Gamers...
Tamara--you said,
Don't tell me we already have gamers and an equipment race in Appleseed..
Gee whiz, I hope not!! Appleseed is about using YOUR rifle well. That said, however, there are rifles that won't work as well as other rifles @ an Appleseed: a single-shot, open-sighted .22 comes to mind, as does an SKS or an AK. The first just doesn't fire fast enough for the rapid-fire events, and all 3 of these examples are too inaccurate.
At the Appleseed I attended, there was an example of each of the above--2 SKS's, for that matter. None of the shooters using these guns got out of the "beginner" classes to try the AQT. Maybe it was the shooters, not the rifles--But IMHO, those particular rifles sure didn't help those particular shooters to do their best!
The Minutemen which Appleseed coaches modern shooters to emulate, were nothing if not accurate, with their Pennsylvania long rifles. The 1903 Springfield, for which the AQT was designed, reloads rapidly from stripper clips.
So, to benefit most from an Appleseed, while it's "shoot what you got," there are rifles which limit your participation and your learning. There are other rifles--a great variety of 'em--with which you can increase your shooting skill, earn a Rifleman patch (no mean feat, that) and have a lot of fun for a weekend doing both.
I wouldn't encourage anybody contemplating doing their first Appleseed, to get themselves a "race gun" specifically designed for the event. Please see my entry above regarding my own "shoot what you brung" experience.