some of you!

MINUTEMAN MI001--you posted even before I made it home!  (I stopped to give Steel Thunder $15.    )  You did great!  You had to leave after 2 AQTs on Sunday but both over 200--wow!   And thank you so much for your kind words about our instructor team, I'm glad you found the instruction valuable. 

Bill, it was great to see you again, motorcycle, gee-tar, odd magazine 'malfs' and all.  (I'll have to see if I can duplicate the mag issue myself at home!  )

Bekah--really, only your second time shooting a rifle?  Wow!  You're off to a great start.  And thank you for stepping up and taking a blue hat to help out with Project Appleseed!

Mark, you shot great and I was glad to hear you were going home with a list of things to do!  The learning didn't end yesterday afternoon!

Fritz, you're a model of patience and persistence, and you asked great questions.  I think you wrote this down, but just in case...that quote was from Dr. Joseph Warren's March 6, 1775, Boston Massacre Oration.   

Eric, those bad triggers you're used to working with have certainly served a purpose in giving you great trigger control!  209--it doesn't get any closer. 

Jeremy--I know this is the 3rd time we've been together on the line.  Wow, did everything "click" this weekend!  Great shooting!  Congratulations on earning your Rifleman patch, and thank you for stepping up to take an orange hat!  I can't wait to work with you!

A special shout out to Sticks and Edith--I'm glad you were able to stop in and see us for a spell, it's been too long! 

I promised to post the front sight measuring tool printout for folks to use at home; it is attached as a PDF.

A special thank you to our hosts at Caledonia!  You have a wonderful facility and spectacular staff and we appreciate your willingness to host us.  (I think you could open a successful restaurant with those burgers, too!)  it is great to see that it is a very active club and we appreciate you working us in.

Thank you to the instructor team--DSS, Toobeaukoo, Rascal21, Snipette, and Zazzles.  You rock!  And thanks to SteelThunder for SBing Saturday and making sure the students had such a great experience--the work you folks did on Saturday was clear on Sunday morning! 

I hope to see you all on down the trail!  Oz

[D.S.S.]

So much to say...so little time.

Pat and the Club:  Wow!!!  The kindness and assistance provided was simply the best seen to date.  I look forward to another Appleseed at the Caledonia Sportsman's Club. (Those burgers on Sunday were the BEST!!)

Bekah: Thanks for accepting blue hat as an example of your dedication to this country.  It is something that is not taken lightly and we welcome you to the team.  First time pulling a trigger on a rifle huh??  NOBODY would've known if you hadn't said it.  It's obvious that you learned a new skill as well as something new about yourself.  I saw you shoot a 2 MOA group!!!  Keep practicing and you will have your Rifleman patch in no time.

Mark:  Your persistence will pay off.  Thanks for showing an exemplary attitude.  I hope I'm at the event that you score your first Rifleman.

Roy:  Your willingness to listen and apply instruction and techniques made what we do fun!  Thank you.

Tony:  Thank you, sir, for being a part of allowing us the pleasure of using your great facility.  I hope that you experienced some kind of "Aha" take away moment.

Fritz:  Thank you for the wisdom shared during the weekend.  Your example of patience and not pushing yourself beyond your limits was something that all present needed to see.

Eric:  I wasn't able to spend much time with you but you had great people helping you on your end of the line.  Trust me, your diligence will pay off.

Tom/Brennan:  Too bad you could only attend on Saturday.  It's always fun to see people bring a boltie to the line.  I sincerely hope that are able to apply what you learned out there with the varmints!

Jeremy: AWESOME!!  Consistent Rifleman scores all weekend long.  With a great teachable attitude to boot.  Thank you for accepting the Orange hat; together we will do our best for our country.

Bill: As always, it was great seeing you again.  Thanks for all of the help you provided over the weekend.  Your shot groups are simply incredible!  I can't wait to see you next time.

Appleseed crew:  My hat is off to the FINEST group of Americans I know!!!  The success of these weekends rides directly on your shoulders and you all stand tall.  Thanks for allowing me to be associated.

[SteelThunder]

Sounds like you guys had a great time on Sunday...sorry I missed it and sorry I missed Oz's weather-mind-control trick.

[Snipette]

Impressive... That's the way I would describe the line this weekend.  I feel honored to be a part of helping such an amazing collection of polite and eager to learn shooters!  Everyone was just amazing!!  And even more amazing in the heat!  WHEW!

Roy-  You are sooo close to shooting rifleman!  I look forward to seeing you soon at another shoot!  Thank you for your unfailing politeness and teachable attitude.  It was a JOY to work with you!!

Fritz and Eric-  You both were just troopers!!!  Fantastic to have you both on our line and seeing you improve.  Looking forward to seeing you master this and soon! 

Mark-  You got this.  All you need is time.  Your groups just kept getting better and better.  You were a pleasure!

Bekah... well, I know you are a great shot!  You will get there, no doubt in my mind! I'm so pleased you took your blue hat and I look forward to working many more shoots with you!  Thanks for pitching right in and helping us set up, tear down etc.

Brennan and Tom-  I sure hope you learned a lot.  Sorry I didn't get a chance to work with you more, but hopefully next time!

Bill Bill Bill... you bring all the fun toys!  It was great meeting you and I look forward to spending some time on the line with you! 

Congrats Jeremy!  You were so helpful this weekend with the shooters already.  You got a knack for this teaching thang!  You'll be a big asset to Project Appleseed! 

A HUGE shout out too:  Tom and Edith for traveling down to see everyone.  It was GREAT to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again soon!!  Pat, you and the club are amazing.  Thanks for ALL YOU DO!!  Nick Lanning-  I appreciated your time this weekend and working on logistics for the next shoot.  Thanks to you too for making this happen and your great suggestions!

And of course a group of amazing passionate and super fun instructors!  DSS-  You made a huge impression on our shooters... please come to more and impart your knowledge!  TBK- Thanks for making the trip man and blowing your own horn.  LOL!  Sorry, I'm sure you haven't heard that before!  Totally appreciated you being there as did our students!   Oz, Zazzles, Steel and Rascal... Always Love working with you guys... Thanks for your commitment to the students, one another and to Project Appleseed.  So humbled by you all!

See you at the range!
Snipette / Brenda

[Ardent American]

Hey y'all! Thanks for a great, informative weekend!

Thanks to the instructors, especially DSS who was encouraging and continually gave me great feedback to help me better my talents.

Thanks to Snipette for introducing me to the program and bringing me along!

Thanks to the shoot bosses, line bosses, and blue hats who made it all happen! I'm happy to join your team!   

-Bekah

[Rugerman]

Fantastic experience at the Appleseed Event this past weekend!  I've always been a student of history, especially all the armed conflicts our country has been involved in.  It was great to get a fresh perspective and learn new names and the heroics they performed on that fateful April day in 1775.  Just ordinary people.  One person can make a difference, and when you get a bunch of ordinary people together for a cause, history can be changed.

The venue, food, and hospitality provided by Caledonia Sportsmen Club was top notch.

All the instructors and volunteers--what a great bunch of people!  Did I mention they are all volunteers?  Very remarkable.  The passion they brought to the event was outstanding.

This being my first Appleseed, I didn't know what to expect, but I learned the tools needed to develop my skills in becoming a rifleman.  Practice, practice, practice.  202, not bad for using a 'loaner' with a scope. A big shout out to Snipette for hooking a guy up. My 50 year old eyes just couldn't do it with open sights.  A scope is definitely on my to purchase list. 

I appreciated the one on one coaching and positive words of encouragement, especially on day two. Having fewer students that day was helpful from a students perspective.

I look forward to attending another event in the future. Things I'll do differently:  bring my son and/or a friend along to share the experience, get a wider shooting mat, elbow pads, definitely bring a scoped rifle, break in my USGI sling--the one I had was new, the hardware and material too stiff, add an aftermarket mag release to my rifle, and the 10/22 magazines--Uhg!  I fumbled with those both days.  There's got to be an extension of sorts to make them a bit longer and easier to grab, and some type of magwell extension to help funnel the mags into the rifle.  And I'll bring along an AR to ring the gong at 100 yards.

All in all, it was a great time!