Project Appleseed

Ken Roxburgh (Remington-Bushmaster, USMC ret) explains the use of the sling. But just as importantly he does it using TPI (Total Participant Involvement). Appleseed Instructors can all learn from the methods in this video. You will learn to rig, use and teach others to rig and use the M1907 leather sling.

It's 19 minutes but it's a good 19 minutes of instruction and a good example of effective instruction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=V80JyfZ4gBQ

There are other Remington-Bushmaster workshop videos at the Youtube channel above.

Remington-Bushmaster will be doing the 1/2 day workshop again this year at the Eastern Creedmoor Cup. They will also run a 2 day non-firing workshop at Camp Perry during the National Matches.

Thanks!

jmdavis, that was awesome. 

Do you know if he has any other instruction available online?

As Mike mentioned, there are five videos on that channel that teach marksmanship our style.

One thing that I have noticed at ASes is that some shooters try to set up their slings with the rifle on the ground, and this is awkward and causes some muzzle sweep issues. I like what he teaches about cradling the rifle properly in one arm so that one can safely manipulate the sling with two hands.

I also notice that most shooters - 90% of the ones we had last weekend - did not wear the loop properly on their arms. Either it was too low on the arm, or the sling was too long, or the loop was too loose. No matter what we teach about sight picture and trigger control, if they aren't holding the rifle with a solid foundation, they cannot settle into a stable NPOA position. Nor can they hold a group with the sling sliding down their arms. I'd like to emphasize more how to properly set up and wear the sling as we teach the positions on Saturday morning, perhaps even giving people practice time to do that with a safe rifle and get coached on this skill before shooting that stage.

Incredible!
Thanks for posting that.

Quote from: FiremanBob on April 26, 2013, 10:57:17 AM
I also notice that most shooters - 90% of the ones we had last weekend - did not wear the loop properly on their arms. Either it was too low on the arm, or the sling was too long, or the loop was too loose.

This is why we need all instructors besides the Line Boss down in the dirt. We demonstrate how to put on the sling and get into position. Their practice time is the preperation period. This is when the instructors should make sure they are doing it right. If they aren't getting it, work with them, even if they miss a square or two.

Once they get the sling, get down next to them and check palms, elbows, breathing, trigger finger, cheek weld... do they need to be built up? You do have pipe foam and Vet Wrap, right?

We are the instructors. We teach till they get it. Yes we teach at a very fast pace because we only have 2 days.

Remember the only student requirement is a teachable attitude. We TEACH the rest. As long as they are trying to learn, I'm trying to teach.

2cl

There is a process (like a flow chart) to coaching students.

1.Position (this includes sling use).
2. Respiration and respiratory pause.
3. Trigger control.
4. Follow through.

If a student has a bad position, don't spend time on Respiratory pause, trigger control or follow through. Focus on the biggest issue first and then move to the others. Note that a good position doesn't necessarily entail an elbow directly under the rifle. Support elbow should be as close to the rifle as possible without causing pain. If that position is directly under the rifle, great. But some people (including Olympic shooters) can't do that. Roxburgh has some good video info on prone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE8RDSyrJY and sitting and standing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPVVeKY_puY.

If you see vertical stringing, make sure that you watch the students breathing, chances are that he/she is firing at different points in the breathing cycle. You will see this watching his or her back. In other words they are either not coming to a respiratory pause or are not using the rifles guage (front sight) to properly reach respiratory pause.  The best place to do this is not lying beside the student but watching from behind.

Trigger control is determined not by first watching the trigger finger, but by watching the muzzle and checking the target. People with small hands will likely drag wood. If the muzzle is not moving and the shots are accurrate , don't worry about dragging wood.

Follow through. The effect of bad follow through is generally shots that go low. Watch the shooters head and trigger finger. If they are lowering the gun to try to check the shot, get him to hold the trigger back while he says "follow through," in his head. This will help resolve the issue.

Focus on the big issues first and then help to fine tune the small issues.

On a well staffed line, I believe that the line should be run by the IIT's and that the Red Hats should be watching and working with the students on an individual basis. This is best done by spending time watching the student, checking his results and then coaching to resolve the biggest problem. This is not always possible particualrly when you are dealing with lines with a high number of youth. In such cases you made need more people watching the line.

Mike

I'm linking to this in another thread and bumping this because it has a ton of great information, is entertaining, and reinforces the silly dance rule (watch this guy hula as he describes mirage to gage wind speed.)