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You’ve got some good advice here and some poor advice. I’m going to against the grain with a couple things, though. You’ll hear people say “front sight”! Forget it! Your mind should know now how to line up the sights on target. MUCH more important is proper trigger manipulation. You can spend all day lining up the sights perfectly but when you jerk the trigger all that is moot. Dry fire practice and slow fire target practice will help. But everyone flinches to some degree at some point. Controlling it is the key. That’s the only place dummy rounds are handy loaded in the mag. It will show you your flinch. Also, forget “muscle memory”. It’s a fallacy. Your brain tells every muscle what to do, when to do it and how much to do it. Don’t pay attention to where the empty mag falls. Too many people waste too much time making sure they land on the table or carpet. All you want is it out of the gun. As for malfunctions, properly tuned guns with quality ammo and proper mags mitigate malfunctions to practically nil. Also, no need to go to the line with a “Barney” mag. That will be the mag you grab when you need a full mag.

Boggus makes a great point a smooth trigger press makes the difference in hitting the target. Dry fire practice can not be stressed enough, start slow and in time a smooth press can be compressed to quite quick times. I used to at the end of a practice session ( this requires a paper Target). AT 3 to 5 yards put 3 shots into one hole it will show you what you are doing right or wrong. I still like the front sight . I agree with Happy Jack about time and magazine changes wasting time, make sure to get a good grip with the index finger pointing up the slide towards the bullet, you have a lot of practice pointing use it to get the magazine in the well. Put the flat of the magazine to the flat of the mag well and rotate it. ST

Don't look for your mags. You don't need to pull them in a specific order. Just drop your hand and grab what you touch. Keep the pistol up when you change mags, don't lower, insert, raise, takes too much time and you have to regain the target. You don't need to hammer the bottom of the mag into the pistol, just put it in right the first time. Whirlwind Wendy taught me all this.

More time is wasted on mag changes than anything else in WBAS. Don't take the gun too far down from the line of sight and practise with your eyes CLOSED. You have to feel the change to get it right. Watch shooters, most have the gun in a lowered position and canted when changing magazines. Both are time wasters. Many change the position from mag change to mag change, they don't know where they have the gun and have to look for it. GOOD LUCK.

It’s an honor to have shooters like yourself using my guns.

I would just like to get a Chronicle

Had some free time, I'm retired, it's all free time 😄 2025 SHB Changes.docx

Howdy Pards: Just did a "word for word" on the 2024 SHB to the 2025 SHB. Here's the changes I've found. If you find others, please let me know. Page 6 Modern Category: May use any SASS legal main match shotgun and any legal main match rifle, .38 caliber or greater. Traditional Category: May use any SASS legal main match shotgun and any legal main match rifle, .38 caliber or greater. Teddy Rosevelt Category: It is recommended that the rifle targets for Teddy Roosevelt be set at 25 to 50 75 yards. Page 7 Doughboy Category: The rifle must be an original caliber bolt action rifle issued by any country to its military forces through the end of WWII. It must be as issued with original iron battle sights and no external modifications. Original scoped rifles are not allowed. Minimum Entrant Category Requirements: *Shooting categories offered at any match, including Teddy Roosevelt and Doughboy as Main match categories, are ultimately at the discretion of the Match Officials to ensure the success and viability of each match individually unless the individual contract indicates otherwise. Page 10 Range Operations and Safety Rules: Add/Change Bullet points 7, 8, 9: - All staged long guns shall have their barrels pointed safely down range, unless the stage scenario and provided prop calls for vertical staging of the long gun(s). (Vertical staging is not restricted by SASS). - All long guns initially staged on a horizontal flat surface shall be staged lying flat where at least the rear of the trigger guard is on the staging area. - All handguns initially staged on a horizontal flat surface must be staged with the entire handgun lying flat on the staging surface. Page 14 1911 Pistol – Range Operations 1911 Safety and Handling First bullet point: Magazines may be loaded with up to seven rounds at any time, unless limited by stage instructions. Third bullet point: After being first charged, the shooter may move with the 1911 as long as the chamber is empty of a live round. The slide may be forward or locked back. It may have no magazine or an empty or loaded magazine. Page 18 Shotgun Gauges: Slide action shotguns must be centerfire of at least 16 20 gauge and no larger than 12 gauge. Page 19 Safe Conditions During a Course of Fire – Shotguns: A shotgun is considered SAFE to leave the shooter’s hands… Add Bullet Point 4: Action open. Page 22 Safety: Safety and Handling Conventions: All Firearms: Replace 12th bullet point with: There is no penalty for an empty case/hull in a gun that is open or that the shooter has cycled. If a proper attempt has been made to cycle the gun, it will be cocked. Page 23 Bullet Point 1: Change to read: “Long guns will have their actions cycled at the conclusion of each shooting string. If the action of a long gun closes after being cycled, then the competitor will, at the conclusion of the stage, show it to the TO. Appropriate penalties will apply if it is not empty of live ammunition/unfired rounds.” Page 26 Change to read: Targets are set at close to medium range. While there are no absolute rules, the following are distance recommendations by firearm, if using a target size of approximately 12"-16" in diameter: Pistol targets: 7 to 12 15 yards. Shotgun targets: 8 to 15 16 yards. Rifle targets: 15 13 to 25 50 yards. Add: SASS recommends the round count for the pistol (per stage) is a minimum of 28 rounds. Page 33 Ammunition Covenants: Power Factor for the 1911 Pistol: Change to read: The minimum bullet weight for the 1911 pistol is .45 ACP and the minimum power factor of 150. The maximum velocity standard for the 1911 Pistol is 1000 fps. Pocket RO Card Remove first entry for MSV “empty or live round……”

A failure to feed and chamber is almost never due to the frame manufacturing process. Ruger has proven they can investment cast steel parts to tight enough dimensions to launch space missions. Shooting matches demand less than that. While frame manufacturing process MIGHT make a difference is in how long the frame will stand up to maximum strength loads, I would not put the difference in feeding reliability on that for a new gun. Maybe after 100,000 rounds you will see a difference. No, you have one of several likely causes in failure to feed. First most common I find is: ammo that is not to spec. If you don't have and use a loaded round gauge to check your match ammo and your loading die settings, you are not being serious, especially as a cast bullet loader! Bullet seated too far out of case and the nose of the slug hitting the VERY SHORT forcing cone of a 1911 barrel is most common problem. Second most common: using low price/quality magazines. Run a few true Colt, Wilson or Tripp mags with your ammo and gun, and see what you get. IF good mags fix things, you may not need to look for more gremlins. Feed ramp smoothness and transition from ramp into chamber of barrel is important. "3 point jams" (look them up to know what they look like) often come from either the feed ramp of the frame or sharp chamber mouth edges at the back of the barrel. In the period from 1950 to 2000, NRA bullseye shooting was a major use of 1911s, using lead semi-wadcutters and low power. All 1911s back then had to go to a gunsmith to be tuned in the ramp area, chamber, springs, slide fit, smoothness to shoot bullseye matches flawlessly. Most still need at least a little smoothing and tuning to shoot WB power level lead bullets, even the Round Nose designs. Included in that tuning is shaping and tensioning and smoothing the EXTRACTOR. Perhaps the most important single part in the gun for correct extraction AND FEEDING. But as was mentioned before, if you have not run at least 300 factory level rounds through your 1911, it's not broken in yet. Clean every hundred. Lube as the various lubrication guides for the 1911 show at each cleaning. Don't take guns to serious WB matches until you have got the gun to be able to run 250 rounds of your ammo in a single match. Pushing a gun into a match too early (before you and it and your ammo loading is right) will just sour you on that gun for a long time! Folks who need a shorter "startup time" than that, ought to let a skilled 1911 smith do it for them. good luck, GJ

Who do you think submitted that photo to Sass? My brother took it on my phone, and I uploaded all of the awards photos since no one else was taking photos. I have to agree that I keep hoping to see the progress and equal standing promised, but I still have yet to even get a single acknowledgement from a Sass official on my win. I had several lengthy interactions will all of them afterwards and not a word about it to either of us national champions. Throughout the rest of week I had a bunch of other wonderful shooters come up and congratulate me, some I don't think I had ever even met before but they could be bothered to say something nice out of the blue. I was at least hoping for better treatment from our official magazine...

And unlike a 97, you don’t need three or four backups.

We have paired down to three. Loco Poco Lobo shoots a Colt Series 70 and I shoot a Springfield Mil Spec. Also have a Springfield RO just in case either one of wants to shoot modern. Happy New Year!!!! Nawlins Kid

Wild bunch traditional, stainless 70 series Colt tuned by Boggus (great shooter and dependable) two other series 70 Colt, Gold cup and government models, Colt Ace two Les Baer, one Wilson Combat, one standard manufacturing 1911 WW I issue Colt government issued to my father in law and carried to the Pacific islands and China in WW II Ruger commander size First started with 1911 when 18 shooting with my father, carried a commander working UC for several years EDC Kahr 9

Rough rails on the frame or in the slide are not really a function of the steel forming method! Sounds more like the machining on the Rugers was quite a bit smoother than the "forged frame" guns. Honing or polishing the rails a bit will make almost any gun feel smoother, and probably increase the slide closure speed, SLIGHTLY. You are confusing the machining finish that was put on the frames and slides with the process of producing the raw frame before any machining was done, and attributing a poor surface finish to "forged frame/slide". When the rough finish was almost certainly due to machining quality (fit and finish), not the process of making the raw frame or slide. I think the operative phrase you already used is "I dunno" 😀 I have two Colts, both with forged frames. The one made about 1974 was smooth from the factory. The newer one made about 2000 was rather rough until I polished the rails on frame and in slide. But even then, the rough feel on the 2000 Colt did NOT cause the gun to fail to feed. It just made it feel clunky when racking the slide. But, I do understand that you can't go buy a 1970's made forged frame to check this for yourself. good luck, garrisonjoe

Running them through a Bulge Buster at the end of reloading takes this step out.

Best advice I was given is to have mags that work every time without fail. Second was to use a loaded round gage and check every round you will use in a match. Any round that doesn't drop fully into the gage goes into the practice bin. Also check that the primers are fully seated.

Count me in, I am sure it will be a great match!

Practice, practice,practice and then also practice for the worst. Be able to clear jams and such safely and quickly. Test all your magazines to be sure they feed and release freely. Then practice, practice, practice some more. Get someone else to load your magazines with a snap cap (dud round) in one of them somewhere. It will help you practice clearing your pistol and using your "barney".

Just signed up for the Wild Bunch Match! Should be a Great match.

I was hoping so see some "proof is in the pudding" with all the talk of giving Wild Bunch Equal standing. I was disappointed this morning to find the National Championship didn't make the cover. In my mind, there are four national champions. Feel free to say I'm a stick in the mud, but if we really want to promote and grow WB then we should give it recognition as well.

Since you are starting with the 1911, maybe look at a replica airsoft or pellet version of one in your basement until the weather is decent. At least get your hands familiar with the feel of the gun.

Shhhhhh!!! Dont tell anyone that, especially Schwaby! That's been my "excuse" for buying more.

Sure, that Springer MilSpec is a Traditional compliant rear and front sight when the 2 dots on rear and 1 on front are blackened. As per above, lots of folks use a sharpie. Same as has been done on the original Ruger made SR 1911 good luck, GJ

Pg 13 WBSHB "Only non-adjustable “military style” simple blade rear and front sights allowed." "Front sights may be dovetailed, pinned, or staked." "Sights may be the color of the slide or any combination of the slide color, including but not limited to: blue, black, or natural stainless (natural colored) steel. The back of a colored front sight may be polished to a natural steel color." Based on this, the "military style" simple blade rear and front sight is your determining factor.

Yes, I know that alias! I am related to Col. Cornelius Gilliam. He is my 4th Great Uncle. I researched my family tree and became interested in the Col. He had very a colorful/interesting life. I've been using this alias since about 1996. He died in Oregon Territory in 1848 while serving as the highest ranking officer in the Territory commanding the militia during the Cayuse Indian war.

Arizona SASS Wild Bunch State Championship January 24, 2025 @ Elzy Pearson Shooting Range in Casa Grande, AZ Wild Bunch State Championship will be held in conjunction with Gathering of the Posse's Cowboy match. Six stage match on Friday with awards asap after the match. Squibber and Cholula Mike are the Match directors. Applications will be available soon . dustybunch.com

I can get you a free entry!

I dunno. I have had two Ruger 1911's that needed no break in. Never once had a malfunction. My other 1911's all needed to be broken in to become reliable. I used some Flitz on the rails of my Springer and it smoothed up nicely. feels like butter now.

I used to only buy Wilson Combat 1911 mags but have bought a few Metalform 7 rounders for WBAS. They have not given e any trouble yet and easy on the wallet.

+1 on the magazines, add MecGar to the list of good mags. KimPro magazines are very good, but the standard Kimber magazines are a crap shoot. I always swap out all the springs with a Wolff spring pack whenever I pick up a used 1911. Also, this is extremely rare, but there can be a burr on the barrel bushing, which can drag on the barrel. Look for a lengthwise scratch on the outside of your barrel if you suspect this, but it is one of the very last things to suspect.

Planning on both of them again this year. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

My question would be is do you have the correct slide stop? I believe it should be stamped “2” on the frame side.

It doesn't sadly, just real tired of everything that's been lost in the last couple of years for nothing to be better. More progress in equal standing was made by EoT in changing the verbage, having a dedicated WB shoot off and awards. Land Run following this lead only helped reinforce what looked like progress. Now we are back to fighting to keep what we had, at least that's how it felt leaving that last TG meeting.

Strictly legal for Modern category where white dots on sights are perfectly legal.

I didn't think the Ruger was legal due to the beaver tail, skeleton trigger and extended safety.

It certainly could be.

Black Sharpie Make sure the sights are in line with the rules for traditional. even with the dots blacked out. May need different sights.

CC moonshine, Cholula mike and i had a great time on the posse also shooting with you. agree a little to close

My WB 1911 is a Kimber I've had for 20 years. I also have an STI Spartan 9mm, Springfield EMP 9mm, and a 2011 in .40 S&W. So 2, 3, or 4 depending on how you count. I keep saying I'm going to get a custom 1911 but maybe I will wait until I retire. I used to carry the EMP more but I bought a Shield and it's close enough that when I carry an auto, that's what I carry.