Proper Expectations
From a comment on a previous post:
Appleseed is a fine thing, so long as you recognize what it's good at and what it's limitations are. It got me off to a good start but there's so much more to learn and to experience outside of that.(emphasis mine)
So what are some of the limitations, and some of the things they are good at?
We will break this conversation into things Appleseed does well, and things that need to be learned elsewhere. This is not a condemnation of Appleseed - it is (in their own words) giving credit where credit is due, and not expecting a fish to fly.
APPLESEED DOES WELL:
* Safety
* Key marksmanship fundamentals - sight picture, sight alignment, breathing, trigger manipulation
* History (if they actually teach it at the clinic you attend)
LOOK ELSEWHERE TO LEARN:
* "Tactical" shooting - moving, use of cover, nonstandard positions, etc.
* Firearm manipulations - loading, unloading, malfunction remedies, etc.
* Proper tactics and practical drills for combat and self defense.
As an anecdote:
This author was teaching a tactical rifle class - Urban Rifleman - some time back. About half of the class was straight from the instructor cadre of Appleseed in a specific area, and the other half was a mix of regular retail students, Alumni, etc. Although we spent a normal amount of time on weapon manipulation and malfunction remedies, a specific malfunction kept happening.
The Appleseed instructors kept getting double feeds.
When they would perform the "Top off" part of the Wyatt Protocol, they were pointing their rifles down, instead of up in a "high port" position as they had been instructed earlier in the day. Admonishment after admonishment; coaching after coaching; teaching moment after teaching moment: it was still not enough to break the ingrained habit of manipulating the rifle with the barrel pointed down, and with the firing side hand.
Finally, this author had enough! With a calm demeanor, a timeout was called, and all were gathered around. The proper method for performing the top off was demonstrated ONE MORE TIME. Participants were advised in no uncertain terms, and in front of all, that performing the sequence with the barrel pointed down and using the firing side hand would "guarantee" a double feed. Participants were advised that a "wise man would perform the technique as demonstrated, regardless of how they have 'always done it'."
That solved a lot of the problem. But habits were still habits. There were more issues. Not as many, but still more double feeds. Every single one was an improper manipulation.
An Alumni came up to the author after class and stated, "I thought you said these guys were good. They seemed to be at a very beginner level - shooting and the rest of it."
The author explained the reason their shooting while zeroing was not as good as the rest - because they were not accustomed to resting their magazines on the ground (and many of them avoided it for a time). And also that they had habits that while fine for match shooting, were not conducive to self defense or combat.
And, in case any Appleseed Yahoos are out there reading this, and they are "seeing red," and steam is coming out of their ears, please ponder this fact:
After this class, this author attended another Appleseed. This one taught by one of the participants in that particular Urban Rifleman class. At one point, he made mention of this author and the existence of the classes he had attended. He used the statement "I take classes from Patriot Training and spend my money there. For what it is worth."
I've been with the Appleseed program for a number of years, and have also taken tactical and other training from a variety of instructors. One thing I heard one instructor emphasize that I think applies is "You don't know what you don't know". The Appleseed way is one way to do things... it's pretty good at what it does but it is limited to being useful on a square range or NRA High Power Match. People who only do High Power or Appleseed will develop techniques and habits optimized for that situation. As you say, a partial list includes (for them) using a sling wrapped around the support arm in prone, and taking the firing hand off the weapon to do magazine changes or even to operate some of the controls.
ReplyDeleteEvery tactical trainer I've trained under has emphasized the TTPs useful for defensive and tactical shooting, and it's not just that just about all of these instructors say the same things, it's that with any "common sense", the sensibility of these things should be apparent. Things like "the firing hand stays on the weapon's grip" (in case it's urgently necessary to shoot while you're in the midst of a magazine change, clearing a malfunction, or some other task).
Or hell something as simple as not screwing around with 20 and 10 round magazines for an AR since you might have a little trouble getting into "a proper prone position" with a 30 round mag. I get that if you want to use Appleseed techniques, then these short little mags might make sense. There's a reason though that they're virtually unknown amongst people who might have to fight with a rifle.
It's ok if you want to optimize gear for whatever your game is, but I feel that if you insist on calling yourself a Rifleman with a capital R (that's supposed to mean master or at least fairly expert with your rifle) then you ought to be able to work with different techniques and situations, and you ought to be able to tell what's sensible for different situations. There are Appleseed instructors who get that, but I agree that there are a number of them out there who while they're good at the stuff they've been shown, have not or may not be willing to move beyond the Appleseed stuff.
"You don't know what you don't know". If you don't do anything but Appleseed events, you'll never see other situations, problems, and solutions to those problems that other people have worked out.