AAR Waynesville IL - Oct 11-12 25M Rifle Clinic

[Bundt Pan]

11 shooters joined us bright and early (seriously we had almost everyone checked in before check in started) eager to be a part of the second Appleseed at this range. A brisk morning, with some significant fog made a great backdrop for a first strike and following a safety brief we posted or first Hits Count.
Central Illinois must have something in the water as I continue to be impressed with the shooters we see, 10 of 11 showed skill at 100, 6 @ 200, and 3 all the way out to the 400. 2 shooters cleared the Red Coat and earned their very own Illinois AS wooden nickel.

Our formal instruction commenced, showing that we had a great line. Our squares proved we were at 6MOA groups almost across the board, and after a little IMC everyone was on target. Drills and instruction continued until we reached our first AQT. Jacob Z and Dave requalified, and Michael earned himself a baptism from the North Bridge with a 210! We had also whooped the time monkey and knowing we had a few shooters only available for Saturday posted a second AQT. Terry requalified, and Jacob Z finally chased down a Distinguished Patch with a 247!!! Huzzah!

Our PM Hits count showed the level of improvement, all 10 shooters cleared the 100, and 8 showed the 200 and 300 whose boss. With 7 shingle hits we were able to award Greg, Michael, and Terry a wooden nickel.
Day two started with a Bald Eagle sighting, and saw 8 retuning shooters and 1 new youth shooter who couldn't make it Saturday. After a safety refresh and topic review our shooters showed that a nights sleep did not erase yesterdays progress, and our youth shooter (Jacob M) had a great start on the fundamentals. Our Hits Count had all 9 clear 100, 8-200,5,300 &400, and 4 shingle hits who also cleared the Red Coat. James O earned his nickel.

While we worked though some drills, we were able to give some 1-1 attention to Jacob M to get him up to speed on transitions, reloads, and the shooting positions, which he absorbed like a sponge making great progress on the limited timeline.

Our first AQT showed improving scores, and additional requals by our current Riflemen. Our second AQT minted 3 new Riflemen Doug (211), James O. (216 with a bolt), and Jacob M (215). KD was presented over lunch and Dangerous Old Men stories helped us keep the heart rates level. Vopps did a great job running the line as a part of his PC1. Our 5th AQT gave Clint a baptism from Vopps with a 210. What is in the water here, every shooter on Saturday successfully posted a score over 200 plus  8 posting riflemen scores and 1 distinguished? I should bottle and sell this elixir, Waynesville Wonder Water – guaranteed to boost you're AQT by 10 points.

Parkers Revenge provided a nice change of pace and prepped us for another AQT. This would prove to be the last for the day as fatigue was setting in. A final redcoat wrapped up the shooting, and showed continued improvement. 3 shooters cleared the Red Coat, and we presented Jacob M a nickel and the William Diamond Patch. All said and done, the only patch I didn't hand out was a 250, and dang was Jacob Z fighting for it with 3 distinguished scores over 240.

Many thanks to the American Heritage Range and the Leroy Rifle and Pistol Club for welcoming us to their great facility. We were also please to have several board members in attendance to hear our message. We certainly look forward to more events at this range.

Thanks to all our shooters who decided to spend their weekend with us learning about liberty and our heritage, and showing us, they know what they are about.

And I have to thank the volunteers who made this weekend another success; Shooter 30-06, Myrradah, Peper 5150, and Vopps. Congrats to Vopps for passing PC1.

[Bundt Pan]

Photo dump:

[Paladin223]

This was a nearly perfect Appleseed weekend--great American Heritage Range, great weather, and probably the finest collection of riflemen at one event. From an excellent 247 score by Jacob Z to a Rifleman score and cleared redcoat target by Jacob M after a half days training plus receiving his William patch.

It was also a great time to visit with a number of old friends-cadre and shooters. Was especially enjoyable seeing my old Appleseed friend Vopps beginning a very impressive start to his journey as an instructor. Clint built up suspense by waiting til the last AQT to earn his well deserved patch.

Congrats to all the new riflemen and requals-it was a truly impressive marksmanship display this weekend.  The Parker's Revenge competition reinforced this with high scores from all teams.

Last but not least I want to thank LRPC for their continued support for the Appleseed program. Thanks to those club officers who joined the line and saw first hand how the program works. Thanks goes out to ChuckA for working hard to build up the Illinois Appleseed program, going above and beyond to do so.

Thanks Chuck

[Geek]

Wow, how much for some of that water?  Very impressive event.  It is awesome to see the Illini State grow and Rifleman becoming very prevalent.  A first-time youth clearing the red coat and Vopps working his first event. I feel like I am getting left behind   It is great to hear about such a grand event. 

ChuckA is indeed a hard worker.