Recommendations for/against/other than Appleseed for youth 22LR weekend

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  • Kaneda13

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    My son (13) has been getting better over the last couple of years with his 22LR, and we've talked about doing a weekend together this spring. I would like something within a couple of hours of Indy, and that 22LR would be appropriate. He can consistently hit an 8" target at 50 yards, and a 12" target at 100 yards (3-9x scope Marlin tube fed). Looking for some bonding time, and maybe some instructions for what we could do better. A close friend recommended Appleseed, and the one in Jonesboro looks like it meets our wishes, just didn't know if anyone had recommendations against, or recommendations for another program as well.
     

    gregkl

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    I have done Appleseed before and it went well. Some of the members had some kind of disagreement with them and formed/joined with a group called Revere's Riders.

    I don't get into politics or gossip, I'm only interested in good training in a safe environment put on by good people. The Revere's Riders events check all those boxes.

    Depending on what side of Indy you live on, you should be able to find a Revere's Riders 2-day Rifle 101 class. Good training , plenty of rounds down range, history lessons and if he hasn't been shooting much with a sling standing, sitting and prone this would be a nice new challenge for him.
     

    Kaneda13

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    Thank you for the info, wasn't familiar with the split. He (nor I) has never shot with a sling, though he's been working on prone and sitting at home with his pellet gun as well. I will certainly look into those as well. Thank you.

    EDIT: Not seeing a Rifle 101 class, maybe renamed to Rifle 125?
     
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    gregkl

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    Thank you for the info, wasn't familiar with the split. He (nor I) has never shot with a sling, though he's been working on prone and sitting at home with his pellet gun as well. I will certainly look into those as well. Thank you.

    EDIT: Not seeing a Rifle 101 class, maybe renamed to Rifle 125?

    You are correct.

    [h=2]MAY 2019[/h][h=2]Rifle 125 (Basic Rifle) – Two Day (Bedford, IN)[/h]
    $40 – $120​
    May 4 @ 8:00 am—May 5 @ 5:00 pm EDT
    The Bedford Contingent, 3650 Springville-Judah Road
    Bedford, IN 47421 United States + Google Map

    This is a great venue. Well worth the drive. You two will have fun!


     

    MCgrease08

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    I have no experience with project Appleseed, but I can't recommend Revere's Riders enough. I've done the Basic Pistol and Basic Rifle class twice (once with a rim fire .22 and once with my AR). The last Basic Rifle class I did was filled mainly with boys about your son's age from a local Boy Scout Troop. Many of the instructors are members here and handle working with the youth exceptionally well.

    Safety is a top priority and they cover the main aspects of shooting, including sight picture, finding the natural point of aim, breath control and shooting positions (prone, seated, standing). You'll have a chance to learn how to best use a sling in all of these positions, and they generally have loaner rifles and slings available for the events if you don't have them.

    As for the scope, I shot my first class with q scope on my 10/22 and I did OK, but if I were to do it again, I would have taken the scope off and shot with iron sights. I think it's actually harder to focus on fundamentals with a scope, especially when magnified. This is something they will cover in the course when talking about sight picture.

    Revere's Riders really does put on top notch events and I would shoot them every chance I could if I had the time and funds to attend every one of them. I am taking their .223 Carbine Class this weekend in Bedford which I am super excited about. I'd also highly recommend that venue as they serve a home cooked lunch on both days which is included in the ticket price.
     

    gregkl

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    Revere's Riders really does put on top notch events and I would shoot them every chance I could if I had the time and funds to attend every one of them. I am taking their .223 Carbine Class this weekend in Bedford which I am super excited about. I'd also highly recommend that venue as they serve a home cooked lunch on both days which is included in the ticket price.

    Carbine class is fun! Next up for me is their defensive pistol class later on this summer.
     

    natdscott

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    I attended one of their events last fall to observe and kinda "see what they're about", and I would strongly recommend--given wehre your son is with things--taking him to a Revere basic rifle.

    He sounds like he is JUST at the right stage for some more instruction to decrease his hit radius and they'll get that done.

    It is TOTALLY not required, but I do still suggest you buy/borrow a rifle that is fed from a box magazine instead of tube. The tube is workable, but in that setting, he needs to be listening to the instructors, not fiddling with the magazine trying to get it reloaded. Even the adult shooter I watched at the event was wasting time with the mag rather than learning about how to shoot better.

    If you go that route, your son also needs enough time before the class to shoot that borrowed/bought rifle until he is comfortable with the controls.


    ...and just to be clear, this is coming from a guy that spent probably 5,000 rounds through a tube Westernfield as a kid. Still have it.

    -Nate
     

    Kaneda13

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    Thank you all for the great info. He learned on my Ruger American 22LR (bolt gun version of the 10/22), but one of his grandfather's gave (me to hold for) him the Marlin. I purchased the 22LR bolt gun to teach all my kids on, I think having to break your focus to run the bolt helps them slow down a bit and not just spam rounds. I also have a 10/22 the my dad left me, though I've yet to shoot it. I MUCH prefer to shoot bolt guns (just my personal preference), so we could always just pack all 3 and play it by ear as we go, maybe even swapping around during the weekend. I would certainly buy use some slings. I appreciate the loaner option, but if it's something we can learn and practice with on our own, I'd rather have them available all the time to us. I need to go through the schedule, as I only have the kids 50% of the time. Their mom is VERY anti-gun, so I would only be able to attend the course with them on a weekend when they are with me, so that may rule out some of the course unfortunately.
     

    gregkl

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    You will have to run some drills where you change mags during the drill which is timed. Some can do it with a bolt gun, but semi-auto is a definite aid during those drills.

    If you are going to buy a sling, a U.S. GI web cotton sling is fine but you can use any other 2 point sling. The cotton holds better than some of the slippery nylon slings.
     

    Kaneda13

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    Again, good info. The 22 bolt gun uses the exact same mags as the 10/22. Other than the bolt itself, and a notch in the stock for it, they are interchangeable.
     

    gregkl

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    Again, good info. The 22 bolt gun uses the exact same mags as the 10/22. Other than the bolt itself, and a notch in the stock for it, they are interchangeable.

    Well, it will be more of a challenge, but since the mags are the same, I think you will be good to go!
     

    MCgrease08

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    Thank you all for the great info. He learned on my Ruger American 22LR (bolt gun version of the 10/22), but one of his grandfather's gave (me to hold for) him the Marlin. I purchased the 22LR bolt gun to teach all my kids on, I think having to break your focus to run the bolt helps them slow down a bit and not just spam rounds. I also have a 10/22 the my dad left me, though I've yet to shoot it. I MUCH prefer to shoot bolt guns (just my personal preference), so we could always just pack all 3 and play it by ear as we go, maybe even swapping around during the weekend. I would certainly buy use some slings. I appreciate the loaner option, but if it's something we can learn and practice with on our own, I'd rather have them available all the time to us. I need to go through the schedule, as I only have the kids 50% of the time. Their mom is VERY anti-gun, so I would only be able to attend the course with them on a weekend when they are with me, so that may rule out some of the course unfortunately.

    As gregkl points out, many of the drills, and all of the qualifiers are timed, so using a bolt gun and/or a tube fed mag isn't the preferred way to go. Unless you, or your son really knows how to load and run the bolt like a pro you will struggle to get everything done in time and I seriously doubt you'll be able to finish the qualifiers. Many of the drills incorporate mag changes pre-loaded with various round counts, so I would highly recommend using the Ruger 10/22 with two box mags.

    I also second the cotton GI sling. They are much more stable when used around the bicep and they're only like $10.

    On a personal note, I feel you on the custody thing. My ex and I also split time 50-50 so that limits my training time too. They are too young to do an event like this, although I have started teaching some of the fundamentals with Nerf guns, and my daughter is getting close to being ready for a Cricket. Fortunately their Mom isn't anti-gun so I don't have to deal with that, but good for you for taking the time to teach them marksmanship and gun safety to counter her influence.

    The nice thing about both Revere's Riders and Appleseed is that the history portion of the event really reinforces the importance of marksmanship and the duty of engaged citizens to be well-regulated and capable in the handling of firearms.
     

    Kaneda13

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    Not so excited about the prospect of getting another 10/22. Not really because of the cost of it, but not seeing any purpose in have 4 22LR rifles in the safe. I'll definitely look into the slings.

    On the personal note, I certainly don't want to imply it's hostile, but certainly not favorable. The kids know we don't have anything that's "don't tell mom", but at the same time they know only to bring up shooting if they are asked about it, as it certainly is a sore subject. My oldest (daughter) is 15, and doesn't enjoy rifle shooting as much, but does like the occasional time at the range with a pistol (22LR or 9mm). My oldest son (13), would shoot anything I give him, and likes to read and talk about the sport. My youngest (9), is holding his breather and counting the days until he's 10, that's when I said I would take him to the range with the bolt 22LR. He's working with the 10 pump pellet gun in the back yard now. We work with it as if it where a "real" firearm. He's not strong enough to pump it yet, but he's shooting it at 7 pumps right now, and can keep it on a 2x2 foot piece of wood at 30-ish feet.
     

    MCgrease08

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    No need to buy a second 10/22. That's generally the model of the loaner rifle. Just let them know at sign-up that you're interested in using a loaner and they'll make sure to have one for you.
     

    SmileDocHill

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    I've shown up to AS and RR events with rifles that were WAY less than optimal for running the qualifier course of fire. I would strongly recommend having a rifle with a sling you can put pressure on to "sling up" vs just to carry it with but other than that I wouldn't worry about bringing a bolt gun. That assumes you have the ability to not worry about the timed course of fire portion of the day(s). You are still going to get excellent gun handling and marksmanship skills training which sounds like the main reason you are going. Learning steady hold factors, natural point of aim, getting tight groups, shooting positions, adjusting sights/sighting in... are all going to be learned no differently with a bolt vs semi auto. If you can ignore the timed portion and not let it stress you that you didn't get all the shots off then there is no down side.
     

    gregkl

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    Found these slings (haven't ordered yet), but will need a way to adapt them to typical swivel lugs. Any suggestions?

    What kind of set up do you have? Typically they are threaded through the front swivel and just clipped onto the rear.

    However, the folks at RR have all kinds of tricks to rig up slings. I have had them tied to my front swivel with paracord before.
     

    Kaneda13

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    What kind of set up do you have? Typically they are threaded through the front swivel and just clipped onto the rear.

    However, the folks at RR have all kinds of tricks to rig up slings. I have had them tied to my front swivel with paracord before.

    Both rifles are set up this way (swivels at front and rear):

    Screen Shot 2019-02-20 at 1.06.04 PM.png
     
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