El Chapo

I guess I never really considered that to be an actual chronograph procedure because 1) it is not required at any level of match and 2) it doesn't really include any safeguards to ensure the equipment is reliable or even the testing is reliable. Which is probably why I have never seen a chrono at any SASS competition. An effective test procedure requires that scales and chronos be calibrated and usually multiple units are used to ensure accuracy. Nobody wants to ruin a major match for someone based on faulty information. I did pucker a little bit when my ammo only went 127 at my most recent match though. Chronoed 134 at home, and 133 out of another 9mm on Friday, only to barely make it on Saturday. I bet I won't do that again. That was with calibrated scales, two radar based chronographs, and a longer barrel!

I sure wish we had a procedure in the rules.

My Ariats (which I bought because they have a spur ledge) are as sneaker based as they get. They are boot shaped objects, yet they look like traditionally constructed cowboy boots as much as anything. Packers are also legal in any category, and while conventionally constructed, they aren't "movie cowboy" boots by any stretch. And there are a ton of leather or faux leather sneakers that people wear all the time, just pick a color leather comes in. I had knee surgery a few years ago so I feel your pain.

There are no wild bunch footwear requirements other than that "athletic shoes" and "combat boots" are not allowed.. There is no rule that boots are required. And in most of CAS, there are no footwear requirements other than these two stipulations, either. Many people wear sneaker based shoes and nobody says anything.

I run a 19 pound hammer spring as I have had light strikes with CCI primers with a 17, only with large pistol though. 17 pops everything in small pistol.

My combinations are the choice of Single Stack and IPSC Classic division shooters in something like 60 countries. There were something like 230 shooters at the (all 1911) match I was at in Mesa the weekend before EoT, I would be willing to bet that not a single one of them had a 16 pound recoil spring in their gun. And the PF there is 165 for major (USPSA) and 170 in IPSC.

Both of those are much hotter than I will be loading. That's about where I am now with my current load, I run a 14 pound spring with that. Most everyone was running 12.5 and even 10 pound springs in .40 S&W limited guns 20+ years ago with 180s at 950+. My slide was lightened, many are not though. I have been running a 14 pound spring with 170+ PF ammo for 40,000 rounds through my .45 without breaking anything. Basically nobody in IPSC or USPSA is running a 16 pound spring, that is the spring for factory 195 pf ammo. Going down from a 14 to a 12.5 is a small jump for me. I run a 10 pound in a 9mm with 130 pf ammo, 12.5 is the next step up from there. A 16-17 pound spring is massive overkill for 150 PF ammo. Maybe not enough to cause the gun to short stroke (but maybe), but like most factory guns, massively oversprung. Literally the first thing I do when I get a 1911 is remove all the springs and replace them with lighter ones. A stiffer spring stores more energy in both directions, which goes right into your wrists in recoil and slams the front sight down when the slide closes.

The benefit to a lighter weight bullet is to get more slide speed at the same power factor. 150 pf is pretty low for 45 Auto. I am going to try some 200 grain bullets this year for that same reason. I have had much better luck with round nose bullets in my 1911s, so if my 200 grain SWCs don't have the reliability I'm hoping for, I will be shooting a true 230 grain round nose bullet, which is historically what I've shot in Wild Bunch. I am going to be backing them down a bit as the ammunition I was shooting last year was loaded to ~170 pf. I had backed it down some from my typical load but I'm going to lighter springs and a significantly lighter load this year and dropping down to a 12.5 pound recoil spring. If you're shooting a stock 1911 with a 23 pound main and 16 pound recoil spring, you're going to want to load to a higher power factor, as the 1911 is designed for 195 power factor ammunition. I recommend the fastest powder you have in inventory, in this case, Titegroup, although many people say not to use it with coated bullets. I have not ever loaded Titegroup in anything so take this advice for what you paid for it. I was using Clays powder last year, I may continue to do that if I have enough left or switch to Clean Shot or WST.

I'd gladly shoot 150 pf out of my rifle and not feel a thing. Now raising the handgun to 175 or more, now we're talking.

I looked at the overall and the top cowboys and top cowboys. 8 classic shooters in the top 20 for men and 11 in the top 20 for the ladies. That doesn't appear to have made much difference, but it remains to be seen with more data.

I think that it's clear by now that's what people thought they wanted. I'm curious to see if the scores are different.

You guys are a bad influence. I want to shoot classic now. Someone needs to sell me another 73.

Dawson Precision makes sights for just about every 1911. Mine is a .090" plain black.

I like my 38 rifle just fine. Maybe I'll even load some 150 pf loads just for fun. The splits will be the same anyway. I'm never going to understand the obsession with that, I guess I'll see this year since there's going to be so many "classic" shooters.

So nothing different.