Bubba
Expert
A little long, but I'm sore, pumped, happy and a little cold (not only Appleseeding but camping out for the weekend too at lovely Mirror Lake State Park near Wisconsin Dells):
AuntieBellum and I took our first Appleseed in Wisconsin at the invitation of an old friend, also his first Appleseed.
Bright and early Saturday morning we schlepped out to M&M Sports in New Lisbon, WI. The range is just out in the back yard and was nothing fancy, but it was clean, the grass was tended and there weren’t any rocks or old brass sticking up to bother us. Weather was perfect in the upper-60’s and sunny with a very gentle breeze. The only issue was the ground conditions. The range was situated next to a lake and a small creek runs between the prep area and the firing line. This would be quite peaceful in a zen sort of way except the recent rains in the region had left the ground saturated and even standing water in some of the walking areas. But, with true rifleman spirit, 10 shooters and 6 instructors lined up to get down and dirty in the mud.
There was plenty of training in the morning with history at lunch. I went in knowing I didn’t know anything, but I started getting some confidence with good tight groups on the squares. The first AQTs reared their ugly heads in the afternoon. My scores were fair and I thought I might make something of the trip. Later in the day shooter Karl shot rifleman and was presented with his orange hat right then and there. I left for the day feeling pretty good but dog tired, sore, and I shot a high of 181. Particular hat tips for the day go to Tricia for her one-on-one instruction, to Deacon for tips on getting my tech sights blacked out (and since my friend Jason isn’t on here) for the loan of a .22 conversion unit and help with a very cranky AR-15, and to orange hat Tom for his help with analyzing my targets.
AuntieBellum gets personal instruction from Tricia:
Sunday was another fantastic weather day and I believe we had 11 on the line. Several more patches were handed out including to one shooter who really embodied Perseverance. Personally I started strong, shooting 10 rounds in quarter-sized groups on both of the squares I attempted. My performance suffered mid day, and I was a little down on myself. On the plus side, AuntieBellum increased her AQT scores by almost 150% over Saturday, and my friend got his AR properly adjusted and was able to get rounds on paper, though still a little handicapped by not having a GI sling and missing almost all Saturday’s shooting with mechanical problems. Towards the end of the day I realized that I just wasn’t able to effectively use my iron sights. I asked about using my Rem700 to finish the day with optics (5 round internal mags aren’t ideal for this) but instructor Colycat was kind enough to loan me his scoped 10/22. The group broke up around 4pm and the instructors got their chance to play with their toys. I stayed put and managed to grind out another 2 AQT’s while the instructors were shooting, and they held the line long enough for me to shoot a 218 on the last target of the day and shoot boss Dragonfly presented me my patch right there at the targets and I mildly defaced Colycat’s rifle by giving it its 8th(?) notch in the stock celebrating successful rifleman scores. Big hat tips for Sunday to Colycat of course for the loaner rifle, to Dragonfly and Old Glory for advice on my prone position, and to fresh orange hat Karl for running some of the strings of fire (his first time calling, I think).
My friend Jason and I shoot the AQT stage 1:
I get my patch from Dragonfly:
Overall, I went in knowing I was a n00b. I was pretty pleased with what I could do with what I already knew, but went after the fundamentals as taught. I had a rough spell in the middle where I started breaking down old habits and hadn’t yet mastered the new ones, but in the end thanks to valuable instruction from the cadre of instructors, as well as their patience in letting me be the last guy one the line, I successfully not only got my patch, but also cleared an entire redcoat target. I can’t wait to go back and get more consistent and shoot rifleman over iron sights. AuntieBellum finally wrestled compliance from her 10/22 and finished only 35 points short of Rifleman. I’m sure we’ll be at an Indiana Appleseed within the next couple of months.
"Official AAR here: New Lisbon May15 and 16 Great weather in the forecast.
AuntieBellum and I took our first Appleseed in Wisconsin at the invitation of an old friend, also his first Appleseed.
Bright and early Saturday morning we schlepped out to M&M Sports in New Lisbon, WI. The range is just out in the back yard and was nothing fancy, but it was clean, the grass was tended and there weren’t any rocks or old brass sticking up to bother us. Weather was perfect in the upper-60’s and sunny with a very gentle breeze. The only issue was the ground conditions. The range was situated next to a lake and a small creek runs between the prep area and the firing line. This would be quite peaceful in a zen sort of way except the recent rains in the region had left the ground saturated and even standing water in some of the walking areas. But, with true rifleman spirit, 10 shooters and 6 instructors lined up to get down and dirty in the mud.
There was plenty of training in the morning with history at lunch. I went in knowing I didn’t know anything, but I started getting some confidence with good tight groups on the squares. The first AQTs reared their ugly heads in the afternoon. My scores were fair and I thought I might make something of the trip. Later in the day shooter Karl shot rifleman and was presented with his orange hat right then and there. I left for the day feeling pretty good but dog tired, sore, and I shot a high of 181. Particular hat tips for the day go to Tricia for her one-on-one instruction, to Deacon for tips on getting my tech sights blacked out (and since my friend Jason isn’t on here) for the loan of a .22 conversion unit and help with a very cranky AR-15, and to orange hat Tom for his help with analyzing my targets.
AuntieBellum gets personal instruction from Tricia:
Sunday was another fantastic weather day and I believe we had 11 on the line. Several more patches were handed out including to one shooter who really embodied Perseverance. Personally I started strong, shooting 10 rounds in quarter-sized groups on both of the squares I attempted. My performance suffered mid day, and I was a little down on myself. On the plus side, AuntieBellum increased her AQT scores by almost 150% over Saturday, and my friend got his AR properly adjusted and was able to get rounds on paper, though still a little handicapped by not having a GI sling and missing almost all Saturday’s shooting with mechanical problems. Towards the end of the day I realized that I just wasn’t able to effectively use my iron sights. I asked about using my Rem700 to finish the day with optics (5 round internal mags aren’t ideal for this) but instructor Colycat was kind enough to loan me his scoped 10/22. The group broke up around 4pm and the instructors got their chance to play with their toys. I stayed put and managed to grind out another 2 AQT’s while the instructors were shooting, and they held the line long enough for me to shoot a 218 on the last target of the day and shoot boss Dragonfly presented me my patch right there at the targets and I mildly defaced Colycat’s rifle by giving it its 8th(?) notch in the stock celebrating successful rifleman scores. Big hat tips for Sunday to Colycat of course for the loaner rifle, to Dragonfly and Old Glory for advice on my prone position, and to fresh orange hat Karl for running some of the strings of fire (his first time calling, I think).
My friend Jason and I shoot the AQT stage 1:
I get my patch from Dragonfly:
Overall, I went in knowing I was a n00b. I was pretty pleased with what I could do with what I already knew, but went after the fundamentals as taught. I had a rough spell in the middle where I started breaking down old habits and hadn’t yet mastered the new ones, but in the end thanks to valuable instruction from the cadre of instructors, as well as their patience in letting me be the last guy one the line, I successfully not only got my patch, but also cleared an entire redcoat target. I can’t wait to go back and get more consistent and shoot rifleman over iron sights. AuntieBellum finally wrestled compliance from her 10/22 and finished only 35 points short of Rifleman. I’m sure we’ll be at an Indiana Appleseed within the next couple of months.
"Official AAR here: New Lisbon May15 and 16 Great weather in the forecast.
