The Judge Mint Day Story

Mint Day first stumbled on the scene quite literally as an extra in WESTERN ROUNDUP (1929). Listed in the credits as Gilbert O’Day he made little impact on the film, but a big move on the leading lady Dina Might.

By the end of the year he co-starred with Dina Might in GUNS FROM THE BORDER (1929) as “Mint” Day and never looked back. His publicist refused to provide background information for Mint Day saying only that a mysterious cowboy with no past sold more tickets than a law school dropout from the Midwest.

Mint Day made 11 movies from 1929 - 1931 all of them for Monogram Pictures and most opposite the lovely Dina Might. TRAIN TO ABILENE (1930), GHOST PASS (1930), OVER THE VALLEY (1930), DYNAMITE TRAIL (1930), CROSSED BADGES (1930), UNDER A BAD MOON (1931), THREE ON A MATCH (1931), HOMEWARD WAGON (1931), AND LONSOME HOMBRE (1931). All were of the western faire with Mint Day saving the town/girl/wagon train/fort from destruction from Indians/cutthroats/rebels. Only GHOST PASS (1930) had a substantially different feel from a first time writer/producer Al Hitch (pseudonym for Alfred Hitchcock).

In 1932 Mint Day signed with Republic Pictures and dove headfirst into the western serial. The first 15 part serial SIXGUN JUDGE (1932) not only gave Day movie star status, but also his moniker “Judge”. For the rest of his movie career he would be “Judge Mint Day”. He went on to star in 6 more serials for Republic before dropping out of Hollywood altogether. Little has been heard from Judge since his departure from the movie industry. Still married to Dina Might he purchased a horse ranch in the Sierra Nevada’s and lived a quiet and happy life.

Territorial Governors Summit - 2007

1. Change Classic Cowboy to require Chaps and Spurs at all times and drop the other clothing requirements to three choices. The wording was changed, by amendment, to either chaps, chinks or botas and spurs. Discussion was mostly concerned with heat and the added safety factor of wearing spurs. Speakers felt that if these things bothered a shooter, then they should not shoot in this category.

Voting result: Failed.

2. As of now you may get as many Minor Safeties as you incur. Change the rules to limit Minor Safeties to one per firearm.
Discussion was on both sides of the issue. Some felt a double jeopardy situation is created by allowing more than one penalty for the same single violation. Others felt that the current rule was not being enforced properly, and that all infractions or safeties should be awarded regardless of double jeopardy.

Voting result: Failed.

3. As of now you are not committed to the stage until the first round goes down range. Change the rule to read a shooter, if properly started, is committed to the stage once the timer sounds.
Discussion, it was felt that there was only a small group of people that took advantage of this type of restart. Some felt that there was no need to change this rule and that the situation could be resolved with good stage design starting with an action that was required for the stage like closing a door or handling a prop. Others were in favor of the rule to mean that once the timer beeps, you are committed, no matter what.

Voting result: Failed

4. The largest maximum shot size allowed is a #4. Change the maximum shot size to a #7 1/2 .
Discussion, many felt that there was no need to change this rule. Clubs can still have their own size requirement.

Voting result: Failed

5. Proposed New Long Range Optical Category with rules as follows:
No length or power limitation on the scope. Scope tube body to be 3/4" or less in diameter and any ocular or objective lenses, adjusting or assembly rings to be less than 1" in diameter.
No internal scope adjustments for windage or elevation.
Mounts are to be of a traditional style of the period, and contain the windage and elevation adjustments for the scope in either, or both, the front or rear mounts. No click adjustments in the mount. Either dove tail mounting or scope block mounting is allowed.

Original scope mounts of either the Cataract or Malcom style or variations thereof, or replicas or derivative conforms to the criteria of the paragraph above.

This rule matches exactly with the NRA Rifle Silhouette Rules. March 2005.
Discussion, several examples were on display. If passed, it would add only one category "Optical" for long range rifle side matches. There appeared to be a lot of support for adding the optical sight category for long range side matches.

Voting result: Passed

The SASS Wild Bunch has made the decision that rounds must now meet the following restrictions.

Effective at State level and above matches. Clubs can still maintain stricter requirements (like a 650 minimum) but it should be in match material in advance.

Goes into effect at EOT 2008.

The minimum velocity must meet at power factor of 60. Power factor is calculated by multiplying the bullet weight times the velocity and then divided by 1,000.

A 100 grain bullet traveling at 600 fps has a power factor of 60 (100 X 600) / 1000 = 60.00.
A 77 grain bullet traveling 800 fps has a power factor of 61.6 (77 X 800) / 1000 = 61.60.
A 200 grain bullet traveling 400 fps has a power factor of 80 (200 X 400) / 1000 = 80.00.

The maximum velocities are not changed.

Black powder rounds, in black powder categories, already have their own standards. The rule would be applied to smokless powder categories only. If a shooter is using black powder rounds in a non-BP category, they must meet the power factor requirements.

A challenge of the loads can only be made by a match official. They will take five rounds and use the shooters gun. If any pass, then the ammo is OK.

It was announced that it would not change the KD rules at all. The old calibration is still valid and there are no plans to change that.

They have made a tentative (not in stone yet) ruling on the penalty.

It would be a 30 second Spirit of the Game penalty starting on the stage the rounds were tested.

Match officials could be the only persons that could initiate a test.

The official would take the shooters gun and five rounds of ammunition (pistol). They would pull one round out to remove the bullet for weighing.

They would fire the other four. Currently, if any pass, the loads are ruled OK. The muzzle of the gun would be raised 80 degrees prior to firing each round, so the powder would be at the rear most section of the case. This would give the highest result.

These are results from the phone calls I made to Vegas. I have not received the actual report.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Til next time,

Vaquero Hayes

Call Me Snake

I like the idea of taking modern movie lines and putting them in as start lines for CAS stages. How about a little Snake Plissken from Escape from New York!

• "Call me Snake."

• "Why are we talking?"

• "President of what?"

• "When I get back I'm going to kill you."

• "I want to meet this Duke."

• "Where you been, Harold? It's been a long time."

• "Yeah. A man should remember his past."

• "You, me, and Fresno Bob. You know what they did to Bob?"

• "You want to see him sprayed all over that map, baby?"

• "Yeah, you and everybody else."

• "You shouldn't have double-crossed me again, Brain."

• "The name's Plissken."

Standby

Top Cowboy

At TVR they do a little thing called Top Cowboy. You have to shoot at 6 matches to qualify and then the top average stage time takes the award. It’s a nice competition for the regular club members. Redneck Rebel sent the current standings out today and of course I was looking through them. There are 5 more matches this year so things can change, but here is what it looks like as of today.

The contenders for Top Cowboy are Indy Kid with an AST of 21.56, followed closely by Vaquero Hayes with an AST of 22.14 and then Redneck Rebel with an AST of 22.32. These three are fierce competitors and it’s going to get very interesting down the stretch.

As for us Amigos well I currently have an AST of 30.438, followed much too closely by Copper Quincy who has a 31.918, and then Jose is trailing the pack at 34.096. Of course this is a little misleading because after you have your six matches under your belt you get to start dropping your lowest scores. I am a very consistent shooter and my match scores do not change drastically. Jose on the other hand is either very good or very bad and he managed to place higher then me overall last year because he got to drop those very bad scores.

Shooter Ready?

I find myself putting everyday things in SASS context. I see a neat box that looks sorta old-timey, I'll think about putting it on a gun cart. This extends to even the most modern of conventions and today I was watching part of one of my favorite movies Sin City and thought that one of the main characters Marv, had some pretty good one liners that I immediately thought would be good for start lines for stages.

These are the ones I liked best:

“No reason at all to play it quiet”
“I’ll be right out”
“They know they been in a fight, that’s for damn sure”
“There ain’t no squarin’ it this time”
“This is the old days, the bad days, the all or nothin’ days”
“This is blood for blood and by the gallons”
“A shot and a brew shelly and keep ‘em coming”
“That’s one fine lookin’ coat your wearin’ there”
“I guess when I shot you in the belly, I aimed to high”
“I’ve been killing my way to the truth every since”
“Sometimes I ask pretty hard”
“Its almost killing time”
“Kill him good”
“I won’t let you down Goldie”
“I got you you little bastard, lets see you hop around now”
“It really gets my goat when guys rough up dames”
“I’ll die laughing if I know I did one thing right”
“What’s left of him anyways”
“I know its pretty damn weird to eat people”
“You can scream now if you want to”
“I got him for you good didn’t I Goldie?”

Standby...

Wild Bunch Category

Jose said he was pushing for one of the clubs we shoot at to offer a "Wild Bunch Category" to shoot . Now I think this is a great idea and the clubs already have a precedent with offering different non-SASS-based categories such as Pale Rider and Outlaw. So while this is Jose's puppy I offer a quick little write up of my idea for a Wild Bunch Category. Jose will take what he likes and leave the rest dead on the floor.

This category is based on the 1969 Movie “The Wild Bunch” directed by Sam Peckinpah. Outlaws on the Mexican-U.S. frontier face the march of progress, the Mexican army and a gang of bounty hunters led by a former member while they plan a robbery of a U.S. army train. No one is innocent in this gritty tale of desperation against changing times. Pump shotguns, machine guns and automobiles mix with horses and Winchesters in this ultra violent western. The goal of this category is to mix the flavor of the Old West with the changing technology of the 20^th century.

Wild Bunch Category:

• Pistols: 1911 GI Style firearm typical in appearance to one commonly found just prior to WWI. Any contemporary semi-automatic pistol to the Colt 1911 GI found just prior to WWI and chambered in a caliber equal to or greater then 9mm and capable of holding 5 or more rounds in a detachable magazine.
  

• Pistol will be shot using any SASS legal shooting style. Instead of utilizing 2 pistols for this category the shooter will reload the weapon using the detachable magazine.
  

• Rifles: Any SASS legal rifle of 1884 or later design or a replica thereof (i.e., 1892, 1894, Lightning Rifle or Marlin)
  

• Shotguns: Any SASS legal Lever or Pump Action Shotgun. Double Barrel Shotguns are not allowed.
  

• May use any SASS legal ammunition
  

• Costuming: Pants must be jeans, ranch pants, or pants with flap over the rear pocket. Pants must be worn with belt. Suspenders are not allowed. Felt hats only. Straw hats are not allowed. You must choose at least one of the following items; Mills Belt with US insignia, M1916 Holster, US Enlisted or Officers Wool Trousers, Enlisted or Officers Wool Pullover Shirt, WWI Bayonet, M1898 Khaki Leggings, WWI Leather Ammo Pouch, Leather or Canvas 1911 Double Clip Pouch, Bandoleer, Musset Bag.

Being safe, period

One of the things in cowboy shooting that "breaks the reality" is the shooting glasses. You can get the most period clothing and leather, guns and ammo, but if you're wearing a pair of Oakleys, what does it matter? Should it matter?

The first picture I've posted shows a genuine pair of period correct sharpshooter glasses. See anything wrong with them? There are several things "wrong" with them, first, if they are truly from the period, the glass won't be up to the task of stopping much and could fragment causing more damage. Not good. Next up is the lenses are too small to fully protect the eyes and finally, there is no side protection to prevent a fragment from damaging the eye when you're looking away from the action. Additionallly, these glasses don't have nose pads and the lenses are frosted except at the center of the lens. No, these clearly won't do.

So what are we to do then?

First, I don't know of anyone who makes a set of period glasses with enough protection for shooting. So assume you'll be shooting with something that's less than perfect because you should NEVER compromise your eyes for looking the part, NEVER. If you're willing to do that, you probably aren't reading this blog, because, well you can't.

Well, you can minimize the effect your eyewear has on your appearance by purchasing some glasses that approximate the old look. I've been using a pair of the Peltor XF5 glasses for a while and they look more period than a modern wrap-around uni-lens type pair. No, they aren't really even close if you look carefully, but at a distance, they'll do. I just wish they came in something other than smoke or blue.

Another thing a motivated shooter could do is to find a pair of wire frames with sufficient lens surface and have safety lenses installed. This would allow you to have a prescription put in them as well. Any optometrist can do this or even Wal-Mart or Sam's Club. The only thing you'd have to do then is worry about the sides, the optometrist should have plastic side shields available, but they may not fit the frames, especially the thin wire frames. There are leather side shields available for purchase that will slip on, providing the protection and period look. You could also find some "glacier" sunglasses, they usually have the leather side shields to totally block light and either get or make sure they have safety lenses or rob them of the leather shield.

It's About Time

SASS finally got of their lazy butts and put an online searchable database of aliases. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better then the old version...guess and pray! They call it Alias Lookup and it's on the SASS homepage.

UPDATE: Just click here