What a beautiful weekend. Thunder Valley had its main match on Saturday, and it was great. The day started a little cold, about 32 degrees with a hard frost, but the sun was out and it hit 50 by the early afternoon. With a slight breeze it was dreamy weather for the black powder guys, and the rest of us just found it pleasant.

Not only was this the main match, but we also celebrated El Paso’s 75th (?) birthday. El Paso has got to be one of the nicest guys I have met. He genuinely cares about everyone and goes out of his way to help, even when his body isn’t up to it anymore. For his birthday we had a pitch in lunch. We normally shoot half the stages, and then break for about 45 minutes for lunch. Of course lunch is usually hot dogs and chips, but Saturday was very different. We had BBQ beef, beans of every kind, Mac and Cheese, potato salad, several different slaws, meatballs, corn pudding, cookies, cakes…lets just say that we had over 40 shooters and I bet everyone brought something. I know it’s a cliché by now, but Cowboy Folks are the best.

The shooting went well, not because I shot very well, but because I got to play with my new toy (the ’66) for the first time. Jose and taken it apart and slicked it up a little, but this was the first time I got to make it go boom. The first two stages were a little rough. The rifle functioned great and it is going to be a real machine, but the front sight is ivory and all our rifle targets at Thunder Valley are painted white. That little bead just disappeared out there and it took me well into the third stage to get used to it. I’m either going to black out the sight, or replace it with a brass bead (my preference). My pistols were all over the place, mostly because I was focusing on the rifle and not even putting much effort into the rest. In the end I won the Gunfighter Category. I beat Hardscrabble who must have screwed up somewhere, and Randy Atcher who doesn’t really count because he was shooting cap and ball pistols.

After the shoot we went up to Rebel’s garage and had a few beers. It’s pretty hard to beat a day like that. We have one more shoot for the year in two weeks, I hope the weather holds out.
UPDATE [jose]:
I'm adding the Posse Picture that Lorenzo Lain took during the October (?) main match. As for Saturday's shoot, all I can say is "You sold me rotten taters! Now you die!"

Yeah, I realize that the posting has been light lately, I've just not had time to put together a post that I've been wanting to do on gun carts, there's also some stuff I wanted to do on kitchen table gunsmithing and reloading too. I've spent my time working on my Marlin getting it slicked up and cleaning guns lately. That and there's always something better to do, like watch Lost or My Name Is Earl.

There's been some discussion on the wire about the '66 & '73 winchesters discharging while out of battery. This happens when a cartridge doesn't properly enter the chamber and "jams" the rifle. A lot of shooters instinctively rack the action a few times to try and clear it, well in doing so, you can cause an OOB discharge. This happens when the bolt travels forward at speed and is suddenly stopped by the cartridge, the momentum of the firing pin carries it forward, striking the primer and BOOM! Not good. So be careful when you have a jam with a '73 or '66, or heck, ANY gun! These things are real you know!

Look at this video of a test that Cypress Sam (via Manatee) did demonstrating OOB discharge. Its a Windows Media file.

A special Veteran's Day Carnival Of Cordite is up. Go read it and learn how Silly String is saving soldier's lives in Afghanistan, very cool. Also a reminder about November 19 being National Ammo Day

I gotta put this picture up. I was going through some of the CAS photo’s I’ve taken over the last couple of years and found this one. This was Jose at our first match. We each bought a pistol, and we each bought a long-arm, and we gathered up the bare necessities for shooting. From what we had read, and what we had seen at the two matches we had visited prior to shooting our first one we knew we needed a gun cart. With all the stuff you gotta lug around from stage to stage a gun cart is damn near required. So this was our first “Pimp Ass Gun Cart.”

Hey, it got the job done; it held ammo, guns, and everything else we needed. We used it for a couple of matches until we got one built. Of course by now we each have a complete set of guns, carts, clothes, and all the other stuff. The neat thing I like about this picture is that it shows you that you don’t need a lot to get started. If you’ve got a buddy to shoot with who is willing to split some things with you then you’re good to go. Buy a cheap straw hat, a pair of boots (if you don’t already own a pair), throw on your Levi’s, put on a button down shirt, strap a milk crate to a dolly and you’re done.

Maybe Jose will post his gun cart plans. He makes pretty sweet and simple gun carts.

UPDATE: More stuff in the flicker gallery

“Guns, Guns, Guns” Clarence Bodiker said it best, and ultimately that’s what drives this sport. People can talk about dressing up, the great people, spending time outdoors, and all that other crap (don’t get me wrong, I like all that other crap myself) but in the end it’s about the guns.

Jose and I just bought new rifles. We should be set for a long time, but I know we are both already thinking about our next gun purchases, even if they won’t be for a long time yet. As I said before, I’ve got a set of Ruger Vaqueros in .45 colt, a Stoeger Coach gun in 12 gauge, a Rossi Puma Model 92 in .45 colt, and now an Uberti Yellowboy. So what else do you ask could I possibly want?

How about a pair of Cimarron Richard Mason Open Top Conversions in .45 colt, a TTN Hammered Double Barrel 12 gauge, a Sharps .45 – 70 rifle, an American Derringer in .38 special, andWinchester Model 94 in .30 caliber. That ought to do it for the cowboy guns. I would also like to pick up a Remington Marine Magnum 870, an M1A Scout Squad Rifle, a Kimber Grand Raptor II 1911, and a S&W 625 with a 3 inch barrel. I reckon that ought to fill the gun safe.

Now If I could just figure out how to link the pages you wouldn’t have to run a search, but I’ll let Jose take care of that…speaking of Jose, what’s his wish list.
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For cowboy guns, I'd have to go with 1875 Calvalry Model Schofields chambered in .45 Colt/Schofield, An 1873 Winchester-Style Rifle in .45 Colt, an original Winchester '97 in 12 guage, a Marlin 1895 in 45-70, and a Sharps in 45-70. As for the modern guns. I want a Black Rifle in .223, a Mossberg 590 in 12 guage with light and ghost rings, S&W model 19 or 66 in .357Magnum with 3" barrel, Walther PPK/S in .380ACP, a Rock Island Armory (or similar) 1911 in .45ACP (for project gun), and a Browning Hi Power in 9mm.

That said, I'd also love to have most of the guns Judge mentioned (those M1A's are sweet) and by no means would I limit myself to just these guns. I've already got a Kimber Eclipse CLE II and a TTN 1878 hammered double, so I don't need another of either. Its a decent list that will take me a while to get through and will certainly change before I get to the next gun!

UPDATE: I added a link to my Flickr gallery and started adding pictures.

Judge isn't the only cowboy with a new rifle. I picked up my Marlin Cowboy in .45Colt yesterday at our fun day shoot. Abu (the pardner I bought it from) purchased it because Judge told him he wanted a Marlin and to buy one if he found a good deal on one. Well Abu was at the gun show the day after Judge bought his '66 and didn't know Judge didn't need him to pick it up. In short, I now have a rifle and thought I would post our first gun porn.

As you can see, I'm no photographer, but this rifle is a dandy. I'd suspect it had less than a box of ammo through it before I got it and I got a decent deal on it. There's much to do to make it truly match ready, but I shot it yesterday anyway and I'm very happy with it so far. As Judge mentioned in his post, you can outrun a '92 and he and I are at that point now and the '66 and Marlin will let us push a little more and hopefully start moving up the shooter list.

Carnival of Cordite 37 is up. This week's installment covers everything from CAS to Women in Guns to a laser rifle!?!