Episode-975- An Interview with Michael Adam of the Appleseed Project
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Today Michale Adam of the Revolutionary War Veterans Association and the Appleseed project joins us to discuss being a rifleman and concepts like history, honor and duty.
Join us today as we discuss…
- What is the RWVA and what is Appleseed
- What is the difference between a rifleman and a guy with a rifle
- Why is mastering a rifle important
- Why is history a part of being a rifleman in America today
- What can you expect at an Appleseed shoot
- Why are so many women and young people jumping on board with Appleseed
- How Appleseed ensures safety at their shoots
- What it takes to be and Appleseed Instructor
- How marksmanship creates a unique type of accountability
- How can you learn more about Appleseed
Additional Resources for Today’s Show
- Members Support Brigade
- TSP Gear Shop
- Join Our Forum
- Be Part of Episode 1000
- Meet Jack at the Hickory, NC Self Reliance Expo
- Facebook Event Page for the Early Meet and Greet in NC
- Full Details on the Hickory Early Meet and Greet
- Project Appleseed
- The Rifleman Radio Show
- The Rifleman Radio Show on Facebook
- Battle Road USA
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.
I really agree with that statement about gun users being more trustworthy. My father has shot trap for ever. I have been shooting with him tons and it’s almost eerie how safe that place is. It’s one of the few places I have been that you can see a $10,000 gun sitting unwatched on a public gun rack with no worry, and in all of my father’s and my experience there has one been one gun stolen. And that was stolen by one of teh hired help, not one of the shooters.
Cars are left unlocked everywhere at the gun club, by people who wouldn’t leave that door unlocked even to go to the store for just a minute.
Jack,
I have not listened to this episode yet, but I did attend an Appleseed shoot with my 10 year old son in early 2012 and wanted to give your listeners my experience:
1. We attended the Saturday shoot only, and it was a fantastic experience – I think even more so for my son. For us personally two days would have been too much though. This event was .22 rimfire only.
2. Safety was top priority. I cannot emphasize this enough. Every time an exercise was complete everyone had to lay their .22 down pointed down range with the chamber open. If you had a tube fed rifle the tube had to be visibly unlocked. All chambers had to have a plastic device inserted into them to show visually that the chamber was not only opened but also cleared. I’m pretty sure magazines had to be out as well. (I had a tube fed rifle, so I’m not positive.)
3. The instructors were very patient with my son. Again, he was 10 at the time (minimum age to attend), had a tube fed Marlin, and was slower than everyone else because he’s just a methodical kind of kid. The instructors took special care to give him extra attention whenever needed and even held up the start of an exercise a time or two just to ensure he understood everything.
4. The history lesson is an integral part of the experience and was fun. And, they emphasized up front to the attendees that there would be no political discussions during class. You were to save that for after class over beers or something.
5. They make it clear on their website that this is a marksmanship class. Let me state they are not joking. They recommend coming with a magazine fed rifle, such as a Ruger 10/22. After experiencing the class using a tub fed rifle, my reco is to go buy that Ruger first. I have one now and wish I had had it then. Parts of the training are geared towards unloading/loading, and trying to use a tube fed during those exercises was frustrating for me personally.
6. If you do plan on attending, read their web site for what you need to bring. There’s a reason it’s listed there. If you don’t come prepared you’ll probably feel embarrassed.
7. Leave your ego at the door. If not you won’t have a good time because you’ll probably piss off the instructors and not be treated as nicely as the other participants.
A final note, my son is still so methodical after he shoots now with regards to safety. He never sets the rifle down without the chamber being opened and ensuring the gun is cleared. What a fantastic habit for someone so young to have.
Hey Jack, I won’t be listening to the show until tomorrow, but it sounds interesting. I was wondering if you’ve ever heard of Bill Buppert? He’s an Appleseed instructor with a lot to say about liberty, and he’s a helluva compelling speaker as well. Might make for an interesting interview…
Here’s the text of a pretty interesting speech he gave a while back.
Here’s the video of the speech, audio is a bit amateurish, but worth listening too anyway.
Keep up the good work Jack!
I am always amazed at how often TSP episodes seem to fall right in line with recent activities or conversations going on in my life. This episode is no different.
I entered a drawing and won a FREE Appleseed weekend shoot, at the Denver Self Reliance Expo last year (where I also got to shake hands and speak with Jack). It has taken me a while to get my schedule opened up to take advantage of it, but about a month ago I registered for the shoot in Byers CO on Sept 15/16. Listening to this episode has me even more pumped up for next weekend!
Thanks for having Michael on again!
@Matt – Thanks so much for sharing your experience. My son is turning 10 tomorrow and I have been considering for a while doing an Appleseed shoot with him. I wasn’t sure if I should wait until he’s a little older, but hearing this interview and your review have convinced me to go ahead. I have absolutely no experience with guns at all, so I’m excited as well. My husband bought a couple of rifles a few years ago, and it’s time I learned how to use them. Great interview, Jack and Scout. Thanks for all you do!
One of the perks of completing an Appleseed event is that it qualifies you to purchase an M1 Garand through the CMP. I’m curious as to what Jack and the audience thinks of these rifles. Are they practical tools or just pieces of history?
I have seen old guys run Garands at three gun and action shooting matches. They usually do REALY WELL and the distance shooting. Umm, go figure.
With some experience they can be run pretty fast too.
Great rifles that just work. Expensive to shoot, and accurate out to 800 yards if you can shoot that far. Every household with a rifleman should have one.
The events sound like a lot of fun from the interview & your posts, so I was pretty disappointed to find out that all the openings at shoots in my area are sold out months in advance. I guess that’s a testament to the popularity, so I’d urge listeners to check out their state’s calendar NOW, don’t just assume that “Hey that sounds like fun” and get their hopes too high.
Oh well, maybe next year if the economy doesn’t tank.
Best of luck to those who do get to go!
the interview just started and, jack, your accent is back! lol. gotta love it.
i can’t wait to finish listening to this. i have been wanting to attend an appleseed event but the closest one is a couple hours from me. i am going to have to make time to attend one though. i think they are a great organization and i have only heard good things about them.
At almost every Appleseed I work I find SP listeners. This past weekend was no different.
…you just have to listen for the, “Spirko said that…”
I was approached last weekend because I was wearing my project appleseed shirt. No lie-the first question he asked me was if I listen to TSP
Awesome that this is today’s interview.
2 comments:
1) One of the things that I love about America, is that our Independence Day is not the day that the British actually signed the treaty, or that the Constitution was ratified, but the day that we SAID we were free. We said, therefore we were.
2) The big link between Paul Revere and expert marksmanship, is the understanding of why it is important for us to keep AND bear arms. The reason is that quite frankly, the day may soon come when we are called to physically, literally bear our arms in much the same way early American militias did. THAT is the reason the founders of country made sure that this provision was in The Constitution. That is why we need to be trained and ready.
I call it like I see it.
To point two. The founders have failed if we have to bear arms like them. We should have taken action at the voting booth before it ever got as far as a shooting war. It’s just that people that bear arms are more curitiious , responsible and moral that ones that don’t.
I will definitely be wearing my TSP shirt to the Appleseed shoot I am attending this weekend.
Just listened to this one yesterday. Great! I hope my wife and I can attend one of these sometime.
Went to my first Appleseed this weekend. Oct 20-21 2012. AWESOME
I have a lot to learn and will be attending more Appleseeds in the future.
Thanks Jack for this interview. It got me motivated to do something.