The Gun Counter

Title pretty much says it all. About all I know is that I'm bringing 500 rounds, and should probably swap out my tacticool suspension sling for a more old-fashioned style military type version. What else should I know/bring?

There was a related thread on this at the beginning of the month here. Lots of good advice(mostly on what type of rifle to bring).

Chris is right, you are going to want to have a good shooting pad, I picked up a floor mat and went with that but towels will work to.

A good hat to keep the sun out of your eyes, sunscreen, insect repellent, and one I wish I had taken(would have saved me a lot of time) a good unscratched pair of shooting glasses.

Don't forget a lot of water to drink!

I actually just returned from my Appleseed. I don't know if they normally want an after-action report submitted to them, but I intend to. I did learn a few points, and had a great time shooting with some great folks.

Make sure that your rifle is ZEROED. We did not get a chance to do it there, and I was shooting a new type of ammo that didn't cooperate with my old zero on my AR-15. It was the first time that I shot the Marlin 795s, and they were waayyy off. I was forced to try to zero while doing the drills, and it just generally made me irritated. Granted, I really think that they should have had time to zero prior to shooting, it would have made the rest of the day much better. They teach a 6 o'clock hold, so zero for that at 25 yards.

Make sure you have a USGI sling and swivels for it, as that's basically what they're teaching. Hat and sunglasses, even if it's not sunny. Bring clothes for all types of weather, we missed the rain, but it was decently cold.

I would add that binoculars should be mandatory. This allows you to fix your problems during strings when you can't approach the target.

We used our issued sleeping mats to lay on, and they seemed to work pretty well. You will be prone most of the time, as well as sitting, kneeling, and standing.

All in all, it was a great time, I did feel rushed at times, and I'm used to the Marine rifle range, which is VERY rushed. I did shoot rifleman, got the patch, so I'm happy about that. I'll be going back sometime in the future improve my score and learn more. I'm going to see if my command will spring for some unfunded PTAD to go to a Boot Camp.

Water, sunscreen, snacks, including something salty, and if you think that 100+ rounds will begin to hurt, bring a rifle that is not a full house battle rifle caliber. 7.5X55 began to really hurt after about 80 rounds. A Garand maybe not so much, 7.62x39, probably not so much, but the next time I make it back out to an appleseed, I'm taking a .22!

Windy Wilson wrote:Water, sunscreen, snacks, including something salty, and if you think that 100+ rounds will begin to hurt, bring a rifle that is not a full house battle rifle caliber. 7.5X55 began to really hurt after about 80 rounds. A Garand maybe not so much, 7.62x39, probably not so much, but the next time I make it back out to an appleseed, I'm taking a .22!

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm not too worried about the recoil issue, as I'm bringing my poodle-shooter. I'd bring a major caliber boltie, but mine are all WWII-ish surplus which show the effects of decades of corrosive primers. They'll shoot minute of deer at Mississippi pulp pine forest distances, but I'm not sure I'd care to shoot for qualification at 600 meters with any of them.

Most of Appleseed is with AQT targets at 25 yards.

Here is the target, reduced for 25'. That way you can dry fre practice in your home or apartment.

I have to say that I've never had my ego deflated and my confidence boosted in equal measure like that before. Also, OW!

EDIT: I also managed to put a round through the wooden shooting bench during the sitting/kneeling portion of an AQT. Turns out I was exactly the wrong height to try it kneeling...