Small Arms Firing School--Gulp!

[Mustang380gal]

Thanks, shooterwolf! I have my patch, and should have a Red Hat by then, too.

Sounds like I should be fine.

[Mustang380gal]

I have a few logistical questions.

Is it easy to have coolers for water somewhere near the ready line?

Is there a place near the line to picnic?

What else should I bring besides eyes and ears, shooting mats, shooting jackets, notebook and pen?

Any last minute suggestions? We are camping at a campground a few miles away, and plan to eat dinners out, but have breakfast and lunch packed.

I told the campground that we are going to Camp Perry. The lady who took my reservation told me that we wouldn't need to tear down until after Thursday's class is complete since it starts so early.

Weather reports look like it will be picture perfect--70-75 during the day and high 50s overnight.

[Sevens]

Many folks have chairs -- simple bag chair carries easy. Many are even more minimalist with the folding little squatter, whatever that is called. Keep in mind that you can ride a little wagon pulled by a tractor to get to the ready line (700-ish yards from where you park your car) but if hauling a bunch of stuff, you are kind of "that guy" riding the wagon full of people but taking up space with tons of "stuff." So if you can walk & haul your things, maybe you pack differently. Also remember that you go from the ready line to the firing line to the ready line... to the target pits, and all that stuff comes with you to the pits. Plenty of space to pile it up beyond the targets... it won't get shot there, but you also cannot access it there during a hot range.

In other words, you don't wanna be the Beverly Hillbillies. A cooler, for example, go minimal. Not a rolling ice chest for a party.

Other stuff to bring? Spotting scope might be of use, but only for watching & killing time. Your instructor will have one on the firing line that he's looking through and you will be able to snag a look when you aren't prone behind a rifle.

Picnic? There's multiple football fields worth of space anywhere behind the ready line. There's almost no limit to what you could set up back there.
Shooting mat? I say no -- as your instructor will have one set up at your spot on the firing line that other shooters will also use. Now... if you wanna double up the mat for comfort, then sure.

Also for food... the mess hall was open for meals way back when I went, but I don't know about now. And the "snack bar" is usually open and humming with a lot of traffic for the Matches/SAFS. It's your basic greasy spoon kind of grill. Food is quite acceptable and atmosphere is friendly and buzzing.

Definitely bring a camera if you aren't the type to use the camera phone. Many fine photo-ops and good memories to be had.

[JU-87]

No need to feel nervious! Enjoy the "cool factor" of just being there!

You will have a great time, and learn a lot. You won't be the only one wearing an "Appleseed" shirt, I'll bet.
You will be shooting RRA NM AR-15's.
About half the people will be wearing shooting coats/gloves. The other half won't!
I recommend long pants,light color clothing, hat and sunscreen. Bring money for Commercial row.

I will be in the Remington/Bushmaster clinic the same days. If I see a woman in a appleseed shirt, I'll say Hi.

[Mustang380gal]

Thanks, sevens. I didn't know they had mats for our use. I hadn't thought of chairs. I don't sit much at Appleseeds, except during history lessons, so I didn't expect to sit much for this.

I was already planning on being somewhat minimalist. Our cooler is kind of big, since we have a big family. Maybe a smallish one would be better. I wasn't sure how long lunch was, and figured there's a lot of people that need to eat, so packing made sense to save on time.

JU-87, hope to see you there. Daughter is planning on wearing her blue AS hat. I will probably have my red hat on. From things said on the AS forum, sounds like there are plenty of ASers who go to this.

[carmen fovozzo]

No, I'm not worried about her outshooting me. I don't think I'd mind too much if she did. She was hitting steel at 220 yards with an AR at her last Appleseed, which was cool, since her younger sister was also hitting the same target with a Ruger 10/22. The daughter going with me was the only one to shoot a centerfire both days.

I think I'm nervous because I met some Garand-match shooters at an Appleseed, and they were all about gadgets, shooting jackets and huge shooting gloves. I am worried it will be two days' worth of guys like that. I don't much care for gadgets; I want my shooting to speak for itself. But gadget guys can be intimidating, looking like they really know what they are doing. (I don't think they always do, though.)

And I've never been to Camp Perry. Some of it may just be that I am going somewhere unfamiliar.

I know exactly what you mean....I'm a gadget guy golfer...

[mreising]

What you take for SAFS will be minimal, but if you shoot the President's or Individual matches you will be taking more stuff, including a chair to sit in while you are scoring, a spotting scope, mat, cooler (a folding stool with an insulated bag built in is good to kill to birds), etc. I have left all my stuff, including the rifle behind the ready line while I was in the pits, that's what most people do, just make sure your stuff is far enough back that it doesn't end up "downrange" while you are in the pits if they change from 200 to 300. You will see a lot of clever contrivances for transporting everything. I used a "tactical stroller" (racing stroller with rifle rack).