El Chapo

That's kinda what I was thinking without saying it. I would support raising the PF for rifles to 150 and the handguns to 175-180.

My comment wasn't to determine if it was possible, my question was whether we can persuade them to change the rules to require it.

I wonder if it'd be possible to go to 150 pf even with the .38s? I am pretty sure I can get a 158 grain bullet to 1000 fps no problem out of my rifle even with 38 brass and probably with the powder I'm already using.

Already booked that weekend or I'd be there.

My WB 1911 is a Kimber I've had for 20 years. I also have an STI Spartan 9mm, Springfield EMP 9mm, and a 2011 in .40 S&W. So 2, 3, or 4 depending on how you count. I keep saying I'm going to get a custom 1911 but maybe I will wait until I retire. I used to carry the EMP more but I bought a Shield and it's close enough that when I carry an auto, that's what I carry.

Ha, and every Colt is necessarily not a Browning. It's not as if Colt is the "original."

I plan to shoot my Kimber that I've had for 20+ years in modern. I could be persuaded to buy one of the cheap guns for traditional but I don't own a traditional 1911 right now. I can polish everything up to my liking so a cheap gun is fine. I don't own any Colts and I don't see myself ever owning one. I don't really understand the appeal. If I was shopping 50 years ago and that was what was available, it'd be different.

Round count instead of sweeps Raise power factor for pistol and rifle All wood stock pumps should be allowed I like the idea of plastic basepads

I am shooting 230s with Solo 1000. I will probably switch to something like Ramshot Zip when I run out of it. If I can make Ramshot Competition work at the PF I want, I may just do that since that's what I use for smokeless CAS.

I don't think it's true that spam filters caught the confirmation email for this forum. It never sent me one. I even changed email addresses and it never went to either one. Something is wrong with the forum software. I don't think telling people to call is a solution. Not everyone is going to do that. The software needs to be fixed to start allowing people to sign up without having to to email or call. If we want to grow, we need the technology to work for us.

What I really wonder is why more wasn't considered from other shooting sports. Things like allowing every 1911, allowing plastic basepads, and having an open round count with a certain number of hits per steel target seem like no brainers to me. I can think of a few other suggestions I have as well that come from other sports that will not sit well with traditional cowboy shooters but will potentially draw people from other shooting disciplines. I don't even understand how the 38 rifles are controversial, and if that's an issue, it should be adjusted with power factor requirements, not bullet diameter. Maybe the simplest suggestion that I can give is to stop worrying about appearances so much and focus on the marksmanship. That is what shooting matches are about after all.

A 158 grain bullet at 1000 fps out of a 20" barrel is a piece of cake if that was what we were expected to load. I don't bother because the power factor is 60, so I doubt my 125s are more than 900 fps. I could probably bump them to 1200 or even more out of the rifle if that was what was required, but I don't think it'd enhance the game at all for them to require me to do so. If people really cared about power factor, the power factor for 45 ACP should be raised to at least 165, if not 175. A handgun at that power is much harder to shoot fast than one at 150. A 45 ACP with a 10 pound recoil spring and 150 pf ammo is a mouse fart compared to a 16 pound spring and 180+ pf (factory type) hard ball loads.

I would have done it a long time ago if they had offered that rule. I was putting off having to remove my magwell, remove my fiber optic sight and install a plain one, obtain flush fitting magazines, buy another rifle just to shoot another caliber, and buying a pump shotgun when I shoot CAS with a sxs. Now at least I only needed to do the first few things to be able to shoot. If I could have used my 870 police (wood stock, basic as it gets) that alone might have pushed me over the edge to try it.

I am facing the same dilemma! My gun is a 28" or so modified choke barrel. I have all the stuff to cut it but I'd talked myself out of it. I need to get to cutting!!

The way it is done in the "other" sport is not before the match. The chrono/gun weighing is a stage just like all the others. Other posses would be shooting and we would be subjecting our equipment to inspection. Even in that sport, they do not weigh every magazine, but I suppose they could if they wanted to. Realistically, if they don't care that much about the weight of the magazines, maybe they shouldn't be regulated, or the number should be so high that nobody bothers to game it. I had a plastic mainspring housing that I installed on my gun to sure it'll make weight with any magazine. I can't think of a time advantage for safeties either. My grip safeties all work even though they do not have to work in the "other" sports. I also agree with you that it doesn't matter if the thumb safety works or not as long as the rules continue the way they are. I have no idea why someone would think that was a worthwhile exercise. The "they" are whoever think it'd be productive to worry about a few ounces of weight or a grip safety. My point is that if those people really wanted to even the playing field and make a few ounces of weight matter even less, power factor would level it quickly. I agree with you that if the rule is 150 and everyone's happy with that, then it should be fine with it like that. I do think a more realistic power factor would make the game better in that it would make it more challenging and the guns more reliable with factory weight springs, but the reality as applied to me is that I'll install whatever spring and load whatever ammo I need to play the game, so it does not matter much at all. But it sure would to the person who thinks a weighted magazine is going to make him a better shooter.

My "other" 1911 sports they do weigh your gun and you get a serious sanction if you're overweight. I've never been safety checked and I can't see why that'd be necessary in a sport where we're not allowed to holster loaded guns. Why does it even matter if the safety works if you're not holstering with the gun loaded? That's the whole reason it's there. Weight is pretty hard to game. If you have a gun with the grip panel areas not milled out and add a tungsten full length guide rod, you might bust the limit by a few ounces, which makes less of a difference than shooting 160 pf ammo does. If they really cared about gaming, the pistol pf would be raised to 175-180, not 150. 150 pf for 45 ACP is weak. Even 165 pf is modest compared to factory hardball ammo.

The good news is that I have 2400, 4227, and 3031 here already, so I can get started soon on this project. I ordered the book you suggested. I already have the Lyman Pistol and Revolver manual so this will supplement that for rifles I suppose. Wish me luck. I am a member of the other forum you suggested. Those guys are probably the reason I'm here. Some guy at a match gave me his casting stuff (no molds though) and eventually I started casting bullets (or boolets as they say). Then I needed a reason to shoot them, so cowboy action seemed like a good place. From there I found out about WB and I'm going to try that before the end of the year. And since I saw this BAM in the rule book, I thought I ought to get started casting for that, too. I haven't fired a single round out of my 03A3 in at least 5 years, so at least this will get me shooting it, right?

While I wouldn't ask for load data, can you share what powder you use and perhaps a source for published loads? I made a few dozen bullets last night. I'm waiting on one more sizing tool so that I can size them (also to .311). I use powdercoat in my CAS guns so I'm going to try that, although I have conventional lubes if it doesn't work out.

Do any of you cast for your BAM? I bought a 30 cal mold last week and I'm thinking of developing a load for my M1903A3. I haven't shot it in a while but it's older than my dad and I have owned it for almost 20 years. I bought a mold last week for 185 grain gas checked bullet and I'm thinking it might be fun to play around with.

I actually started this thread because I had knee surgery in December after a motorcycle crash in September (not my fault!). My biggest concern is falling and deceleration movements because of what was reconstructed in my knee (ACL, made from my quad tendon). My doctor tells me that I am at increased risk of injury from the strength loss in my surgical leg until I can build that back (and maybe never, the studies show some of it may never return). That said, he also says that in the practical sense, I don't need to be overly cautious as the activities I want to do, my age, and the intensity I'm likely to be able to do them at are not significantly associated with reinjury. That said, pain is a real part of becoming an old man, and let me tell you, this has been a humbling experience for me even though I'm barely half the age of most of the people I shoot with. I'm not paranoid, but I also don't want to risk falling if I can help it. I also trashed my other knee in the Army, so dealing with at least some pain isn't new, but the surgery and rehab was a lot worse for a lot longer. I don't want to wear combat boots. I want to wear boots with lug soles. I think they will have the most grip on gravel and dirt and the other loose surfaces of the range, at least the most of what is practical and what I already have--I'm not going to try to wear football cleats. If I have to, I'll buy another pair or wear my leather soled cowboy boots. But I also don't think lug soles provide me any advantage other than making it less likely I will slip and fall on a loose surface. I don't want to look like a cheater, or hide behind some kind of doctor's exception, but if nobody is going to complain, I want to wear my lug sole boots. I had a great discussion with my posse today at a CAS match, and it seems like a lot of the people doing this sport have spent at least some time thinking about their footwear because traditionally constructed cowboy boots can be really hard on the feet and knees. I like my conventionally constructed boots and I wear them at more matches than not. But if I have to be on my feet all day, or if the stages have a lot of movement, or if the arthritis is just not cooperating that day, or the surface is loose, something grippy on the bottom is an advantage I don't want to give up unless someone is going to make a big deal out of it.

What rule says that? There are no rules in CAS that I can find that prohibit any kind of boots outside of the costume categories except those quoted. The boots I'm talking about are not jungle boots or sneaker based boots of any kind. I own the movie and I still have the questions presented in the first post. I can only surmise that the comment regarding "grip enhancing" soles is a relic from a previous rule set that had some different provisions which are no longer there regarding what is "SASS legal." Are the traditional jeep tire tread soles that our soldiers wore from the Korean War until about 15 years ago "grip enhancing" by your definition?

Are there any rules except the following that apply to the wear of boots in Wild Bunch? Also, this may sound like a stupid question coming from a former American Soldier who was in fact issued "combat boots" and wore them while in uniform: what are "combat boots" as our rules describe? Are boots that are not "military" boots permitted to have "grip enhancing soles"? If you're wondering why I'm asking, it's because I have a closet full of boots I'd like to wear and it appears that at least some of this language is left over from older sets of rules where what "SASS legal" boots were must have been more specifically defined (outside of the costume categories). I have no desire to "cheat" and after my knee surgery, I am not in any hurry. But I'd also prefer not to have to resole my boots to something undesirable for their other, daily uses.