Location: SaraSpa Rod and Gun Club
Equipment Used:
Saturday (9/24/2016) began with a discussion of the Appleseed organization and the roles of the Instructors present. Appleseed is a 10-year old volunteer organization that teaches marksmanship skills and history lessons from April 19, 1775. The history portion of the class set out to answer the following four questions:
⦁ When was the American Revolution won?
⦁ Where did the American Revolutionary War begin?
⦁ Why did the British Regulars turn and run at the North Bridge?
⦁ Who shot first at the Lexington Green?
Equipment Used:
- 22 caliber Rifle
- 22 caliber magazines (3 minimum)
- Rifle Scope
- 22lr ammunition 500 rounds
- Shooting Mat
- GI Sling
Saturday (9/24/2016) began with a discussion of the Appleseed organization and the roles of the Instructors present. Appleseed is a 10-year old volunteer organization that teaches marksmanship skills and history lessons from April 19, 1775. The history portion of the class set out to answer the following four questions:
⦁ When was the American Revolution won?
⦁ Where did the American Revolutionary War begin?
⦁ Why did the British Regulars turn and run at the North Bridge?
⦁ Who shot first at the Lexington Green?
The history portion began with the events that led up to the events of April 19, 1775. The Colonists did not appreciate the Stamp Act and taxes levied on them to fund the French and Indian War. These taxes led to the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre. In the hearts and minds of the American Colonists, freedom from the King of Englond would enable them to become a free nation from British taxation, rule, and inequality. The risk of freedom and a future of uncertainty was greater than the rule and high taxes from the King. In April 1775, the British commanders in Boston decide to march to Concord and destroy the Colonists’ stores of powder, arms, ammunition and food. The history portion included stories of Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott and Capitan John Parker. The session ended with the first shots being fired on Lexington Green. This firefight between the Colonists and the Regulars is the First Strike.
The next session went over the Four Safety Rules and how to make your rifle safe. Rifles were brought to the line and shot at Redcoat targets. Redcoat targets include a magazine change and 13 rounds. Three hits on the 100, 200, 300 and 400 yard targets and one hit on the Morgan’s Shingle target.
The instruction then moved to the proper use of a sling to increase your accuracy and the six steps to firing a shot. We moved on to zeroing our rifles on square targets. Instruction moved on to obtaining a proper sight alignment, natural point of aim (NPOA), trigger control and transitions between different shooting positions (standing, kneeling/sitting and prone).
The next session went over the Four Safety Rules and how to make your rifle safe. Rifles were brought to the line and shot at Redcoat targets. Redcoat targets include a magazine change and 13 rounds. Three hits on the 100, 200, 300 and 400 yard targets and one hit on the Morgan’s Shingle target.
The instruction then moved to the proper use of a sling to increase your accuracy and the six steps to firing a shot. We moved on to zeroing our rifles on square targets. Instruction moved on to obtaining a proper sight alignment, natural point of aim (NPOA), trigger control and transitions between different shooting positions (standing, kneeling/sitting and prone).
(During lunch we had our second history lesson about the Second Strike and Captain Isaac Davis and the firefights in Concord at the North Bridge. We moved into shooting more square targets to work on our NPOA and the Cheez-It drill – shooting the square targets with Cheez-Its pinned to the 5 one inch targeting squares. We began to shoot the Army (Appleseed) Qualification Tests (AQTs) to earn our Rifleman status. A Rifleman obtains a score of 210 out of a possible 250 points.
The day ended with the Third Strike history lesson and the firefights on the British retreat to Boston. At Meriam’s Corners, the Colonists fired on the Regulars for the first time without being fired on. The final shooting target was another Redcoat target to see if there was improvement during the day.
Sunday (9/25/2016) began with a group Redcoat exercise. With the scope and more evolutions spent shooting at square targets to zero in the rifle, we took training on Known Distance (KD) shooting to prepare shooters to take their centerfire rifles to the 100 and 200 yard range. We also shot several lighting rounds of AQTs. By learning the techniques taught on the first day and taking serval practice rounds, one is able to greatly improve their AQT scores, accuracy, and timing. We had a history lesson on the Battle of Saratoga which took place near the range and was the first battle where the British surrendered, or had a “convention” because British General Burgoyne refused to call it a “surrender”. The day ended with a final Redcoat target – In comparison to the previous day, there was a great improvement in all around performance of the tests with everyone there.
The day ended with the Third Strike history lesson and the firefights on the British retreat to Boston. At Meriam’s Corners, the Colonists fired on the Regulars for the first time without being fired on. The final shooting target was another Redcoat target to see if there was improvement during the day.
Sunday (9/25/2016) began with a group Redcoat exercise. With the scope and more evolutions spent shooting at square targets to zero in the rifle, we took training on Known Distance (KD) shooting to prepare shooters to take their centerfire rifles to the 100 and 200 yard range. We also shot several lighting rounds of AQTs. By learning the techniques taught on the first day and taking serval practice rounds, one is able to greatly improve their AQT scores, accuracy, and timing. We had a history lesson on the Battle of Saratoga which took place near the range and was the first battle where the British surrendered, or had a “convention” because British General Burgoyne refused to call it a “surrender”. The day ended with a final Redcoat target – In comparison to the previous day, there was a great improvement in all around performance of the tests with everyone there.
Overall, I thought the class was well worth taking. The history, mindset, methods, and attitude of the Colonists (Original Fighters of Our Country) is something that is lost in today’s America. The shooting instruction was top notch and marksmen skills were improved because of this weekend. I want to thank Guro Alfred for coming with me and all of the Appleseed instructors for the instruction and helping me with honing my equipment I highly recommend anyone taking this class and I look forward to do it again next year.
Being a citizen has certain duties and responsibilities, people sacrificed everything they had to give us the ability to be American citizens (where we are today). We owe it to the folks from the past and present to keep the spirit of the American Revolution alive.
Being a citizen has certain duties and responsibilities, people sacrificed everything they had to give us the ability to be American citizens (where we are today). We owe it to the folks from the past and present to keep the spirit of the American Revolution alive.
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