Appleseed shooters?

[Totem Polar]

For those of you who’ve done one, do you have any tips to share, and how was the experience? What gear (rifle, sighting kit, mat, bag, ammo, sling/mounts, etc.) did you use and how did it treat you?

Myself and a P-F buddy or three will be doing one of these together at some point in the next year; any input if appreciated.

[Noah]

My brothers and I were big into Appleseed in 2013-2015 before we turned 21 and started pistol shooting. My twin brother still shoots PRS and 3 position style stuff sometimes. The last few matches and shoots I did, I was easily cleaning the targets every time.

It’s very fun and fairly affordable.

I don’t really use any of the techniques now, but it also gave me a base of basic rifle marksmanship skills that still serve me very well.

You’ll want a semi auto rifle with some magnification unless you have fantastic vision. I need 3 or 4x magnification to truly see and hit the 300 and especially 400 size targets. I did my first shoot with a 308 bolt action- that was doable, but slow and held me back from completing all courses of fire.

Unless it is a real distance shoot, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a .22 and really no reason not to. I did all of mine with basic AKs and then ARs after the bolt action experience. I eventually gave up on the AKs, the AR is superior.

You’ll want a sling that can be used as a loop sling, either GI or many of the modern quick adjust slings can actually do it too, including the Magpuls. You just have to carefully size the front length of the sling!

They do not use bags. I used a basic foam mat just for mud and snow. Anything works.

[Clusterfrack]

My precision rifle teammate and I shot Appleseed in 2012 with scoped Savage Mk2 .22 bolt actions and both earned Rifleman patches on the first try. We were the only ones who weren't using autos. My 12 year old daughter used an ancient Ruger 10/22 with a 4x scope and made Sharpshooter.

I thought the positional techniques were a bit outdated, but tried do things their way. No need to be that guy...

The history part was pretty cool, and my daughter thought so too.

[Noah]

Good summary [MENTION=7807]Clusterfrack[/MENTION]

Getting my rifleman patch was the biggest goal of my senior year of high school. In hindsight, if I hadn’t used a bolt action and then an AR with iron sights, I would have achieved the goal first time.

I agree with doing things their way even if you might not agree. At the time, I knew no different!

[Clusterfrack]

Also: don't wear low-rise jeans. Hot brass down the buttcrack in the middle of a CoF is no fun. The person the pic above learned that lesson the hard way. Note the oversized Appleseed shirt pulled way down, and the position at the far left of the line.

[UNM1136]

Following.

Been a goal a long time and would love to do it with my teen/early 20s kiddos!

pat

[Shotgun]

Not knowing how old you are, or how fit/flexible still, . . . knee pads might be in order. And, aspirin, Tylenol, or your pain medicine of choice.

A long sleeved shirt with a collar and long pants. Hot brass will be flying around and invariably one or two pieces may find their way to your body through the day.

Some Appleseeds provide old carpet for shooting mats. These work fine, but they are often very dirty. A nice shooting mat you like might be very nice.

Way back when, Appleseed did not sell slings on its website. I think that has changed. You may want to get yourself one of those ahead of time and make sure your swivels are the right size for the sling as well.

I liked shooting iron sights, but when I did Appleseed the eyes were already starting to go. I would very much recommend a scope of your choice.

Are you going to be camping out? Some Appleseeds offer space for that instead of staying in a hotel room, if you have to travel. If you will be camping, that opens up another avenue of suggestions.

[jeep45238]

For those of you who’ve done one, do you have any tips to share, and how was the experience? What gear (rifle, sighting kit, mat, bag, ammo, sling/mounts, etc.) did you use and how did it treat you?

Myself and a P-F buddy or three will be doing one of these together at some point in the next year; any input if appreciated.

Done a fair amount, and used to teach it across Ohio a while back. Run it with usable irons (tech sites on a 10/22, for example) - really any peep setup is great for learning the process, and an optic is better for applying the information and confirmation of NPOA/shot calling. The only real prep I would do is ensure your rifle's hardware is tight, has appropriate thread locker where applicable, and you do a run a sample of each common bulk ammo to see if it has a preference (or hatred) to any of it, and shooting the bulk it likes the best.

Stretch and hydrate the days before, during, and after.

For a very long time I shot a 20" heavy barrel with Peep sights in a Hogue overmoulded stock, a cotton USGI sling with a QD sling swivel (so I'm not constantly coming in/out of the sling all day - hit the easy button, and trust me on this part), and nothing else but a notebook/pen/small ruler. The gear truly doesn't come into play until your knowledge and ability to apply is there.

I still don't shoot with a mat. I do have a jacket that I'll break out if we're shooting on concrete, which is modeled after the vintage military cloth shooting jackets. It has a padded elbow, and theoretically some other stuff that helps eek out an extra MOA or so, but really being able to get into a position and verify MOA on the clock is more beneficial.

I'll shoot with the Revere's Rider's off-shoot once or twice a year for old times sake, generally at the full range fundraiser match held at Camp Atturburry annually. I still shoot with just a cotton sling, pen, and notebook - no mat or bags, just the grass. It's soft enough, but also provides resistance from unintended motion. Clothing for the weather.

Go for the information and the process, not for trying to be the top shot - there's probably someone there who's better than you anyway ;-)

[Shotgun]

Stretch and hydrate the days before, during, and after.

I forgot about this. Yes, very much remember to do this.

[DDTSGM]

Took my daughters to one nearly a decade ago, my wife and I attended a Pistol Clinic a couples years ago and last August my son and I attended one together.

There are two types of Appleseed events 25M and KD, currently their webpage says you have to attend a traditional 25M before you can do a KD. News to me:

Prerequisite: Students must have attended at least one 25m Project Appleseed clinic, as the fundamentals such as position, NPOA, and firing the shot are not detailed at a KD event. Some locales may require a student to have earned a Rifleman patch. Check the information page for that class for details.

Scopes are fine, if you are using open sights an aperture is pretty much a must.

Slings and stuff have already been mentioned - a regular GI sling will work fine.

I feel that you definitely want a shooting mat and unless you are really tough - elbow and knee pads. If you don't already have pads, cheapos like these work great:

https://www.amazon.com/Triple-Covert..._source=1&th=1

Stretch before you go.

If you are an older gentleperson they will let you start in the prone position - you have to wait until the first round is fired by a shooter going from standing to prone. If you are older and decide not to do that, I would practice going from standing to prone a whole bunch before going.

The history stuff is always good, having been to four events, both as watcher and shooter, some instructors make it absolutely fascinating.

Definitely worth your time.