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Gardnerville, NV Aug 29-30 New DAR

Started by MrBill, September 01, 2009, 06:36:18 PM

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MrBill

Nevada now has it's first DAR (Dedicated Appleseed Range) in Gardnerville on the property of featherblue and Mrs featherblue!  What a beautiful range (pictures coming soon), just a little south east of Lake Tahoe.  It is always a pleasure visiting this area being able to take deep breaths of clean air and having the mountains and expansive clear sky as a postcard worthy backdrop.  (although a few of us Southern California Instructors are a little wary of air that we can't smell or taste - we're not sure it is really there)

Not only was it a beautiful range, but our hosts made everyone feel like we were at a family gathering having an Appleseed in their back yard.  Their level of hospitality is beyond words. 

The van of instructors (Laylopro, 22calgal, NewMOe, and little old me - MrBill) arrived mid afternoon on Friday meeting Nevada Smith and shortly later Arashi and Desert Dog rolled in.  Pulling off of 395 we were greeted by a large sign with "Appleseed" directing the way.  Upon arrival, we found the target line already posted and wired for target backers, the firing line and safety line staked and marked.  In addition our hosts provided a large shade canopy that we erected behind the safety line.  Never has setup been so easy!

Our hosts provided coolers of lemonade, soft drinks, water, peanuts, chips, snacks, lots of Apples, and lunch for everyone on both Saturday and Sunday.  Featherblue and Mrs Featherblue have spoiled us all - shooters and instructors alike!

Saturday was a beautiful warm sunny day with a few high clouds, with a little gusty wind picking up in the afternoon.  Sunday the wind picked up where it left off on Saturday and by early afternoon had picked up to a level best described as "gusty gale force winds" (I'm only exaggerating a little).  We had to stop the shoot for about 10 minutes to take down our shade cover and Ez-Ups before they were destroyed in the wind.  What impressed me most was that even in the extremely strong wind and blowing dust, not a single shooter packed up to leave.  Talk about persistence!

The Appleseeders of Northern Nevada were a great bunch to share a weekend of Marksmanship and Heritage with.

Gabe and Erik earned their Rifleman patches on Sunday in spite of the extremely strong and gusty winds .  Congratulations both to Gabe and Erik for outstanding marksmanship and persistence in a difficult shooting condition.

Chris took on the Orange Hat of destiny, having shot his rifleman score previously at the Reno NV Appleseed in May.  Chris's wife also shot on Saturday and saw marked improvement in her shooting abilities, and on Sunday afternoon came by with their two kids.  In a year or three as the kids grow a little, I see a whole family of riflemen!  Kind of gives you a good feeling inside!

It was a privilege working with Arashi, Nevada Smith, NewMOe, 22calgal, Desert Dog, and to share SB duties with Laylopro at Nevada's first DAR.  I see a strong future for Nevada Appleseed with Arashi taking a leading role. I hope that in a year from now Nevada has grown to exporting Instructors out to it's neighboring states.   

Once again I want to thank our hosts featherblue and Mrs featherblue for their warm hospitality and hard work setting up everything and getting it ready for the Appleseed weekend.  Thank you for providing Nevada's first DAR and welcoming everyone to come and share the experience that is Appleseed.  Your dedication to Project Appleseed and the message of Heritage and Marksmanship is truly above and beyond.  All I can say is Thank You!

Mr Bill
"Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest."  Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi

22calgal

GARDNERVILLE ROCKS!

FeatherBlue and MrsFeatherBlue are just wonderful, caring, giving, fun, funny, insightful and they throw one hell of a shoot!  The range itself is gorgeous and private, which was so amazing and enjoyable.  The Featherblues couldn't do enough for the shooters and instructors, making us at home and also making us feel like one big shootin' family.  Having this DAR is such a "Feather" in the Project Appleseed hat!  I can't wait to go again and be a part of such a magical shooting environment and to see my Nevada family again.

I was sad to leave, and the good news is I'll be keeping in touch with my Nevada family members.  The first shoot at Gardnerville was a huge success and it's going to be fun to watch it grow.

I asked the Featherblues if I could move in, it was so great.  Come on out to Gardnerville for the next shoot!

22calgal



Jackie Young, Proud to be American

Nevada Smith

#2
Here are some pictures (click on a thumbnail for a larger view):

http://picasaweb.google.com/Western.Nevada.Pistol.League/AppleseedGardnervilleNevadaAugust2009#

And here are the same pictures presented as a slide show:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Western.Nevada.Pistol.League/AppleseedGardnervilleNevadaAugust2009#slideshow/

(I should have gotten a photo of the welcoming APPLESEED sign--complete with flags!--posted along highway 395. What a joy that was to see!)

Arriving early on Friday afternoon, featherblue gave me a tour of their DAR range, pointing out the known distance targets from 100 to 600 yards--including a gong at 300 yards. (I just wish he hadn't mention BEARS!)

At this time the air was heavy with smoke from the fire in Yosemite--so naturally we commented that our southern California instructors would feel right at home! But alas the wind changed later that evening and instead they had to struggle with our clean mountain air throughout Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday & Sunday saw shooters arriving as early as 7:30 a.m. to help with what little setup remained. (Thank you!)

It was good to see old friends (Gabe; John from WNPL; Jon & Debbie and their son and daughter--who by the way was accurately shooting the 4th stage of the AQT at Rifleman's cadence after verifying each NPOA shift!); returning Appleseeders (young Weston and his father Mark, and Rifleman Chris), and of course making new friends with like-minded citizens!

Thanks to New Moe and 22CalGal for making my job as Line Boss on Sunday easier. And in the future I promise to have someone replace me before I start calling the line commands like a girl! (Folks, it was so windy I had to shout scream the line commands--and so I started to humorously loose my voice!)

Tremendous perseverance was exhibited at the inaugural Appleseed of this DAR. I saw many future Riflemen and I am anxious to work with them again soon. (Although I won't be smoking a cigar and drinking strong black coffee on an empty stomach again!)

Remember, a Rifleman persists--so register for the Reno Appleseed on September 26 & 27!

Finally, my heartfelt appreciation to two gracious people--FeatherBlue and MrsFeatherBlue--you are genuine Patriots!
Problems worthy
of attack
prove their worth
by hitting back.
--Piet Hein

DesertDog

Not much more needs to be said.  Mr & Mrs. Featherblue were hosts beyond words O0 O0 O0.  How nice is it to not have to be out by a certain time??

Shooting some .458 Win Mag sure made the .375 H&H seem normal!

As always, I'm so impressed with the quality of people that show up to Applseeds.  40 MPH gusts on Sun. and nobody packed it in :~

Savannah was the model of Rifleman's Cadence on Sat afternoon.

DD
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch.....Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.

LayloPro

Well, I have to say, this was a great AppleSeed......

A while back, making the comment that we "needed to have a range by Lake Tahoe", I never imagined it would pop up so easy.....
Amazing stuff, really......Terry & his wife Susie were out to several AS's around Nevada, and wanted to do -something- for the whole program, and offered a corner of their property for us to create a shooting line on.....since the line could technically hold just over 500 shooters, we said we'd be happy with a section to hold 30 shooters to begin with......
I cannot over emphasize what completely awesome hosts they were......Susie made sure that we had soda's, several tubs of ice water, and even lemonade to drink! When lunch time approached, she came back with platters of sandwiches pre-made so that no one would miss the history presentation......(they -know- how to 7th step!) None of the other instructors could say "Thank You!!" enough to these two awesome folks......and the shooters were right there with us......the simple fact that they gave so much, and wouldn't take a penny for it very much impressed the shooters who were aware of it......

How many times have you ever gone shooting, and have had a nice place to park, gorgeous scenery, food & drinks provided no charge, no fees for anything besides the instruction (except women, youth under 21, Military & elected officials), a firing line par excellence, and world class instruction.......for $70??? For an entire weekend!!  :o :~ @)
The only thing we could have done more for them would be to provide the ammo!!  <:) And that ain't happening!! **) &) :~

The shooters responded by paying attention, applying the lessons we were providing, and watching them selves begin to get groups, and become more accurate.....we really had a broad spectrum of experience on the line, and it all stayed safe, which is always a big thing with me.....

Saturday lunch arrived, and with it, the 3 strikes were presented with passion, and good correct history......closing gave me the chance to discuss the similarities between what the colonists had to choose between then, and what we are looking at choosing today....and how we now have a 3rd path to work with, instead of only the two the colonists did....and being able to answer some of those "pesky history questions" that have been bothering folks for a really long time..... O0

We had a total of 18 shooters Saturday, and Sunday brought us 17 shooters thru out the day....some had to leave a bit early, and others arrived after church was done....22calgal can tell us what the count was on how many were how accurate on the "Hits Count" redcoat, but we did have a few cleared ones, I remember that!!  O0

For our after shoot dinner, we took our range hosts to a very well deserved dinner at a local hotel, run by a Basque family....I'm not a big lamb chop eater, but the instructor's that had it said it was GREAT!! Finishing the AAR in the parking lot round robin style, we headed back to our hotel, & the others to their camp sites.....

Sunday arrived early enough, and making our way to the range, we noticed that the "breeze" was already working......By 10 am we had fairly steady wind in the 12-20 mph range, and by 1 pm, it had increased to an average 22-35mph, with gusts surpassing the ability of the weights to hold down our shade canopies......a quick break to tear down the coverings, and it was back to "Shooters! To the line!"  :~

As has been noted before, there are certain times I remain convinced that the shooters will just "have enough of it", and pack their gear and leave.....so far, I have only seen one fellow do that on his own once, & he is now a SB, so go figure..... %) They hung in there....sand, grit, dirt, medium sized boulders blowing around, and nobody quit.......
Gee, I guess they were listening when I said that a "Rifleman persists"...... @&)

We ended our shoot with two of our shooters making the +210 grade on the AQT, which in this breeze, made it even more special......Handing them their rockers & patches, and thanking them for taking the time & effort to come shoot in the wind & sand just elicited smiles from them......
Hmmmm, seemed like I was missing something....oh, we weren't giving out (and I doubt they would have wanted) Cali rockers.....maybe we should get some Nevada rockers made up....it's a thought..... @)

Last May, I had stopped by the Reno shoot to see the crew, and check out the range....while there, a young fellow named Chris had shot high score on the AQT with his AR.....this shoot allowed me the chance to offer him an "orange hat of destiny"......however, since his wife was with him on Saturday, I had a chance to see what the "better half" thought of the idea first.....even tho' they have a lot on their plate right now, I was able to let her know that wearing the hat to any state around would immediately put them into a group of solid Americans, who would be their best friends ever.....she was sold, and Sunday, when she showed up with their young son & daughter, I asked him again, and he gave me a definite "YES!"  ;) O0
So now Northern Nevada has -another - solid new orange hat to help get this state on the road.......how cool is that??!?! O0 ^-^  <:)

After most of the shooters had finally packed it in, and agreed that 7th stepping "sounded pretty easy", the instructors had a chance to "work" with their hardware, and to finish the final AAR....leaving the range about 9pm, we fell into our respective showers @ the hotel, and the next day, with a quick side trip for lunch & Cabelas (they had powder!!), began the 8 hour trip home.....fortunately, the other Instructors were able to carry on a non-stop hilarious conversation the entire trip to keep the driver (moo-wah!) awake & responsive..... ++)

We discussed things like the big banner across the road that announced the "annual kids auction, followed by a delicious Bar-B-Que"......they sell the kids, then Bar-B-Que them?? :'( ??? :o

As soon as we crossed back over into Cali, we attracted the attention of a young CHP officer.....he must have thought we were smuggling illegals out of Nevada or something, but he followed us for about 8 miles......at 14 miles under the posted speed limit.......God bless cruise control!!
He finally had enough, and u-turned back towards his local hangout, but 10 miles later, we were again the subject of a rather intense young officer who was close enough to not be able to see his grill in the mirror.....if they had only known we were carrying as many rifles as we had, they may have given us a "bit more space"......but he was as persistent as the first fellow....and after about 10 miles of 51 in a 65 zone, decided he really had no "probable cause", so left to go do something else.......
Welcome back to California, guys....don't you just feel the love? >:D :-[ ???

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, other than making our stomachs hurt from so much laughter.....there is no road trip like an AS road trip.....back at 10:30, we disembarked, quickly packed the folks' stuff into their cars, and bid each other a fond good bye.....but we're already starting to plan our next trip.......

Here are some pix......

BTW, how was your weekend??

LayloPro


"The truth only hurts if you're guilty." 

"Fast / cheap / good....you only get 2....Your choice."

"Amateurs talk hardware. Professionals talk software. It doesn't matter what's in your hand or between your legs. It matters what's in your heart and in your mind." Lt Col. Dave Grossman.

LayloPro

Mo' Pix....
"The truth only hurts if you're guilty." 

"Fast / cheap / good....you only get 2....Your choice."

"Amateurs talk hardware. Professionals talk software. It doesn't matter what's in your hand or between your legs. It matters what's in your heart and in your mind." Lt Col. Dave Grossman.

LayloPro

Last ones....for this time..... O0
"The truth only hurts if you're guilty." 

"Fast / cheap / good....you only get 2....Your choice."

"Amateurs talk hardware. Professionals talk software. It doesn't matter what's in your hand or between your legs. It matters what's in your heart and in your mind." Lt Col. Dave Grossman.

Chris_H

I agree, this was a great AppleSeed!

I would like to extend my HUGE thanks also to Terry & Susie for everything, the range, the "catered" lunch, and the encouragement & enthusiasm you provided for everyone!!

Quote from: MrBill on September 01, 2009, 06:36:18 PM
Chris's wife also shot on Saturday and saw marked improvement in her shooting abilities, and on Sunday afternoon came by with their two kids.  In a year or three as the kids grow a little, I see a whole family of riflemen!  Kind of gives you a good feeling inside!

Lynda (Redd94) liked shooting before, but Saturday really made a "convert" of her. She learned a lot, had a great time, & was so enthusiastic from Saturday, that even though she was only going to be there the first day, she brought the kids with her Sunday afternoon. She wanted to shoot a bit too, so I let her take my place on the line for the last AQT of the weekend & final Redcoat.

22calgal showed our kids (who are currently 3 & 4) her 22 Chipmunk, which they were really excited about and have been telling me all week how much they want one when they get a bit older. A family of riflemen is definitely on the horizon!

Quote from: LayloPro on September 03, 2009, 04:47:39 AM
Gee, I guess they were listening when I said that a "Rifleman persists"......  @&)

That may have been one of the strongest lessons I received on Sunday.

The wind (as mentioned) was higher than on Saturday, & I found it difficult to keep steady when gusts would either begin or let off (not to mention trying to keep a hold of the targets when we tried to staple new ones up!)

On Sunday, I also brought a 308 rifle that had recently had some work done on it, but when I found my groups about 16 MOA low, I also realized that I had forgotten to bring a front sight tool, so had to compensate for elevation adjustment with the rear.

Then, between the blowing sand & several magazines with feed-lip issues, my rifle was having pretty chronic malfs, making it difficult, if not impossible to keep a rifleman's cadence & get more than 1/2 of my shots off in stages 2 & 3 of the AQT, making me really feel like packing it in.

But the phrase "<i>a rifleman persists</i>" kept running through my head, so I kept trying (& trying & trying) to deal with the troubles. Since I didn't have my LTR with me on Sunday to change to, MrBill loaned me one of his, which I used to shoot the 2nd to last AQT.


Quote from: LayloPro on September 03, 2009, 04:47:39 AM
Last May, I had stopped by the Reno shoot to see the crew, and check out the range....while there, a young fellow named Chris had shot high score on the AQT with his AR.....this shoot allowed me the chance to offer him an "orange hat of destiny"......however, since his wife was with him on Saturday, I had a chance to see what the "better half" thought of the idea first.....even tho' they have a lot on their plate right now, I was able to let her know that wearing the hat to any state around would immediately put them into a group of solid Americans, who would be their best friends ever.....she was sold, and Sunday, when she showed up with their young son & daughter, I asked him again, and he gave me a definite "YES!"  ;) O0

Good idea talking to Lynda (Redd94) first! Since we do have a lot on our plate, I was unsure whether taking the hat would be too much to add, but her encouragement was the item that "pushed me over the top" to take it on. 

I'm studying history, Fred's guide, dry fire practicing at home, & am trying to see how I can manage to fit in an IBC. If I can figure out a way to keep current commitments and also get around some obstacles, I'm hoping to make it to the one in Sacramento next week. I'm also eyeballing upcoming Appleseeds I might be able to start helping at.

Thanks again to Mr. & Mrs. Featherblue, as well as to ALL of the instructors (LayloPro, MrBill, DesertDog, Arashi, NevadaSmith, 22calgal, and NewMoe)!

Chris

NewMOe

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the