Rifle/Sights for the Appleseed

[rickdavis81]

I'm thinking about attending an Appleseed and had a few questions on rifle and sights. I have several rifles but the rifles I shoot the most all have scopes. It sounds like they prefer iron sights. Is this true? Also any suggestions on a proper rifle? I know they say anything will work but there always seems to be a preferred. I've been thinking about another AR. Mines set up with a scope.

 

[Amen]

The point of Appleseed is to teach people to use their iron sights and shoot at long distance, so irons would be a good idea. As for what kind the website has a wealth of information on what you will need. I seem to recall that they require a sling on both the .22 and the centerfire rifles.

 

[ken grant]

The point of an Appleseed is to teach you to shoot whatever you have on hand. Any rifle,any sights and a sling is not required but it does help you in shooting.

At some Appleseeds, 25 Meters is all the shooting you will do because a longer range is not at hand.

The ones that have longer ranges are fewer than the ones that do not.

Good adjustable peep sights are nice but scopes or other sights will work.
I have seen AK's, SKS's, lever actions, bolt actions and semi's including .22LR's used by different people.

The thing is to learn to shoot no matter what you use. Go to this link and find out all about Appleseeds

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php

 

[Don Gwinn]

At the Appleseed I attended in Illinois, we had only 25-meter shooting, and the people with Ruger 10/22's with slings and the Tech Sights had the easiest time of things. But I shot it with a 1970's era AR15 SP1, and my son started the day with a Marlin Model 75. My other son lost a magazine and did the whole thing with only one. There were bolt actions on the line, too.

You do want something with removable magazines, IMO, if you can manage it. But they don't care if you're using a scope. Honestly, I realize they say a bit about iron sights, but they don't seem to teach anything that's actually relevant to which kind of sight you use. Shoot what you have. A reliable rifle with a couple of magazines is more important.

 

[drizzle]

What makes an Appleseed rifle? The "spirit" of Appleseed would call for a semi-auto, 2 magazines, iron sights, and a sling. This is just due to the fact that the course of fire for the Army Qualification test used was written during the era of the M1 Garand. But by no means are any of those a "requirement". What is required is an open mind that's ready to soak up a lot of information and a teachable attitude. The goal of Appleseed is to teach you to "Dance with the one you brung", just as the colonial militias and minutemen did at Lexington and Concord.

If you master the fine points of rifle marksmanship that they teach at Appleseed, you'll be amazed what you can do with iron sights. If you don't pay attention to the details and get things right, that scope isn't going to cover for you.

I will mention that if you have eye trouble, the scope will help out a little there. I have bi-focals that make aiming with iron sights tougher, but I was able to qualify using them. Since then, I find that I can shoot slightly higher scores with a scope.

And don't get too hung up on rifle type. A couple weeks ago in North Dakota there were 5 guys that shot "Rifleman" out of 15 shooters. 2 were using semi-autos (1 with no sling), 2 were using bolts, and one used a Marlin 39A lever action with no sling. It's all about learning the technique and then applying it to whatever equipment you happen to have. I would suggest trying to get a GI type sling (not a fancy padded carry strap) rigged up on whatever you plan to use. It really helps tighten your groups.

 

[bdturner]

Is there a website for Appleseed shoots?

 

[azredhawk44]

A site for Appleseed info?

See my sig.

As far as irons versus a scope... we don't care. As long as your sights can be adjusted in a precise, scientific manner. We'll work with ANY shooter/rifle combination on the line, but I will admit that we don't like rifles that have the gawd awful buckhorn rear sight: The type that has no consistent means of adjustment... like the stock sights on a 10/22, Marlin 795, Winchester 94 or similar rifle with that style sights.

Scopes, red dots, aimpoints, holosights, or quality irons are all welcome.

Quality iron sight manufacturers (aside from those sights found on Garands, M1A/M14's and AR's) include Lyman, Williams, Mojo and Tech-Sights.

Frankly... one of the most interesting things to see with a shooter on the line is him taking off his poorly made Chinese scope or aimpoint knockoff from his rifle and running the irons. And shooting better immediately.