Appleseed Maryland 2015 Thread

DaveP · Apr 19, 2015

I can't say enough good about this program.

It's been on my "to do" list for too many years and I FINALLY got around to attending one this weekend.

It's a great blend of shooting instruction and history and WHY the American Rifleman was, and is, the past and the future of our nation. Especially significant this weekend, including a poignant nationwide memorial volley.

In two days, my marksmanship improved noticeably with a few simple tweaks and some helpful tips, and the breaking of some old, bad, habits ( Belt buckle, belt buckle!)

More importantly, I'm excited about shooting again. My son, who was also attending his first Appleseed, went from being frustrated yesterday (equipment issues) to now looking forward to the next event, as we both have 240 in our sights now, as something to work towards. I was amazed by the number of shooters either at 240 or knocking on the door. Some tremendous marksmen coming along among the younger generation. Makes me feel better about our future.

Thanks to all the volunteers that make this happen, the host facilities, etc

It was our first Appleseed, but it won't be our last!

todbiker · Apr 19, 2015

Appleseed Event at Berwyn Rod & Gun Club

We had a great time over the last couple of days.
I was probably one of the most challenging people for the instructors and they were extremely patient and took pains to make sure everyone was getting any level of additional instruction or help.

Someone else in this thread expressed frustration and I can identify with that to the extent of showing up not properly prepared. I had a new rifle and while it functioned fine, the factory sights needed quite a bit of adjustment and were not very user friendly with regards to fine adjustment. Didn't have a sling which is really crucial to stabilizing the rifle especially over the day. The instructors loaned me one both days and rigged it using zip ties because once again I wasn't properly prepared.

Check out the appleseed website and look at their forurms. If you show up with the proper gear and a reasonable working knowledge of your rifle and the sling, you'll be off to a much better start. You might not make rifleman first time out, but you'll learn some fundamental skills that will carry over to the majority rifle shooting done.

Thanks to all the Appleseed instructors volunteering their time and experience. :thumbsup:

Mdeng · Apr 20, 2015

Thank you to all the instructors that make this program possible.

We had a great weekend at St. Charles Sportsmans Club, 10 shooters 10 Riflemen! 4 of them being first time Appleseeders. (Davep and his son were first timers)

I finally reached one of my goals after 3 tries, Distinguished Rifleman with open sights. Now on to the next challenge KNOWN DISTANCE.

BRONZ · Apr 20, 2015

Checking in from Annapolis Appleseed.

Great weekend. Weather couldnt be better. The instructor core was top of the line. Erik was a great shoot boss and huzzah to Shirife for the (no notes) history lesson. He was outstanding.

My two boys and I got the rare front site patch. My oldest son got another Rifleman patch and I finally got one shooting a Rapid AQT.

A great weekend.

DaveP · Apr 20, 2015

BRONZ said:
finally got one shooting a Rapid AQT.

A great weekend.

Congrats!

LOL, my best scores were Rapid and upside down: maybe folks are right and my wiring IS wrong!

Your boys used to shoot the State 4H as well, no?

BRONZ · Apr 20, 2015

DaveP said:
Congrats!

LOL, my best scores were Rapid and upside down: maybe folks are right and my wiring IS wrong!

Your boys used to shoot the State 4H as well, no?

Yes they still do. I just got my oldest shooting Service Rifle. IDPA is next. Lol

Yes it was a great weekend.

DaveP · Apr 20, 2015

I think our county team fell apart.

MikeCee · May 13, 2015

"A Ladyseed is an Appleseed designed specifically for ladies. The women who attend a Ladyseed event will learn much more than how to fire a rifle, they will also learn American heritage and the history of how women actively aided in the fight on April 19, 1775. Many ladies walk away from an Appleseed event with a renewed sense of their country and of themselves. For many women a rifle range is unfamilar territory and can seem daunting, but the instruction at a Ladyseed event creates a comfortable learning environment. Whether you've never fired a rifle before or you're already a competitive shooter, most women walk away glad that they attended and ready to sign up for the next Appleseed event!"

There are slots available for the Ladyseed event scheduled for June 6-7 at Berwyn Rod & Gun Club in Bowie, MD. Please see the following URL for additional information: http://appleseedinfo.org/search-states-location.php?locationid=544&id_event=3768

chairyland · May 19, 2015

I attended the Marriotsville Appleseed on the 16th/17th with my father-in-law. I'm only echoing the things everyone has said above... but man, what a great program! The instructors are incredible, both in their knowledge and demeanor. Both my FIL and I had the impression that they truly do want to see everyone earn that rifleman patch, and we learned a TON. The history portions don't dominate the weekend, yet the gravity of the decisions made by our forefathers was strongly felt.

I was able to earn my rifleman patch under the excellent instruction provided by the Appleseed instructors. I am more proud of earning this patch than I am of any other shooting achievement. I can't wait to return for the next Appleseed at the AGC in September to try for a 240 on the AQT, and for a clean redcoat target. Three months to practice!

Next time I am wearing a long-sleeved shirt with reinforced elbow padding, though. In addition to the rifleman patch, I also earned three new scars in the shape of .22lr casings on my elbows. Can't break concentration/NPOA during the AQT!

Thanks to all the instructors and volunteers for making the event possible!

CSM00 · May 19, 2015

chairyland said:
I attended the Marriotsville Appleseed on the 16th/17th with my father-in-law. I'm only echoing the things everyone has said above... but man, what a great program! The instructors are incredible, both in their knowledge and demeanor. Both my FIL and I had the impression that they truly do want to see everyone earn that rifleman patch, and we learned a TON. The history portions don't dominate the weekend, yet the gravity of the decisions made by our forefathers was strongly felt.

I was able to earn my rifleman patch under the excellent instruction provided by the Appleseed instructors. I am more proud of earning this patch than I am of any other shooting achievement. I can't wait to return for the next Appleseed at the AGC in September to try for a 240 on the AQT, and for a clean redcoat target. Three months to practice!

Next time I am wearing a long-sleeved shirt with reinforced elbow padding, though. In addition to the rifleman patch, I also earned three new scars in the shape of .22lr casings on my elbows. Can't break concentration/NPOA during the AQT!

Thanks to all the instructors and volunteers for making the event possible!

Just registered here today and saw this -- I was the source of those casings. When my GF apologized to me for her empties (i have some burns myself), I showed her the pile of mine sitting next to you and explained its the nature of the beast. Congrats on getting your patch, on day 1 I think?

Agreed that the instructors and volunteers were great and were extremely helpful and patient with my new 22lr AR upper that Id never shot before and on day one had more of shotgun patterns vs groups. Even with that, I learned a lot and took away many things to work on in the future.

I guess you could call it embracing Step 7 early - I built a 10/22 LTR for Appleseed and immediately lent it to someone else

While neither my GF or myself came close to getting the patch, though she made 12/13 on the last Redcoat, we learned a lot and had a great time and are looking forward to attending the next one at AGC. Got the kinks worked out on the upper, and its sort of a goal now to do it with that rifle

On the gear stuff in this thread, especially since I had some gear issues, I would agree that AS does downplay it a bit, especially for new to shooting people. My GF, having never shot a rifle before, went straight into applying what was taught and I think having a solid rifle helped that a lot. She didnt have to fuss with anything besides some sight adjustments and could focus on shooting technique and not malfunction recovery. When she used a loaner 10/22 that had some issues for one AQT so I could try my LTR, it was easy to see the difference it made.

I was frustrated due to my gear, but a new shooter may have been highly discouraged with a rifle that wasnt setup pretty close to an LTR or an M1 and/or had the reliability issues of a lot of the old 22s out there.

chairyland · May 19, 2015

CSM00 said:
Just registered here today and saw this -- I was the source of those casings. When my GF apologized to me for her empties (i have some burns myself), I showed her the pile of mine sitting next to you and explained its the nature of the beast. Congrats on getting your patch, on day 1 I think?

Welcome to the forums, glad you joined up! No worries about the casings, I hit my father-in-law with more than a few too

And yes that was me, thank you! I honestly didn't think I got it, the only reason I even scored the target was because one of the instructors told me to do so!

CSM00 said:
I guess you could call it embracing Step 7 early - I built a 10/22 LTR for Appleseed and immediately lent it to someone else

On the gear stuff in this thread, especially since I had some gear issues, I would agree that AS does downplay it a bit, especially for new to shooting people. My GF, having never shot a rifle before, went straight into applying what was taught and I think having a solid rifle helped that a lot. She didnt have to fuss with anything besides some sight adjustments and could focus on shooting technique and not malfunction recovery. When she used a loaner 10/22 that had some issues for one AQT so I could try my LTR, it was easy to see the difference it made.

That was really awesome of you to loan out your LTR to your girlfriend. My wife has never shot rifles, I'm going to convince her to join me in September (and to let me build another LTR, this time with tech sights instead of an optic). See you there?

I agree with the gear comments you made. You'll still learn no matter what rifle you bring out, but gear (and ammo) issues will severely hinder your chances at getting the patch. My FIL ran out of CCI minimags halfway through day two and started using my federal bulk pack HV rounds, but for some reason they weren't ejecting fully from his Remington and his bolt was regularly closing on half-ejected rounds. He started loading a third magazine and keeping meticulous round counts, but it killed him on the 2nd and 3rd AQT stages. I also think some 10/22 modifications help a fair amount - namely the extended mag release lever, and the auto bolt release (and for my rifle, sanding down the magazine wells to ensure the magazines dropped freely). Those little things add up during the second stage especially.

Hope you stick around the forums!

MikeCee · May 20, 2015

CSM00 said:
I was frustrated due to my gear, but a new shooter may have been highly discouraged with a rifle that wasnt setup pretty close to an LTR or an M1 and/or had the reliability issues of a lot of the old 22s out there.

You aren't kidding!!! I bought a new rifle to take to my first Appleseed including a brand-new scope (I had just recently learned that the age-induced loss of my near vision meant I could no longer bring my front sight into focus) and paid dearly for that mistake.

A good rimfire rifle needs a few hundred rounds put through it to smooth things out so I was plagued with mis-feeds and stovepipes the entire weekend. Also, being unfamiliar at the time with the concept of eye relief, my scope was mounted too high and too far forward, causing me to bob my head all over the place, trying to get a proper sight picture.

But the level of instruction from Project Appleseed eventually won out, with a little determination and the right attitude from my side, and I got my patch on my fourth attempt (having made yet again an eye relief adjustment).

Any chance your GF might want to bring a female friend to a Ladyseed event?

BigBull · May 20, 2015

What is the age limit? Could a 6 year old who is pretty dam good with a Cricket be able to compete or at least shoot to get some better training other than his oldman can provide or would it be best for him to wait a couple of years until he can better handle a 10/22?

Also, what would be better for an adult, a Ruger 10/22 or an S&W MP-22?

rob-cubed · May 20, 2015

The Appleseed instructors are very accomodating, although most kids on the line I've seen are teens with a few tweens. He would definitely learn some skills, even if a bolt-action is not exactly forgiving of time limits--but the right choice for safety at that age.

As far as your rifle goes, Ruger 10/22s are very popular. The Marlin 795 is a great alternative. AR-pattern .22s are ideal for transfer of skills to centerfire. I have a CMMG .22 upper and a Marlin 795 with Tech Sights and I struggle to have one outshoot the other. The Marlin was much cheaper.

MikeCee · May 21, 2015

BigBull said:
Also, what would be better for an adult, a Ruger 10/22 or an S&W MP-22?

Spending a full day shooting can tax many adults, it might be a bit too much for a 6-year old. The youngest that I've seen so far was a ten year old and the instructors let her use a bipod after it became evident that just holding the weight of the rifle for several hours was going to be too much. In that case, her dad opted to have her only do one day of the shoot. Two days would have been too much and would have sucked all of the fun out of it.

The most important thing about the rifle that you bring is that you have click-adjustable sights. Standard factory sights don't usually allow for the MOA-level corrections needed at an Appleseed. The other main consideration is can you comfortably get into all 3 shooting positions with the rifle. I've found pistol-grip equipped stocks to be challenging in the sitting position (but experience will overcome that, I'm sure).

BRONZ · May 22, 2015

Appleseeds are one of the greatest shoots I have ever been too. I think its the combination of shooting with my sons and learning how America was forged.

My oldest son wants a winterseed bad, too.

Mdeng · May 22, 2015

BigBull said:
What is the age limit? Could a 6 year old who is pretty dam good with a Cricket be able to compete or at least shoot to get some better training other than his oldman can provide or would it be best for him to wait a couple of years until he can better handle a 10/22?

Also, what would be better for an adult, a Ruger 10/22 or an S&W MP-22?

Not to hijack the thread but you may want to consider bringing them to the St. Charles Sportsmans Club Jr. Rifle clinic instead. It is a non competitive atmosphere and we work with kids as young as 6 on a regular basis. We provide the rifles, safety equipment, ammo and NRA certified instructors. The program is free and paid for by the SCSC membership and through NRA Foundation grants. Ever wonder where the Friends of NRA money goes? Come by and check us out. www.facebook.com/scscjrrifle

aray · May 23, 2015

I've been to four Appleseeds now, including the one last weekend at the AGC in Marriotsville, and I have to say each one has been well worth the investment.

And I really can't thank the instructors enough. These folks volunteer their weekends time after time and year after year. It's a huge commitment in time away from their families, and their own free time. They are amazing patriots and they have my undying gratitude and respect.

If you've never been to an Appleseed before - GO. You'll learn a lot of American history, come away with an appreciation of the sacrifices our Founders made to give us liberty, and you'll become a much better shooter. What's not to like?

smdub · May 23, 2015

aray said:
If you've never been to an Appleseed before - GO. You'll learn a lot of American history, come away with an appreciation of the sacrifices our Founders made to give us liberty, and you'll become a much better shooter. What's not to like?

I really want to attend one. "Whats not to like?" The bolded part. Its not that I don't like history. Its that I hate being read something I can read faster. Sorry, its just a huge pet-peeve of mine from sitting through too many meetings in my life. And I REALLY hate hearing it multiple times if I attended more than once. Im an engineer. Its just how we're built, for better or worse.

I really want to attend but would like to focus solely on the shooting (and meeting people) vs the 'fluff'. Are there certain events/instructors that are more focused than others?

rseymorejr · May 23, 2015

smdub said:
I really want to attend one. "Whats not to like?" The bolded part. Its not that I don't like history. Its that I hate being read something I can read faster. Sorry, its just a huge pet-peeve of mine from sitting through too many meetings in my life. And I REALLY hate hearing it multiple times if I attended more than once. Im an engineer. Its just how we're built, for better or worse.

I really want to attend but would like to focus solely on the shooting (and meeting people) vs the 'fluff'. Are there certain events/instructors that are more focused than others?

The history part of Appleseed is really not overbearing. It comes as a welcome break periodically during the day. The things you learn are not the typical history book things. The history lectures are an integral part of the Appleseed experience and really ties together with the shooting part. Try it at least once, I don't think you will be sorry.

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