Spent yesterday with trainees up at the range. This is the first week that the Chief Instructor has left me alone for a full session with the trainees and also the first time I've more than two trainees.
The Chief Instructor was off with a group of four "newbies" and I had four trainees who were at different stages in the training process. According to our new training schedule we were up to week 4 of the 12 week program and the focus was on shooting around and through barricades as well as strong / weak hand shooting.
I was really pleased to see that the course designers for the squad shoots had set up a door and some portals, so all I had to set up on my training range was a drum and a hatch. After doing some warm up shooting we focused on one handed shooting for a couple of times (carrying props around the range in one hand) and then moved to opening the hatch safely and also aiming and shooting through the drum.
By this time the stage with the portals had been shot by both of the regular squads and was free for us to play with. My trainees all wanted to shoot this stage twice (it was a well designed stage with poppers, well laid out targets and lots of choices). Everyone did well and shot it safely.
After we shot this one, there was a smaller stage available with the door. Most trainees only had a couple of rounds left my this stage, so we just focused on opening and shooting through the door safely.
It was a great day - but boy, was I tired by the end of it!
Next week there is no training, however the following week will focus on different types of targets (IPSC / ICOR / poppers / steel / swinging and disappearing).
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Hunting ....
Back from my hunting trip (to the same place I blogged about here) ... for hunting there are a couple of things you need ....
1) Gun? - check
2) Permission from land owner? - check
3) Ammo? - check
4) Animals? ... animals? ... who forgot to invite the animals???
Seriously, we only saw 6 rabbits - the closest at about 25m. My friend took shots at them but missed (hehehehe).
THEN it rained for two days .... and the animals obviously had more sense then we did and stayed inside.
So we decided to give the hunting the flick and go visit some friends at Dongara. Fantastic spot - even in the rain.
Even though the hunting was a bit disappointing we did have a great time - especially wildflower spotting. It's wildflower season and there are hundreds of beautiful flowers on display throughout the area ... here's a sample:
The white flowers are everlastings, but I'm not sure what the purple ones are
Field of yellow everlastings
More Everlastings
A collection of purple flowers
Carpet of Colour
A Selection of Yellow Flowers.
The area is famous for the Wreath Flowers
Not only did they come in a wide variety of colours, there were some unusual shapes too ...
1) Gun? - check
2) Permission from land owner? - check
3) Ammo? - check
4) Animals? ... animals? ... who forgot to invite the animals???
Seriously, we only saw 6 rabbits - the closest at about 25m. My friend took shots at them but missed (hehehehe).
THEN it rained for two days .... and the animals obviously had more sense then we did and stayed inside.
So we decided to give the hunting the flick and go visit some friends at Dongara. Fantastic spot - even in the rain.
Even though the hunting was a bit disappointing we did have a great time - especially wildflower spotting. It's wildflower season and there are hundreds of beautiful flowers on display throughout the area ... here's a sample:
The white flowers are everlastings, but I'm not sure what the purple ones are
Field of yellow everlastings
More Everlastings
A collection of purple flowers
Carpet of Colour
A Selection of Yellow Flowers.
The area is famous for the Wreath Flowers
Not only did they come in a wide variety of colours, there were some unusual shapes too ...
Friday, September 25, 2009
Work Taking Over Life, But Not For Much Longer
Sorry I've been quiet on the blogging front for the last couple of days. I've been working LONG hours. Currently I'm working on a data migration project and the timeframes for each test is very tight so it's 'heads down, bums up' a couple of days a fortnight.
BUT tomorrow I escape .... off hunting again ... YAYAYAYAYA !!!!!!!!
BUT tomorrow I escape .... off hunting again ... YAYAYAYAYA !!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Yelling at the Radio
Am I the only person who does this???
Today, whilst driving to work, there was a "news article" about a study run by the We-Need-To-Justify-Our-Existance.org which has found that 61% of parents don't think the government is doing enough to EDUCATE their children about drugs!
WTF????????? In my book it's the parents' responsibility to educate children about drugs and other 'life issues' not the governments!
And, yes, I yelled that at the radio!
Today, whilst driving to work, there was a "news article" about a study run by the We-Need-To-Justify-Our-Existance.org which has found that 61% of parents don't think the government is doing enough to EDUCATE their children about drugs!
WTF????????? In my book it's the parents' responsibility to educate children about drugs and other 'life issues' not the governments!
And, yes, I yelled that at the radio!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
The Economy is so Bad ....
The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
It’s so bad, I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, “Can you afford fries with that?”
The economy is so bad that CEO’s are now playing miniature golf.
The economy is so bad if the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds,” you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
The economy is so bad Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
The economy is so bad McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
The economy is so bad parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children’s names.
More (mainly American focused) at Days of our Trailers.
It’s so bad, I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, “Can you afford fries with that?”
The economy is so bad that CEO’s are now playing miniature golf.
The economy is so bad if the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds,” you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
The economy is so bad Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
The economy is so bad McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
The economy is so bad parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children’s names.
More (mainly American focused) at Days of our Trailers.
Range Report
At the beginning of September we started a new and more structured training regime at the gun club. So far we have only had a few new trainees which is proving beneficial for ironing out the wrinkles.
One of the major changes we have made is to try and eliminate the "just coming to see what it is like" people from the actual training course. Up to now these people have been included in with the trainees and it can make things difficult, especially when there are lots of trainees and lots of "try & sees". We are now planning to hold monthly "Have a Go" sessions designed for these people and keep the training course for new members only.
The other change is that we run a separate course at a different time for the first training session and we're going to limit this course to 4 participants only.
The way the training was run was that people could join at any time during the twelve week program and we just "coped" with it. This way we can assess and ensure that the newbies have basic gun handling skills before mixing in with the bigger classes.
But as I said, we've only had four newbies since the beginning of September - two we've seen only once and haven't applied for membership. The other two have submitted their membership forms and seem quite keen.
The Chief Instructor has been letting me do the majority of the training which has been great, and he's been there to offer advice and help when I've needed it.
Today we did an extra training session (we don't normally train on Sunday) but we're not there next weekend and the trainee from yesterday was keen to do more. The schedule called from shooting from various start positions - including "prone" - shame it had been raining (our range is outdoor on gravel). We did find a bit of plastic to put down, but that made it slippery. The trainee was a good sport about it and yes, I got wet & muddy too as I demonstrated how to keep the gun in front of your body while going prone.
One of the major changes we have made is to try and eliminate the "just coming to see what it is like" people from the actual training course. Up to now these people have been included in with the trainees and it can make things difficult, especially when there are lots of trainees and lots of "try & sees". We are now planning to hold monthly "Have a Go" sessions designed for these people and keep the training course for new members only.
The other change is that we run a separate course at a different time for the first training session and we're going to limit this course to 4 participants only.
The way the training was run was that people could join at any time during the twelve week program and we just "coped" with it. This way we can assess and ensure that the newbies have basic gun handling skills before mixing in with the bigger classes.
But as I said, we've only had four newbies since the beginning of September - two we've seen only once and haven't applied for membership. The other two have submitted their membership forms and seem quite keen.
The Chief Instructor has been letting me do the majority of the training which has been great, and he's been there to offer advice and help when I've needed it.
Today we did an extra training session (we don't normally train on Sunday) but we're not there next weekend and the trainee from yesterday was keen to do more. The schedule called from shooting from various start positions - including "prone" - shame it had been raining (our range is outdoor on gravel). We did find a bit of plastic to put down, but that made it slippery. The trainee was a good sport about it and yes, I got wet & muddy too as I demonstrated how to keep the gun in front of your body while going prone.
Miss 7 is now Miss 8
Actually she turned 8 on the 10th, but I've been a bit slack with posting her birthday photo here.
For her birthday she had set up an orienteering course for her friends and I had incorporated a treasure hunt at each checkpoint.
It was a lot of fun, but the poor girl had had some warts burnt off her feet a couple of days prior and had done a 11km hike the day before - so she wasn't feeling particularly brilliant.
However, it was a beautiful walk and lots of fun.
For her birthday she had set up an orienteering course for her friends and I had incorporated a treasure hunt at each checkpoint.
It was a lot of fun, but the poor girl had had some warts burnt off her feet a couple of days prior and had done a 11km hike the day before - so she wasn't feeling particularly brilliant.
However, it was a beautiful walk and lots of fun.
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