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Appleseed coming to SW Washington
- Thread Starter kenjo
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Appleseed is a great program. The range instructors are great people and the training is simple and fun.
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I attended last year at Stevenson. There were about 15 of us, ranging in age from about 14 to 60.
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Most of us used .22 LR ammo. I brought a second rifle (different caliber) in case the something went wrong with the 10/22; I didn't have to use it. Since you will be in the prone position, you will be using the 5-round magazine. I had four of those and found it nicer than having only two (in case of dirt, rain, not ejecting properly).
- Thread Starter
- #7
I am an Appleseed instructor-in-training. Here is some information that should be helpful if you plan on attending an Appleseed. If you still have questions after reading the information at the Appleseed web site and reading this, feel free to ask.
Most shooters bring .22s, with the 10/22 probably the most common rifle used. Bring at least 2 10-round magazines (plus a couple spares, just in case) and make sure they work well before coming. The qualification course of fire, which has timed stages, has 2 stages that require a magazine change, the first mag loaded with 2 rounds, the second mag loaded with 8 rounds. Tube-fed rifles can also be used. The courses of fire requiring magazine changes are modified slightly for shooters with tube-fed rifles. Semi-auto rifles work best, but bolt action rifles can also be used, as long as there is some type of feeding device, either removable mags or tube fed. Heavy emphasis is placed on the use of the USGI web sling ( <broken link removed> ). The USGI sling requires 1-1/4 inch swivels. Any sling works better than no sling at all, though. Some shooters with AR-15s use their tactical slings, which work as long as you are familiar enough with the sling to use it for support. Adjustable peep sights, such as Tech-sights (Tech-SIGHTS Precision Shooting Accessories) or scopes are better than the open sights that come installed from the store, mostly because they have more precise adjustment capability. Most of the shooting will be done at 25 meters--ideal for the .22, but some ranges provide for "known distance" shooting out to 300 or 400 yards. Center fire rifles such as AR-15, SKS, M-1 and M-1A are often used. Bring what you have--the primary goal is teaching the correct techniques to accurately shoot a "rack grade" rifle from field positions (standing, sitting, prone). In the context of the Appleseed program, "accurate" means hits within 4 MOA (4 MOA is 1 inch at 25m, 4 inches at 100m, etc). Don't worry if you don't know what MOA is--you will definitely know by the end of the course. Most attendees are adults or teenagers, with some younger children now and then. Parents need to evaluate their kids ability to tolerate this type of event; it is pretty intense training, even for adults. Safety is heavily emphasized, of course, so some children may not be ready for the safety discipline required. Parents usually know whether or not their kids are ready for this kind of activity.
Your Appleseed course will be much more enjoyable, and you will get the most out of the training, if you are reasonably familiar with your rifle and sights before showing up. That means knowing how to operate the safety, how to insert and remove the magazine, and how to adjust the sights. If you have an instruction manual for rifle and sights, study it and bring the instructions with you.
Finally, the Appleseed course is not a competition, it is a training course with a final qualification test to earn the Rifleman patch. The qual test is done at least once on Saturday and several times on Sunday so there are plenty of opportunities to pass. If you don't pass the qual test the first time you take the Appleseed course, don't feel bad--only about 10% of the shooters who attend make Rifleman the first time. If you join RWVA ($20/year, available at the Appleseed you attend) you get the Rifleman Opportunity Card (ROC) which allows you to attend subsequent Appleseeds for free (not including range fees, if any) until you make Rifleman.
Most shooters bring .22s, with the 10/22 probably the most common rifle used. Bring at least 2 10-round magazines (plus a couple spares, just in case) and make sure they work well before coming. The qualification course of fire, which has timed stages, has 2 stages that require a magazine change, the first mag loaded with 2 rounds, the second mag loaded with 8 rounds. Tube-fed rifles can also be used. The courses of fire requiring magazine changes are modified slightly for shooters with tube-fed rifles. Semi-auto rifles work best, but bolt action rifles can also be used, as long as there is some type of feeding device, either removable mags or tube fed. Heavy emphasis is placed on the use of the USGI web sling ( <broken link removed> ). The USGI sling requires 1-1/4 inch swivels. Any sling works better than no sling at all, though. Some shooters with AR-15s use their tactical slings, which work as long as you are familiar enough with the sling to use it for support. Adjustable peep sights, such as Tech-sights (Tech-SIGHTS Precision Shooting Accessories) or scopes are better than the open sights that come installed from the store, mostly because they have more precise adjustment capability. Most of the shooting will be done at 25 meters--ideal for the .22, but some ranges provide for "known distance" shooting out to 300 or 400 yards. Center fire rifles such as AR-15, SKS, M-1 and M-1A are often used. Bring what you have--the primary goal is teaching the correct techniques to accurately shoot a "rack grade" rifle from field positions (standing, sitting, prone). In the context of the Appleseed program, "accurate" means hits within 4 MOA (4 MOA is 1 inch at 25m, 4 inches at 100m, etc). Don't worry if you don't know what MOA is--you will definitely know by the end of the course. Most attendees are adults or teenagers, with some younger children now and then. Parents need to evaluate their kids ability to tolerate this type of event; it is pretty intense training, even for adults. Safety is heavily emphasized, of course, so some children may not be ready for the safety discipline required. Parents usually know whether or not their kids are ready for this kind of activity.
Your Appleseed course will be much more enjoyable, and you will get the most out of the training, if you are reasonably familiar with your rifle and sights before showing up. That means knowing how to operate the safety, how to insert and remove the magazine, and how to adjust the sights. If you have an instruction manual for rifle and sights, study it and bring the instructions with you.
Finally, the Appleseed course is not a competition, it is a training course with a final qualification test to earn the Rifleman patch. The qual test is done at least once on Saturday and several times on Sunday so there are plenty of opportunities to pass. If you don't pass the qual test the first time you take the Appleseed course, don't feel bad--only about 10% of the shooters who attend make Rifleman the first time. If you join RWVA ($20/year, available at the Appleseed you attend) you get the Rifleman Opportunity Card (ROC) which allows you to attend subsequent Appleseeds for free (not including range fees, if any) until you make Rifleman.
- Thread Starter
- #8
A few more Appleseed tips:
We often see first-time shooters who have never fired a rifle before. That's fine--we work with them and get them up to speed pretty quickly. We also see shooters with rifles they haven't fired, and may or may not be familiar with how it works. We work with them, too, of course.
One thing about .22 LR rifles to try to check before coming to Appleseed is ammo. Some rifles are "sensitive" to different brands of ammo. If you bring a .22 rifle it would be a good idea to test different brands of ammo to make sure you have ammo that consistently feeds in your rifle. Some ammo works better than others, and it seems to be rifle dependent. Pick up some boxes of various brands and shoot them, just to make sure the stuff you plan on using will work in your rifle.
Some type of shooting mat is nice to have, especially if the ground is wet. You can buy shooting mats from places like MidwayUSA or Brownells, to name a couple, or bring a section of carpet big enough to lie down on, with a waterproof tarp underneath. If the weather is forecast to be wet, a lot of people bring pop-ups to provide some shelter from the rain, snow, sleet, whatever. If you bring a pop-up be sure to bring the stakes to secure it if it's windy. Or just tough it out. It's nice to be warm and dry, though. Also, be sure your rifle bore and chamber are clean when you show up--lots of rounds fired during the weekend, so starting with a clean rifle will avoid some problems. Especially .22s and AR-15s.
Bring a folding chair to sit on during the history presentations.
We often see first-time shooters who have never fired a rifle before. That's fine--we work with them and get them up to speed pretty quickly. We also see shooters with rifles they haven't fired, and may or may not be familiar with how it works. We work with them, too, of course.
One thing about .22 LR rifles to try to check before coming to Appleseed is ammo. Some rifles are "sensitive" to different brands of ammo. If you bring a .22 rifle it would be a good idea to test different brands of ammo to make sure you have ammo that consistently feeds in your rifle. Some ammo works better than others, and it seems to be rifle dependent. Pick up some boxes of various brands and shoot them, just to make sure the stuff you plan on using will work in your rifle.
Some type of shooting mat is nice to have, especially if the ground is wet. You can buy shooting mats from places like MidwayUSA or Brownells, to name a couple, or bring a section of carpet big enough to lie down on, with a waterproof tarp underneath. If the weather is forecast to be wet, a lot of people bring pop-ups to provide some shelter from the rain, snow, sleet, whatever. If you bring a pop-up be sure to bring the stakes to secure it if it's windy. Or just tough it out. It's nice to be warm and dry, though. Also, be sure your rifle bore and chamber are clean when you show up--lots of rounds fired during the weekend, so starting with a clean rifle will avoid some problems. Especially .22s and AR-15s.
Bring a folding chair to sit on during the history presentations.
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Highly recommended. Family Fun, Gun Safety, Marksmanship Training and American History . . . . Priceless
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