My First Appleseed 12/5-12/6 2020

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  • Mar 6, 2019
    67
    WARNING: Long post. I had been considering taking the Applseed Clinic for awhile and while looking at reviews and AARs I noticed most of them were done by repeat Appleseed students. It was hard to easily find a review from a relatively new shooter who had not done an Appleseed event before. After my experience I decided to do a write up and actually post it. I wasn't planning on writing this beforehand so some of the activities may not be 100% in order. Since I don't have a blog, MDS is the forum where I will ramble on and hopefully someone will find it useful.

    I consider myself a new shooter. I have been shooting for about one year, a year and a half at the most. Full disclosure: I was in the Air Force and had to qualify three times with an M-16 between 2000 and 2006. I missed marksman by 3 points and 5 points my first two attempts. I don't remember the third attemps score other than I qualified even with the gas mask. I shoot mostly off of a bench and occasionally out at the trap range. I say all that to make the point that I am a relatively new shooter who hasn't had professional training other than what I learned 20 years ago.

    So that thing about shooting off a bench? I built my Ruger 10/22 for that purpose. It has a Volquartsen hammer and auto bolt release, Hunter X-22 stock, a Green Mountain bull barrel with match chamber, and a Barska 4-16x40 AO scope. It's not super heavy, but it's not exactly a light rifle either. I built it to shoot off a bench, not to do Appleseed or any type of positional shooting. But in all of the reading I've done I've consistently heard one thing - bring what you have, no matter what it is, and you'll learn to shoot better with it. If nothing else, I'd get a workout.

    Day one was cold, windy, and The AGC range was wet from rain the night before. Not exactly the best conditions. I signed in, setup my borrowed shooting mat, and placed my ammo can behind the ready line on a lane. We started by shooting the target I had heard so much about - the red coat target. I shot it pretty well at 4x. I missed once each on both the 200 and 400 yard red coat but hit Morgan's Shingle. I thought it was kind of odd that before verifying zero for that day we were already shooting targets. It would make sense at the end of Day 2, but while it was happening I was a little confused. Spoiler alert: it's to show how much the class as a whole improved from their base. Shooting in massive right to left wind the weekend before to zero my scope at 50 yds. and then trying to shoot it with a fairly stiff left to right wind threw off my zero just a hair over 9 MOA at 25yds. The 100 yard sillhouette was big enough to score hits and realize I was way off at the same time. I held for wind on the remaining targets when I remembered. We then learned the prone position and practiced on some AQT targets. After the first prone practice I adjusted my scope. Don't be like me. Once the range went cold, we pulled our targets and put up a five square target on 1/4" grids. I knew what was coming up... oops.

    We went over the red coat target and had a young gentleman get his Appleseed Maryland Front Sight patch. It was pretty cool watching him get his patch. Next was shooting three five rounds groups at those squares. I was still 3.5 MOA off. Now, after receiving the instruction to adjust our sights, I adjusted my scope again. We continued learning the rifleman's cadence and positions and practicing the skills learned. After lunch we got to learn some history starting with the first strike of the match. Honestly, a big part of why I wanted to attend Appleseed was to learn more about the history. Sure, I could look it up but I wouldn't get to shoot and be around other like minded folks. After our history lesson, we continued learning and practicing positions, transitions, and skills. We attempted to shoot an AQT, but the range went cold in the middle of the final stage. We ended day 1 shortly after, but not until getting in more practice. I started experiencing malfunctions about midway through the afternoon session.

    Day 1 concluded with a dire warning: you're going to be sore tonight; take aspirin and hydrate to combat the dehydration and pain. I have not been kind to my body. I had so much fun as a kid. Now, I'm overweight, out of shape, and I'm like a breakfast cereal snap, crackle, and popping when I walk. I didn't need to wait until that night. I was already hurting. I took some advil and drank a six pack of Diet Coke because the first ingredient is water. I had some dinner and passed out watching college football, waking up way too early the next morning and feeling oddly refreshed and okay. The soda must've really helped.

    Day 2 started somewhere in the mid to upper 30's. We continued with more practice targets to help confirm our zeroes from the previous day and to try to reinforce the fire hose of instruction from the previous day. We hung up a red coat target and someone else cleared it. I missed at 300, 400, and the shingle. Uh oh, things are going backwards. We did more practice where I remembered to remember all the things I was taught after the fact. That was probably the best thing for me. I made silly mistakes which affected my shooting during our practice rounds which gave me time to correct it without worrying about the score. I'm pretty sure we did the second strike at this time. Wow, that was another moving history lesson.

    AQT time. We were now in the AQT after AQT phase. We shot AQT #1, pulled our targets for scoring, and hung AQT #2. Without seeing our scores we shot AQT #2. We got our scores for AQT #1. I've read once you qualify for Rifleman the pressure is off. I knew I had a good chance, even if the instructors did try to temper expectations for first timers. I can see why it can be frustrating as a new shooter to expect to be able to do better. I thought I had a decent chance of being that rare bird to qualify on my first AQT of my first Appleseed event. I like to think I'm an okay shooter. I received my target back with a 227 total. I did it!

    Pressure was off, right? Nope, now I wanted to prove to myself that it wasn't a fluke. We hung AQT #3 and got ready for the third strike of the match. Yet another moving history lesson. I really enjoyed the instructors enthusiasm in the telling of he history of the revolution. We got our second AQT scores. I experienced multiple malfunctions including stovepiping and light strikes in my souped up 10/22. I was kind of worried I wouldn't hit that magical 210 mark. I got my score back and my eyes went wide. 210 on the nose. I didn't get all of my shots off, and for a few rounds my shots were rushed because of more malfunctions. Ok, now that gave me some confidence and released a ton of pressure. Why yes, I do put way too much pressure on myself. We continued shooting three more AQTs. Since I had already earned my Rifleman's patch I decided not to submit another target unless I could best my 227. The instrucors had a bunch of targets to score and I didn't feel the need to add to their pile. I found the zone and turned in AQT #5 for scoring and shot a 233, 7 points short of earning Distinguished with an optic. We ended the day shooting one final red coat target. I continued to stay in the zone on the red coat target and cleared it. I really took my time on the shingle and barely clipped it. We had 7 of 15 students earn Rifleman and 5 students cleared the red coats. One student even earned Distinguished, besting the 230 mark with a loaner 10/22. Amazing shooting with a rifle he wasn't familiar with which made it all that much more impressive. I have to say I got a kick out of everyone else's accomplishments too. We saw some good improvements as a group.

    Ok, so that's more or less what happened. Here's my takeaways. I really liked the fact that nobody tried to force a certain position. It was build as stable a position as you can without killing yourself getting there. I was extremely grateful for that because my body just doesn't move like it used to. I was in pretty bad pain trying the positions during day 1. I felt like I should give it a shot and see how it performs for me before I decide it's not worth the pain. I call the Appleseed volunteers instructors instead of RSOs because they're just folks who like shooting and enjoy the history of our nation. That kind of led to feeling more relaxed even though they did focus on safety too. Advil or your favorite legal pain killer is an important tool as you get older. I shoot positionally better at 6x than I do 4x, 7x, or 8x. For me it's the best combination of being able to see and not being jerky. When things click, they click. NPOA clicked just as the second day was ending. Great timing! I need to buy my own shooting mat because now I'm digging unsupported shooting. Bring extra ammo. I went through close to 500 rounds and had another 150 in my ammo can. I would've been getting nervous if I took the recommended amount of 500. The Magpul RLS sling is a winner in my book. I can use it as a loop sling, hasty sling, or a carrying sling. Add in a few QDs and I can reconfigure quickly. The camaraderie that people talk about? Yeah, that's legit. I enjoyed hanging out just as much as shooting.

    Would I recommend Appleseed? 100% yes. I'm looking forward to going at least once a year so I can brush up on the basics so I won't forget as much. I also want that Distinguished patch. Do you have to have all the doodads for your rifle? Nope. In some cases my additions hurt me more than they helped. Particularly the bull barrel. I expected my back to hurt but I wasn't prepared for my arms to hurt. I blame it on trying to force my elbow under the rifle despite not having my body angled enough and trying to muscle the rifle too much. I have to make some concessions with the commonly accepted most stable positions because of health issues. For example, I had to use a modified kneeling position to be comfortable and stable. I once read that shooting Appleseed is easy, but it's easier to drop points. I get it now. It's not difficult to shoot the course of fire. It just so happens that you can easily drop points and then the mental pressure mounts making it easier to drop points. The instructors kept repeating you can miss 7 shots on target and still qualify. That really helped me to not focus on dropping a few points here and there. As someone who has no professional experience to back it up, I think the mental part of Appleseed is the toughest part of shooting the AQT. The two best pieces of advice I can give are 1) don't focus on your scores - just stay in the moment and 2) if you're on the fence or even just considering Appleseed, do it!
     

    Catch-10-22

    Appleseed Shoot Boss
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 27, 2009
    774
    PG County, MD
    Excellent review and write-up. You really warmed the hearts of your instructors!

    Congrats on making Rifleman and hope to see you next time on the road to Distinguished.
     

    jmb122mp

    Member
    Nov 2, 2016
    37
    Nice writeup. Congratulations on your Rifleman patch. I did my first Appleseed at AGC in September, had a similar experience, learned a lot and had a blast. I'm looking forward to my next one.
     

    Tungsten

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 1, 2012
    7,231
    Elkridge, Leftistan
    Took me 4 tries to make it. Once I made it, everything clicked and I shot rifleman every time after that. It is interesting how everything suddenly just works.
    The only advice I would give to a first timer is to not muscle the rifle or the sling. The first time I had a death grip on it and thought the tighter the sling the more accurate I would be. Couldn't have been more wrong.
     
    Mar 6, 2019
    67
    Took me 4 tries to make it. Once I made it, everything clicked and I shot rifleman every time after that. It is interesting how everything suddenly just works.
    The only advice I would give to a first timer is to not muscle the rifle or the sling. The first time I had a death grip on it and thought the tighter the sling the more accurate I would be. Couldn't have been more wrong.


    Yes! After a day of recovery my arms where my biceps should be are starting to feel less pain from Saturday. I assumed it was from the weight of my rifle but I was probably muscling the rifle and my arm into position. I shot better with a tight sling and relaxed arm. It just took a little experimentation to find the zone.

    Congratulations on making Rifleman. This was the 4th Appleseed for my son and me. He finally made Rifleman and you could see the sense of relief in him when he did.


    His reaction was priceless. That excitement is why I like junior programs - that infectious attitude. He definitely lightened the mood. I can tell he enjoyed the weekend. Doesn’t hurt that the kid’s a shooter.
     
    Mar 6, 2019
    67
    Excellent review and write-up. You really warmed the hearts of your instructors!

    Congrats on making Rifleman and hope to see you next time on the road to Distinguished.



    I think I’ll try one at AAFG next time. As cool as the automatic fire and black powder rifles were, I had a tough time hearing even with electronic muffs.

    I’m not sure if anyone else is aware, but the Revolutionary War Veterans Association is on the Amazon Smiles list of charitable foundations. Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases if shoppers select the RWVA as their charity of choice. I thought that was a neat little tidbit to pass on after I setup my Amazon app.
     

    Catch-10-22

    Appleseed Shoot Boss
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 27, 2009
    774
    PG County, MD
    AAFG is a great range and I definitely heard that comment at a recent Appleseed that learning was easier there than AGC due to the reduced ambient noise. I know it is easier on the instructors too!

    The other benefit of AAFG is that we can do more practice off the line with laser-equipped demo rifles. We had several breakthroughs with steady hold factors and NPOA when people could "see" it happen with the laser at our last shoot - it takes everything else out of the equation.

    Between both benefits, we minted a few Rifleman with that extra bit of help and had others get a lot closer :party29:

    And please designate RWVA on Amazon Smile and make it your default if you don't have another charity. It has generated $20K for the program so far and as an all volunteer org, we truly appreciate it!

    Tungsten, you both did great. Your son was excited to go for Distinguished next. Then...250!
     
    Student Point of View

    HobbyCollector - I really enjoyed your write-up, thank you!
    As part of the Cadre, we love getting feedback. And good shooting. Huzzah!
    If that was your first Appleseed, I hope you come back, focus on Natural Point Of Aim (NPOA) and you'll probably earn a Distinguished patch.

    AAFG (Annapolis) is my favorite range in Maryland as an Appleseed instructor. It's in a Dell, where wind does not effect shooting much, and the group is left alone... it's just a great Appleseed range!
     

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