Project Appleseed

This past weekend, nine Appleseeders gathered in Colorado Springs for the first Shoot Boss Camp of the year.  We were hosted by the spectacular gun shop and firing range Whistling Pines Gun Club.  Their facility and staff are just fantastic.

We were fortunate to have volunteers in attendance from Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.  Truly a cosmopolitan group.   

During the two days we spent together, we discussed leadership, history, our Mission, and the art of Shoot Bossing.  Of course, we spent plenty of time practicing to teach Known Distance.

I really want to thank everyone who took the time to attend:  Flux, Tejas, codefogey, cc45, Boomerang, DFBCoach, and Mrs. Smith.  You guys were absolute professionals and it was a pleasure to work with each of you.  Knowing we have folks of your caliber becoming Shoot Bosses tells me the future of your areas is bright! 

My special appreciation to two volunteers:  First, Black Russian (Colorado SC) who helped line up the range for us and coordinate all the meals.  Second, Mrs. Smith, who is a previous Shoot Boss Camp graduate and was great help facilitating the weekend discussions.

In Liberty,
MO

P.S.  I snapped a few pictures... wish I had gotten more.

Studious instructors during the Assignments Drill




Flux, Tejas, and DFBCoach teaching Target Detection






Teaching Range Estimation




Group Photo


Black Russian presenting the range with one of our Rifleman Wisdom posters. 

All I can say is wow! What an excellent event all around. Huge thanks to Maximum Ordinate and Mrs. Smith for making the big trip out Colorado Springs to put this camp on for all of us new or aspiring shoot bosses. What a great group. I really appreciated the thoughtful discussions, spirited debate and varied perspectives of everyone in attendance. I would consider it a privilege to work an event alongside any one of you.

I had not heard of the concept of a Shoot Boss Camp before this one was announced so I didn't know what to expect, but it was an excellent resource well worth attending. Covering the mechanics of shoot bossing, talking about leadership, history and of course demystifying teaching known distance really helped me solidify my confidence that I too can be an effective shoot boss. Getting SB veteran perspectives on a wide variety of topics was just another awesome part of an awesome weekend.

Thanks to BlackRussian for coordinating the facilities and food. Whistling Pines Gun Club is a top notch facility! Looking forward to seeing all of you at events in the future!

I learned a lot from this event, thank you to all who attended. MO did a great job covering not just what a shoot boss does, but also the all-important "why".

Airfare, 3 nights hotel (just the way the flights worked out), 4 days away from home and work - this could have been money and time spent...or invested.

The discussion on leadership set the tone for the weekend and was an excellent reminder that there is more to being a shoot boss than just working through the COF. A thorough coverage of the nuts & bolts details of being a shoot boss, with practical exercises that made it clear what I need to work on. But plenty of time for the "why" to go with the "how", and plenty of time for group discussion (and occasional slightly spirited debate).

Great job by Maximum Ordinate, Mrs. Smith, and BlackRussian. This was time and money invested, well worth every penny and every minute!

Shoot Boss... Ugh! So much to think about, plan for and worry about. Host ranges, the weather, instructor promotions, marketing, will I have enough orange and red hats to work the event, will I have any shooters sign up, where's the box with my firing line setup (I know it's in the barn somewhere)? Well, with the exception of the how to control the weather and help cleaning my barn all of my other worries were discussed at Shoot Boss Camp. Pages of notes, several cell phone videos and somewhere near 9,482 links to the forum were shared over our two days at Whistling Pines Gun Club. Maximum Ordinate did a great job of balancing the items he wanted to discuss along with our "what if's" and "what about" and "why" questions. After those two days, I certainly feel more equipped to run an event.

Thanks to Maximum Ordinate and Mrs. Smith for rearranging their schedules and making the trip on such short notice to help the green hats, red hats and orange hats that attended. Commitment to the Appleseed mission was obvious from Tejas from Texas and Boomerang and DFBCoach  from Oklahoma given the extra time and expense of coming to join us.

Thanks to Frank and his crew at Whistling Pines Gun Club for their help and support hosting this event. It's easy to see why Whistling Pines is the premier indoor range in Colorado Springs.

I'm hopeful that more Shoot Boss Camps are being planned across the country. From those of us in attendance, there was no question of the value offered by Shoot Boss Camp. This Camp was especially valuable to Colorado as we have three instructors in various SBiT stages, with the intent of all three having green hats by year's end. That's more green hats than Colorado has had in the last five years, cumulative!

I don't even know where to start, ya'll. 

The host facility was, in a word, awesome. Not in a SoCal surfer way but in the literal definition, "awe-inspiring."  A sitting area with poofy leather furniture and a fireplace? At a shooting range? Dude....

Our host cadre was just as amazing. Black Russian, Flux, CC45, and Codefogey made a handful of outsiders feel like a part of the Colorado family.  MO, myself, Tejas, DFBCoach, and Boomerang were the visitors, and you'd never have known we didn't all already know each other before walking in the door.

Content? Oh, such content.  The technical aspects and mechanics of planning and executing events. Candid discussion on the fine art of leadership. Examples of events gone wrong, and what was learned from them. KD! (and every one of them hit KD better on their first try than I did on mine. I was so proud!) So much great stuff! The best thing I can imagine is having the next generation of Shoot Bosses hit the ground stronger than the one that came before. I'll be honored to help any one of them earn their green hats if I'm in a position to do so.

The Shoot Boss Camp concept is still a bit of a fledgling in some ways, still developing and testing its wings, but now that I've done two I can see how it's already grown. I have learned so much from them, and as much as I'm able they'll be a permanent part of my Continuing Education.  Because that's really what this is, right? It's not just for new and prospective Green Hats. They exist to help keep the current Shoot Bosses on top of things, to keep us firmly connected to the program, and to help us better mentor our replacements. It's as critical to our strength as Shoot Bosses as the IBC is to the strength of the Cadre at large, regardless of hat color.  Anyone who feels like they don't really need either one of these programs because they've "already got the hat" will find himself very much mistaken.

Gentlemen, I'm so glad I made the trip, for so many reasons.

I am humbly at your service,
Mrs. Smith

Quote from: Mrs. Smith on February 22, 2022, 09:50:45 PM
... regardless of hat color.  Anyone who feels like they don't really need either one of these programs because they've "already got the hat" will find himself very much mistaken....

Maybe we should put a splash of orange on all hats...just as a reminder that we should all have a little IIT in us.

Quote from: Tejas on February 22, 2022, 10:24:41 PM

Quote from: Mrs. Smith on February 22, 2022, 09:50:45 PM
... regardless of hat color.  Anyone who feels like they don't really need either one of these programs because they've "already got the hat" will find himself very much mistaken....

Maybe we should put a splash of orange on all hats...just as a reminder that we should all have a little IIT in us.

Hm.... I have some blaze orange duct tape that would fit that bill (see what I did there??    )

The weekend helped us drill down into the shoot boss duties, demystify the process, and was a great introduction to the intangibles that must be learned to perform as a shoot boss.
Also covered were logistics of things like ordering supplies, requesting reimbursements, and other practical matters that seem difficult but really aren't, but you don't understand that until you've you've seen them done.
And we had a chance to learn then brief the 25 yd event KD to a live audience.
A useful event, and helpful to give confidence for the SBITs ahead!

I got a few pictures...

I bet Black Russian got some!





Can't leave out the Shoot Boss, now can we 

Just a quick (and belated) thank you to all participants; I got way more than I came for!  Most importantly, I got a bigger vision of the AS Mission, and the nuts and bolts of how it all happens, and also the potential for growth, for reaching more Americans, for bailing with more buckets.  I was honored and humbled to be invited and I was blessed and inspired to be able to participate.  Thank you to each one of you: Maximum Ordinate, Mrs. Smith, Flux, Black Russian, DFBCoach, Tejas, cc45, codefogey; I learned something, more accurately a lot of somethings, from each one of you!  But the most important lesson I learned was leadership, and I saw it in action with each one of you.  Thank you.

sounds amazing!

Just for that, Boomerang, I forgive you for the times I couldn't make it to the bathroom before our break was over 

Seriously, though, I learned at least much from you guys as you did from me.  Probably more, really. Every one of you is welcome on my line any time.