Laramie Wyoming Winterseed Feb 20-21 2021

[sleepy]

This shoot was a record setter for us in some ways.

We showed up on Saturday morning at 0700 for setup. Present were flux, messer9696, regularguy, and myself. Both messer9696 and flux (accompanied by his faithful canine companion, Dacks the awesome) traveled in excess of 200mi to get here. Setup was easy due to all of the advance preparations made by the range, so we went into an instructor meeting.

All five pre-registered shooters (all previous Appleseed attendees)  showed up early, so we moved straight into the pledge and safety briefing. regularguy  ran the safety briefing, setting much of the tone for the shoot, where much of the emphasis was on getting cadre promoted.

Another theme was ammo shortages. While not a concern to our veteran shooters' advance preparations, it is one of the big things that probably affected attendance and should be very much on our minds.

Between the need to knock out PCs and conserve ammo, more of this weekend focused on classroom and demo time than historically the case. Surprisingly, this not only kept us on time but actually had us moving ahead of schedule.

The whole of the weekend, we had in addition to our five pre-registered returnees, two cadre on the line at all times looking to earn (or re-earn) the way-kewl & coveted Winterseed patch. Saturday had messer9696 and flux shooting.

The weather was, by Wyoming standards, pretty favorable the whole weekend. The temps wandered between the teens and low 30s, with snow on the ground and sporadic snowing. The wind was surprisingly mellow, where we're usually getting physically blown off the range at some point.

Redcoats came out with consistently unbelievably high scores throughout the weekend. This had me very worried, as I could only find (yes; spent three days trying to find and load-up my gear; Life is interesting when you're packed tight, no space to stage, and haven't SB-ed in five months LOL!) one Distinguished patch in time for the shoot.

At lunchtime we moved to Laramie Rifle Range's clubhouse, where we gave two of the Three Strikes; flux did a great second strike.  IITs rotated pulling line security.

After lunch, we did more instruction and shooting. We actually got in two AQTs.

The end of the day had us securing the line and moving to the clubhouse for the Third Strike. We delayed handing out patches until Sunday, but Micah and John (both repeat Riflemen) earned Winterseed patches, along with flux and messer9696. Our shooters Parker and Harmon were knocking at the door, as was Paul who was also dealing with equipment issues.


On Saturday, the consensus was to start early for Sunday, as three of our shooters needed to be leaving by 1300. So Saturday's cadre showed up at 0700 again to set up, joined by cadre Undertaker and TheGlendoKid. Shooters showed up early, so we were in the clubhouse doing the safety briefing by 0800. This was followed by a review of Saturday's classes and demos.

Sunday's weather was bright and sunny, temps topping at about 25f, and consistent moderate winds.

At about 1000 we went back to the range, drew rifles, and did Redcoats/zero and played a few more practice games, interspersed with relevant classes and demos. Undertaker really shined working the line, while messer9696 and flux alternated between working the line and grading targets.By the end of Sunday, most of the shooting material had been touched upon three times.

We fired two more AQTs, then did Redcoats so our early-departure shooters could leave. Firing his first Rifleman score was Harmon. Firing his first Winterseed score was TheGlendoKid. Requalifying Winterseed was regularguy, missing a Distinguished patch by a lousy three points (though he had previously earned Distinguished, both KD and 25m).

Paul was still dealing with equipment issues, while Porter was knocking at the door having cycled through multiple rifles.

Shooters and cadre traveling east ran into road closures on I-80; my guess is blowing snow. Seems 80 is closed more often than open these last few years.

One crazy observation with no real place to state it. Sunscreen really has a place, as do sunglasses in winter shoots. The snow acts as a mirror for the sun, so faces burn and snow blindness is a possibility. This should somehow be put into "how to prepare", along with other winter tips.

The Winterseed patch holds a special place in my heart. It shows special motivation on the part of shooters who sign up in advance knowing the weather will be challenging under the best of circumstances.

This is also the case for our cadre; all IITs, who showed up to help bail. Their contribution to this weekend's shoot  must be credited as a huge part of why we broke records for attendance and scores.

Laramie Rifle Range, as always, has to be thanked for going above and beyond. Not least, they contributed three of this weekend's cadre.

Credit goes to them and the shooters. Any blame is mine.

[messer9696]

Students at the Laramie, WY Winterseed sure set the bar high this year! The group as a whole was skilled, attentive, and above all, teachable. They know who they are and what they are about. Thank you to the students for making this such an easy and enjoyable shoot. My stocking hat is off to you!

Fellow IIt's and our shoot boss, Sleepy. I learned a whole lot from you. Thank you for letting us IIT's from across the boarder join you this weekend. By the looks of the cadre at this event there will be a lot of great red hats in the near future.

A few pics of the great, and miserable, weekend.

[regularguy]

Thanks Sleepy for leading this event.

[Earl]

Sounds like a fine shoot, and a great performance,