Appleseed and the AR15

Many Appleseed attendees use an AR15 rifle for the course, or at least part of it.  While the AR15 is the quintessential rifle for this kind of shooting, the shooter must still be aware of some things to maximize their effectiveness.

Tight sling
In the 1960's, the Army discontinued teaching sling use. A big factor in this was the adoption of the M16 rifle. When the sling is too tight, it can cant the barrel of the AR15.

The Marines kept with the sling training, and soon realized that there is a point where the sling can be too tight. Now they teach careful use of the sling for Known Distance (KD) shooting.

Many Appleseed instructors keep with the motto that there's no such thing as a "too-tight sling!"
We know that is completely false. Only time a really tight sling should be used is on a free-floated barrel with a shooting jacket and glove. 

Appleseed preaches the same thing on the L1A1 - which is just as bad. The sling swivel is attached directly to the rifle barrel.

The cure for a tight sling:
1. Free floated barrel.
Appleseed is friendly to all types of rifles, so that free float quad rail, or free float tube would be perfectly fine. If you have it, the NRA High Power free float tube with regular handguards is great!

2. Consistent sling pressure.
Mark your sling and set it to the exact same tension each time.

Sights:
Traditional peep sights are excellent. Appleseed is also scope friendly. I personally think an ACOG would be ideal.
Be wary using BUIS (Backup Iron Sights) that have a wide peep. This is a precision course, so the smaller diameter peep is needed.

Avoid red dots. Though you can do well with them, they are best used for different types of shooting.