Firewall99
RWVA Instructor
Shoot Boss: Firewall99
Instructor: dwarven1
IIT's: Brother Mark, Andy in NH, Dangerous Old Woman, Smithy
Promotions: Brother Mark to Instructor
Weather: Sunny and partly cloudy Saturday; rain on and off Sunday.
ON THE LINE
Men 8 6
Women 3 3
Teen Boy (Age 14) 1 0
Boy (Age 9) 1 1
TOTAL ON THE LINE 13 10
Rifles: Entirely .22lr's with one bolt action and two semi-auto Marlins with the rest being 10/22's. About ½ of the rifles were set up with scopes.
Rifleman: 1
LTR's loaned: 3
Round Count:
Saturday - ~350
Sunday - ~400
Total - ~750
*************
This range is shady most of the day, with REAL GRASS to shoot on. The instructor staff was extremely competent and well-prepared. The IIT's expressed an appreciation for the detailed shoot plan, which we actually followed this time. (What a concept!) The new administration scheme of handing out at the range entrance the shooter packages, including for the first time a shooter checklist for signing-in, and leaving the entire kit in the car during registration, worked beautifully. Everyone rushed to the table with their waivers and name tags already filled out, and we were shooting the first Redcoat at almost exactly 9 AM! By lunch we had completed not only the Ball & Dummy drill, but also the Rifleman's Cadence. We broke for lunch at exactly noon. Amazing.
The shooters were a great bunch of eager beavers, a delight to instruct. We had one complete newbie, never fired a firearm of any kind in her life. By the end of the shoot she seemed quite happy with her progress. The Redcoats told the story, as usual, with effective ranges doubling across the board.
The history given by all the staff was exceptional, especially given that all IIT's were doing their segments for the first time. They had started from the Firewall99 history notes and used them to construct their own versions, just as they should. They were some of the best history renditions I've ever experienced. Wow.
Smithy did an heroic job of building LTR's, adjusting scopes, cleaning rifles, and repairing a bad scope mount. Now that he is an IIT, he also called the line a few times. Because of Smithy's input, several shooters will return to their next shoot much better equipped.
Brother Mark passed his Instructor PC and earned his promotion to full Instructor, receiving one of our first new floppy Red Hats. Bravo, Mark!
Our benediction on Sunday was one of the best we've done. Dwarven1 was superb, and Mark's reading of John Adam's letter with the famous "Posterity, you will never know..." quote never fails to bring out a tear or two. It was quite moving at the end. This group of shooters definitely got their money's worth.
The shooters who completed the course were all happy campers and were already chomping on the bit for the next Appleseed. Several of them started planning their return to Appleseed on the spot.
Those gleaming eyes and the hearty "Thank You's!" that we instructors all received were very rewarding. Thank YOU, shooters!
Summary:
Everyone worked hard, everyone learned, and everyone there at the end had a gleam in their eyes. Damn good shoot.
Firewall99
Instructor: dwarven1
IIT's: Brother Mark, Andy in NH, Dangerous Old Woman, Smithy
Promotions: Brother Mark to Instructor
Weather: Sunny and partly cloudy Saturday; rain on and off Sunday.
ON THE LINE
Men 8 6
Women 3 3
Teen Boy (Age 14) 1 0
Boy (Age 9) 1 1
TOTAL ON THE LINE 13 10
Rifles: Entirely .22lr's with one bolt action and two semi-auto Marlins with the rest being 10/22's. About ½ of the rifles were set up with scopes.
Rifleman: 1
LTR's loaned: 3
Round Count:
Saturday - ~350
Sunday - ~400
Total - ~750
*************
This range is shady most of the day, with REAL GRASS to shoot on. The instructor staff was extremely competent and well-prepared. The IIT's expressed an appreciation for the detailed shoot plan, which we actually followed this time. (What a concept!) The new administration scheme of handing out at the range entrance the shooter packages, including for the first time a shooter checklist for signing-in, and leaving the entire kit in the car during registration, worked beautifully. Everyone rushed to the table with their waivers and name tags already filled out, and we were shooting the first Redcoat at almost exactly 9 AM! By lunch we had completed not only the Ball & Dummy drill, but also the Rifleman's Cadence. We broke for lunch at exactly noon. Amazing.
The shooters were a great bunch of eager beavers, a delight to instruct. We had one complete newbie, never fired a firearm of any kind in her life. By the end of the shoot she seemed quite happy with her progress. The Redcoats told the story, as usual, with effective ranges doubling across the board.
The history given by all the staff was exceptional, especially given that all IIT's were doing their segments for the first time. They had started from the Firewall99 history notes and used them to construct their own versions, just as they should. They were some of the best history renditions I've ever experienced. Wow.
Smithy did an heroic job of building LTR's, adjusting scopes, cleaning rifles, and repairing a bad scope mount. Now that he is an IIT, he also called the line a few times. Because of Smithy's input, several shooters will return to their next shoot much better equipped.
Brother Mark passed his Instructor PC and earned his promotion to full Instructor, receiving one of our first new floppy Red Hats. Bravo, Mark!
Our benediction on Sunday was one of the best we've done. Dwarven1 was superb, and Mark's reading of John Adam's letter with the famous "Posterity, you will never know..." quote never fails to bring out a tear or two. It was quite moving at the end. This group of shooters definitely got their money's worth.
The shooters who completed the course were all happy campers and were already chomping on the bit for the next Appleseed. Several of them started planning their return to Appleseed on the spot.
Those gleaming eyes and the hearty "Thank You's!" that we instructors all received were very rewarding. Thank YOU, shooters!
Summary:
Everyone worked hard, everyone learned, and everyone there at the end had a gleam in their eyes. Damn good shoot.
Firewall99
