Whitey James

I ordered the aftermarket follower/spring. I'll let you know how it goes. The buttstock has cracks on either side where it connects to the receiver. Anyone tried the Boyd's stocks? Mine is currently wearing a set of the synthetic 3D printed "wood" furniture and I really want real wood.

Really just the bluing on the receiver. No rust or pitting. I still am going to try to find an extra barrel to cut down so I can keep the original in stock form. I saw a Featherweight barrel on eBay. I assume those won't work?

Maybe there were only six of us shooting, but I'll take it! First time shooting the newly acquired 1897 Winchester with no issues. All in all, it's been a pretty good week with my first ever match win and clean shoot, 10 year anniversary with my wife, and the presidential election results.

Yeah, I saw the mag follower/spring kits on eBay last night and it was just shy of $40. Guess it would be a better idea to buy the 870 spring and start trimming.

I took my "new" '97 down and gave her a good cleaning and shot a few rounds to test function. I can only get 5 in the tube. The 6th one is about a quarter inch or so shy of going in. Other than snipping some of the spring, is buying a Wolff spring a better way to go?

Picked up the 97 and model 12 from my FFL today. The 97 looks to be rarely shot!. The Model 12 has a lot more wear but gives it character!

I got hit pretty good yesterday at a match, one stage over spotting and took some lead shot to my lower lip. Stung like a SOB. I wonder, does this mean I have "technically" been shot in the face?

Being still very new to SASS I don't have any real hardline stances. Is it fun to hear the steel ring? You bet! does it suck to miss? Of course. I don't really get a say in how the range is set up so I shoot what is before me. I have been shooting steel for about a decade on my private property. I only buy/use AR500 steel so there is no denting and the targets remain smooth and flat and I maintain at least 10 yards of distance because that was what I had read was the safe minimum. I have never had a single issue. Now that I have been shooting matches at a couple of clubs, I have gotten whacked a few times with lead shot and bullet fragments when I am spotting. Take that for what it's worth.

That's a good idea. I will look around. Even if it's another 30" I could cut down and preserve the original.

Just to be clear, I never suggested that WB needs to do this, I think I said "may be fun to..." because I, myself, am terrible one handed and even worse weak handed.

I would like to hear the argument against it. I can't think of an advantage off the top of my head.

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.