10 Years Later

10 years ago, I went to an Appleseed clinic. I wrote much about this - both pros and cons of the program.  But I didn't write nearly as much as some of their folks wrote in retort. Many tried to defend the cons in many ways.  Therefore, I was curious what, if any updates the program had made to its curriculum.

Back in the early part of the year, a friend had told me she and her family were thinking about attending an Appleseed and she asked my thoughts.  I told her to try it. I also said I'd go and shoot, as well. 

But, I needed a goal above and beyond just being there for a friend.   So, I made my personal goal to be this: I wanted to earn the Rifleman patch with my M16A4 rifle. With a government profile barrel and bulk ammo, my task would not be a guarantee. My technique would have to be true.

Gear
My rifle is free floated, so I attached the sling swivel to the Midwest Industries free float rail.  This would prevent POI shift. The rifle uses an ACOG optic.
Bulk Federal American Eagle 55 gr ammo.
USGI cotton sling. 
Shooting Jacket and a heavy glove.

Preparation
I took my rifle to the range and figured out where the Federal AE ammo was hitting.  I did not adjust my zero - instead, I memorized the holdover.  At 25 meters, the ammo was hitting just above the 400-yard hash mark.

Also - I did not practice use of the sling. By my figuring, it has been 7 or 8 years since I've used a sling for shooting. This was done on purpose.

The Clinic -

My "Hits Count" target. Clearly, the lack of practice with a sling hadn't hurt too much. I was the only shooter to clean it in the morning of the first day. 



We moved on to instruction, then zeroing the rifles:

My zero target. Yep, Bunny can shoot. By this point, the instructors were asking if I'd done this before.  I let them in on the secret and showed them my patch from 10 years prior.

We did not shoot an AQT on Day 1.  We almost exclusively did zeroing and getting folks to shooting better groups. At the end of Day 1, we shot another "Hits Count" target.  All told, we shot fewer than 100 rounds on Day 1.

Instruction was MUCH improved.  There was a new, detailed instructional on how to apply and put on the sling. Instructions on the prone position were also improved.  

Also - I finally got to hear the Appleseed  3 Strikes of the Match talk.  This had not been presented in the clinics I attended 3 years ago. Some of the material had been discussed, but not in this way or in this much detail.  While there are sources on the internet that suggest Appleseed's "3 Strikes" material may not be 100% factual, it is a close enough retelling of the events that I wouldn't complain. 

Moving on to Day 2, we reviewed all of the instruction, verified zeroes again with the black squares, and had instruction on sitting, kneeling, and standing positions.  4 more shooters joined us (we had 5 on Day 1) to chase their patches.

Then we moved to the first AQT -

First AQT of the day, and I did what I came to do - earned a patch using my AR15 and bulk ammo.  One of the folks who had come to just the second day to chase his patch also earned it on this AQT.  It was his 3rd Appleseed. 

Several more AQTs were shot. All four of the folks who just came for Day 2 eventually earned their patches. Three of them from a single family earned patches on their second Appleseed.  One of the guys who had been there on Day 1 also earned his patch - it was his 4th Appleseed.

I pulled my AR15 off the line and brought out an iron sighted .22 - and proceeded to shoot the score several more times. 

I also got a few pictures:

Also - one of the red hat instructors liked my AR15 so much he wanted to shoot it -

So what about my statements from yesteryear - how do they apply to this clinic?

Since my first Appleseed, the program has directly addressed most of my criticisms:
- Appleseed no longer claims that their program will get you ready for combat.
- Appleseed no longer claims "run what ya brung." In fact, they sent out an email two weeks before the class, in which they detailed the difficulties one would have with certain rifle types. 
- Sling use was taught to be "just tight" - with two fingers of space on the upper arm loop. No more purple hands. 
- It was acknowledged that the sling-shooting came from NRA Highpower and CMP shooting. 
- They make no mention of teaching "rack-grade iron-sight shooting at 500 yards" like they used to.  Scopes were on every rifle. 
- The AQT is now called the Appleseed Qualification Test, and not the "Army Qualification Test."
- They have, by all looks, admitted that they are more of a beginner course, and it shows. This is good!

Cons, still there:
- They still do 2 & 8 on rapid fire, like NRA Highpower.  The USMC dropped the mag change. 
- Shooting hand mag changes and rifle manipulation. This is sport-style, not combat style.  Again, the USMC changed the way they do theirs in an effort to not have to teach recruits two different styles. 

The following are instances I noted where an instructor got something totally wrong:
- An instructor advocated doing a trigger job on the Ruger 10/22 and also an AR15 by removing metal via sanding.
DO NOT DO THIS!
DO NOT LET A GUNSMITH DO THIS!
Buy an aftermarket trigger of known quality. 
- An instructor advocated against use of a chicken wing while standing with the AR. 
Do not chicken wing when you are in a tactical situation. 
Do use a chicken wing for precision sport shooting.
- An instructor suggested that red dot sights are not for 100 yard shooting or 200 yard shooting.
In my classes, we take red dots out to 300 yards - I have multiple students who have qualified "Expert" at 300 yards with red dots. 
- A student was forced to use a bench rest due to medical conditions.  She was resting the barrel on the sandbag, not the stock.  I gave her the tip privately, and she asked the instructor, who said he forgot.   Fair, but this is something you should know.  


Summary
All in all, a good clinic.  My friends enjoyed it.  They want to go back and earn the patch.  I am very happy that the program no longer claims things that are not so.   I wish them well.