My first Appleseed

S

SerenityNetworks

New member
This next weekend (October 20/21, 2012) I am going to my first Appleseed event. It will be the one held in Davilla, Tx (about 3.5 hours away from home). To say 'I am very excited' really sells short my how I feel. Shortly after getting back into riflery last spring (after a 38 year absence) I found out about Appleseed and immediately signed up for a weekend. Then my father took ill, I had to cancel, and have not been able to go until now. But now I am registered and ready to go. I am going to do my best not to overwork this week, so I can go rested and ready to absorb everything my old brain can hold. Since I haven't shot that much since getting back into the sport, hopefully I haven't developed too many bad habits that are deeply ingrained and hard to break. I want to be a blank slate and just learn, learn, learn.

And to make the weekend even better, I'm taking a boy I've been teaching to shoot. This will be his birthday present. He is turning 10. He doesn't know it yet, but I'll also be letting him know that when he gets his Rifleman patch (however many weekends it takes), then 'my' new Marlin 795 with Tech Sights becomes 'his' Marlin 795 with Tech Sights.

Also an elderly accomplished varmint hunter and reloader who has offered to teach me the ways of varminting and reloading may also join us (if he feels his stamina is up to it later this week). That would be great - and a good excuse to get a hotel rather than camping out :-) Then as if it couldn't get any better, I friend at work and his two boys (12 and 15) may also be able to join us. I'll find out tomorrow.

Gad, I feel like I did when I was a kid and my father or grandfather said they would take me hunting the next weekend. I'm ready and raring to go!

And for anyone that takes the time to read this - thanks for 'listening' to me ramble.

Andrew
 
SN; Remember to have elbow pads for you and your son. Sunblocker, lots of ammo, a decent mat to lie on, elbow pads, a hat with brim, at LEAST 3 magazines for each rifle, elbow pads and don't forget the elbow pads.
When you shoot the 2 & 8, remember to load the 2 rd mag first. Fire one ( 1 ) round then change magazines. Saves lots of time with locked back bolts or clicks instead of bangs.
Good luck and listen well.

Roger
 
Thank you Roger. The elbow pads are still on my list. Do you have a suggested make/supplier? All I've found so far are 'supports' that do not have padding or hockey pads that seem to be overkill. I was looking for something in between.

Also, thanks for the tip on the magazines. I'll go out and get one more. Right now I only have five to go between two rifles.

Thanks again,
Andrew

PS. Ryan isn't my son. He's younger than most of my grandkids. But if over the weekend someone mistakes him for family, I'll certainly take in the compliment. He is a wonderful boy and his family is near and dear to the hearts of both my wife and I.

NRA Life Member
------------------------
"There are some ideas so preposterous that only an intellectual will believe them." - Malcolm Muggeridge
 
Last edited:
Hey - how did it go? Did you and your crew have a good shoot?

I am looking to go to my fourth in a couple of weeks, hoping to qualify with an M1 Garand and a Marlin 795 with tech sights, in that order. Good times, good people.
 
I have meant to post back sooner, but I've just been swamped.

We loved it! I learned so very much. After being out of riflery for 38 years, it was nice to go and learn again from the ground up without a lot of bad habits and muscle memory. I didn't qualify. My first shot in any group was typically off and then the others were commonly on. I've reworked my equipment, just in case, but I really think the issue is either mental or some fine physical tweak I need to make. But I did score regularly in the high 180s and my best was 192, so I'm satisfied with my first time progress. I'd love to get a lot of dry-fire practice in with some range time and see if I can qualify next time, which likely won't be until January. We'll see.

I don't have a Garand (yet), so I'll probably try with either my BBR 30-06 or a Winchester .243 semi-auto (both scoped), and of course my Marlin 795 with Tech Sights. I'm anxious to get back. I can see how it is addictive.

Here's a link to some images of the event: http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=32621.0

Regards,
Andrew

PS. And thank you Roger for the advice about the elbow pads. I was going to blow that off and I'm sure glad I didn't. Whoa!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top