Appleseed After Action Review

The Appleseed course was challenging. It was in the low 90's both days, without a cloud in the sky, but fortunately there was a light breeze all the time which helped keep me cool(er). I still drank about three liters of water each day because only the firing line was shaded, and we had to stay out of the shade during cease fires, instructional periods, etc. (Lunch was held under shelters by the parking area.) The facility was nice, with permanent toilets, running water, D-Lead soap in the bathrooms, and a soda vending machine. This was slightly surprising because the facility is in the middle of nowhere.

Each morning we'd start out with a safety review, then un-timed shooting at Red Coats to measure our precision, and at the end of each day we'd do the same to see how we'd progressed. In between shooting at Red Coats we'd see demonstrations of the various sling techniques, the basic shooting positions, and the six steps of firing a shot. Once we'd seen something demonstrated we'd head to the firing line to try it out.

Eventually after we'd seen all the training sessions we started shooting at the Army Qualification Targets (AQTs). These are styled on the US Army's marksmanship training targets, but scaled-down to work on 25-meter ranges. Each AQT is shot in four stages, and we started each stage with an unloaded rifle.

The first stage is one target shot with 10 rounds from one magazine, from the standing position, in two minutes. The second stage is two targets, shot with two magazines; one loaded with two rounds, the other with eight. We started out standing, and when the fire command was given we had 55 seconds to drop into a seated position, load and fire five shots on each target, starting with our two-round magazine. The third stage is three targets, again shot with a two-round and an eight-round magazine. This time we started from standing and dropped into a prone position, firing three shots into the left and middle targets, and four shots into the right target in 65 seconds. For the final stage we had five minutes to shoot four targets from the prone position with 10 rounds in one magazine.

During our lunch breaks the instructors told us tales of the revolution, sometimes even acting as a person of historical interest. The stories seemed personal to each instructor, like they had chosen someone from that time whom they found inspiring. The stories highlighted the sacrifices, often times in blood, that our forefathers made to gain our liberties. They also emphasized the significant impact that a single person, with the right skills and determination, can make on history. It really helped to tie the day's practice to historically significant events.

The course is really geared towards high power-style shooting and you have to use a loop sling to get decent precision. My tactical sling, which mounts at the front and rear of the receiver, was pretty useless for this. At least I couldn't figure out how to get any significant support from it, and none of the instructors could offer any advice, either. On the second day I was lucky that one of the instructors was kind enough to loan me a rail-mounted QR stud and socket, along with a GI loop sling. This immediately raised my scores by about 40 points.

I started out with my rifle zeroed for 50 yards, but this range was 25 yards and I was shooting about three inches below my point of aim. I initially tried to just compensate with some hold-over, but the precision that the course of fire required made that a liability, so I spent a fair amount of time the first day raising my point of impact (and struggling with my tactical sling).

My heavy, gritty trigger made things more challenging as well. (I'll note that the trigger is starting to smooth up now that I've got ~500 rounds through the rifle, but I am thinking of getting a better trigger in the future.) Also, because I was using a bullet button it took me longer than most to change magazines, which really hurt me on the portions of the qualification tests that required a mag change.

But, it's a poor man who blames his tools! Unfortunately I wasn't up to the task and missed the "Rifleman" rank by six points (my best score was 204, and you need 210 or higher). Adding insult to injury, there were several middle school and high school kids who were shooting 230s. Whipper-snappers! :) Most folks were shooting .22LRs, but a few Garands, ARs, and other rifles were present at various times throughout the weekend.

I was very pleased with how my rifle performed. When I wasn't under time pressure I could get nice three-round cloverleafs at the 25-yard distance. I haven't cleaned the rifle yet, however it performed without a hitch, even shooting that "horrible" steel-cased Hornady practice ammo just fine. All I did was put a couple drops of Slip2000 into the holes in the bolt carrier at the start of each day, and again at lunch. The Aimpoint in the LaRoue mount held zero perfectly despite being detached every time I needed to put the rifle in its case.

I was fairly pleased with how I did, even though I didn't get Rifleman this time out. I made it more challenging for myself by using a rifle that was new to me—and one that was definitely not optimally configured (bad sling, handicapped mag changes). Next time I'll probably turn my 10/22 into a Liberty Training Rifle and use that instead. I know I'm almost able to shoot Rifleman, I just need some more practice on the fundamentals. In particular, finding my natural point of aim is still inconsistent for me; sometimes I'll find it very quickly, but other times it takes multiple tries to get it. It's something I can practice on my own by dry firing, so it won't even cost a lot to improve. And, I will be back to prove it.