AAR - PETERBOROUGH, NH, AUG. 25-26, 2011

[Firewall99]

Attended by Jim D., Austin, Cindy, Lake, Ed, Jim K., Betsy, and Deb, this was another outstanding shoot for the Appleseed books. 

The weather was occasionally a little rainy on day 1, but it was sunny and glorious on day 2.  In light of the mass hysteria intentionally generated by the mainstream media over a supposed hurricane that has yet to materialize in NH two days later, these shooters showed their mettle as New Englanders who "know what they are about."

Jim D., who had been knocking on the door since the first Redcoat, finally scored Rifleman on the very last AQT, to the great relief of all. 

Cindy, on her 8th Appleseed, showed continuous improvement, scoring her best ever.  (Cindy's homework is to get her stock fitted in prone for her long pull.)  She actually shot a Rifleman score once, but for too many hits in one target and not enough in another, it lost the winning score.  The AQT can be unrelenting.  It tests not only our marksmanship and mag changes, but also the ability to count.    

We laugh, but failure to count can often make the difference for those not finishing in time.  If one does not know when 10 rounds have been fired, time gets wasted on firing a "shot" that turns out to be a click.  At best such shooters, assuming Rifleman Cadence, lose "only" 9 seconds (3 seconds each on three stages).  But, depending on having to regain NPOA and other factors slowing the shot, how many of those last "shots" take an extra 15 seconds -- each?

Austin, a young, new shooter, showed outstanding perseverance and improvement despite having to deal with the Ruger factory sight.  He even braved the ire of his football coach by staying at the shoot past his departure time for practice.  He said, "We have practice 6 days a week.  Appleseed comes less frequently, so I'm going to stay."  His grandpa, who was a great help during the shoot, concurred.  He'll be back with Tech Sights next time, which for Peterborough is October 8-9.

Several shooters were plagued by incessant ammo-related malfunctions such as failure to feed and failure to eject, even after cleaning.  I am starting to lose my confidence in the famed Wal-Mart .22LR (otherwise known as Federal "Champion Target"), let alone the Winchester hollow tip. 

First, upon looking into the boxes being used, I saw brand new, copper-plated, Federal ammo significantly corroded.  The copper plating in these boxes did not look to be fully coating the bullets.  Folks, when it's wet out, you must keep your ammo dry. 

Secondly, these two particular brands, and many others, are not fully compatible for semi-auto rifles, because they do not have completely rounded bullet tips, which aid in feeding.  The Winchester tip is especially flat.  Ed switched to the infamous Remington Gold Tip, which, despite it's other shortcomings, does have a rounded tip and showed no sign of corrosion.  After the switch, his ammo-related malfunctions went away.  (Unfortunately, this left him with the problem of his Savage magazines, which had springs that were so tight with ten rounds inserted that the first round wouldn't feed reliably.  Just mentioning it.)

We ran the Happy Finger, Ball & Dummy, and Buddy Finger drills before finishing up with the AQT Machine.  The Buddy Finger drill told three shooters that their problem was with their aiming, and two shooters that it was with their trigger.  An excellent drill!

Then we had to run the Happy Finger drill again.  The second time around, we spent significantly more time in hold-back mode.  This came near the end of the shoot, but it had to be done.  It made the difference for Jim D. who was one of the repeat offenders.  It was shortly thereafter that his score jumped 20 points, for a Rifleman score of 219.

We ended with everybody getting their homework assignment to tell their friends and bring TWO friends to their next shoot.

When all was done, several shooters thanked us for a job well done and vowed to return.  These are Riflemen in the making.

The club, Monadnock Rod & Gun, did an excellent keeping us fed not only for lunch, but for breakfast, too.  Thanks, Mark!  You did a fantastic job.

Kudos to Buckskin for running a smooth Shoot Admin.

Finally, thanks to all the shooters and staff for braving the media hype and turning out to help wake up America.  We could not do it without you.

[Andy in NH]

A typical start to the shoot.



Firewall99 helps Austin reassemble his Ruger factory rear sight.



Cindy and Ed work the Buddy finger drill.



Jim makes Rifleman!

[The Postman]

Firewall99, I attended a shoot in Enfield last summer and made an expert rifleman score using CCI Blazer. For What It is Worth (FWIW), here in Central NY we have found that CCI Blazer brand (NOT from Walmart but the stuff available at the sporting goods retailers) to be the best all around ammo for Appleseed shoots . . of course opinions may vary but I speak from personal experience. My first Appleseed was using Remington Golden Bullets ..  on Sunday I never got through ~one single~ course of fire without a FTF or FTF, . . . . same with Federal at my next Appleseed.

On recommendation of my local Appleseed shoot boss, Sgt. Rock (Steve Stoner) I switched to CCI Blazer and scored Expert Rifleman at my third Appleseed with a 220 something. I have used CCI Blazer at three Appleseeds (including the Enfield Appleseed last summer) with ZERO malfunctions in my two 10-22s set up as Liberty Training Rifles.

My current high score using CCI Blazer is a 244 through a standard Ruger 10-22 carbine with Tech Sights, Volquartsen Hammer, extended mag release, and bolt release modification, a pretty standard Liberty Training Rifle configuration.

I hope to shoot with my Appleseed Brothers in NH again someday soon, although I have family in NH, my job here in NY keeps me pretty busy, and local. 

Peace, Out \ /

The Postman

[Firewall99]

Postman,

Good to hear from you!  Glad you are doing so well.

When I first started, I gave the CCI Blazer a pass because it has a wax finish that when used in hot weather and rifles, can gum up the 10/22 magazines, or so I was told.  Having spent many hours cleaning my loaner magazines, I certainly didn't want that.

But I live in NH.  What hot weather?  We have maybe only 1 or 2 shoots a year in 85+ degree weather, so now I'm going to rethink that, thanks to you.

And the Blazer has a round tip, doesn't it?

[The Postman]

Firewall99, I have shot at least 6 full bricks of CCI Blazer through my main 10-22 LTR, most all of it through the same two mags that have never been disassembled or cleaned. I have never heard that the wax was a problem. I will keep an eye on those mags and clean them before I use them again though. Thanks for that tidbit of info.

I do disassemble and clean the LTR every 500 rounds or so . . but never the mags.

The last two Appleseeds I shot here in NY it was very hot and humid. No malfunctions. We go through about a brick on an Appleseed weekend.

[Firewall99]

I will keep an eye on those mags and clean them before I use them again though. Thanks for that tidbit of info.

You're welcome.

But I would not clean my mags unless they already had started malfunctioning.  I had to do it only because we had a muddy shoot, and the shooters trashed my loaner mags.  The next shoot. they almost all malfunctioned.

It's a nasty task.  You are liable to lose the spring, the spring is a bear to re-seat, and the tutorial on Rim Fire Central has the number of turns mixed up.  You need to research the number of turns, which may be expressed in either full, 360 degree turns, or the number of hexes on the nut.  Some people on the internet get those mixed up.

(I express my discussion in full, 360 degree turns.)

The factory uses a relatively low number of turns--I forget how many, maybe 1.5 or so--but Junior Birdman recommended 2.5 turns to overcome the hard use we encounter at AS.  I have set mine to 2.5 turns, and have yet to have any problems since (knock on wood). 

But the bottom line of what I am saying is that, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Who knows?  Maybe that wax rumor is a bunch of baloney put out by a competitor.

You never answered my poorly asked question.  Do the CCI Blazers have a fully rounded tip?

[The Postman]

You never answered my poorly asked question.  Do the CCI Blazers have a fully rounded tip?

Sir, yes they do.