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Fred's
Articles
Appleseed Shoots for newbies - everyone should read
Coming to an Appleseed AQT Shoot?
Hope so.
Here's some background info to make your trip more worthwhile, and make the learning more efficient.
The purpose of the shoot is to promote history and marksmanship, to
provide marksmanship training opportunities, to train people to become
Riflemen, to teach them now to train other riflemen. (PS: a lot more info at www.appleseedinfo.org , including experiences of people who have been at one. Check the "Range and Afteraction Reports" to see what prior Appleseeds have been like.)
What is a Rifleman?
Short answer: An armed American, trained in the tradition of American Liberty.
How do you get to be one? First, you learn to shoot a rifle accurately - accurately enough to score "expert" on the Army Qualification Course.
A Rifleman can pick up any centerfire rifle, fire one zeroing shot if necessary, and hit a man-sized object out to 500 yards, the traditional Rifleman's "Quarter-mile".
Until you can do that, you are a "Cook", unqualified to carry a rifle on the firing line of freedom.
Learning to shoot: Persistence is key. With intelligent homework and practice to speed up the process, and iron-clad adherence to firing each shot consistently 'by the numbers' after obtaining your NPOA.
But at an Appleseed AQT shoot, LISTENING is key. Listen to the instruction, soak it up, then put it into practice.
Fred recommends "Fred's Guide to Becoming A Rifleman", available from http://www.fredsm14stocks.com/latest.asp, including the 25m Army Qualification Targets for $16 plus UPS.
A Rifleman knows the critical need for defending freedom in this country
is overcoming the shortage of Riflemen.
The Revolutionary War Veterans Association is dedicated to the
Appleseed program of encouraging every American to learn to shoot, and then to teach rifle shooting to others.
Safety Rules and Procedures
Safety
ONE: ALL firearms are to be unloaded at all times except when on the firing line, after the shooter has prepped and been given the "LOAD" command.
"Unloaded" means bolt locked back, safety on, mag out, and grounded on shooting mat or rifle rack.
TWO: MUZZLES are to be pointed in a SAFE DIRECTION at ALL TIMES. (The GOLDEN RULE of gun safety.)
THREE: You never touch the trigger until your sights are on the target, and you are ready to fire the shot.
FOUR: You make sure everyone around you complies with these rules.
On the Firing Line: Before every stage of the AQT, therešs a "Preparation Period" of one minute.
BEFORE the "prep period", you load your mags (note: cartridges into
mags, NOT mags into rifles), and get your gear squared away and ready.
During the "prep period", you adjust your sling if needed and get a
good position with NPOA. Then you dry-fire shots "by the numbers" to better prepare yourself for the course of fire. Do not handle your rifle before the prep period. Have your gear ready BEFORE the prep period, so the prep period can be used to get position, NPOA and dry-fire.
Commands:
"Your preparation period has ended" is always followed by a command to tell you what to do, such as "LOAD!" or "STAND!"
In order to make sure everyone on the line is prepared and ready to
fire, the next three commands are questions:
"Is the line ready?"
"Ready on the right?"
"Ready on the left?"
(Do not respond unless you are NOT ready.)
then
"ALL ready on the firing line!"
and
"FIRE!"
"Cease Fire!" Requires you IMMEDIATELY stop firing, and automatically
"UNLOAD" as defined above. It is very bad etiquette to fire a shot after the "Cease Fire!" command has been given and could get you escorted off the range - that's embarrassing...
RWVA Range Etiquette
Safety - To speed up checking the line for safe rifles, please leave your rifle grounded with the ejection port UP. The line officer may rotate your rifle to the other side to check the safety.
AR-15s should have the charging handle half-way retracted; SKSs with standard 10-rd capacity mags should have the mag release pulled and the mag hanging open.
All rifles should have bolt locked back, safety on, mag out, and be
grounded on the line or in the rack.
On the Firing Line - Pay attention; be alert to line commands. Loud talking over the match director is bad for everyone, unsafe, and impolite. Don't get so involved in a conversation you are oblivious to everything else. Keep your ear muffs and ear plugs (note: BOTH are reccommended - if you've never fired on a line with 20-30 other rifles in rapid fire, you don't know how loud it can get - use BOTH ear muffs and, under them, ear plugs) on until there is a positive "Line is clear" command, then take them OFF so you can easily hear any further commands, instruction, etc.
Alibis - Alibis are a second chance to fire your shots because of 1) rifle malfunction - failure to chamber or extract, etc, 2) ammo malfunction - failure to fire, chamber, etc, 3) shooter malfunction - failure to load right number of rounds, too slow in firing shots, fired on wrong target, etc, or 4) range failure - target blowing in wind, targets not appearing, etc.
Rules differ from range to range, and event to event (Highpower rifle has involved and technical rules on when and what alibis are allowed, for example.)
At RWVA the only alibi allowed is a range alibi. That is, some failure related to the target. Failure of rifle, ammo, or shooter is not an alibi.
So if your rifle fails to function, for whatever reason, clear it, and move on! If you run out of ammo, reload, and move on!
Cleanliness - It is considered good etiquette to leave the range a cleaner place than when you came. Brass should be policed up and placed in brass buckets, steel cases dumped in the trash, mat placed back on rack, and trash generally cleaned up and disposed of. Please check to make sure you recover all your equipment before leaving.
Duds and Live Rounds - If you experience a dud round, please do not dispose of it on the range. Either give it to the match director for disposal, or take it home with you. Do not dispose of in the trash! Be careful about leaving live rounds behind you.
Ask Questions! - There are no stupid questions. But ask them so everyone can hear the answer.
YOU are a Safety Officer - If you observe any unsafe practice while shooting is going on, notify the match director pronto. If necessary, and there is no time, yell "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" at the top of your lungs, and the line will be shut down until the matter is resolved.
Everyone on the line is responsible for safety at all times. No
exceptions.
Before each event or stage, the match director will announce precisely what the course of fire is and every shooter will be allowed a one-minute prep period, so watch for it and listen so you know what you'll be doing...
Shooting - the only sport endorsed by the Founding Fathers - an American tradition...
Current Appleseed schedule is at http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=1043.0
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