Appleseed in Indiana: Wabash & Evansville Events

[Farmritch]

OK, I'll try as I am still on the roll as an instructor

Bottom line 2 days of instruction
Teaching you
3 basic firing positions and the 6 steps of firing the shot
Really good instruction for all ages and skill levels

Don't blow this off I've had Military & Police instructors walk away from shoots I've been on telling us they learned more from us in 2 days than in years in Military & other arenas

Here are the FAQ's
and here is a god link to applseed
http://appleseedinfo.org/


Frequently Asked Questions

What is Project Appleseed?
It's a program designed to train people in basic rifle marksmanship using rack-grade rifles and surplus ball ammo; as well as a program to revitalize the tradition of the Rifleman. Once you become a Rifleman, you'll be able to, with an iron-sighted rack-grade rifle, make head shots at 250 yards, and body hits at 500 yards — all as a result of the 25m marksmanship training you'll receive at an Appleseed shoot, followed by battlesight zeroing at 300 yards.
Why "Appleseed?"
"Appleseed" comes from Johnny Appleseed, the American folk hero who toured the country, planting appleseeds so that future generations would benefit.
Why the "Nationwide Tour?"
Likewise, our crew will travel America planting the seeds of basic rifle marksmanship, so that future generations will benefit.
What's your real agenda?
We seek to do three things: teach marksmanship and respect for the tradition of such, and to preserve the knowledge of our Revolutionary War history. That's all we're about, plain and simple. We believe that if we teach it, it'll wake our fellow Americans...and an awake America is an America that cannot be defeated. We want freedom to ring strong. We want Lady Liberty to be safe.
Marksmanship means more than accurate shooting. It means a love of liberty, a respect for our forefathers, and an acknowledgement of the debt of honor we owe to them. We believe this debt can never fully be paid back, but we believe that by keeping the faith and passing our teachings on it will certainly reflect our ability to pay what we can.
What kind of rifle do I need? What kind of sights are allowed?
Appleseed is content-free, so in regards to sights: you can use any. Rifles? Well, you can use any safe firearm which can be accurately shot from the shoulder, from a .22 to a .32 (8mm). We're semi-auto and bolt-gun friendly. The important thing is that it works, so before you come to a shoot make sure you clean it, break it in (if need be), and lube it properly in preparation for the day.
What caliber is best?
In a nutshell: they all are. Appleseed is not caliber-specific. It doesn't matter to us if you use .308, .30-06, .223, 7.62x39, 8mm, .303 — they're all fine. Marksmanship and caliber are independent of each other. If you're a good marksman, you'll be able to hit with any caliber. So, if you have an AR-15 or SKS, please feel free to join us. And when you bring your kids (up to age 20 shoots free) .22 rimfire is fine.
Why military rifles?
Because they're fast and easy to reload. But if you have a hunting rifle, that's great too. Just be sure to practice loading it fast!
Do I need a sling?
Yes.
Can I use a bipod?
No. We teach a basic driving class, so we want you to learn to drive stick shift — that means with a sling, not a bipod. We also encourage you to use iron sights, but optics are okay.
Do I need a shooting jacket?
No. We do, however, encourage you to invest in a cheap cloth shooting jacket, like the USMC-type found at www.fredsm14stocks.com, so you have elbow pads, plus a pad on the upper sling arm to dampen heartbeat.
It is not required, but we believe it's certainly worth the investment — especially when you also get the Guide and AQT targets as part of the package. It's well worth it. Take it from Fred.
Do you have a checklist of things to do in preparation?
Yes. Click here and you'll find several articles of interest. We encourage you to show up prepared: rifle cleaned and lubed, and fully broken in (a few hundred rounds having been fired with it).
Hey Fred, I've got a friend who's not on the Internet...can they still sign up?
Of course! Simply send a check with a long SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) for $45 (1-day) or $70 (both days) to:
RWVA
PO Box 756
Ramseur, NC 27316
Is that all it's about? Learning to shoot?
Our purpose is to teach you to shoot a rifle, like your forebears. But more than that, the veterans of the Revolutionary War want you to understand the necessity of teaching others to shoot. We want you to be able to go back home and get others shooting "for God and Country," as they say. And we want you to do it stimulated, encouraged and inspired because of your attendence at one of our shoots.
Did you say "basic" class?
Yes, we did. But our definition of "basic" supercede's others' definition of the same word. If you persist in practice, you will be able to make head shots at 250 yards, and body hits at 500 yards — a basic feat for our forefathers. And you'll be able to do it using iron sights and a rack-grade rifle!
Does coming to an Appleseed shoot qualify as the marksmanship activity I need in order to obtain a CMP M1 Garand or 1903A3 rifle?
Yes. So, if you'd like to get a real piece of history, while at the same time learning to shoot it, sign up for an Appleseed shoot. While you're at it, sign up for a $20 associate RWVA membership to support Appleseed (and meet the CMP-club membership requirement).
Can I sign up and be squadded with my buddies?
Of course you can. You can even be squadded up with your Internet buddies that you've never actually met. If you are NoR or FALfiles, or any Internet group, simply put the info on your application, and we'll put you together on the line. So get together on the Net with your Internet buddies, get everyone fired up to come, tell 'em to mark their apps, and be confident that we'll make sure you'll have them on your left and right sides when the firing starts!
How far ahead can I sign up?
As far ahead as you want. You can sign up for an event in your state before an official event is scheduled. Your registration, entered on a computer, is safe with us.
Should I practice before I come?
It would definitely be a good idea to zero your rifle 3" high at 100 yards, then clean and lubricate it before your Appleseed. It would also be a good idea to get in the prone position at home, and dry-fire 10 "shots" 3 times a week to stretch your body out. That'd be one less thing to worry about on the day of the shoot.

[techres]

What to expect? <- Great Question!

A brief synopsis of my first Appleseed:

I showed up with a line of cars and guys & gals with red hats checked me in and handed me a packet with training info and targets. I pulled into a parking area and was asked to leave the rifles in the car until the safety briefing was over. In the meanwhile, I hung out with a bunch of shooters I had never met before talking about gun geek stuff.

Soon enough, we were huddled together for a brief safety meeting and then told to get our stuff to the line. So I slogged my gear and a rifle to the line (which was up a big hill). Thankfully, some nice guy saw me dragging my heavy ammo box and tossed it on an ATV and saved me some sweat (turned out to be the landowner).

Once we all got places on the line which was simply a line drawn in grass, and we got our mats placed, we got together in a big huddle and heard talk about the time just preceeding the opening skirmishes of the Revolutionary War. (The history was done well and tory telling compelling).

Then we fired the first target to see how good we were. People were surprised in many directions. I was better than I feared, worse than I bragged.

Then came a series of practices mixed with breaks for stories about the first two days of the War. We learned about zeroing a rifle with one five round targetting set. Then we learned about shooting positions (prone, standing, sitting, alternate sitting for fat shooters like me, kneeling). Sling use was taught. All the time we shot sets to implement what we had learned. And over and over we heard more snippits of what was happening on that first day to our ancestors.

Then we took a lunch for an hour which ticked me off because I travelled three hours to satisfy my love of shooting. I could satisfy my love of eating well enough at home!

After lunch we did more shooting and more history. The typical round of shooting includes 4 strings. The first is done standing, the second you have to start standing and transition into sitting, the third you have to transition from standing to prone, and the last is just prone. Magazine changes and time limits were involved.

At every part instructors walked the line giving individual help and encouragement. Oh, and more history from that first day.

That night we camped over and had great conversations around the fire. however, we also got hit by a torrential rain with wind that broke one guys tent and made my life interesting. But a "rifleman" endures (or at least an ex-boyscout does).

The next day had more shooting and less training. But plenty of history about the second day of the war which you have to hear in person.

The goal of the day was to achieve "rifleman" by shooting 210 on the AQT. I did not get there, but neither did the guy next to me who was at his third shoot so I felt better. On the other hand the lady who was shooting with her husband for the FIRST FRIGGIN TIME shot 215 and proved that either (1) God hates husbands, or (2) experienced shooters cannot listen to instructions. More likely she was better because she lacked the need to overcome a beer belly in the sitting position...

Anyways, at the end of the day my only complaint was that we stopped shooting. The collective, "Awww mannnn...." from the line was palpable.

As for my best memories of the event? The history, the sounds of 50 rifles firing at once, good instructions, people helping each other, and a great excuse to burn up 350 rounds of .223 in one weekend.

[techres]

My After Action Report:

It was hot, very hot, but at least it was not dusty like the Minerva shoot in Ohio. We had 38 shooters on the first day and 24 on the second. 4 People made rifleman, and a dozen of the shooters were under the age of 21. One of the riflemen was 17!!! :shock:

We had women in large numbers aging from teens through grandmas. The one grandma came on her own initiative having missed shooting with her family as a kid. And .22lr's were more than 50% of the field, with a strange hodgepodge of others (including a really killer finnish mosin, a .270 bolt, and some lever actions).

I have put up a photobucket picture montage from the shoot here (to save download rates here - I could post them all if people want):

The link for Photobucket is here:

Wabash Appleseed June 2008

Highlights include our leaders (which Ohio Appleseeders should Recognize):


Shooters:


And More:


I am beaming proud that I finally got a rifleman score and will hopefully soon move on to the path of instructing. I do not mean to gloat at all, instead just say that all the practice finally paid off.

I did not get a good picture of my rifle or target that I rifleman'ed on that day, but I did tonight:



Between me and it, we got some very nice groups:



The only problems that I had with it were:

1. It was very front heavy. It is much harder to shoot standing than my M4gery AR.
2. The whole thing would quickly heat up in sunlight until it was capable of burning flesh. I spent alot of time water cooling it with drinking water in between strings and then covering it with a white towel. Next time I will bring compressed air to the range.

All in all it was a very fun weekend, and I finally got over the rifleman hump I have been seeking for 2 years now. As always, I learned more history, and more marksmanship and am a better man for it.

[Soundslikejosh]

Well, techres is a hard act to follow, but I figured I would share a few thoughts about my experience this past weekend in Wabash.

1) $70 for a 2 day event, shooting and history. A better bargain cannot be had. And don't whine about the price of gas. It is still a bargain.

2) Under age 21 shoots free. Did I mention under 21 shoots free? Find all the impressionable youth you can and take them for a history lesson, lest they vote this November and make a terrible, irreversible decision.

3) If you are taking a new shooter, do what you can to help them succeed and help them to have realistic expectations. If they have vision issues, put a scope on. I went there without a scope installed because I understood it to be an iron-sight event, but that is only partially true. If a new shooter is not somewhat successful, they are much less likely to stick with it. Also, make sure they understand that marksman or sharpshooter is a milestone for a newbie. Rifleman are not born that way but become proficient through training.

There are many more good things to say about the program, and many have already been said on this board. The instruction is well refined and each shooter will be given individual attention in proportion to their need.

As a parting thought,
The economy is not in good shape now. Let's not dwell on it. Prioritize what you do with your disposable income. I don't like paying $4 a gallon but I figured that it was worth the money to go to this shoot. IT WAS! And on the bright side, .22 ammo is cheap, and if you are taking anyone under 21 there is no course fee. THIS IS THE FINAL STEP- PLANT THE SEED. TAKE SOMEONE WITH YOU. TAKE AS MANY AS WILL FIT IN YOUR CAR.

[hawkhavn]

Josh,

Techres is a hard act to follow and I am sure he is going to make a great Appleseed Instructor. Thanks for coming out and bringing a friend, hopefully you can make the full weekend next time!

Knowing in advance what an Appleseed is like is hard to describe to most people. Once someone has gone and seen what it is all about, we find very receptive hearts and minds. You're already doing great at the 7th step!

BTW, remember that there are lots of ways to help the program other than being an instructor or until you do become an instructor. Any questions, shout out.

hawkhavn

[techres]

Josh,

Your point is superb! As we approach the autumn Appleseeds we need to get a carpooling caravan going. Indiana is full of shooters and potential shooters. Bloomington itself is full of Ron Paul youth who need to exercise their 2nd Ammendment rights as just one example.

On a personal note, did I manage get you or your guest in any of the pics? Was that your guest with the lever 22? If so, I have fuller sized copies of the posted pics I could email you if desired.

And as far as a tough act to follow, Fred, Hawkhvn, and the others who travel states away to run shoots month after month, are the tough act to follow. The kid who Rifleman'ed at his FIRST shoot was also a tough act to follow. It took me many more than that and some serious time on the bedroom floor when the wife was not looking.

And as they say "If they can get something through my hard head, then my wife would love to know how they did it!"

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

Campgrounds nearby in Wabash:

Wabash RV park (across from the sewage plant, not an ideal location.)

Hominy Ridge at Salamonie (primitive)

Salamonie (Class A, showers and electric, no sewage or water hookup)

Mississenewa (Full hookups - water, sewage, electric, public showers.)

I like Salamonie best for RV camping and Hominy Ridge best for primitive.

I missed the June shoots; we'll see what Oct looks like.

Josh <><