Appleseed makes a big deal about the 6 Steps of Firing a Shot - basic, repeatable steps that will ensure every round downrange is going exactly where you want it to go. They also talk about the all-important 7th step of Appleseed: bringing new people with you to learn marksmanship and hear the message of liberty.

Since I still hadn’t managed a Rifleman score I signed up for another event in July and I brought Susan with me. Susan is no stranger to guns but had never had any formal instruction and she was excited to join me in Custer for a weekend of shooting. I packed up my 10/22 for her, and a different AR-15 for me that I hoped would work better than the last one.

This marked my third Appleseed and my third different rifle at an Appleseed. I still hadn’t learned my lesson about making sure my personal rifle was sighted in before the event. I spent the first morning getting my sights adjusted and figuring out how to mount a sling on a rifle that I hadn’t built with a sling in mind. My groups were okay when I didn’t have equipment issues.

Susan did great! The 10/22 is a dependable little rifle, and despite some initial frustration with the controls Susan was quickly shooting good groups. She is very patient and precise, and all her strings of fire from a fixed position resulted in good scores. Like most first time Appleseed shooters, she struggled with position changes and the rapid time requirements to shoot an AQT - but she was still posting scores better than half of the attendees that day.

This was the first time I ever did the “carding the sights” drill. As a shooter, you put your sights on the target and verify your natural point of aim. Once you think you have it, your buddy covers your sights. After you breath in and out again, your buddy reveals the sights and you find out if you were correctly aimed at your natural point of aim. Once you are, you practice firing in a cadence. This drill is fantastic for getting practice checking your NPOA, and learning to trust it.

Custer was HOT! We both struggled with the heat and the dust and the lack of shade. After only 2 AQTs (about normal for day 1), the instructors ended the day by reminding everyone to drink lots of water and stay cool. We wanted to stick around for the second day, but both of us were feeling wiped and we drove home Saturday night instead of returning the next day. I shot a 208 this weekend, but it wasn’t good enough to get a Rifleman score.