Sacramento CA April 18/19 2009 - AAR

[V]

Our second shoot at Sac Valley Shooting Center, our first April 19th Event at this range.

We had three ranges available to us capacities 56, 32 and 48 and on the first day we filled 101 of the places. Here's what a 101 shooter briefing looks like. And this is what a happy Host Range manager looks like when you fill his ranges with 101 shooters for the weekend.

We had many repeats from the January shoot but this time with their friends and family.  The local BOTGs had also done a good job at the intervening gun-shows in getting the word out.

Each range was run by a Red Hat, Bob 210, Camljr and myself with the help of one IIT each, who had attended an IBC after shooting Riflemen at their first AS (Romeos_Hero, doubled and BaldDragn), and two of us with IITs who had shot rifleman and donned the Orange Hat but couldn't make the IBC (Aleeta, WW2_P51). Here's the crew.

So first of all I want to say what an absolutely fantastic job those IIT's did in stepping up, soaking up, and then dispensing the firehose like they'd been doing it for years at the biggest shoot in the country on their first trip out under the hat! I am in awe. Thank you guys. I'm looking forward to working with you again. Central California is well on its way to establishing its own instructor core.

We ran the standard program with the IIT's doing much of the tuition and demonstrations until 1:00pm when we ran the Volley Fire for Liberty with all three adjacent ranges synchronized by radio. From all reports the shooters did an excellent job of running a very tight volley fire, no ragged volleys from these American Rifleman! Everyone was pumped by the experience of Volley Fire.

So we didn't break for Lunch till 1:30 or so, deliberately running a late lunch so as not to force us to rush the history at lunch. Here in California we traditionally run all three strikes at lunch time Saturday.

And what a history presentation... Camljr carrying the first strike, Bob 210 doing an outstanding second strike and me the third.

One of the Sac Valley range officers, Greg, took a lot of pictures Sat and gave them to me on a CD Sunday from which the above pictures are taken thanks Greg.

Because of the history there was a noticeable difference in the attitude of the shooters in the afternoon, much more determined, no complaints about the heat, the aches, the pains. Just a determination to do justice to those Red AQT and the final Red Coats.

The first day produced three Rifleman, one from each range, BaldDragn, eaglescouter and Cobrafreak, with many more knocking on the door. BaldDragn made his Rifleman score on the last AQT, the Red one! Now after his IBC as a near Rifleman he could officially don the orange hat - a role he has been filling quite admirably since January. Congratulations.

Did I mention it was hot on those ranges, in the eighties with only a slight breeze. Not to worry, it was about to warm up on Sunday.

On Sunday we had 85+ shooters and ran only two of the ranges, under Bob 210 and Camljr, giving us a higher instructor/student ratio.

In California we had standardized on a Sunday course of fire to run six or seven time line inserts where the targets, redcoats or red  AQTs, would be framed in terms of the events of April 19th occuring at that time of day. But essentially it was the AQT grind, in the nineties with no breeze.

But again, there was a noticeable quiet determination on the part of all the shooters to ignore the aches, pains and conditions and persist. The history had sunk in over night!

There was one not so quiet determination to overcome equipment problems on one line but it did pay off in that stealing his son's .22 in place of the M1 yielded a rifleman score on the last AQT! This was good because the son had already scored Rifleman in the morning What a great team!

Thus Sunday yielded 8 more riflemen. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Two of our Riflemen stepped up to take an Orange Hat, eaglescouter and yet to be forum named, Eric.

Finally, having mentioned the Oath Keepers organization during Saturday's lunch we ended the day with a group who wished to affirm their oaths. Thank you guys.

Once again, folks, I think I speak on behalf of all the instructors in saying that it was once again an honor, a privilege and a pleasure to share the Heritage and Marksmanship with such a fine bunch of people. Hope and Change is alive and well in California - and you find it at an Appleseed.

Cheers
V

[colycat]

V,
this is a great idea.  you got the date right and the location.  I was in Myakka a few weeks ago and someone started the thread as " my first Appleseed".  It will certainly by lost by the time the Appleseed Museum opens.  Sac will be in the arcives < < < <

Coly.

[eaglescouter]

Yep, its a place holder... dontcha just hate it when someone beats you to the punch? 

Check back on Monday...

Cheers
Phil

Monday??

Nah, that's what laptops are for:

101 shooters on the line
Huge instructor core
Awesome facility
Unbelievable weather
Two new riflemen by Saturday Eve
I witnessed one cleaned Redcoat target at the end of the day Saturday.

Most of will be back for part two on Sunday, one day was just not enough.  Mrs. Eaglescouter asked me to add "wife is having a great time". (Yes she has her own rifle)

es

[Old Glory!]

Oh, to hear a volley fire of 101 shooters.   Lodi, WI had 26 and it was pretty cool.
Congratulations, this may be the largest shoot on this day.  Will keep posted.

[eaglescouter]

Oh, to hear a volley fire of 101 shooters.   Lodi, WI had 26 and it was pretty cool.
Congratulations, this may be the largest shoot on this day.  Will keep posted.

The 'Patriots Volley' was fired simultaneously on all three ranges (radios used to coordinate), and yes it is indeed awesome to hear a 101 rifle volley.

[V]

BTT

I put a link to photos in the original post.

Much more later when I can get back from work and upload the pictures from my camera of our Riflemen awards, etc.

[SavageShootr]

CONGRATULATIONS to all of the New Riflemen up there in Sacramento!

Balddragn, and es, ^5, you are an asset to the program.

Mrseaglescouter, isn't it amazing? Glad you enjoyed the Appleseed.

V, Great job on the event. I spoke with Bob last night, I'll not steal more of your thunder.

OG.... amazing, eh? 101 shooter volley. It had to be incredible.

~SS

[James E]

SS,

If I'm reading your post right, congrats to BD are in order?

James E

[rock-chucker]

Hi all.  Just wanna say how PROUD I am of your record acheivments up there last weekend!

to V, Bob210, the whole staff, 101 AMERICANS on the firing line, and new RIFLEMEN...I SALUTE YOU!

R-C

[V]

See original post here, I edited the summary of the event and linked in some photos.

Cheers
V

[BaldDragn]

SS,

If I'm reading your post right, congrats to BD are in order?

James E

Yessir, you are reading correctly, 205 on my first try and a 213 to get me through.  Now I know the secret handshake. 

Thanks to every bodies patients with me while I brought my shooting up to par.

Now... Who's going to tell the runaway paper story?

[Camljr]

Great shoot, and great crew to work with. V is right... we could not have done it without you IIT's! My hats off to you all...

Running a range is more of a rush than I thought it would be, and not as intimidating as I thought either, but the Help I had on the line from DoubleD and BaldDragn helped make it easier...Thanks to you both...

Amazing event for me... to be with over 100 like minded individuals, gave me hope that there is a bright future for our country after all. Isn't it great to be able to feel this way, folks?

On the range I was running, we had a rifleman on Saturday, John, but he had to leave early and could not stay for the benediction. Congrats...  On Sunday, I had two make rifleman... Curt, shot a 212,  and Kirk, shot it twice! first a 233, then a 232. Kirk told us he was happier with the 232 score. Kirk, you need to post and tell that story!!!

I also had quite a few knocking on the door of rifleman Sunday. Greg was shooting 180's and got a high 198...Sooo close, he will be back next time to get that rifleman patch. Another, Chris, who drove over 100 miles to get there, was right there with his M1a. He had a great time, I saw it on his face, and improved throughout the day. Art, Dave, And Tom were getting better every AQT. They were right there at the end, one had a 205!

Special thanks to Ryan...Thanks for helping me clear the left side of the line Saturday. This guy was a big help. He  was shooting on the end of the left side with his family, and when the cease fire ended, he ran to the middle of the line and cleared the left side after Every course of fire...ALL DAY SATURDAY!!! I really admire you and appreciated the help.

Awesome history, Bob 210 is the master at it... and everyone was captivated with it, especially with it being a historic shoot and all.

More stuff to be posted as I remember it, but for now, here are some photos of my line....

[polygunner]

Another great weekend of shooting and heritage, put on by the Appleseed crew. THANK YOU!

I managed to recruit 4 shooters for this shoot and they all had a wonderful time.
By the end of the weekend their shooting ability had improved a bunch and they had a better grasp of history and the events of April 18th and 19th.

Mrs. Polygunner shot a 206 after lunch on Sun and is well on her way to becoming a rifleman. She had way more fun than she thought she would and is itchin' to attend another Appleseed.

Another of my friends shot rifleman on Sun. He is also the one who took the pics that follow.
He's been a long time shooter and using a sling and proper technique, he is a much improved marksman after the Appleseed weekend.

Two other friends from work also had a great time. The combination of marksmanship training and heritage, I believe, had a profound impact on their understanding of this great nation, it's founders, and the importance of marksmanship.  "shoot straight, think straight".

They will be back, and they WILL be riflemen.

One note.
The emotional impact of the Appleseed heritage talks is awsome.
Shooting is fun and marksmanship is important but, the connection with a history that is American and belongs to all Americans is the true power of the Appleseed. We all need to understand the sacrifices that were made, for us, by men long ago.

I could go on and on.

Here's some pics.

[James E]

Congratulations to BD!  Well done.  Of course, you have had the rifleman spirit all along.  Last weekend was just a formality.  Rod, you are an inspiration to a lot of us, and we expect great things from you.

James E

[Cobrafreak]

"On the range I was running, we had a rifleman on Saturday, John, but he had to leave early and could not stay for the benediction. Congrats..."
Really sorry that my Wife & I had to leave before the Benediction. I  did not even know there was going to be a benediction. What is a benediction? With the schedule 1.5 hours past quit time we had to scram for an important dinner engagement with some close friends.-John 

[V]

"On the range I was running, we had a rifleman on Saturday, John, but he had to leave early and could not stay for the benediction. Congrats..."
Really sorry that my Wife & I had to leave before the Benediction. I  did not even know there was going to be a benediction. What is a benediction? With the schedule 1.5 hours past quit time we had to scram for an important dinner engagement with some close friends.-John 

Not a problem CF, I was glad to get you your patch.

after we put away the rifles and everyone has finished cleaning up the ranges we have one last meeting to make all the presentations of patches, and share one more time with people the basics of how to bail and how to appleseed in order to save a nation, a motivational speech if you will. Internally among the instructors/organizers this is referred to as the benediction for short.

Perhaps as an organization we should add that you shouldn't plan on doing anything else on an Appleseed day...

Cheers
V

[BaldDragn]

I've worked with some crazy dedicated people before but this Appleseed really takes the cake. I was fully expecting massive chaos but every single person working this shoot went above and beyond to keep this train on the tracks.

Like when someone yelled "WHAT'S THAT" and we all turned to see 100+ sheets of paper being carried aloft by an otherwise unseen cyclone. The sight was beautiful and horrendous all at once because we realized that we were looking at the waiver forms being carried away, some being wafted up to over 1000 feet in the air. Aleeta sprinted out to the feild east of us and started chasing/collecting the wayward forms. Here's a couple snapshots of the air born documents, too bad we didn't get video, it really was beautiful.

http://www.terryism.com/photos/bdnj/img00018.html#nav
http://www.terryism.com/photos/bdnj/img00019.html#nav

Lesson learned - stow all paper work.


I was glad V and Camljr arrived on Friday so we could get the firing line and the target backers set up before hand.

http://www.terryism.com/photos/bdnj/img00002.html#nav
http://www.terryism.com/photos/bdnj/img00005.html#nav

Lessons learned;
1) Use gloves while pounding fence posts
2) Walking 450' of firing line (twice) bent over to paint red and blue stripes is a lot harder than it looks, even if three people are doing it. I need to invest in a spray tool.
3) Measured lengths of rope are a great tool for getting the firing line distance set.
4) Long reference ropes are great for getting nice straight lines.


Here's a great shot of Bob 210 doing the best second strike I've ever seen.

http://www.terryism.com/photos/bdnj/img00017.html#nav

Lessons learned;
1) Get involved with the story
2) Props, used well, are a great addition.
3) Make eye contact, I need to remove my glasses and boony hat when I do history.

Most importantly I would like to thank the shooters who seemed to sense that we were stretched pretty thin and pitched in to help so many times I lost track. They helped with everything from painting the lines on the last range to handing out the next target to be posted.

I'm really looking forward to Fresno next month and working with this crew again.

[Camljr]

Thanks for posting the pics for us and the attendees...

those pics of the sky high liability forms is cool... wish i saw that in person!

[bob 210]

  When you Instruct/attend any Appleseed it is hard not to feel like "your" shoot is the biggest and best, but at the Sacramento, CA Appleseed on

April 18-19, 2009 all doubt was removed. We had the biggest Appleseed nationwide in both attendance and firing line size and if you ask me, the

attendees were definitely the "cream of the crop". The morning started out quiet....and then the cars started rolling in....and we were met by the

fine folks of Northern and Central California and they all had an appetite for Appleseed. There were some familiar faces and many new ones, but

they were all Americans....the salt of earth....the posterity of whom the Founding Fathers spent so much time thinking and to which they spent

so much time writing. I felt as if the Founders had put them in my charge to lead them back to their Heritage and I was not going to let them

down! After the morning briefing and introduction, we split the good folks of Sacramento up onto three ranges and went to work. With my trusty

IIT's, Romeo's Hero and WW@ P51,  we led our shooters through Redcoats, squares and before we knew it, it was time to join in with nearly 2000

fellow Americans, nationwide, to pay honor to the fallen of April 19th, 1775. V, called the line via radio and started our cadence of volley fire, one

shot fired for each of the names called out.

• ROBERT MONROE....AIM....FIRE!
• JONAS PARKER....AIM....FIRE!
• SAMUEL HADLEY...AIM...FIRE!
• JONATHAN HARRINGTON....AIM...FIRE!
• ISAAC MUZZY....AIM...FIRE!
• CALEB HARRINGTON....AIM...FIRE!
• JOHN BROWN....AIM....FIRE!
• ASHAEL PORTER....AIM....FIRE!
• ISAAC DAVIS.....AIM....FIRE!
• ABNER HOSMER.....AIM....FIRE!
• PAUSE HERE AS 10 ROUNDERS NEED TO RELOAD
• JAMES HAYWOOD.....AIM....FIRE!
• JOHN RAYMOND.....AIM....FIRE!
• NATHANIEL WYMAN....AIM...FIRE!
• JEDEDAIH MUNROE....AIM...FIRE!

I felt as if I could hear the echos of all the other ranges across the country answering us shot for shot and I got a bit choked up knowing so

many good Americans were taking the time to remember....and to honor. Just as we were to break for lunch, we heard a resounding chorus of 3

Huzzah's from the firing lane next to us and of course we couldn't let that go unanswered, so we responded in kind,"Huzzah, Huzzah, Huzzah!"

   It was time for lunch and a healthy immersion in Heritage. V started out with a great background piece about what times were like in the

pre-revolutionary years. Camljr did a bang up job setting the stage in the First Strike, I took the Second and V capped the story nicely with the

Third Strike. From the tears I saw in the crowd, I think these good folks realized something they hadn't thought about before and I hope they

remember......and pass on what they learned to others.   

  Then it was back to Classification AQT's followed by the commemorative red QDAQT at the end of Saturday. When the dust had settled on my

range, there stood Eaglescouter, with a Rifleman's score in hand. Congratulations to you Sir! We rapped up the day with the final Redcoat target

and when we took the tally there was much improvement and two of my shooters had cleared the Redcoat! Congratulation Dimitri and Jim! (Jim is

13 and he placed the hole in his friends "250 yard Headshot", but we gave it to him anyway). We sent the crowd home with a benediction and

with instructions to clean their rifles! 

  Sunday dawned bright and with a promise of 90 degree heat for the day, but that didn't stop 86 good California folk from braving the heat and

joining us for another day of Heritage and marksmanship. After a morning review, we were able to consolidate onto two very big firing lanes and

my crew, Aleeta, Romeo's Hero, WW2 P51 and myself, started out with our first time-line by framing the moment by talking of the muster call and

the march to Concord. We had the shooters prep their mags with 13 and place them on their mats and I began to talk about what it must have

been like standing on Punkatasit Hill, watching their town erupt in flame and making the decision to march towards the North Bridge. At the tip of

the hat, Romeo's Hero ran forward proclaiming that "......Isaac Davis is down!" Following my lead and in a uneven and broken chorus, all the

Instructors began to yell "Fire, Fire, for God's sake, fire as fast as you can!" As expected, the shooters leaped to and began their first Redcoat

targets of the day. By the looks on their faces, it seemed the shooters really enjoyed this particular course of fire. Next it was on to a sheet of

squares, a little review and a quick ball & dummy. We did a special Red AQT especially framed by the story of Meriam's Corner and then took a

break for lunch.

    After Aleeta, DoubleD, BaldDragon, and Romeo's Hero finished their excellent job of history, it was back to the AQT grind, interspersed with

pieces of history to frame the events of that momentous day 234 years ago. The shooters persevered through the heat and the AQT grind

produced 6 Rifleman! Congratulation to Joe, Eric, Dean, Richard, Jim and Kurt! Did I mention that Jim is 13 and shot a 220! He was followed on the

last Red QDAQT of the day by his dad Kurt. What a great father and son team! Polygunner, who shot his first Rifleman score in January, was

quietly knocking out 220+ AQT's all afternoon and he did a great job doing the 7th step as he brought his wife and a couple of friends with him to

this shoot.

  It was an incredibly memorable weekend and all I can say is, I can't wait for the next one!

[Rob R]

Thank you patriots for a great event. See you out there next time.