A friend of mine from high school and I are going to our first Appleseed event in about a month and I am getting pretty excited. Well, about as excited as a laid back guy like me can get. Anyway, I'm looking for a little advice from those of ya'll that have done one before. I am not a gear whore (mostly because I'm a cheapskate) so I need to buy a few things to be ready. I've been over the list on the Appleseed website but I don't want to have to bum anything while I'm there. Below are a few specific questions I have but any advice will be appreciated. BTW, I'm more of a pistol guy so a lot of this is new to me.
- I'll be using my early 90's 10/22 for the weekend. Right now I have a cheap NC Star 3-9 scope on it. Should I go ahead and get the BSA Sweet .22 from SWFA (just down the street from me) for $40? Will it help that much?
- Right now the trigger pull on my 10/22 is more like my staple gun than any other gun I own so I want to upgrade that. There are a lot of products out there that will help but I'm worried that my older model with the cast aluminum trigger housing might cause some fitment problems.
- I have a surplus shooting mat but should I invest in knee/elbow pads? I've been looking at the Alta brand. I know they may not be a necessity for Appleseed but it would make me more comfortable and could come in handy later.
If I think of anything else I'll update.
Thanks ya'll.
1)Leave the scope at home, you should be using open sights.
ReplyDelete2)Practice your positions,(sitting,kneeling, prone,etc.)
3) Get in shape,(round is not a shape in this instance), It is hard to stay on target if you can't breathe because of a gut in kneeling. I know this from sad experience.
4)The Instructors are extremley good Listen to them and ask for their advice.
5) The History is worth listening to and thinking about.
6)Enjoy the experience.
Good Luck,
Dennis the librarian shusher
I looked at getting the 'Tech Sights' but I read some less than favorable reviews about them.
DeleteAlso, round is kind of my shape. I don't think I can fix that in a month. I can work on it though.
Thank you.
Ground pad. Or knee and elbow pads.
DeleteFrom personal experience avoid the BSA. Simmons and other makers have much better optics at reasonable prices. If you have young eyes you should probably try one of the military style aperture sight kits that mimic the M1 Carbine sights. Those are much more in the spirit of the Appleseed game.
ReplyDeleteA good 10/22 gunsmith can lighten and sharpen up the factory trigger at minimal cost. Again from personal experience, there are a lot of aftermarket triggers out there that are not appreciably better. The Kidd trigger is truly match quality and worth every penny, the rest, not so much. I have never experienced a fit problem with any 10/22 receiver relative to replacing the trigger group.
As another suggested, your prep time might best be spent practicing your positions and use of your sling(You do have a sling, right?). You can do that in your back yard or rec room until you can drop into a position and find a comfortable, stable hold. Safely please!
I'VE BEEN TO A COUPLE APPLESEEDS.FIRST ONE I DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE EQUIPMENT THAT ONE SHOULD HAVE BUT THERE WAS SOME GOOD HELPFUL PEOPLE THEIR THAT LENT SOME TWO ROUND EN BLOCS AND HOW TO JUST USE TWO ROUNDS IN A STANDARD EN BLOC. MY BIGGEST DEAL WOULD BE TO HAVE THE BEST SHOOTING MAT YOU CAN GET AND LIGHT FOAM ELBOW PADS.PREPARE TO BE IN THE PRONE SHOOTING POSITION FOR A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME. HAVE FUN AND DO IT BY THE NUMBERS.
ReplyDeleteI got this email from Bob Owens. If you haven't been to his site you are missing out. And he's an Appleseed instructor. http://www.bob-owens.com/
ReplyDelete"Hi Nick,
I couldn't leave comments for some reason.
I wouldn't worry about changing scopes if it works. It's only 25 yards.
Elbow pads are good if you don't wear long sleeves, even on a shooting mat. You'll be doing a lot of standing-to-prone transitions and prone.
Extra factory magazines are a must for a 10/22. 3 total if you can. MUST have 2.
GI Sling (M1 Garand) is the best $15 you can spend on shooting.
The guy who mentioned positions was on to something.
Hope this helps,
Bob"
Thanks for all of the advice ya'll.
ReplyDelete