Doc Holloman

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.

Having the opposite problem with the mag. It is getting jarred lose when the gun is fired. But I attribute that problem to myself. When I got the gun the mag insertion was too stiff, and I also wanted an extended mag release (short fingers) so I put in a new release with a lighter spring. Since then I have changed teh spring twice and the mag release again, searching for a release that will let me insert the mag normally, but not be so light that the mag comes loose. Haven't found the sweet spot yet.

Our club president referred me to 10 Ring Precision in San Antonio. Less than an hour away.

I am familiar with the SGT York MoH action, and have walked the ground east of Chatel Chehery in the Argonne. Actually I thought up the same stage for our club -- sponsoring the State Wild Bunch Match in September. But the stages had already been designed.

Follow up from Yesterday's wild bunch match: I continue to have a problem with my RIA Rock Standard in .45ACP. I bought the gun specifically to use in SASS Wild Bunch Modern Class matches. I had the local 1911 smith do a trigger job including a short trigger (I have short fingers) and set the trigger to 3 pounds. It has a 16 pound recoil spring. I have 500-600 rounds through the gun. About every 10 rounds or so, the trigger doesn't reset. Lifting my finger off the trigger doesn't reset it. I have to pull the slide back about a quarter inch and release it to make it reset. I don't think I am "short Stroking" the trigger because when I deliberately short stroke it, the trigger will reset when I lift my finger off the trigger. I am using new Ed Brown and Chip McCormick mags. I'm loading 230gr powder coated round nose with 4gr of Clays. I gauged each round before loading into the mags. The problem does not appear to be mag or ammo related. I have 3 other 1911s (Kimber Classic Custom, RIA Commander, and USGI, none of which have this issue.) I have taken it back to the smith that did the work twice, and he hasn't been able to solve the problem. I am not sure I trust him (competence-wise) any more and am not inclined to give him any more work. The president of our SASS club used to be the commander of the Army Marksmanship Unit and it a bit of a 1911 guru, and he hasn't been able to diagnose the problem. I'm beginning to think I have a 2.5 pound boat anchor on my hands. I would sell the gun and be done with it, but I don't want to pass along my problem to anyone else. Sigh, which Springfield model to buy? Any thoughts?

Out of Greenhorn curiosity, what is the Sgt York stage and how does it differ from Doughboy? Doc sends.

Looking at the Springfield specs, the "Operator" models with the rail tend to be 43 ounces, while the similar models without the rails are around 40 ounces. The trick is finding those models

Oops. Hadn't even thought about that.

thanks

OK, my reading of the rules says these features on a factory 1911 are OK, but want a sanity check: Fixed frame (dust cover) mounted accessory rail (with nothing mounted on it.) 3-dot tritium sights (not fibre optic or laser.) Looking at trading up and find most of the guns I look at have these features. Doc Sends.

Just to be sure, is this the Bulge Buster we are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Model-LP90487-Bulge-Buster/dp/B005KW5F3K

UK, I fired 50 new handloads at the range yesterday, along with 50 Winchester 230gfr ball asa control. Two failures to feed with the handloads (not sure it was the ammo.) Accuracy and grouping pretty much the same with the handloads and the factory ammo. One issue that I keep having though: I am gauging each round as it comes out of the press. about 8 percent are not passing (generally about an eighth of an inch from fitting flush in the gauge, Case mouth external diameter is a uniform .471. Cases appear to be bulged above the extractor groove. I'm using mixed cases, mostly Winchester but a fair number of Starlines (both of my feed failures were Starlines.) Eight percent strikes me as a high reject rate. Thoughts? Doc sends.

Turns out he can't get his hands on any these days.

Shot him off an email this morning. Will see what happens. Thanks

I figured that, but I have not been able to register on the SASS Wire. Every time I try I never get the confirmation email.

Just got my AYA sxs back from a disappointing 5 weeks with the gunsmith. Now, I find myself with one CAS legal shotgun and it is a cranky old 1897. Looking for a side by side 12 gauge. 1. SKB, Stoeger, CZ or Baikal 2. Hammerless. 3. Blued (not stainless) barrels, 20-22 inch. 4. Prefer Single Trigger 5. Willing to pay for already slicked up, but not a requirement. 6. Not worn out. Local gun store not able to get anything for months. Nothing reasonably priced on Gunbroker. Any leads? Doc sends

Ok, a new addition to my Holy Grail list: Krag Speed loader.

My first 1911 (back in the 80s) was an AO. Did not find it to be particularly reliable -- I got it then because I was a poor Navy Lieutenant j.g. and could not afford anything better. I imagine though that a good .45 smith can work out the issues. I've been wanting to find a Krag( a major hole in my US military rifle collection). I'd really like a carbine, but am seeing so many "fakes" that I haven't found one that I am confident enough to buy. But a rifle would also suit my purposes. Do you have any loading tricks to making the Krag competitive with bolt guns that load with stripper clips? Our BAMM matches have reloads on the clock. Doc sends.