appleseed gun?

[mwar410]

what do you shoot at a appleseed clinic? I was told that the ideal gun is a 10/22, what else will work?

[comn-cents]

I've seen a few threads on here about them. Try a search.

[mwar410]

that search is a funny thing, this time it worked. thanks

[Ahshucks]

Saturday isn't as much shooting, a lot more training and history presentations. Sunday gets serious shooting skills. I used my 10/22 the whole weekend as did the majority. I did see a few military weapons and 223s.

[Smokey Joe]

means shoot what you got. Whatever rifle you own will work. It's good if you already know well how to handle and shoot the rifle.

Now, that said, the ideal rifle for an Appleseed is an autoloader with a removable 5-round (at least) magazine, and a recoil you can easily stand. It needs to be at least sorta accurate--An SKS or an AK probably won't fill the bill.

The most common autoloading .22 LR is probably the Ruger 10-22, so that's what a lot of people bring. Centerfire rifles work fine, too.

You do A LOT of shooting over the 2 days, so your level of recoil tolerance is definitely a factor.

I did an Appleseed myself (and earned my Rifleman) with a bolt-action .243 with a blind box magazine. Needless to say, the rapid-fire events later in the program were a waste of time for me.

Nevertheless I had a great time, as I expect you will too.

[mwar410]

shot the appleseed event this past weekend. The instructors looked at my win. model 75 and said few had shot rifleman with a bolt. qualified after lunch on sat. in the rapid fire targets. 8 mags, and alot of npoa's but no problem. it was a fun weekend.

[SamD]

Actually a lot of people have shot "Rifleman" with a bolt.
The AQT was designed for the M1903 rifle.

Sam

[bcarver]

that is some feat. We had a 17 year old do that with a mosin bolt.

[azredhawk44]

Highest score I've personally seen is a 242, with a bolt action CZ .22.

Second highest is a 241 with a Ruger 10/22 that was SERIOUSLY tricked out with bull barrel and laminate stock with cheek rest.

Any gun is good, but here's guidelines:

-Have a sling that doesn't have a lot of stretch to it. Cotton USGI or leather M1907 style are preferred.

-Have sights or a scope that are scientifically adjustable. Stock ruger 10/22 sights are not scientifically adjustable.

-Have at least 3 10rd magazines. One might get damaged or be unreliable.

-Try to stay away from tube-fed systems if you can.

[T. O'Heir]

Any rifle, any sight. No bipods. Appleseed is about shooting better, not the rifle used.
Go here. http://www.appleseedinfo.org/as_faq.htm
Use a .22 and take a brick of the ammo your rifle shoots best. Less expensive shooting.

[arpjoe]

Appleseed Shoots are two days if you can do it. But if you can only do one day then try it Saturday if you have never been to an Appleseed Shoot. Saturday is when most of the instruction on rifle marksmanship is taught. Need to learn the steady hold factors of the positions, six steps of firing the shoot, Natural Point of Aim, etc.

It is like drinking water from a fire hose but you will learn the fundamentals of shooting a rifle. The Appleseed instructors will also provide something you can not do for yourself, observe and coach you as you fire your rifle, provide shot group analysis of your targets to focus on causes of large groups to shrink the group size.

Sunday is a review and some drills but most of the time and focus is on shooting Army Qualification Targets with the goal of shooting expert at >=210 of 250. The instuctors would not be able to take Sunday-only shooters and provide the time needed to bring them up to speed for shooting good AQTs if they have never been to the Saturday session.

[A/C Guy]

I shot my CM-2, Russian made single shot .22, last year and fell 4 points short of my Rifleman badge, but I still had 5 unfired rounds at the end of the 60 seconds. If I could have loaded faster, ......

Appleseed Shoots are meant to be "run what you brung" events; just like the Sat night races. Take any rifle you like and have fun. If you decide to "get serious" later. you can always buy another rifle and trick it.

[aarondhgraham]

I have three .22 rifles:

H&R Sportster - single shot break open action
Henry Accu-Bolt - single shot bolt action
Mossberg 702 Plinkster - 10 shot semiauto magazine.

Which rifle would you gentlemen recommend for an Appleseed weekend?

I would take the Henry but I just read about a rapid fire section of shooting,,,
I would probably be faster with the H&R that the bolt action.

I prefer the simplicity and laid-back manner of single-shot rifles,,,
But I don't want to miss qualifying due to slow reloading.

Thanks,,,

Aarond H. Graham

[s002cjs]

Personally, I'd start with the 702 (and a spare magazine or two). Once you get a feel for things, you could always change over to something else, but with the numerous reloads necessary, the 702 would probably let you focus more on consistent shooting rather than constant loading.

[Tamara]

I shot the same iron-sighted AR carbine that stays loaded in the house.

Don't tell me we already have gamers and an equipment race in Appleseed...

[Smokey Joe]

Tamara--you said,

Don't tell me we already have gamers and an equipment race in Appleseed..

Gee whiz, I hope not!! Appleseed is about using YOUR rifle well. That said, however, there are rifles that won't work as well as other rifles @ an Appleseed: a single-shot, open-sighted .22 comes to mind, as does an SKS or an AK. The first just doesn't fire fast enough for the rapid-fire events, and all 3 of these examples are too inaccurate.

At the Appleseed I attended, there was an example of each of the above--2 SKS's, for that matter. None of the shooters using these guns got out of the "beginner" classes to try the AQT. Maybe it was the shooters, not the rifles--But IMHO, those particular rifles sure didn't help those particular shooters to do their best!

The Minutemen which Appleseed coaches modern shooters to emulate, were nothing if not accurate, with their Pennsylvania long rifles. The 1903 Springfield, for which the AQT was designed, reloads rapidly from stripper clips.

So, to benefit most from an Appleseed, while it's "shoot what you got," there are rifles which limit your participation and your learning. There are other rifles--a great variety of 'em--with which you can increase your shooting skill, earn a Rifleman patch (no mean feat, that) and have a lot of fun for a weekend doing both.

I wouldn't encourage anybody contemplating doing their first Appleseed, to get themselves a "race gun" specifically designed for the event. Please see my entry above regarding my own "shoot what you brung" experience.

[NRAhab]

My New Year's resolution is to actually shoot an Appleseed this year. I have heard so many mixed reviews from people about it, which run the gamut of "HOLY SMOKES APPLESEED IS THE BEST THING EVAR" to "It's great if you want to be a high power rifle shooter" all the way down to "it's a waste of time, unless you're into being preached at about 'minutemen'."

So I figured I might as well sack up and go shoot one myself. Because I'm cheap, I'm going to shoot it with an S&W MP-22 that's set up like my HD gun.

[bcarver]

I attended the Saturday shoot. It was historicaly interesting. It was a nice day for a picnic. It was some basic shooting drills.

I learned a lot about want it need for the next time.

10 round .22 that does not extend below rifle sighted in at 25 yards to 25 meters. Extended magazine raise the rifle during prone fire.

[GE-Minigun]

On a side note…scopes are mentioned…how would a red dot work? I ask because I plan on doing an Appleseed this year and as mentioned here, the gun to use seems to be the 10/22…well mine has a red dot on it. Thanks for the help.

[azredhawk44]

Originally Posted by Tamara

Don't tell me we already have gamers and an equipment race in Appleseed...

The temptation is there. I've seen some .22's geared out expressly for "appleseeding" if the phrase may be used.

However, there's no competition, and no amount of gear will "buy" you a rifleman's patch. It just can't be done, since you don't get the patch if you shoot off a bench or bipod. You have to be a rifleman to earn the patch, no if's ands or buts about it.

Originally Posted by GE Minigun

On a side note…scopes are mentioned…how would a red dot work? I ask because I plan on doing an Appleseed this year and as mentioned here, the gun to use seems to be the 10/22…well mine has a red dot on it. Thanks for the help.

Red dots are cool. You'll probably want your red dot to cover less than 4MOA though. I have a red dot on my Camp 45 and it is a 3 minute dot. It just barely fits inside of the 4MOA targets we use.

If you had a red dot that was more than 4MOA you could get tricky and use a 6 o'clock hold or a half-COM hold, sighting in so that your point of impact is just on the crest of the top of the dot instead of the center of it. Improvise, adapt, overcome.

[GE-Minigun]

Thanks for the reply...was wondering if I should leave it as is or swap out for a 4x scope. Again, thanks for the reply.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by azredhawk44

However, there's no competition, and no amount of gear will "buy" you a rifleman's patch. It just can't be done, since you don't get the patch if you shoot off a bench or bipod. You have to be a rifleman to earn the patch, no if's ands or buts about it.

No, but a Rifleman's patch would be a lot easier to earn with an optically-sighted 10/22 w/shooting sling than, say, an iron-sighted AR carbine sans sling.

[Smokey Joe]

Tamara--you said:

but a Rifleman's patch would be a lot easier to earn

IMHO, "EARN" is the operative word here, and the correct one. There are those who "just know" how to shoot well. There are those who will NEVER shoot well, for a variety of reasons. Between these 2 groups there is a majority, who can LEARN to shoot well, and EARN their Rifleman Patch. As with any learning situation, having good tools to learn with facilitates matters, and lets you work on how to do the basic process, rather than first having to overcome the tools' shortcomings.

That's why, for example, the Appleseed website advises you to come with a rifle equipped with a G. I. sling or equivalent--it's a learning tool. Bringing a sling for your rifle isn't "gaming" the Appleseed experience. Neither is bringing an adjustable-peep-sighted, or 'scope-sighted rifle--At 25 yd the 'scope is just another form of adjustable sight.

[azredhawk44]

No, but a Rifleman's patch would be a lot easier to earn with an optically-sighted 10/22 w/shooting sling than, say, an iron-sighted AR carbine sans sling.

I shoot the same scores on an AQT whether with my 4x magnified Marlin 795, or my iron-sighted M14.

When you get off the bench and learn to shoot using your body as the support instrument for the rifle, scope/sights don't matter until you're so far away that you can no longer see the target. All a scope does, is allow you to fuss the shot and I've actually had shooters shoot worse with scopes than with irons due to the fussing.

I've met plenty of riflemen with AR carbine M4geries on the line.

Now, sans sling? That's just silly. Every Rifleman has a sling! Next, you'll be talking about "mexican" carry of a Glock as a sensible thing, too!

[Wrothgar]

So wait, SKS's suck? Even Norinco's? That's news to me, I love mine.


I've got the Winchester Wildcat .22 Bolt action with the 15 round mags; the stock sites SUCK, they shoot high, is there any way to adjust them? I'd rather take something and use iron sights, but not if they are terrible sights. Every other gun I have has iron sights, but ammo is expensive for them... except the SKS.