Doc Holloman

We generally only shoot four stages on Sundays. The Cowboy shooters shoot 5 both days. Usually we shoot 4 or 5 7-shot mags per stage, so 126 .45ACP. We shoot shotgun on 3 out of the 4 stages so 18 12 ga. and we generally shoot rifle on 3 stages, with one of those being seven shots rather than 10, so 27 rifle. 126 + 27 + 18 = 174 rounds. We recently hosted the state WB match and we shot 10 stages. Same basic round counts per stage. But I get your point.

We generally have 2-3 cowboy posses on Saturday, an 2 cowboy any 1 WB posses on Sundays. WB interest has been off this year. Lot of reasons: ammo (28-35 .45acp per stage), COVID. Some folks complain that WB targets are too far out and this we rarely have clean matches. Plus the general Cowboy shooter hostility to WB. Our ranch has 16 stages, plus a long range stage, so we have plenty of room and targets. We have a work day on the Tuesday before match weekends where we generally have about a dozen people.The biggest complaints I hear are the extra work needed to set up WB stages, and that WB posses move too slowly. Frankly the Cowboy shooting doesn't excite me. Repeated 3 target Nevada sweeps at 3-4 yards are just boring.

My club has been the only one in the area that shoots Wild Bunch on a monthly basis ( on Sundays, we shoot Cowboy on both Saturday and Sunday). Now our new Club board wants to limit WB to two " 5th Saturdays" per year and let the WB shooters shoot " Cowboy 1911" with the Cowboy stages. I don't personally find that an acceptable solution. Thoughts?

OK. I admit I must have imagined it.

I recall reading that while the Model 12 is legal, the Model 12 Trench Gun is not (reason being that the Model 12 Trench Gun is a WWII gun). But right now I cannot find that in the rules. Am I imagining this?

Update, there will be 3 stages that will be 8 shotgun. Shells over the capacity of you gun may be loaded from the body or staged.

For those planning to attend: Shotgun strings in stages will probably all be 6 rounds (so if your 97 or 12 is set up for 5 rounds in the mag, you might want to switch out the spring and follower.) Stages will be either four or five 7-round magazines for the 1911 and either 7 or 10 for the lever gun. Last man standing will be shot with two mags, the first with 5 rounds and the second with 7. Six targets- all to be hit.

Dusty:. Will "Modern" 1911s be legal for any of the matches?

Looking forward to it. You have me looking for a good cast load for my Inglis Hi Power.

It took me a while, but I worked out the bugs in getting successful loads for my grand and carbine. Using the bullet recommended above, and a load in the mid range with 3031 for the Lyman 170 gr cast bullet, I get reliable cycling in my 1943 SA Garand. Not so good results with 2400. I load to an overall length of 3.03. For my Saginaw Carbine, using a 110 grain coated bullet, I use the low end loads Lyman recommends for their 113gr cast bullet with h Unique. Works fine. OAL 1.680. Of course what works on your rifles may vary.

Time is running short if you are considering attending. We started setting up so e of the stages and side matches today. We have an very fast, 1911-only, Last Man Standing match planned! Also, Still a chance to shoot with the Texican Rangers this coming weekend and practice at the site ( if not the exact stages) . We shoot Wild Bunch on Sunday.

Tested loads for GAMM and BAMM this morning. Closing in on what works best. Have decided to use my USMC 1903 for the Doughboy side match. I flip up the rear sight and use the triangle at the bottom. Makes acquiring the target a lot quicker than the 03A3. Will still use the 03A3 for BAMM. Space is still available so everyone get your applications in!

May be a dumb question but are the 1903 front sight hoods, usually found on USN, USMC, and National Match rifles OK?

This Weekend's Texican Rangers matches, including the Sunday Wild Bunch match, have been cancelled due to weather and the field conditions. Another Wild Bunch match is scheduled for July 31.

Just a shameless plug:. Anyone wanting to get in a little extra practice under match conditions before the Texas State Championships, the Texican Rangers will have Wild Bunch matches on July 11, July 31, and August 15. Come shoot on the same range as States.

My Lee bulge buster arrived today and I was excited to start churning out a bunch of .45acp. Unfortunately, it took about 30 seconds reading the instructions to learn that it has to be used with the Lee Factory Crimp die. None seem to be in stock anywhere. Does anyone have one the don't need?

Flat. I have short fingers so anything that makes the grip smaller.

I just picked up a NOS Pedersoli Lightning in .45 Colt. YES, I have heard all the horror stories regarding Lightning clones, but, hey, I like a challenge and if I can get it to run right, it could be a game changer for me. I took it to the range this morning, out of the box, for a function check. First issue, difficult to load. The flat nose Hormady Cowboy rounds hung up in the loading gate and had to be jiggled around to get them to feed into the magazine. OK , maybe that is the ammo, and that should be a loading table issue, not a time killer. Moving on, second issue: racked the slide for the first round. Pull the trigger. Nothing. Hammer doesn't drop. Turns out the bolt was not all the way forward in battery. After pumping the slide again, the bolt seated and it fired. After several cycles I found that I had to slam the slide forward with an unreasonable amount of force to get the bolt to seat reliably, a LOT more than needed for a 97 or 12 shotgun. The ammo again? Lubrication? Issue 3: every third round or so, the round would hang up c chambering, similar to a misfeed in a 1911that hasn't been throated. Ammo again? I imagine that the rifle could use breaking in, followed by sticking by someone who knows Lightnings. Any recommendations? In the meantime, I could use assembly/ disassembly instructions. Apparently there was a set floating around on the Wire a few years ago. Are they still around? All tips, comments, advice are welcome. Doc sends.

Acquired a shotgun. Thanks everyone.

Kind of creates an ambiguity since I can think of one case (receiver mounted sights) where they are disallowed in the main match, but specifically called out as allowed in TR. OK, I'm a @#$%^& lawyer (retired) so I can be a bit pedantic. Occupational hazard. Thanks for the clarification. Doc sends.

OK, I understand that slings are prohibited on main match rifles and shotguns, but what about on BAMM and Doughboy riflesJ Certainly slings are part of the original equipment on those rifles and they don't present the safety hazard of bayonets (banned in the same sentence.) Is there a reason for the sling ban on bolt action side match rifles, or it just a carryover legacy of the main match rules? Doc sends.

Right now, we (Texican Rangers) have been trying out letting the shooter decide which order he/she wants to shoot the guns, including when we have the shotgun targets split 3 and 3, which set of 3 to shoot first ( I tend to want to shoot the set of 3 on the left first. I'm right handed so that makes it easier to keep the shotgun pointed downrange as I move to the right to the other shooting position.) On some stages we might throw in "but you cant shoot the rifle last" just to make it interesting. We tend to shoot 10 rifle on 2/3 of the stages, with the other third being 7 rifle (lets me shoot my Trapper). usually on one stage we omit the shotgun. We typically shoot 4 mags per stage, sometimes 5. Our Rifle targets are at roughly 20 yards. We have Cody Dixon targets at each stage so if someone wants to try TR, they are there. So far no one has given it a go, but I have an 1895 (Browning) Winchester in 30-40 coming in this week, so I may give it a try.

Any thoughts on this idea: if you have a shotgun malfunction (which of course never happens with the 1897,) letting you finish the shotgun targets with the pistol? It would mean carrying a spare mag for that eventuality, having the shooter leave the jammed shotgun on the bench pointing downrange to be cleared after finishing the stage, and having the shooter clear 1911 before moving (dropping the partial mag and either ejecting the chambered round or firing it downrange at no penalty.)

The Texican Rangers will have a "5th Weekend" Wild Bunch match on Saturday May 29th, if anyone is interested (or wants to get in an extra match before Texas WB states. See attached Flier: MAY_WILD_BUNCH_2021__ANNOUNCEMENT_1.pdf

Not traditional. Arthritic right thumb won't let me shoot one handed.