Garrison Joe

Great policy for you. Won't help grow the game, though, if you have any concern there. Won't help keep older folks shooting as joint pain creeps into their lives. And gets SASS into a nanny role on reloading. good luck, GJ

I think there is so much loading data for Unique in the 45 auto that it was largely unnecessary to ask here where lots of non-sourced or even speculative info might be thrown around. It's very hard to get in trouble with Unique cast bullet loads in the 1911. Unique has been used since the cartridge's introduction - if there were lurking dangers in it, they would have been reported by now. At worst, shooter will stick a slug in the barrel. If we start insisting that new loaders in SASS stick to nothing lighter than published starting point loads in pistols (and rifles, too), it's going to be hard for them to make the soft-ish loads our rules allow (even encourage). And since Alliant rarely publishes starting point loads, it's even tougher. And over the last year or so, if you were to trust what Alliant publishes, you would not use ANY Alliant power except Sport Pistol with cast bullets in the .45 auto! They have removed Bullseye and Unique and any other fast Alliant powders from the on-line listing. good luck, GJ

Ummm, still is a RH holster, unless your photo is reversed. Which it is not, as there is no thumb safety showing on right side of frame as it would look if photo got reversed. GJ

Bigger problem - Looks to me that they made you a right-handed holster! I have cowboy and WB belts made with NO built in ammo loops or mag holders. All such holders are on slides to be easily adjustable, but locked down with a Chicago screw providing clamping pressure. Maybe the next one you will want to do that, so it can be adjusted to match your comfort needs and shooting styles. good luck, GJ

The change from a 230 grain slug to a 225 grain slug will make about 3 Power Factory numbers difference (lower). It will NOT knock down a 180 PF to a 155 PF or so! There is still something really wrong in your understanding of the load. 5.2 grains of Unique cannot make that load have 180 PF. good luck, GJ May be time for another person to chrono your loads. Not every chronograph is accurate nor is every shooter good at setting up and calibrating and operating a chrono.

NOPE! I don't believe something with your data! Lyman loading manuals for years have shown the starting load for a 225 grain cast bullet and Unique to be 5.5 grains of powder, which they report making 695 FPS. That would be 156 Power Factor - just barely legal for WB. Tell us your EXACT bullet weight and chronograph muzzle (5 feet away) velocity reading. I suspect you have the velocity reading wrong. I doubt you would ever need to be below 5.5 grains. Otherwise, you have a 1911 that is able to make a much HIGHER muzzle velocity than would be expected. I went way back in Lyman handbooks. The 45th Edition (1970 vintage) shows a starting load for the 225 grain slug as 5.0 grains of Unique. Manuals newer than that start the load data at 5.5 grains. And as to "flash-over" (AKA Secondary Explosion Event)? NEVER heard that concern when loading light loads in a 1911 or any other handgun using a normal speed handgun powder. But, there is no real reason to be below Lyman's 5.5 grain starting load that I mentioned above. I suspect the "powder company rep" made quite a mistake with his advice, or you asked him a poorly worded question. If he was from Alliant, he needs to go back to school. Did you calculate Power Factor correctly? PF = bullet weight (grains) x velocity (fps) / 1000 So, Lyman's starting load makes 225 x 695 / 1000 or 156 PF. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now, if by any chance you are using a 250 grain slug in the 1911 - STOP! All the 250 grain bullets I have tried do NOT seat well in the short .45 Auto case. The base of the slug bulges most brands of brass at the mid-case area when seated to put the top of the bullet lands at the mouth of the case. There are several real reasons why no loading manual shows loads for bullets heavier than 230 grains in the .45 auto. Potential failure to chamber loaded rounds is one of them. Also, easy to get recoil that pounds the gun too hard. My personal experience - when I was much younger and longed for my 1911 to really buck, I loaded the 225 grain cast bullet with 7.0-7.5 grains of Unique - kind of the standard load with Unique back when Col Cooper was holding court. A load that will make you understand the 1911 is a potent gun. But now I like the 5.6 grain load better with a 225 grain bullet, but not as well as I like several cleaner modern powders. good luck, GJ

I've seen a gun that was too heavy in Traditional back about 2011. Shooter brought out his backup. He carried on. good luck, GJ

I've never noticed any holster-tie-down (or strap) being used in Wild Bunch over the last 18 years. So, the call seems to hold to customary equipment use. But then, I would not see that any holster hold-down provides a lot of assistance. Nor would I consider it to be harmful to the "traditional" look of a shooter's costume. I think you took the correct course of action at the match. good luck, GJ

Try using shorter shells - 2 1/2 or less. B*P has had (10 years ago) a light load with a 2.5" shell. Or reload for a short shell. good luck, GJ (Six shotshells, each saving 1/2 inch, saves you a total of 3" - enough for that 6th round to fit!)

During the run of production of the Ruger SR 1911 traditional style pistol, which had 3 dot sights, they were commonly blacked out per posted judgments from the ROC of the time. And a couple of other 1911s also carried those same dot sights. They certainly WERE blade and notch sights, only allowing adjustment by drifting the sight. Honoring that decision is kind of important for all those who invested early in the sport. As for "military" sights, few folks use the military "barley corn" sights that the original 1911 carried. They are really small. The two rear sights that the rules book have cited as EXAMPLES (both considerably taller than the barley corns) - neither have been regularly installed on any military 1911s. "Military" is a style of sight, not a specific manufacturer/model of sight. How about explaining how the dots colored over to match the sight body gives any competitor an edge over those pards using "non-dotted" blade and notch sights? good luck, GJ

I've found that the small primer .45 AUTO brass is the brainchild of several of the companies who wanted to make non-toxic .45 practice ammo for police departments (who often shoot on poorly ventilated indoor ranges, and buy the vast majority of non-toxic pistol ammo). But, they were having a HARD time making non-toxic large primers - they just had lousy reliability. So, someone got a real stupid idea to go against the 100 year old SAAMI, mutually-agreed upon, shooting industry guidelines that .45 AUTO needs to be large pistol primed, and started making small primer pockets to hold the non-toxic small pistol primers that were easier to make reliable than the large primer size. So, it was a combination of errors. PD's which would not upgrade their ranges with suitable ventilation to meet OSHA standards, government entities that refused funding to upgrade local departments and larger ranges to meet current air quality standards, and companies making primers who still have not figured out how to make non-toxic large pistol primers reliably. But if someone has more recent intelligence on this situation, I'd like to hear it. GJ

Yes, having to replace plated parts (actually nickel on almost all silvery-colored plated guns, not chrome) when you need to do some fitting is the normal thing to have to do. Two ways to avoid this - buy stainless guns, or use blued guns and touch up your work with some cold blue. Are you sure this 1911 is plated, not a stainless gun? From the picture, looks stainless. The pinch spot is between the top of the grip safety and the bottom of the hammer spur. Relieving some of the grip safety or some of the spur of the hammer are things that are feasible. Learning to hold a grip that puts your hand lower on the frame also works, but I do not feel the same control of the gun as when I grip high (right up under the grip safety spur), and of course, a low grip lets the gun pivot more during recoil.

The guns that I know well and can get parts for, I don't worry about manufacturer's warranty. Need any more clarification? GJ

Since I do ALL my "warranty" work on my Uberti guns, I don't even read the warranty conditions. GJ

The catalog page for that gun includes this caveat: I would not have a gun for a sport that DEPENDS on reloaded ammunition with that restriction on it. Just me, but those gentlemen are not granting the purchaser full use of the firearm that they built. I don't buy Glocks for a similar restriction, either. I use a couple of Colt 1911s that I have and will put up against any comers for quality and reliability, fit and function. As always, there are requirements that each shooter has for their firearms, and I am satisfied mine fulfill my requirements. Of course, I had to replace the collet barrel bushing (a dumb idea from 1970 trying to make a single part of the gun magically garner high levels of accuracy for cheap) with a solid bushing, after that collet broke and jammed in a match. good luck, GJ

TiteGroup will work for what you are trying to do......might start with 9 grains. No "filler" material is recommended anymore by Lyman or other handbook publishers, due to ringing of chambers that is loosely suspected to be made worse with dacron or other filler. Varget would work if you were shooting 100, 200 yards or more; it would be more powerful than you need for TR matches. good luck, GJ

Anyone who is shooting 30-30 in TR events is reloading it. I'm sure several do. Are you looking for a good cast bullet load for it? What powder(s) and bullet(s) do you have around? I have seen about 8 or 9 grains of Unique and a flat pointed bullet about 170 grains shoots well at the short ranges that TR is shot. GJ

Even before the rule changes, the .38-40 (which is really 40 caliber) was a legal cartridge for Wild Bunch. GJ

Since you claim I have no grounds to express my experience on this, I shall not bother you with much further discussion about this topic. Take what I offered for a reason and a history, or not. If you have a strong desire to precisely explore the rules applying to WB about a non-conventional powder use in main matches at this transitional point in WB operations, then you need to contact the Rules Committee. Making inquiries of the general WB community may never satisfy your curiosity. GJ

This "extension" of Cowboy rules to WB has prevented expanding the WB rulebook to be the same page count as the Cowboy book. It was not an oversight - it was intentional. Perhaps this intent has slacked off a bit, as the WB handbook is almost as "bloated" as the Cowboy now. GJ

The cowboy rules which disallow duplex loads! If WB rules don't say something is permitted, but Cowboy rules say that same "general shooting" practice is not allowed, then the Cowboy rule almost always applies to WB. Good reloading sense also - a large bunch of BP shooting sports no longer allow duplex loads.. Besides, there is no practical reason to combine a smokeless and black powder in a pistol cartridge. It's not difficult to get BP to burn in a small case. GJ

For all things Cowboy/WB main match related: Ditto Red Dot. Ditto Clays. Ditto WST. Ditto Bullseye. Ditto TiteGroup. good luck, GJ

The Wilson 920 series of magazines are legal, though. Stainless: 920-45FS7 Blued: 920-45FS7B Even this 8 round mag, but no Wild Bunch need to spend the extra few bucks: 920-45FS8 good luck, GJ

This whole thread is about the Shooter's Choice options, some of which involves watching for engaging a target.

I would suggest discarding any rule which involves having to watch for "target engagement" with the 1911. Thus, we would not have to try to get into the shooter's head about "did he or didn't he" have the gun covering a target when a failure to chamber or fire occurs. Especially when considering only the TO is usually close enough to the gun's firing axis to even begin to guess about pointing at the target. Just: 1 - watch the shooter for safety violations, 2- count the misses, 3- watch for violations of any specific shooting order that instructions call for on the target array (to award any earned Procedural penalty), 4 - someone (preferably TO) watching the rounds-fired count (to award a P for too many rounds fired, or to let shooter know he is not yet finished with the required rounds-fired count). And to know what target(s) to direct the shooter to, when they need a "brain-restart" sometime through the string. That is about enough for any TO and Spotter crew to keep track of when the competitor is shooting 28 to 42 pistol rounds in a WB stage. good luck, GJ