[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.