Davilla Texas AAR April 19 2009

[alonso1]

The April 18-19 Appleseed in Davilla started off with a bang!  Literally, started off with a bang.  Severe thunderstorms moved in the area on friday and lingered around until early saturday morning.

By 8:30 am it was still raining, thats not a problem, but the rain was accompanied with lightning.  Since each shooter brought their own lightning rod (rifle) I chose to delay the program for safety reasons.

When the lightning was gone, I started with a safety brief and a meet & greet. I handed the stage over to Rider1278 (Jed) and he did a great job with the 1st strike of the match.

We finally had rounds going down range at approximately 10:40am.  In the crowd of shooters I saw a lot of old friends and many faces.

We had female shooters, young boys, and everything from teens to Dangerous Old Men

Lunch was at 1:00 pm. 

EVERYONE at the shoot was treated to a FREE BBQ lunch.  This was provided by a very generous and humble Doctor who would not accept donations, nor acknowledgment at the event.

Thanks Doc

After lunch I knocked out a quick 2nd Strike and the shooters were back on line.  They worked on some squares and before you knew it, it was almost time for the main event.

The national ceremonial shoot would start at 3:00 pm in Texas.  This gave us a chance to practice a volley shoot and work out any bugs.

At 3:00 pm we were on line. 

As the volley started, I could not help but to think about Appleseed, how it's grown and what it has achieved.  Imagine, our friends in California, the East coast, my beloved South and the North. All paying our respects with volley fire and our privately owned firearms.

I also thought about why we were there.  Our founding fathers, their sacrifice and wisdom to ensure we would not have to do what they did.

What a great way to honor them.   

So after the ceremonial shoot, we hit some more squares and AQT's.

Labrat finished the day with a detailed 3rd Strike.  The shooters appeared to be a bit tired but they were happy and ready for Sunday.

Sunday, April 19 2009, We had 42 highly motivated freedom loving shooters on line.  We used a timeline and told the shooters what was happening in Lexington and Concord 234 years ago on this date.  We continued to do so throughout the day.

We hit a red coat target and some more squares.  Before long it was time for lunch and Stimey told the stories of the Dangerous Old Men.

After lunch, we started the AQT grind.  By mid afternoon, Mr. Moore was the first Riflemen of the day and by the end of the day, Rachel was a Riflemen..Riflewomen..whatever, she can shoot!

We also had several people knocking on the Riflemen door and improvement in marksmenship overall.  There were some shooters who had shot Riflemen before and fired qualifying scores during this event.

Thanks to all the shooters who attended this special Appleseed, you did a great job.

Thanks to all the instructors, Labrat, Stimey, Lex T. Concord, Rider1278, Jethro, Will, Doug, Kurt, and Big-D.

A special thanks to Jamie, he works on Scout's land and was there to ensure we had everything we needed.

And finally, Thank you Scout for trusting us with your home while you were away on the Appleseed trail.  Your cause is just and God will bless you!

Until next time, keep those actions clear and I'll see you on the beach.

                                                                      Mark

[Johnnyappleseed]

that sneaky SS posting when I'm logged on.

Good job Texas.

Semper Fidelis

[Sir Not Appearing In This Film]

We salute you Davilla! I missed being there. I'm glad the weather finally cooperated. 

[Jimmy Moore]

Thank you Alonso1 and all the instructors for the great help I got in this Appleseed (my first). I thought I'd done some shooting before, but this was a completely new perspective for me. A loop sling, who'd a-thunk it? And to find out my 50 year old body would actually sort of get into the sitting and prone positions. Who knows what I might learn next. Hope to see all of you again soon, you are a great bunch of American Patriots. Jimmy Moore

[spitstickler]

Thanks Alonso, and to everyone who had a hand in putting this on. All the instructors were great and I look forward to attending again in the near future. It was truly a great experience and I really enjoyed the heritage part of the program as much as anything.

I really feel like I have a foundation I can build upon now and will be putting some time in every day to work on my positions and the 6 steps. As far as step 7, I'll be dragging someone new along to the next one.  ...even if they kick and scream a little bit

[BDG]

wow, radical weather in both Davilla and College Station. Well done there. A nice big line to work with. I wish I was there, but Corpus called. 

[almost dangerous old man]

I just wanted to give All the instructors land owner and everyone else behind the lines at the Davilla shoot a
BIG THANK YOU, for all your hard work to make this past weekend as enjoyable and informative and motivating as yall did. I will return and will use what yall taught me to get my rifleman patch. Thank yall again for keeping the AMERICAN SPIRIT alive. Till later.

Michael McCune
Larue Texas 

[Stephen_Supina]

I was there and Alonso I want to thank you for making everything seem so real; I could almost picture the scenes those days 234 years ago.  You were a great shoot boos and I thank you.  You made everything seem so real and I could really appreciate what our fellow citizens had to go through for freedom -- thank you sir, you are a good man. I also want to thank scout for opening up his land to almost 50 armed citizens while his duties had him elsewhere. 

All of the instructors were fantastic and I especially want to thank Lex for kinda taking me under his wing and helping me so much -- he is a good man.

I pray that God bless all those who were there this past weekend.  So many patriots and those who were there on Saturday can never be accused of being a sunshine patriot, no sir!

I am coming back down to Davilla for the June 16/17th event and I will definitely be bringing at least one other person with me, another patriot.

I learned so much and I am a better shot for it.  I had fun, and yes I got tired but I never quit.  The hospitality down there was phenomenal.  So many good people.  So much learned.

God bless to all who are Riflemen and those in training.

[ezbuzzsaw]

Thank you to the whole team of patriots that lead us this week end at Davilla and a special thanks to Scout for the Texas hospitality. After beeing rained on all morning, wow that hot shower was great Saturday night. My two teen age boys and I had a blast. How is 4" of rain and 40 MPH winds going to stop a bunch of Texans anyhow, that's just a Texas sprinkle. My boys have not stopped talking about the great times had by all, we even went out and bought the book Paul Revere's Ride. Both boys want to go back and try to get their Rifleman Patch. Great work to all that made it this week end. Special thanks to Tom, Mike and John for working so hard with my boys to get the fundamentals down. Alonzo you did a great job at keeping the line safe and fun for all. No bad attitudes in this big crowd just teachable ones! Hope to see you all again soon! Austin

[scuzzy]

Where to start?

Alsonso, you did great. Dang man, if I ever get pulled over in Houston I hope it is by you. I like the way you are serious but at the same time throw in some humour. Go Airborne.

Had a good time this weekend. It was a bit raining a bit on Saturday morning but there were plenty of people there after I paddled up in my canoe. An optional prayer was said with most opting to fellowship and say thanks to Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Sunday was nice but a bit windy in the afternoon. Maybe one day I'll actually get to attend a nice calm day in Davilla. LOL. Actually the next time it won't rain, the wind won't blow, but it will be 105 degrees. heh. I love Texas. Won't have it any other way actually.

One of the new shooters I liked a lot, Stephen_Supina, cleaned up on the Redcoats Sunday although he didn't get the Patch. I didn't get it either though. They don't just give those things away. Takes a bit of work I'd say. Knocking on the door myself with 195/200 type of scores. Besides, I like being a cook. Just wait till I ram some lasagna down yer throats, heh. You'll wish you had simply been shoot instead of having to endure my cooking, heh.

Big-D, man, you'd be welcome at my casa any time, yer one of my favorites out there. Thanks to people like you that Texas is such a great state.

Jed and Jethro were there. They still haven't bought out Elly Mae though. Nicer bunch of down home, Texan to the core, good people you'll never meet. Both were there as IIT's. I had known Jed was gonna be an IIT but Jethro I hadn't known about. Now John (Jethro) is a walking store of knowledge when it comes to firearms. Tom gave the strike of the match and I'll bet he could give Scout a run for the money when it comes to giving some history.

Kurt was doing his first stint as an IIT.  Hey Stephen_Supina, check out Kurt, he's in your area. Kurt did a good job of helping out others. For some reason he kind of reminds me of Brett. Soft spoken but very intense.

Alonso made Stimey the line boss on Saturday and he did well. It looks like he's been doing it forever. You'd have never known he was new to this.  Unfortunately he'll be leaving Texas but will continue the tradition in Virgina I believe he said. Hey Stimey, that was a good conversation I had with you and Kurt on Sat night. Good to know y'all two are thinking about the spirtitual things in this world.

Alonso, let me thank you again. Thanx man.

LabRat was there. He said one of the funniest quotes at the end of Sunday when we were about to all head on home. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here "It was great meeting all of you guys. It gives me hope in America again. Before I started coming to Appleseeds I was really depressed about the state of our country. But after meeting people like you, I am merely terrified."   LOL.

And Lex T Concorde, them are some funny jokes you got. Don't forget to ask me about the Adams Rib joke next time I see you. heh.

Will from Austin, I'm glad you became an IIT also. Glad you took the seventh step. I was glad to see you out again. We need the old school guys out there teaching.

Scooter did some poem by Yeats and others at the end Sunday. It was about taking a first step in accomplishing a goal, the first step down a path you have dreamed of. Have you ever heard Scooter recite the preamble of Declaration of Independce, word for word? He's something. He's a hard core Marine grunt type but knows poems by heart.

I left out a bunch of y'all but I'm thinking of ya. I just tired of typing now.

See yall at the next one in Davilla,

[alonso1]

I'm trying to add pic's. Hope this works.

[Lex T. Concord]

GREAT SHOOT!  Everyone did a FINE job of instructing and of telling the story of April 19, 1775.  Mark Alonso is an excellent Shoot Boss!  This was my first opportunity to meet him and to work with him, and I look forward to many more!

The Shooters were awesome!  Eager to learn and to progress!  We even had a gentleman named Matthew show up a little late on day two and, as we were about to start firing at the Red Coat Target, he asked me: "What is 'prone'?"  I explained briefly, and since I was an RSO, I obtained the help of another instructor in working closely with him.  By mid to late afternoon, Matthew was shooting 197 with a borrowed rifle!  Awesome!  I expect him to make Rifleman at his next Appleseed!

I was blessed to see a lot of progress on shooters I have seen at Davilla in the past, and to witness two new Riflemen!  Jimmy and Rachel, welcome to the Team!  Now,... get an Orange Hat and Get To Work!   

This was a most enjoyable shoot, enhanced by the date and the historical aspects presented in the time-line format by Mark Alonso throughout the day on Sunday the 19th of April, 234 years since the birth of our fine nation. 

I totally agree with Labrat: "It was great meeting all of you guys. It gives me hope in America again. Before I started coming to Appleseeds I was really depressed about the state of our country. But after meeting people like you, I am merely terrified."  (GREAT QUOTE, that one!!)  However, it is true... all of the shooters and instructors at the Appleseed events nationwide have given me renewed hope for our nation!

Thank you Fred, and Thanks to ALL of you who have built this inspiring program over the last 3 - 4 years!!

Stay safe,
Lex   :->

[LabRat]

Getting in on this late and so not much to add, but Mark did a great job as SB, especially getting us back on track after rain delayed the safe start of the shooting portion. Fellow instructors did a mighty fine job as well. There was great attitude displayed by all shooters there and congratulations to our new Rifleman and Riflewoman. Very proud of Rachel, as I know her Dad is. The look on her face when Mark announced she got her patch was priceless. I hope to see her with an orange hat sooner or later!

I've got to credit Fred once again for my attitude adjustment. I was almost despairing at the state of the populace/sheep in this country, but after every A/S, I at least feel better that some of those sheep ain't sheep! Not that we don't have a long way to go or anything, but every 'seeder picking up a bucket is progress.