The "Guys' Retreat - 2006"

[John in AR]

This was from our Guys' Retreat I've mentioned here.

The trailer, at 'phase 1' of loading up. Ammo cans only at this point:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Trailer-1-small.jpg

Long guns, tool box, power box: (softcase on shelf is a CAR-15)
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Trailer-2-small.jpg

Handguns and bins with medical kit, loaded magazines, etc:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Trailer-3-small.jpg

What a cool way to start a church outing... ;)

[John in AR]

Dinner fixin's...
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Dinner-1-small.jpg

Showing a new shooter the safety: (I didn't know my cohort took these pics of me with the kids; I found them on my camera after I got home)
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Detonics-1-edited-small.jpg

His first shots from a .45: :dancer01:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Detonics-2-edited-small.jpg

[John in AR]

We used paper targets for team scoring, but shot a lot of 'reactive' targets as well; mostly old produce (donated by a grocery store), tossed into the ponds.

Absolutely the most-used gun this year; the suppressed Mk2:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Ruger-1-small.jpg

Absolutely the most-fun gun this year; a perfect-condition Auto-Ordnance Thompson. (Only the adults shot it. Too much liability & expense both, otherwise.)
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Thompson-1-small.jpg

The only girl there; the daughter of the property owner. She hunts, but had never fired a handgun before; seemed like a perfect opportunity...
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Emily-1-small.jpg

[John in AR]

Part of the team scoring - hitting the floating target off the zipline:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Zipline-1-small.jpg

How they got TO the zipline:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Crossropes-1-small.jpg

The canoe races:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Canoeing-1-small.jpg

[John in AR]

I kept wanting to call this guy "Jesus" all weekend... :cool:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f360/quake316/Guys%20Retreat%202006/Jesus-1-small.jpg

[RIKA]

That is just plain neat. Can't imagine any better way for fathers and sons to grow closer. Does your church ever have an outing like that with the daughters or leave that to the moms?

RIKA

[John in AR]

It’s not a true “father/son” thing; it’s just a “guy” outing. One of my sons was there, as were sons of some of the others, but nearly half of the teenagers I didn’t even know their names. (The kid shooting my Detonics in the pic with me, I have no idea what his name is now.) We had 28 teenagers split up into 4 teams of 7 each, and probably 12 or so adults.

There were other things I don’t have pics of. Fishing, swimming, GPS navigation (scored for team points), fire starting (scored for team points), even had each team pick one guy to represent them in the rifle competition where they shot for team points.

Wish I had some pics of their ‘uniforms’. We give them all plain white T-shirts, and give each team a different color of spray paint, and they ‘mark’ their shirts with their team colors however they want. They get beyond creative; the “red” team spelled out “redhots” on their shirts – one letter per team member. One of the guys got a pic of them milling around the campsite afterward, when they happened to spell out “shorted”... :)

To give you some idea of the scope & scale of this place, look at the canoeing picture. The ridgeline way off in the distance that’s level with the guy’s hat (the guy scratching his shoulder), is where the tents were set up. It’s a huge place, and every year we threaten to refuse to leave. But we do... :crying:




We do have “girls” outings with female adults & female teenagers, but they tend to be weekends in a condo in Branson or such. Sounds boring to me... ;)

[RIKA]

Still a grand idea. Kids need positive role models and creative ways to vent energy and learn interesting new skills. Think the church outing accomplished that. :) And yeah, I'd be bored out of my skull spending a weekend in the Ozarks at a condo. :Puke:

RIKA

[John in AR]

...And yeah, I'd be bored out of my skull spending a weekend in the Ozarks at a condo. :Puke:

RIKA

Aaaahhh, Rika. If only more women were like you... ;)



A large part of their "outings" is spent at the outlet malls in Branson. Oh, joy... :bounce01:

[brass hammer]

GREAT-PHOTO'S "john-ar",,,B.T.W.? by my casual HAWK-EYED gander on 'pic#1',,,I see yer' a "TRAILER-MAN"!!!,,,nothing wrong with THAT!!!
[fine job in AMERICAN MANHOOD!,and my HAT IS OFF!,unto YOU!.]
:beer: :wavey:

[krept]

man that looks like such a great time.

[therealsteamer]

What a blast!!! Sounds like a great way to give kids a wholesome and educational experience... :D

[tuna]

Looks awesome! Our church keeps trying to set up a guy's weekend, but somehow things always fall through. We've managed to get a bunch of us to the range once in a while, but not as often as I'd like.

How do you determine the "adults" who get to shoot the Thompson? I'd be okay if you went by my ID, but if you looked in my eyes, you'd swear that I was two about to get a cookie from Santa.

[John in AR]

...How do you determine the "adults" who get to shoot the Thompson?...
You're either a player or a referee, basically; can't be both.

It's based on age group, in this case. If you're in the 'youth group' (from 13 years old up to going into 12th grade this fall), you're a camper, and are on a team, etc. If you're older than that, you're one of the 'adults'.

It's pretty clear-cut in our case anyway; the youngest 'adult' was in his late 20's, and most were 40's thru 60's.