Any Appleseed shooters?

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LDB

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I recently discovered Appleseed and am signed up for a 25M clinic in April. I've got a "new and improved" 10/22 on order. It will be my Appleseed rifle. Anyone involved in the program? Comments/thoughts/opinions/experiences? Any advice/suggestions on equipment? Slings to avoid or hold out to get? Ammo preferences? Anything else I don't even know to ask yet?
 
I haven’t done one yet, but everyone I know says they’re great. Seems like a basic 10/22, GI sling and reliable ammo is all you really need.
 
Yes, and a good shooting mat. And good knees and joints would be a plus. And maybe limberness. :) I ordered the "new and improved" 10/22 which has the BX trigger and sling swivel mounts built in. I did get a Tech-Sights aperture sight set to put on it. That will be my only change from stock besides adding a sling. Still have to get that.
 
Something like 20 years ago I used to be an Appleseed instructor. Much of my information may be out of date but some things never change!
The old style cotton or leather military sling is preferable to the nylon sling. Nylon is slippery and tends to move around while your trying to shoot. I used to bring a bunch of mil surplus cotton slings to loan to the students. You will need the wider sling swivel for those slings. The military sling is 1 1/4" wide. The typical civilian sling swivels are only 1 inch wide. You will want both swivels mounted on your rifle. Tech sights are very good but scopes are allowed and work better for most. The standard 10 round mags are preferred because the extended mags get in the way. Tube mags are a handicap. They can be used but your not going to like loading them while laying on the ground with everyone else waiting for you to get it done. Semi-auto rifles are preferable but a bolt action can be used. A piece of carpet can work as your shooting mat. 2 or 3 foot wide and 6 foot long is big enough for most. Ear and eye protection is very important. The person next to you may be shooting a 30-06. The program was originally designed for WWI era bolt action military rifles. Some locations only allow .22 rimfire ammunition.
Do not wear your self defense weapon on the firing line. We are very friendly with concealed and open carry but there are major safety problems created by extra weapons on the line. Safety is the most important thing for us and we have lots of safety rules you must follow.

I finally found the web site:
https://appleseedinfo.org/
Look around in there and you will find lots of up to date information.

Here is the best up to date information:
https://appleseedinfo.org/how-to-prepare/
 
RF2650 said:
Something like 20 years ago I used to be an Appleseed instructor. Much of my information may be out of date but some things never change!
The old style cotton or leather military sling is preferable to the nylon sling. Nylon is slippery and tends to move around while your trying to shoot. I used to bring a bunch of mil surplus cotton slings to loan to the students. You will need the wider sling swivel for those slings. The military sling is 1 1/4" wide. The typical civilian sling swivels are only 1 inch wide. You will want both swivels mounted on your rifle. Tech sights are very good but scopes are allowed and work better for most. The standard 10 round mags are preferred because the extended mags get in the way. Tube mags are a handicap. They can be used but your not going to like loading them while laying on the ground with everyone else waiting for you to get it done. Semi-auto rifles are preferable but a bolt action can be used. A piece of carpet can work as your shooting mat. 2 or 3 foot wide and 6 foot long is big enough for most. Ear and eye protection is very important. The person next to you may be shooting a 30-06. The program was originally designed for WWI era bolt action military rifles. Some locations only allow .22 rimfire ammunition.
Do not wear your self defense weapon on the firing line. We are very friendly with concealed and open carry but there are major safety problems created by extra weapons on the line. Safety is the most important thing for us and we have lots of safety rules you must follow.

I finally found the web site:
https://appleseedinfo.org/
Look around in there and you will find lots of up to date information.

Here is the best up to date information:
https://appleseedinfo.org/how-to-prepare/
Click to expand...
A lot of good comments and all accurate from what I've learned so far. Yes, I'll be looking to buy a cotton sling, nothing else. And I know it has to be 1.25". I thought about a scope but since I plan for this to be a 25M/25yd rifle I thought learning open sights would be good with it. I'm already thinking about rimfire KD and for that either another rifle identical to this one but with a scope or either a Tippmann or S&W M&P 15-22 so I get practice aligned with the AR I'd use if/when I try shooting clean across the county in a 400yd KD CF. And I've got about 20 of the Ruger 10rd mags so that is all I'll use. And with that many maybe no reloading at all for the day. Or at least only during lunch maybe. Thank you for a very helpful response.
 
Scopes bring a couple of issues. The line of sight is much higher than the factory iron sights. You end up holding your head up off the stock trying to use a "jaw weld" instead of the proper "cheek weld" to see through the scope.
Some way to raise the comb of the stock is very helpful to your accuracy. A cheap, temporary but functional solution is to tape some padding to the top of the comb. I used to bring some foam pipe insulation and painter's masking tape. There are aftermarket stocks that solve that problem very nicely.
Another issue is too high magnification. Anything over 4 power magnifies your movements way too much and can tempt you to try to snatch the trigger when it looks good. This gives the shooter a habit of jerking the trigger which can make accurate shooting near impossible. Iron sights are actually easier to shoot well because of this. Turning the typical variable scope down to 3 power is still going to be tough to hold steady in the standing position.
 
That's what I've heard from many sources. As one who wore glasses for ~60 years, until 9 months ago with cataract surgery, seeing anything well is a very strange concept. And seeing things far away seems completely alien.

So mentally I think I need one power of scope for every 12-14 yards to the target. But I also know soldiers are shooting targets very far away with nothing but iron sights. So there's a mental debate ongoing.

I'm gradually working on the idea I can do what countless others do and shoot a RFKD with no more than a 2-7 scope even though it's 200 yards. I've got a ways to go yet to come to terms with no more than 2-7 for 400 yards though.

Hah, I'm still working on it's even possible for me to shoot something at 400 yards period. :)
 
For iron sights it is extremely important to focus your eye on the front sight. If that is not going to work with your eye then a low power scope will be your best bet.

For 200 yards with a rimfire your likely to run out of elevation on the scope. I like this set of scope rings for solving that problem:
https://www.burrisoptics.com/mounting-systems/xtr-signature-rings?sub=40
Or this one:
https://www.burrisoptics.com/mounting-systems/signature-rings?sub=40
The trick there is the plastic inserts that allow adjustment of the angle the scope is mounted at.
These are the only rings I know of that have plastic inserts like that.
 

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