The picture above shows Shannon and Simon 'on the line' shooting an Army Qualification Test (AQT)Synopsis: The entry below pertains to the Appleseed Project shoot that I recently attended. It is probably only of interest to people who like to shoot or who want to attend an Appleseed. The short version is: I attended an Appleseed, passed the test, got my Rifleman patch, and had a blast! If you aren't interested in the long, drawn-out details, stop reading here.
A little over a month ago I attended my first Appleseed shoot. See my pre-shoot blog post from April 14. To re-cap, the Appleseed is a two day shooting clinic that also teaches Revolutionary War history. The goal is to be able to shoot a passing score on the Army Qualification Test (AQT) which simulates shooting human-sized target out to four hundred yards. The actual shooting is done at 25 meters, but the targets are shrunk down proportionally so that they are very small.
Shoot Day
I arrived with Shannon and Simon at the range and it was drizzling and raw. We weren't really sure where to set up and by the time we were told the only spot left was a depression on the firing line that had filled with water. I thought that the instructor would rearrange the line to get us out of the puddle, but his indifferent look made me realize that this was our spot. We put down a tarp and our ground pads, but I could instantly tell that we were going to get wet. I tried to take the center of the puddle for myself, hoping to keep Simon a little dry, but once we were all settled in we were instructed to turn our shooting mats at a 45 degree angle to the targets, and this put Simon squarely in the puddle. I guess that a little water wouldn't have stopped the Revolutionary War patriots, so we should just suck it up as well.
We began with some basic safety instruction, and then began shooting to get a baseline for our skills. I was still unhappy about being in a puddle, until the instructor demonstrated the prone shooting posistion by flopping down in the mud on his belly. He got up covered in mud and I realized that this guy was for real and I should be thankful that I had a tarp and a mat in between me and the mud.
Shooting
The shooting consisted of various practice drills. Then we switched to AQT targets and we had timed shoots to try to qualify. The AQT target requires 40 shots: 10 standing, 10 sitting, and 20 prone. You only get four minutes to do it. The means that you have an average of six seconds per shot. Subract from that time for position changes and swapping out magazines, and you've got quite a bit less than 6 seconds per shot.
I had read up on the shooting protocol beforehand, I had practiced, sighted in my rifle, adjusted my sling, and worked the bugs out of everything. I had showed up with the intention of shooting a passing score and getting my Rifleman patch. Then tension grew as we shot AQTs and I didn't qualify. Overall my shooting was decent, but there would always be enough 'flyers' that would knock my score down. The tiny 400 meter prone targets were worth double score, so it was especially important to do well in this section. After peering at them for too long they would start to blur and I'd miss a lot.
The instructors suggested that we mix it up and start from the prone position instead of standing. The theory was that since these targets were worth more, it might be helpful to do them first. That advice, coupled with working out my aiming points and really staying focused allowed me to finally shoot a passing AQT score. I can't begin to telling you how elated I was! People who might not be into this sort of thing might dismiss it saying, 'So what, it's just a silly shooting contest.' But for people who are there, the pressure and the desire to shoot a passing score is huge.
Other Aspects
Shannon and Simon both had scoped bolt-action rifles. For people with decent eyesight the scope is probably a break-even proposition. It does make the targets clearer, but it doesn't offer the fast target acquisition of peep sights. The real disadvantage came from having to work the bolt. With my semi-auto all I had to think about was making the shot. Shannon and Simon had to work the bolt on their rifles in between shots, all the while trying to keep the scope on target. Remember, there are less than 6 seconds per shot so you have to be fast. Shannon also had the handicap of only having three magazines for his rifle. After I passed the AQT I ended up loading magazines for him during his shoots.
During breaks the instructors - who were excellent, recounted for us the story of the Battle of Concord and Lexington. How the Patriots struck a decisive blow against the Redcoats and lit the match that would become The Revolution. Their telling of it was heartfelt and descriptive, and really kept everyone's attention. There was no overt political message, but my take-away was, 'You've got these rifles, now learn how to shoot them in case you are ever called to defend the country like our founding fathers.' Good stuff.
The Rifle
I had bought a Marlin 795 .22 specifically for this shoot. It was onsale and came with a rebate, so the price worked out to $95 - unbelievably inexpensive! I added some 'Tech-Sights' which are adjustable, military-style peep sights. I also added a military sling (a must-have), and I bought an additional three magazines (you need four 10-round mags). The rifle had one of the worst trigger pulls I'd ever experienced, so I looked online and found some directions for home-gunsmithing to clean it up. After the work I did it was still a bad trigger, but useable. I was careful not to change the trigger in any way that would affect the safety of the rifle. All in I had less than $250 in the rifle. I bought a bunch of ammo - I like to use Federal Lightning (which is the Wal-Mart version of Federal Champion). My main concern was making sure that the ammo would reliably work the semi-auto action of the gun, and also be accurate enough. The Federal Lightning was a winner. Luckily I brought plenty of ammo because we averaged around 400 rounds per day!
Conclusion
If you have any interest at all in shooting an Appleseed, check out http://appleseedinfo.org/. I highly recommend it. It was exhausting, both physically and mentally, but it was a whole lot of fun. It has also greatly improved my shooting and changed my ideas on acceptable accuracy. I used to think that 'pie plate' accuracy was OK - the ability to hit a pie plate. Now I'm striving for silver dollar accuracy. The volunteers who put these events together are Patriots and are to be commended on their hard work and dedication.
