Favorite Westerns

Jose brought up Unforgiven in his post the other day and it made me think about Westerns. I love movies and I’ve always found westerns to be some of the best films made. When you talk about lists like “Top 10”, or “Best Of” it’s so subjective, but here I go anyway. I’m going to give you my 5 favorite Westerns…but wait, I’m going to put a time frame on the movie. For today I’m going to give you my 5 favorite Westerns made prior to 1970. I feel like everything made after 1970 has a modern feel to the movie. Here we go:

5. Support You Local Sheriff (1969) I love this movie. James Garner at his finest and probably the first comedy western I remember seeing. Every time this is on TV I have to sit and watch. Jack Elam is perfect as the reluctant sidekick and with a supporting cast of Walter Brennan, Henry Morgan, Bruce Dern, and Joan Hackett the acting and comedy is first rate.

4. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966) Everybody has seen this one, and they should. It’s the best of the Spaghetti Westerns and a classic. Probably remembered the most from this film, however, is the score. Ennio Morricone’s original score can be heard in everything from Hollywood blockbusters to commercials and we instantly know where it’s from.

3. The Searchers (1956) I think its John Wayne’s finest move and works on so many levels. I like a lot of The Duke’s stuff, but this one just has…depth. It has to be John Wayne’s best acting performance, and the cinematography is a wonder. The story is complex with solid performances all around. Truly a special film.

2. Will Penny (1968) What I like about this movie is the normalness of it. I feel like watching this film puts you in the mind and heart of being a cowboy. This was Charlton Hesston’s favorite film as a portrayed an ordinary cowboy working a line shack in the winter. This is another Joan Hackett film and I must admit to just recently discovering her as one of my favorite leading ladies.

1. Warlock (1959) I’ve talked about this one before so feel free to browse the previous posts. I love this movie for the look, feel, story, and action. The acting is not the best, but pretty fun non-the-less. This as my number one proves just how subjective these lists can be. It’s MY number one and the hell with the rest of you.

Forgive me if your favorite isn’t one of these top 5. I left out such greats as Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Fort Apache, Shane, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. But maybe Jose will pick up on a few of those. It’s your turn Jose.

Match Calendar

Just in case there are any Cowboy groupies out there, I created a Google calendar of the matches I may attend this year and put a link to the calendar in the Links section. I would have embedded it in the sidebar, but I can't get it small enough to go in there and not look like hell. It would have been nice though.



UPDATE: OK OK, I think I may have it. I widened the sidebar as well as the entire blog-page itself. That allowed me to do the embed and not have it look terrible. Not entirely readable, but you'll be able to click on calendar events to see what's what.

The internets is weird

So I'm searching YouTube for some videos from the Shooting USA TV show and come across a CAS video from Texas via Japan. Enjoy.



The Comanche Valley Vigilantes is the home of the SouthWest Regional every year, something that Judge and I have talked about going to. This video shows some really good looking stage props, I think it'd be a bunch of fun to go shoot there.

1st vs 2nd

Via David Hardy at Of Arms and the Law, CNN had a program about the betrayal of CCW holders in Virgina by the Roanoke Times.



Cudos to CNN.

While Miguel says the paper doesn't have anything to gain by publishing this info, it does gain two things 1) a controversy that brings traffic to the website and thus readership 2) it advances the anti-gun agenda by outing all the CCW holders the reporter equated with sex offenders and pedophiles.

United we Stand

José and I are both lovers of the leaf…Cigars that is. And, if you’ve noticed we’ve even added a link to Cigar Aficionado’s Blogs. While these little tidbits of information may not appeal to all of our readers I tend to keep an eye on what’s being written. It’s a pleasure to come across a hidden gem of a cigar and I can’t think of shooting without smoking.

Gordon Mott had an interesting post today about the tobacco bans in NYC. He talked about feeling pity for the poor cigarette smoker bundled in the cold outside the no-smoking workplace just trying to get a quick fix. He went on to talk about the differences between cigar smokers and cigarette smokers and how one was or wasn’t related to the other. The talkbackers took this a step further by pointing out how for years they had been asked to leave smoking establishments because the cigarette smokers didn’t like the cigar smoke. What does this have to do with the price of tea in China?

Well, I couldn’t help but see a correlation between what’s been going on for years in the gun community and what is going on in the tobacco community. Jim Zumbo started a firestorm with his comments and we all find ourselves divided between the hunters, the tactical shooter, the gun collectors, and the competition shooters. While there is no 2^nd amendment to protect one’s right to smoke I still see the same divide and conquer tactics and the “as long as it doesn’t affect me” attitude.

United we stand, divided we fall.

Hooten Holler Roundup

Also known as The 2007 SASS Kentucky State Championship! This may become a yearly event for me, its a fun shoot with lots of good shooters, many of whom I regularly shoot with, a terrific atmosphere and its fairly close. The only problem with the shoot is there's no real close lodging, the nearest available lodging is 30-40min away.

Hooten Old Town as I've written about before has a "town" build up next to the range, unlike most shooting ranges where the "town" buildings are just facades and the stages are shot in and around those buildings, the buildings at hooten are real. There's actually a mercantile and church, though the rest of the buildings pretty much disguise for cabins that individuals have built and own to an extent (the range is privately held by Old Man Markum). Its pretty cool and unique none-the-less.

So far I know I'm going and Copper Quincy is coming as well as several Thunder Valley Shooters and Judge may come if he solves a conflict that may keep him home and its not his wife like usual (I kid I kid).  Anyway, if you're a CAS shooter looking for a great weekend, come on down to Hooten on May 4th.

Change of attitude

A recent post by Xavier about a CHL holder who shot someone that bumped into him on a bus got me a thinkin', something I try to avoid mostly.  I thought about my own attitude when I have an iron strapped to my hip, the way I act and what I say around the general public and I certainly don't do or say some of the things I would normally do or say.  I suppose I feel that there is more responibility I am burdened with because I now posses the means to easily take someone else's life.

As Bill Muny (aka Clint) said in Unforgiven "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have."

Besides being one of my all time favorite movie quotes, it is, for me, introspection.  I do think like all persons who carry should about the situations that one may face where I'd clear leather (draw my gun for the novice).  For starters, it'd never happen because I was indignant over some asshole bumping into me, insulting my mother or family, walking on my lawn or cutting me off in traffic.  In short, because someone is an asshole, doesn't mean I get to shoot them down, however unfortunate that may be.

An excellent post by Porta at The Cathouse sums up pretty well my feelings on the matter with this quote

"A handgun is for getting me out of situations that I would not have gotten out of if I did not have one. It is not for getting me into situations that I would not have gotten into if I did not have one."

I don't think I could have said it better given a hundred years.

A Jeffery Boyd from Solsberry, IN doesn't get it, apparently, since he got involved in a road rage incident in my hometown of Bloomington on Friday March 30.  From the Herald Times (subscription required)

According to police reports, Boyd was driving in the area of Fifth and Adams streets. Near that intersection, a white Geo merged into traffic ahead of Boyd’s Ford Bronco — complete with a “Jarhead” license plate — and cut him off.

The local rag can't help itself from taking a swipe at the military by pointing out the Jarhead license plate.  After some road rage driving and arguing.

During the argument, passengers in the Geo said Boyd brandished a 9mm handgun and began waving it in the air from the Bronco, the report said.

Boyd reportedly told the Geo driver that he was going to hurt him and the passengers — including two children, ages 7 and 10.

Why would a person act in such a manner (mind you I've thought of killing many drivers in this town since most are completely brain dead).  His response to police was and I kid you not.

According to the reports, Boyd told police he was trying to teach the Geo driver a lesson, telling him that he should be careful who he messes with, “because you never know when a crazy person might have a gun in the city.”

Really?  And what if the Geo driver had a gun and was as just as stupid as you Mr. Boyd?

Range report

Sadly no pictures since our brains apparently run out our ears when we get to any range.  I'll blame it on the uncomfortable humidity today.  Nice temp, but it felt like a bathroom after you take a hot shower.  Ah Indiana, the humidity capital of the midwest.

The M19 shot well, it'll shoot better than I can make it right now.  That's good right?  Full length double action is different for a guy who's main irons are SA Rugers and 1911.  I'll adapt fine with practice.  A K-Frame is about as small a revolver as I can manage, its tough having hands the size of dinner plates.

The 125 grain loads I developed turned out to be too hot for our tastes, the low end is somewhat manageable in the K-Framed revolvers, but in Judge's J-Frame, they are just plain sick.  There is no follow up shot unless you're doing Anti-Aircraft drills.  The hot stuff is uncomfortable even in the K-Frames.  Luckily, I had purchased a box of Speer 158 grain Gold Dot PD rounds.  I shot them for comparison and they are a much milder load than the harsh 125 grain.  I like them quite a lot and I think Judge may just be swayed, especially after shooting them in his J-Frame.

So now the search is on for a good 158 grain hollow point that has good expansion properties.  From what I've read so far, these expand well at the 1,200 fps range which is the ballpark the Speer GD are rated.  I can't find Speer 158 grain JHP online, there are many other makers and I'll just have to pick one, the Hornady XTP has a good rep as does the Winchester Silvertip and Remington Golden Saber.  For some reason though, a partially jacketed hollow point appeals to me as well as Judge.  For me, it may come down to looks, which is a horrible reason to pick a bullet, but I'm flawed.

One thing I'd love to have during this process is a chronigraph so I can know exactly what the speed of a given load is out of different guns and from load to load.  Looks like I'll have to put that on my list of stuff to buy.  Guns is not the least expensive hobby, maybe I should have gone with stamps?

In other news, we also shot our respective 1911s.  Judge's ran fine which makes me happy to know that my hands were all over it and its been dead reliable since the last of the smithing.  Mine, not so much.  The slide stop kept engaging with rounds in the mag, very bad.  I just tried out some of Brian Enos' Slide Glide and while I don't think it caused the problem, I'll go back to something else next cleaning.  I'll polish up the slide stop pin which is what I think is causing it and try again.  Suffice it to say the M19 is now my carry gun.  I hate having no confidence in a gun!

New Look

I changed the template of the blog and I think this is a better look for us. What do you think?

I also added news (left) and video (bottom) feeds of Cowboy action via Google.

Smith and Wesson Combat Magnum Model 19-3

Well its taken me long enough, but I finally took some pictures of my latest aquisition. A couple of weekends ago, Judge and I went to the Indy 1500 Gun Show and I picked up one of the guns I've been wanting for a while. Judge will tell you that he "saw her first!", well he may have beat me to his wife, but he didn't get the Model 19-3 snubbie (who's laughing now!).

Anywho, what I ended up with is a Smith & Wesson made back in the golden ages of magnum revolver production. The gun was built sometime between 1967 & 1977, that makes it roughly as old as I am and I might say it's held up better. At the show, Judge showed a lot of interest in the old revolver, but it wasn't what he was really looking for, Judge was looking for something in stainless so he can fill the set of magnum wheel guns he's envisioning. Myself, I have no other S&W revolvers, so anything goes, the only thing I was wanting was a more concealable gun for summer carry. The 5" 1911 is a huge hunk of metal to hide.

The gun I ended up with checked out OK, it locked up tight as a drum with no endshake and excellent bore. There were rust spots that I could see in the dimmly lit showfloor, but the gun was original sans grips and that puts it in good to very good range. The seller was asking $350, I paid $325 cash for it. I nearly skipped out of the show because the price of these types of guns in this area run in the $400 range. Once I got it home, my enthusiasm was tempered by the finding of scratchmarks on the right-hand side where the gun was dropped and apparently skidded on asphault or concrete. After testing the gun at the next cowboy shoot, I found that it indeed is a fine shooter, so now I'm back to feeling good.

Next stop was some accessories. I spent almost as much on accessories as I have on the gun itself. A holster, speed strips, springs, ammo, reloading equipment, brass, powder, bullets... After shooting the little revolver, I took to cleaning it up and swapping in new Wolf Springs to make certain everything interally is A-OK. This was maybe the make or break on this gun and the true determiner of whether I got my money's worth. I was very pleasantly surprised when I opened the side plate and cheaned off years of gunk to find an action that was in nearly perfect condition. I mean the sear has NO wear on it and the hammer has just a couple of wear marks on the side. After I cleaned everything up, I really don't think you could tell some parts from brand new. If those scrathes worried me, this put everything to rest.

So I put in the new springs, lubed everything good and put her in the safe while I made up the ammo for the nifty little gun. After listening to Judge extoll the virtues of Federal's C357B ammo and bemoan the fact he couldn't find it locally, I decided to load up my own ammo. I found some Hornady 125gr XTP bullets and looked up a good powder for it and settled on Hodgdon's H110. At 21g of powder, the little bullet is pushed out of a 4" barrel at a reported 1357fps, at 22g, it goes all the way up to 1506fps! I made up 25 at 21g and 25 at 21.7g to test out. Judge and I are going to hit the range Saturday afternoon to see how things go (crossing fingers). I also made up some 158g SWC loads for a milder experience.

Gun Shows, Beer, and the First Shoot of the Year.

Jose and I travelled to the gun show on Friday and took a long look around. My wish list didn't get any shorter, but Jose managed to pick up a fine little shooting iron. As a matter of fact Jose had a pretty fine weekend. He snagged a gun out from under me and managed to pick up the bonus to beat me by 8 seconds at the first shoot of the year at Thunder Valley.

My only bright spot came from the three lovely pints of Smithwicks on the Ides of March (At least it felt like the Ides they way Jose treated me all weekend).

Well Said!

Quote from the Washington Post:

While the ruling caught observers off guard, it was not completely unexpected, given the unconscionable campaign, led by the National Rife Association and abetted by the Bush administration, to broadly reinterpret the Constitution so as to give individuals Second Amendment rights. Indeed, the D.C. lawsuit, by six residents assisted by the Cato Institute, was filed in 2003, just months after then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said gun bans are unconstitutional.

The NRA predictably welcomed yesterday's ruling. According to its myth, only criminals have had guns in the city and now law-abiding citizens will be able to arm themselves for protection. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) counters that argument with the sad record of what results from a proliferation of guns. As he points out, more guns mean only more violence, and the city already has too much of both. It is important to note that the ban on handguns will stay in effect while the city considers whether to appeal.


Response from Matt Haught on 10-8 Forums:

This editorial disgusts me. Have you even read the ruling? Can you comprehend the legal philosophy behind the majority opinion? This institutional prejudice against the right of citizens to arm themselves against threats of violence is a relatively new thing in this nation. There was a time when self-reliance was considered a noble goal, but I suppose the lazy people who expect the government to sustain their every whim cannot fathom such a thing.

Why, if the DC handgun ban was so effective, is there so much 'gun crime' there? Could it be that gun control is not the panacea that it is purported to be? Could it be that guns are not the problem, but rather people? Some naive souls do not wish to hear that, believing in the innate decency of human nature. Well, take a look out into your streets and you will see the results of the worst of human nature. Humanity is capable of attaining the loftiest heights of civil society, but it is also capable of perpetrating far more grievous wrongs than any animal. Utopian pipe-dreams do nothing but make the situation worse. That's what gun control is: a utopian pipe-dream.

The solution to crime isn't gun control; it's self control. You have to change your societal priorities to emphasize civic duty and goodwill. You can't build a society based on the morals expressed in gangster rap music, just as you can't build one based on the rantings of a 1930s Austrian dictator. You need to have respect for your fellow man, and the ability to defend yourself against him if he doesn't respect your right to live.

The NRA's campaign is not 'unconscionable'. Ensuring the forced helplessness of the citizenry at large is 'unconscionable'. Why should politicians and actors have armed bodyguards while the people huddle in their apartments at the mercy of the very criminals you cannot seem to control? How 'democratic' an idea is that?

If you can answer those questions, then perhaps you will see the light. But then again, you can lead a fool to knowledge, but you cannot make him think.

Gun Safe(ty)

After getting my money back from that dead-beat Uncle Sam, I was able to purchase a gun safe.  I looked over the options and settled upon a Winchester safe found at your local Sam's Club.  It certainly isn't the best safe ever, it isn't the biggest, but it fills every need I have and allows me to grow some and I don't worry about breakins while I'm gone.  I'd hate to have some lowlife SOB obsconding with my Marlins and Rugers.

After Judge got off shift, he came over and we wrestled the beast off my truck and into Casa José and into what has become my Cowboy/Gun/Smoke room.  Really its just an extra bedroom in a three bedroom house that I don't use since its just me.

One thing the safe has done is decide for me what that extra room is going to be.  If I've got a safe in it, its now my gun room.  I may see if I can get a more appropriate table/bench for working on guns since I don't like using the dining table that's in there, but I don't want a typical "shop bench" either.  Judge likes to dream that I'll put a couple of overstuffed leather chairs and a big humidor and TV in there.  I let him dream, what can it hurt?

RIP

rapid.lee
Originally uploaded by José Giganté.

I learned today that we lost one of the good guys this week. Rapid Lee (aka Lee Fisher) passed away this week and he will be sorely missed since he was one of the best guys to shoot with there was and generally, a nice guy. Laid back, friendly, shooting for fun and competition and always lending a hand. You can't ask for any more. Lee always had the coolest guns that he shot, from old beater Colts, engraved open tops, Schofields, Henrys, old '97 with a 30" barrel. Seems he had a different gun every match and it was always a joy to find out what he was shooting on any particular day.

I won't get the pleasure of shooting with him again and that thought saddens me deeply.

Lee is survived by his wife and two daughters.

We can all start drooling now

Ooooh... Ahhhh

Grant Cunningham has his latest project gun up. The scarce and highly coveted 3" model 66 S&W. The owner sent it to Grant who explains "he wanted a much better action thanit came with, he wanted to make it easier to handle, and he wanted it to look good."

Looking at the gun, I think Grant did a good job of making it look great.  I'd love to see how it shoots, but alas I don't think I'll be finding a 3" 66 to send off to him anytime soon.  I'm still a little disappointed that CDNN ran out of the 3" 65s before I could jump on  one, I'm just glad Judge didn't get one, that'd been unbearable.

No Second Place Winner

"The only dependable way to learn to shoot a handgun is to start with deliberate, aimed, single action fire at a bull's-eye target until the fundamentals of trigger squeeze and sight alignment are thoroughly mastered....Good habits well learned stay with us for years. Bad habits seem to stay forever."
-Bill Jordan

Sometimes I think I jump ahead to quickly. This year I vow to work more on my fundamentals.

Happy Birthday Jose

Well yesterday was the big man’s birthday so I thought I would wish him well. Did I get him anything for his birthday? Hell no! You see I’m a firm believer in the Man Laws for birthdays. It’s clear that a man can not by another man a birthday present unless it involves liquor or prostitutes. So Jose didn’t get anything from me this year. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

And now for something different

I've been thinking about dabbling in loading Black Powder cartridges, black powder substitutes to be exact.  One of the problems that faces someone shooting both smokeless and BP is the effects it has on the guns you shoot.  If you shoot BP, it helps if you have a gun that is "seasoned".  That is a gun that is properly prepared and lubed for BP will become seasoned like a cast iron skillet so after the shoot, cleanup is easy.

For the most part, I can accomplish this by shooting my hammered double and use one of my Marlins as the designated BP gun.  The problem is the pistols, I have three, two 7 1/2" Vaqueros and one 5 1/2" Vaquero.  IF (and this is a big IF) I want to have two sets of guns to shoot to alternate between BP and smokeless, I need one extra Ruger Old Model Vaquero with 5 1/2" barrel, blue in .45Colt.  Not so fast.  They don't make the OM Vaquero any longer and while I could find one out there somewhere, why not look at things from a different angle.  Why shoot the same guns as I shoot smokeless with?  How about something that looks like it is a BP gun?

In looking about, I come up with a gun that I really love the look of and isn't terribly expensive and can be had brand new.  I'm talking about Cimarron's Open Tops or Richards & Mason Conversions.  These guns are sweet like mom's pecan pie and look about as old timey as you get.  I certainly couldn't be poo poo'd for not looking the part with a pair of these beauties.

Anyone want to buy a used OM Vaquero in .45Colt?

Cimarron's R & M Conversion in .44Colt

SHOT Show!

In a word…WOW! This event was even more monstrous then I anticipated. I will try and write some impressions of the show and give a few brief reviews. I will also throw in some tips if you ever get lucky enough to attend yourself. So here we go;

When we first arrived it was about 11:30 on Thursday. We had been up and traveling since about 3 a.m. so I wasn’t expecting to do a whole lot. Our hotel looked like a set piece from CSI but as it turned out we didn’t spend much time there anyway. We walked about 10 minutes to the convention center and were struck by how huge the place was. As it turned out it would take you a good 15 minutes to just walk from one end to the other. I checked in and got my entrance badge. To get into SHOT Show you must be part of the industry. One of the neat things for me is that Law Enforcement and Government (read Military) count as being part of the industry. If you don’t meet those criteria then you will need to have an FFL or a business card showing you work for a retailer, distributor, gun manufacturer, etc.

We went directly to the Law Enforcement section which encompassed about a quarter of the show. Except for about 3 hours of walking I spent the next 3 days in the LE section. Anything and everything you could want to see was there and even though you couldn’t buy anything you got the opportunity to handle all of the products and to make contacts with the manufacturers.

What was good about the show? You got to handle the stuff, and often times compare it to it’s competitor by stepping 5 feet one direction or the other. You got to talk to the creators, makers, owners and get the low down and what, when, where, and why. Stuff that you thought was junk due to poor advertisement could turn out to be great like the Spec-Ops Brand. You get to meet some very interesting people.

What specifically did I see that was cool? Well the new S&W M&P45 with the thumb safety is very slick. Beretta introduced and new finish for its Stampede and now offers a cut-down Sheriff’s model. The adventure companies are getting into the tactical market so expect some very cool high end tactical gear. Heritage Arms makes a sweet looking .22 and .32 Single Action at a great price. STI didn’t have the new Texican for various reasons, and I wouldn’t expect to see it soon. The entire Taurus SAA Pistol line is very nice, but the Lightning still has a crappy action. The FN SCAR is sweet, but their pistols really blow. A neat little company Kriss Super System designed a recoil system and then made a gun around it. It’s a .45 SMG with little recoil and only a 2 degree muzzle flip as opposed to the 8 degree muzzle flip of the HK UMP.

A few quick rules for SHOT Show;

1. Wear comfortable shoes. Seriously you will be standing on concrete for 10 hours a day.

2. Bring a back-pack or something to carry all the information you collect. I didn’t the first day and now that I think back on it I’m kicking myself.

3. Eat a big breakfast and carry a snack. The food lines were ridiculous and we ended up not eating during the day.

4. Take notes. When you get home people are going to ask you questions and you will be kicking yourself because you can’t remember the answers.

5. Go with an agenda. You will get lost if you don’t have something specific to look at or for. It was very helpful to go with someone writing for the media and to be looking for specific items for units at work. When you talk to the vendors you look like you know what you are doing.

6. Make sure you are not in a Baltimore Ravens Sports Bar when you down 2 pitchers of beer and cheer on the Colts…by yourself.

7. Feel free to wear your gear. Everyone was decked out in 5.11 or some such stuff or their CAS clothing. Tied for the best was the full TAC gear eating dinner in Steak and Ale and the 5 CAS guys in complete old west git-up in the strip club.

That's all for now. If I think of something else I will add it later. For some photo's of the show go here, here, and here.

Too many choices

I suppose its a good problem, but I've got too many choices as to what to do this coming weekend. There is the monthly shoot at PVR, there is the Indy 1500 Gunshow in Indianapolis and finally, my beloved Colts take on the evil Baltimore Ravens this Saturday at 4:30p. What to do, what to do?

I suppose I can't go wrong and I can get a couple of them in this weekend. I know its no shotshow, but then I get to go to these type of conventions for my work and it's no real joy to walk a show floor, even if it is filled with guns.  I predict Judge will look like this guy after the ShotShow (sans hair).

Serendipity

"the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for" - Webster

Last week I picked up another Marlin rifle I purchased from the SASS Wire Classifieds (no pictures, you've seen one before), I had it transferred to one of our fellow shooters who owns a gunsmithing business.  While doing the paperwork and background check a couple of the other CAS shooters I shoot with regularly, which allowed me to indulge in one of my favorite things, talking about guns and shooting.

One of the guys was leaving .45s for the less abusive .38 caliber.  He wants to win, so he wants to reduce the amount of recoil he faces, I suppose I can't blame him, I just don't know why he's wanting to sell his guns, crazy if you ask me.  So he mentions to me that he wants to get rid of his brass and my ears perk, "How much you got?" I inquire.  "I don't know, are you interested?" he replied.   As Judge and Copper know I've been thinking about buying more .45 Colt brass, so I gave him my info and told him to contact me when he knew what he had and how much he wanted.

Just as I sat down after getting home, Mark called and said he had 600 Colt, 600 Schofield and 198 Cowboy.45 Special cases, plus some primers and boxes.  We negotiated for all the cases and primers and settled on a price we were both happy with and I for one was very happy to run across this deal.  Seredipity indeed.

How True!

"If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, shouldn't it follow that cowboys would be deranged?"

New Years Resolution

"The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world... The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come is to teach men to shoot!"

President Theodore Roosevelt's last message to Congress.

Shot Show!

That’s right; I got 2 tickets to the GUN SHOW!

Ok, well I don’t actually have tickets and I only need one…It’s a joke, OK!

Anyway, I am finally getting to go to the Shot Show in Orlando this year and obviously I am very excited. For the uninitiated the Shot Show is the trade industry show for the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor industry. It is the 26^th largest trade show in the world and last year had almost 41,000 attendees, over 1800 vendors, and over 610,000 square feet of exhibit space. You can’t really buy anything at the show since it’s for all of the companies to display their new items, but you get to check out everything. I’m going with a buddy from work that writes articles for several magazines and is in pretty tight with people from several major companies. My buddy Mick is like Charlie San from the “Green Berets”, He gets tons of stuff for free and seems to know everyone so I’m looking forward to meeting some people in the business, doing some heavy drinking with some interesting folks, and seeing all of the new gun stuff before anybody else.

I will try and take notes so I can give all of you several write-ups when I get back.

Battle of the “J” frame

Since I carry one every day for my safety I thought I would weigh in a little on the topic. The first thing you have to ask yourself is why do you have it? Then what do you expect to do with it? And how is it supposed to function?

In my case I carry it in an ankle holster as a back-up to my main sidearm. So, I have it as a last resort. I expect to use it when I am out of ammo for my main gun, or a malfunction has put my main gun out of service, or I am injured and can’t use my main gun, or I’m in a position that doesn’t allow me to get to my main gun.

So tactically where would I be if any of the above scenarios happened? If I have distance the little snubby is going to be a pure defensive gun. I’m taking serious cover and anybody gets to close and “BAM!” If I’m in the middle ground when I have to use the gun then I’m moving and not waiting around to engage someone…in other words back to serious cover. Finally if I’m in CQB then I want quick solid hits. Like Hicks says “I keep it for close encounters”

So how do I expect it to function? Well I need to be able to transition to it very quickly. That means smooth draws and no snags. I am not going to use it at any great distance (over 10 yards). When I do use it I need to hit fast and hard. To me that means I need a hammerless weapon with a smooth trigger, big sight, and a powerful punch…therefore my .357 Magnum S&W 640.

Centennial J-Frame nirvana?

The Centennial line is the Smith & Wesson line of J-Frame revolvers meant to be conceal carried and have internal hammers so that the hammer doesn't snag on clothing or contaminated by the contents of one's pockets. Judge has got one of these guns and I'm sure he'll like hearing the high praise that his little 642 gets from revolver-smith Grant Cunningham in his post about the Battle of the J-Frames. (via Les Jones)

The Centennials also have one less part than the other models:since they have no exposed hammer, they don't have (nor do theyneed) the hammer-block safety common to all other "J" frames. Thatpart, which is quite long and rides in a close-fitting slotmachined into the sideplate, is difficult to make perfectly smooth.Even in the best-case scenario, it will always add just a bit offriction to the action. Not having the part to begin with gives theCentennial a "leg up" in action feel.

I've had this particular gun apart and worked on it for Judge and it never occured to me that the lack of the hammer block safety would make this a sweeter shooting revolver. Sadly, Copper Quincy's 637 does have the hammer block safety as it is a shrouded hammer model (exposed). Maybe you guys can compare actions sometime, I know I'd like to see if I can feel the difference.

The Texican

So I was looking for some gun parts for my nephew today and ran across this new single-action revolver put out by STI. In reading the description, I was very interested in that they claim that with their manufacturing process, all the parts are perfect and fit perfectly thus saving you from sending it to a gunsmith, because, well, its perfect.

The whole time I'm reading all the great things about this gun, I'm thinking "I wonder how much STI is charging?"  I figured that if it sold for under $800, they'd have guys lined up to purchase them.  If it were under $1,000, they'd sell quite a few.  I then saw the MSRP of $1,260.00 and thought "do they really think they can compete with Colt?"  I mean seriously?  If (and that's a HUGE if) I were to plunk down $1,300 bucks on a pistol, I sure as heck want Colt's name on the side so I know I can get that money back if I need it.

Forget it, I'll never spend that much for a gun I'll use at a CAS match, period.  Not when I can buy a brace of Rugers and have $300 left over.  The Texican might be the best thing since sliced bread, but I'll not find out anytime soon.

Maybe Judge can get ahold of one of these at the Shot Show and give us a report on what that action truley feels like.

Cordite

You hear from time to time when you do enough shooting. "I love the smell of cordite" Its one of those things you never really give much thought to, at least I didn't, I know that cordite isn't used in modern small arms ammunition and I'm not loading it in the cartridges I load, so what exactly is cordite? The Box Of Truth knows.

Essentially, it is gunpowder made into spagetti and loaded into cartridges like the 4" shell to the right. (via Les Jones)

Nuts!

Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the famous response to a German surrender demand by Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, the Commanding General of the 101st Airborn Division who were surrounded in Bastogne France.  I couldn't possibly do the story justice, but you can read an account from a then Lt. Col. Kinnard.

We need a few Generals like McAuliffe right now and a political system that'll let them do their job.

New Rules

This time every year the SASS Territorial Govenors (TGs) vote on rules changes for the CAS game SASS sanctions. Some years its good, some years, well not so much. I think this year goes in the later grouping as the rules implemented don't make a whole lot of sense to me and in some cases are already rules and thus rendered redundent or confusing. Here's an item-by-item breakdown

• Item #1 gets on there seemingly every year. Whomever is manufacturing that gun is sure pushing it along (and likely lining some founder pockets)

• Item #2 Great, another catagory.

• Item #3 Many of these are reduntent and this is going to add to confusion during stages.

• Item #4 Tees and tank-tops are already banned

• Item #5 I guess this clarifies this situation and isn't bad.

• Item #6 I was unaware that this was previously handled differently. I suppose its a good thing they added this to prevent a did not finish or disqualified shooter to place.

If they'd have just voted in #5 & 6, I think I'd have been happy, but the rest are garbage and so bad they washed away any good they did with the last two.

The TG/Regulator at Thunder Valley (Vaquero Hayes) is proposing that they not vote on new rules every year at the SASS TG Summit which takes place during the SASS convention in Las Vegas. The argument levied against that is that nobody would come, which might be true, but I doubt it. The convention was pretty fun when Judge and I went and we aren't TGs and didn't care about the Summit.

I suggested that instead of voting on new items every year, they vote items in for a grace period and the following year, those items are ratified or let sunset. That way, mistakes are easier to get rid of, it breaks the climate that they feel they have to change something and gives TGs a reason to go to the convention. Just my 2 cents. We'll see what happens, my guess is that status quo will prevail and nothing will change. At least I didn't have to hear about Cap's latest whiz-bang gun that's so much better than anything else... blah blah blah.

Sorry lurkers, no cute pictures of Judge's daughter or poems or witticisms, just dry old SASS talk.

Ok You Lurkers!

Well I guess my wife figured out where this blog was located and she passed that information on to other members of my family so I thought I would provide you all with some much needed information as we approach the holiday season.

Xavier said it best so check out this article over at Xavier's Thoughts.

Merry Christmas

Future Young Gun

This little cowgirl needs some real pistolas.

Recently I’ve been thinking about the little one and what I should start looking for in the gun department. You see I would love it if she took up cowboy shooting with me. Now I know she is only 2 and she might not enjoy shooting at all, but just in case she gets interested I should be ready. Gun prices just keep going up all the time so if I come across a good deal on one of my gun choices I should snatch it up. With all of that in mind here are my gun choices for Sabrina;

A pair of Cimarron Lightnings; these little pistols are based on the Colt 1877 double action Lightning which has a birdshead grip and a smaller overall frame. They come in .38 and Redneck Rebel has proven just how far you can download one of these rounds. It should fit a little girl’s hands nicely and be very shootable.

Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .38; this rifle can be modified easily to make it smooth and easy to handle. I can also have the stock cut down if necessary to accommodate a shorter length of pull.

Stoeger Coach Gun, 12 gauge; I figure when the time comes I can give her my shotgun. Sure it’s a 12 gauge, but with feather light loads and a little practice she can shoot it just fine. Also it should be well broken in by then and open smooth and easy.

First Shoot, Last Shoot

There was a young man from Herne Bay
who was making some fireworks one day
but he dropped his cigar
in the gunpowder jar.
There was a young man from Herne Bay

-Ogden Nash

This poem reminds me of the very first CAS shoot Jose and I attended. I let him tell the story. Last shoot of the year tomorrow, wish us luck!

Injuries

Last month at our Department Range week I started having some pain in my right elbow. As the week went on it got a little worse each day. By Saturday my arm just plain hurt. I did a little research thanks to WebMD and self diagnosed Tennis Elbow. Now I’m not sure how I injured myself, but there you have it.

Jump forward to the last Thunder Valley main match. My arm had been feeling better so I thought I would give it a try. On the first stage the buzzer beeped and I picked up the shotgun…and damn near dropped it. I got a stabbing sensation all along my forearm and my fingers went numb. I made it through the stage but called it quits for the day right there. I figured I was either going to hurt myself more or drop a gun and I didn’t want either one of those to happen.

I spent the rest of the day in hell working the stages and watching everyone else have a good time. Well I’ve bought a brace and I’ll give it a go again this weekend. I would hate to not be able to shoot anymore this year, but I guess we will find out soon.

I have no shooting goals for next year; I just want to get back into fighting shape and have some fun.

"I have made it a rule never to smoke more then one cigar at a time. "

-Mark Twain

That Just Ain't Right

Last Saturday we went down to Thunder Valley to shoot and while Judge's arm was too sore for him to shoot, I had myself a very good day shooting. I actually beat a guy who usually kicks my butt, however, I pobably did so because when I was timing him, I stopped him when I thought he'd only shot four pistol rounds when he shot five. Even so, it was a very good shooting day for me. I'd have finished first if it weren't for a shooter from KY that came up to Thunder Valley for the first time and shot very well. Heck the top three duelists shot within six seconds of each other.

The new guy brought his family which included a buckaroo and by my count, they were all very competetive, friendly and they worked hard at whatever needed to be done. That's all I ask of anyone that I'm running the posse for. Their Buckaroo was a pretty decent shooter and mostly safe but like all kids, has the attention span of a fruit fly. I'm glad the Buckaroo safety rules were adjusted so that some of the responsibility is out of their hands.

The funny or sad thing (however you want to look at it) was that the dad was darn near my size and when he pulled out his pistol on the first stage, I almost laughed while I was timing him. He was shooting New Vaqueros in .38 and he had those things loaded lighter than the women we usually shoot with load theirs. It was one of the most pathetic thing I've seen in cowboy shooting. I'm not one to stop a gamer from being a gamer, lord knows I'm thinking of buying Cowboy .45 Special Brass and loading it to get a lighter recoil, but damn! I'm pretty sure he had those Rugers short-stroked as well, again, that's fine, but its the whole package. At some point, you look at something and say "that just ain't right".

I suppose he isn't hurting anyone, so why bother? I guess at some point, I have to agree with our good friend Manatee when he criticized another large man shooting .32s. Though somehow I find that particular shooter OK, maybe its attitude of the person or familiarity, who knows. But I find one example of a larger guy shooting small guns to be OK and another to be utterly ridiculous. I think in the end, its how you approach the game, in one case, this new shooter is doing the bare minimum with respects to appearance to shoot cowboy (or it appears that way) and is very competitive. The other guy is more entrenched in the "Cowboy" feel of things and acts the part. If I had to say, I'd say that someone who acts cowboy in entirety gets a free pass on what guns he shoots.

BTW, I find that guys who shoot completely full-house loads in an attempt to show just how manly they are and are overly bragadocious about shooting the "big stuff" are just as bad as a guy who shoots .32s.

Cooper on Glocks

"Shooting a Glock is simply shooting a single-action self-loader with no safety and a very poor trigger." -Jeff Cooper

A Good Cigar

Oh, 'tis well and enough
A whiff or a puff
From the heart of a pipe to get;
And a dainty maid
Or a bubbling blade
May toy with the cigarette;
But a man, when the time
Of a glorious prime
Dawns forth like a morning star,
Wants the dark-brown bloom
And the sweet perfume
That go with a good cigar.

-Norris Bull

PVR

So last weekend Judge and I went to PVR or Pleasant Valley Renegades range to shoot some cowboy action. PVR is in its first year and is located in Pleasant Indiana near the Ohio river at Madison. Its a two hour drive from my house and while that's quite a drive to shoot, its worth it. The best thing about PVR is the people, the folks running the place are the best. Nomore Slim owns the land the range is located on and Lizzy of the Valley and Randy Atcher pretty much run things along with Nomore. They epitomize what's good about SASS and I really enjoy being around them let alone privileged to shoot at the range.

PVR makes you feel welcome and as comfortable as possible, providing bottled water and lunch for your $40 membership and $15 shooters fee. They also have a nice area where members can put cabins, Nomore and Randy have put a couple in for themselves that were prefabbed by an Amish guy. They look pretty cool if not totally cabin-like.

This match I actually made an effort to take pictures of shooters and decided to not do action photos because you only get the backs of people when you do that. I've posted them on my Flickr account so go see the kind of rift-raft I hang out with on the weekends.

This shoot we had a great time with the nice weather, easy stages and good pards. I didn't shoot particularly well, but I'm having fun even though Gunfighter seems to be kicking my ass. I've also loaded up some brass shotshells and those are really fun to play with and I even decided to load up some smokeless shotshell reloads just because I had the stuff to do it.

After the shoot, we had a chili super that featured several tasty chilis and a deep-fried turkey. If you haven't had a deep-fried turkey, you're missing something awfully tasty! It is probably the best turkey I've ever had. So after stuffing myself, smoking cigars and a couple of beers, we headed for the homestead.

Range Week

Jose really needs to update this page a little. Range week and a few things jump out at me. People can’t shoot one handed. People do not know how to manipulate the shotgun. People can not do a proper tactical reload. People do not know how to shoot around cover. Some are decent shooters, but bad gunfighters. Others are decent gunfighters, but bad shooters…pick your partner carefully.

Things you can do without shooting the gun:

Learn to manipulate your weapon; load, unload, clear malfunction, grip, draw, re-holster

Learn how to use cover; don’t crowd, don’t shoot over, change elevation

Learn transitions; CQB and weapons

Move, Shoot, and Communicate…Live Long and Prosper.

ZOMBIES!!!

From the actual police blotter

…..age 20, reported that she was attacked by zombies as she sat parked in her Land Rover in front of the Smallwood Apartment complex at 455 N. College Avenue. She was very upset that said zombies had gotten some type of purple goo on her vehicle and she was afraid that it would damage the paint. Officers found about 3 dozen zombies a few blocks away, but they all denied any involvement in the incident and the complainant was unable to pick out any particular zombie(s) in the group as being the ones who attacked her.

This is why you should always be prepared. For more information try here: Zombie Survival Guide.

10

Bo Derrick was a perfect 10, or at least Dudley Moore thought so. The Judge is a perfect 10 right now as well. What, you say? How can that be? Well since Jose stole number 9 from me (I guess mail is delivered faster from Bloomington then Springville) I am the 10^th ever member of the Thunder Valley Rebels. Currently I rank 10^th in the Overall Cowboy contest at Thunder Valley, so that makes me a perfect 10!

On another note it looks like SASS has approved the Indiana State Shoot to be moved from the horrid July date to September! I couldn’t be happier. I had already decided if the dates were not changed I wasn’t going to suffer another miserable Shoot, but it looks like next year will be perfect…well it has to be better then +90 degree weather and +75% humidity like the last 3 years.

1000 Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a couple of pictures of the Rock for you to check out.

Rock Island Armory Gigante Special Edition (RIA/GSE)

Let’s face it. If you want a custom firearm you must spend a ton of money and wait years for your little toy, but two fortuitous events happened recently that changed my view of custom guns forever. First, I happened to find a government model Rock Island Armory 1911 for a great price, and second I convinced a fledgling gunsmith known here as Jose Gigante to take the plunge and build a custom gun. The results are the RIA/GSE a custom shop gun for a root cellar price.

The RIA/GSE started life as a standard 5 inch government model 1911 in .45 ACP. This is a quality firearm with surprising accuracy right out of the box and it turned out to be an excellent platform to build this custom masterpiece. I sat down and talked to the big man about my goals with this firearm. I was looking for a custom carry piece that focused on reliability but provided close to match grade accuracy. I wanted a combat firearm I could rely upon and the RIA/GSE meets all of those requirements and more.

Caspian provided many of the internal parts replacing the extractor, firing pin, firing pin stop and slide stop. Chip McCormick was used for the tactical magazine release and the thumb safety. An Ed Brown grip safety and match trigger fit beautifully. A Smith and Alexander magazine well, an EGW 1 piece guide rod, Swenson magazine release lock, and a Wolff spring kit helped to round out the weapon. The true treasure on the gun however, is the Cylinder and Slide Tactical Match Trigger Set. This trigger defines “breaking glass” and puts the “Special” into its name.

Novak Low Mount rear sights and a Millet front sight provide the sight picture and a set of Smith and Alexander Black Rosewood Double Diamond grips grace the gun. The gun was all ready to be finished and I chose an old style parkarization process to give it that fighting look. The finishing job was a little out of Jose’s league, but he managed to find a local gunsmith, AJ Brown, who did a fantastic finish job in only a couple of weeks. Of course this wasn’t just a parts swapping job. Jose polished, cut, fit, honed, and prepped this gun all the way through the refit process.

When you look at the features on the RIA/GSE and compare them to similar guns you find a price tag topping out over 1800 dollars. This beauty will shoot with them best of them and cost less then half of that price tag. It shoots exactly as advertised quickly proving that John Browning’s design and a little elbow grease from a quality gunsmith can create a true work of art.

I’ve compared the RIA to a Kimber Warrior and a Nighthawk Talon. Both pistols have some very nice external features that comes from a quality shop with a milling machine and the ability to dot, diamond, line, and checker just about anything, but the feel of the gun is almost the same. The Trigger on the Warrior wasn’t even close to the RIA and the Nighthawk felt almost the same. Next week I’m taking the RIA head to head against the Nighthawk and I’m expecting big things.

Special Thanks to Jose for a gun that will be my favorite for a long time to come.

Takes the Cake!

Now I have heard of some dumb ideas before, hell I’ve even had my share, but this one takes the cake. It appears as though John Bianchi and EMF have gotten together to create what they are calling the Dry Fire Model.

The Dry Fire Model is a pistol designed in all respects like a Colt SAA clone, but made non-firing to facilitate dry fire practice. Great John feels that the pressure of dry-firing on a SAA is to much and therefore this model is needed to give shooters something to practice with. Oh, by the way, it sells for $369.90.

Now, I can find a Ruger Vaquero new online for $450 and everyone knows that the Ruger is a tank and you could not only dry-fire to your hearts content, but send some valuable lead down range. But here is where it gets good. For $299.99 you can buy a Colt SAA Clone made by Cabela’s called the Millinium. For less then 15 dollars you can buy 6 snap caps that will protect your firearm from damage during dry-firing. So, for $315 or less you can have yourself a gun you can actually shoot. That just makes the Dry Fire Model plain stupid.

Uber Lever Gun

So yesterday I was reloading and while stuffing 200g SWC's into the 45ACP cases, my mind wandered to the Cowboy .45 Special and how it is about the same size as the ACP and how it can be shot from a Marlin. Then it hit me. One of the Marlin Short-Stroke specialists could possibly shorten a Marlin's stroke even more than is possible with the .45 S&W (Schofield).

So it might be possible to get a Marlin with an equally short stroke to a '66/'73 and maintain the shootability, strength and ease of maintenance of the Marlin and get the speed of the short-stroked Winchester clones. This would then be an "Uber Lever Gun". I could hear the cries of foul even before I finished the thought. The SASS community is gonna love this one. Will I do it? Probably not, since the change is irreversable without buying new internals and I don't want to send my rifle off, but I KNOW someone will try this.

UPDATE: Well, someone did do this. Adirondack Jack has one apparently, it is fast.

Shootability

PVR Main Match was yesterday and I continued my pursuit of Jedi Gunfighters everywhere.  Call me the Sith Gunfighter.  It was "one of those days" for me, in a bad way.  I started horribly and stayed there for the better part of the match until I finally cleaned up on the last two stages.  It had to be the syrup...

Since Judge was shooting B-Western, I loaned him my Marlin Cowboy and shot his '66 for the day, a gun that I admittedly should have bought myself, but that's old news.  I hadn't shot it since I put in the whisper springs and short-stroke kit.  They certainly make a huge difference in the rifle, I nearly knocked the butt off my sholder when I first levered, then I shot it like crap, oh well.  The thing I suppose I figured out yesterday about the '66/'73 vs Marlin '94 is that the former require a bit of practice and confidence to shoot.  They're kind of like driving a sports car, you can go fast, but you have to know what you're doing.  The Marlin on the other hand, is very easy to pick up and shoot relatively fast.

All in all, I think I prefer the Marlin for a couple of reasons.  The sight picture is better and the Marlin is easier to maintain.  When shooting the '66 or '73, you lose the sight picture when the hammer falls and you have empty shell casings flying in front of your field of vision.  As for maintenence, the Marlin is ultra-easy to disassemble and clean throroughly, on the '66 this is a chore, although less so on the '73 with it's inspection plates.  The carrier is the part that gets the dirtiest on the Winchesters and is hardest to clean, bad combo.

Judge brought up the buttstock on the Marlin being more comfortable and forgiving, as well as a better comb.  I don't disagree, especially with the former, but the comb is a personal thing to each shooter.  There's also the weight of the Marlin being less than a '66 with the huge brass receiver, can't argue that point either, but it isn't such a horrible thing.

All in all, I'm happy with the Marlin, I just know that it'll be forever marginally slower than a '66, but its a lot of fun to shoot and dead reliable.  Its just too bad Marlin doesn't make them anymore.

Jedi Gunfighter!

Well I’m not really all that good at this game yet, just don’t have the time necessary to either practice or shoot every weekend. So imagine my surprise when my name appeared in a thread on the SASS Wire.

You see, a fine gunfighter and world record holder, Widowmaker started a thread about forming a new SASS group called Jedi Gunfighters. First he put in the criteria for becoming a Jedi gunfighter which included winning a match as a gunfighter, shooting clean as a gunfighter, being a great guy and being a gunfighter…stuff like that. He then went on to list those people whom he made honorary members. And of course the big surprise happened when I found myself listed at number 11! (and you must pronounce “eleven” with a British accent)

I shot the Kentucky State Match with Widowmaker and found him to be a great guy. I managed to have my first ever clean shoot that weekend, and he must have remembered it. So I’m number 11 on the Jedi Gunfighter list and I love it. Jose aint gonna hear the end of it.

Cowboy .45 Special

What's that you say?  Haven't ever heard of such a round?  Well now you have.  Do to the constant lust to go faster and reduce recoil, some enterprising folks have created a new custom round called the Cowboy .45Special.

What is it?
It is a .45 caliber rimmed case with the overall length of .895 which is the same as the ubiqutous .45ACP and the same diameter and rim as the .45Colt.

Why's that so darned good?
Well, if you know anything about powder and case volume, you know that at lower velocity cowboy loads, the large .45Colt volume cause inconsistency and loss of accuracy, the Cowboy .45Special's smaller volume means less inconsistency and greater accuracy with lower recoil.

Will it work with Black Powder and Subs and the new "smoke rule"?
Heh he, this is the best.  15g of black powder will just fit under a 200g bullet.  No fillers.  This'll greatly simplify loading of BP and subs and allow you to use progressive loaders.

Will it work in my rifle?
Not in most.  A Marlin can be modified to work with this ammo though, just a modificatio to the carrier.

OK, this thing's got to cost me an arm and leg, right?
Well, it does cost more because the round is new and not widely used.  But it only costs $20-$30 more per 1,000 than the .45Colt.

Ah! but I have to buy new dies, right?
Maybe, do you have a .45Colt sizer/shellplate and .45ACP expander & seat/crimp?  If you do, then you're set.

When you buyin' a bunch?
Well, that's a good question, I don't really NEED this new case and Schofields work mighty fine right now.  But I sure would like to see everyone's face when I pulled out ACP sized rounds to shoot :)

This comparison is a .45Colt on the left, a 250g bullet and the new Cowboy .45Special on the right.  Case volume is cut in half.

Pyle Lovett

Well Jose and I headed on down to Thunder Valley last weekend for the August Main Match. A buddy of ours was in town so we talked him into going. I managed to fix him up with clothes, leather, boots, and a hat. Jose provided him the guns and a shooting we did go.

We tried to think of a name and Jose convinced him to go with Rick O’Shea, but of course there are like 4 Rick O’Shea’s in SASS. After the shoot we were sitting around the garage as usual and our two clown princes Vaquero Hayes and Smiley (AKA Sheepdip) came up with an alias for him. Pyle Lovett. It’s good, I like it, and I think it will stick. So if he ever shoots again I think it’ll be as Pyle Lovett.

On a side note the shoot was downright miserable. It was very hot and humid and we got stuck with the Posse from hell. We had five new shooters, Lorenzo Lain, and Chief Old Timer. That’s 7 out of 14 that didn’t really do a damn thing. I managed to shanghi Randy Atcher and Lizzy of the Valley for help and Redneck Rebel busted his but as usual, but we barely made it and we finished almost 45 minutes later then everyone else. But, a bad day shooting is better then most anything else.

Cheats!

It seams like if you write a rule someone will try and circumvent it. From my limited experience overseas and with people from other cultures it seems like that is an American trait.

Now before you go and bash me I guess I should explain myself better. As Americans we tend to try and find the better, smarter, faster, and easier way to accomplish a task. When people tell us we can’t do it that way we try anyway. When kept in check and devoted towards good causes that is an admirable trait, but when unchecked and applied in inappropriate situations….well that’s when at lot of us get pissed.

We start with little or no rules, everybody knows what we are trying to accomplish and therefore things run smoothly. Then along comes the cheat. This guy doesn’t like the way things are going because he isn’t getting ahead fast enough. So to win, he does something we didn’t think about; therefore we have to write a rule. The truly evil bastards just keep breaking the rule until they are punished, but the cheat tries something else, hence another rule and the cycle goes on and on.

CAS is about testing our skill against the next guy or gal. It’s about stepping up to the plate and swinging away hoping to knock one out of the park. It’s about your candle burning brighter then the next guys because you have practiced more, or are more gifted, or are just a little smarter. That’s the essence of competition, it’s not if you win or lose, but how you play the game.

And then there are cheats. They aren’t as devoted, they don’t have natural ability, but they are usually smart in a sly kinda way. They are looking for edges, loopholes, and chinks in the armor, whatever it takes to win and it don’t matter how they got there. They prefer to make their candle brighter by blowing your candle out.

Maybe you’re one of these guys. Hell, maybe these aren’t bad traits and maybe there is a place for the cheats, but not on my team. You see at the end of the day I could never look at myself in the mirror if it wasn’t a fair fight, and once I figure out who the cheats are I usually make them my number one targets and damn the game. I usually don’t care if I win or lose as long as the cheats lose.

Cavalry Charge!

Many years ago a buddy of mine was into Civil War reenacting. He almost drug me into that, but I somehow managed to resist. Since then I have always had an affinity for the re-enactors and as you have probably already figured out from reading this blog I’m into anything I can do stretch the experience.

While investigating my family history I found out that a distant relative was a Colonel in the Civil War. After the war he became a Justice of the Peace and while I ended up not using his name for my Alias it defiantly influenced my “character.” What I’m trying to say in a roundabout way is that I have been interested in an 1876 Cavalry Officer Uniform for CAS since I started this sport. So for fantasy purposes lets take a look at what’s out there for an authentic looking 1876 Cavalry Officer Uniform.

The internet is amazing. I remember my buddy having a very difficult time finding the necessary items for reenacting. Now, with a few key strokes, you can find everything you need from specialty stores online. So let’s start from the ground up.

Boots:

This is the Military Civil War Cavalry Boot. It was found on both sides of the war and was common up until the 1900’s. Civilian Stovepipe Boots or shorter Military style boots from the period would also be acceptable, but the well dressed Cavalry Officer would probably be wearing these.

Pants:

The M1873 Trousers, Sky Blue were made from “Kersey” and for the cavalry would have had a 1.5” Lemon Yellow stripe down each leg. The stripe width varied depending on the rank, but since we are looking at what a Colonel might have worn we will go with the wider stripe.

Shirt:

Here is where things get a little interesting. First If I was shooting for an 1873 look I would probably have to go with a M1852 Pattern Civil War Grey Flannel Shirt. In 1874 they issued a slightly modified version and in 1875 came out with a Dark Blue Version known as the M1875 Dark Blue Experimental Shirt. Since 1876 is our target year then we’ll go for the Dark Blue Shirt. The shirts changed often and there are many variations including a white civilian shirt. The shirt doesn’t matter as much because the well dressed officer would be wearing a fatigue blouse.

Jacket:

This one is easy, the M1876 Undress Blouse with Shoulder Boards for a Cavalry Colonel.

There will be more to come including the hat, belts, holsters, and shotgun belt so stay tuned.

Hoosier Ambush scores are up

http://members.aol.com/fbp1/page7.html

I'm pretty darned happy for a guy who finished 7th in his category.  I finished overall 53rd out of 163 shooters, a top third for me is good.  I shot very consistently within my class and was able to pull off a quick stage 7 to put me ahead of a couple of duelists that would have otherwise beat me.

I was able to stay ahead of some shooters from other categories that can or usually beat me, like Buffalo Dick, Randy Atcher, Manatee, Abu, Judge Mint Day, Hardscrabble & Graver.  The only shooter that I would normally compare myself to that beat me is M'bogo and I've really no right to compare myself to him, but he's my goal and I'm even happy for staying within 30 seconds of him over 10 stages.

I'm improving and that's what I get out of the competition.

The match was ranked by category, so shooters are measured against other folks in their category and not all the other classes (except for the overall results).  This sounds like a good idea, except that it isn't.  In several categories there is not a large enough sampling of shooters to make rank scoring work, so I hope this is the last big match that does this.  I don't think it would have changed Duelist much if at all, but I know it affected Traditional and FCD.

Almost There

I've gotten the Rock Island to the point that I can send it in for refinishing, the problem is that I can't get in contact with anyone who can do the parkerizing. Both of the guys who I am assured can do this are either out of town or not answering, so I'm kinda stuck.

So here are some pre-finish pics to show the work that was done on the pistol.

Why does this rule exist?

ROI Course, Page 13

11. The shooter with firearm in hand shall
never be allowed to move with a live
round under a cocked hammer.
Movement is defined the same as
“traveling” in basketball. Once the firearm
is cocked, one foot must remain in
place on the ground until the firearm is
made safe. This means, on revolvers, you
may move, restage, or reholster when the
hammer is down on an empty chamber or
expended case. You may move with a rifle
when the action is open or hammer
down on an empty chamber or an expended
case. If restaging the rifle, the action
must be closed and hammer down
either on an empty chamber or expended
case. Shotguns are considered safe for
movement when the action is open and
may be restaged only if open and empty.

I believe I might have an answer. This rule is here to prevent a shooter who has cocked a pistol in the incorrect shooting position from moving to the correct shooting position (shotguns and rifles can be opened and made safe without firing). I presume this is for safety reasons, having a shooter move with a cocked, loaded single action pistol is dangerous.

It has been pointed out to me however, that a shooter who's running with a model '97 shotgun, can drop a round on the carrier, rack and fire the round out before the shooter violates the "traveling" defined above. That is, the shooter has a foot on the ground and it remains "in place" for the time it takes the action to close and the hammer to fall.

Lets assume that's true, then by that logic, a shooter with a single action pistol, could similarly run, cock and fire that pistol while avoiding the penalty. Same principle, just hold the trigger down and slip-hammer with the opposing hand, the round is under the cocked hammer for a split second, not nearly enough time to lift a foot.

How about a rifle? I believe, neigh, I KNOW there are shooters who can lever their rifles and fire them in splits of a second. This would also be considered well within the rules.

So my question is why is it more safe to have shooters running and operating their pistols/shotguns and potentially their rifles and a shooter who has to take a step to an adjacent window isn't?

I propose that this rule needs to be fixed. To me at least, the INTENT of this rule is to keep folks from MOVING while operating their firearms and I don't believe that someone who is at a walk or run is not moving. It's like this, if you are in the action of walking, then you are indeed moving. It takes only a split second for the hammer to fall when a '97 is closed, however, during that split second, you are still moving (walking).

In the beginning, there was just the rule that a shooter couldn't move with a cocked firearm, but that was too restrictive. So the power that be added the "traveling" example and then made that example the definition of moving. This is a mistake in my book because you have to know what the traveling rule is in basketball and I'd dare say that 95% of the participants have never read the basketball traveling rule. The traveling example/definition was put in to save words and thats all. Instead of spelling it out properly, the rules writers got lazy and said it is the same thing as traveling in basketball and that was good enough until shooters started thinking outside the box and pushing the rule to the limit.

This rule also had more teeth until the rule was changed to allow movement with a live round on the carrier. It would be far harder to run, drop a round in and close the action before the "plant foot" moved. The rule would also then preclude a rifle from being made safe to move with, thus preventing a shooter who levered a rifle out of position from moving until a shot was fired, thus incurring a penalty.

Now I believe the rule is nearly meaningless as it can be demonstrated that a shotgun and pistol can be safely fired while running, so why punish the poor pistolero who just happened to cock his hammer at the wrong window or doorway? I'd as soon see someone take a step with a cocked Colt than run while loading/firing a '97.

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.