AAR: Rifle Skill Builder Clinic (January 21, 2017, Lexington, KY)

Most people hear the alarm clock go off on a Saturday morning and cringe at the thought of getting up, but not Saturday morning January 21, 2017, as the alarm clock was the call of Liberty and we gladly rose to its song. Eleven patriots met at Bud’s Gun Shop and Range in Lexington, KY.

Most years Bud’s indoor range gives us a reprieve from the winter’s bitter cold and a chance to spend the day practicing our heritage of rifle marksmanship, passed down from our forebears. This year the weather was warm and balmy, most unusual for a mid-January day but we still enjoyed the climate controlled environment of Bud’s indoor range.

The morning started off shooting the “Morgan’s 13” target, and it was apparent that we had some marksmen among us. We went straight into refresher instruction which resulted in tighter groups as the shooters got loosened up. The morning flew by as everyone continued to make their groups smaller by working on their technique. Then sight zeroing instruction was given and the shooters adjusted their hardware to make their point of impact coincide with their point of aim.

Shooters calculate sight adjustments.

Lunch took us to the training room upstairs at Bud’s, where our event director, Kevin (“Unbridled Liberty”), shared the forgotten stories of choices and sacrifices made by old men, women and children on April 19, 1775. After lunch we began shooting timed qualifier targets, getting 5 in before the end of the day. We had 4 shooters qualify as Marksman and 2 shooters qualify as Expert.

We finished up the day back upstairs in the training room where one of our students who is a naturalized citizen told the story of his family’s oppression and their fight for their Liberties, which we received as gifts from our forefathers, and as a result, we often take our Liberties for granted. Kevin also spoke about the way we can get involved in our communities and work to preserve those liberties for future generations. One young women stepped up and accepted the invitation to become an instructor and began her journey of teaching.

Just a little math as we review “inches, minutes, and clicks” to calculate sight adjustments.

As a last note, we would like to recognize the two young men who safely handled their rifles all day even through malfunctions; Christian and Ethan. Their attitude and fortitude to not give up or get frustrated was an inspiration to us all. Ethan even shot an Expert score!

We at Revere’s Riders thank all that answered the call of Liberty last Saturday morning and came out to learn the skill of rifle marksmanship and what makes this country so special.

Thank You Matt, Meagan, Ethan, Sofjan, Christian, Andrew, Bill, Rich and Barb. It was a pleasure having you all on the line. Also, special thanks to Bill, who acted as our official photographer for the day in between shooting strings!

A student practices a drill in the prone position.

For more photos, check out our Flickr page for this event!