Project Appleseed

This statue known as The Lexington Minuteman was originally meant to represent the common Minuteman, but has now become accepted as Captain John Parker.

Project Appleseed is a rifle marksmanship and oral history nationwide organization that promotes heritage and encourages people to become active civically. It was developed by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association. Project Appleseed focuses on teaching marksmanship from standing, sitting, and prone positions over a two day weekend shooting clinic for what is termed an "Appleseed". In addition, each Appleseed contains breaks during each day during which times oral history stories of the events leading up to the start of the American Revolution are told, specifically the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the subsequent British retreat to Boston. These oral stories include an overview of the events of April 19-20, 1775 but focus on the stories of individuals such as Paul Revere; Captains John Parker (Lexington), Isaac Davis (Acton), and Hezekiah Wyman; and octogenarian Samuel Whittemore, the oldest known colonial combatant in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).

Monument to Samuel Whittemore, the oldest known colonial combatant in the Revolutionary War

The emphasis on marksmanship centers around training on the proper use of a sling, for the standing (so-called "off-hand" position), kneeling/sitting positions, and prone position, along with a concept termed "natural point of aim" (NPOA). The use of "Redcoat" targets enables a shooter to assess their own effective range with their rifle in only 13 shots, firing one shot for each of the original colonies. The targets are reduced scale targets that are all shot at 25 meters (82 feet), simulating firing at full size targets at 100, 200, 250, 300, and 400 yards. Any rifle a shooter owns is generally acceptable, although .22 caliber rifles are the most common rifles used at an Appleseed. Some Appleseeds, however, are held at small bore ranges, which limit participants to shooting only a .22 rifle.

The shooting is all timed, with emphasis on learning the rifleman's cadence, which consists of firing at respiratory pauses every 3-4 seconds once the NPOA is verified, shooting in synchronicity with one's natural rhythm of breathing.

In addition to "Appleseeds", there is also a companion subsidiary activity conducted within Project Appleseed that is called "Liberty Seed". These have been termed a "civics class in disguise", and feature content on the "Three Strikes" that were needed to start the American Revolutionary War.

History

The Minute Man by Daniel Chester French, depicting Isaac Davis

Project Appleseed started from a series of ads that became monthly editorials and then full page ads with monthly columns in Shotgun News, a monthly gun hobbyist and gun trade newspaper type publication. These ads were written under a pseudonym by a fellow who simply called himself "Fred". "Fred," the founder of Project Appleseed, whose real name is Jack Dailey, has been writing a column—actually a portion of ad space for Fred's M14 Stocks—since 1999. A common theme in these columns was "Are you a cook or a rifleman?", a "cook" being an unqualified rifleman. These rifleman-themed ads/columns commenced sporadically, but eventually became monthly. Project Appleseed itself then began in April 2006 in Ramseur, North Carolina. In 2006, Appleseed instructors began a national tour to attract new instructors who could maintain and develop local programs. In 2008, Appleseed had nearly 4,000 attendees. In 2009 there were more than 450 scheduled Appleseed events which taught 10,000 shooters. In 2012, there were over 1,000 Appleseeds held, at which over 40,000 shooters were taught. In addition, a select cadre of Appleseed instructors from across the nation gathered at Fort Stewart, GA and taught a deploying Army unit in marksmanship skills in 2012.

Some Appleseed events are dedicated solely to teaching women. These events are likewise staffed entirely by women who are fully qualified as Appleseed instructors. Appleseed is a fast growing shooting sports event in North America, having taught 32,000 people to shoot by the end of 2010.

Markmanship goals

The marksmanship goal of the Appleseed Project is to train shooters to achieve a score of 210 or higher on an adapted ("Quick and Dirty") Army Qualification Test (AQT), out of a possible 250 points. The AQT uses timed stages to test shooting skill from standing, sitting, and prone positions. The test simulates ranges of 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards. The 400-yard simulated target is approximately 6.25 square centimeters (about one square inch) at 25 meters. This translates into a 4 minutes of angle (MOA) wide target which is the rifleman standard in the Appleseed program.

The adapted AQT requires 40 rounds, 10 for each stage, where stage 1 (single target) is fired standing, stage 2 (two targets) is then done standing-to-sitting with a magazine change, stage 3 (three targets) is done standing-to-prone with a magazine change, and stage 4 (four targets) is fired prone with a single magazine. The Appleseed target contains a "V", analogous to the "X" seen on military targets that is used to serve for breaking ties when shooting competitively for score when all hits are in the black on the target.

Shooters who score 210 or better on the "Quick and Dirty" Appleseed AQT earn the Rifleman designation and are issued a Rifleman patch. Upon earning a Rifleman patch twice, participants are eligible to enter the Instructor In Training (IIT) program to teach marksmanship skills to others, thereby earning their own orange hat.

Similar to the U.S. military marksmanship ratings of Unqualified, Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert (see Marksmanship Badge (United States), the Appleseed ratings have the same levels, with the exception that instead of "Expert", the equivalent performance level is called "Rifleman".

A sight picture with focus on the front sight; the out of focus gray dot represents the target. The out of focus black sight represents the rear sight.

The ultimate goal of the rifle marksmanship clinics known as "Appleseeds" is to teach students the ability to maintain a 4 MOA precision and accuracy when shooting through the use of traditional sling-stabilized United States Army shooting techniques. This translates into becoming a rifleman, defined as: a "marksman capable of hitting a man-sized target from 500 yards away." A 4 MOA precision and accuracy translates into being able to put all rounds into a circle with a diameter of 20 inches at 500 yards, equaling the center of mass of a human, or 10 inches at 250 yards, equaling the size of a human head. At 25 meters, this same 4 MOA precision and accuracy translates into firing rounds accurately into a circle of approximately 1 inch diameter.

Two elements are fundamental to Appleseed rifle clinics: the Six Steps to Firing a Shot and natural point of aim (NPOA). The six steps, as taught by the Appleseed Project, include:

1. Sight alignment
2. Sight picture
3. Respiratory pause
4. Focus
   1. Focus the eyes on the front sight
   2. Focus the mind on keeping the front sight on the target
5. Squeeze the trigger straight back
6. Follow through
   1. Hold the trigger back enough to reset the trigger
   2. Take a mental snapshot of where the sights were at the moment the rifle fired

Detailed instruction by instructors on each of these steps, in one-on-one sessions, are taught.

Natural point of aim is a firing technique that does not rely on the shooter's muscles to aim the rifle. Using a sling, a relaxed body, and the NPOA technique, a rifleman can consistently shoot 4 MOA groups at 500 yards.

Clinics

View through a 4x telescopic rifle sight.

Depiction of Paul Revere's ride

Appleseed instructors teach anyone who shows up with whatever rifle they bring. Anyone may attend an Appleseed Rifle Clinic, upon paying a fee to attend. Shooters of all ages, shooting a wide variety of rifles, are common. The only limitations among choices of rifle are shooting range specific limitations at some locations where Appleseeds are held. Most commonly, attendees start with firearms chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge, since the ammunition is inexpensive and recoil is negligible - factors that bear consideration in the face of two days of very intense shooting practice, firing 500+ rounds. A magazine-fed, semi-automatic rifle with quality iron peep sights and a military loop sling is most commonly used. Example rifles are Ruger 10/22 and Marlin 795. Tube-fed magazine rifles, such as the Marlin Model 60, can be used, but are not as amenable to learning all the skills that are taught since they do not have removable magazines, and the action of changing out a magazine has to be simulated. Some participants prefer to use a telescopic sight if their eyes are not able to work well with iron sights. Clinics require approximately 500+ rounds of ammunition for the two-day course. Participants shoot in standing, sitting, and prone (flat on the ground) positions, as well as shooting after transitioning from standing to sitting, and after transitioning from standing to prone, all of which are shot with time limits. Rifles are never loaded when transitioning from standing to either sitting or prone positions. Extensive use of the loop sling is made for accuracy, and multiple sling techniques/positions are taught (e.g., hasty-hasty two point sling, single point loop sling, etc.), suitable for shooting accurately either quickly or slowly, over low/medium/high ground cover, among standing/sitting/kneeling/prone positions, as situations merit.

The first day of shooting focuses on shooting at a known fixed distance, only. The second day adds lecture details on shooting at varying distances, and shooting in wind, although shooting at varying distances is not typically practiced. Some Appleseeds, however, are shot at real distances on day two, depending on specific shooting range facility limitations. For these Appleseeds, the typical progression is shooting at 25 meters only on day 1 with a .22, then shooting at varying distances on day two with a .30-caliber or other center-fire service-type rifle (5.56mm, etc.). Oral history stories regarding individuals involved at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, such as Paul Revere, as well as the "Three Strikes" that were needed to start the American Revolutionary War, are discussed during breaks in the shooting activities.

A special patch is given to participants who attend an Appleseed during winter months in extreme weather, in what is termed a "Winterseed". Similarly, a special patch is given to participants who attend an Appleseed in the extreme summer heat in Florida in what is termed an "Infernoseed". A special patch is also given to participants under the age of 18.

Upon completion of a clinic, participants receive a signed certificate from Project Appleseed, operated by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association, a CMP affiliated club, making them eligible to purchase a military rifle through the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and to have a rifle and/or ammunition shipped to their door.

Criticism

In 2009, the Anti-Defamation League named Project Appleseed as part of a trend in which idealistic concepts of armed resistance have "percolated beyond extremist groups and movements into the mainstream", although they did not classify Project Appleseed itself as being an extremist group. However, sociologist James William Gibson, classifies Project Appleseed within a broader movement that is unlikely to pose a danger to civil society, stating: "When a culture is in crisis, the first response is often to go back to the creation myth and start over again. The narrative is we’re going to redo the narrative of the United States by returning to origins, to marksmanship. People are focusing on the idea that America’s problems can be resolved into something that can be shot. It doesn’t exactly encourage systematic reflection, but it’s a long ways from a civil war."

See also

• Civilian Marksmanship Program
• Designated marksman
• Marksmanship Badge (United States)

External links

• Official site

• The Guns of Appleseed

• Lesson from Appleseed