Project Appleseed

We often say that Appleseed is not an equipment race, unlike many forms of competitive shooting. Appleseed teaches that a Rifleman should be able to shoot 4 MOA with a stock rifle and ammunition, using only a sling. That said, we also do not restrict options for shooters like some competitions do to even the playing field. "You run what you brung" is a motto we embrace - we want Rifleman to be proficient with the rifles they own.

At 25 meters, a Rifleman should be able to place all his rounds in a 1-inch square, equivalent to 4 minutes of angle (4 MOA). Since 20 inches represents the width of a man-size object, being able to shoot 4 MOA means that a Rifleman can control everything within 500 yards - this is called the Rifleman's quarter mile.

Many rifles out-of-the-box in an appropriate caliber these days can achieve that result. This means that there are very affordable options for Appleseed rifles that will score Expert.

Affordable Rifles
Since many (but not all) Appleseed shoots take place at 25 meters, a 22LR rifle is a very affordable option in terms of a rifle, ammunition, and sights. While a 22LR isn't likely to control the Rifleman's quarter mile, using scaled targets at 25 meters and providing supplemental instruction helps the Rifleman acquire all the skills required to shoot at that distance. And since some Appleseed shoots are 22LR only, this is the most affordable place to start if you can only afford one gun.

Many semi-automatic, detachable magazine-fed 22LR rifles can be bought for around $200: Mossberg 702, Savage 64, Rossi RS22, and the Remington 597. Ruger 10/22s are also very popular starting at under $250. While tube-fed, lever-action and bolt-action rimfire rifles can also be very affordable, they are a bit more complex to run at our events.

Once you choose a rifle, it will run best at Appleseed with 2-4 magazines, aperture sights or a scope, and a GI sling mounted to the rifle.

Magazines
10-round magazines for these rifles range from $10-15 each and having at least 4 is a good idea - a semiautomatic rifle is a single shot without a reliable magazine (sometimes worse than that, it may not work at all). There is also a course of fire we sometimes teach where 4 10-round magazines are required. Larger capacity magazines won't make much difference at Appleseed, which is highly convenient for Maryland and other states with magazine restrictions.

Sighting Systems
While it is relatively easy to select a reliable rifle, there are unfortunately not many rifles out-of-the-box that come with a reliable and precisely adjustable sighting system.

We teach students how to use open sights but we find that aperture sights and scopes are far more precise sighting systems. Some open sights can only be adjusted through drifting the sights in a dovetail with a hammer - I dare you to try making repeatable MOA-sized adjustments!

If you prefer iron sights, aftermarket aperture sights, such as Tech Sights ($60-80), are highly reliable and precise (adjustable in ½ to 1 MOA increments) and compatible with a wide variety of different rimfire rifles. They are not the only option for aperture sights but tend to be the most common.

[Editor's Note: Appleseed sells Tech Sights and the Tech Sight Adjustment tool in the store. https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/page13.html (https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/page13.html)]

Some shooters prefer using a scope rather than iron sights - they may have problems seeing a 4 MOA target at even 25 meters while maintaining sight alignment. Luckily, shooting rimfire at 25 meters doesn't require a high-end, high-power scope: a fixed 4X or variable 3-9X is more than sufficient. In fact, anything more than 5X is overkill at 25 meters and will only emphasize your natural wobble. Several instructors use the Simmons .22 Mag series on their loaners and personal rifles, which run at only $30-40.

A mount that ensures sufficient eye relief and decent rings are more important to the accuracy and reliability of your sighting system - we see more problems with mounts and rings that come lose (Loctite is your friend) than broken scopes on rimfires. While 10/22s come with Weaver scope mounts, many times we find students struggling with eye relief when shooting in the prone and seated positions. An extended scope mount ($25-45) provides more flexibility for mounting the scope sufficiently forward.

The exception to the cheap scope rule would be a Known Distance rimfire event where you are not only shooting further (200 meters) but where the amount of adjustment required to compensate for bullet drop can challenge the mechanics of a low cost scope in terms of tracking and reliability toward the edges of its adjustment range.

[Editor's Note: Appleseed offers several reliable scopes and mounting systems for rimfire rifles. All of which are capable of scoring at 200 yards. https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/scopes.html (https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/scopes.html)]

Slings and Mounts
Appleseed teaches the use of a GI-style sling. A 1.25" cotton or nylon GI sling should cost $13-16. I prefer cotton because it is a bit stiffer and doesn't slide down my arm as much but to each their own.

Mounting the sling to the rifle ranges from simple to painful. Some rifles, such as some Ruger 10/22s have built-in sling mount holes or studs to which sling swivels can be attached. We suggest 1.25" detachable sling swivels as that GI sling width is more common and provides more support (although Tech Sights makes a 1" GI-style sling). If your rifle doesn't have studs or mounts, you can use a variety of expedient (zipties, leather and fabric straps, wire adapters, barrel band adapters - normally $10-15) and permanent solutions (a pair of screw-in studs are typically about $10).

[Editor's Note: Appleseed offers GI slings and sling swivels in our store. https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/page13.html (https://store.rwvaappleseed.com/page13.html)]


250 ruger.jpg

Author's note: This $250 rifle will get the job done

Image Credit: Author

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[Editor's Note: Project Appleseed produces a pamphlet, "Assemble a Liberty Training Rifle" that is a great companion with this piece. I have included it below.

Assemble a Liberty Training Rifle.pdf