Comin' At Cha 09

We're back after visiting our pards in Texas for the Southwest Regional.  This match was highly anticipated with good reviews from years past and good word from the US Open which is run by the same folks.  I truly expected the best large match experience I've ever had and I may have just had it.  Maybe.  The folks that run the match bill it as a party with a shoot attached and that's exactly what it is.  There's plenty to do and everyone is your best friend, they are without a doubt, some of the kindest folks I've ever met and I had a wonderful time at Badlands Bar3 ranch with its beautiful setting.  I've never felt more welcome anywhere.

The weekend started for us on Wednesday last week as we stopped by Memphis, TN to, well eat Bar-B-Que and visit Beale Street for music and spirits.  We hit Corky's early for excellent Bar-B-Que and with our stomachs full, we headed downtown to a hotel.  BB King's bar is where we spent almost all of our time on Beale listening to the house band and sampling a few more food items and drinking excellent beer while enjoying a good blues band.

Thursday was Graceland and touring "The King's" mansion certainly put a legendary American figure into perspective for me.  I was pretty young when he passed and never really delved into his music and life, but this is a truly American experience that allowed me to see why people thought of him the way they do.  The hall of trophies is incredible and while this house is considered a mansion, by today's standards, it is merely upscale.

After Graceland, we left Tennessee behind and made our way to Texas, set up in the hotel and then wondered why the heck I picked New Boston to stay in.  There's really nothing there, the hotel was great, but there's nothing to do.  Long story short, we were in a dry county!!!  I mean really, who'd have guessed that the shoot was in a dry county?  We prevailed however, and managed to find a package store at the crux of two dry counties on Friday.  We also ventured into Texarkana for some of the best steak you'll ever eat at the Cattleman Steakhouse.  This isn't the Cattlemen chain, but a family owned steakhouse that treated us like kings and stuffed us with shrimp cocktail, calimari, clam chowder and a big, tasty ribeye steak, YUM!

Thursday was the Wild Bunch Match, I didn't shoot it particularly well, but I managed to barely make the top 10 of 37, so I guess that ain't all bad.  The WB match was free and started at 3pm on sidematch day, bad thing is that due to some hickups at the start, we finished in twilight conditions, but we finished and had a good time.  Nothing like knocking the rust off before the main event.

Friday we shot stages 1-5 on the early shift, I shot pretty well for me with one miss on the day.  The stages looked fast and initially we thought these were all going to be burners, but they were really well written with choices to make and things that made you slow down a bit.  They weren't dumbed down stages that let you rip away, you had to think and choose the best way for you.  I find it highly pleasing that Judge and I shot stages differently and when reviewing why we made the choices, figure we both got it right.  That's a good stage when there really isn't a single best way to shoot it no matter your category.

Saturday was stages 6-10 on the afternoon shift.  I had one miss on this day, but I was slower, so not as good a day on Saturday.  I'm still pleased overall and the stages weren't the issue, they were all pretty well written (except for one) and I don't think anyone can complain.  Well, maybe the chickens, everyone hated them.

Comin' At Cha 09 stage 8

Sunday, Judge and I headed out for home early.  We didn't stay for the awards, I kind of regret that, but he had to work on Monday and with nothing to really do other than watch an awards ceremony, we figure it was best to head out for Indiana since it was 12 hours away.

Wild Bunch @ Founder's Ranch

Michael Bane has been shooting the SASS Wild Bunch match at Founder's Ranch this week.  He's posted an after action report, who won what and what worked and didn't work (for him).  I really like shooting Wild Bunch at the local matches and would actually like to see it become a category, but it appears to not be in the cards as I think SASS can make more money holding a separate match.  Too bad really, I think they could attract more shooters, that's always a good thing right?

Stage Strips?

Is this an alternative for cowboy shooters at the loading table?  Reloading strips have long been a part of CAS, providing a convenient way to keep track of the ammo you need for a stage without having to carry a box up to the line or back to your cart after you've loaded.  Tuff products have done what Bianchi won't, make speed strips Quick Strips for .41-.460 calibers.  Now if they made them in 10 or 5 round versions, I think they might get some traction in CAS, they aren't exactly period, but then a bright blue plastic box isn't either.

If these hold .45ACP, I might have to get some for WildBunch since I gave my leather strip to Judge (actually, he pilfered it) and .45ACP will fall out of the wooden ones I've made.

Hmm....

H/T to Les Jones

Oh happy day!

Today was the first time all year the weather was cooperative for a range trip.  Sunny and 73 degrees will do nicely.  I loaded up a few 1911s, a few hundred rounds of ammo and headed North. 

Today I had a new horse in the stable, this past week I picked up a Colt 1991A1 off of an individual in Indy and she's a beaut.  I've never been much for blued 1911s, but this one I fell head over heals for the moment I opened the blue Colt box.  I now had my real Wild Bunch pistol.  The 1991A1 is Colt's "el-cheapo" 1911 with none of the frills of the higher end guns, standard grip safety, thumb safety and spur hammer.  The ejection port isn't lowered or flared, the only thing that they put on it that would be considered an upgrade is a set of white dot sights.  This is quite possibly the only niggle I have with the gun, I'd prefer a set of hardball sights, but I ain't complaining.

The Colt shot and functioned flawlessly as it should.  I fed it 230g FMJ factory and some 185g LSWC that I had loaded.  It didn't care witch round was in the chamber, it just spat it out and grabbed the next round.  I also tried a variety of mags, from cheap-ass surplus mags to CMC Powermags to the original Colt mag, again, the Colt didn't give a rats ass.  In fact, all the 1911s I shot today went without a hiccup. 

The other guns I brought with me were my carry officer's model and a couple of Government RIA's.  I was asked by Judge to find out why his RIA shot about 4" high and 2" right at 10 yards.  So I brought mine along and swapped upper parts until I eliminated everything but the slide.  Looks like it needs to take a trip back to Armscor.  After diagnosing the culprit of the RIA's woes adn about two hours and 250rnds later, I called it all a success and headed home.

Wild Bunch Rig

Drool.

I plan on shooting in the Wild Bunch Category next year at Thunder Valley. I've created my own wild bunch rig, but I just recently came across this one by Mernickle Holsters.

It's priced at a hefty 299.95 but it's been designed from the ground up as a competitive rig for the SASS Wild Bunch Category by Bob Mernickle who knows a thing or two about what it takes to make a great holster.

This would also make a right pretty carry rig. Looks like I'll just have to keep right on drooling.

Wild Bunch Rig

Last month I shot my first Wild Bunch match at Pleasant Valley. I had a great time and a lot of fun. I wasn't very happy with my set up so I decided to come up with something different.

I stated with the notion that a boarder town gunfighter who opted for the new wiz bang auto loader wouldn't settle for a military flap holster. So I decided to improvise just like that gunfighter and cut off the flap.

I purchased an army surplus flap holster for next to nothing ($18) along with a leather knife case ($3). I cut the flap off of both the holster and the case. I then used some leather thread and stitched the top of the holster back together and fitted the knife case to the magazine by getting the case wet and letting it dry with a magazine wrapped in plastic inside the knife case. I then cut the back of the holster and knife case open enough to except an old 3" western cartridge belt I had lying around. The rig looks western enough and the holster presents very well allowing you to get your master grip on the gun well in advance of the draw stroke. Of course now I just have to get a chance to use it. Oh, and don't pay any attention to the 1911. It's not Wild Bunch legal, but it was all I had for the picture.

Wild Bunch Fun

Saturday I made it down to Pleasant Valley for the first time this year. I won't try and explain the crazy schedule I've had this year, lets just say it's the 3rd time I have managed to shoot Cowboy in '08 so it was good to get down to my "other" club.

Pleasant Valley has a "Wild Bunch" category started by Jose and this was the first chance I had to shoot the category. I borrowed Jose's Rock Island Mil-Spec and his 97 and shot my Marlin for the match. I had a tanker's shoulder holster for the 1911 and I kept the magazines in my pocket. Not the best set up by a long shot, but I was only there to have fun.

Speaking of fun I really enjoyed the category. I got to shoot fast and except for one stage when I failed to lock out my elbow I was perfect with the pistol. I also had a little malfunction on the first stage and it's nice to see that all of those malfunctions drills I've worked so hard on over the years just run on their own without me having to think about it.

I wouldn't shoot the category on a regular basis because it would interfere a little with the way I do things int he real world, but a couple of times a year would be a blast. I would like to be able to fully load the 97 off the clock and see how the category compares to the other fast categories. I think it's hard to convince people that reloading is always slower then switching guns, they don't call it a "New York Reload" for nothing!

If you are looking for some 1911 shooting with your cowboy come on down to Pleasant Valley, you can even bunk in the clubhouse and shoot the whole weekend. Tell 'em Judge sent you.

The PVR Wild Bunch

This weekend I finally get to shoot a Wild Bunch match at Pleasant Valley. I originally proposed doing this last year and kind of let it sit on the back burner since I didn't know if there would be enough interest. Nomore Slim contacted me a couple of weeks ago about it and after some discussions about rules, we're a go for this weekend. I know that Nomore, Randy Atcher and myself will be shooting WB this weekend, the question is who else?

If you are interested, come join us. All you need really is a steel 1911 in .45 and a couple of magazines along with you SASS legal match rifle and shotgun. It was decided that the shotgun could be any match shotgun to encourage participation. The shotgun will be loaded on the clock, so as to quell any competitive advantage problems with the other categories. The pistol will be shot in place of the normal two revolvers with 5 rounds loaded in each magazine. There will be special rules for handling of the 1911 with regards to when it is empty, movement and how to show clear.

I'm really looking forward to this as it is a new challenge and I hope it is well received by the other shooters. Come and join us for the first ever PVR Wild Bunch Main Match!

P.S. I posted the rest of the videos on Vimeo. Much better quality, go see them all here.

1911's for Wild Bunch

Michael Bane has a nice little post about the upcoming SASS Wild Bunch match along with a list of 1911's for the shoot. Check it out here.

Why isn't this a category? I mean we have special categories for one handed wheelchair geriatrics who only shoot big bore rounds from Civil War era pistols, but nothing for a group that has taken the name for their governing body. Figures

UPDATE: Of course I've already covered the topic of 1911's for Wild Bunch HERE and HERE.

The Colt Meets The Dragon

Back in August after revisiting Xavier's post about the grips he purchased from Mr. Kim Son in Vietnam, I got to admiring the 1911 grips in water buffalo with the hand-carved dragon on them. I had to have them, you see I like dragons, they've fascinated me be it in my early days of RPG gaming or my love of aircraft. At the time I figured they'd look great on my Kimber Eclipse CLE II (they probably would), but they never got a chance to appear on the Kimber. A month later, I ran across the Colt MKIV at the PVR swap meet and picked it up as I've always wanted a Colt 1911 in stainless. The following week, the dragon grips arrived from Vietnam and thus the Colt meets the Dragon.

The first thing I noticed about the grips when I unpacked them is that the carving reveals the inner beauty of the water buffalo horn and gives the carving an almost golden appearance. I was pretty stoked about getting these grips on my newest baby, so I removed the stock Colt grips and dropped on the Dragons. To say they fit is understating the matter quite a bit. These grips appeared to almost suction onto the frame of the MKIV, I find that the come off just as easy, but there's no wiggle in them even without the grip screws installed. Like Xavier, I find this amazing given that Mr. Kim Son doesn't actually have access to a 1911 frame. The grips even fit over the new over-sized plunger tube I installed.

One thing I had hoped the carving would do is provide purchase to maintain a good grip while shooting and after shooting it last Saturday at PVR, I can say that the purchase is good, not up to snuff with checkered rubber, but then what is? It does allow clothing to slip over and off of the pistol while in carry mode and I don't see it ruining clothes like some of the agressive grips or skater tape will do.

As you can see in the pictures I took, the grips fit the frame VERY well and leave almost no gap with the grips landing just shy of the end of the grip frame. The only thing I find about these grips in particular that I don't really like is that the grip screws don't sit flush with the grips, they protrude a small amount, I don't know if there are screws available that have thinner heads and will sit flush, I might try some of the low profile grip screws to see, but it certainly doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for these grips.

In all, I think I've been very lucky to have ordered these grips and found a Colt that I've been wanting, perhaps I'm living right, who knows but I know that I'm pretty darned happy with this package.

New Colt Iron

As noted in my previous post, PVR had "Trade Days" at the monthly shoot and I for one thought it went very well and there was plenty to buy. I wish I had more money on hand, I might have walked away with another gun or two. As it was, I sold my Rossi '92 to a fella who's looking to take deer with it and the rifle should make a good deer gun, light, strong and in a cartridge (45 Colt) that should do fine against Indiana deer.

Having that cash in my pocket, I made a deal with the previous owner of a Colt 1911 MKIV Series 80 in stainless. I've been looking to get a Colt at a good price and I couldn't pass this one up for sure. I even got to shoot it after I bought it which is always good (even though I've seen the owner shoot it before and knew it was an excellent shooting gun). First thing I did this morning is to strip it down completely to see what I've got internally, everything is perfect with the exception of the plunger tube that needs to be replaced or restaked (I'll replace it). This is a problem that crops up on old 1911s and is of no surprise or real disappointment to me, just a fact of 1911 life. It isn't a big job, but it takes the right tool, so it looks like my tool selection will increase.

I do so love the stainless look and even though Judge thinks I should start cutting on it immediately to make it a carry gun, I can't bring myself to go hog-wild on it. I do know that Wilson makes drop-in beavertail grip safeties and an extended thumb safety won't change the gun forever. Honestly, I like the sights, the front is a wider ramp type and the rear have a wider notch than mil-spec and I'm not sure I'll do anything, perhaps the King's Hardball replacement or Yost-Bonitz retro sights, but no cutting of the slide for now.

Anyways, I'm VERY happy guy today after shooting wildly in a very fun match and bringing home new iron.

Wild Bunch Costuming

Since we have been talking so much lately about a Wild Bunch Category lets take a real quick look at some of the costuming requirements.

First, you’ve got to know a little bit about the movie that inspires the Wild Bunch category. The movie starts with Pike and his gang impersonating a group of pre WWI soldiers and robbing a bank. The gang’s troubles start there and culminate in a shootout with members of the Mexican Army south of the border. If you are thinking about shooting this category by all means watch the movie first!

So, in true Wild Bunch spirit a full WWI uniform for an American infantryman would be a great costume. Wool Trousers, Tunic, Pullover Shirt are the basics followed by M1898 khaki leggings, a 1911 military belt, a M1911 “Pershing Model” or M1917 S&W holster, a M1918 campaign hat or an officer’s visor should seal the deal and make you the envy of the shoot.

Of course as you watch the movie you see that they quickly start losing pieces of their costume so not only would it be acceptable, but very much in the spirit of the Old vs. New West to have a mix of clothing. Take “Pike” for example. He changes into a classic movie western outfit with black jeans, white shirt, black vest and cowboy boots and hat, except he carries a 1911 pistol throughout the film and a Winchester rifle…a mixture of old and new. “Lyle” also sports a classic look. Jeans, white shirt un-tucked with a military style pistol belt and cartridge pouch worn over the shirt…perfect.

So when thinking about Wild Bunch costuming think about mixing elements from the WWI uniform with parts of classic Old West dress and viola! The cloths should express the conflict of the times in the same manner that the automobile mixed with the horse and buggy and the auto-loader competed with the revolver.

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.

Wild Bunch 1911

Since it appears that at least one of our clubs is going to start doing a Wild Bunch match at least semi-regularly, I thought I'd hand out some advice in case anyone wants to purchase guns specifically for those matches. The first and most important gun to have is the semi-auto handgun, preferably a 1911 style, though others would be appropriate. Currently, I shoot my Kimber Eclipse in the match and since Judge and myself are in charge, these type of firearms will continue to be allowed. However, that isn't necessarily the case at other clubs or matches, so if you're wanting to buy one so you can shoot Wild Bunch, you better look for something that you can use at nearly any match.



Since Wild Bunch is typically limited to the pre 1920 guns, a modern 1911 with all the bells and whistles really isn't appropriate. The good news? There are manufacturers still making 1911s based on the original design and are very very close if not exactly the same as the 1911 original. First and foremost, I point to the Rock Island Armory 1911 "GI" that is manufactured by Armscor and can be had for under $400. This is one of the better bargains in the firearms industry right now if you ask me. Judge bought one a while back and had me message it into a carry gun for him and in stock form, I find it to be an excellent shooter with in tolerance fit and adequate finish. Is it a Colt? Hell no, but at half the price, its a steal. BTW, I just found out that they make a tactical version of this gun in government and commander size and they are still under $500!



Next up is the venerable Colt. You can find an original out there manufactured by Colt, or you can get one manufactured during the war under license by other countries, most famously, the Argentinan "Sistema Colt". Unless you go with a foreign manufacture, the old Colt will set you back a pretty penny. No fears however, you can also buy a newer Colt 1991a1 which is a slightly updated Colt 1911 (80 series firing pin block). Note, some clubs might not allow it, but I couldn't imagine the a-hole that would. There is also a 1911 replica made by Colt mfg.



Next on our shopping list would be the Springfield Armory "Milspec" or "GI". These pistols are top-notch repros and will serve you for a long time and should be allowed at any Wild Bunch match. They'll run you between $500 & $600.



That's about all I have on the 1911 guns available today, there are others out there like Llamas, but this list will get you into a good 1911 that'll do for Wild Bunch, besides, these guns are just a joy to shoot. That's why I've wanted to do Wild Bunch matches for a while.