Project Appleseed

The Founders were smiling on us this weekend, with unseasonably well-seasoned weather  and a line chock full of seasoned Patriots all eager to sieze the next step in marksmanship.  This was the fourth running of the Morgan's Company Memorial KD class, a course we created in 2013 to learn long-distance shooting as efficiently as possible.  And we had a FULL line for this one.

As you know if you've done it, Appleseed will give you a solid grounding in all the fundamentals, but it's only when you stretch a little bit farther that some of those lessons really hit home.  How much farther?  Oh, say 100 yards?  The real test of a Rifleman is in the ability to engage any target out to his or her effective range -- and while there is no true substitute for shooting the full Rifleman's Quarter Mile, this one comes really close:  Using .22's, the trajectory and wind factors are virtually a 1/4 scale model of .30 caliber centerfire.  What works at 100 yards with .22 will work at 400 with an M1 Garand.  And since there's so much less walking involved, we get much more time behind the trigger and in the classroom instead of marching up and down the range.   

This weekend gave us gloriously foggy mornings, as if the smoke of Battle Road was drifting across our lane, giving way in the afternoons to a playful and variable wind -- both parts of life that are either to be cursed, or mastered.     We began the day with a Morgan's Company qualification target, hung at 50 meters, in which the class acquitted themselves decently well although the helpful Continental holding up the target got a couple of near shaves!   

From there we spent a couple of sheet of squares at 25, affirming our zeros and getting very familiar with the sight adjustments on our rifles.  Those are not set-and-forget, folks, they are a valuable tool.  With that accomplished, we went over the quick-and-dirty Rifleman's Trajectory and Wind Rule, and started taking data at longer distance.  Those 4 MOA squares start looking kinda big as they move farther away, but trust your measurements, not your eyes -- 4 MOA means 4 MOA.   

With data in hand, we begin the AQT quest, first with a couple of "practice" AQTs with no timer and no transitions, since the wise Rifleman always takes her time and rehearses whenever possible.  And then, into the real deal.  With backers hopping from line to line, we shot the four stages as Daniel Morgan intended, and I think more than one of us was surprised as how well the stuff works.  Trust in your data, read the wind flags, apply the rules either simplified or complex, and -- it works!  Another victory for science!   

While we caught our breath, we heard the tale of the Long Shadow of the Rifle, accounting for the struggle after April 19th.  Our forefathers and foremothers got off to a great start on that most hallowed day, but Liberty only survives if we can keep it.  And keep it they did, through the Siege of Boston, through to Saratoga, and into the Southern Campaign where the Rifle left its mark at King's Mountain and Cowpens.  Along the way we met the great characters of the Revolution:  Joseph Warren, Patrick Ferguson, Isaac Shelby, Banastre Tarleton, and of course the legendary Daniel Morgan.

About half of our class were first-timers, believe it or not, but with sharp work from our IIT they were brought up to standard before we knew it.  I'm particularly proud of Randy, our 13-year-old Patriot in Training, who knocked the snot out of his 100-yard square and went on to keep darn near everything in the black on Stage 4 over and over again.  Inspiring.  Yeah, young eyes can do that.   

By the time Sunday afternoon rolled round we were pretty much all dialed in, with multiple scores in the 190's, right on the doorstep of KD greatness.  But we had one who found the Rifleman's Bubble and set up camp there, Chris, who printed a 229 in variable, full-value wind gusting to 15 MPH.    He'd already got his patch, but now he's got it underlined in red, white, and blue.

Before we broke up for the weekend, we had one last trick:  The actual entrance exam for Daniel Morgan's Rifle Company.  His test was a little different, more one of character than mere shooting mechanics.  He'd set up a silhouette at 100 yards and say, "there be the villain, General Gage.  You get one shot."  Well, standing in for the old fuddy-duddy was a villainous pumpkin, somewhere distant on the range, no alibis.     Half of our class got it on the first shot, and nobody needed more than three.  That's marksmanship, folks.

Our special thanks as always to Burro Canyon who let us put on this special event, and to Turner's Outdoorsman who got the word out in a big, big way for us.  We'll be sure to plan more.  Until then, keep your powder dry -- and study!