Whitey James

I literally just watched a documentary about the '97 and how effective they were during WW1 trench warfare. The Germans protested the use of them.

Luckily I had stocked up on powder and primers so I never ran dry during the "Great Covid Drought" over the last four years. Now I am stocking back up. The next month may be very telling. 50/50 shot of panic buying and ammo/component hoarding. Never let an opportunity like social unrest and governmental overreach go to waste. raise those prices to 3 times what they were before!

I am happy with my loads, I was just curious as to what everyone else shoots for WB matches.

So far (2 matches) I have only seen one person shooting Traditional category. Is this pretty much the standard out there or just me not seeing enough matches? One thing I noticed was the only difference was the 1911 and how many hands you can use. I am a terrible one handed shooter and even worse with my weak hand. May be fun to have a stage that requires you to shoot two mags with your right hand and 2 with your left (either one handed or two handed) to spice things up. Back when I carried a gun for a living our semi annual qualification required weak hand shooting to train in case your strong hand gets injured during a gunfight. That literally cost a few "non-shooters" their jobs and they had to take a position that was unarmed until they could qualify.

I figured as much. I suppose non-reloaders would have difficulty. Honestly, I can't imagine not reloading and being very active in this game.

I don't doubt that the vast majority shoot Cowboy. Last match there were 29 cowboy and 10 Wild Bunch shooters. I'm not great at math, but that is about 20% I don't see a future where more people will shoot WB over cowboy, but, I do think it will become more popular with the shotgun rules. For example, Oak Ridge club shot it's very first WB match this month and it drew 7 shooters on a Thursday. They are now planning on shooting a match every month.

Just out of curiosity, what do your loads look like? I am currently shooting Missouri Bullets 230 grain "softball" that I powder coat over Titegroup. After this batch of bullets are used up I will be loading some 200gr Slippery Bullets (use for both ACP and Colt) Does anyone BUY factory loads for WB?

I like both Cowboy and WB. I feel like the biggest barrier for WB is/was the lack of shotgun choices since there are no modern reproductions of model 12's and 97's. My understanding that this was changed recently to allow any SASS approved shotgun. Even with this, on a stage where you stoke 5-6 shells a double would be a huge disadvantage. I have found WB more challenging than Cowboy. Not saying that Cowboy shooters can't shoot,it's just designed for speed with very large/close targets. WB has you shooting much smaller/further targets with your handgun and you have to do mag changes and clear any malfunctions. To me, this is fun and challenging. I have known about SASS for many years and had watched videos on YouTube of people fanning mouse fart loaded revolvers with weak hand thumbs with zero recoil and it didn't appeal to me. I thought initially that they were shooting .22's. After actually doing it I have a new found appreciation for it because it is very rewarding to hear the steel ring! Having said all of this, I truly feel like the stages in Cowboy could be a bit tougher though. either smaller targets at longer distances or raise the power factor to that of factory ammo. Shooting a clean stage or match should be an accomplishment like bowling a perfect game , finishing a round of golf under par, pitching a complete game shutout and not so easy. Thankfully, we have a choice and I will continue to shoot both styles but prefer WB for the reasons I listed.

Just won an auction for a model 12. The ‘97 I bought has a 20” barrel but the 12 has the 30”. Should I have it cut down or leave it as is?

Well, I just bought a '97 on Gunbroker. Figured I could shoot cowboy with it too. May still buy a 12 if I find a good deal on one later.

Agree with keeping it more difficult. Shooting rifle targets with pistols, moving targets like Texas Stars etc. make it more challenging. I haven't been shooting it long enough to want to make any changes. I just don't think I would like it as much if it were all about speed at very close targets.

Thank you for the info. I was curious about the Heavy versions so you answered that for me. Prices are much higher than I expected. seems like $500 is the cheapest for a decent one that's not pitted upon Gunbroker and I have seen several in the thousands. I called around to all local pawn shops yesterday with no luck. I will continue to shoot my 87 until I find a good deal on one.

I have considered buying a second '87 and just continuing to shoot the stock one for WB. based on my search over the last few days, a brand new '87 is cheaper than buying a Model 12.

Thank you for all of the info.

Thanks

When I first joined SASS I registered here knowing I would be shooting WB. I had my Alias changed to Whitey James about a month or so ago. How does one go about getting it changed on here?

Heh...That's the first honest opinion I have heard so far.

Thanks! I won't get one then.

Maybe it's that I just started a couple of months ago or that I'm only 53 and not full on curmudgeon yet, but why all the hate from some over Wild Bunch? I say if it helps bring new members ten it can't be bad. I knew as soon as I saw that Wild Bunch was a thing , I wanted to join. I like Cowboy shooting also Oak Ridge shot its first WB match this month and everyone who shot had a great time! It's not a Ford vs. Chevy thing, you can like both (at least I do)

I have been searching Gunbroker, are the featherlite models okay?

I got Cowboy covered with my Stoger and the 1887. Thanks!

Hey Dan! Not sure if you are aware but Oak Ridge is now doing WB. I shot my first WB match there and plan on shooting WB at Wartrace this Saturday. ~Whitey James

Howdy! I just shoot my first WB match this month and loved it! I used one of the new 1887 lever guns offered by Cimarron and saw that everyone else was shooting 97's. I am wondering if I were to buy one of them, which one and why? I like the 87 but I intend on having the "drop two" mod done to it so I would not longer be able to stoke the tube.