I'm attending an appleseed shoot (www.appleseed.org) in about 10 days and they say that your rifle needs to have a sling. What do I need and what do I need to do to put a sling on my 15-22? Appleseed also recommends we have a shoulder pad on the sling to dampen heartbeat. How do I do this right?

Thanks!

You cannot "sling shoot" a M&P 15-22, the handguards are too flexible and the sights are attached to it. When you "sling up" you'll move the sights. A lot!

I'm surprised you're allowed to shoot a .22LR there. Those 300 meter targets are gonna be hard to hit. "Sling shooting" probably still survives in the Marine Corps. The Army dropped is decades ago.

Check your link too. I doubt they'll allow shooting at the visitor's center.

-- Chuck

Most of the shooters at the Appleseed event here last week were shooting .22lr and no target was farther than 25 yards. The only thing that should change will be the size of the target.

As for the front sight moving....well I couldn't tell if 'slinging up' caused any movement.....not to say it didn't. (I'm going to test this next time out)

Scored a 194 on the AQT (Army Qualifying Test) target with my 15-22 through iron sights. A rather disappointing result but I still learned a lot about shooting that the Army didn't teach me.

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Maker of The TALON Video Mount

I'm excited to get to go. I'm going to take my 556 instead of the 15-22 I guess. I'm guessing I can sling shoot it without problem. Thanks for all the info guys. It's really helpful to me.

If this helps.... you'll be shooting about 350-400 rounds.

Cost for 5.56= about $150-$200

Cost for .22lr= about $20-$30

People were shooting M1As, M1 Garands, AKs and ARs and there were several shooters that did not use a sling at all. A few shot a different rifle on Sunday than they used on Saturday, so bring both to the event and make a final decision there. This is NOT basic training and they will not send you home for not having a sling.

Be more concerned with the techniques you'll learn and less about hitting your target, this class is for learning techniques that will carry over to just about any rifle you'll ever shoot.

Now that you know the traits of the foregrip and front sight you can 'sling-up', just do it with consistent 'light' tension on the sling so stress doesn't transfer to the sight. (I wish I would have had this front sight data 2 weeks ago )

Study the 6 steps to taking the shot and try to get some pre-event dry practice so you are ahead of the game.

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Maker of The TALON Video Mount

Thanks Gunzilla. I'm really looking forward to learning how to do it right.

Don't put any tension on the sling. Sling shooting bends the barrels on the M1 and M14s too!

They shoot with the sling at the National Matches at Camp Perry every summer. They also have free floated barrels so sling pressure on the stock or handguards doesn't deflect the sights.

-- Chuck

I missed qualifying on my AQT by 2 points at last month's local Appleseed shoot....while using a sling on my 15-22.

Maybe I had a better experience with mine than you had with yours. It can happen.

I guess if I had been wearing my glasses I might have eeked out a few more points. My sight picture of the front sight wasn't very clear so it seemed like all I could see clearly was the target.

The next one I go to, some time over the next 6 months, I will be sure to have them on during every stage. I plan to practice a lot before I try to qualify again, just hoping my eyes are not to far gone to do that. ...

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Maker of The TALON Video Mount

Good luck, be sure to let us know how you did.

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Maker of The TALON Video Mount

My son shot my AR15 clone all the way through the Appleseed we went to. (He wasn't buying the .223 ammo.)

I brought my Winchester M52 and my M1A and used a sling with both.
Most of my shooting was done with the Winchester .22.

For me, the history side of an Appleseed was at least as important as the shooting instruction. I knew quite a bit about the events of April 19, 1775, but still learned some things I didn't know.

I'm not sure what Fred's targets look like, but this is the Army 25 meter Alternate Course C target. You can "cheat" and shoot at 25 yards! Requires a rifle zeroed at this range, of course.



40 rounds. Four 10-round magazines. 20 prone supported in 120 seconds; 20 prone unsupported in 120 seconds. Foxhole is OK if available. Prone is available everywhere.

Qualification ratings for the alternate course are as follows:

* Expert: Hits 38 to 40 targets.
* Sharpshooter: Hits 33 to 37 targets.
* Marksman: Hits 26 to 32 targets.
* Unqualified: Hits 25 and below.

Scorecard. <-- Right click and "save as" if you want a copy.

-- Chuck

Scroll down in this thread and you will come to the targets we used at the Appleseed event: SWAT Magazine does article on Appleseed Clinics and RWVA.org

He also explains how the targets were to be shot at, but it appears that his event was set up a little different than the one I attended.

Believe me those 2 bottom rows look real small at 25 yards!

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Maker of The TALON Video Mount

Looks similar to a scaled National Match course. Lots of slooooooooow fire!

Good trigger time is good trigger time. But real targets ain't gonna be visible very long.

-- Chuck