Curious if anyone had tried out one of the Known Distance Appleseed events yet?

I've gone to the 1 and 2-day Appleseed events and they are awesome.  Great for new shooters.

Looks like they have some new patches for 2018:

Going to my first Appleseed in May, really looking forward to it! Any tips for someone who has never been to an event before?

Like any training make sure your gear is sorted out and cleaned, zeroed and malfunction free.

If you're using a scope you probably need to move it forward.  Most people have their scope mounted far back for comfortable bench shooting.  A comfortable prone position requires a more forward head position which will require a more forward scope for proper eye relief.

If you have a cantilevered scope mount like a Burris PEPR on an AR which gives you about 2" of forward offset it will work with some but not all scopes depending on eye relief and your position.

If you want to use an aggressive nose to charging handle you'll probably need a scope mount that has even more cantilever (up to 3").

Beyond that bring a comfortable padded shooting mat.  You'll spend a lot of time on the ground and a little extra padding will be appreciated.

Yeah...don't waste your time and money. Everything they "teach" you you can find on You Tube.

Good luck with that.  I have yet to encounter anyone for which that went well. For everyone else it is a bargain for 2 days of essential marksmanship training. It is the same solid doctrine which was taught by the CMP, AMU, and USMC for decades

I was an Appleseed instructor for a  few years in the early days.

I was a good program (may still be, I'm just not involved in it so I can't say what it's like today).

You can (used to be able to) go to the RWVA website and there are links to topics like "what to bring", "how to prepare your gear", "what to do before you get there", etc.

It helped me.  Actually, for me, the 7 day RBC I went to a few months later helped me a lot more (as it should, more time, more one on one with instructors.)  How much did it help?  A couple years later I ran into one of my old college/work buddies.  We were talking about Appleseed.  When I told him it helped me become a better rifle shooter he looked at me funny and said, "Hm, don't see how."  Sounds funny, but we'd shot/hunted/worked together for 5 years and he'd seen me shoot, a lot.  I was one of those guys who got the assignments for taking/making the longer range/difficult shots, especially when I was in the Army.

Back to Appleseed experiences.  Keep an open mind.  Pay attention.  You will be getting so much information, so fast, that you may not remember it all or be putting it into use during those two days.  Many people go to more than one and find that what they learned (but may not be putting into use) in the first Appleseed comes back to them and blossoms in the second Appleseed.  For example, after my first Appleseed I thought I understood NPOA (Natural Point Of Aim).  Nope.  Not even.  During the RBC (Rifleman's Boot Camp) a few months later I found out what NPOA really was and how to put into use it to improve my shooting.

People sneer at the 25 meter training/events.  They think it's easy.  Only 25 meters?  Well, several years back the percentage of attendees that shot a high enough score to get a rifleman's patch was 12 to 15%.  So, if 30 people attend the Appleseed, only about 4 to 6 would shoot scores high enough to get the patch.  Not so easy.

I used my M1A.  Later, I set up a 10/22 to mimic the M1A/M1 Garand.  Tech sights.  GI sling swivels and GI web sling.  Extended butt plate to make the length of pull fit my 6'3" body/arms better.  Magazines with a lever on the back that contact/operate the 10/22 magazine release similar to the M1A magazine release.  Never used it at an Appleseed, but I've loaned it out to others who used it.

Hey, it's fun (shooting is fun, right), you learn to shoot your rifle better and you get to spend a weekend with people who probably agree with you on a lot of things.

I've still got my 25 meter rifleman score targets from 2005/2006 out in the garage.  Used to have them framed/posted on the wall in my office at work.  Got some funny looks from people but management never told me to take them down.  Might be different these days.

One more thing.  It's not easy.  The position shooting, as well as getting into/out of position can be tough on your body.  Take some kind of pain medication that works for you.  Start taking them (by the directions) after supper on Saturday.  You'll know why when you get up the next morning, so take more (by the directions) Sunday morning and again Sunday afternoon/evening to help get you over that stiffness/soreness from doing stuff your body isn't used to.  That RBC week the only way I could sleep at night was taking my Aleve pills twice a day (breakfast and before I went to bed.)

Good luck, it's fun.

Thought of one more thing - known distance is easier than the 25 meter "test."  Why?  Because you shoot at one target for each distance.  Just one.  In the 25 meter AQT you shoot at 1 target in stage 1, 2 targets in stage 2, 3 targets in stage 3 and 4 targets in stage 4.  That makes it more difficult because you not only break your position to reload but you break your position to engage each "new" target.  That take time and introduces possibility for errors in setting up that position.  And (used to be anyway) the needed score for the patch is lower for the known distance version vs. the 25 meter version.  If you know the fundamentals then all you have to do for the full distance version is know the sight adjustments needed for changing distance to the target and compensate for the wind, if there is any.  Not trying to start anything (caliber war) but a .308/.30-06 is easier for me to shoot at distance than a .223.  If the wind is steady it's not so bad.  Catch a day with the wind speed/direction is variable and the .30 caliber is more forgiving.

Pretty much spot on @M1A4ME.  Took both my boys to several of these events many years ago.  One thing I will add is that the weather conditions play into your experience and have an impact on your shooting.  90+ degree heat or below 50 and either with rain make a very challenging event even more so.  Had some great instructors that really performed well with the varying levels of experience of those attending.

IF your a good shot, you just might find the Appleseed a humbling experience.  Check you EGO and go out and enjoy it along with the like minded Patriots in attendance.