What's your appleseed excuse?

[OneBadV8]

I am still fairly new to gun ownership, but IMO among the worst words a gun owner can ever say are:

"I have had enough training..."

Always learn something new, and if not, its more practice and a cool history lesson. Plus you can always try to get that Perfect AQT score.

 

[Slow Hand]

I went to the Morgantown Appleseed this past weekend. It was a great experience. I've been shooting for close to thirty years but have reciever no formal training. They teach te basics of marksmanship, and that is exactly what is needed to put rounds where you want them. I can't say that I personally learned a ton of new info, but it was great to have it all put together at once. I caught myself several times thinking to myself as one of the instructors was talking, "oh yeah, I read about that awhile back but completely forgot!"

I have heard about some very experienced shooters taking several classes before getting their patch so I had no expectations of doing very well. I didn't even have a rifle in the standard configuration. The invite came up suddenly and the best rifle I had in the safe was a 70+ year old Remington 521T bolt action. It is an old military trainer with a good web sling and peep sights so I figured it was my best bet.

I was amazed when Techres called out my name and held up my target Saturday afternoon!

It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience both for shooting and the wonderful history of a very importiant day that many of us know little to nothing about.

I asked one of the instructors around noon on Saturday why folks continue to shot Appleseed's after getting ther patch. I've got mine now and although I can't explain it, I'm looking forward to going to another one; and bringing freinds!!

Since its fresh in my mind, some of the equipment questions...

You have to have 2 mags minimum. To shoot an AQT without having to
Mess with mags you'll need six. If you have the desire but not the rifle, please contact the shoot boss. More than likely they will have several loaner rifles available.

As to scope vs irons, use whatever you are more comfortable with. The Appleseed is about teaching marksmanship and while I think you should be able to shoot irons before moving to optics, there is no sense in switching gears right before the class. I shot a peep sighted bolt action .22 Saturday and a scoped AR in .223 Sunday and got the same exact score!

I think that most anyone would Do well to attend an Appleseed at least once. I can't wait till my boys ate old enough to accompany me to one!

 

[esrice]

For you Morgantown guys, I put up an AAR here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...n_in_appleseed_6_23_24_12_epic_pics_vids.html

Please add some of your thoughts like you've done in this thread.

 

[browncofiddler]

Went to my 1st Appleseed @ Hoosier Hills Range in Nashville, IN over a year ago and can't say enough good things about the instructors and the entire experience. Now....I'm SO excited to see that Appleseed shoots are being held @ Hoosier Hills Range here in Nashville on a pretty regular basis. I registered for the next one on 7-8 July and can't WAIT! I still don't have a centerfire rifle, but will have my .22 which now has a scope so this grandma's 60 y.o. eyes will have a little help on those targets. Maybe someday I'll even get a Rifleman patch??? It's a future goal I can work towards. These are the finest opportunities & people you'd find anywhere.

 

[HICKMAN]

no more excuses, John-Michael and I area signed up for the Bedford shoot in September!

 

[Stschil]

Went to my 1st Appleseed @ Hoosier Hills Range in Nashville, IN over a year ago and can't say enough good things about the instructors and the entire experience. Now....I'm SO excited to see that Appleseed shoots are being held @ Hoosier Hills Range here in Nashville on a pretty regular basis. I registered for the next one on 7-8 July and can't WAIT! I still don't have a centerfire rifle, but will have my .22 which now has a scope so this grandma's 60 y.o. eyes will have a little help on those targets. Maybe someday I'll even get a Rifleman patch??? It's a future goal I can work towards. These are the finest opportunities & people you'd find anywhere.

Good to see you still in the hunt!!! I was one of the Orange Hats at that shoot, with my Fiancé (Now my wife ) and my daughter. You have what it takes, just keep learning. Hope you have a Great shoot next weekend.

 

[Iroquois]

One less excuse, we're planning another shoot in sept. Maybe the 15-16 weekend.
Got to check/see if there's enough help available...stand by!

 

[DarkRose]

One less excuse, we're planning another shoot in sept. Maybe the 15-16 weekend.
Got to check/see if there's enough help available...stand by!

Might be a lot better in regards to temperature...

Gotta see if I can get to one sometime, but it would be rough getting off work at 6:30am Saturday morning, shooting Saturday and Sunday, and being back in to work at 9:00pm Sunday night...

Talk about being worn out... Might have to wait a little longer to get some vacation time...

 

[Iroquois]

Watch the registration site...should be on the schedule soon...Sept.29-30!

 

[henktermaat]

I'm not sure what my excuse is. I'm a great listener and follow directions, but could not get my rifleman in two tries.

 

[Pitmaster]

I'm not sure what my excuse is. I'm a great listener and follow directions, but could not get my rifleman in two tries.

I'm on number 4 wth #5 in 3 weeks. I don't attend an Appleseed to get a patch. I go for my personal pleasure. Where else can you spend less than $100 on something you enjoy and do it for 2 days.

 

[Iroquois]

I'm not sure what my excuse is. I'm a great listener and follow directions, but could not get my rifleman in two tries.

I've heard many people take 3 tries to pass. I'll be making my third try
in sept. It is just that hard for some of us to unlearn a lot of bad habits.
This last time I corrected a lot of my mistakes [Like wearing tight jeans]
got a seated position I could shoot well from and learned how to set my sling
so it didn't slip.

 

[Davis0023]

I and a buddy will be trying latter this fall when the heat breaks.

So...my excuse is I didnt know much about appleseed until this past few months.

 

[philagothon]

I'm not sure what my excuse is. I'm a great listener and follow directions, but could not get my rifleman in two tries.

This is not uncommon at all. The average is ~4 shoots before making Rifleman. Some people do it quicker, some take substantially longer. It's also the reason we offer the Rifleman Opportunity Card (see website for more details).

Each event is a chance to work on another aspect of your marksmanship. Diagnose your targets. Ask an instructor to watch you closely for problems you may not know you have.

Many of our best instructors required multiple Appleseeds to make Rifleman. We understand that it is not an easy goal and persistence plays a critical role in attaining it.

Good luck, and hopefully we'll see you on the line again soon.

 

[btownie]

You only need three 10-round mags and a couple of hundred rounds of .22. There are any number of people, both within Appleseed and elsewhere, who would be happy to lend you anything you need to participate, including an entire rifle.

This is true. I went to my first one in Bedford not too long ago. Excellent group of people. I'll be going again in September.

 

[HICKMAN]

It's also the reason we offer the Rifleman Opportunity Card (see website for more details).

I signed up for that option

 

[HICKMAN]

Good knews, just found out my oldest will be stationed at Fort Knox instead of Fort Drum.

Will give me an opportunity to get him to an Appleseed in the future

 

[Gabriel]

I only get every sixth weekend off. Add to that a thousand other priorities and general laziness when it comes to planning a weekend away and that adds up to me not going to one yet.

One of these months I will get to one.

 

[Kart29]

Pricy? It's $70 for an entire weekend. It's the cheapest basic rifle marksmanship class you're ever going to see.

Yes. But $70 is still alot of money for my family. It's more money than we spend on entertainment for an entire month.

And, I can get books from the library for free. I've had several books on rifle marksmanship ordered through the interlibrary loan system and learned from many an expert through their writings.

I think it would be cool to qualify for a rifleman's patch, though. Maybe someday.

 

[Kart29]

Oh, also...

As much as I enjoy shooting rifles... It's still alot more fun to take my family to church on Sunday morning.