Midland, TX - February 21-22, 2009 AAR

[wcmartin1]

First I would like to thank Fred, ashrn03, and TOP for their sacrifices in helping instruct at this first Appleseed event at my home range.  I couldn't have pulled it off without you guys.

Saturday was windy (25 mph w/gusts to 40) and cold, but we had 21 shooters on the line and they stayed with it.  At one point the targets began blowing over and required some weight on the feet of the targets stands we were using (a Rifleman overcomes).  No Riflemen were produced, but the shooters seemed to appreciate the history and marksmanship training that was delivered.  It was also nice to see Fred in action and hear his perspective on things. 

Sunday promised to be a nice day, but the wind quickly picked up from the opposite direction and we had to move the target stand weights to the other side.  There were 12 shooters in the morning and one more from Saturday showed up before lunchtime for a total of 13.

We put them through their paces all morning and during lunch we prepared some Full Distance AQT target stands and had a few shooters try their luck at 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards.  Nobody scored Rifleman on these targets, but they were impressed that the skills that they had learned at 25 meters applied at the full distance.

The only Rifleman produced this weekend was my 16-year old daughter (Huzzah!), but we had a couple that were in the 180's.  They seemed to be hooked and promise to qualify in April.

Fred seems to think that there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to accomodate 100 shooters  on the line at my club and we have a team that's going to work on making that happen for April's event.  Wouldn't that be a hoot. 

BTW - the only possible explanation I can come up with as to why we had such a low turnout for this warm-up event was the fact other possible shooters may have heard my new Texas challenge and were afraid of being outshot by my teenage daughter.  < http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=5565.msg54297#msg54297  When I finally got home after visiting with the instructors at dinner last night she asked how old she had to be before she could become an instructor. 

It was a good day!

[TOP]

Bill did an exceptional job preparing for this shoot.  The target boards and backers he built were the best I've seen to date.  They have a great facility to grow into.  His daughter knocked on the Rifleman door all Sunday afternoon and finally busted through with a 212.  She was a pleasure to work with.

Speaking of girls - we had a eleven year old who worked her bolt action .22 like a pro.  She new the "Safety Rules", "Six Steps" cold.  In two days I only saw her make one mistake making a "Safe Rifle".  Her Dad "Smoky" was understandably proud of her hard work and dedication.  She stuck it out through cold and wind both days.  Way to go Ruby!

Paul, ie ashrn03 stepped up to the plate with his field promotion by Fred to Shoot Boss.  I look forward to working with him again.

Fred the Riflemiester himself dropped in for the inaugural Midland Appleseed.  What an honor.

Look forward to going back to Midland.

Top

[Texas EMT]

I would like to thank you, Bill, along with the other instructors for a fantastic weekend.

Sure, we had typical West Texas early spring weather, but; if you plan to be a rifleman in West Texas, you better be able to shoot in the wind and blowing sand!  I have been shooting for 50 years, since I was 5 years old.  I gained more practical knowledge, which gave immediate, measurable results, in those two days than in the past 50 years.

Along with that, I got to meet some Good Americans who want to make a difference and who care about our heritage. 

Did I earn a rifleman's badge?  Nope, but I did manage to squeak out a 202 on the last AQT.  Fred will probably tell you that if I had followed through on all those shots, I WOULD have made it, and Fred is RIGHT!   

A few of the high points of the weekend were:

Hearing the personal stories of the men, and women of April 19th, we all need to be reminded of the very personal sacrifices made that day in 1775.

Watching my wife, Leslie learning to shoot better from instructors who cared enough to give her, and every other shooter on the line the personal attention they needed.

Shooting the 400 yd, known distance AQT from the bed of the target hauling trailer.  We couldn't see the targets from prone on the ground; because of a slight rise between us and the targets.  I  MUST apologize to Smoky, my AR jammed on almost every shot on that string, and every time I would clear it, the entire trailer would shake...he shot a darn good string in SPITE of the shaking trailer!  And, he is enough of a gentleman to only say: "that was a challenging string".   

Watching Bill's daughter get her rifleman's badge, and the smile on BOTH their faces!

Leslie and I will both be on the line April 18th and 19th, and we are going to be practicing before then...better bring two more rifleman's badges that weekend.   


Leslie is working on something, I'll post it when she finishes it.


Lee