Happy Birthday America

Concord Hymn

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Another hot one

Last Saturday was another hot one at Thunder Valley.  I think the official temp was 94 degrees and the humidity was up there too.  Of interest this month is the return of our TG and newly appointed SASS Regulator Vaquero Hayes, congrats to him for a well deserved appointment.  He is truly an embassador to the game.

Also of note was the injury last Tuesday to our club president and range owner Redneck Rebel who was thrown from a horse and broke one rib clean, three fractured and a punctured lung, OUCH!  I went down early with another pardner to help setup and then spent time after the shoot helping clean up.  I have a new appreciation for all that Redneck does and hope he's a fast healer.  Actually, I don't mind helping, I just wish some of the other guys would have pitched in on such a hot day, especially since I ran the posse.

As for the shooting, I shot pretty consistently and ended up the top duelist and 5th overall (out of 23).  I'll take it, my speed was pretty good (for me) and I had nary a bobble, just a couple of shotgun hulls that stuck in the port and were quickly cleared.  I'm getting several compliments on my shotgun work, four over the top seems to be fastest for me, so that makes you feel good.

I've got one more shoot next weekend before the Indiana State Shoot to improve, this is about as well as I've ever shot, if I can get the misses down, I'd feel better, but every shooter wants to do better and that's part of what makes shooting sports so great.  You can pick them up easilty, but mastery is very hard.

Xavier Rules

Or should I say Jeff Cooper Rules, Xavier Interprets. Anyway you gotta love this;

"The problem with guns that "just go off" is that a person put their God damned booger hook on the bang switch."

Outlaw!

One of the things that is pretty popular in our local area right now is the unofficial sub classes that some shooters are taking advantage of and local clubs are starting to recognize them as if they are classes.  One such class that's impressed me since I first saw it two years ago at the Kentucky State shoot is the Outlaw class.

Outlaw is where the shooter fires his pistols and shotgun from the hip.  This not only looks cool, but is pretty darned hard to do well, so when you see someone who's good at it, be impressed.  Tennessee Tomstone is a shooter from Tennessee (I want to say Pigeon Forge) and I saw him shoot it at that KY State shoot and he had a few misses, but he shot it well and looked like he was having fun.

Lately, the best duelist shooter that I regularly compete against, M'bogo, has started shooting Outlaw.  Last week, he put on a show only missing four targets and shooting very soundly all day long, Randy Atcher beat him, but not by much.  He was very impressive.  Maybe if I keep shooting 20 more years, I'll be that good.

I think Thunder Valley is going to start scoring this suedo category, I just don't know who's got the stones to shoot it with M'bogo.  I would, but I don't want to tax our poor spotters that badly.

Beat the Heat

So Saturday was hot. "How hot was it?" It was so hot I didn't mind Indy Kid's witless banter :)

Just in case you didn't know, 91 degree days in Indiana suck and standing in full cowboy gear and being even remotely active can be dangerous. Everyone got through it fine, but to make it you need to have a plan to beat the heat. Here's mine.

• Water: the more the better, start hydrating the night before
  
• Umbrella: have one, the bigger the better; Don't count on natural shade
  
• Gatorade or some other sports drink to replenish salt
• Light colored and loose fitting clothes, leave the leather vest home
• Straw hat: My sombrero is keen for this weather because it lends a lot of shade and doesn't hold heat like felt
• Sun screen: don't want to be mistaken for an injun do you?
  
• Don't do too much: its OK to hand off a job to a posse-member and remember to relieve your fellow members
• Water: drink some more
• Cooling bandanas are helpful, especially when stored in a cooler; These look promising
  

No matter how much I try to watch after people, it seems that someone always does too much working or doesn't drink enough water. One of the guys Saturday was plumb punchy by the end of it, good thing is it was caught before it went too far and we cooled him off with a cooling bandana and a bunch of water. The beer afterwards tasted WAY too good, man I love beer after a long hot day.

BADGE UPDATE: We've pretty well settled on a badge from Starpacker, Redneck has a design picked out and is taking names for an order. He needs 25 and has 20+ names from the shoot on Saturday. Looks like that will happen pretty easily. They'll run $52 each and we'll be able to get our club number and some sort of indication for the charter members of the club, which is cool.

Bangkok Rules

I get these things in my head and after jabbering at Jose for awhile I usually manage to get him onboard (except for Harleys). I have been checking out Cowboy Fast-draw and I’ve been intrigued as hell by it. The neatest thing about the sport is the head-to-head competition and I know that’s what’s got me interested.

The short of it is that you shoot wax bullets at a steel target. You compete against a person standing next to you shooting at his own steel target. The targets are attached to a timer and they have a light at the center. When the light turns on you draw and fire. The person who does it first wins…period. I’ve thought it would be cool if Thunder Valley had one for fun days where guys could just shoot it out, however there is one catch.

The shit is expensive!

I guess in the grand scheme of things it’s not bad, but for a complete target kit you’re dropping about 1500 dollars. That does not include the weapons, equipment, and ammo you might need. I can’t see the club being able to drop that kinda money for a fun-day event, although maybe something like that could be a great draw for a State level match. Pay a dollar a shot and take on all comers…might be able to afford something like that in the future.

Anyway if you dig fast-draw then check out the Cowboy Fast-draw Association webpage and see for yourself, but I think this one will go in the same category as Harleys with Jose.

Memorial Day

A day to remember those who gave the ultimate so that we can do silly things like dress up like cowboys and play games.

Each year I'm reminded of my uncle Ted who passed on while I was young from lung cancer. He fought the disease for about a year and in that year, my parents and I visited he and his wife several times and I remember talking to Ted about everything from cars and girls to his time in military during WWII. Ted was a seabee stationed in New Guinea. Lucky for him, he didn't see much in the way of the Japanese, as he always put it, he was more in danger from the snakes falling out of trees onto his tractor than any Jap.

I always liked uncle Ted because he treated me with respect and was always a nice person who had intellegent things to say and I greatly appreciated that he served his country but was more impressed by the kind of person he was and how he treated others. One of the memories I'll always have is having Thanksgiving dinner at his house because he was too weak to travel, I always felt that it meant a great deal to him to have his family around him, my father was the same way. Ted was always upbeat even though cancer had left him ravaged, offering advice and encouragement to me and always ready with a joke.

Ted didn't last much longer after Thanksgiving and we laid him to rest before Christmas of that year. I recall being asked to be a pallbearer at his funeral and how I felt it to be an honor to be asked. I recall how cold it was on that day, the fire from the honor guard and the short, meaningfull graveside service and the somber look on my father's face of having lost a dear brother.

I didn't know Uncle Ted for very long, but I cherish the time that I had with him and I thank God that men like him existed and still exist that keep us safe from those that would do us harm.

So True

This cracks me up. I still read the damn things, but I've never really seen a bad review. Thanks to Xavier for pointing this one out.

What's wrong with people?

OK, I know I'm getting off topic lately, but this really pisses me off. Today, the Capitol Police closed down the Rayburn building for five hours and Capitol Hill overall for part of that time. Why? Because someone called the police and reported that they thought they heard gunshots in the Rayburn garage.

Now today when I went to lunch, I saw on the TV the CNN reporters jabbering away inanely lunging for anything sensational to attract the viewers attention and I'll admit that for the first few minutes, I fell for it. Then I heard two key clues; the only thing they were going on is the one call and there was construction work in the garage. At that moment, I knew that this was all just a waist of time, some dumbass heard a hammer drill or concrete nail gun (which is actually a gunshot) and shit his/her pants, called the police and several hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars went to waist.

I can believe that some dumbass office worker who has never done an honest day's labor in their life would mistake normal construction noise for gunshots, what gets me is the response? Hey! I know, send a couple of guys to check this shit out before you go all commando and close down Capitol Hill and bring in the FBI HRT team to take down all the hostiles. Methinks someone is watching too much 24 lately and fancies himself a Jack Bauer. You and I are working damn hard to pay for all this shit and its being pissed away chasing down noises and not actuall bad people!

So I guess to be a part of the solution, I'll post some tips for the many many dumbass office workers out there.

1. Know what a God Damned gunshot sounds like! You can do this buy going to a range and shooting one.
2. Don't assume what sounds like gunfire actually is gunfire, there are many things that sound similar that aren't
3. Don't call the police unless you KNOW someone is threatening life with a gun, you know, see it with your own eyes, that sort of shit.
4. Finally, if you're that God Damned scared, stay the fuck home and suck your thumb you pussy!
   

As for the Police

1. Office workers are morons who don't know what guns sound like, don't listen to them when they talk about gunshots
   
2. If someone calls to report shots fired, send a car, hell send three, just don't call SWAT and every cop in radio range to come and waist our money searching for something that never happened on one fucking call!
3. Has anyone else called in? You would think in a big office building, someone else might have heard the shots too, guns are loud you know!
   
4. If you get a shots fired call, make sure some shots are fired by shooting the caller and the commander
   

I guess its not all bad, at least Congress wasn't able to prattle on about letting illegal aliens have amnesty or how they shouldn't be subject to pesky things like felony bribery or the Constitution.

Cowboy Camping Reduex

Ok, you’ve heard me jabbering (Jose’s favorite word) about cowboy camping for a couple of months now and of course here we go again. The thing that draws me to camping at the shoots is simple. I have a desire to stretch the cowboy experience as long as possible.

I enjoy shooting and I am very competitive. I also grew up role-playing so the idea of dressing up and playing cowboy is just as appealing. The three things that keep me coming back to this sport again and again are the shooting, the people, and playing cowboy. Those three things are not in any particular order.

When you camp at a multi-day shoot you get to shoot for at least 2 days, hang out with great people all afternoon and into the evening, and if you do it right get to play cowboy for a couple of days. At Hooten we just camped and it was fun, but definitely not as fun as it could have been if we were prepared. That’s why I have been pushing for a cowboy wall tent, cots, and sundries. But now there is a new idea crawling around in the back of my head.

A couple of great people have just started up a new club, the Pleasant Valley Renegades. This club is a little far away for us to attend often (It’s about 2.5 hours away) but I’m sure it will be a quality place since it’s on No More Slim’s land and Randy Atcher and Lizzie of the Valley are helping Slim run the club. They have said that if a member would like to put a cabin down by the range it would be ok as long as it was on skids and could be moved if necessary and looked cowboy. Also slim said that if you had a cowboy wall tent then you could also camp right down next to the range. The modern stuff would have to stay up on the ridge overlooking the range. Slim and Randy are already planning on putting in cabins and it sounds like they are going to go for a look and feel similar to Hooten.

I love this idea and the thought of getting a cowboy cabin just keeps popping up.

If Pleasant Valley is as successfully as I think it will be then having a premium camping spot at a range that is family oriented (They are pushing for families to join by charging only 5 bucks more for a family) would be great fun. If I can get the guys to go in on it then we could look to spend 4 or 5 weekends a year camping, shooting, and hanging out with great people. Who knows maybe I can get the old lady and my little princess to come and spend the weekend as well.

So, what would you need…first, a cabin. I guess there’s a Mennonite nearby who builds barns, sheds, and such on skids for about a grand cheaper then you can buy. So let’s start with a 12’ by 12’ building with a 4’ front porch. Then we throw in a full size bunk bed (a couple of 4x4 posts and a bed frame with wood slats should get it done), a wooden table, some chairs, an old dresser with a mirror, a sideboard, and for the other bed either a futon or just a regular bed. All of these items could be made or bought real cheap. They could also be made to look cowboy very easily. Then just add in some odds and ends from River Junction Trading Company, or Conner Prairie, or the Pioneer Village and you’ve got yourself a cool looking cabin. Oh and don’t forget the gun rack!

The only real modern conveniences I would want would be a small refrigerator, a fan, and a space heater. Lights could be provided by little brass lanterns and we could cook on the Coleman stove. Now if the place were big enough an old pot bellied stove would be awesome. I know most of this is just a pipe dream, but still it’s banging around inside my head and it’s easier to talk about it here then to keep bugging the guys.

Calix Meus Inebrians

It means "My Cup Makes Me Drunk." Now why would you want to ruin a perfectly good cowboy sight with a Latin phrase? If you were thinking that then I have a answer for you.

Often cowboys are portrayed as simple, stupid folk with little knowledge outside of roping a steer and riding a horse, but the truth is much more complicated. Trail drives, bunkhouse life, and line work could be tedious events filled with long hours of boredom. To fill this time many cowboys would find themselves reading all types of literature. One story puts a cowhand in a line shack wall papered with old newspapers for an entire winter. After reading the north, south, east, and west walls he was just starting on the ceiling when the weather broke. He doubted he would have made it another week.

From can labels to pulp fiction cowboys would read or find someone to read to them to pass the long hours, but the truly prized works were true literature with Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Sir Thomas Moore are but a few of the prized authors. Having read and reread these works cowboys would often recite favorite passages, memorize favorite lines, and quote specific works. The more knowledgeable this made them appear the happier they seemed to become.

This affectation was not lost on purveyors of sin in the old west. Many saloons, dance halls, and taverns would spice up their names by chosen Latin phrases to attach to their signs, or by taken names from great works and using it for their business. The Oriental, The Alhambra, and the Arabian Nights are but a few examples.

This brings me back to our title. In the true fashion of the old west I propose a title change:

Amigo’s Cantina
Calix Meus Inebrians

Badges!?!....

So the topic of our shooting club getting badges was broached (is there a pun there?) the other day because currently, we are using a plastic badge that people don't like, it isn't period and its cheap. I've done some reasearch into getting badges with Thunder Valley Rebels and maybe something else on them like a seal or logo. Well there are many places that make badges for Law Enforcement and such, but those are really too heavy and too expensive for club badges and they don't really have the old timey look to them. Judge suggested Buffalo Brothers badges, but like always, he won't call anyone, so that was up to me.

Turns out the badges aren't that expensive even with a casting startup fee and a minimum amount of badges. For 15 badges, it works out to $350-$425 or $23-$28 each. That's much cheaper than the modern LE badges and it'll look more period correct and I think we'll sell far more of them. Win Win.... Win

I'm not much for badges, especially my SASS badge, but I'll wear a TV badge simply because I'm proud to be a member of TV and if it would help to promote the club, then I'm all in.

Why are you like you are?

That's what I want to ask Federal Express. You see, normally, if a company ships something to me from Fedex, it takes at least a week to get to me and it usually involves me calling FedEx several times and them toying with me by holding my package at the local facility or one nearby for 3-5 days taunting me while giving me lame excuses about how the weather is bad or they're REALLY busy (like I'm not). They've also shipped something to my town then handed it to the Post Office to deliver, to which all I can say is Wha?! Then there's the old "drop off the package on my porch" when I pay extra to have a required signature. You might say I hate FedEx... and you'd be right.

Fast forward to today when out of the blue a package I ordered three days ago arived EIGHT DAYS ahead of when they indicated it'd be here. The package came from Shenzen, China, yes, I said China, in a mere two and a half days. That's less time than they were going to ship a package earlier in the year from 60 miles away! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it came early, but why would they continually taunt me with relatively local deliveries and then be able to get an iPod from China in 60 hours, hell, I didn't think you could fly to China in 60 hours!

My point is that customer service in the past several years has really gone to hell. Just order some custom leather for CAS or anything else custom and you'll get the standard "four to six weeks" and you'll still be waiting four to six months from then. Of course they'll run your credit card the day after they take the order and give lame excuses and promises. Try cancelling a cellphone or other such service and see how long it takes to get your check from them, think they'd be that patient for you? Hardly!

To all SASS vendors, shipping companies and any merchant in general, if you want to retain my business and loyalty, treat me with respect, don't lie to me and do what you damn well tell me you are going to!

What's in a hat?

Identity, that's what.

When I first started shooting SASS, I bought a cheap straw hat a) because it was cheap and b) because I couldn't get a felt hat to fit my big-ass head. I didn't like that hat, so I got a sombrero and that worked well for a while, but it wasn't made well and the writing was on the wall. Next came the Sunbody Sombrero that was made better and would tide me over until I got my custom felt hat from Tonto Rim. Finally, last year in August I acquired my custom made felt hat from Tonto Rim and I love the hat, but everyone asks "where's your hat?" You see, after 2+ years wearing a sombrero, everyone has identified me with that hat and now its odd for them to see me without it. You want my definition of frustration? try spending $250 and four months waiting on you custom hat only to have folks ask you where your crappy straw hat is!

Oh well, hot weather is coming and everyone will get their wish and I'll wear the sombrero so I don't melt.

That blasted new hat that I love and everyone else thinks I should forgo.

Jabberin'

I've been a little frustrated lately with the fact that I just can't move up in the world of SASS shooting. I have been shooting duelist for a couple of years now and things have pretty much settled at Thunder Valley that I finish behind M'Bogo and Randy Atcher. Nice guys and very good shooters, but I'm tired of finisihing in the same place and I got to wondering how I would finish shooting two handed Traditional style. I guess I made the mistake of mentioning this too many times to Copper Quincy during our drive to/from Kentucky and now I've got a reputation as "Jabbering" about it, whatever. Since I spent so much time "jabbering" about this, Judge and Copper decided to shoot two handed on Saturday as well. The more the merrier I say.

Things turned out pretty interestingly, I scored my first real win in SASS by besting all Traditional shooters (thanks to a shooter or two for not showing up). I beat everyone that I felt I could beat that was also shooting two-handed and beat one guy I thought I might have a chance at (Fighting Eagle). Most interesting to me was the reversal in positions of Judge and myself, usually, he shoots 2-3 seconds faster than I do per stage (raw time) and Saturday, I shot nearly 3 seconds faster than he did (raw time). I guess he's a better one hander and I'm a better two hander, go figure. Of further interest to me is that M'bogo still beat me shooting duelist, that guy is good! I also figure that if I were to switch to Traditional shooting, I'd quickly get back to the same old rut of finishing behind the same people since I can count 49 and Modern shooters since they shoot the same two-handed style.

The only thing I wish is that Drew First and Zwing Hunt would have showed up as they're good and I'd like to have seen how close I was to Drew and how far behind Zwing I was. But I got the plaque, so maybe its best they didn't show.

Now I just need to get that damned holster from San Pedro so I can compete on equal ground with Judge in Gunfighter!

Classic...!

Well I have the ’66 short stroked and tuned by Gigante Guns. I’ve got the clothes; spurs, leggings, vest, pocket watch, scarf with slide, sleeves garters. And, I can borrow the shotgun since Jose has his TTN hammered double. So that means I’m shooting Classic Cowboy tomorrow!

I’ll have to remember to shoot it double duelist instead of gunfighter, but it’s something different and I think it might be fun. I’m looking forward to running the ’66 and seeing how it works. It feels great, and I can’t wait. My competition might be No More Slim and his birdsheads, but that will be fun.

A Hoot at Hooten

Sorry it has taken me so long to update, but alas I have been very busy. Last week at the Kentucky State shoot was a ton of fun. Yes the vendors were better in the past. Yes “something” seemed to be missing. But the shooting was great, our posse was awesome, and I enjoyed the camping even if the weather didn’t cooperate.

Friday was gorgeous and it didn’t take us long to check in a set up a great little campsite. We hooked up with the Thunder Valley boys and girls and drank a few beers. Redneck Rebel, Marshal Spencer Owen, Abu, Graver, Lizzy of the Valley, and Randy Atcher were all staying at a really nice bed and breakfast about 15 minutes from the range and they invited us to have a steak dinner with them Friday night. We didn’t take long to make up our minds. We had a great dinner, drank everything we could get our hands on then crawled into the sleeping bags. That night it must have gotten down to about 40 degrees and man that can be cold when you aren’t expecting it.

Saturday was beautiful, and the stages were a lot of fun. The shotgun targets were giving me fits and weren’t going down very easy. I had to make up 5 targets in the first 4 stages, but everything else was clean so even though I was adding about 4 or 5 seconds a stage I was happy overall. By the time the day was done I was still clean even though the clean match jitters hit me hard on stage 10. We finished the day smoking cigars, drinking beer, eating BBQ, and buying blankets in preparation for the evening.

Things took a slight turn for the worse at about 4 am when the rain started. It didn’t stop the rest of the day. So we had a wet and miserable Sunday, but I managed to keep the clean shoot going and finished with my first clean match ever, and at a State level match to boot!

Copper took some fantastic pictures and everyone had a good time. Our posse was fantastic with all the Thunder Valley boys, a nice Manatee, a couple of fun black powder shooters from Tennessee, No Purse Neuce, and the world record holder Widowmaker. Everybody worked hard and made the 2 days fly by. I picked up a short stroke kit from Manatee and Jose should be getting it put in my ’66 real soon. I generally hate the award ceremonies but these seemed to be better the usual and I made it home to see my daughter Sabrina before she went to bed. Great weekend!

Kentucky State Shoot

Well, I'm finally warm again! The camping experiment (at least experimental on my part) was COLD and WET! Friday and Saturday were absolutely perfect weather days for shooting, problem is, it got down to around 40 degrees at night, thankfully, one of the vendors was selling blankets. Sunday morning brought the rain and I woke up with water dripping into my eye. Not fun...

As for the shooting, well, Judge shot well, he had his first clean match ever and is rightfully full of himself. I'm proud of him for resisting temptation and not blowing it. Oh, and listening to me when he counted wrong :) Copper Quincy shot pretty decently too, just not clean and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed his first large match.

As for how I shot, well, my pistol marksmanship needs a lot of work, I'm thinking a remedial class or something. There's really no excuse for it, I can do it, I just lose focus and don't do what I need to do; lock out the arm, actually see the front sight, you know the hard stuff.

That said, I was happy with my speed, even though on a stage where I feel that I shot as well as I'm capable, the guy I'd like to beat still got me by 2 seconds while shooting black powder. I'm starting to think this one-handed thing isn't for me. I may try traditional shooting at the next match just to test the waters amongst the regulars at Thunder Valley. All the guys I could compete with seemed to have gone gunfighter or frontier cartridge on me. I ain't shootin black and I can't seem to get San Pedro Saddlery to send me a holster I ordered four months ago so I can shoot gunfighter (which is what I wanted to do from the get-go).

Copper Quincy has the pictures from the shoot and we'll post those as soon as they become available. Copper made the weekend much better with his camping knowledge and gear as well as taking pictures. He also kept me from destroying that guy who backed into my truck at the gas station, its hard to go postal on someone when your cop buddy is with you.

I feel that every large match you attend is a learning experience, so what did I learn you ask?

• 40 degrees is damn cold!
• Don't lose your temper during a stage, 7 misses is rough on the overall
• There ain't a better breakfast than one cooked on a Coleman stove
• Spring Mountain Inn has a mean steak dinner
• Don't mix tequilla, beer, whiskey and wine and then shoot the next day
• Black powder shooters are a hangover's worst nightmare
• Thunder Valley has a lot of good shooters
• SASS participants are good people, most anyway (there's always a Pecos Pete)
• It doesn't matter how large the target, someone's gonna miss it
• Jackasses who drive while on the cell phone should be flogged
• If you hold a state level match, you should know how to hang targets
• Even if you're cold, wet and shooting like crap, its still better than nearly anything else you could be doing!

UPDATE: Copper dropped off the photos last night so I've added some to this post. you can see more of them on my Flickr account.

Hooten!

In four more days we will be heading down to the Kentucky State Shoot at Hooten Old Town. Jose and I were there a couple of years ago and had a great time. It is a fantastic facility with a ton of atmosphere. My bags are slowly getting packed and my guns are far from clean, but I still can’t wait to get on the road. We’ve got tents, chairs, beds, food, guns, gear, and of course cold hard cash for the trip.

We have already shot a couple of times this year, but I can’t help thinking this will be the real kickoff to the CAS season. At least it feels that way to me. If you’re a cowboy shooter and you are not going to Hooten for this match then shame on you. If you are going, then look Jose, Copper and I up for a cold one.

Cowboy Camping

In a little over a week Jose, Copper, and I will be camping at the Kentucky State Shoot in Hooten, KY. Jose and I have been to several state level shoots and have always had a good time. In 2004 we went to Hooten and loved the atmosphere of the place, but hated the 40 minute drive every morning from the nearest hotel. We decided if we went back we would stay on site. So we have our modern camping equipment and it should be a lot of fun. But when I think of camping at a cowboy shoot, this is what I would like to see.A true period style campsite, and while the picture shows one a little over the top I would still love to have the canvas wall tent, canvas dinning fly, wooden chairs, tables, camp boxes, cots, water barrels, and all the little do-dads that would round out a true old west camp. Money is the only problem; all those things cost money, so for now we will just take what we can get. Thanks to Civil War Reenactors in Photos for the image.

Ranger Camp

I have never met Captain George Baylor. I saw him on the TV show “Cowboys” once. I’ve read his articles in the Cowboy Chronicle. So, I know him only through a brief interview on TV and by reading his articles. All I can say is the man’s amazing.

Jose has a link to Captain Baylor’s Ranger Camp on the left. Click on it and go read his thread on Getting Started in Cowboy Action Shooting. It’s what I did when I started this game and while surfing the web today I ended up back there, finding it just has fun to read today as it was informative five years ago. If you wanna know what, why, and how Jose and I do what we do go check it out, but be careful you might get hooked.

Inventory

Being as how my gun accumulation has reached the ten barrier, and because I want to have the information in one place, I downloaded the Insurance Information Institute's free home inventory software. This program is excellent in that it basically is a database of your possessions, you can put everything you own in the database or just the important stuff like guns. You can just list the items without any pictures or accompaning documentation, however, with a digital camera it is relatively easy to add photos of the item and scans of receipts.

I simply added my guns to the database as I think its overwhelming to think about putting every valuable item I own in this thing with a picture, receipt, serial number, model number, where I bought it and the date of purchase and replacement value. Yeah, just the guns for now. Maybe the comptuers and then TVs and such, but EVERYTHING?!?! sheesh! I've got a job already.

Once you get everything in the database on your computer, DON'T FORGET TO TRANSFER THE FILE OFFSITE! it would do no good to have this important document sitting in the same house as your guns and other valuables in the event that someone breaks in and steals stuff or a fire or natural disaster. My house is where I keep all my stuff and if it's gone, my stuff is gone. So I transferred the file up to my server at work. You could burn it to a CD and take it to a safe deposit box as well. I also "printed" the file as a PDF so that I wouldn't need the III's program to view the goodies. Again, you could print off the list (though its gonna be long) and put it in a safe deposit box.

I guess I feel a little better that if something happens to my guns, I can accurately report my loss to my insurance agent.

Ssshhhh!

I spent this evening working on another of Judge Mint Day's guns. I installed the "Whisper Springs" that we picked up at the last main match into his '66. I went ahead and tore the gun compltely down and did an more thorough deburring and slicking up of the gun, though to be honest, these guns don't need as much work as a '92 or Marlin 94. The main way you improve a '66 or '73 is to lighten the springs on them. So the Whisper Springs are part of that equation, they replace the factory lifter and lever springs which are inordently heavy. The Smith Shop invented the Whisper Springs and they replace the stock heavy springs with some piano wire. For $35 they're probably worth it because if you grind too much off the factory springs, you have to throw them away and do over.

The only other spring that can affect the cycling of the '66 is the hammer spring and they are heavy as well. I pulled this one out and had to shake my head as the milling marks on one side of it were so rough you could probably cut wood with it like a saw blade. I clamped it down and smoothed up the sides with a file, then took a drum sander to the concave part of it to elliminate the milling marks there. Milling marks btw will cause a spring to fail, so its important to get rid of them. I then cleaned up the hook on the end so that the yolk on the hammer would run smoother. Upon reassembly, I shimmed a couple of thin washers under the spring to further lighten it.

The deburring and slicking up consisted of me cleaning each part thoroughly, running my hands over it to feel where the burs were and removing them and then stoning the contact surfaces where needed. Then I reassembled the rifle. All told, it took me a little under 3 hours, I doubt that I'll strike any fear into the hearts of the good gunsmiths, but I think the rifle is a major improvement now. I probably should have taken photos, but I don't like pausing to do something totally unrelated while I'm working, so maybe next time.

BTW Judge, you WILL want to check out this rifle before the KY State match since I changed the hammer spring strength. I'm 90% sure it'll fire, but you want to be 100% sure. Oh, and you owe me a beer at the least for this job :)

Diversion

Something that I thought was SASS related and definitely of interest is the "Deadwood bather". The healthy young lass who is seen during the opening credits of the HBO Deadwood series. Yeah, its a stretch, but you'll thank me for it. That's a posse member that'd make things more fun.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

After the shoot yesterday I had to check the calander because I could have sworn that this was April and not July. The official temperature was 87 degrees, I know it was hotter and they didn't give the heat index, but I'm pretty sure it was 150 or 160. Anyways, it was hot, we sweated A LOT! and had our resident elder statesman nearly succumb. But in the end, all of us made it through and I at least had fun if I didn't shoot particularly well (11 misses, ouch!). I got real sloppy and it wasn't the heat, it was just me being sloppy with sight picture and slapping the trigger.

I shot Judge Mint Day's '66 since he wanted to shoot B-Western and use my Marlin (funny, I recall him owning a '92 which is legal). After two stages, I was using my Marlin again because that '66 is annoying to me. The sight picture is disturbed too much, once when the hammer falls and again when brass is ejected, love the Marlin. I suppose when the '66 is short-stroked and massaged, it will be better, I bought a set of whisper springs for it after the shoot from the local purveyor of gunsmithing goodies Manatee. He's an alright guy when you're handing him money ;)

Judge shot pretty well, but that's because he's sneaking off to practice, here I am slaving away on his guns and loading his ammo and he's sneaking off to practice, what a pal!

April’s Main Match!

Yesterday was the April Main Match at Thunder Valley. This was more special then usual. Several shooters from Illinois and Michigan came down to shoot with us and I think they went away with a great appreciation for Thunder Valley and the guys that run the show down there.

Copper Quincy and I drove down on Friday and set up the tent. We were doing a little dry run for our camping plans next month at the Kentucky State Shoot and were looking to see just what we had and make sure everything worked well. When we arrived there were already 5 campers and a couple of tents. After getting everything set up we sat around with Vaquero Hayes, Fighting Eagle, Randy Atcher and Lizzy of the Valley drinking and shooting the shit. Pretty soon the camp site had put together a little impromptu dinner and we stuffed ourselves on Buffalo Burgers, Bratwursts, Beans, Corn Pudding, and Pineapple Upside-down Cake. We finished the night by sipping libations, smoking cigars and hanging out around the campfire with Zeb, Shoshone Slim and the other boys from Illinois.

We survived the warm and windy night and the next morning looked to be a great day for shooting. I dressed up in my B-Western finery and got ready to go as Jose showed up along with about 50 other shooters. Jose and I ran a posse and things started well, but the nice day turned into a record high scorcher and as the thermometer in the jail cell read 100 everybody started to loose some mental focus. I had to make a couple of tough calls as the RO and even had to give my first stage DQ when a shooter bumped his rifle as he moved and broke the 170 with an unloaded firearm. By the end of the day we were all hot, wet, and tired.

Now the shooting wasn’t bad for me at all. I ended up with 1 miss for the day and some nice steady times averaging in the low to middle 30’s. I did have one brain fade and slip hammered a round and then forgot which gun it was in (gunfighter will do that to you) until Jose helped me out. I finished 9^th overall which made me very happy since there were some great shooters present. Copper Quincy shot better then ever by having a couple of stages in the high 30’s and looking very smooth with all his guns. Jose had way too many misses, but his shotgun looked good most of the day. Consistency needs to be his mantra for the year.

The only bad thing for the day involved one of our most beloved shooters. El Paso is in his 70’s and one of the nicest men you will ever meet. He loves to cowboy shoot and hang out with the guys. Well, he got overheated again and collapsed. This has happened to him before, he basically refuses to quit and pushes himself too far. We got him hydrated and I sat him down in my car with the air on high to cool him down and after about 30 minutes he was doing ok. I just wish he would take care of himself and let us know when he is starting to feel bad.

I can’t wait for the Kentucky State Shoot. I will probably fall flat on my face after having a couple of great matches, but I think camping and shooting for the whole weekend will be a blast. If you are in the area, look us up…who knows we might even have a sign.

April 15th was BAG day and while I didn't buy a gun, I did finally get my Whisper Springs for the '66 I've been waiting for. So I've improved a gun and I think that counts for BAG day.

It's FRIDAY!!!

Good grief this week has drug on for me. Its traditionally my busy time at work in getting ready for the summer technology installations at the University I work for, but this year we got re-organized and the new powers want us to intall four times as much as we've ever done in the past. That news will slow your week down to a crawl my friends! I'm gonna earn my money and then some this year.

What's this got to do with shooting or cowboy action? Not a damn thing. I guess in a way it will make any time I get at the range more special and meaningful, so if you see me at the range, don't give me any crap, I'm trying to have fun and forget about work. Luckily, I think I'll be able to make the KY and IN State shoots still, but I know there won't be room for Guns Of August this year. Maybe if they made it Guns of October or Guns of late September? Definitely doesn't have the same ring to it eh?

I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend, it should be a nice shoot with a lot of people and good food and a lot of BS at the end. Nearly perfect.

Big shoot this weekend

Our local club, Thunder Valley is having a lot of visitors from other clubs this weekend. Several are coming over from Illinois and several from the northern part of the state, so it should be a big turnout. I think all the cowboys from Illinois and a few locally will be camping on site Friday and Saturday, I believe there'll also be some shooting going on Sunday if enough folks want to. Redneck Rebel and Ellie May Moore are awfully hospitable people who will, I'm sure, impress the out of towners with their hospitality and fine shooting facilities. I need to figure out what I'm gonna bring for the pitch-in on Saturday evening, probably beans, but who knows. Judge and Copper are going down on Friday to test out the camping gear we'll use during the Kentucky State Match at Hooten Old Town. The Friday forcast is for storms, so bring your slicker guys!

I've been thinking more and more about the next gun I'm gonna buy, I think it might not be a gun at all, but a safe to store the growing collection in. I really should have one already, but since I live alone, I don't have to worry about children or others messing around with them. The thing I have to worry about is a break-in. That makes me think of my next gun after the safe and that just might be a house shotgun, either an 870 or something of the same level, but probably an 870. I'd put some sights on it and make sure it had a light and possibly a pistol grip stock, but that's about it.

A Marine Magnum or maybe something a little more exotic like this Benelli would be terrific. The internet is a wonderful thing, in looking for the Marine Magnum link, I found that Remington is putting out a Tactical 870 line with some of the stuff I want.

I had to add this picture of an example of what I DON'T want! Good grief, ghost rings and a red dot? This looks unwieldy as hell and I'd hate to try clearing my house with it. Some bubba is pretty happy with it I'm sure.

Judge isn't the only gun snob here btw.

Where is it?

Come on Jose, we have all been patiently waiting for more pictures and updates on the RIA! Inquiring minds want to know!

As for me, I spent the weekend learning how to ride an Iron Horse. Yes that's right, I now have my Motorcycle Endorsement and know the meaning of T-CLOCS and FINE-C. Here is a picture of the class. Most are my new MPU (Motorcycle Patrol Unit) members. I'll let you figure out who's who.

Number 53

Carnival of Cordite #53 is up. Check it out, and cross your fingers for me so I can pass my motorcycle test.

Carnival of Cordite

The Carnival of Cordite #52 is finally up.

Gun Blogging at it's best.

1911 Pron

Here is the Rock after the weekend's work. Not much to see here, I took a photo from the only angle that really showed anything new and that's the polished barrel. Oooohhh Aaaahhhh...

As for my Kimber's new trim, I'm not sure one way or the other. I thought I'd love it and I'm just all "eh". I guess I've evolved my taste in that I'm liking guns to look more like working pieces nowadays and shiny, glittery parts aren't workman-like. One good thing is that stainless won't show wear from carry like the other parts were showing. I got the old parts so I can always return it to factory. For now, I'll see how I like living with it.

Mad Max

I just heard that Max Montana joined Thunder Valley. There goes my shot at gunfighter for the year! I just wish he were someone I could look at and say “All I’ve got to do is bring my A game and I got a shot!” But, my A game is still 7 seconds slower per stage.

It’s actually great to have such a talented shooter join Thunder Valley, because it helps make the club look good, and besides there is always B Western.

Now I sound like Manatee.

So Jose, where are the pictures of the rebuild and the new Kimber look? You can’t put up a post without the pictures! I’m dying to get my hands on the RIA. I think I’ll have to stop by tomorrow and take a look at it.

Rock Build (update)

The Caspian parts came in today. I spent the better part of the afternoon fitting the new extractor and then the oversized firing pin stop. I hope my extractor never gives me any trouble, those are a bitch if you want them to look good at the back of the slide. The slide stop dropped right in. This morning I spent a couple of hours doing more blending of the frame to the grip safety. I don't know that I'll ever be fully 100% satisfied with it, but then it's my first time doing it.

The tolerances on the Rock will be tighter once I'm done. That may not be as good a thing as it sounds, you want it to function first and formost. I figure you start out tight and work it into shape though, like they say, its easy to take more metal off, its damn hard to put back on.

I've replaced the slide stop and thumb safety on my Kimber with stainless components to see how it looks. I need to either polish them up to match the slide/hammer or make them a dull luster like the trigger, I think I'll see what polished looks like and then dull it up if I don't like it.

Hour count on the Rock is at 9 hours.

To the Max

As Judge mentioned in his Main Match post, Max Montana came to shoot at Thunder Valley this past weekend and after looking at the scores I can truly say that I hope I don't shoot against him again! You see Max placed 5th in GF at EoT last year, so that makes him darned good.

I'm not trying to embarass Judge, but Max beat his time by 64 seconds, compare that to the remaining three gunfighters who were seperated by 19 seconds. He's kind of in his own class being as how he was second overall in the match beating several good shooters and a couple of VERY good shooters.

I'm really glad he didn't shoot duelist...

As for how I shot, well, I think I did pretty darned well. I had four misses, but that's a low to average number for me. The big improvement for me was that ALL of my times were under 40 seconds and that included my foul-up stage where I jacked a live one out of the Marlin. I outshot Hardscrabble (barely) and that's a good indication. He was shooting GFer so I feel pretty good about that. I placed 16th out of 41 shooters and that made me feel better. I beat those I can and got beat by those I should have gotten beat. Best of all, I came darned close to knocking off Randy Atcher who had an off day with 5 misses and a procedural. (his raw time was 19 seconds better)

Speaking off Raw times, mine wasn't so bad, like I said, 19 off of Randy, but 11 off of Manatee (who won Duelist) and better than Abu and Graver. The next Duelist after me is Copper Quincy 66 seconds back. I guess I'm keeping touch with the front runners. And I did that with my mule ear shotgun!

Aside from scores, the weather was perfect, the guns were flawless as well as the ammo. If anything, I've got good equipment and supplies thanks to my gunsmith and reloader (ME).

Now if I can just get San Pedro Saddlery to send me my holster I paid for back in December, I can start chasing those dammed gunfighters!

Avg. Raw Time
Judge 33.21
Jose 35.21
Is that 2 seconds a mule ear? My ejected live round? Gunfighter vs Duelist? Judge being better? Probably a little of each, but I'll get there and I'll have my day.

Rock Build (stage 1)

I started getting parts in to work on Judge's RIA 1911. The Beavertail safety, springs, tactical mag catch and assorted items came first.

Fitting that beavertail is one lot of filing, boy do I need a bench grinder. You can see that the safety really changes the look of the RIA.







Different look at the upsweep of the saftey and the "bump" at the bottom. To make this work until I get in the backordered Cylinder Slide Hammer group, I had to bob the hammer. I installed the hex head grip screws and they look fine with the original style checkered grips that Judge bought.






Here's a closer look at the hammer, after reforming and bobbing the hammer, I ended up taking off all the checkering, so I cut in some serrations free-hand to make do until the new hammer is in. I didn't do a horrible job and it is certainly much more usable than a slick hammer.






This final shot illustrates that I still have some shaping to do to blend the frame and the safety properly. Judge, you got a final finish in mind?

So far, I have 5 hours in on the gun with many more I'm sure to go. Observations? I need more tools (especially a grinder). I ordered Kuhnhausen's 1911 book as well as a tactical mag catch for my Kimber since I liked the one that is on the Rock right now. I'm not sold on two piece guide rods, I don't get why anyone likes them. I'm suggesting Judge go with a one piece and I'll see if Midway will take back the two piece. The bench block I bought is worth the price just for removing the mainspring pin. I like the look of the bobbed hammer.

Range Gear,
...or what to wear when blowing shit up.

Ok, so we aren’t actually blowing shit up, but I liked the title. I recalled a conversation I had with the new cowboy on Saturday, Wild Card Reno McGee, and it got me thinking. He made a comment about gun carts and I cautioned him about the size of his gun cart. “No matter how big you make it you will fill it” I said. I believe that, but when I started looking at all the stuff I drag around from shoot to shoot I realized that cowboys aren’t much different then are tactical brethren.

Having attended several multi-day shooting courses by some of the best in the business, and teaching a few of my own I decided to give you a list of what you should take with you to your next tactical course. Later I’ll compare the list to what you should take with you to your next multi-day CAS event.

So here is my list, in no particular order.

Eye Protection: You will need dark lenses for bright days, and clear lenses for overcast and or night shooting. Any other color (amber/blue/yellow) is purely optional, but most schools will require the 2 types mentioned. I always bring three sets, dark, amber, and clear. I find it covers all of my needs.

Ear Protection: When we are talking tactical shoots then I’m talking over the head ear protection, the bigger the better. You might also want some foam ear inserts to improve hearing protection. My personal favorite is a pair of Peltor electronic hearing protectors with foam ear inserts. I can turn up the volume on the electronic ears and the automatic cutoff along with the foam inserts stops all the big bangs.

Holster: You will need a quality holster with belt loops. The plastic ones like Fobus, Blackhawk and Uncle Mikes can work, but I would stay away from them. If it’s a CCW course then bring the holster you are going to carry for CCW (if it’s one already mentioned then we have to talk). Galco’s and DeSantis make quality holsters that will work just fine…Of course Mitch Rosen makes the best.

Belt: Your belt will hold up more then your pants. It will need to secure your holster/gun and magazine pouch reliably and in the same place all of the time. If your Sears brown belt will do that, then go for it. The odds are it won’t so make sure your belt is up to the task.

Magazine Carrier: Along the same lines as your holster. The wonder plastic will work, but it’s not the best option. You will use these more then the holster so make sure it has belt loops, stays in one place, and can stand up to the pounding.

Flashlight: I’ll not get into the whole flashlight thing, but if you don’t have one then you are missing out on one of the best defense tools in existence. Most handgun courses will do some night fire so you will need a flashlight. A Surefire Nytrolon will work just fine, but why stop with one. I would recommend bringing two flashlights (Maybe a weapon mount light like the M3 and a hand held light, or two sizes of handheld lights, options people, options!) and spare batteries.

Magazines: You will need 6 to 8 quality magazines. I would shoot for 8 because the more you can load in advance the less time you have to spend bent over the case of ammo. Make sure the magazines you bring to the course are good ones and not the old rusty crappy ones you keep for play day at the range. You spent a lot of money for your training; you need to get the most out of it.

Cleaning Kit: You will probably need to clean your gun several times. Usually you will not have to do a full tilt, breakdown cleaning, but you will have to maintain the weapon or malfunctions will rule the day. At the minimum bring some solvent, a nylon brush, a rag, and a bore snake. That should solve all of your problems. You should also through in a multi-tool for minor repairs.

Knee Pads: Concrete, gravel, and kneeling…nuff said.

Elbow Pads: Concrete, gravel, and prone positions…nuff said.

Hat: You are going to be outside and that means dealing with the elements. After a day of having the sun beat down on your head you will be wiped out, and if you weren’t prepared you could be miserable. Cover your noggin. Trust a bald guy, weather and spent brass can ruin your week.

Bandana: You might not think this is a must, but read the above entry and apply that to the back of your neck. I prefer a Buff. I can cover my head or neck with it and it’s light, comfortable and easy to use.

Sun Screen: You would be surprised how many people think the lobster look is a good thing.

First Aid Kit: If you shoot yourself then you will have to hope that everyone else is prepared to render aid, because that is not what this first aid kit is about. This is about dealing with the bumps, bruises, minor cuts, bee stings, sprains, and bad lunches that come with this kind of thing. Band-aids, mole skin, athletic tape, lip balm, pepto bismal, ibuprofen at the minimum.

Raincoat: Everybody shoots in the rain. Be prepared for it.

Footwear: Boots, comfortable boots, I would also bring 2 pair just incase it rains since there are few things worse then wet boots. Avoid sneakers, flip flops, and sandals. You will be running over rough terrain (gravel) and want the most support and comfort possible for several days of this.

Clothes: Your clothes should be functional and appropriate for the location, environment, and weather you are expecting. Avoid shorts and go with lightweight long pants. Many people think it is a requirement that you were BDU clothing to the range. It is not, and don’t be that guy. If you want to look gun chic and you got the money for it then go for the Royal Robbins 5.11 look. Sig-Arms and Woolrich both make equivalent clothing. If it’s a CCW course then you will need to bring clothing that will conceal your weapon. A light weight jacket or vest will work just fine. And make sure you bring enough for the entire event. You might not have access to a laundry and after a torrential down pour you are not going to want to wear the same thing the next day, trust me on this.

Ammo: Do Not Bring Reloads! Make sure you bring quality factory ammo. I have seen a person’s entire week and 1,000 dollars blown because the decided to bring their new wizbang reloads that went belly up. Reliable factory ammo will get it done and make sure you bring about 25% more then required just to be on the safe side.

Spare Gun: if you’ve got it bring it. It will have to be the same caliber unless you just happened to pack along the ammo for it as well. It is best to be the same make and model for ease of transition.

So there you have it, your range gear list for your next tactical school or shooting event. Now keep this in mind because in a couple of days I’ll make a list for a CAS event and we can compare the two.

Ok, This aint cowboy, but it does have some gun references, and damn it's just plain funny.

http://www.wimp.com/nut/

These guys get it.

March Main Match

Yesterday was the first main match of the year. It was a gorgeous day, bright sunshine and 45 degrees. 41 shooters showed up at Thunder Valley to knock off the winter rust and start having cowboy fun again.

Jose picked me up at 0730 and we met Copper Quincy at 0800 for breakfast. As usual we were some of the first to the range and quickly got our gear together. While we were waiting Jose lit up a Vegas 5 and I enjoyed a H. Upmann. Jose and I were posse marshals so we ended up on separate posses. We also were too busy to take photographs, but I promise to fix that problem next month. We had a great turnout with some great shooters; Vaquero Hayes, Redneck Rebel, Fighting Eagle, Graver, Abu, Rapid Lee, Max Montana, Indy Kid, Calamity Kelly, Randy Atcher, Lizzy of the Valley, Nomore Slim, Manatee, Clyde, Drew First, Marshal Spencer Owen, Hardscrabble, and Swamp Rat Willy just to name a few. We also had some new faces; Baron Von Cisco, Wild Card Reno McGee, and Ace all of which I hope will come back.

I can’t speak much for Jose or Copper, but I shot well. I had three misses for the day all of which were caused by a strange case of the jerks. The new Gigante Sight on my rifle worked fantastic and I was smoking with my shotgun. I wasn’t as fast as I have been, but it felt good, and I seemed to be much more consistent then usual so if I can keep shooting like that all year I will be a happy man. I finished 2^nd in Gunfighter because Max Montana shot gunfighter and he is just amazing. I didn’t realize he was shooting in the same category (he usually shoots duelist) and when they read off the awards and I was second I was trying to figure out who beat me. When they read his name I just sighed. Max finished second overall and I finished eleventh overall so that tells you just how much better he is right now. Ahh, if only I had time to practice.

A few beers in the garage after the shoot with the boys and some very funny incidents involving blanks and balloons that I’ll let Jose talk about rounded out the day….Priceless.

Rock Island Love Fest

Yesterday was my first day at the range with my new Rock Island and I have to say I was impressed. I will admit that the gun never made it to first base before I changed something. The grips were swapped out for standard Government Issue Colt grips before we ever left for the range. It was a perfect day with the temperature somewhere in the low 50’s and bright sunshine.

I started with basic 230 grain FMJ rounds from 21 feet. On the seventh (7) round the slide failed to go completely forward. I corrected this with a little tap and finished the magazine. All 8 rounds were within an inch. They would have been in the same hole if not for operator error.

I put 5 full magazines through the gun from 21 feet, 4 from 45 feet, and 2 from 75 feet. On my eleventh magazine I had a second incident of the gun failing to go into battery, and on the last round of the magazine failed to feed by coming into the barrel at a very acute angle. These were the only malfunctions for the day.

I fired for accuracy and function. I fired slow and controlled as well as dumping the magazine with rapid fire. The gun functioned well and is more accurate then I am. At 75 feet I managed to keep everything in 6 inch groups and with some of the work I have planned I’m sure I can get that down to 3 inch groups. I also put 3 magazines of Federal Hydroshok, 2 magazines of FMJ reloads and 1 magazine of RNL reloads with no malfunctions.

The grips safety bites into my hand and it will need to be changed for a beaver tail. The thumb safety is a little to small for reliable use and will also need to be swapped. The sights are serviceable for range work, but will need to be drastically improved for combat shooting. The trigger is a little mushy and the trigger pull could be lightened.

I was very happy for two reasons. First the gun is accurate. Second the work I wanted done on the gun is needed so I won’t be wasting money. This is going to be a fun project.

Cocked and Locked

Since we seem to be off the cowboy stuff for now, I thought I'd continue with the 1911 lovefest by talking about the only carry mode that you should ever consider carrying a 1911, that is cocked and locked.

What's that you say, well, since the 1911 is a single action semi-auto pistol, the hammer has to be manually or mechanically cocked before it will fire. There is no double-action mechanism to do this, the slide or operator has to cock the hammer. To maintain a firearm that is "ready" the hammer has to be cocked, to maintain safety, the thumb safety has to be "on". Hence, cocked and locked.

I'll be the first to admit that this carry mode intimidated me at first. After carrying my SW99 double-single action semi-auto for a few years, I was hesitant about having a piece strapped to me that had that hammer cocked back like that. After consistently wearing it for a mere couple of months now, I'm totally over it. I have no hesitation about carrying my 1911 cocked and locked, it just doesn't faze me anymore and the more you hear about "Glock leg" the more you realize that it isn't the gun that is inheritently dangerous, its the person carrying it. The only safety in reality is between your ears.

Some folks say that you can carry the 1911 in other ways to make it "more safe". One such is to carry it hammer down on an empty chamber. That means you'd have to rack the slide after drawing it to chamber a round and cock the hammer. That certainly sounds safe for any attacker! The other mode is to carry the hammer down on a loaded chamber. This would require you to cock the hammer manually, even slower than empty chamber carry and also that the hammer is in contact with the firing pin. Great idea! Neither of these two modes are recommended by anyone with a brain so don't do it. Carry the gun as designed or get a Glock!

Thats AMMOré

Pardon the pun. I stopped in to the local Dick's Sporting Goods store to see what they had ammo-wise since they're usually running a decent special on shotgun ammo and I was in need. Lo and behold they had my favorite cowboy shotshells on sale 15% off, so I picked up a case, which gave me another 10% off. I love bargains almost as much as food! When I can find a deal on ammo or guns, that's especially gratifying as there's usually not any to be had since the margin on those items is pretty slim.

I then poked around the counter and saw that they had their .45ACP Remington ball ammo on sale for 20% off and so I picked up a couple of boxes for myself. Then I got to thinking that maybe Judge would need some for his new pistol, so I called him and picked up another three boxes. There's nothing quite like the smile I get when I'm walking around the sporting goods store at the mall with 500 rounds of ammo, not to mention the bewildered stares from the hippies in this town. Priceless!

Postcript: I almost fainted when the checkout guy knew something about guns and was very helpful! That's something you don't get in the chain sporting goods stores. Now the guy at the gun counter is a diffent story, there's nothing like that blank stare you get when you ask for a box of .45acp and he just stares at the boxes until you finally point to the box or say "that green one on the second shelf on the left".

You killed my bank account! You bastard!

Ok, not really, but it sounded good. The thought of a custom 1911 just kept sitting at the back of my head and after checking out the local sporting goods store and seeing that they had a sale on the Rock Island 1911-A1 at $309 I couldn’t take it.

I bought the damn thing.

Here are some pictures. I haven’t even field stripped it yet and the tags are still hanging on it, but I wanted a good photo record because sometime in the future I hope to have this puppy tricked out.

I won’t get a chance to shoot it until the end of the month and then I plan on running several different loads through it to see how it eats. My big 3 are Accuracy, Reliability, and Accessibility. I want to get a feel for how well it shoots, how well it feeds ammo, and how easy it is to use. I’ll start making changes from there, but I can tell you now those grips gotta go. They are just fugly!

Build gun

One of the things that I've wanted to do is to buy an el cheapo 1911 and go absolutely nuts on it with replacing parts and de-horning and reshaping whatever I want to. Xavier's post about building a floorboard 1911 has some inspiration and in looking around for a new gun that's cheap and can be reworked into something good, I'm leaning toward the Rock Island 1911 Government. It's dirt cheap at $320 and is a mil-spec gun that has a plethora of parts and none of the extra safeties that manufacturers are compelled to add to the 1911. This is one of the things that affects my Kimber, I love the gun, but that safety kind of hinders me somewhat in what I could do to it. Luckily, I'm happy with it as is. OK, I would like an S Magwell, maybe put stainless slide stop and safety on it, but that's it.

I researched what I'd like to put into a gun by reading 1911 forums on the RIA and Hilton Yam's website and seeing what parts he prefers. Mr. Yam makes wonderful looking 1911s and while I haven't shot one, they are very well thought of as tactical guns. He builds guns for tactical and duty use as the name of his website attests http://www.10-8performance.com/ (10-8 being police code for "on duty"). I've no idea what one costs, I'm just pretty sure I can't afford it.

That brings me back to the Rock Island and my plans to make one run as good as a much more expensive gun, say a Springfield Professional or perhaps a Kimber Warrior. This parts list is as nearly complete as I could make it. A slide, barrel and bushing are all that are missing and I figure that if the gun needs those, it really shouldn't be a consideration for a tactical gun and I should pick another platform, like a Springfiled Mil-Spec.

Caspian Ejector $20.00
Caspian Extractor $25.00
Caspian Firing Pin $8.00
Caspian Firing Pin Stop $10.00
Caspian Plunger tube $12.00
Caspian Slide Stop $17.00
CMC Lightweight trigger $17.00
CMC PowerMag 8rnd Magazine $16.00
CMC Tactical Mag release $15.00
CMC Thumb Safety $16.00
CP Shock Buffs $7.00
Cylinder & Slide Tactical trigger set $99.00
Ed Brown 2-piece guide rod $25.00
fitting jig $17.00
S&A Hi Grip safety $35.00
S&A Mainspring/Magwell Flat $75.00
Sights: Trijicon CA02 tritium night sights $95.00
Wolf FP Spring $4.00
Wolf Recoil Spring 17lb $18.00
Grand Total $515

Now exactly why would I pour in that much money into a $320 gun? I won't, at least not immediately. The list is merely to illustrate what it would cost to replace pretty much every part on the gun with a high quality part. Now if the RIA 1911 has a good plunger tube, I won't change it, same goes for the trigger or the slide stop or any of the other parts.

What isn't covered by the list? The truley custom work, oh and tools. Reshaping the sharp edges and enlarging the ejection port, blending the mag well, polishing internals and finally, refinishing the gun. Refinishing brings up another issue entirely, since after replacing parts and reshaping others will require a new coating. Something like Gun-Kote oven cure finish or DuraBake finish would do. Or the gun could be sent off to have a finish applied by a professional refinishing house. Choices choices...

The gun would be a true project as I'd do it a little at a time as money allows, I have two guns right now that I'm comfortable carrying and don't "need" another, but a custom built by me 1911 would be really nice. Of course, would I ever run into the money, a Hilton Yam original would be the top of my list.

Good Advice

A very informative and prolific gun blogger Xavier is quickly becoming one of our favorites. Currently, he has some advice for surviving a gunfight and dispelling those handy witticisms that people regurgitate without thought.

Good Day

As Judge mentioned below, he and I made time to go to the range on Friday to knock off the rust. All in all, it was very productive and constructive. I got to shoot everything I wanted to shoot, there were no mechanical malfunctions that weren't caused by the dumbass holding the gun (seat the mag Jose). The first thing we shot are the cowboy pistols and did some drills for accuracy, smoothness, draws and then worked into a two pistol string. Next the rifles, It gave me the first opportunity to try out the "Gigante" sight on my Marlin. Well, that baby is just tits! There is no way that you should loose that sight. The other thing that occured to both Judge and myself is that the Marlin is much easier to get into shape for SASS than a '66. Currently, my marlin Cowboy will smoke Judge's '66, part of that is due to me being a guy who works on his guns and the other part is due to the Marlin being a more modern firearm. Coil springs and the advancement in engineering make the Marlin a much more simple gun to work on and therefore tune for Cowboy work. I have no illusions though, with a short-stroke kit, whisper springs and lightning of the hammer and trigger springs, that '66 will eventually be the cat's meow.

We moved from rifles to shotguns and I tested my two for function and we did some times on each shotgun, I got to try out the work I did on my TTN 1878 SXS Mule Ear and try out my '97 after replacing the slide spring and lightning the hammer spring. Everything was in order and all our shotguns performed flawlessly. My '97 is getting to the point right now that with the exception of some of the professionally worked on '97s, mine is the slickest '97 I've handled.

We wrapped up the day at the range by shooting tactical pistols (or defense pistols if you like). Judge had his Glock 17 that he carries for the department and I had my trusty Kimber Eclipse CLE II. I got to workout the new Mitch Rosen holster for the 1911 and it is truly a joy to wear and draw from. The early tightness of the holster had me concerned, but that has worked itself out. I also tried out the 200g semi-wadcutters that I'd loaded up and feared that I'd screwed the pooch on them because I'd misread the info on the reloading manual and put in a half grain less than I wanted. My fears were proved unfounded as the Kimber ate them flawlessly and was as accurate as I am (read mediocre at best). Sorry there aren't more pictures from the range, but Judge and I like to shoot and forget to take pictures.

During the tactical portion of the day Judge ran me through several drills that required one handed shooting, movement and use of cover (or a representation of cover). We also did some drills for speed draw and due to the nature of my holster, I was faster than Judge, my fastest draw was .87s out of the holster, the problem is that it came as a total suprise when the gun went off, even though I hit the target, so I don't really count that. I was typically in the 1.15 range. I know it isn't terribly fast, but I don't plan on doing any "High Noon" gunfights soon.

On the way back, we stopped at one of the toy stores on our way back and Judge picked up a shotgun bead to use on his sight, seems he fell in love with the "Gigante" sight and had to have one. We wound up at my house cleaning guns in the garage, this picture of my garage should tell you that I need more room. We knocked out the cleaning pretty quick and then I got to working on Judge's '66 putting the sight together.

First, you gotta take the sight off the gun, I clamped it in my bench vice (with non-marring inserts from Sears). I then drifted it out with a nylon punch and brass hammer. Notice the use of the task chair to support the rest of the gun while in the vice, talk about redneck gunsmithing!




Picture of me struggling with that (to me) tiny bead.



A picture of the problem, somewhere in there is a shotgun bead, honest!
Turns out, during the process I made a mistake and cut the post I soldered on too short and in trying to crimp the Marbles sight, I broke it. Undetoured, I broke out the grinding wheel on my dremel and ground off all the bad metal, drilled the post hole deeper, polished everything up, cold blued it and then inserted the sight and crimped. Funny thing is that the way its shaped now, the sight actually protects the bead from being banged around, so it might be an improvement. At least that's what I told Judge! Heck, he can't complain, he got a sight for the price of a Monster Burger from Hardees.

Anyway, from 9am to 7pm on Friday, it was all guns all day and you can't get much better than that!

Custom Guns

Yesterday Jose and I went to the range for the first time this year. We shot for a good 4 hours and put rounds through all our cowboy guns before breaking out the modern stuff. I’m sure Jose will post a more in-depth review of our range time, but a couple of things happened that got me thinking.

First, I’m a gun nut. I never have enough guns, and the more shooting I do the more guns I want. I’ve wanted a home defense shotgun for a long time, and nothing I can find fits the bill for me better then the 870 Marine Magnum. It’s a little steep for a shotgun, but it’s something I’ve been drooling over for years.

Next is the battle rifle. Everybody at work longs for the M4 and they are great guns. I never really gave the AK47 a second glance. It was for the gun crazies, you know militia members who were afraid of their government. Now that might fit Jose a little, but I’m far from that type. But the more I think about owning a true battle rifle the more I start leaning towards the AK47. Indestructible, simple, powerful, and cheap, now that’s a combination I can get behind.

The Kel-Tec is a gun I’ve also been looking at recently as a backup to my backup. It would serve the function of a true pocket gun that would give me something to rely on when I’m unarmed.

I won’t even get into my longing for a 3 inch magnum and for all of you that keep telling me they are everywhere you can stick it, ‘cause I can’t find any.

But here is the gist of my post. I put some rounds through my little snubby. It’s the gun Jose did trigger work, polishing, and replaced the sight with a XS big dot. It is now a custom gun, one of a kind, and it was a pleasure to shoot. My cowboy guns have all been modified by Jose and now my tactical guns are starting to get the treatment and I love it. Jose does a great job, and even though he's learning a little at a time I trust him to finish up with a great product. So, maybe this will be my next gun.

I’ll pick up an el-cheapo 1911 from Rock Island. Jose can start swapping out parts as fast as I can afford them and then I’ll have me a custom one of a kind 1911. Hopefully it will shoot as well as Jose’s Kimber which is just a dream to shoot.

So, I’ve just dropped about 1400 dollars in this article. God I hope my wife never reads this blog.