Great Rifle Training--Appleseed

unionguy · Aug 30, 2009

I just attended a two-day rifle training session out in Vale, Oregon this weekend and wanted to pass it on to others. It was put on by the Appleseed Rifle Project http://www.appleseedinfo.org/

I was very impressed with it and learned a lot during the weekend. It was my first time of formal rifle training and feel like I made solid progress in my skills and also left knowing exactly what I need to practice to sharpen them further.

Appleseed is put on by an all-volunteer group of certified instructors who are dedicated to helping all Americans learn how to shoot properly and accurately. (The goal is to get you qualify to the level of the Army Qualification Test)

If you are looking for quality, low-cost instruction in rifle marksmanship, take a look at it, it was only $75 for both days (plus ammo, of course!).

The B · Aug 30, 2009

lame.. i would have liked to have gone. i still havent ever attended one.

i was going to take my wife to one a few months ago, but the weather was supposed to suck, our double-date bailed on us, and i found out it was only a 25m range.

i know you can still learn really good BRM at 25m, but the whole reason i've wanted to do applesead was for the 500m shoots (which are apparently pretty rare, nowadays).

you should have posted BEFORE you went, too!

unionguy · Aug 31, 2009

I feel ya! Funny thing...one of my takeaways was that the 25 yard range is exactly where I need to practice until I have all the fundamentals dialed in. My days of plinking at targets 50-100 yards away and feeling happy getting "a can every other shot" are done. Drilling/practice for consistency...that's where I'm going!

Don't despair, they have lots of shoots, at least 1 every 2-3 months in the NW. One is upcoming in Castle Rock, WA.

We did do 100, 200, 300, and 400 yard shooting on Sunday.

OreGunSun · Aug 31, 2009

I have been too a few - I even got my rifleman patch on my first Appleseed - I broke 210 Saturday evening - but just by the skin of my teeth.

Wheeler/aka Rich is the shoot boss is a great teacher and has a great passion for turning people into riflemen and teaching the basics of making that 500 yard shot. - It is better than the trainning that I got in the Army - it is closer to what the USMC trains thier riflemen -

I am planning on going to the next one up in Vader ( CastleRock WA This coming weekend Sept 5-6)
$70 + ammo.

They still have some slots open.

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/238928642

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=4955.0

unionguy · Aug 31, 2009

Our instructor was RL and he was a fine teacher as well, with a clear passion for the history and training of riflemen.

What I most liked was the welcoming attitude toward beginners. There was no elitist baloney you sometimes get from those deeply into our hobby/passion. This was particularly evident since I had many equipment problems

all day. I could think of other folks who would have been really po'ed at the inexperienced person who is having equipment failures. They were patient and helpful throughout.

Very good people and fine teachers, in a nutshell.

Johnny_boy · Sep 6, 2009

I've heard from a local guy who attended one of these and although the training was excellent, he felt that it seemed like a recruiting place for a local militia with a strong push for singing up on one of those orgs (maybe sort of like Amway sales tactic?).
Was it anything like it?

unionguy · Sep 7, 2009

Johnny_boy said:
I've heard from a local guy who attended one of these and although the training was excellent, he felt that it seemed like a recruiting place for a local militia with a strong push for singing up on one of those orgs (maybe sort of like Amway sales tactic?).
Was it anything like it?

I was concerned about that too, but I didn't experience that at all. In fact, very little politics of any kind were discussed...only a little by the attendees during breaks. So, maybe it depends on who's running the shoot. For what its worth, their website is emphatic that they are not affiliated with any militias.

(Of course, maybe I wasn't a good enough shot for them to try and recruit me yet! :s0114:

)

Seriously, I'd go and try and it out. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot!

smonk · Oct 17, 2009

I've read about those in the Shotgun News. It looks like a very worthy cause. And reasonably priced. I didn't know they had made it to Oregon yet, though. I wonder if they have anything near the Portland area.

trainsktg · Oct 17, 2009

Johnny_boy said:
I've heard from a local guy who attended one of these and although the training was excellent, he felt that it seemed like a recruiting place for a local militia with a strong push for singing up on one of those orgs (maybe sort of like Amway sales tactic?).
Was it anything like it?

Well, there is passionate historical discussion of the militias of 1776 but as far modern militias using Appleseeds as a recruiting tool, I'd say it is officially impossible, unless its an individual attendee trying to push a personal agenda. I suspect it would be easy to avoid such a person, as there is almost no time to do anything other than shoot. Anyways, about the only militias in the Pacific Northwest I hear of anymore are the ones with members sporting middle eastern accents and large head wraps and I doubt too many of those go to Appleseeds.

Keith

trainsktg · Oct 17, 2009

smonk said:
I've read about those in the Shotgun News. It looks like a very worthy cause. And reasonably priced. I didn't know they had made it to Oregon yet, though. I wonder if they have anything near the Portland area.

Considering that kids, women, LEOs and now apparently elected officials can shoot for free, and a full two-day weekend for a man will cost somewhere in the area of a bit over $4 an hour, the program is a steal. The instruction is THAT good. They should be charging a W H O L E bunch more for this program, except of course the purpose isn't to make money but to 'spread the word', as it were, about America's shooting heritage and how to preserve it.

My 14 yo daughter and I attended one in Canby (or thereabouts) last spring...cold, mud, wind...but much less in severity and duration than what soldiers in Korea or the steppes of the Eastern Front withstood, so I considered myself fortunate. After the first hour of punishment, my daughter wanted to bug out of there, but by the end of the day she was more than eager to attend the next day, and she did.

Keith

unionguy · Oct 18, 2009

They did one last year in Wilsonville...I forget what month...I plan to track ti down again and go this year too.

XOR · Oct 18, 2009

There is one coming up Oct.31/Nov.1 in Castle Rock, WA (about an hour north of Portland). Check out <broken link removed> for more information.

If you want to learn to shoot, come on out. I'll be an instructor in training and all I can say is if you think you can shoot already, Appleseed can make you better. If you can't shoot at all, we will teach you good habits to build your foundation. The qualification test used will separate the wheat from the chaff and force you to work on your weak areas. It's a timed test with magazine changes and multiple positions (standing, sitting/kneeling and prone). If you can shoot the test well enough you'll qualify as "Rifleman" and in the field you'll have no problem engaging targets 400 yards+ away with iron sights accurately.

The only talk of "militias" is around the battles of Lexington and Concord that touched off the Revolutionary war. The only recruitment is if you make Rifleman they'd like to see you volunteer to teach others if you can. There is no talk about contemporary politics, just a call to action to not sit on the sidelines while others in the country take away your liberty.