Tips to making qualifying easier

[mac66]

While I haven't been to many Appleseeds, I have been shooting for 40+ years and have picked up a few tidbits of knowledge along the way. I have a bunch of different rifles as well. I thought I would share some of the things I learned.

These tips are not intended to game the system, merely to help shooters attend less to equipment issues and more to learning proper technique.

And of course they are worth exactly what you pay for them. If they can help one of your attendees get through the course of fire better, then it really is worth it.  I am also very frugal so many of these are cheap tricks.

Ruger 10/22- Of course we all know that installing an extended mag release is a big help during mag changes. And we also know that the bolt release on a 10/22 is a pain to release sometimes. Obviously modifying the bolt release solve that problem and is one of the most common mods we find on the 10/22.

Cheap Trick #1

Here is a cheap extended mag release....Use a empty 22 shell, a drill and some JB Weld.  Take the mag release out of the trigger assembly
1. Drill 1/4" hole in mag release. It doesn't have to be deep.
2. Fill hole with JB Weld
3. Insert empty 22 case, clamp and let set overnight
4. If you want it longer use a 22 magnum case.
5. For a plastic cover, break the leg off the thing that holds 22s in the box. Cut to size, split and slip over the shell.

Of course you could go without the plastic thing but the rim of the shell is painful to push on.




The ones in the pics below have been in place for at least a decade or two and thousands of rounds.


I have more tips and tricks if anyone is interested, just ask.

[colycat]

I like it Mac.

My Grandfather was a piano builder. Some how I ended up with a box of pins that are used in pianos.  I have used these for extended mag releases with out any JB weld.  You have to have a drill a few thousands of an inch smaller and just tap it in.

Of course the savings is only about 5 bucks, but I did it myself is worth much more.

[ksuguy]

Another good tip is to prep a spare magazine and keep it on your mat in case of malfunctions.   This is especially useful during stage 2 and 3.     If you have a malfunction, you can immediately drop the mag, clear the chamber, and load your spare and finish the stage.  It really helps if you have a .22 that hangs up on the feed ramp or a stove pipe that jams things up.     It's usually quicker to do this than to try and clear it,  hunt for the loose round on the ground, (if it is even useable) and get going again before time runs out.      Of course you have to keep track of how many shots you have fired so you don't have any extra holes on one of the targets. 

Another tip is to always be sure which magazine has the 2 rounds and which has the 8 rounds.     I always make sure to put my 2 rounder in front of the 8 rounder.   If you start with the wrong one, it can cost you precious time.   

Fixing the factory bolt release is also a huge help.   

[sparks1]

Another good tip is to prep a spare magazine and keep it on your mat in case of malfunctions.   This is especially useful during stage 2 and 3.     If you have a malfunction, you can immediately drop the mag, clear the chamber, and load your spare and finish the stage.  It really helps if you have a .22 that hangs up on the feed ramp or a stove pipe that jams things up.     It's usually quicker to do this than to try and clear it,  hunt for the loose round on the ground, (if it is even useable) and get going again before time runs out.      Of course you have to keep track of how many shots you have fired so you don't have any extra holes on one of the targets. 

Another tip is to always be sure which magazine has the 2 rounds and which has the 8 rounds.     I always make sure to put my 2 rounder in front of the 8 rounder.   If you start with the wrong one, it can cost you precious time.   

Fixing the factory bolt release is also a huge help.   

I wrote a 2 on one mag feed lips and a 8 on the other with felt tip pen. Once set upright its easy to spot

[TaosGlock]

Brilliant Mac! Thanks for the tip!
TG

[LayloPro]

Tape on the bottom of the mag with the "2" & "8" works well out here as well.....

[mac66]

I hate to even admit it but I use extended aftermarket 10 round mags when shooting Appleseed. Not only are they clear so you can see how rounds they have in them, but they stick out far enough to be able to grab to remove and insert easier.  I learned this while teaching my kids and nieces and nephews how to shoot when they were small. All had trouble with the little cube factory mags. Grabbing a handful of extended mag is just easier to manipulate when your hands are cold and/or wet (rain or sweat).

Remember, the first thing that goes under stress is fine motor skills.

You can use factory mags to the same effect by gluing them bottom to bottom or gluing some sort of extended handle on the bottom of them. 

Me?  I just buy cheap 10 round Eagle mags. So far they have lasted through about 10 years and thousands of rounds of shooting, including two compete Appleseeds, and a couple seasons of rimfire silhouette league.  For everybody else, I only recommend factory mags.

[slim]

What I did was learned the skills necessary to become a Rifleman and then.....
PRACTICED and
PRACTICED and
PRACTICED and
PRACTICED and
... then shot by the numbers in Rifleman's cadence.

No games, tips or tricks necessary.

[dwarven1]

I hate to even admit it but I use extended aftermarket 10 round mags when shooting Appleseed. Not only are they clear so you can see how rounds they have in them, but they stick out far enough to be able to grab to remove and insert easier.

I just make sure all my 10/22 mags drop free.

[Roland]

I had to file down my mag well as welll as the mags to make them drop free, now they come out real fast.

Don't forget about the "one trick" for the middle stages. Fire one round and drop the mag, then replace, then you don't have to rack the bolt.

If righties shot right to left, the sling tension gets greater as they shift NPOA, instead of looser.

On the redcoat, shoot bottom up, and prep 4 and 9.

I'm sure I have others, but these are the only ones that currently come to mind.

Roland

[2 clicks low]

Don't forget about the "one trick" for the middle stages. Fire one round and drop the mag, then replace, then you don't have to rack the bolt.
Roland

I have heard this tip from many, including SB's, but if you read the QDAQT it clearly says for stage 2 & 3, load and shoot 2 rounds, reload with 8...

I believe that the intent is that you have to rack the bolt as part of the mag change, almost as if it is trying to get you to loose your NPOA and have to find it again.

This being said, I have never heard of a SB denying the patch for following your tip.

2cl

[nmmi9100]

Don't forget about the "one trick" for the middle stages. Fire one round and drop the mag, then replace, then you don't have to rack the bolt.

GAMER!

Sure like the budget extended mag releases.  That's a nice piece of inexpensive kit!

[jmdavis]

Dryfire. Dryfire should make up 75 to 80% of your practice. Some might argue that it should be 90%. Dryfire does not mean pointing the rifle and saying bang. It means getting in a good position and following the 6 steps. That includes calling the shot after you hear the click based on the location of the front sight.

[Nickle]

There's NO substitute for dry firing.

I've made it a point to make the shooters dry fire during the prep periods, to get them in the habit. Making them in the respect that I say "I will know when you're all ready when you're all dry firing". That also gets them to quit dwaddling during the prep period, and the time goes down to under a minute before the weekend is over.

Tips to prevent stupid failure are good, such as the extra mag idea, in case of a problem.

Gaming is just cheating yourself, such as the 1 round reload idea. The intent of the 2/8 rule is to break your position. matter of fact, that rule started as 5/5 (1903 Springfield). Current military qualification courses (Army anyways) call for 3 phases, First phase is 20 rounds (2 mags 10/10), the other 2 phases are 10 rounds each (no mag changes). 2/8 is because of the M1 enbloc clip.

[eaglescouter]

The 1 round reload still breaks your position just as much as the 2 round/reload does on an AR with a BAD lever.

[mac66]

Here are a couple tips for the Marlin 795 and/or 60

I bought one of these cheap 795s  to play with and use as a loaner. I already had an old model 60. Remember what I said about fine motor skills going out the window under stress? Well, that bolt handle is hard to grasp for kids, when it is wet, cold or if wearing gloves (it was 6 degrees at my first Appleseed and freezing rain at my second).  So an extended bolt handle is handy. You can pay a lot of money for a custom one or pay nothing to do it yourself.

The bolt handle on the 795 is round so a neat trick is to simply wrap it a couple turns with duct tape (or electrical tap) and then press fit an empty .40 S&W shell over it. Mine has lasted several thousand rounds so far.



It also works on the handle of the mod 60  and 10/22. Because those handles are curved you need to build up the concave with something. Best semi-permanent solution is to simply fill the shell with JB Weld or other epoxy and press it down over the handle.

I don't like the mag release on the 795. I did find that if you press the mag forward a bit, it will come right out. It is the only way I do it now.

[mac66]

Here is are couple AK 47 tips.

AK mags are big and heavy and can interfere with shooting prone. At the last Appleseed I went to i watched a guy shoot an AK all weekend and struggle with the mags and mag changes.  I wish I had known he was bringing an AK or I had brought him some 10 rounders I made up.

Back in the day when AKs, mags and ammo was cheap everybody wanted the long 30 rounders. The 5 rounders that came with many AKs were often sold cheap. I remember picking up a bag of 10 of them at a gun show in the 80's for $2/ea.  30 rounders are cool but they are overkill shooting off a bench or at a range with a 7 or 10 round limit.

What most people don't know is that the 5 round AK mags are actually 10 round mags with a long follower. Cut 1" (dremel etc.) off the follower legs and you have a 10 round mag. Which coincidentally is prefect for AS. You don't have to do anything with the spring or anything else.



CDNN also carries the short ten rounders if you can't find cheap 5 round ones.

The second tip is what all the cool high speed, low drag operators are doing. Basically when you reload, use the full replacement mag to trip the mag release and then knock out the empty mag.  I didn't take a picture but here is a youtube video link that shows what I am talking about. I've been doing it for years but when I learned it, it was kind of a DUH, why didn't I think of that kind of thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz5LPaMhlOc

The third tip is a bolt open notch for the AK. Basically cut a notch in the safety lever to hold the bolt back. Safety on, bolt back. easy as that. I've done it to all my AKs.

[Nickle]

The 1 round reload still breaks your position just as much as the 2 round/reload does on an AR with a BAD lever.

If you're right handed, I can contest that. 2 rd reload, you have to release the bolt. That requires a reach over the top of the receiver to release the bolt with your right hand. That being said, you really don't need to fully break position when reloading an AR.

[The Wolfhound]

On our CZs I load 2 rounds in the 5 round mag and 8 rounds in the 10 round mag.  The different size makes it easy to keep them sorted out.

[ATM]

The 1 round reload still breaks your position just as much as the 2 round/reload does on an AR with a BAD lever.

If you're right handed, I can contest that. 2 rd reload, you have to release the bolt. That requires a reach over the top of the receiver to release the bolt with your right hand. That being said, you really don't need to fully break position when reloading an AR.

*With the B.A.D. lever installed, there is no need to reach for the bolt release on the left side of the receiver. It protrudes beyond the trigger guard on the right side.

[KYWindage]

*With the B.A.D. lever installed, there is no need to reach for the bolt release on the left side of the receiver. It protrudes beyond the trigger guard on the right side.

They are nice....

[Nickle]

Yeah, I hadn't realized that when I posted, though I knew there are aftermarket levers that make much more sense than the original Colt/Armalite part.

In the situation of a right side bolt release (any kind) on the AR, it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference between a 1 rd reload and a 2rd reload.

[BeSwift]

I highly recommend this product.  http://www.clipsnstuff.com/10-22-c-1/clip-holder-for-10-22-dual-p-50  It holds 2 Ruger factory 10 rnd mags back to back which accomplishes a ton of good things... 1) add weight to assist in drop free from rifle. 2) adds leverage as the mag is longer  3) With practice, makes reloads quicker as you just have to rotate the mag 180 deg vs searching for another mag on the mat... 
This dumb little piece of plastic, is worth its weight in gold...  Wish I'd have thought of it..

Of course, you can do this yourself.. by sanding mag bases flat and using epoxy, or get a benefit from simply epoxying a short wood base to the mag. The downside is that you don't have the benefit of  swaping out mags as easily, if you have function issues with one of the mags in the set up..    BeSwift

[dwarven1]

I highly recommend this product.  http://www.clipsnstuff.com/10-22-c-1/clip-holder-for-10-22-dual-p-50  It holds 2 Ruger factory 10 rnd mags back to back which accomplishes a ton of good things... 1) add weight to assist in drop free from rifle. 2) adds leverage as the mag is longer  3) With practice, makes reloads quicker as you just have to rotate the mag 180 deg vs searching for another mag on the mat...

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one, BeSwift - it also makes a mag stick out way below the bottom of the rifle, and for many people, those multiple mag clips will be sticking into their support side wrist as they're holding the rifle. Heck, I don't even like the Butler Creek mags for that reason. I stick to the single, 10-round factory mags. They feed the best, last the best and work the best.

(Of course, if you want to go all tacticool and Rambo on your 10/22, nothing beats the Eagle 30 round "banana" mags I have for my 10/22...  but I usually don't use them, either, for the same reason - they stick into my support arm when I'm in the proper position! Nope, for serious shootin' I stick to the factory mags.)

[Roland]

The Eagle 30 rounders don't work in mine. I could only get one round off from them before I'd get a stovepipe or type three malfunction. As a matter of fact, I think the only ones that work in mine are factory mags.

You can file down your mag well to make mags drop free easy. Works good on aftermarket synthetic 10/22 stocks.

Roland

[BigMike]

My 10/22 mags dropped free straight from the factory...  The current mod list: Tech Sights, extended mag release lever, auto bolt release.

[marrandy]

Gaming is just cheating yourself, such as the 1 round reload idea. The intent of the 2/8 rule is to break your position. matter of fact, that rule started as 5/5 (1903 Springfield). Current military qualification courses (Army anyways) call for 3 phases, First phase is 20 rounds (2 mags 10/10), the other 2 phases are 10 rounds each (no mag changes). 2/8 is because of the M1 enbloc clip.

Its not just gaming  the system.  Its the total and deliberate failure to follow directions.  A personal failure.  In other shooting events, you could be DQ'd (disqualified) or if repeated, asked to leave.  I wont go into the area of 'if they won't some follow instructions or rules, I wonder what else they will ignore because it doesn't suit them' territory, as I could be here all day.

But NOTE:  You are supposed to listen to, and follow the line boss and instructors directions.  Not do what suits you.

[Nickle]

Gaming is just cheating yourself, such as the 1 round reload idea. The intent of the 2/8 rule is to break your position. matter of fact, that rule started as 5/5 (1903 Springfield). Current military qualification courses (Army anyways) call for 3 phases, First phase is 20 rounds (2 mags 10/10), the other 2 phases are 10 rounds each (no mag changes). 2/8 is because of the M1 enbloc clip.

Its not just gaming  the system.  Its the total and deliberate failure to follow directions.  A personal failure.  In other shooting events, you could be DQ'd (disqualified) or if repeated, asked to leave.  I wont go into the area of 'if they won't some follow instructions or rules, I wonder what else they will ignore because it doesn't suit them' territory, as I could be here all day.

But NOTE:  You are supposed to listen to, and follow the line boss and instructors directions.  Not do what suits you.

Yup, agreed. But, I still stand by the fact that the person that's getting hurt worst is the shooter himself.

[jmdavis]

Its not just gaming  the system.  Its the total and deliberate failure to follow directions.  A personal failure.  In other shooting events, you could be DQ'd (disqualified) or if repeated, asked to leave.  I wont go into the area of 'if they won't some follow instructions or rules, I wonder what else they will ignore because it doesn't suit them' territory, as I could be here all day.

But NOTE:  You are supposed to listen to, and follow the line boss and instructors directions.  Not do what suits you.

Are the shooters with 7 round mags engaging in a "total and deliberate failure to follow directions?" What about those with tube magazines, or the cz452 shooter with 5 round mags. The problem with inelasticity is what to do when it is impossible to follow the rule. In such cases the productive man finds away to follow the spirit of the rule.

Now personally, I can drop into position, fire two rounds, check a spotting scope for a target at 200 or 300 yards, make sight changes, reload, reconfirm NPOA, and finish the string with time remaining. I can do that because of the hundreds and thousands of times that I have practiced it.

If that shooter is following the spirit of the rule and breaking position for the reload, whether he fires one or two rounds is irrelevant. As a matter of fact if I come across a shooter who needs an extra second I will advise him to fire one and reload to save the second of reaching over the handle and dropping the bolt (or grabbing the charging handle). Some very good instructors advised me of the same some years ago at Ramseur. 

Mike

[2 clicks low]

Deleted in favor of CPR.
2cl