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Evansville IN, June 13-14 09

Started by Mudcat, June 14, 2009, 09:27:36 PM

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Mudcat

Another great shoot at Redbrush range. I believe we had 17 shooters on the line saturday with 3 walk ons included. 3 youths and 3 women we turned out 2 Riflemen with 1 AQT on saturday. Brad and Sparky both prior Riflemen several knocking on the door.
Sunday we had only 1 youth and no women we lost a few but piucked up Clay and Bob both prior Appleseeders. We rolled through a brief refresher sunday am and an AQT then another and we had Clay at 212 then we got John at 210 who quickly recieved a refreshing bath in cooler water for his efforts. then at the next to the last AQT of the day Steve broke through, this is KYJams father. I was so happy to see his persistance finally pay off. He has been to 3 Appleseeds with seemingly a few equipment issues at each and really putting together good groups but just not able to put it all together. Until today! Congratulations Steve you earned it.
We had 3 others knocking on the door ready to kick it in and they say they will be back. In keeping up with the rain at Redbrush Appleseeds we got a real toad strangler this afternoon just after we had finished policing the range.
Instructors were SB Sur+rifles, IITs Slim, Techrez, Mudcat, XDman, KYjam, Riflegirl, Bull
2 saturday Riflemen


"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
--George Washington

Bull

Congrats to all the new rifleman that came out to Red Brush. Great Job to Clay, Brad, Steve, John, Sparky for being a man among men that knows what he is about. To the others who attended keep practicing and be back to another Appleseed.  Thanks to all the Instuctor that came out to give there time to a great program. Thanks to all and hope to see ya'all at another Appleseed. 

WhiteRaven

Hey there!
My daughter, husband and I were at the shoot @Redbrush and had a fantastic time! 
Wish we could have gone back for today's event (Sunday)
but even after one day we were pretty tired!  :)

I'm going to be contacting some people about getting something organized in our area.

Thanks again for all your help and instruction (and enthusiasm)

We learned a ton and we loved it!

Hope to be posting some of our pictures soon.

WhiteRaven





kentuckyjam

And 12 shooters on Sunday.  :)  Rain was predicted but we only saw a few drops while shooting.  The sun was beaming down Sunday afternoon, but that just made everyone work harder.

This was the first Appleseed for many of the students, but it was hard to tell.  The ability was seen early on and the progress was tremendous.  The youth were impressive - answering many of the questions and posing thoughtful questions.  I'm very proud of these young Americans!

WhiteRaven, hopefully the Appleseed trail will lead to your area soon.  It was nice to see so many families this weekend, I believe 6 in all.  One of those was mine.  This weekend was a special one for me as I got to witness my dad, Steve, obtain Rifleman.  He persevered through mechanical issues on Sunday to get there.  That to me is the most important attribute of a Rifleman and our Founding Fathers.  That is now 3 patches in the family.  :~ 

Congratulations to the other new Riflemen - Clay and John!  John, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the soaking and can't wait to see the pictures posted.

Thank you to the other instructors.  They gave suggestions on how to find my Line Boss voice and I finally got it.  Now Brad (husband) will have to hear it.  O0

Hope to see the shooters back soon.  Remember to practice dry firing at home and persevere!

Liberty will not persist without personal responsibility.

hawkhavn

Hey all,

Sounds like another great E'ville shoot!  Some of those faces look a little bit familiar....congrats to your perseverance and dedication!

Just so you know the Hoosier Foreign Legion cohort (Brokensling, .5 and myself) were exploring the frontier out here in Wyomiong this weekend and Brokensling came across a Red hat with his name on it!

Hawkhavn

Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

brdholman

Thanks to all the shooters for putting up a great effort. Congratulations to all the riflemen. Did you ever think you would work so hard for a little patch?  You make all the driving and getting 4 hrs of sleep on a picnic table worthwhile to the instructors. Thanks to all the instructors for doing what you do to help make this a nation of riflemen.
There was a lot of talent on the range this time with so many people shooting well.
It was nice to put a face to some of the names I have seen on here and see some people I have met again. 
Red Brush is a really nice range and I will try to send an email thanking them for helping to support appleseed.  Really nice weather all the way to end, rain falling as we pulled out of the gate.
There were some military men there as well. Thank you for your service and good attitudes.  Don't stop now, your almost there. Hope to see you at another appleseed.
Thanks again to all the instructors and shooters you all teach me something new every time.


hawkhavn

Slim,

Were you on the picnic table again?

Hawkhavn
Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

Mudcat

#7
Slim was a slacker, and slept on a cot. But the bugs sure were trying to carry us off. At one point I woke up and they had me half way off the table.


It was great getting to meet you and your family White Raven, you showed some awesome improvement. For someone that has been wanting to shoot a rifle for 10 years, you finally got your chance. You did very well and I see a Rifleman patch in your future.

"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
--George Washington

techres

Saturday

I rolled in around 7am after a 3 hour drive, much of it through fog.  Mudcat and Sur+rifle where already on site and ready to let me through the gate.  Now this was my first time to Redbrush and I was immediately impressed by the layout and upkeep on the facility.  Frankly, it was perfect for an Appleseed with bathrooms, bermed in shooting areas just right in depth and width and a great covered area for lunching. 

Soon we had a line of shooters all signed up and ready to go to work.  After redcoats we were off onto sighter squares.  We had a large number of instructors to students and Sur+ made sure that his IIT's had every opportunity to train groups and individually.  Here is Mudcat and Slim doing some instruction with KYjam looking on:




In our line we had everything from active duty soldiers to whole families with young ones.  They all did great and some stuck through the heat, and learning, and frustration, and equipment failures, and did it all with a spirit of dedication:






We even had the AR quartet on the end keeping up the noise!





After an amazing lunch made by the Mudcat family, we were off again into the hot sun for more shooting, hydration and learning. 






And at the end of the day, we had two riflemen (both repeats) and many shooters knocking at the door:






At 7pm when we rolled up the line and ate another great meal cooked on the grill.


Camping

That night, those that camped got a very special opportunity - Night Shoot!



Mudcat and others brought over their fun toys and Sur+ turned on the range lights and we had some fun.  While talking around the campfire is vital and memorable, a good night shoot is too!  Mudcat has some very nice rifles and is very generous with his ammo.

Then it came time to go to bed.  Slim on his cot, Mudcat on the picnic bench, me in my tent on my shooting mat, and the meowing kitten living in mudcat's truck undercarriage (no joke).


Sunday

Next morning we were up early and at it again.

There was less time for training and more time for hammering AQT's!



Our "soldier boy" was having some trouble with his AR and in a feat of true determination he shot 3 stages with his rifle running as a manual action - working the charging handle after every shot.  He did not quit.  Then in the last stage there was time to tear down the AR and find the loose screw and bolt it down tight.  Then he was back to rocking and rolling the way an AR is meant to do:




By the catered lunch of sunday we had another rifleman:



Come afternoon we had two more but by then my phone was full of pictures!  Those two special riflemen did get their pictures take (one very, very wet rifleman) and those will be posted as soon as they become available.

Sooner than seemed right, we were done.  At 4:30 the histories were done, the 7th step explained, and rifles bagged with brass collected.  It was time to go back into the world as they say.  And no sooner than we had all the cars loaded up, there was a 15 minute deluge to cool us all off.


Notables

People came from near and far to learn and to train.  We had shooters from multiple states come together and shoot with smiles even in the frustration.  We had a tight core of local instructors mix in with instructors from far off as if we were already friends.  We had new shooters come very, very close to riflemen - especially those who would have if they had been able to come on Sunday.  And we had all ages and genders, husbands & wives, kids and dangerous old men.  It does not get better than that.

It was a great weekend to be an American!




Appleseed: Bringing the Past into the Present to save our Future.

techres

And here are the pictures of our other two riflemen!


Perseverance in person:




Did someone get 210?!

Appleseed: Bringing the Past into the Present to save our Future.

Mudcat

I love that picture!! A great guy to boot, lots of fun congratulations John. I got this guy to the Appleseed by striking up a conversation in a gun shop.

Here are some of my pics.
Techres doing third strike

camper benefits

"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
--George Washington

visionary 1

Here is a link to the photos for Sunday at the Evansville shoot.  Sorry, I'm new to this site and still trying to figure it out.  I know some are anxious to see photos so go to my flcker site.  My two sons and I had a wonderful time at our first Appleseed shoot and I'm sure it won't be our last.  Although I do enjoy shooting the AR15, my real shooting is done with the camera.  Please enjoy!  If I can help in the future with photography email me at dswan@mac.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39064462@N04/sets/72157619800247334/with/3630843402/

Dennis

Tall man

Wayne here... Let me tell you this was a great time at this event. It wont be my last for sure. This training really teaches you all the bad habits you have for years and in no time at all the groups start to shrink. Saturday was flat tough on me but Sunday I could tell a big difference in my body, the positions were more natural and easier to get in. The scoring showed it was starting to come in there. With a little better luck out of the rifle (function issues) I believe I would have been knocking at the door or rifleman, as it was I broke into the 190s and that was still on the round with a 7.62X39 that I was trying like the devil to feed into a 223 chamber. forward assist or not, it was not going... ++)
I look forward to seeing many of you again and frankly would like to catch up for some side practicing with you guys. Outstanding crew with tons to teach. 

brdholman

Sorry, Wayne.  I thought you dropped that one and politely put it back on your chair.  %)

kentuckyjam

That comment was from me, Brad was logged in.  Again, I'm really sorry about that.
Liberty will not persist without personal responsibility.

Tall man

not a problem at all, a rifleman should be able to deal with stress and still perform. Lord knows our founding fathers had real stress, not just a silly jam.
Overall I was pretty proud that it was cleared and still made that round with a "decent" score. (not that I was satsfied with it -but from where I started from Saturday it wasnt bad) I was a little embarrassed that I could load it in the mag and not notice... that was the real malfunction, thank goodness it wasnt a 50bmg or I would still be trying to stuff it in the mag.
It was a pleasure learning from you this weekend, dont sweat the little stuff....

SteveD

This was a great Appleseed at the beautiful and impressive RedBrush Range. It was well laid out and well maintained. I want to thank all the instructors, particlularly my daughter Kyjam and Mudcat who have been with me through all the equipment problems (3 different rifles and 3 different scopes)through 3 Appleseeds. Saturday was a great training day for me, just barely missing making Rifleman on the first try and getting all the Red Coats at the end of the day. Sunday started out getting all the Redcoats again and then the equipment problems and frustration started. I was very confident that I could make Rifleman this Appleseed and I was determined it was going to be with my rifle once the problems were fixed. Persistance paid off! Congratulation Brad with making Rifleman with your third rifle, a bolt action! Impressive! Now that is a real Rirleman. I really enjoyed the fact that this was this was a really great family affair, mothers and fathers with their sons and daughters passing on the Great American tradition. Thanks Slim and Dennis for all your great pictures! I'm looking forward to more Appleseeds (of course, in cooler weather!)

kentuckyjam

Thanks for the pictures, Dennis!
Liberty will not persist without personal responsibility.

WhiteRaven

Ok, finally got a minute to put the pictures online.
Unfortunately the hubby really only took pictures of Elizabeth and I.
(and I was kinda too busy to take any pictures!)

visionary 1

Just a note....if you are not familiar with "flcker", you can select a picture by clicking on it and then there will be options above to see a larger version.  I have allowed you permissions to download the original pictures from this site.  This will allow you to pick and choose which photos you would like to download.  Feel free to give it a try.  If you have troubles, send me an email at dswan@mac.com and I will walk you through it.

Once a again great event, excellent instructors and fun getting to know everyone!
Dennis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39064462@N04/

Tall man

Dennis, great shots. Your camera work is top notch. Thanks for sharing those with us. I want to download them all, is there a way to bulk download?

visionary 1

I doubt that you can bulk down load them.  I've honestly never tried it.  If you want, I will burn a disk and mail it to you.  You can provide your mailing address to dswan@mac.com


slim

There must be something in that Ditch Water because it keeps raining Riflemen!

It was a real treat for me to work with the Southern Indiana (and Central Indiana too, right Techres?) crew again. You Hoosiers really have your stuff together and always run a flawless event. It was also nice to meet the new KY contingent as well. I'm looking forward to working with all of you again soon. Plus, seeing some familiar faces on the firing line is always cool. "I know I met you before. We were at.....?"

The improvement this weekend was astounding. Every single shooter on the line went from shooting big groups to little teeny tiny groups. We hit the plateau around 2:00 PM on Saturday and those groups seemed to want to open back up, but with an overhang close by, plenty of shade, stories of our forefathers, and a whole bunch of persisting by our shooters, we got those groups right back down by the end of the day. There were a lot of hands up on that last Red Coat target.

Several Saturday only shooters would've been going home with a patch if they would've come back on Sunday. Just about all of our Sunday shooters would've had patches as well if theyd've had equipment that cooperated. As said above, there was a lot of persisting done by the shooters in terms of equipment, weather, etc. There were a few that huffed once or twice and just when I thought we were going to get all upset, they turned it right around and got motivated. Awesome job!

I'm always impressed by what I see in terms of family groups coming out in support of each other. We tell the stories of kin being on the green together and facing down the Regulars, and this weekend, we had many junior shooters and even a couple junior instructors. Posterity. That's what it's all about! And that says something about the parents as well. The NRA says, "Hunt with your kids, not for them." Taking the time to get out with the kids and do something for a whole Saturday or a whole weekend - there aren't too many things you can do like that anymore. Appleseed is one of them. And in taking the time to go to the range with your kids, you've taken the time to ensure our country will be one Rifleman closer to what the forefathers envisioned for us. Huzzah to all of you!

Hope to see you all on the Appleseed trail again. And don't forget to dry fire practice at home. Do that Rifleman Yoga!


WhiteRaven

Thanks Mudcat!  It was just as fun and rewarding as I thought it would be!
I'm itching to get some dry firing practice in and do some shooting at home,
but haven't had a chance yet.
I'm definitely going for the patch!  ^-^

I sent you an email about getting an event organized in my area.
I talked to a friend of mine who used to be on the local Sportsman's Club board.
He sounded very interested in Appleseed and said the club would most likely be willing to host a shoot.
I sent you his phone number so you could talk to him. :o) (to the email address on your profile)

WhiteRaven