Appleseed Shoot story.

[caoboy]

http://www.stu-offroad.com/firearms/appleseed/appleseed-1.htm

Just came across this today when I was supposed to be working. Something you might want to read, if you haven't heard of AppleSeed or are interested in it and want to know more about it from a 'n00b' perspective.

I'm wanting to go to one more and more, but I think I need more practice/tech sights for my Marlin 795 before I plunk down 70 bucks for a weekend of target shooting

[caoboy]

Appleseed Shoot


It was several months ago when a friend of mine at work asked me if I was going to the Appleseed shoot? "Appleseed shoot?" I asked. I had to find out more about this shoot. A quick search with Google landed me on the Appleseed Project web site sponsored by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association. After spending about 15 minutes on the site, I had a faily good idea of what the Appleseed project was all about. Upon returning to work the following day, I informed my friend that I would be attending if at all possible. A week or two later, the Appleseed site had been updated with the info for the upcoming Phoenix area shoot. I registered myself for the weekend ($70 for the course) and began organizing my equipment.

The best thing about an Appleseed shoot is, in my opinion, that you can make it as expensive or inexpensive as you wish. You can shoot anything from a .22 rimfire rifle to a high power rifle, such as a .30-06 or .308. Given today's cost of ammunition, being able to use a brick of .22 LR keeps your ammo outlay down to the $20 mark or less. I shot 400 rounds over the weekend. I may not have done it if I had to feed my AR-15 or Saiga .223 with 400 rounds.

Aside from my ammo, the other "big" expense was a $10 purchase at the local Walmart. The Appleseed site suggested I bring a shooting mat. For $10, I purchased a nice 2' wide doorway runner about 6' long....the home furnishings section had quite a variety of them. While never intended to be used as a shooting mat, I'll tell you it did a great job and will be used again when the need arises. Did I mention we spent a lot of the weekend in the prone position?

You will need eye protection (safety glasses is what I use), a ball cap to keep the brass from raining down on your head and landing between your glasses and your eye (OUCH!), and of course some hearing protection. While it doesn't take much to quiet down a .22 rimfire rifle, remember you may be next to someone shooting a .30 caliber rifle so be sure your hearing protection is up to speed. You can also wear foam ear plugs under the ear muffs if additional protection is needed.

While not an absolute requirement, you really do want a sling for your rifle. The nice part is that it doesn't have to be an expensive/fancy sling. A low cost $10~$15 web sling will do the job just fine. Once I learned how to properly use the sling, I found it to be a big advantage towards creating a steady shooting platform. I used a nylong sling that came from Uncle Mikes, if I remember correctly.

That is about it.....everything else is provided for you.....that being the packet of very good information and the targets. You will need a good attitude too. If you think you know everything there is to know about rifle shooting, then this probably isn't the place for you. If you want to improve your shooting skills and learn a little bit about our country's history, then sign up and come to the course. As I type this paragraph, I believe I know why the guy in the lane next to me didn't make it to the end of day #1. His attitude sucked (he was a 30 year retired cop form an east coast city PD and believe me, I heard a lot about his great shooting abilities). After correcting him, for the 2nd time, about him loading his rifle before the range master gave the command to do so, it appeared that he got all butt hurt and left shortly after lunch. Oh darn it anyway! <grin> I have a very low tolerance for attitudes that put people in danger.


Here I am with my trusty ol' Ruger 10/22 and my Walmart shoot mat. This pic was taken on day #2....I know that because of the duct tape holding the mat in place. It was just a wee bit windy that day....but we pressed on with our practice and qualification. As our instructor repeated on several occasions....."A rifleman persists."

Safety was a very important part of the two day shoot. While everyone was good natured and enjoyed the humor that sometimes came with the course of instruction, there was no joking around when it came to the safe handling of your rifle. Each rifle was inspected prior to us going down range to tape or replace targets. On the rifle, the magazine was removed (or tube released on a tube fed rifle), safety on, bolt locked back, chamber empty flag inserted, and the rifle safely pointed down range and on the ground. No one was allowed to touch or move a rifle until the range officer gave the command to do so.


A big part of the rifleman training was focused on a technique called NPOA (natural point of aim). NPOA is a shooting skill where the shooter minimizes the effects of body movement on the firearm's impact point. Along with proper stance, sight picture and trigger control, it forms the basis of marksmanship. The above sight in target (upper left corner of the pic), shot at 25 meters, is on a 1/2" grid. This group was shot by one of the participants with his eyes closed (from start to finish) after obtaining a good sight picture and sight alignment using NPOA. Of course, good trigger control doesn't hurt either and is very important too. But the point is that once you have gotten your natural point of aim for the position you are shooting from, it really does make it much easier to shoot an accurate group. We got to practice working on our NPOA a lot and after I started getting the hang of it, my groups did improve as did my score.

The purpose of the Appleseed shoot is to provide you with the necessary skills to achieve an Expert score on the AQT (Army Qualification Test). The AQT is shot using a total of 40 rounds of ammunition. Since the AQT is designed to test your rifleman skills out to 400 meters, we used a target scaled for 25 meters. Since public 400 yard ranges are not all that easy to find, this worked out well. And yes, we didn't have to compensate for windage at 400 yds.....but we did shoot our exam in a 35 MPH Arizona wind storm on the afternoon of the 2nd day. Staying on target while shooting from the standing position was certainly interesting.


Here is the scaled AQT target I mentioned above. I put a couple of quarters on it (circled in red) to give some perspective as to what you are shooting at. The course of fire is as follows.

Stage #1 - 10 shots, in 2 minutes, from the standing position. 1 magazine is used assuming it will hold the required 10 rounds. This target is scaled down from a 100 yard target.

Stage #2 - 10 shots, in 50 seconds. You start in the standing position and transition to the sitting or kneeling position. Two shots are fired at the left target and a magazine change is performed. Three more shots are fired at the left target, then five shots at the right target. This target is scaled down from a 200 yard target.

Stage #3 - 10 shots, in 60 seconds. You start in the standing position and transition to the prone position. Two shots are fired at the left target and a magazine change is performed. One more shot is fired at the left target, then three shots at the middle target, and finally fours shots are fired at the right target. This target is scaled down from a 300 yard target.

Stage #4 - 10 shots, in 5 minutes. You start in the prone position with a 10 round magazine. Two shots are fired at the left and adjacent targets, and three each on the remaining two targets. This targets is scaled down from a 400 yard target. The points achieved on this stage are doubled when adding them into the total score for the AQT.

A perfect score is 250 and from what I've been told, that doesn't happen very often. A score of 210 is considered an expert marksman by the Army and so it is in the Appleseed shoot too. We had one person score a 214 which means he made Expert Marksman in just one weekend. I finished the shoot with a score of 184. There was significant improvement from the first AQT that we shot on day #1.


We also shot "Red Coat" targets (in honor of the Revolutionary War) at various times during the weekend. These targets are score such that a hit at 100 yards makes you a 4 MOA marksman (roughly a 4 inch group). These targets are also scaled for 200, 300, and 400 yards, like the AQT targets. There is also a small square box that qualifies you for a head shot at 250 yards. My best run at the Red Coat targets yielded a 100, 200, and 300 yard (3 shot groups) along with the 250 yard head shot. I just couldn't quite squeeze out that 400 yard shot. <sigh>

Deep down, the Appleseed shoot is all about bringing back the basics of rifle marksmanship. Things nowadays are very different from when I grew up on a farm in Minnesota back in the 50s and 60s. I remember taking several rifles to school (on the school bus no less) to blue and refinish when I was taking shop class. Now days, that would get you a felony conviction and time with "Big Bubba" as your cell mate.

The Appleseed Project is growing rapidly. I can't think of a better thing to do with a brick of .22 and your favorite rimfire rifle. Check out the scheduled shoots on the Appleseed web site and get yourself AND A FRIEND signed up for one in your area. If there isn't one in your area, talk to the folks at your local rod and gun club and see if they have plans to get one going. I was at Front Sight just this past week and bumped into a member at the motel I was staying at. I was wearing my Appleseed t-shirt (yes, you get one of those too at the shoot) and he was quite excited to tell me that his gun club in California (no less) was hosting their first shoot in another month. Way to go guys!

I would like to this that this write-up just might help you commit to polishing your rifleman skills and getting the drop on those Red Coats! If you do, drop me an e-mail and let me know how it went. I would enjoy hearing your comments about the one you attended.

Best regards and keep shooting!

[caoboy]

There are pictures which make the article more enjoyable, and the post is too long to put on one post, and I don't have the time to link the pictures lol.

[Z ME FLY]

wow... one of these days thats on my list for sure. great write up!

[GoodLand]

If you love freedom,america,are proud to be american, and want to learn to be an effective marksmen...... THEN

YOU MUST APPLESEED IT IS YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY AS A GUN OWNING AMERICAN. THE ONLY REASON YOU ENJOY FREEDOM ON A DAILY BASIS IS BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY EXCELLENT MARKSMEN IN 1776.

[reggie 00]

I believe they are at Castro Valley this weekend.

Back at Sac Valley next month.

[SPUTTER]

Awesome article, thanks caoboy! Jeeps and guns...like peanut butter and jelly

[caoboy]

No problem, I too believe that everybody who owns a rifle should spend the 70 dollars for a weekend of shooting at these events. I look forward to attending one myself one of these days.

[dchang0]

It's well worth it. I've gone to four already. Going back for my fifth this month (Corona). It's CHEAP compared to professional training outfits, and you get lots of spotting and advice from the volunteer instructors.

My goal is to qualify Expert Rifleman on my .22LR AR first, then qualify on my 5.56. Maybe, just maybe, I'll go back and qualify on my .308 bolt gun, but that's not easy unless I get wicked fast at operating the bolt.

[RobT2K]

Great goals! Those should keep you busy for a bit. I see that you're working on the 7th step as well by getting other shooters involved

I know the Corona,CA appleseed on Sept. 19-20 is close to many Calgunners, you should try it out, it is a great program.

I was so motivated after my first appleseed, I came very close to Rifleman score (210 or higher on the Army Qualification Test) but I didn't get it by the end of the weekend. It motivated me to get out to the range more often than I ever would have before. I also started dry firing and working on my positions more.
By the time the next appleseed rolled around I had been scoring steadily in the 220-230 range and was ready to go!

[Gary13]

How do you do this if your rifle is tube feed? I have a Marlin 60.

[RobT2K]

They can accomodate tube fed shooters, there is just a slight change in the way you make your rifle safe between stages.

Most courses of fire are 10 shots or less total, usually with a mag change after the first 2 shots. They'll just have you load the total amount of rounds you'll need for that particular stage.
Plenty of tube fed rifles have gone through appleseed, so don't let that hold you back.

The best thing you can do is make sure you have a GI sling on your rifle, it will help you out tremedously. You'll need 1 1/4" sling swivels for it. Also practice a few times a day in the prone position to get those muscles stretched out prior to the appleseed, you don't want a sore back stopping you from shooting on sunday.

[Gary13]

Also practice a few times a day in the prone position to get those muscles stretched out prior to the appleseed, you don't want a sore back stopping you from shooting on sunday.

Thanks for the info. I may have to try this. Always wondered what the Appleseed Shoots were. Man, I have to lose some weight and get into shape....

[Sheepdog1968]

I believe they are at Castro Valley this weekend.

Back at Sac Valley next month.

Yes they are and I'm signed up. The range is also often refered to as Chabot. Mythbusters films there on a regular basis as well. Caoboy earlier did a good job summing up his experience. Mine was simliar for one I attended in Mar of this year in Fresno. It's well worth going to and you will learn how to shoot better. FWIW, the one in Fresno had about 75% of the people shooting 22 LR so don't feel as if you need to take something bigger.

The other thing I worried about was it being some huge political extreme thing event. It is NOT. It's very mellow to non-existent on the politics.

I highly reccomend you go. Women and children get to shoot for free so it's also easy on your pockebook if you have a family.

[Sheepdog1968]

Thanks for the info. I may have to try this. Always wondered what the Appleseed Shoots were. Man, I have to lose some weight and get into shape....

I'm a big guy myself. The first day isn't so bad if you haven't warmed up. I wouldn't let that stop you from comming.