AAR Colorado Springs, CO September 7-8, 2019 - Pikes Peak Gun Club

[HapHapablap]

Nineteen shooters braved the high, dry Colorado weather to learn marksmanship and a bit of their own history. We caught some drizzle on day one, but that's nothing to complain about compared to our previous events in The Springs. Special thanks to the Pikes Peak Gun Club for hosting us at their excellent facility.

Things started off slowly, but we caught up quickly. Great improvement was shown over the course of day one as our shooters became more familiar with their equipment and drank from the firehose of Appleseed marksmanship instruction. By the end of the day we saw great improvement in our closing Redcoat.

On day two we rolled right into it with even more improvement being shown. In the end two experienced shooters, Lonnie and Mike, re-qualified as Riflemen and another, Tom, qualified at his first Appleseed!

A special note about our seven youth shooters who stuck it out all weekend, seeing their persistence makes me hopeful for our future.

[johndenver]

Sincere thanks to you and the other instructors.   On the drive home, my son made a point of letting me know some of the instructors drove a long way to teach us.  I made sure he knew that you were not paid and that you did what you do because of your strong belief in your mission.  My son said he wants to be one of the youngest to pass the rifleman test.  He also immediately showed his mom and brother the musket ball that instructor Shannon gifted to him.  It will be a great reminder of his first Appleseed class and of the sacrifices made long ago by our forefather and the sacrifices made this past weekend by other great patriots.   Thank you and see you again soon.   

oh...as far as feedback, it was a bit too crowded on the line shooting prone.  I was one of the unfortunate to be on the line next to a lefty and we definitely bumped legs over and over when establishing NPOA.  Not sure if there's any way around it, but perhaps moving lefty's to the right would be a good use of limited range space. 

[WesternSlopeTom]

I was the aforementioned lefty! Guilty as charged! John, thanks for being a good neighbor as well for letting me use your chair. I actually tried to get to the right at the beginning of both days but there were centerfire shooters who were under the impression they were supposed to be on the right. It was definitely a bit crowded which is a good thing. In the future, I'll get there earlier to find a better spot.
Thanks to all of the volunteers. I'll definitely be back for more.
-Tom

[HapHapablap]

My son said he wants to be one of the youngest to pass the rifleman test. 

I'm sure he'll get there, he showed a great attitude.

[johndenver]

No worries Tom.  We were camped there, so we had an extra chair.  Btw, let me know if you're up for hunting some coyotes in Utah some time.  I'll be trying my luck out there before winter.

Congrats on passing Rifleman.  On your first try -- that's a real achievement!

I was the aforementioned lefty! Guilty as charged! John, thanks for being a good neighbor as well for letting me use your chair. I actually tried to get to the right at the beginning of both days but there were centerfire shooters who were under the impression they were supposed to be on the right. It was definitely a bit crowded which is a good thing. In the future, I'll get there earlier to find a better spot.
Thanks to all of the volunteers. I'll definitely be back for more.
-Tom

[johndenver]

I better pass before he does or i'll never hear the end of it 

My son said he wants to be one of the youngest to pass the rifleman test. 

I'm sure he'll get there, he showed a great attitude.

[Captain]

johndenver, it was really nice working with you and your son. He showed such determination even when he was frustrated - great sign of the character of a young man and a young Rifleman.

On every break, the instructors were remarking on the quality of the younger shooters on the line this weekend. It's a long day for every shooter and not at all uncommon for people to get grumpy and lose concentration by the afternoon - especially so for younger shooters. This weekend certainly proved that to be totally untrue as our younger shooters hung tough from beginning to end. Really, very impressive. It would definitely be a pleasure to see both of you on the line at an Appleseed again.

And a special thanks to all the parents who took the time to spend a weekend with us and to bring their soon-to-be Riflemen and Riflewomen. It's so encouraging to see new shooters on the line and learning about their heritage.

Also a huge thanks goes out to our Rifleman requals, Mike and Lonnie, who were always willing to help out the new shooters in their part of the "line". I think Appleseed has special hats for people like that, hmmm  Seriously though, thanks. You definitely demonstrated that the patch signifies more than just scoring 210 on an AQT. And it was definitely nice to see some of those groups consisting of one jagged hole. Next stop . . . distinguished!

[Captain]

WesternSlopeTom - double congratulation! First on making Rifleman on your first Appleseed! That's definitely not a feat most shooters can pull off.

The second congratulations is for that 7th Stepping and starting the ground work to bring an Appleseed back out to western Colorado. I know that's an event I would like to attend. It would certainly be fun to completely fill a line in a new venue!

[Captain]

Finally to our AR shooters and our lefties. 

I know I may have said some things in the heat of the moment, but I have a confession. I both own an AR and my own father is a lefty. He overcame his leftiness and has become an inspiration to lefties everywhere. And I pulled my AR out and promised her a shoot real soon to make up for anything I may have said. 

Seriously, thanks to all for coming out. It was a fun and rewarding weekend!

[johndenver]

Thanks Captain.  You will definitely see us at future appleseeds.  I'm starting work on the "in the house" training rifle so both of us can practice npoa and resp pause.  Thanks for your service to future riflemen and see you soon!

johndenver, it was really nice working with you and your son. He showed such determination even when he was frustrated - great sign of the character of a young man and a young Rifleman.

On every break, the instructors were remarking on the quality of the younger shooters on the line this weekend. It's a long day for every shooter and not at all uncommon for people to get grumpy and lose concentration by the afternoon - especially so for younger shooters. This weekend certainly proved that to be totally untrue as our younger shooters hung tough from beginning to end. Really, very impressive. It would definitely be a pleasure to see both of you on the line at an Appleseed again.

[Colorado Pete]

I was happy to see such good attitudes and perseverance by everyone, especially the youngsters!

Tom, congrats again on making it on your first Appleseed! Don't forget to check out arizona-rifleshooting.com for competition descriptions.

John, it was great working with you and your son. I hope to see you again!