Dear Jim,
I attended an Appleseed Project shoot, and it was interesting. I really enjoyed everything about the program, the instruction, the history, and the camaraderie. I’m a newbie to shooting, and I think I may have had the wrong sling type. The type that the instructors had was a loop sling, but the kind I had was just a nylon strap. When trying to get into positions and change positions the strap kept sliding down my shirtsleeve. I did awful in the shooting, and really surprised myself at exactly how bad of a shot I am. I need lots of practice. In reading your site I see all these people who seem to be full blown commandos eating rusty nails surviving in the brush with nothing while always walking uphill in the rain against a hurricane while evading a hungry bear. It’s a little discouraging for a newbie, as I sit down in front of my laptop with my microwave TV dinner.
Needless to say I’m going to sign up for another Appleseed project because I consider my first attendance a frustrating experience based on my inexperience. I was never able to find this so called (natural point of aim (NPOA). My natural point of aim seems to be my foot from a standing position. At 50 yards I’m all over the place, no grouping whatsoever, and most of the time I can’t tell if I hit the target or not. Another thing to get used to is all the noise at the Appleseed. We were 70 to 80 people all within two to three feet of each other shooting everything from .22 to .308. The smoke, the noise, and the hot spent brass landing on your back from someone else’s rifle made quite difficult to concentrate. I don’t like anyone else to be shooting while I’m shooting. [JWR Adds: After you’ve resolved any flinching problems, I have found that the noise, distractions, and stress of a rifle match creates a good training environment for basic combat shooting. Although a rifle match doesn’t come close to the stress of tactical rushes with bullets flying both directions, some stress is a good thing!]
I’m trying to overcome lots of bad habits already between the blinking, flinching, breathing, and focusing on the front sight. I’m going to get back at it and keep practicing. My reason for writing this to you is because perhaps some other rookie can find solace in the fact that not everyone on SurvivalBlog is Jeff Trasel running around with an M60. 🙂 I’m a product of the “Me generation” trying to get re-acquainted with reality. – Jon in Florida