Laramie Wyoming Apr 18-19th Rimfire Clinic

[sleepy]

It felt really right.

After a lot of online drama, six good people took to the line at the Laramie Rifle Range. We had a range board member, three churchgoers in a group, and two friends of mine all there to celebrate liberty in one of the nicest possible settings.

For those of you who haven't had the opportunity, the Laramie Rifle Range is one of those places where the majesty of the Rockies meets up with a huge pallette of shooting opportunities to include "our own" rimfire KD and KC complex (not in use this weekend). Factor in a very supportive board, three of whom wear our orange hats and regularly show up to work our shoots.

Wyoming, due to culture, geography, and demographics, has been blessed with an enormous number of shooting venues but few shooters on the line at any given shoot. While it's too early to scientifically state as a trend, the increased attendance at this shoot is a promising sign that the Wyoming cadre's efforts to bump up numbers on the line might be bearing fruit.

Saturday morning was gorgeous, especially given the recent return of winter which gave us a week of single digit to subzero nights and snow. This was, strangely enough, a little mood-dampening as everyone was expecting the chance to earn a Winterseed patch. Man plans, God smiles. The day was in the mid-40s.

The gate was open, courtesy of the range. Captain (professional educator) rolled in on his sleigh like a santa from Colorado Springs bearing April 19th swag (from the cancelled Denver shoot) for all of our rosy-cheeked shooters, parking in front of the multipurpose bay. We unloaded target backers and frames from the conex, again courtesy of the range, as was our pre-marked firing line. The flagpole went up, and we were in business.

Social distancing was implemented from the beginning; . Nonetheless, mats were dispersed by a minimum of six feet, and extra tables were put up to keep shooters apart when prepping mags. Classes were where it was more challenging to impose order () because shooters wanted to see and hear, as was Sunday afternoon after we secured the range and retired to the clubhouse for final classes, awards, and benediction.

Shooters came in, signed their waivers, and we turned to.  Captain was the standard by which an instructor should be judged. Over the course of the weekend, I made many notes learning quite a bit from him.

Colonial Shooter ran the line with his usual competence; one expects no less. Initial redcoats were nothing to rave about. Going into squares though, we found many on our line knew well what they were about. Shockingly small groups were the rule, and not the exception.

There were challenges on the line. Failures to feed were frequent. One rifle had issues with some newly purchased mags, with bolts refusing to close. One rifle was borrowed from a friend with Ruger factory irons; after being swapped off for a loaner, no issues and a Rifleman patch followed.

There were things happening that made for great impromptu teaching moments, but line safety was never compromised throughout.

Our Saturday ended with something special; we had two shooters, Leo and Adam, who qualified on their very first AQT, winning the Rifleman Challenge; nice.

Sunday was similarly nice, weather wise, but with more wind.

The first business of the 245th anniversary of the shot heard 'round the world was the promotion of Undertaker (a range board member and NRA Chief RSO) to IIT0. He had previously qualified as Rifleman, and this was his second Appleseed. He started both working and shooting immediately.

Regular guy; a board member and IIT, joined us today, working the line and getting in some shooting, making for seven on the line at some point.

Rex; a board member, NRA multi-instructor, and IIT, was in and out all weekend, coaching and giving off the cuff classes on topics which needed addressing as they came up.

Captain mostly ran the line today, taking advantage of the relatively calm winds earlier in the day. As he was running the line, he was coaching Undertaker in his duties as a line officer.

The timeline element was introduced. I think it might be a keeper, worth doing the rest of the year.

We shot four AQTs on Sunday before firing the memorial volley at 2 PM mountain time. By then, the winds were driving us off of the range, with rifles taking off on flying carpets.

After packing up gear and policing brass, we retired to the clubhouse. We went over KD, miniseeds, and questions.

Then came awards time. Of our seven shooters who fired this weekend, two won the Rifleman Challenge by qualifying on their very first timed AQT . Two additional new shooters earned a Rifleman patch. One Wyoming cadre requalified.

-Leo; Rifleman Challenge
-Adam; Rifleman Challenge
-Kaycee; Rifleman
-Warner; Rifleman
-regular guy; requalified

Of our two shooters who didn't qualify, one new shooter was knocking at the door, but had feeding issues that plagued his rapid fire scores. He also worked thru neck issues due to poor eye relief that required a new scope base; stores were closed. He approached me later regarding miniseeds. The other, Wyoming cadre, had multiple mechanical issues with his rifle and limited time to shoot due to his duties on the line.



I finished with a (too long) benediction, gave out a few targets to people who asked, and secured our April 19th Appleseed.

Five Rifleman patches out of seven shooters. Two Rifleman Challenge winners. One orange hat. Americans learning. No safety violations. Not a half-bad weekend.

Thanks to BoxMag1 and M1BZRK, both of whom volunteered to work. They were many miles away, and I asked them to stay home.

Thanks to the board of the Laramie Rifle Range, for their unbelievable support and hosting.

Special thanks goes to Captain for the success of the weekend. Not only was he the perfect example of an Appleseed Instructor, but he traveled over 200 miles (one way) to do so, bringing April 19th swag with him for underprivilaged shooters (). If I could give him my dSB, I would in a heartbeat. With his traveling, he could do an awful lot of good with it for the program (subtle hint to all Senior and Master Instructors; nudge/wink).

[M1bzrk]

Excellent!  Congratulations on a very successful shoot & kudos to all the shooters.  Thank you sleepy, Captain & Colonial.  You all - Instructors & Shooters - are heroes in these trying times.  A great range and great results.  LIBERTY!

[Tennessee Beast]

I like the idea of the "Rifleman's Challenge".   

[Captain]

Well I never . . . I've never been to an event where five first time Appleseeders show up and four of them earn a Rifleman's patch! And two of those were on the first AQT! Needless to say it was a really sharp group of shooters. Groups were pretty tight right from the first square targets. It was my second time participating in an event at the Laramie Rifle Range and this place is really fantastic! The support from the club is apparent from the moment the Appleseed began. In addition to having a board member out on the line with the shooters (Undertaker), we had several club members drop by over the weekend to help out and be a part of the event. Another club member (regular guy) was also able to stop by on Sunday for some shooting and an AQT attempt at the coveted distinguished patch which he just missed.  On Sunday, Undertaker also took an orange hat to help the Appleseed cause in the northern Front Range - awesome!! Laramie Rifle Range is one of those places that has a perfect place for  our 25m event, but also has a special "canyon range" for both KD and UKD events and a rimfire walking range. It's just a great place to get out to an Appleseed and it's easy to understand why they have members from hundreds of miles away  - out of state.

I managed to find a picture of the line shooting prone which you can click on to see at a larger size and then click again to shrink down. I will try to find anything else I have. So hopefully, more to come.

[pennys dad]

What is the Rifleman's Challenge?

[Tennessee Beast]

What is the Rifleman's Challenge?

Target identification
Range estimation
Making the shot


I guess the answer will be best answered through PM as the description is no longer in the original post.

[pennys dad]

  Hahahaha good one but I understand. 

What is the Rifleman's Challenge?

Target identification
Range estimation
Making the shot


I guess the answer will be best answered through PM as the description is no longer in the original post.

[Captain]

The "Rifleman's Challenge" is if you shoot 210 or better on your first AQT at your first Appleseed, they refund your entry fee. I'm pretty sure it's a promotion they came up with in Wyoming. The regional coordinator attended this event and said he'd never had to give this out in his 14 years doing AS's . . . . and we had TWO! Pretty cool.

[pennys dad]

Got it. Yup i am guessing but in 10 years of Appleseeding i have maybe seen 2 first timers.

[cowboyarcher]

What a great couple of days we had on the range! It was fantastic fun to challenge myself on the AQTs, learn able the foundations of making a precision shot and meaningful to remember our lineage as American Marksmen and learn just some of the costs of our freedoms.  Thanks to Sleepy and Captain for all the careful instruction, retelling the stories of the American Revolution and the engaging conversation between stages. I will be moving out of state in the coming weeks, but when life settles down again I will be looking for more Appleseed events.

Thanks again to all who made this possible and may God richly bless you!

- Adam (Cowboyarcher)

[JustKim]

My dream is to some day come up to Wyoming and shoot with y'all!!!

[colonial shooter]

CA glad to have you here. I was also glad to hear of your meeting the Riflemans challenge. Hope to see you on the line again!

JK you are more than welcome just come on out!!