Howdy,
First Id like to thank you all for putting together this program and everything it stands for. My GF and I are looking to attend our first Appleseed shoot this year. Im sorry in advance if this is the wrong section to post this in but I had a few questions. These questions are going to be mostly specific to the Noblesville range (Hamilton County Fish and Game or Hamilton County Conservation Club I think).
A little background on us. I am formerly of the United States Marine Corps always qualified expert on the rifle range. Used to shoot the occasional IDPA, Steel, three gun, and bowling pin match. Her: not much experience outside of basic safety instructions and plinking/target practice almost always standing, ~20 yards unsupported/no sling and does pretty good with a .22 rifle. Her groups open up a bit with a centerfire caliber. She also is considering getting into competing a little bit if she really enjoys this. So Im trying to make sure she has a blast, learns a lot, and wants to start looking for a smallbore league to shoot with.
1. Are there bathroom facilities available?
2. How many shooters typically attend a may class at this range?
3. What is the course of fire and schedule for the day?
4. Will there be time to zero or BZO sights before qualification. Ill hopefully be installing the tech sights on the GFs Rem 597 before the shoot.
5. Does anyone have a recommendation on a good padded shooting mat for my GF?
6. Should I be alright with my bolt action CZ452 trainer and tangent sights, or should I choose something with a peep sight?
Im sure Ill think of some more eventually as I read through this wealth of information. Ive never done any rifle competition or matches outside of 3 gun at ACC a good long while ago. I may be over thinking this all a bit more than I probably should. Thanks again for your time and consideration.
1. There are plastic poo coffins about a hundred yards from the line. If creature comforts are a serious issue MCFG or Cloverdale may be preferable. HCFG is not without its charms though.
2. It varies with the season and weather and local calendars. At HCFG one could expect between 15 and 25.
3. CoF will be comprehensive and reflect very closely CoFs from the WWII era. It will be very similar to what you have experienced as a Marine but the Leathernecks who volunteer in the Indiana will probably the volume of info is deeper than your PMI.
4. All part of the CoF. The course is so comprehensive that it can take folks who have never touched a rifle and have them qualify as Rifleman on the QDAQT in a day if they are good students and engage the curriculum.
5. An appropriately sized piece of carpet. I have three mats and do this quite a bit. One of the few things I would change is that I would have just used carpet
6. CZ with tangents and a loop sling is perfect.
Just relax and show up ready to have fun and be safe.
First off, thank you for your service.
Crawfordsville is another range that also has porcelain facilities.
You'll want to keep an eye on the weather as your event approaches and be prepared ... we shoot rain or shine ... lightning will close the line down until it passes. A good rain suit (like Frogg Toggs) makes shooting in the rain bearable. So does a pop-up canopy that you can set-up over your gear behind the equipment line. The pop-up canopy is also nice for shade on the sunny days.
Look at the photos in the AAR's ... see all those smiles ... that will be you and your GF ... here's a link to one of my favorites ... http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=39723.0
Scroll down to the last picture. That young lady has a similar shooting background as your GF. She not only had a good time at that shoot, but she went out, bought a Marlin LTR and came back to an Appleseed with friends in tow.
I love my CZ trainer. I get the same scores as my scoped rifle using the factory sights and they are well regulated. Once the front sight is set, the tangent is good for 4MOA out to 200 yards.
All she needs is patience and a willingness to learn, she will be fine.
DAve
Bolt actions are great for Appleseed. They take a bit of skill on some of the timed stages, but it is totally possible.
We'd love to have you at Noblesville next weekend if you can make it!
Hope to see you there!
== stagehand steve ==
Thanks for the advice everyone. The creature comforts arent really a priority for me but definitely a consideration for the little lady. She's pretty good to go but I try to take her needs into consideration when I can. I think she will do pretty good. We're looking forward to this.
yellowhousejake,
I love my little CZ as well, its probably the most accurate little .22 rifle I have and has a nice balance to it. I didnt know the front sight was adjustable. Thats awesome!
stagehand steve,
I'm trying for that one or maybe one of the following events up there as I didnt see any scheduled/listed closer. I can only go on saturday due to work scedules but I may start bringing some friends to other events as well. Maybe I'll see you on the range! We are going to make it to a shoot sometime soon, it'll definitely be central Indiana.
Tj Kackowski,
Thanks for the tips. I'll have to see what I can did up for rain gear. The weather is looking a bit rough this week.
SPQR,
I'll see if I can dig up some carpeting. I may have a roll or too around here somewhere.
Looks like we are pretty much set to go this weekend! tech sights will be here firday hopefully, ammo already showed up, waiting on a sling to two but I think I can improvise if I need to.
I'm sure stagehand will have several loaner slings available if you need one. No worries there
We are looking forward to it. Just got the new sights installed on the little lady's rifle. Making sure everything is oiled up and ready to go. Need to run out and grab some sling swivels to put on the studs. Should be good to go for saturday morning!