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AAR - Airfield Shooting Range, Wakefield VA July 18-19, 2020

Started by Monkey, July 26, 2020, 01:07:09 PM

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Monkey

Record high temperatures and looming thunderstorms didn't stop six Americans from getting off their couch to better their rifle marksmanship skills and learn about their cultural heritage as marksmen.  Despite all the weather-related reasons not to go, our students showed up ready and eager to learn.

Converging on the range, nested on the 4-H Airfield Conference Center complex, these exceptional Americans started the morning with a diagnostic Hits Count, or "Redcoat Target" of the first day learning how to make small groups: building a solid shooting position, applying the Six Steps of Firing a Shot, and validating Natural Point of Aim is on the target.   Applying our Inches-Minutes-Clicks technique, we made sighting system adjustments to get our groups on target, and tied all these concepts together to make small groups rapidly in Rifleman's cadence.

During lunch, our instructors provided the first two installments of our history lesson:  The First and Second Strikes of the Match.  The balance of Day 1 was spent using these same fundamentals and applying them to both seated and standing positions.  The end of the day saw another Redcoat target, with groups much improved over the morning's attempt.

After a quick safety refresh, the students got to work tying together the skills they learned the day prior on the Appleseed Qualification Test.  After a couple AQT sessions to get comfortable, we shifted gears to break up the grind and ran our Natural Point of Oreo exercise.  Simply put - using the method taught the previous day for verifying one's NPOA, the student attempted to hit the hot-glued Oreo at the center of the target (which is, roughly, 4-5 MOA) with carded sights.  Successful students were awarded a package of Oreos for their well-placed shots.

As the morning wore on, the sun and humidity continued to beat down, and after a few more AQTs, we took a break for lunch, telling the final segments of our history lesson:  The Third Strike of the Match, and our Dangerous Old Men vignettes.  After a quick break for lunch, we performed one more AQT, but it became very clear that fatigue and heat exhaustion were setting in, and in the interests of safety, we concluded the event.  We later learned that the temperature that day reached an official record 101F, with a heat index of 115.

Finally, a humble and gracious Thank You to all who were able to come out this weekend.  You were a wonderful group of students, and we hope to see you again on the line soon!

[Pics shortly]
"5 minutes for this stage - that's like a week in people years!"

"Responsibility is a unique concept... You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you... If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible."
― Hyman G. Rickover

"Scoring is a function of great execution, and winning Is the result, but thinking about winning can pull your focus off of proper execution in a competition. Thinking about process is the answer."- Lanny Bassham

sleepy


The Wolfhound

more tardy pictures including one seriously dead Oreo