Garrison Joe

My current Wild Bunch holster is a Mernickle, and I am pretty sure it has a steel stiffener sheet between inner and outer layers of leather. My understanding of a "metal lined" piece of gun leather is that metal is the contact surface with the gun or magazine. Stiffeners don't qualify as a metal lining. I have in the past used a true drop loop 1911 holster by Black Hills Leather. It was never questioned. At least one model of the early 1911 service holsters carried the 1911 below belt level (Model 1916). Rules do not disqualify a drop loop as far as I found. I'd expect it would be fine. I do agree that the criteria "traditional or military design" is pretty hard to use at matches to disqualify WB equipment. Good luck, GJ

Kinda depends upon how competitive you plan to become. Your fastest rifle times and most reliability will come from a gun that is close in feel and stroke to what you already run for Cowboy. Cartridge choice makes less difference in Wild Bunch than in Cowboy due to the high power factor requirement (150+ PF). Since the .45 Colt can be loaded to minimum power factor requirements without too much fouling or gas blowback, thinking of a shorter version doesn't seem to make much economic sense (like .45 auto or .Cowboy .45 Special). We NEVER have to shoot more than 10 or 10+reload in Wild Bunch, so being able to shove 16 cartridges in a mag tube is a no-gainer. But the conversion of a lever gun to run .45 auto can allow you to avoid buying a few hundred .45 Colt cases and a set of dies. $200 savings or so with that, but a conversion cost in excess of $500.... .44-40 is a good choice in Wild Bunch. It will run a little cleaner due to the thin case. It will suffer more case damage due to being stepped on. Buy cheap only if you are pretty sure you won't like Wild Bunch - and that idea will probably come true. Otherwise, buy to suit your expected competition level. I run the same bullets in .45 auto loads as I do in the .45 Colt for 73 rifle - 200 grain truncated cones. If you are a heavy bullet fan, a 230 grain round nose flat point or truncated cone bullet will work well in both. Good luck, GJ

What info you need? Poly coated slugs are the "new hot thing." Pretty widely available from the professional bullet vendors, easy enough that some individuals have set up to coat their own cast bullets. Removes need for lubing the bullet, and in 1911 that means the load hardly fouls the gun at all, since there is no lube to blow all over the slide and frame. Doesn't add much to the cost of bullets. They load to about the same velocity and pressure as a cast bullet load of the same bullet weight. I'd say, if you need real detailed info, you should call or email a couple of the vendors and find out from the horse's mouth. My opinion? I'm not convinced yet that I want to shoot poly coats, and so still cast and lube bullets. The tried and true serves me well. The poly coated bullets serve several pards I know well. If you are not fully convinced yet, get a 250 pack and try them. At the worst, you can give the remainder away to a fellow WB shooter. Good luck, GJ

Ummm, just discussed earlier this month, right here. https://www.sassnet.com/wildbunch/forum/index.php?topic=2732.0 Lots of pards like them because they load and shoot real cleanly. Many folks find they have almost the same accuracy as the best lead alloy lubed slugs. Good luck, GJ

As an aside.... POP and GAMM ..... That has to be someone's grandparents. Come on, fess up!

A wild and crazy operator might take that TRP barrel, cerrosafe cast it to get actual internal diameter measurements on chamber, and have it re-reamed (or even honed, which would be simpler) to enlarge the chamber to get closer to factory minimum specs.... That way the crazy operator would have a piece that did not need special attention to the loads it needed to function at 100%. And perhaps not be so crazy after all..... Gotta keep the big picture in mind. Perfect Function "uber alles." Good luck, GJ

Failing to chamber by 1/8" is usually one of two problems: The very bottom of the case just above extractor groove is swollen by a high pressure load or firing in a chamber that does not fully support the round (like some Glock, some sub guns). OR The bullet is jamming into the throat. I'll bet you have the second possibility under control. So, it's probably the first. And, yes, using the Lee Bulge Buster solves a large base (or rim, too), by sizing the complete case, not just the upper 80%. Yes, it also reduces the diameter of the case. But if one "bulge busts" before sizing and expanding, you get the mouth back to correct diameter. I find the bulge buster technique to be a quick and very effective way to make sure I get 100% feeding on my .45 auto loads. I set the bulge buster die (a Lee factory crimp die with the crimp cylinder and screw removed) up in a single stage press that I never put away. There are some expensive "roll sizing" rotary sizers that run rollers over the entire case to get it sized with the designed slight taper. If you want fast, that approach is what a lot of commercial loaders use. Good luck, GJ

I got to thinking more about this, and the re-engaged knockdown-already-down from the OP needs to be called just like they would be called if you had a full stage worth of knockdowns. For example - a stage has seven knockdowns for pistol, shooter's choice of order. Seven rounds to fire at them. Shooter engages 1, 2, 2 again while down, 3, 4, 5, 6. 7 is still standing. It would be called a miss at any match I've been to, whether the shooter hit or missed the #2 target's tipped over plate on the third shot. We see this a lot at EOT when old KD targets that only fall over to a 45 degree angle are used, and shooter doesn't recognize that the target is down already after the first shot, and think (wrongly) they still need to shoot that target. Another example - 6 4 knockdowns for shotgun, in any order. 6 4 rounds to fire. Shooter engages 1, 2, 2 again while down, 3. 4 is still standing. This is also called "just a miss" for target 4 at any match that I have shot in. I think folks are trying to make this much more complicated than we want the rules to be! Thanks, GJ

#4 covers the shooter mistake, I believe. Since there was no order on the knockdowns, any KD that was standing during the pistol string could be hit in any order. KDs that are already down are no longer a target, as I understand the rules. Shooting any Knockdown that is a legal target for your pistol - but is already down - is a miss. It does not matter if you "hit" the plate that is down, you shot at a target that has already been knocked down. Score a miss for every pistol target on the stage that the shooter did not get hit because they used the shot on a knocked down target instead. Your stage setup made all 12 knock-downs a "combination" shotgun and pistol target. But once it is down, it cannot be shot again without earning a miss. It is no longer a target at all once down! So, if shooter shot pistol at one downed KD target (and thus did not hit one of the stationary pistol targets), it's "one miss" And that miss cannot cause a P. Regardless of whether a shotgun or a pistol round put the KD down originally. Good luck, GJ

How is the ammo illegally acquired? Carried properly in a magazine. It's not illegal to load eight rounds in a magazine now. As Boggus Deal also stated, the shooter only earns a penalty if they shoot more than 7 rounds from a magazine. Shooter would only have shot 7 rounds that were in the magazine. There must be something else we need to know about why anyone would ever want to load 8 rounds in a magazine. Good luck, GJ

Perfectly fine! The only difficulty with that is to predict is when you are going to have a FTF. ;D Let's say you have a failure one time every 10 mags. Nine times you will have to clear a live round from chamber somehow, maybe costing you 2 seconds. One time it saves you a second because you don't have to load a "Barney" magazine with one round. Now you have cost yourself 17 seconds by loading every mag with 8. Your time is MUCH better spent making your gun and ammo perform perfectly with no failures. The value of that is PRICELESS! Good luck, GJ

Some WB troopers will have magazines that only hold 7 rounds. Even if the rules were clear here, don't REQUIRE loading 8 in mags. Don't force shooters to either buy different mags, or have to miss a shooting event they wanted to do. At the very least, let them do a two-mag loadout that gives them 8 shots. Five and three, or seven and one. Good luck, GJ

Traditional 1911s for WB have several finish choices; here's the exact rule that applies: WB Shooters Handbook, version 12.2 Page 5. So, as BD has said earlier, nickel plated and stainless finish guns are certainly allowed in Traditional. Plating means with any metal - golden guns are allowed. Sights have to be either black, blue or stainless. (same page)

The 1911 runs a balancing act between it's recoil and main springs. Springs that are not balanced can lead to poor functioning of the gun. The factory springs are 16# recoil and 23# main springs. This matches factory and mil-spec ammo that makes about 190 Power Factor. A 15# recoil runs well with about a 19# main spring. (This is what I run in WB guns.) I would guess a 14# recoil spring would like a 17# main spring. But I have never had to go so light to get a Wild Bunch 1911 to function well (running about 160 Power Factor). Too light a recoil and main spring will toss empties more than 12 feet from the gun. And sometimes bang up the mouth of the fired cases. Too heavy a recoil and main spring set and the 1911 will just dribble cases out of the gun - 4 feet or less from where you stand. Or even worse, have a few failures to eject the fired case. Between those distances of ejected cases - the springs match the power factor of the ammo well, and the gun should both function reliably and not suffer battering of the frame or slide.

The part about "hard to get the fired case out from under the extractor" tells you a lot. That would not be a problem caused by too strong a recoil spring. The case should be easy to peel off by hand if the ejector was not being hit by the case. That would not be a problem with too light a load. Case should be easy to take out then, too. The things that a case stuck firmly under extractor does hint at: rough case rim or swelled case or thick rim dirty or burrred or out-of-shape extractor (or extractor channel) over-tensioned extractor really dirty slide face Check those things FIRST. Good luck, GJ

Check these usual suspects: Gun dirty (check slide's "bolt" face and extractor hook). Too much tension on extractor. (Put a dummy round under the extractor with slide off the frame. Shake slide. If you can't shake the round loose, the extractor is tensioned too tightly) Burr or sharp edge or poor angles on extractor tip Ejector tip broken or ejector loose on frame Badly burred or swollen cartridge case Bad ammo with a real thick case "rim" or bent case rims Since it is happening rarely (one every 300 or so rounds) it strongly suggests an ammo cause. (Last two suspects above) Good luck, GJ

No, that rule has not been changed. Classic Cowboy category for Cowboy matches still requires felt hat, and prohibits a straw or palm, worn all the time for the match/event proceedings. and Both snippets from the SHB, Costuming Rules for Classic Cowboy, page 7, Version 23.2 (Jan 2019) Good luck, GJ

For Cast Bullets loading, usually if a powder is good in the .30-06, it works fine for .303 British loads too. The range of powders published in the Lyman Cast Bullet loading manual run: Unique - although it's a little fast for the good 1600-1800 FPS load that usually works well in BAMM competition - but great for plinking 2400 4227 5744 - most accurate in Lyman's testing 4198 And, would not be surprised if you are able to figure out a load with Trail Boss, Reloder 7, Varget or 2230, as well. Don't know that I would go to a slower powder than that last one. Not until you get some experience with what your gun likes to shoot. The .303 is very easy to load for, IF you have a bullet that matches the widely-varying groove diameters in the barrels. Slug yours to find out. Good luck, GJ

As for a quess on what you will get with your "wishing for" loads, here's my guesses (mostly in comparison with what Clays will do) .38 special - will be real squibby until you get to at least 2.2 grains. .45 auto - gun with factory springs will probably start cycling reliably at about 3.2 grains, and make 160 PF around 3.4 grains .45 Colt - squibby below 4.2 grains, and possibly will peak the pressure out before you get to 900 FPS (not that you need to push it that far) 12 gauge - If you load Win AA hulls with 7/8 ounce of shot and a commercial wad, probably 14 grains of powder will be needed to get a sufficient stack height for decent crimps. You could lighten things up with appropriate card wads to build height, if you are patient enough to stack up components. This will be one that you will find you still don't have time to load. Let's see how this works out once you start loading and testing. Be real careful when putting together the cartridge loads. Use your senses (and other resources) to to to keep an eye on either very low pressures, or rapidly climbing pressures. A real fast powder like Extra-Lite can create problems with small changes in powder or bullet. Small charges of Bullseye (also a very fast powder with high nitroglycerin content) have been reported to be complicit with Secondary Explosion Excursions (blow-ups), but have been pretty thoroughly debunked since the 1970s when the reports were commonplace. Probably most important - check chamber/cylinder and barrel after any unusual firing for a squibbed bullet or other obstruction or failure. You'll be working with no recommended minimum starting charge, so squibs are quite possible. Glad it's your guns, not mine. This research project sounds like more work than I would want to do (when there are lots of more technical supported powders out there), and no one's called me lazy in years. :D Good luck and be careful, really. GJ

WST and Titegroup are clean in my loads, when loaded to at least 11,000 PSI chamber pressure. Titegroup really smokes up cases below that pressure. WST leaves some unburnt granules below about 9,000 PSI. Both continue to work as propellants, and at lower pressures than some other "Cowboy" powders.

I have used WST in all the cartridges you listed, including .38 special. IMHO, It's absolutely the finest target powder in .45 auto and 12 gauge. It's OK in .45 Colt (and Cowboy .45 Special). Have never tried it in a BAMM load, and never will (too fast for anything but plinker loads in mil rifles). Clays or Clay Dot will also run right with it. As mentioned, Red Dot also. And those two/three will be slightly cheaper to load. Good luck, GJ

And here's why it is easy to spot a full length guide rod without making the shooter disassemble the gun:

Yes, solid full length guide rods have to stick through a hole in the replacement cap that comes with it (otherwise, the slide would not have room to open backwards toward the grip frame). Here's a snapshot from muzzle showing tip of rod inside of the cap. You can see a video showing installation and operation at: Courtesy of Brownell's Tech Department.

JB - Yep.

That stock was HEAVILY sanded by someone who did not understand the importance of protecting the wood profile during a stock refinish. It lost a little strength, but probably not enough to lead to immediate stock damage. Good luck, GJ