Lars
Rifleman
Saturday November 28th, 2009, was a chilly morning: about forty degrees or so in Riley, Indiana. I arrived at the range at about 8:15 am, not fully knowing what to expect. What I did know is that I arrived as a cook. I fully expected to learn about the first two or three days of the American Revolution and how to correctly shoot a rifle.
Prior to this day I had gone to the range and shot a rifle, any rifle, perhaps on four or maybe five occasions. I knew I didn't know how to shoot a rifle because at 25 feet, I shot more accurately with my 9mm Glock Pistol than I did with the 5.45x39mm AK-74. I had less than 1500 rounds down range total through any firearm with a barrel longer than 5". I was certainly a cook.
Registration for this Appleseed event was pretty simple for me. The Shoot Boss for the weekend invited me as his guest, so I just had to show up and sign my life away in the form of a liability waver. When I arrived there were already several people with red hats on that indicated they were Instructors for the shoot. I also recognized the guy in the green "Shoot Boss" hat as the guy who invited me to come.
After everyone arrived and was checked in we discussed a little bit about what Appleseed is. Or rather I should say they started with a rather long list of things Appleseed is not. If any of the list of things Appleseed is not is of particular interest to you, "That's fine, just don't talk about it today, nor tomorrow." was the instruction given. What Appleseed is is a FANTASTIC organization of volunteers working to teach Americans about the great history of our country in its earliest days and to teach Americans some of the basic skills that not fifty years ago all Americans sill possessed. Through this education they hope to help us wake up and take action: help teach other Americans and get involved in the local, state, or federal level. They see the greatest threat to our nation as being nothing more sinister than the sofa in your living room. Through inaction we stand to lose the things our forefathers bled starting in April 1775.
I said earlier that when I arrived I knew only that I would arrive a cook. I only knew that because I had spent a little bit of time on the Appleseed website before coming to the shoot. The following quote is from the front page of The Appleseed Project "In short, a rifleman is an armed American, trained in the tradition of American Liberty. It's a man who has learned to shoot a rifle accurately — accurate enough to score 'expert' on the Army Qualification Course. Until you can do that, you're considered a 'Cook,' unprepared and unqualified to carry a rifle on the firing line of freedom." I knew coming in I wasn't qualified to carry a rifle. That's the primary reason I decided to attend this event. I want to learn the skills my forefathers knew.
When we got done with the safety briefing we walked down to the range and set up our shooting mats, laid out our rifles, and pasted up our first target: a "red coat target," we were told. We would shoot this as a baseline with no instruction and then at the end of the day we would shoot it again to help gauge our improvement.
I don't want to give away the whole training, but I can say that I learned more about the mechanics of accurate rifle shooting than I previously thought existed. I learned how to use a sling as an aid to accurate shooting. I learned how to get into the Prone, Sitting, and Standing positions and how to use them to shoot more accurately. I also learned how to zero a rifle's scope in 10 rounds or under using, GASP, math!
By the end of the first day I was still a Cook. I had shot a 200 and a 202 as my best AQTs. To score rifleman a score of 210 must be achieved. In all, I loved my first day on the range with this group of gentlemen. I was told Advil was to be my best friend, and they didn't lie. It didn't help that around 15:30 I got hit with a migraine. By 17:30 it was a rip-roaring migraine.
As a group, most of us went to a small Mexican restaurant after the shoot and had dinner. When I left I hit Wal-Mart for some Advil and snacks for the following day. When I got back to my Hotel room I took some of the Advil, got a hot shower, and went to bed.
Sunday was far less instruction, more history, and a LOT more AQTs. My first two AQTs I either disqualified myself by not being able to count or was disqualified because someone else shot my target for me putting 20 holes in a target that should have 10. In any case I learned that one of my problems is my eyes. I have a difficult time while in prone seeing the blade of the front sight and the target down range through the very top edge of my glasses. I made an equipment change after lunch to a rifle with a scope on it. With help from the shoot boss we got it zeroed in record time. My very next AQT felt fantastic.
A couple hours later I found out it felt even more fantastic than I thought. I had scored a 211 and earned the Rifleman's patch! This really made the aches, pains, and cold weather worth it. The second AQT after lunch included rain. I'll tell you going to sitting or prone on your now completely drenched shooting mat is far from comfortable, however our forefathers would have done it for our country, and I felt it was my duty to do it as well (not to mention if I needed to shoot in the rain in the future, it is better to learn to do it when it doesn't count). I shot two rounds of AQTs in the rain scoring a 200 and a 186. The 186 was after the hump in the afternoon and shot with a very wet reticle on the scope.
To the fine folks who put on this Appleseed, I'd like to extend a HUGE thank you. To the shooters I met Saturday and Sunday, it was fantastic to meet you. I look forward to the next time our paths cross, hopefully at another Appleseed! To Techres and Mudcat, I'd like to extend an extra special thank you. First: Techres for inviting me to come, loaning me your rifle, ammunition, sling, and a lot of your time and experience. To Mudcat: for loaning me the rifle with the scope, because if I don't bring it up first, I'm sure he will!
Thanks everyone for helping me put down my cooking utensils and pick up that rifle.
Lars
de W9ZEB
Prior to this day I had gone to the range and shot a rifle, any rifle, perhaps on four or maybe five occasions. I knew I didn't know how to shoot a rifle because at 25 feet, I shot more accurately with my 9mm Glock Pistol than I did with the 5.45x39mm AK-74. I had less than 1500 rounds down range total through any firearm with a barrel longer than 5". I was certainly a cook.
Registration for this Appleseed event was pretty simple for me. The Shoot Boss for the weekend invited me as his guest, so I just had to show up and sign my life away in the form of a liability waver. When I arrived there were already several people with red hats on that indicated they were Instructors for the shoot. I also recognized the guy in the green "Shoot Boss" hat as the guy who invited me to come.
After everyone arrived and was checked in we discussed a little bit about what Appleseed is. Or rather I should say they started with a rather long list of things Appleseed is not. If any of the list of things Appleseed is not is of particular interest to you, "That's fine, just don't talk about it today, nor tomorrow." was the instruction given. What Appleseed is is a FANTASTIC organization of volunteers working to teach Americans about the great history of our country in its earliest days and to teach Americans some of the basic skills that not fifty years ago all Americans sill possessed. Through this education they hope to help us wake up and take action: help teach other Americans and get involved in the local, state, or federal level. They see the greatest threat to our nation as being nothing more sinister than the sofa in your living room. Through inaction we stand to lose the things our forefathers bled starting in April 1775.
I said earlier that when I arrived I knew only that I would arrive a cook. I only knew that because I had spent a little bit of time on the Appleseed website before coming to the shoot. The following quote is from the front page of The Appleseed Project "In short, a rifleman is an armed American, trained in the tradition of American Liberty. It's a man who has learned to shoot a rifle accurately — accurate enough to score 'expert' on the Army Qualification Course. Until you can do that, you're considered a 'Cook,' unprepared and unqualified to carry a rifle on the firing line of freedom." I knew coming in I wasn't qualified to carry a rifle. That's the primary reason I decided to attend this event. I want to learn the skills my forefathers knew.
When we got done with the safety briefing we walked down to the range and set up our shooting mats, laid out our rifles, and pasted up our first target: a "red coat target," we were told. We would shoot this as a baseline with no instruction and then at the end of the day we would shoot it again to help gauge our improvement.
I don't want to give away the whole training, but I can say that I learned more about the mechanics of accurate rifle shooting than I previously thought existed. I learned how to use a sling as an aid to accurate shooting. I learned how to get into the Prone, Sitting, and Standing positions and how to use them to shoot more accurately. I also learned how to zero a rifle's scope in 10 rounds or under using, GASP, math!
By the end of the first day I was still a Cook. I had shot a 200 and a 202 as my best AQTs. To score rifleman a score of 210 must be achieved. In all, I loved my first day on the range with this group of gentlemen. I was told Advil was to be my best friend, and they didn't lie. It didn't help that around 15:30 I got hit with a migraine. By 17:30 it was a rip-roaring migraine.
As a group, most of us went to a small Mexican restaurant after the shoot and had dinner. When I left I hit Wal-Mart for some Advil and snacks for the following day. When I got back to my Hotel room I took some of the Advil, got a hot shower, and went to bed.
Sunday was far less instruction, more history, and a LOT more AQTs. My first two AQTs I either disqualified myself by not being able to count or was disqualified because someone else shot my target for me putting 20 holes in a target that should have 10. In any case I learned that one of my problems is my eyes. I have a difficult time while in prone seeing the blade of the front sight and the target down range through the very top edge of my glasses. I made an equipment change after lunch to a rifle with a scope on it. With help from the shoot boss we got it zeroed in record time. My very next AQT felt fantastic.
A couple hours later I found out it felt even more fantastic than I thought. I had scored a 211 and earned the Rifleman's patch! This really made the aches, pains, and cold weather worth it. The second AQT after lunch included rain. I'll tell you going to sitting or prone on your now completely drenched shooting mat is far from comfortable, however our forefathers would have done it for our country, and I felt it was my duty to do it as well (not to mention if I needed to shoot in the rain in the future, it is better to learn to do it when it doesn't count). I shot two rounds of AQTs in the rain scoring a 200 and a 186. The 186 was after the hump in the afternoon and shot with a very wet reticle on the scope.
To the fine folks who put on this Appleseed, I'd like to extend a HUGE thank you. To the shooters I met Saturday and Sunday, it was fantastic to meet you. I look forward to the next time our paths cross, hopefully at another Appleseed! To Techres and Mudcat, I'd like to extend an extra special thank you. First: Techres for inviting me to come, loaning me your rifle, ammunition, sling, and a lot of your time and experience. To Mudcat: for loaning me the rifle with the scope, because if I don't bring it up first, I'm sure he will!
Thanks everyone for helping me put down my cooking utensils and pick up that rifle.
Lars
de W9ZEB
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