OK, how about a reference to an earlier review of my 1st Appleseed experience
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Just got back from the Illinois Appleseed… (long with pics)
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=280890&highlight=appleseed
…and I didn’t shoot Rifleman but I did learn a lot.
I won’t spend a lot of time going over the Appleseed concept
http://rwva.blogspot.com/ (that’s what the Search function is for) but I will say it does align well with what I think of rifle shooting. I’ve really come to be fond of the concept of controlling a 500 yard radius with iron sights And aimed, rapid fire, but where I shoot (northern Illinois) I’m pretty much limited to shooting off a bench and one-cartridge-in-the-magazine at a time. Unfortunately, this trend tends to breed a whole generation of “shooters” that get their AK, slap a bipod and scope on it and proceed to shoot 6” groups off a bench. While I know high power competition is a great teacher, I’ve never found the time to get in that sport. So, the Appleseed course seemed like it was tailor-made to what I am looking for.
Here’s a rundown of what we did. The school was held at Darnall’s Range outside of Bloomington, IL.
http://www.darnalls.com/ The folks there were very accommodating, allowed camping and served some very hearty lunches. Weather was not too bad…high 70’s/low 80’s, rain showers on and off, hot sun when the clouds broke, a bit humid. The course went like this:
Saturday – Start with registration and range safety/rifle grounding brief from the instructors. April 19, 1775 history lesson from Fred (one of many…the man CAN tell a story). Down to the range and learn proper prone position and 6-steps to firing. Fire several 1-inch sighter targets and ball n’ dummy to check zero and technique. Fire “Redcoat” target to check prone. Learn proper sitting and standing positions with firing in between. Fire first Quick n Dirty AQT (QDAQT). Lunch. Rest of afternoon alternating qual AQT and QDAQT to reinforce techniques in all positions. End day with Redcoat and QDAQT. Another history lesson. Total round count ~ 120
Sunday – Start with history lesson. Down to range and fire a QDAQT. Drill technique. Add 3-man team drills focusing on high-stress rapid fire – these were great…run 50 yards to line, sling up, drop to prone, load and fire 10 rounds all into single target, all in 60 seconds. Object was most number of hits to 1” star. My team won…reward was first in line to lunch. More ball ‘n dummy and qual AQT then QDAQT. Finally we shot a “volley fire” Redcoat (shoot all in unison on command for AQT score…tougher than it sounds). End with history lesson. Total round count ~ 170
AQT course of fire:
All targets from 25 m range -- 100, 200, 300, 400 m simulated targets as you work your way down
100: standing -- 10 rounds
200: sitting -- 2 round/3 round with a mag change on target 1, 5 rounds on target 2
300: prone -- rapid fire 2 rounds, mag change, 1 round on target 1, 3 rounds on target 2, 4 rounds on target 3
400: slow fire prone -- 2 rounds on target 1, mag change, 2 rounds on target 2, 3 rounds on target 3, 3 rounds on target 4
Here’s what I learned:
Self Awareness – I thought I was an OK rifle shot (I’m an NRA Rifle Instructor) but I really didn’t know how I’d do from the positions with a high rate of aimed fire. I’m definitely not the best, and thankfully not the worst.
Learning New Stuff is Hard – I started out great during the sighters but, by the end of day 1, I was very discouraged. I barely shot Marksman (>125 points) on the first QDAQT and thought all was lost. Day 2, however, showed steady improvement in scores. I never shot Rifleman (210 points) but I improved by over 50%.
Little Things Matter – I finally feel comfortable using slings. NPOA is outrageously important. “Dragging wood” (trigger finger laying on stock during squeeze) will throw shots. Adjusting elevation and windage with muscles doesn’t work for long. Cadence works (firing every 2-3 seconds instead of waiting for the perfect shot “magically” seems to actually improve your scores – my best shooting was during the 60 second-running-3-man-team drills).
Equipment is Important – I’m not advocating getting all mall ninja’d up. We had a few of those guys show up…they didn’t shoot so good. Good sights, good trigger, good mags, decent ammo, knee pads, a shooting coat, a decent shooting mat will go a long way to making your day easier and let you focus on shooting. This doesn’t mean you need a $2500 rifle. It does mean that taking as many “excuses” out will let you focus on fundamentals.
Don’t Drink Lots of Coffee Before Shooting – my Venti Starbucks Dark Roast right before the first AQT of Day 2 made my legs shake so bad I couldn’t finish the standing stage.
Shooters Are Nice People – we had all kinds. White collar, blue collar. Rich, not so rich. Urban, rural. Several ethnicities. Mostly M1As, but also some Garands, an FAL, a CETME, several ARs, a 03A3, a Mauser, an AK, a bunch of .22’s. By the end of the 2 days there was a lot of camaraderie, story swapping, and genuine well-intentioned, mutual coaching. I traded business cards with several guys.
A really good program. I’ll go again. They struck a nice balance in teaching and practical exercises as well as firm instruction without being too “drill sergeant”. Here’s a few pics…I was shooting and learning so much, I didn’t have time to take more.
My first sighters looked good compared to the guy next to me…I started getting cocky at this point. Stupid.
Here’s one of the instructors showing us prone
Compared to me…hmmm, he looked better.
Looking up the firing line
Ball n’ dummy coaching
Standing (sitting was too painful so I didn’t have time to get the camera out)
First Redcoat target from day 1 compared to last one on Day 2
First QDAQT (sucky)
Midway through 2nd day
Last qual and Volley Redcoat
