First of all, I'd like to thank all of the instructors as well as the shoot boss and all of the students like myself who took place in the Appleseed event this weekend in Waterman, IL. I first read about Project Appleseed on a Backwood's Home forum by Massad Ayoob my brother sent me. My brother and I decided to sign up, not knowing what we'd be in for.
The first thing The Guy said on the 6th in his introduction was the the more he was involved in Appleseed the less friends he had outside of Appleseed. I laughed at the comment, but by the end of the day I'd realized the truth behind the comment. My experience at Appleseed was incredible. As a first time rifle shooter (besides plinking as a kid at a friend's farm) I feel like I learned more than most rifle owner's learn in their lifetime. I hope I maintain the discipline to practice these things on my own.
As my brother and I approached the line we realized that our measly blankets weren't going to cut it in the mud. Anyone who is contemplating going to an event, take seriously the level of preparedness you should have. When they say blowing sand, rain, etc. they mean it. In our situation yesterday, it was mud. I'd not come prepared with boots, plastic to lay on, etc. Fortunately for us I'd had a roll of plastic in my back seat, which I'd previously used to cover my car window after it was shattered in a church parking lot by someone who wanted my girlfriend's new, empty purse more than she did. {so, thank you to the thief! without you I would've been laying on wet blankets all day}
I'd read one report from another Appleseed that most people were touting Ruger 10/22's. At our event yesterday it seemed like there were more AR's than anything. I had a Savage .22, and my brother had his new Kel-tec SU-16C. Either way you look at it, take a rifle you're comfortable with. The .22 was good for me as a new shooter. What I want to say most about Appleseed is the following:
1. There were plenty of instructors there to help with any need you could possibly have. This was a huge plus as far as individual attention was concerned. Thank you to the very many instructors on hand.
2. The day was not all just about marksmanship, which I know they clearly identify on the main website, but some advice to all shooters, don't go in thinking this some nice range time. This is about listening, absorbing and utilizing the techniques of some of the greatest soldiers ever to walk the planet. What was funny to me is as we laid prone to fire our first 13 rounds, as soon as the "Fire" command was given, bullets rattled quickly downrange, and I mean quickly. The cadence of rounds were dispersed within milliseconds of each other. By the second set of rounds we were to fire, and this was after we learned to loop our USGI slings (which, if you don't have one, GET IT! I didn't understand why we needed one so bad, but it is unbelievable how nice it felt after using this. If you've never used a sling new shooters, you'll have no idea what I'm talking about) the cadence of shots fired were much slower. You can tell at first everyone was trigger happy until we got serious after our first set of instructions.
3. PAY ATTENTION to the history taught. It was obvious to me that the instructors there hold this history incredibly near and dear to their hearts. This history (which I'd knew some of, but obviously not all that was taught) is a massive part of the reason that now 50 of us could lay in a field firing rifles downrange. Thank you to those men who served in the RW. Thank you for knowledge given to us at this Appleseed event.
4. I took a small video of The Guy teaching the standing position and remembering what my coach and The Editor taught about hip placement, etc. I now realize something I never thought of, and may not ever thought of without instruction. Hitting your target has nothing to do with you muscling your sights on that little one inch square down range. It has everything to do with proper body mechanics. Who would've thought, right? You hold a gun with your hands, yet you use your entire body to take aim and properly put the bullet on the target. Again, if you're like me and never used a sling or had instruction on this, you'll have no clue what I'm saying, but I'm writing this so any first-timers can see that Appleseed is the utmost beneficial rifle training you'll receive... at $75 not to mention (Unbelievably cheap for what we learned!).
5. The sense of community was very present, as it should be. Don't be afraid to talk to your fellow students and instructors. At first, not knowing anybody is a little strange no matter what venue you're in, but at Appleseed it's apparent that this is what it's all about. Ask questions, gain knowledge. There are some incredible instructors there. Tap them for information. They were all very apt to sharing this with us.
To the instructors: We regret not being able to attend the second day. For us, the drive is about 3 hours round trip, and it seems like we'd only have a couple of hours of training. I hope to attend another Appleseed very soon. I hope that I see all of the same instructors again. I'm going to upload some pictures and video to the site very soon.
Again, thank you to all who were there yesterday. I now feel 100 steps ahead of my rifle training than I did yesterday. Yesterday I knew nothing about prone, sitting and standing positions; nothing about the wealth of knowledge on the RW given; nothing about IMC, the 6 steps, slings, etc. I live near Lafayette in Delphi and hope to attend near there.
A huge thanks to our shoot boss, The Guy. You were an incredible instructor. Very funny too, by the way. I hope we can meet again soon for further training.
Like Ayoob mentioned, I too see Appleseed becoming one of the biggest things that people didn't see coming.
-runpaulone
:) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Runpaulone,
First thank you for coming out and being brave enough to drive to Illinois! (Although seeing The Guy teach would be worth the drive all by itself...)
Second, we need to see you, your brother and all of your friends on the line here in Indiana!
Distance to upcoming IN shoots: Wabash - 1 hour and 52 miles, Auburn - 117 miles and 2 hours, Cloverdale - 85 miles,
Lafayette (hopefully soon) - 18 miles.
Get registered on the IN board and get posting.
PM me with any questions.
Hawkhavn
I'm glad we were able to help to give you a positive experience while attending your first Appleseed in a very challenging environment. Wishing you some dry land and perhaps a covered firing line at your next event. Read up and practice.
Steve
Foundatown here, runpaulone's brother. Man, did we have a good time at the shoot this weekend! We will definitely be back to another soon, hopefully next time in our great state of Indiana!
Thanks to all the instructors who made our experience so wonderful. I was amazed at how many folks came out to teach us guys on the line how to shoot right. All the teachers' patience and applied experience was so...well, I'll just say these guys really, really cared about the art of shooting, the art of teaching, and us guys who came to learn. I truly felt among friends.
A special thanks to the two instructors who spent so much time with my brother and I (you know who you are), and to The Guy. Dude, whatever club you're in I'd like to join. Just send me the link/s. Haha!
For my review of the Kel-Tec SU-16C as used at an Appleseed shoot head on over to the Kel-Tec Owners Group here, where I've been spreading the word for the last few weeks (Scroll all the way down for the review and for the pics.):
http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1265864552
Peace.
Runpaulone:
Thanks for a nice write up.
Sunday, well, Sunday wasn't just muddy, it was wet and cold too.
The EMT said it well when he said "this is the weather that can kill you," citing the rain coupled with the near freezing temps. Those who wore cotton clothes were very cold. By lunch, I was pretty cold myself and I was in synthetics.
Thankfully, most everyone took an opportunity to return to their cars for a while to warm up.
Congrats to Rich for making Rifleman. Sorry I missed your two shots in one hole, almost denying you the recognition you earned.
The Aurora Sportsman's Club is a first class location and easily the nicest facility I've ever had the opportunity to shoot at. Many thanks to them for hosting us and making us feel at home. Looking forward to visiting them again, albeit in dryer weather.
John
John-
I thought the day started at 4pm - at least I thought that was what our tickets said. That's why we made the decision not to make the drive. That, and not having adequate gear for the weather. How long does the event last on the second day?
** After I looked at my ticket tonight, it does indeed say "Sunday, March 7th at 4pm." **
Roughly the same hours on Sundays.
John
So was today like a practice, skill refinement, qualification day? I understand all the teaching was done on Saturday. We didn't miss too much, did we?
Either way, I just wasn't up to shooting in the freezing rain. A man's gotta know his limitations. Maybe once I achieve Rifleman, maybe I'll have toughened up a bit more by then. Haha!
Runpaulone,
Your write up is good enough to use for pro mo. Just think, when you are a red hat, you will be able to say " My first instuctor was THE GUY". ..:..
Runpaulone,
Go to a rifle boot camp you will meet new friends for life, great Americans. I was hooked after the first AS shoot.
JG
Quote from: colycat on March 07, 2010, 10:59:24 PM
Your write up is good enough to use for pro mo. Just think, when you are a red hat, you will be able to say " My first instuctor was THE GUY". ..:..
He was a great instructor. I'm sure all of the red hats are great instructors. Appleseed is a phenomenal experience. I'm glad to have joined the ranks. I've already got our other brother on board, as well as a neighbor and his son. Heck, I was even down on the ground showing my girlfriend's great uncle the uses of the sling tonight! This is exciting, and indeed, like "the guy" eluded to, life-changing.
As far as the promo, you have my permission. If you guys need any help with graphic/web design let me know. I have my own design firm, and we've got access to some pretty impressive printing connections (i.e. posters, targets, flyers, business cards, banners, etc.).
Runpaulone,
I was on the line to your right. It was good shooting with you and Foundatown. Honestly if you were going to miss a day, yesterday was the day to miss. Normally day to is a high round count grind. Yesterday I fired les than 50 rounds and never never finished an AQT for score. It was that brutal.
Your offer to lend expertise in design services should be taken seriously. Recruitment and promotion is part of the seventh step. If you haven't already done so I'd suggest you introduce yourself in the IN section and make the same offer.
Foundatown,
That was a great write up. To me part of the fun of Appleseed is seeing all the different rifles people have. For the record all I said was "It's a KELTEC!". ^:)^
See you both on the trail.
Quote from: Ewald on March 08, 2010, 01:55:28 PM
Runpaulone,
I was on the line to your right. It was good shooting with you and Foundatown. Honestly if you were going to miss a day, yesterday was the day to miss. Normally day to is a high round count grind. Yesterday I fired les than 50 rounds and never never finished an AQT for score. It was that brutal.
Your offer to lend expertise in design services should be taken seriously. Recruitment and promotion is part of the seventh step. If you haven't already done so I'd suggest you introduce yourself in the IN section and make the same offer.
Foundatown,
That was a great write up. To me part of the fun of Appleseed is seeing all the different rifles people have. For the record all I said was "It's a KELTEC!". ^:)^
See you both on the trail.
Ewald, it was great shooting with you, too! I took no offense to your comment. I knew it was made in a good natured way. Dude, if you only knew how I used to slag off Kel-Tec. I used to be a hater big time. Haha!
And wow, Sunday does sound like it was quite brutal. Man!
Look forward to seeing you around, as well. Take care of yourself and keep up those good groups!
Quote from: runpaulone on March 08, 2010, 01:33:51 AM
Quote from: colycat on March 07, 2010, 10:59:24 PM
Your write up is good enough to use for pro mo. Just think, when you are a red hat, you will be able to say " My first instuctor was THE GUY". ..:..
He was a great instructor. I'm sure all of the red hats are great instructors. Appleseed is a phenomenal experience. I'm glad to have joined the ranks. I've already got our other brother on board, as well as a neighbor and his son. Heck, I was even down on the ground showing my girlfriend's great uncle the uses of the sling tonight! This is exciting, and indeed, like "the guy" eluded to, life-changing.
As far as the promo, you have my permission. If you guys need any help with graphic/web design let me know. I have my own design firm, and we've got access to some pretty impressive printing connections (i.e. posters, targets, flyers, business cards, banners, etc.).
Welcome to the fold... The Guy was my first instructor and he was there a year and half later to score the AQT that made me a Rifleman. I know the bug you have caught, personally.
Your skills, talents, gear, and sweat are all welcome and will be put to good use. I am sure we will meet soon on the line and then out in the 7th step.
O0
Techres
P.S. Thanks to the IL crew for another one of their their amazing seeds!
Quote from: Ewald on March 08, 2010, 01:55:28 PM
Runpaulone,
I was on the line to your right. It was good shooting with you and Foundatown. Honestly if you were going to miss a day, yesterday was the day to miss. Normally day to is a high round count grind. Yesterday I fired les than 50 rounds and never never finished an AQT for score. It was that brutal.
Your offer to lend expertise in design services should be taken seriously. Recruitment and promotion is part of the seventh step. If you haven't already done so I'd suggest you introduce yourself in the IN section and make the same offer.
Thanks for all your help and input on the line. It was greatly appreciated. As far as the 7th step/level is concerned... where to begin? I'd like to attend another Appleseed or so before I get on board to full-time commitment. I'm going to check out a conservation club in Romney, IN as a potential event location. Thanks again.
I had a ton of fun at the Appleseed on Saturday. Unfortunately I didn't make it out on sunday. I'm planning on coming back out once it gets warmer for sure. Couple of questions for you folks though. How is the AQT scored? I see I can get the targets at the store, but since I was Sat only I missed that explanation. Also how do bolt action rifles do with the timed tests? I was thinking of picking up a CZ 452 or Savage mkII FST. I like bolts better than semi-autos for targets, but I don't want to be at a huge disadvantage in timed tests.
The instructions for shooting and scoring are on the targets.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
More on the shoot latter.
G
Runpaulone, Congrats one more time, as one of the newer II-Ts I'm here to tell you the appleseed crowd is first rate, hope my jitters as a first time line boss didn't frustrate you, but I'm glad you made rifleman on my watch. I speak for myself and my son Gumballhead, if you ever need anything just give a yell and either I can do it, or know someone who can. Again, welcome to the family.
-----------------------------
The level of Skill is often masked by the gidgetts and gazzmos. One may recall that this is not a equipment race. Any one who puts in the effort to learn and practice the six steps can shoot a Riflemans score With A STANDARD Open sighted rifle and quality standard ammo. IE Ruger 10-22 or a Marlin 795 with Tec-Sights. AR -15 A1-A4, M1-M1A/M14 and a long list of others. Just my thoughts FWIW. Pappy
Ah Yes, March in Illinois!
I would like to thank all who braved the wet windy weather & mud and attended the First Illinois Appleseed of 2010 and made it a success!! With over 40 Shooters attending on Saturday we are well on our way of reaching our goals for 2010.
I hope you all return to the Illinois Appleseed Trail soon!
Any Pics????
This was a good shoot. I'm still scraping the mud off my boots! !@#) !@#) Top notch facility, and I'm looking forward to coming out again. Also, I was very impressed with the turn out on Saturday. For the first shoot of the year, we had a nice packed line! I had problems finding a spot.
The weather presented some challenges for us on Sunday, but I think we won out, with an extended discussion back at the house. We did some history, and discussed KD Shooting. I for one put that knowledge to use Sunday @ Racine.
Many thanks again to our great shooters, persevering, even through ankle deep mud! Great to see the IL corps strong, and present. Looking forward to a great AS year! :--- :---
Just out of curiosity.... Anyone lose a shoe??? ;)
EEL and I had a plan.... Get out of Rifle range before the frost melted!!! LOL
Quote from: Garand69 on March 16, 2010, 01:27:49 PM
Just out of curiosity.... Anyone lose a shoe??? ;)
EEL and I had a plan.... Get out of Rifle range before the frost melted!!! LOL
GOOD plan...because until it melted, it was GREAT! Once it melted, it was a challenge to overcome.
Quote from: templar223 on March 07, 2010, 09:59:25 PM
Runpaulone:
Thanks for a nice write up.
Sunday, well, Sunday wasn't just muddy, it was wet and cold too.
The EMT said it well when he said "this is the weather that can kill you," citing the rain coupled with the near freezing temps. Those who wore cotton clothes were very cold. By lunch, I was pretty cold myself and I was in synthetics.
Thankfully, most everyone took an opportunity to return to their cars for a while to warm up.
Congrats to Rich for making Rifleman. Sorry I missed your two shots in one hole, almost denying you the recognition you earned.
The Aurora Sportsman's Club is a first class location and easily the nicest facility I've ever had the opportunity to shoot at. Many thanks to them for hosting us and making us feel at home. Looking forward to visiting them again, albeit in dryer weather.
John
John,
Thanks for the recognition. It was an honor for me to earn the Rifleman patch that weekend. I would like to thank all the instructors, especially George who was kind enough to let me use his 10/22, I would never have qualified without his help. Next time I'll be more prepared for the weather.
Hope to see you all again at the next shoot,
Rich
Pictures from Waterman:
In this one, the frozen tundra begins to recede.
Quote from: TheEditor on March 16, 2010, 11:11:42 PM
Pictures from Waterman:
In this one, the frozen tundra begins to recede.
That global warming sure is a .........
Let's try this again; I'll master this smf *&%^$*& thing someday.
(//)
A general shot of the firing line. It was conveniently!? divided in half by a "doghouse" target and equipment storage shed.
One more - although I still don't get how to insert the picture into the actual post, rather than just as an attachment.
This is the mud near the firing line by late Saturday afternoon. Sunday one of the shooters brought along some bales of straw and spread them out, which was very helpful.
TE
Mud? You guys had mud? We shoulda worked out a trade. Some mud in exchange for a range full of dust from WSMR! **)
Glad to see some Americans were able to persevere and work through the harsh elements. Our forefathers couldn't pick the weather when the Regulars came rolling into Lexington & Concord. Encouraging to see folks out there in spite of what Mother Nature trows at them. O0
EEL
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/Garand69/WSMR/R1-14A.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/Garand69/WSMR/R1-15A.jpg)
Working on the Target Line Friday
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/Garand69/WSMR/R1-16A.jpg)
Pappy setting up shop Saturday morning for registrations
I don't know EEL, I don't see much mud in those pics, I think they may be exaggerating circumstances a bit **)
Wow,
My first Appleseed, and my first post.
Many thanks, to securepeace for encouraging me and my son to go, and to The Guy, who gave great instruction, inspiration, and let me use his rifle when the one I was using turned out to not fit my body well.
The training was superb, I learned more about marksmanship in 1.5 days than my entire life.
My first redcoat target was wobbly in the scope, and the pattern was dispersed to match.
On the second day, I put 6 shots into the bottom row of 400 yard simulated targets at the 25 meter distance, surprising my self.
But I was not prepared for the weather, and my toes were numb by 4PM on Saturday, and by 11Am on Sunday. The rain, mud and cold tested us.
After those 400 yard targets on Sunday morning, I was shivering so badly, performance went down hill quickly.
Great lessons !
Use the loop sling
Front elbow under the barrel
Squeeze slowly and smoothly at the respiratory pause
Use the natural point of aim
The ball and dummy practice with the individual attention as a great technique for short loop feedback, and correcting the mistakes.
Thanks to all.
We will have to do this again in warmer dryer conditions.
Thanks for chiming in Libertylover O0
The weather certainly did not help your scores at Waterman, but think how much easier it will be in nicer weather!!
You have plenty of opportunity to attend Appleseed's in IL, not to mention the border raiding possibilities with our neighbors! Hope you and your family get a chance to attend several this year.
Don't forget to check out the Illinois Board while your here, lot of good things going on in 2010!
2 Rifleman Oldbolts & Richman Congrats to both!