Well, after a few years of trying, I finally got to attend the closest AS local one to me. This will be a bit of a long read, but hopefully some good lessons learned at the end for CA shooters.
Event Type: Traditional 25m
Previous qualification experience: Navy Rifle Qualification Course (Circa 2012, Score: ~180, Sharpshooter), Navy PTAG VBSS Course
Rifle: Custom Built AR-22 (CMMG 17" MT barrel, Vortex Venom 3-15x44 Scope)
Ammo: CCI AR Tactical, 1000 rds
Environmentals: Day 1: 90F, 2 kts wind. Day 2: 95F, 5 kts wind. Dry. Hard packed dirt.
Day 1:
I arrived early and helped the instructors setup. We had a pistol range for the weekend, so had to take down those targets and put up ours.
We got our safety briefing and basic rifle instruction. Almost everyone brought a 10/22.
We shot our first Redcoat target and I was all over the place. Surprisingly I got 3x into the 400 yd target but ended up with extra rounds in my target from a neighbor.
From here we went through the square drill targets. I was not doing very well at all.
It was with the square targets that I have my one and only FTE of the weekend and it was a weird one. A spent casing didn't get completely ejected, but a new round did get fed in. Locking back the bolt and removing the mag cleared the issue.
It was getting hot, so everyone was sweating by lunch.
In the afternoon the instructors got over to me for 1 on 1 critiques. I had my sling setup wrong on my arm.
I had some other bad habits that needed correction which were carry-overs from my service time: I was gripping my handguard too hard, I was leaning forward while standing, I didn't have my body at the proper angles. My additional service training had me training with body armor, which is a different shooting style than marksmanship. The two don't carry over.
We shot our first AQT and I got a 184. I was disappointed, this is about how well I was shooting before the course.
We shot our final Redcoat to end the day. I did worse than the morning. I got the shingle this time, but only got all three in the 200 yd target.
By the end of the day, I was over-heated, frustrated and disappointed. I felt like my morning was a bit wasted and I wasn't doing very well.
My muzzle device has a chamber for the compensator and I forgot my plastic straws to get my Patchworm through the bore so I didn't bother cleaning that evening. We also didn't shoot as much as I thought on Day 1. Only around 160 rounds or so by my count.
Day 2:
We got all set-up again in the morning and shot our opening Redcoat target of the morning. I wasn't doing much better than the day before. My left arm was sore from the sling and the left side of my ribs hurt from laying prone.
We did some more drills on the square targets to check zeroes and group sizes. I was doing a little better in prone being a bit fresher.
From here, we got down to shooting our AQT courses of fire. I scored a 174 and a 179 before lunch. Worse than yesterday. I was actually doing pretty ok with the standing, but suffering with prone. Shots just weren't landing in the targets or they were in the 3 zone.
We shot two more after lunch. I didn't bother scoring #3 (I had sweat dripping down my glasses), but on #4 I scored a 192 and picked up a lot more points in the prone. I had two stray shots from another participant in stage 3 that I had to throw out, or else I would have been about 200.
It was hot again, so myself and half the participants sat out #5. I reasoned I wasn't going to do any better with another round. I had a headache even though I had been drinking plenty of water. No need to injure myself here.
To close out the day, we shot our final Redcoat. I really took my time with this one and I was the second to the last one down on the mat. I really concentrated on keeping my support hand flat under the handguard and not letting my fingers influence direction. I managed to clear all the Redcoats, but missed the shingle because I forgot to load a 13th round.
These shots felt the best out of all the ones I shot all weekend and walking up to the target I felt very pleased. Its no patch, but definite improvement.
Conclusion:
So where does that leave me?
I almost called it after Day 1, I wasn't really having a good time. The heat was a bit much and I wasn't seeing much improvement. Regardless, I took it as a learning opportunity and made it to Day 2.
I don't think I will sign up for the next available one in the schedule, I'd really like to practice my prone and sitting more before I attempt this again.
I think my rifle setup and ammo choice is solid. I only had that one FTE on Day 1. Otherwise it ran reliably and I was getting some tight groups by the end.
The plastic "tupperwear" rail covers and stock really made holding the rifle bearable. The FDE color also added to keeping things a bit cooler than all black.
I plan to add a glove for my support hand as that got a little beaten up with all the pressure put on it from my handguard and the sling. It got a bit tenderized.
I used pretty much everything on the pack list except my elbow pads and bug spray. I'd still keep those on the pack list through.
A special thanks to all the instructors from the weekend. There are still some techniques I still need to work at, but at least I know what right looks like and it can be done.
In the photo below, the left target was my first Redcoat on Saturday morning. The right target was my last target on Sunday afternoon.
(https://i.imgur.com/8fBnybc.jpg)
HUZAH
Good report.I enjoyed reading your report so much that I read it twice.I'm sure your instructors were pleased with your persistence and your return for the second day.You are showing a willingness to learn and steady improvement.Don't get down on yourself for not improving as fast as you would like.Very few mere mortals score Rifleman the first weekend.Three or four weekends is more common. I'll be watching for your next report,possibly including more target pictures and one with a patch.
This is the most thorough self-eval I've ever seen. Hang in there. Dry practice the positions, especially the transitions, to make them smooth and efficient. ERaise your hand and ask for help if you find yourself in a similar situation with a round short on the mag load for the Redcoat. An Instructor can hand you a round so you don't have to break position. They're there to help. Good luck next time. It took me five shoots to earn my Rifleman patch. It seems you are well on the way to making it sooner.
I attended the June 1st and 2nd event at Rainbow this year with 2 friends. Fantastic experience, and can't say enough great things about the staff. Learned an incredible amount of information that has transferred into a serious desire to keep at this. There really is something to the "Appleseed" way.
As soon as the schedule is posted, the 3 of us will be back. Possibly bringing a few more with us. In the meantime, dry fire and practicing the positions will continue until those groups tighten up.