Doc Holloman

Springfield Garrison is my Primary. Backup is a Springfield Loaded modifies to be close to a Marime M45. I've also shot a Tisas Raider on occasion. I have 11 1911s total including one in 9mm and one .22. Am currently considering picking up one in .38 Super.

I can't think of the cowboy match where I haven't been hit by spall off the targets, sometimes from the next stage over. Once or twice drawing blood. Always assumed that was part of the game. One club I shoot at vetoed Wild Bunch /Cowboy 1911 "Open" category shooting 9mm for fear the blowback would be excessive.

I shoot at three "local " clubs that have ( or have had) recent Wild Bunch programs. Ran one of them. None shoot on commercial ranges. All on private ranches where the clubs have varying lease arrangements with the landowners. One has a berm backstop behind the stages at 20/25 yards . At that club we do no shoot Doughboy/TR and the Cowboy shooters do not shoot Cody Dixon as a Category ( there is a separate area for long range). The Club just accepts that as a limitation of their facility. The other two clubs have no berms, and are backstopped by rising terrain downrange. One is holding the 2025state Wild Bunch match and is offering DB/TR. The other is holding the State SASS Cowboy match, and will offer DB/TR if there is sufficient interest (I shot Doughboy there last year). As an additional data point they also offer a BAMM side match that is a combined offhand (50 yard) and bench (75-150 yard) match, and a fastest 1911 side match (two mags) at the Club's annual match ( the State match in 2025), generally run at the same place to keep the staffing efficient. My point is that clubs that ha the facilities can offer Doughboy and Teddy Roosevelt as main match Wild Bunch classes, clubs that don't, don't have to.

I would save it for a side match. I ran a two-gun Cowboy side match last year I called Horse Solder, It had two classes: Trooper and Scout with the clsss determined by rthe firearms used. But in both classes the revolver had to be fired Deulest. I happened to win the Trooper class (yeah, yeah I know, the fix was in, but I had to fund some way to win something) but I can tell you, cocking that .45 Colt with my arthritic right thumb was no fun and I'm glad I only had t do it 5 times. (anyone interested in the details of the side match, feel free to ask.)

I shoot Doughboy. We generally use the Cody Dixon targets at 50-60 yards. It does take longer to make 5 offhand bolt action rifle caliber shots (lately I've been using a Krag Carbine) than 7-10 pistol caliber rifle shots at 15-20 yards. I recognize that and realize that when shooting Doughboy I am only competing against other Doughboy shooters and not competing for overall (but then I know I will never be competitive against guys who can make a pistol caliber lever gun sound like a submachine gun). Same thing in Cowboy matches where I shoot Cody Dixon Single shot, I know that overall is not in my future. But I also run the risk that there won't be enough Doughboy shooters (usually 3) and the category will be dropped.

This same inquiry was posted in the Facebook group (SASS) Wild Bunch Action Shooting, and has gotten quite bit of discussion there. It was also posted on CAS City but with limited response.

Unfortunately, due to Wild Bunch Range Officer's family issues and the small participation, The Tejas Caballeros monthly Wild Bunch matches have been cancelled for eh foreseeable future.

First question (What is important to me in Wild Bunch?) 1. MOVEMENT! Multiple target arrays for pistol. Multiple reloads. Pistol arrays at different distances within a stage. Movement with the shotgun. 2. Variety. Target arrays that are not just straight lines shot in predicable sweeps. Geometric patterns (Ts, Ls, Xs, Y, Chevrons). Different round counts from stage to stage. Some stages no rifle, some no shotgun. Some stages putting a premium on pistol marksmanship, some placing the emphasis on quick mag changes. 3. Difficulty: WB should be more difficult than CAS. With CAS clubs setting a standard that ¼ or 1/3 of shooters should be shooting clean matches, I don’t think we want Wild Bunch devolving into that with 24x24 targets at 4 yards. Second question: (Rule changes I would like to see) 1, Allow 20 gauge Model 12 shotguns (as we now allow 20 gauge side by sides – the 97 was never made in 20 gauge) 2. In the Modern Class, allow rubber magazine baseplate bumpers. I don’t see a competitive advantage and allows more people to use what they have. Consider allowing Commander length guns in Modern. 3. Eliminate the max weight for the Modern class 1911. A lot of off the shelf pistols are an ounce or two over the limit and the other restrictions should still keep the race guns out. 4. Allow GI style shoulder holsters. (OK, I can dream) True to the movie,and shoulder holsters are allowed in Cowboy. The 170- rule would still apply. Actually probably safer than in Cowboy because of the need to rack the slide on the 1911. 5. In BAMM/Doughboy, allow 1945 or earlier rifles that have been rechambered by a military to a different caliber. This would allow Norwegian or South American 98K Mausers rechambered to .30-06, Indian Enfields rechambered to 7.62 or Israeli Mausers rechambered to 7.62. Of course, lead bullets would still be required. (.30-06 and 7.62 brass are a lot easier to find and cheaper than 8mm Mauser. )

So, the word from Land Run is that the Territorial Governors are discussing what rule changes should be made to fine tune the revamped Wild Bunch program, with changes to be voted on and implemented next year (if I have that wrong, feel free to correct me.) In hopes of assisting that discussion I’d like to throw out a couple of questions to hopefully a decent cross section of WB shooters. To do this, I am posting this on three different forums (fora?) (Note: I will post my own answers, but as separate posts from the questions.) First: What do you think makes Wild Bunch different from Cowboy shooting and that needs to be preserved? (What, if lost, would spoil Wild Bunch for you? What elements or characteristics constitute the essence of Wild Bunch to you? What would you tell the folks looking at the rules ‘Don’t touch this!’?) Second: What Rule changes would you like to see made? Hopefully we can get some useful response that might come to the attention of the powers that be.

One rule change I hope that the TGs take up is allowing Model 12s in 20 gauge. We now allow SxS 20ga guns so the Model 12 should not be too objectionable.(The 97 was never made in 20ga.)

Would love to have some idea of what kind of changes were discussed. Unfortunately w did not have a TG at the match.

A couple of our local clubs do allow "Cowboy 1911" ( 5 round mags). One allows shooting half of the Cowboy rifle targets with the pistol to increase the difficulty. The other doesn't and doesn't allow stoking the shotgun. It captures some of the elements of Wild Bunch but the large spitting distance pistol targets are less of a challenge. And at least in the local clubs, movement with the pistol or shotgun in cowboy matches are rare.

Get a model 12. You won't regret it. The only real advantage of the 97 over the 12 is the ability to use it in Cowboy matches.

Was there any news from the Wild Bunch Territorial Governors Meeting at Land Run - or from the Match in General?

Afternoon matches in Central Texas are a non-starter. One of the clubs shoots shorter matches in the summer months because of the heat. Our first posse done is usually packed up and on the road before the last posse finishes. Even in October we sometimes still have days in the 90s in the afternoons.

I have three CAS clubs within one hour, two more within an hour and a half and one more at two hours. All shoot Cowboy on a monthly basis (one shoots 10 months a year -- not during deer season). None shoot WB on a monthly basis. One had a monthly WB match but abandoned it 3 years ago. They now shoot it 3 times a year, plus at the Annual Match. A second club tried a Monthly match for a year, but could not get sufficient attendance to justify it (too much competition with Cowboy matches) and abandoned it recently (will still have it at the Annual match). The club two hours away shoots WB 4 times a year and currently sponsors the State Match. The feeling among the potential WB shooters is that they are Cowboy shooters first and they won't shoot WB if there is a Cowboy match at the same time. There is a "loc al" cowboy match every Saturday. A lot of shooters wont shoot on Sunday. And I have noticed a number of shooters have found WB, with greater movement and vision demands than Cowboy, to be less fun as they have gotten older ("ya gotta be able to see the front sight").

When I set up a WB pocket pistol side match, I made it any 1945 or earlier model, .32 or .380 , with a barrel less than 3.5 inches, mag loaded with 6 rounds. If anough folks had expressed an interest in shooting .22s I woul dhave set up a separate category for them. The caliber limits didn't seem to bother anyone as those are the only ones anyone seemed to reload with lead bullets.I made an exception and allowed the Walther PPK/S

The Tejas Caballeros will be hosting a Wild Bunch Range Officer Class at the 'Cabs' home range near Blanco, Texas at 9:30 AM on Sunday, April 28. Wild Bunch shooters from any club are welcome. The cost of the class is $25 for initial qualification and $15 for refresher. While refreshers are not required (except every two years for Wild Bunch Territorial Governors), they are encouraged every 2-3 years. (Note: the Wild Bunch Range Officer class that was previously scheduled for April 10 by our sister club, the Texican Rangers, has been cancelled due to the instructor having a family conflict.) Shooters planning to attend are encouraged to register with Doc Holloman, the Cabs Wild Bunch Range Officer at docholloman56@gmail.com so we will know how many student handouts to prepare. The Tejas Caballeros "Determination, Texas" shooting facility is located at 8545 Ranch Road 1623 Blanco, Tx 78606 7.6 miles west of the old Blanco courthouse at (4th Street becomes FM 1623.) The Gate is marked with SASS signs and is on the left if you are coming from Blanco. For more info, contact Doc Holloman at the email above. The Course is several hours so plan to bring your lunch.

happens to me a lot

Look on page 12 under Common Parameters: " - Standard length magazine release only- it may not be extended or oversized." This used to be the rule only for Traditional. For Modern, extended (but not Oversized) was OK.

OK. Tried to have it raised in the TG meeting last night but it was reported back to me that because the WB TGs are organized yet, they weren't discussing any rule changes. Our TG could not make it to EOT. I sent the issue through the CAS TG and the WB TG from another club. A number of clubs haven't even selected a WB TG yet. I will have our TG try to raise it. In the meantime I will be shooting a State Match in 3 weeks with illegal pistols. But again, why this change? I do not recall it being mentioned in any of the announcements or discussion of the Wild Bunch changes. I only became aware of it because someone mentioned it on Facebook a couple of days ago, and I run our club's Wild Bunch program.

The recent rule release has the following regarding mag releases under "common parameters" (i.e., applying to both traditional and modern guns) : - Standard length magazine release only- it may not be extended or oversized. This is a change (and a very unwelcome one for "modern" shooters, as extended (but not oversized mag releases had previously been allowed in the Modern category). What gives? Why the change? I thought the idea was to make Wild Bunch more open and inclusive? Do I need to go out and buy new standard length mag releases for my 3 match 1911s ro be legal again (and then not be able to reach the mag release with my short thumbs without completely changing my grip)? Is it possible this was a mistake in the new handbook? Are we going to ban the beavertail safeties next?

Thanks for the update. Doc

Is there an update to the Range Officer Guide coming out soon? Our club is having an RO class the end of April (we desperately need a couple of additional ROs and I need a refresh.) It appears the "old" version of the RO Guide can no longer be accessed on the SASS Website.

Thanks, Misty for the update.