C.N. Double

I'm shopping for a new Modern 1911, and the model I've mostly settled on does not have front strap checkering from the factory. I think I'd prefer to have the front strap checkered, so I'm looking at "drop in" solutions to test it out. Are products like the Wilson Combat checkered panels or skateboard tape (tucked under the grip panels) allowed under SASS rules? These are not "wrap around" grips.

Bonus question: For all you folks who are no longer sanctioned, would this solution be allowed as "front strap checkering" at your clubs for big matches?

3 hours ago, J. Frank Norfleet said:

Come to NM in April. It is NOT a SASS sanctioned match.

I'm planning on it. I'm guessing the places I like to travel to and shoot the most will keep doing what they've been doing, so I'm not worried about finding great matches to shoot.

It seems like some folks really do want bigger closer targets and simpler sequences, and that's fine, but it's those qualities that make CAS boring for me, so I don't shoot it much any more. If sanctioned WBAS matches are moving in that direction, those aren't matches I'll return to.

I have no issue with Misty pandering to her members in an effort to make money -- it's a business after all. However, it does seem kind of dirty how she has treated the volunteers who have done so much work to make WBAS what it is (or was).
 

I'm not much of a leader, but I'm an OK soldier, and I'll be glad to support those ambassadors and other volunteers who want to keep building and shooting a game like yesterday's Wild Bunch.

I've resigned from my role as WBAS Wire admin/moderator (I didn't really do much anyway).

Thank you to all the ambassadors who have made and tried to keep this game great. I prefer a competitive, fun, and challenging shooting sport, but it seems Misty is now taking WBAS in a different direction.

Looks like EoT 2024 might be my last SASS Wild Bunch™ match.

I prefer a buckle for a display case, but the nice buckles should only be for the top shooters. Too many less-nice buckles/awards reduce their value and meaning. I like what Jorge described.

I've never been a fan of the state/region/national champion being someone other than the top shooter in the category. Why does it matter where the shooter resides? I've been on both sides of it, and it's always strange. If you travel to my state and whoop me, you oughta get the accolades for doing so.

I'm purdy excited you're offering Doughboy and Teddy Roosevelt as main match divisions. I used up all my large rifle primers getting ready for it \m/

Thanks for confirming. My calendar shows October 23rd is a Monday, but I suppose it could just be the heat 🌶️

Is this a 4-day match (Fri-Mon), or will the festivities wrap up on October 22nd (Sunday)?

I just called Lady Jane to ask a different question, but I forgot to confirm the dates with her. I figured others here might be wondering the same thing.

13 hours ago, Artemus said:

Interesting that you got more consistent results with the Moly Coated. I assume all the same primer for Colt as they aren't listed? I only tried Hi-Tek 200 Gr bullets as that's all that I load in 45 Colt, typically Scarlett's or Missouri Bullets CB #4. I settled on a Red Dot load that had a spread of less than 40 FPS.

Yea, I was approaching an ES of 100 in my tests with the 200gn bullet too. I suspect the heavier bullet might help build more pressure and allow a more consistent burn. The crimp was the same for both bullets in my tests. Primers were Federal LPP for the Colt loads. I think I have a bag of 250gn RNFP I received as a door prize, so maybe I'll try those to see how they stack up.

I've been working on my own loads for .45 Colt and .45ACP with Clean Shot. I'm not sure I'll pursue a .45 Colt load with Clean Shot, but here are my results so far...

Weather: Sunny, 95deg F, ~30% humidity
Chrono: Competition Electronics ProChrono Pal (new battery)
**Minimum PF calculated on avg of lowest 3 velocities

.45 Colt (18" rifle)
*bullets seated to crimp groove
Primer: Federal LPP

Charge: 5.6gn Clean Shot
Bullet: 205gn Bear Creek (moly coated)
Velocities: 693,707,694,687,652
ES: 55
Avg: 687
Min PF: 139

Charge: 5.6gn Clean Shot
Bullet: 200gn Cimarron (hi-tek coated)
Velocities: 769,699,721,718,686
ES: 83
Avg: 719
Min PF: 140

Charge: 5.8gn Clean Shot
Bullet: 205gn Bear Creek (moly coated)
Velocities: 719,706,702,711,699
ES: 20
Avg: 707
Min PF: 144

Charge: 5.8gn Clean Shot
Bullet: 200gn Cimarron (hi-tek coated)
Velocities: 733,826,756,817,759
ES: 93
Avg: 778
Min PF: 150

.45ACP (5" pistol)
*bullets seated to 1.19" OAL (bullet ogive will not permit a longer OAL in my pistol)
Bullet: 230gn Hogleg (hi-tek coated)

Charge: 4.0gn Clean Shot
Primer: Ginex LPP
Velocities: 688,687,678,689,697,691,695
ES: 19
Avg: 689
Min PF: 157

Charge: 4.0gn Clean Shot
Primer: Federal LPP
Velocities: 682,680,684,686,668,668,668
ES: 18
Avg: 677
Min PF: 154

Charge: 4.2gn Clean Shot
Primer: Ginex LPP
Velocities: 724,733,723,709,732,735,730
ES: 26
Avg: 727
Min PF: 165

Charge: 4.2gn Clean Shot
Primer: Federal LPP
Velocities: 716,721,725,709,721,707
ES: 18
Avg: 717
Min PF: 163

I processed 400 pieces of .30-06 brass this week to get ready for this match (and Land Run) -- looking forward to everything you're offering.

What are the specifics on the Bootlegger and Audie Murphy stages? IIRC, Audie Murphy uses M1 Carbine for the rifle, and I assume Bootlegger uses the Thompson. Would there be any use for a modern PCC?

I made a mistake loading some new 230gn bullets, and I'm looking for advice on how to best resolve it.

The profile on these new bullets is different than what I was using before, and the loaded cartridge won't chamber because the bullet is hitting the lands. If I re-seat the bullets down from 1.24" OAL to 1.20, they feed fine, but the re-seating process scrapes a ring of lead off the bullet (see below). I can easily scrape the lead off the cartridge, but I'm concerned about leading the barrel if I shoot these.

I have about 300 of these to fix.

Would you pull them all and start over, or just shoot them and plan to scrub the barrel? I'll just use this batch for monthly matches either way, and I'm not concerned about pressures increasing as I'm still well within published loading data.

Thanks for any advice.

I tried the online app about a month ago, but I couldn't tell if it ever went through, and I didn't see any way to pay online. I just mailed the paper app in this week. Looking forward to it!

Thanks, Artemus! I looked all over the website, but I didn't see any reference to the app.

Looking forward to this match as well as yours.

I noticed the Powder Creek Cowboys put a state/annual match on their calendar Sep 2-3. Does anyone have any additional info about this match? I'm not sure if any of those folks frequent the WBAS Wire.

After some careful inspection, I found the rim of the hulls were sometimes catching on the leading edge of the flag. I tried tweaking the flag a bit, but it's kinda floppy where it attaches to the carrier, and I couldn't get consistent results. I don't have another flagged carrier to compare it to, but I did compare the spring tension with a non-flagged carrier, and they seem the same. I think there is something goofy about the geometry of this flagged carrier.

I'm going to try swapping some more parts around, but everything seems to be pointing to this carrier.

If I can't figure it out by October 20th, I might see if I can hand it off to Boggus during the NM state match.

Thanks for the responses -- it sounds like I'm on the right path. This is a 3in "for super speed & Super-X" stamped gun, and the carrier is not original (it's from a 2.75in gun, and it has the lip on the back side). There are probably other not-original things as this was someone else's project gun, and it's continuing to be a project for me, but I'm enjoying the process and learning a lot about the M12 as I go. I've heard mixed things about whether I can ever get this 3" gun to run, but the balance and weight are superb, so I'm going to keep trying, dammit!

I just a did a visual comparison on my working M12, and it does look like the working one has had material removed from this spot on the frame, but it's a much different 2.75in gun, and it doesn't have a flagged carrier, so it may not be a proper comparison.

I did try marking the area up with a sharpie, but I ran out of time, so I couldn't really mark the entire area and then fully inspect it. I'll start here next time.

It will probably be another week before I can really dig into it again, but I appreciate the ideas and guidance. I'll get some detailed photos up, and I'll take some measurements.

8 minutes ago, Flying W Ramrod said:

That's the weekend before Bordertown.
Two days later is the Wild Bunch at Bordertown. Guess we'll have to miss the Invasion.

Good luck with it and we'll see you on the range, somewhere.

 

Are you traveling on horseback?

I've been working on this shotgun for a while, and just when I think I get it running, something else goes wrong. I think the juice will be worth the squeeze, though, so I'm gonna keep fighting it.

See picture for details. Shells get stuck when coming out of the mag tube. At first, I thought something inside the tube was holding them up, but I think it might actually be the carrier flag wedging the rim of the hull between the frame and the flag. It does not occur with every shell or even with the same shell every time. 

Here's a summary of my observations:
1. Changed mag spring -- this helped a lot, but it didn't completely resolve the issue.
2. Mag tube and follower appear to be round, and the lip inside the tube does not feel significantly different than another working M12 I have.
3. Factory Federal shells are less problematic than my AA reloads, but it does occur with both.

At this point, I plan to pull the flagged carrier out to see if it can be straightened or cleaned up, but I'm really wondering if I could take a few thousandths off the frame in this spot (white arrow) to improve the clearance for the rim of the shell. I've also ordered an extra-power mag spring from Wolff.

What do y'all think?

Thanks for posting the updated app -- I heard it was rescheduled, but didn't realize you updated it here. Glad to hear your permissions are working correctly now too.

Well, in this video, the shooter hit 10 targets with 10 shots in 32 seconds, and the targets were about 2' squares at around 70yds. If a different shooter really wanted to waste 10 shots as fast as they could to try to game the system @ 5sec/miss, the shooter in this video would still beat them (by a lot).

Maybe there aren't rules governing the scoring of this side match because there don't need to be. I believe the match directors are fully capable of deciding how to score the match, and I'm confident most of the shooters won't care either way.

@J. Frank Norfleet -- do it however you prefer. When shooting a BAMM, no matter how it's scored, the shooter is guaranteed to be satisfied.
 

I've noticed it changes depending on where you go. It's not set in the rules AFAIK.

 Personally, I prefer Dusty's method. I like it to be fast and chaotic as I imagine many of the real battles were when these rifles were in service.

Yea, I was planning on being in MO that weekend, so I'm glad to hear it's moving. How about the weekend of Sep 8-10?

BTW, if you click the 3 dots in the upper right corner of your post, you should be able to edit it.

It's warming up in AZ, but it should still be nice in Tombstone this weekend. Come on out for our match on June 10th at 9am. More details (including stages) are on the calendar page:

I've had good results with Shooters World Clean Shot (Lovex D032-03) in .45ACP. It meters very consistently and has produced very consistent velocities that are at least as good as I've had with WST. I think I'll still default to WST when I can find it, but Clean Shot has been great and is relatively available.

Thanks for the feedback.  I think I'll go with the carbon steel in my stainless gun. What are your opinions on carbon steel vs stainless?