UT TFL Gathering After Action Report

[George Hill]

This was the biggest Utah TFL Gathering ever. I am not sure how many people we had here, but we had people coming and going new shooters and old shooters and all kinds of shooters.
We had a huge collection of firearms to try out, including full auto guns (belt fed machinegun, Uzi, and a Cobray.) Suppressed Uzi, and a suppressed .308 rifle. Very Fun!

I had a fantastic time and I really didn't do all that much shooting myself... Had the Brats, forgot the kraut... But everyone ate as much as they liked I guess.

There was a few people there - brand new, never fired a gun before. in less than an hour they went from .22 Rifle to pistol, to .45 to AK, and others... They had a fun time for sure and Stu and Doug had a good time teaching them.

We did some balloon drags and played the Last Man Standing game. Thats always fun.

Corriea won the new Gathering game we shall call, oh, I dont know... maybe "Tent Catching"...

One impressive gun is the SAR-2 with a Cobra optical gunsight... Flatshooting gun! I put the red dot right on the "JEEP ROCK"* and tagged it dead center with the first shot. That rock is a measured 525 yard shot! Needless to say - this will one day be my rifle. I've talked about it endlessly for a long time now... I dont know when I'm going to be getting one - but I will! For sure now!
One thing really irked me off - My rear sight would drift from shot to shot and throw off my aim. I did better just point shooting! (PlusP - Dont say a word!) Time to have a smith look at this .45 anyways.

Thank you for all that came and participated! For those that didn't make it... You missed out!

[Correia]

I had a great time. I'm dead tired, and I'm going out for some food right now, so I will post the details tonight. But in highlight:

1. Tent Catching: If I was the winner, I don't ever want to "Win" again. The laws of physics were not on my side just then.

2. Lots of good guns.

3. Everybody loves my wife for her popsicle mission of mercy.

4. I'm very out of shape now, and hiking miles up hill with hundreds of rounds of .308 and a FAL is for younger and tougher people than I...

But now Correia must eat!

Larry Correia
H.A.W.G. Farm
Finance Department

[George Hill]

Dang, that H.A.W.G. Farm tag looks good... don't it?

You guys should have seen Correia laughing his arse off with every short burst from the Uzi. Like a little boy with his Christmas puppy! He was the picture of pure delight. If you ever wonder what to get him for a gift - now you know. Just get him a Class III Uzi with several full cases of 124 grain 9MM subsonic.

I have to admit - I felt the same way inside!

UZI'S ARE GREAT!

[MiniZ]

I had a fabulous time, but like George, I really didn't shoot alot. It was fun just watching others, and seeing all the really neat hardware.

One very cool thing was the shooting 101 class taught by Doug and Stu(with guest professors thrown intermittently). I love to see new people get involved(especially females). It will only help our hobby/passion/obsession.

Correia, you are not the only one out of shape. After making three trips up and two down, I would like to propose that a vehicle be kept "clear" for shuttle purposes at the next shoot. Don't get me wrong, I know if I would have asked, any one of you with suitable vehicles would have got my gear. But frankly, I did not want to impose since just about everybody set up base on the trucks. Either that, or I need to talk my wife into buying me a new truck.

Oh yes, I am nominating Correia's wife for "TFL wife of the year." This extraordinary woman hiked up the hill in sandles(carrying a 30lb child) to bring us popsicles!! The woman is a saint!! Treat her good Larry, the rest of us are going to watch out for her well being now!!(just kidding, we all know you do the right thing).

I am tired and burned crisp. No more tonight.

Zane

[K80Geoff]

Y'Know... I really hate you guys.

Living out there in flyover country and getting to shoot all that neat stuff without having the local constabulary checking up on you

And cooking bratwurst on the range without violating some stupid local ordinance.

Dammit,,,I'm jealous.


Geoff Ross

Now I'm going to have a fit of depression.

[George Hill]

Yeah, it also sucks to have Senators from our state that we can actually say something good about too...

Ouch - sorry - that was below the belt!

[Correia]

Oh man I'm sore. I just rolled my damaged carcass out of bed. I didn't realize just how hard that tent hit me. I feel like I'm playing football again or something.

Ok, here is the story for those of you interested. We were in a spot that gets some of Utah's famous high desert wind blasts. We also had a really large shade tent. (Special thanks to Doug444 for the use of his jumbo tent). Well a huge gust caught the tent and flipped it over repeatedly, and everybody started jumping out of the way. I mean, this thing was really cruising.

I was down on the firing line, and I saw it coming. I was in a spot that I figured that I could intercept it and stop its kamikazee path of destruction. So I figured that I would time it and grab one of the legs as it went past.

Ok one thing to remember, this thing was about the size of a sail boat sail, and it was cruising. There is a lot of kinetic energy involved there. So instead of me grabbing the leg and stopping it, I got steamrolled! I didn't even slow it down. CRUNCH.

Really it wasn't too bad, but I bet I sure looked funny.

Yes, I will admit that I giggled like a little sissy while shooting the Uzi. But, come on, I only did what all of us would have liked to do.

Also the 700 with the suppresor rocked beyond all comprehension. Super accurate, Leopold scope, McMillan stock. And shooting a .308 with no ear protection. That was awesome.

Special thanks to Todd for bringing some sweet hardware, that I had never seen before.

As for good shots, I believe that Porter Glockwell is pretty sold on getting himself a FAL after he popped a balloon out of the air with an Stg 58. Same thing for Joe after he plugged everything in sight with a Jay's Garand to perfection. I'm still trying to figure out how PvtPyle can be a good shot with his sightless 1911, go figure.

No 200 yard 1911 headshots for me this time around though. But I did run about 85% on clays with an 870 riot gun.

MiniZ's painted M1A looks great. Karsten does do good work.

It was really good to see new shooters. I'm not really sure how many people we had out there. Probably no more than 25 at any given time. But folks came and went all day long. So we probably had 35 or 40 in total. That is just a guess. But there were more than ever before.

My wife is funny. I did not expect her to show up. Let alone seeing her walk over that last rise in sandles carrying 30lbs of cranky baby Correia. But she figured that we would be hot and would want some popsicles. Yes! A wife that supports me in my shooting. Enjoys shooting as well. AND encourages me to buy guns! HA HA HA!!

And also thanks WVC for the BBq that was a lot of fun. And it was good to sit around and shoot the bull with everybody.

So all in all I would say that Utah Gathering IV was a rousing success.

[K80Geoff]

Bwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!



Geoff Ross


(snif)

[PvtPyle]

I had a blast as usual and would like to thank everyone for coming again. I would also like to ask the other Utah shooters why they missed out, AGAIN on a great shoot? We would really like to see you guys come out and get involved in the fun!

After the hike I have learned alot about myself.
1) the aerobics are doing very little for that kind of exertion.
2) I need better socks and boots. The Izzy boots were comfortable enough because they were light but they gave no ankle support and little sole support. My feet are sore as hell on the bottom.
3) when packing your gear put all of the necessities in one pile and the things that would be nice to have in another. When done, load the necessities in your gear and leave the house. Every ounce counts and you will be asking your self "Why did I bring this" a click into it.

We should start planning the September shoot now so we can get as many people as we can to the next one. Weather should be nicer and we have plenty of room for more shooters.

George, email me about the HAWG farm. I did some brain storming last night and have a few good ideas.


PvtPyle
HAWG Farm
Supply and Procurements

[Dead]

It would help K80Geoff HAD sentor's for his state FROM his state...... I think I am going to run for Sentor of cali...

Being from the East Coast and all I should be a shoe in.

[Jamie Young]

Hey Utah guys!!!! Why don't you all plan your next Shoot Sept 16th. Lets have a NATIONAL TFL GATHERING DAY. Or an East Coast/West Coast TFL gathering. I've talked to a few of the others that have TFL shoots in there State and hopefully we can all do it

Looks like we might land a Moderator or two at our Pennsylvania shoot Sept 16th!!!!!!!!

[MiniZ]

As always, our TFL get together was a chance for some of us to add to the wish list....In no particular order: A FAL, a tactical 11-87(although I might just build up my budget 1100), A supressed anything, and a full auto anything.

Zane

[Correia]

Zane,

How about a suppressed full-auto FAL?

Oh man. I think that is my dream gun. I don't know what the hell I would do with it, but it would sure look tough at the range.

Also the 16th of September would be good. But we would need to check first. Quite a few of our local TFLers have lots of stuff on their plates. (military, drill, or they teach classes). But that sounds like a decent day to shoot for.

[WVC]

Ouch!

I'm really sun burned.

I'm looking forward to the next one. The weather should be cooler. The 15th of September should work fine for me

Who has pictures of the shoot? I need to get one of us after the hike.

[George Hill]

National TFL Gathering...

I think our Utah Group can put one together!
September 15th and 16th?

Sounds good to me!

[Porter-Glockwell]

1) OUCH... I am out of shape. I didn't think the hike was that bad... I even jogged a little, but wearing 40lbs of LBV most of the day really did a number on my skinny "little girl" shoulders the morning after. Not to mention every other muscle in my body.
I decided to lose the 2 extra mags I was packing on the buttpack and go with 270 rounds instead of 330. I didn't even make it through 150 rounds Saturday and I even let a few other guys give "Nadia" (my SAR1) a go.

2) OUCH... Even though I applied tons of sunscreen, I neglected to attend to my scalp. A few years ago this wouldn't have been an issue, but my hair is getting thinner and now I have a few nasty blisters and a hard-boiled skull.
Also, it is possible to drink a couple of gallons of water and never feel the need to take a pee. Trust me, I lost about 5 lbs in sweat.

3)OUCH... never trust anyone who begs you to try their shotgun. PvtPyle's autoloader ejected spent shells right into my teeth (man I hate being a lefty), so with a little too much suspicious coersion I decided to try a 30", full choked pump with high-brass loads and no recoil pad. I couldn't even finish the 4 shot magazine. My shoulder sports a nasty bruise.

4) almost ouch... the flying tent of doom came about an inch away from giving me an uppercut. whew!

Despite the pain, this was the best shooting event I have ever attended. LOTS of neat toys and cool people. It almost made me forget that the world is turning into a socialist hole. I swear, burning Cordite is the smell of freedom.

5) WOW I need a belt fed machingun. That was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Never having been in the military, I had never experienced Full Auto. The UZI was awesome too. I want one so badly my teeth hurt. (and not just from the shotgun shells ) It almost makes me cry when I think that so many people want to restrict my freedoms and keep me away from these things. Tell ya what Feds, you repeal NFA '34 and all that other BS and we'll consider letting you stick around for a while. Give America back its liberty teeth and its manhood.

6) I need a FAL. I love my AK, but TireIron's STG58 was nothing short of beautiful. It just feels natural in my hands. Power of the .308 with the kick of the AK. Not bad. Of course, buying a FAL would incur additional expenses like compatable web gear and tons of magazines, not to mention .308 ammo. 7.62x39 is all I can handle for now. .308 would break me.
Unfortunately, the house millitary appropriations committee (i.e. wife) has declared a moratorium on millitary spending until well after the suburban housing development project (i.e. moving out of the apartment and into a house) is complete.
So, the only way I will ever get a hold of a FAL in the remotely near future is to take it off of Corriea's sorry corpse after he has a heart attack from humping all that ammo up the hill.

It's good to know there are so many other like-minded warriors living nearby You guys rock.

Porter-Glockwell
H.A.W.G. Farm
Conceptual Artistic Marketing Director and future Legal Council... heck, I'll be the farking janitor if I can work there.

[Goet]

The heat really did suck, didn't it.

I too drank about 2 gallons and sweated it right out. What really killed was hauling all my stuff down that nasty hill--twice. That and throwing half a box of clays.

Porter--talked to Mike Fox. We're planning a little shootout for our EQ/AP in a couple weeks. Give those kids something to talk about. Consider yourself invited. You'd make a great example of the 4 rules Just show that wrist and the room gets somber.

[Correia]

Porter, if I ever die from the exertion of carrying all that .308 you are WELCOME to my FAL.

I thought that I had 100 rounds on me during the march (5 mags). I couldn't figure out why it seemed so heavy. Until afterwards when I was unpacking the gear to give back to PvtPyle and I discovered that I had thrown another 100 rounds of boxed ammo into the rucksack.

[Doug444]

Many thanks for the kind words, gentlemen. As to the teaching - well, my wife says that's one of my "normal" modes. I'm still not sure if she means that's a GOOD thing or not!

As to the flying assault tent - looks like I'll need to devise an effective stake-down method for the hard "parking lot" area. My tent survived just fine - glad to hear that all the"victims" are OK as well.

My greatest diappointment for the day was forgetting my .444 Marlin ammo! Yup, it was sitting right there on the loading bench when I got home.

On the other hand, I had many "highs" for the day. The full-auto stuff was indeed fun, but my personal favorite was plinking at the SMALL rock past the Jeep rock with Todd's national match set-up M1A!! I always new I'd like one of them, but now I KNOW I do.

I didn't get around to pulling out the contender or my .22 Mag, but that will wait for another time, I guess. I certainly got to know my .38 Super EAA Witness a lot better by the end of the day though. I really like that gun!

By the way, I've found the secret to winning the "last man standing" contest - start out on the left end, 'cause most right-handed shooters tend to look to the right for their targets! Those little 20 oz. bottles were challenging, weren't they?

I'll try to keep the 15/16th of Sept. available.

One last thing. I must say that I was impressed with the conduct of all of the shooters. In light of the fact that we were on an "un-controlled" range (read no designated range officer constantly watching the firing line) we were all quite concious of where our muzzles were pointed and located (front/back) relative to the other shooters. When a "cease fire" was called everyone obeyed without question, and when someone did make a small error they were gently but firmly reminded of the rules. I know we made a positive impact on 2 new shooters that day.

Safe shooting!

Doug444

[George Hill]

Hey Now!!!!
That FAL comes back home to me! Hey Correia? Wanna go hiking again?

[MiniZ]

Hey Doug, thanks for reminding me of Todd's M1A set up(NOT!!). I had almost forgotten that I now lust after a bi-pod and a GOOD scope for mine.

I guess my wife needs to get a second job(LOL!!!!!!!).

Zane

[Dead]

George Hill,

Let me know when that Hike is... I will be out there. JUst need to hike around the mountains with 80lbs packs.. I get whatever is dropped

[Goet]

So, any pics?