Project Mapleseed Event Review

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ThatTron

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Welcome fellow CGN’s,

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Project Mapleseed Event in Napanee. If you’re not familiar with Project Mapleseed, it’s a rifle marksmanship training program similar to the Project Appleseed events in the USA. More information can be found on their website https://mapleseedrifleman.com.

Beautiful spring weather finally showed up in Southern Ontario and made for an amazing fun day of learning and shooting. All the instructors were very patient and encouraging throughout the day which made for a great experience. Lots of useful information and techniques are provided during the day and immediately put into practice. Not once was I bored sitting around waiting or felt like the information given wasn’t useful. My skill and technique from the beginning of the day to the last set of targets definitely improved. I also know where I struggle in my shooting and need to practice more.

I believe preparation before the event is definitely key in order to succeed. I did notice some fellow shooters struggling at the beginning with improper slings (USGI sling is recommended), rifles not working properly or not being zeroed for 25 yards. Also, testing different brands of .22 ammo to find the most consistent in your rifle is essential.

These two targets represent the beginning and end of the day and how well I improved.
S5HRXCF.jpg


We are also tested at the end of the day with Mapleseed Rifleman Qualification Targets. A combination of standing, sitting/kneeling and prone shooting with a sling to test all the skills you’ve learned and practiced during the day are evaluated. A score of 210/250 will earn you the coveted Rifleman patch.

I was able to achieve a personal top score of 236.
eRraDua.jpg


Overall it was a wonderful fun filled day and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking into attending one in the future.

The only thing I would change is possibly adding a zeroing stage at the beginning of the day while firing from supports (bipod/front and rear rest). Some new shooters may not know how to properly adjust their sights and beginning the day shooting unsupported way off paper can be discouraging. Beginning the day by going over MOA/MIL adjustments, bringing the shots on target on a stable platform before bringing out the slings might help a lot.
 
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Great review. It is an amazing program! I was able to attend 3 of the events last year. 2 of the events I shot with iron sights and just kept missing the Coveted patch by 3-5 shots (that sounds better then 25 or so points!). I finally shot my first rifleman score (in the 230's as well) with a very tricked out Ruger 10/22, and even got a personal best of 246. Those instructors sure know what they are doing if they were able to take me and get that kind of performance!
 
You make reference to "improper sling". What did you see as being the improper type? I know they recommend a USGI type, but what else would be usable? I ask because I have a bunch of slings, none of which are USGI style.
 
xtremacanuck said:
You make reference to "improper sling". What did you see as being the improper type? I know they recommend a USGI type, but what else would be usable? I ask because I have a bunch of slings, none of which are USGI style.
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A USGI sling is best, however a M1 Garand (or M1907 style) Sling that is easily and quickly adjustable and able to be used in "loop sling" configuration could work as well. If you have neither of those, bring what you have. They will teach you with your equipment, and I believe they have some loaner gear as well.
 
Major Sights is correct. Any sling that can create that loop works well. Some shooters had slings that couldn’t create that loop, but luckily the instructors have loaners to use. A scope with adjustable parallax would also be ideal, but I was able to get by with a Nikon Prosraff 3-9.
 
ThatTron said:
Welcome fellow CGN’s,

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Project Mapleseed Event in Napanee. If you’re not familiar with Project Mapleseed, it’s a rifle marksmanship training program similar to the Project Appleseed events in the USA. More information can be found on their website https://mapleseedrifleman.com.

Beautiful spring weather finally showed up in Southern Ontario and made for an amazing fun day of learning and shooting. All the instructors were very patient and encouraging throughout the day which made for a great experience. Lots of useful information and techniques are provided during the day and immediately put into practice. Not once was I bored sitting around waiting or felt like the information given wasn’t useful. My skill and technique from the beginning of the day to the last set of targets definitely improved. I also know where I struggle in my shooting and need to practice more.

I believe preparation before the event is definitely key in order to succeed. I did notice some fellow shooters struggling at the beginning with improper slings (USGI sling is recommended), rifles not working properly or not being zeroed for 25 yards. Also, testing different brands of .22 ammo to find the most consistent in your rifle is essential.

These two targets represent the beginning and end of the day and how well I improved.
S5HRXCF.jpg


We are also tested at the end of the day with Mapleseed Rifleman Qualification Targets. A combination of standing, sitting/kneeling and prone shooting with a sling to test all the skills you’ve learned and practiced during the day are evaluated. A score of 210/250 will earn you the coveted Rifleman patch.

I was able to achieve a personal top score of 236.
eRraDua.jpg


Overall it was a wonderful fun filled day and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking into attending one in the future.

The only thing I would change is possibly adding a zeroing stage at the beginning of the day while firing from supports (bipod/front and rear rest). Some new shooters may not know how to properly adjust their sights and beginning the day shooting unsupported way off paper can be discouraging. Beginning the day by going over MOA/MIL adjustments, bringing the shots on target on a stable platform before bringing out the slings might help a lot.
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Thanks for the great comments! Glad you had fun and that you felt that your shooting improved. Please know that you are definitely a skilled shooter. Well done on the 236!

Your recommendation about zeroing before hand is a good one, and one that we have heard before. We have considered it but made the decision to keep the scope adjustments where they are because of a couple of key points. 1) we ask that scopes come zero'd at 25m (we know this does not always happen). 2) if anyone is not on paper an instructor will work with the individual to bring their shots on paper and 3) we give the POIs for steady hold and firing a shot first to try and shrink group sizes so that we can make scope adjustments that are more accurate and refined. To make adjustments on a scope when someone is shooting 8 MOA is not as helpful as making an adjustment on a scope for someone who is shooting under 4MOA.

The participants on Saturday were at varying degrees of skill levels. It was great to see everyone have fun (even though there were frustrations) and we had SUN!!!!!

Thanks again for the great feedback and think about join the instructor group.

Cheers,

Kelly and the Mapleseed Crew.
 
Just signed back up for the Kingston one again on May 12th! Can't wait! My daughter doesn't know about it yet, but will be super excited! We sighted in at 25m last sunday at the camp.
 
Kelly Lynn said:
Thanks for the great comments! Glad you had fun and that you felt that your shooting improved. Please know that you are definitely a skilled shooter. Well done on the 236!

Your recommendation about zeroing before hand is a good one, and one that we have heard before. We have considered it but made the decision to keep the scope adjustments where they are because of a couple of key points. 1) we ask that scopes come zero'd at 25m (we know this does not always happen). 2) if anyone is not on paper an instructor will work with the individual to bring their shots on paper and 3) we give the POIs for steady hold and firing a shot first to try and shrink group sizes so that we can make scope adjustments that are more accurate and refined. To make adjustments on a scope when someone is shooting 8 MOA is not as helpful as making an adjustment on a scope for someone who is shooting under 4MOA.

The participants on Saturday were at varying degrees of skill levels. It was great to see everyone have fun (even though there were frustrations) and we had SUN!!!!!

Thanks again for the great feedback and think about join the instructor group.

Cheers,

Kelly and the Mapleseed Crew.
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Thanks Kelly, you all have more experience running these events and know what works best. It was an amazing day and your enthusiasm really makes it great.

I would love to help instruct and hold events at my local range
 
Well, I'm a couple of days late, , but here we go!

On May 5 I attended the Mapleseed event at the Corwall Handgun Club. It was a lot of hard work. A proper sling and ammo your rifle likes are a must. I had a fantastic time. Special thanks to Kelly Lynn and the crew for great instruction in the tent of knowledge and encouragement throughout the day. Food, water and good padding for your elbows will make for a happy day! I used my 597VTR with a 6-24 scope (less magnification would have been better, but it's what I had) and CCI SV. Can't wait to do this again!

IMG_20180507_195601.jpg

IMG_20180509_091014.jpg
 
weasel1 said:
Well, I'm a couple of days late, , but here we go!

On May 5 I attended the Mapleseed event at the Corwall Handgun Club. It was a lot of hard work. A proper sling and ammo your rifle likes are a must. I had a fantastic time. Special thanks to Kelly Lynn and the crew for great instruction in the tent of knowledge and encouragement throughout the day. Food, water and good padding for your elbows will make for a happy day! I used my 597VTR with a 6-24 scope (less magnification would have been better, but it's what I had) and CCI SV. Can't wait to do this again!

IMG_20180507_195601.jpg

IMG_20180509_091014.jpg
Click to expand...

Great shooting on the weekend Derek and a very nice rifle as well. I agree... 3 or 4 mag on the scope works best. Hope to see you agan soon! - Kelly
 
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