AAR ECCL Sandusky, Ohio Apr 21 & 22, 2018

[Corvette]

What a great Patriots Weekend shoot at Erie County Conservation League this past weekend. This was our first event at ECCL and it was a good one.  This is just a placeholder for the full report to follow.

Remember


Corvette

[Ricochet Rabbit]

Thank you Corvette for yet another well organized and successful weekend. Your dedication to the program is truly an inspiration. Huzzah! Hah, I wouldn't even know what that word means if it wasn't for you.

A big thanks to our fellow instructors from the great state of Michigan. This shoot would have been darn near impossible without your assistance. Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Also, thank you to the Erie County Conservation League. Ya'll have a beautiful facility, and some amazing staff and members. I'll come back and work a shoot with ya'll anytime.

But, most of all, thank you to the group of great Americans who showed up for the event. Such a large event could not go smoothly without such a great bunch of people, and I can't thank you enough for your patience, good humor, and grace.

Alas, I didn't get much opportunity for photos, but I attached the three that I have below.

[Codebook]

Huzzah !!!!
Thank you so much for coming to the Erie County Conservation League and sharing  Patriots day with us.
You made coordinating this a breeze. The members were so excited to attend after your presentation at our general meeting.
Your crew of instructors are top notch! Every one put full effort and joy into what they did. Your safety and attention to detail are outstanding. And so friendly and open. It was like having old friends show up. Great personalities. Individual coaching on the firing line was stress free and clearly understood.
Feed back is 110% positive. We WILL be doing this again. Huzzah!!
Every shooter went from someone who could function a rifle to a person with skill in hitting a target. We even had one Rifleman patch earned!! Several of us broke the 190 Mark.
The additional history and heritage brought a real human and American value to the weekend.
Thank you is not enough.
Can't wait to do it again and share this experience with more people (and personally get 18 more points and a patch !!)
Corvette, you rock.
At your debt and service,
Pafm

[Corvette]

Hello Appleseed,

What a fantastic Patriot's Weekend shoot we completed at the Erie County Conservation League near Sandusky,Ohio.  ECCL is a new range for Appleseed and they could not have picked a better weekend to start our partnership.  This initial shoot was open only to members and the original limit of 25 slots was reached in a matter of a few days.  Club management agreed to up the max shooters to 40 and we adjusted our plans to shoot in flights.  These additional slots also filled up quickly. 

Saturday morning dawned with sun but temps in the high 30's.  After the normal welcome and safety brief, rifles were brought to  the line and the morning Red Coats were shot for both groups.  Results were not encouraging.  With 34 shooters, we had 14 (41%) qualify at 100 yds.  Only 4 (12%) at 200 and not much beyond that with the exception of one student who cleared his Red Coat. 

Then the fun started.  We broke the group into Team Alpha and Team Bravo. Team Alpha went to our "Center of Shooting Knowledge (COSK)"  (Couple of pop-up with tarp around them to create a "classroom") while the instructors worked on slings and stock height with Team Bravo.  Alpha then returned to the line to get their rifles setup and to shoot their steady hold drills while Bravo went to the COSK to get their steady hold instructions.

The groups rotated from the line to the COSK the rest of the morning and early afternoon to get the rest of the COI -- the Six Steps, NPOA, IMC, steady hold in seated and standing.  During lunch, SteelThunder gave a rousing First Strike.  The day ended with a Red Coat competition.  Team Bravo's leader (SteelThunder) challenged Team Alpha (ITB) to a total hits challenge.  Well the Sat PM Red Coat was shot and great improvement was seen with Team Alpha winning the challenge.  Red Coat Results-32 shooters:  100-24 (75%), 200-12 (38%), 300-5 (16%), 400-4 (13%), Shingle-6 (19%).

Saturday ended with ITB delivering a great Second Strike.  The line was broken down and the day ended successfully.

Sunday dawned partly cloudy and warmer temp wise but very early in the morning the wind kicked up and the effective temp was lower than Saturday.  After a safety review and a trigger drill, the morning Red Coat was shot.  Due to a couple of family groups that could not join us, we were able to consolidate the line to a crowded single line.  The usual fall off in Sunday morning Red Coats did not occur. 

21 shooters:  100-16 (76%), 200-9 (43%), 300-5 (24%), 400-4 (19%), Shingle-4 (19%), Cleared-2 (10%)  Huzzah!!!

After carding the sights, we moved directly to the AQT's.  The AQT was a challenge to the shooters.  We never really were able to get past all the equipment problems, the wind and mechanics of the AQT.  While we had many scores between 175 and 207, only Bill, our Adaptive Appleseeder, was able to post Rifleman scores of 214 and 224.  I delivered the Third Strike at lunch and after another AQT and the KD lecture, we were back on the line for the final Red Coat.  More improvement was shown.

19 shooters:  100-17 (89%), 200-13 (68%), 300-6 (32%), 400-3 (16%), Shingle-2 (11%).

The line was broken down and we said goodbyes to shooters and instructors alike. 

My thanks to the folks from Michigan that came to help.  SteelThunder (MI SC), ITB  (Great Lakes Coord), and Grindstone.  And my thanks to my Ohio instructors Chippendale, Birdman, and ST8space. All of you guys are the best and it was my pleasure to work with each of you.

Finally, my thanks to ECCL for hosting us, we look forward to bringing Appleseed back to ECCL in the near future.

Corvette

[Birdman]

Well the biggest thanks goes to the Michigan crew. They really made this thing work out better than I could have ever imagined. First shoot of the year and I was certainly not up to snuff instruction wise. I shall improve.
Pafm....Yes I know what that means!, you and your members are the best. I am glad you would like us back. (knew you would!)
Now you all have a feel for what we do, I expect many Rifleman patches to be "earned" next time there. We just don't give them out free ya know.
You guys (and gals) keep doing Rifleman's Yoga and you will find the positions become quite natural, easy, and very steady. You just can't haul a shooting bench everywhere!
Thanks to the rest of the instructor crew, you all did great! It is a honor to work with each one of you.
Till next time. Birdman...out.

[Shep]

Sounds like a very good beginning to a great new location for Appleseeds!
Thanks to everyone for all their hard work.

[Corvette]

More pics from last weekend.

1, Cleared Red Coats Sun morning
2. Calculating sight adjustments using IMC
3. SteelThunder giving First Strike
4. Working on seated position on Sat
5. Hasty sling instructions
6. Bill our Adaptive Appleseed shooter
7. Sat Commemorative volley
8. Bill our only Rifleman of the weekend
9. SteelThunder goofing off (not really, just need to tease him, he is from Michigan you know)

Big congrats to our Rifleman Bill.  He is a Vietnam vet who survived multiple Huey crashes and still carries shrapnel in his back from the VC.  Bill gave it his all and was rewarded.  Using his scooter to get back and forth to the line, the other shooters posted his targets and helped him get up and down. Huzzah Bill, you are a man "that knows quite well what you are about".

Corvette