El Paso, Texas AAR - April 27-28, 2019 El Paso Community College

[Mrs. Smith]

Greetings one and all!  I come to you with a tale of challenge and perseverance, hardship and determination, and victory in the face of defeat.  I speak both of the men and women of the first hours of the Revolutionary Way, and of the men and women who gathered in their honor at the El Paso Community College Law Enforcement Training Academy range on the 244th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Rifles were fired and tales were told all weekend long as the 6 men and 2 women learned fundamental rifle marksmanship techniques, and the instructor cadre labored to help them apply those techniques with persistence and precision.
Temperatures in late April in the desert Southwest already reach well into the 90's. Heck, we had to turn on the air conditioning on the range by noon BOTH DAYS   Truth be told, we are blessed to hold our events in the lap of luxury at the College's state of the art facility, and we can't thank EPCC enough for their many years of support for Appleseed in the El Paso area, both in terms of facility access and the use of the college's materials and equipment.  El Paso Community College LETA, Project Appleseed salutes you!

Saturday hummed right along, with the fundamentals being covered in detail both on and off the firing line.  We got as far as shooting one "Greencoat" before close of day.  We PROBABLY had enough time to knock out one AQT Saturday afternoon, but it was evident that both the students and cadre were tapped out, so we wrapped up with the Third Strike of the Match and the final Redcoat target of the day. 

All of our students returned early, eager, refreshed (if a bit achy), and ready to roll Sunday morning.  We even gained two more, although one couldn't stay very long. After the safety briefing we headed to the firing line and introduced  the class to Timothy Murphy and his feats at the second Battle of Ticonderoga.  Following an extended preparation period to acquaint a new shooter with his rifle and the process, the students were taking aim at their first Redcoat of the day by 0900.  And what a Redcoat it was!  Showing significant improvement over the day before (amazing what a good night's sleep can do!)  NOBODY "caught the bayonet," 4 students nailed the 400 yard target, 5 smacked the Murphy Square, and 2 cleared the Redcoat entirely.

We shot a couple of sighter squares to confirm zero, did an abbreviated course of one Greencoat, and then it was time, ladies and gents.  This class was quick to understand the Course of Fire for the AQT, and we dove in headfirst.

We were blessed this weekend with the participation of Barry, who also happens to be the director the the EPCC Law Enforcement Academy whose facility we inundated over the weekend. Huzzah!

Right out of the gate, Gabe O and Rob Y (230) hammered out the first Rifleman qualifying scores of the day.  By the time the day was done, Heidi M (215)  and Jesse H (230) joined them in the Ranks of Riflemen.  Significant improvement was seen in the students overall, with Felipe gaining a whopping 67 points in the course of the AQT Grind.

Heidi did step up and accept the Blue Hat of an Applecore volunteer.  We're so happy to have you! Huzzah!!

Appleseed also regained a lost son in the form of Rob, who, after knocking out a smoking hot 236  with a bolt action rifle equipped with a red dot sight, slyly slipped into a shooting jacket bearing a Rifleman patch and an Instructor patch. It seems he's been inactive in the program for some years now, but he's excited to step back into the field and freshen up his instructing chops.  Welcome back, Rob!  Huzzah!!!

At the end of a long day consisting of the stories of Dangerous Old Men and Brave Women, and EIGHT AQTs, we gathered in the classroom to reflect on the importance of of civic participation, helping our communities, and furthering the mission of Appleseed. Goodbyes were said, invitations back were issued, and we all faded into the setting desert sun feeling like we'd been a part of something special.

Our sincere thanks to all of our students; Gabe, Luis, Rob, Barry, Heidi, Mandy, Nate, Felipe, and Jesse. We're grateful to have had you join us!  Huzzah!!!

We cordially invite you all back again to our little range in the mesquite and sagebrush.  June 22-23 is the date of the inaugural El Paso Ladyseed, followed by a co-ed Appleseed  August 17-18, and a Known Distance event at the Ft. Bliss Rod and Gun Club on October 19-20.  See you all there!

[Mrs. Smith]

 

[Mrs. Smith]

 

[ACPjunkie]

Its not like I was going to roll up to an Appleseed wearing all the regalia and risk messing it up 


I had to put up a Riflemans score before I put on the riflemans patch again. Besides, that CZ boltgun is slick, maybe not Anshutz slick, but pretty slick. If I had know about the distinguished deal I'd have left the optic on it.

Alright, AAR time 3 sustains, 3 improves.

Sustains.

- Excellent student to instructor ratio, seems like El Paso has quite the collection of cadre to help run events.

- Redhats kept a good finger on the mood and stamina of the shooters, the breaks where well timed, and kept the students from getting "too" burned out.

- Good focus on safety, in the old mists of time, it was considered appropriate, when standing from prep to start the rapid prone, you would stand in such a way that when the time started you flopped right back down into your prone slung position. IN Doing so, you started about one body length behind your shooting position. I did this, and a redhat quickly corrected me to maintain an even shooting line. Now, this, in my mind is quite a little thing, BUT, by addressing it quickly, it shows a focused eye towards safety, which is never a good thing.

Improves.

- Individual attention towards shooters. Now, I understand that Sundays are typically for the grind. However, with a good student to instructor ration it should still be possible to provide some individual attention towards shooters who are still struggling with specific issues. This can be done one on one, or by splitting the line. When some shooters are still struggling with a major issues, like a lack of a solid sitting position, it does them no favors to keep showing them how poorly they are doing it. It should be addressed and improved if time, instructor ratio and range layout permits.

- History/ story telling. It could be, because I'm viewing things from a unique perspective that I'm biased, however the history seemed to be dry. Now, to be fair I missed the vast majority of the it, as I only attended on Sunday so I missed the big pieces. 

- Target analysis. Again, its possibly that I missed it, due to it being covered on Saturday or it being covered by one on one instruction individually. However I did not see target analysis being covered. Your target is a huge piece of the answer in terms of what you are doing right, or wrong during your shot process. Even during the grind, the information gleaned from your shot group can be enough to  wrangle a better score on the very next AQT.


Overall I'm heartened to see that the quality of instruction and focus of the program remains. I'm glad to again be apart of such a fantastic organization.

[Mrs. Smith]

Fair enough, Rob! And to be honest, I'd love to do that my own self, but I'm a little too well known to get away with it. If I ever disappear for a couple of years, though, you can bet I'll give it a try! 

Thank you for the thoughtful observations, as well. Both the good, and the less good.  It gives me points to be extra aware of in future events.

Glad to have you back on board, brother!

[Jerry Hall]

Thanks All for making this another fine event at the EPCC_LETA. We saw alot of significant improvement over the weekend. Three cheers for our newest Riflewoman and Riflemen.
Also a big welcome home to Rob, thanks for retuning to the cadre, I am sure that you be a significant addition to the cadre.
"till we meet again", Happy Trails,
Jerry

[TaosGlock]

Great job guys down on zee border!
Keep up the good work!
TG