Project Mapleseed is a series of shooting courses based off of the American Project Appleseed program. The one day course focuses on shooting well from unsupported field positions using US military marksmanship techniques. The courses of fire are all shot prone, sitting, and standing with no support aside from a GI sling.
Neccessary Equipment
Project Mapleseed focuses on teaching marksmanship to as many people as possible. In accordance with this mandate, paticipants can shoot pretty much any rifle they own. Additionally, the entire course of fire takes place at 25 yards. The scaled targets simulate shooting out to 400 yards. This makes it possible to run courses in almost any venue.
To encourage accessibility, almost any rifle is permitted. However, due to the cost of ammunition and the distance fired, most people use 22LR. The ideal rifle is a semi-automatic 22LR such as a Ruger 10/22 or a Marlin 795. However, if all you have is a bolt or lever action don’t worry. I saw several people succesfully completed the course of fire with manual actions. Finally, make sure to bring a spare magazine because you will need at least two magazines to complete the course.
Apart from the rifle, bring your hearing/eye protection, a shooting mat if you have one, and plenty of water, snacks and ammo. Mapleseed shoots are designed to have as few barriers to entry as possible. Helpfully, if you forget something there will probably be a spare you can borrow.
Format
First off, The day starts with each person shooting a target before receiving any instruction. This is done to establish a baseline of each shooter’s abilities before beginning the course. Next the instructors begin the first lesson of the day, which is properly fitting the rifle to the shooter.
Throughout the day the instructors teach a concept and apply it to positional shooting. Students then practice the skill on the live fire range where instructors go around giving individualized feedback. At the end of the day the students get 3 attempts at the Qualification Target. In order to earn their Rifleman patch a student must achieve a score of 210 or higher. Finally, students finish the day by reshooting their baseline target to see how much they have improved.
Content
Over the course of the day the instructors teach the fundamentals of marksmanship. Topics ranged from sight alignment, natural point of aim, trigger press, rifle fit, follow through, and respiratory pause. Instructors delivered material in a very accessible and easy to understand format. After each lesson, students would hit the firing line and practice whatever skill they had just learned.
After the fundamentals are explained, they are applied to positional shooting. All of the shooting at a Mapleseed takes place from three positions: standing, seated, and prone. Finally, the use of a sling for stability is taugtht for each position.
Impression
Throughout the course the instructors impressed me with their ability to teach to a wide variety of skill levels. For example, at my course there were some youth who were just learning the basics alongside the match champion from the CRPS competition the day before. The instructors provided feedback to everyone and were friendly, professional, and approachable throughout.
Additionally, the material covered is excellent. In spite of my experience coming into the course, I still learned several tricks to improve my positional shooting. This showed on the baseline target at the end of the day, confirming that the course was well worth the $50 dollar entry fee.
Concluding Thoughts
In closing, Project Mapleseed provided excellent instruction at an extremely affordable cost. The content is applicable to a wide variety of shooting disciplines and pursuits. Furthermore, delivery was easy to digest and approachable for a wide range of ages and skill levels. If there is a Mapleseed shoot in your area I strongly recommend attending.