Garrison Joe

Nice shooting, Sam! And Silvertip! Good luck, GJ

All Mod 12s were cut with the "new" 2.75 chambers, not the 2 9/16ths common to 97s. Lengthening forcing cone would be an easy and effective improvement, since you probably will shoot those modern plastic wads. Back boring requires removal of barrel thickness. You would want a good gunsmith to do that work anyway, and first thing he'd better do is measure carefully to see if it can be done with the barrel you have. It would eliminate any future addition of choke tubes, almost certainly. I've never heard of anyone back-boring for Cowboy/WB shooting, as it is most often done to improve patterning as much as reduce perceived recoil. good luck, GJ

Well, most of the rectangle blocks should be decision blocks (diamonds). The No answer out of those blocks should flow out to a "Not Safe to Move" state (rectangle) block. The final "Safe to Move" is a state block, so it is already shown properly as a rectangle. Because that is what you are determining - is the gun safe to move with, or is it not safe. Once even one of the conditions fails to be safe, the flow goes to the Not Safe to Move result, and the decision process stops. However, when you use terms that the rule book does not use (like "no loaded round in chamber"), you will probably confuse folks, and take the chance of getting a slightly different meaning put into your chart (it may disagree with the rule book). It may be shorter to use that term, but that is not the wording from the rule book. Rule book usually says: "empty chamber or expended round (in chamber)" Good luck, GJ

Well, no. You have the right ideas in mind and the requirements, but you don't have the general concepts of how to draw a decision chart, nor have you remembered that a toggle link rifle has a round on the carrier almost all the time. So, requiring there be no round on the carrier for safe movement on a fired round in the chamber is not right. Don't think the rules care about a round on carrier if you are in "fired round in chamber and action closed" state. If you look at the Miss Flow Chart shown in the Cowboy's Shooters Handbook, you will see how to combine several decisions, branch (split) the flow depending upon what the decision is (like - chamber loaded or chamber with empty case in it or chamber empty - that would be a three way split of logic). It is actually simpler to understand the situation just with the rules than with what you have for a chart right now. There is considerable promise in making up a good simple decision chart, so I would encourage you to try again.... perhaps starting with the really important decision diamond being the if action is open or closed. Then, based on the first decision, you may not even need to question if there is a round on carrier. Good luck, GJ PS. Here's a good tutorial on how decision flow charts are made up. http://www.edrawsoft.com/How-to-draw-flowchart.php GJ

Sounds like tons of fun! A lead slug (even with GC) at about 1500 FPS is more appropriate to much of what WB is trying accomplish with bolt-action rifles, whether in a stage like yours, or in a stand-alone BAMM (rifle only) match. Maximum-Speed-onto-fairly-generous-target-at-short-distances (yep, for these rifles, 75 to 150 yards is a short distance). Snap Shots, in other words. To get that 1500 FPS, you surely can use a variety of powders, but some of the best are faster powders than 4064, ranging from Unique, to 2400, to 5744 (about 18-20 grains, perhaps), to 4198 (fastest to slowest). Trail Boss? Maybe, but you won't find the folks who are shooting cast boolits regularly using TB by the truckload. A good mil rifle with open sights ought to be able to shoot 2 to 2.5 MOA. And, given a good bore, that is usually a good target for a quality cast boolit load. Good luck, GJ

That is a reinforcing block that was used on, if I remember right, earlier variants of 97s to support the ejector spring so it would work better and break less. If yours is loose, you can try to find a new one that will fit the pin hole tightly enough, but that may be real tough. You may be best off soft soldering the block back in. Gun Parts Corporation shows they have some in stock. Item 45 on this page of catalog: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Winchester-33573/Shotguns-42603/97Takedown-41826.htm?page=5 Good luck, GJ

If the lost brass pickup happens like it did 2 years ago, the Scouts will have school, and will pick it up at the end of the day. That way you still can buy it back the next day. Glad to hear that someone other than me enlightened them that they had priced pickup brass way too high 2 years ago. I'm sure they will be adjusting. Good luck, GJ

The Scouts (and some hard working parents and siblings) in Phoenix usually hustle pretty well. I've seen the brass available each morning, after the day it was shot, unless there was enough rain to make that day's crop impossible to retrieve. Watch for a tent set up with the Scouts under it with bagged brass. Good luck, GJ

Thanks NB. That was the intent - to point out it might be just one more. QM - if you are a new shooter to WB, you would do well to find a local shooter to let you know where locally you can get good ammo, or whether someone might load for you to get you started. We almost all load our own, especially for .45 Auto, as there is almost no commercial ammo that is really suitable for this game. For us to make a local recommendation, we would need to know where you are located.

Garrison Joe re-upping for side match assistance. PS: I see you did not have my name recorded on the list you posted of who was helping. Double check, as I can help where you need me! Thanks, Gene, you da man! GJ

You guys playing with trolls again?

First clean the mag tube good and lube lightly with an oil that dries well. EEzox or Boeshield. Look to see if you have kinked your spring. If you have, a Rem 870 spring will replace it, but it will need to be trimmed. Look to see if you have got the rear end of spring correctly into the follower. Reversing the spring sometimes makes the fit much better. Easy to switch ends of spring by mistake. See how much spring sticks out the end of mag tube. If more than about 4 inches, you might be able to trim back to 3-4 inches. But since you are trying to fix a weak-feed situation now, I'd save trimming it until the last ditch attempt. Most likely it's assembled wrong somewhere. Good luck, GJ

Yep, you can ease the slide down to prevent possible battering caused by dropping slide on empty chamber. Just don't ease the hammer down - let it fall. I usually will ease my slide down to protect the action work I have done. Good luck, GJ

Could well be that allowing "finger in the trigger guard" is a root cause of some east Texas clubs going to the additionally very silly, local "plant and then poke" rule to prevent the ADs that were occurring with non-hammered double-barrel shotguns. If folks maintained good trigger discipline, no ADs could occur while moving. Good luck, GJ

You do realize that it would be easier to run a lighter bullet at 125 PF than a 230 grain? Making that PF and still getting the 1911 to cycle would most likely be fairly easy if you go to a 200 grain or even a 185 grain slug. But 230 may be a challenge. Bullseye target guns have been run with 185 grains at about 700 FPS, or 129 PF, for years. Sometimes by dropping the recoil spring to around 12 pounds and mainspring to about 18 pounds, and a judicious amount of smoothing.

Here's a serrated mag release. http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/prod/1911-magazine-catch/F404770

You really don't need much beyond what is needed for a Cowboy match. Except for MORE brass pickers! Figure out how you want to score your local match. The Usual Choices are * total time * rank points * stage points It's easy to start with total time and then move to, say, stage points later, so even that is not something to worry about. Training (WB RO class) for at least 3 or 4 shooters will get you some knowledgeable ROs. It's a little disappointing to show up for a WB match and not have anyone with a rule book in their cart and the major rules clear in their head. But with the two great helpers you mentioned, that should not be a problem either. And, you might decide to "relax the firearms requirements" when you get started to let .38 spl rifles and modern pump shotguns in for a while - makes getting new folks out to the match much easier. Maybe even let 9mm pistols in, but the requirement for lead bullets often discourages 9mm shooters with their Glock factory barrels. Go Shoot! Good luck with it!

Per your first question. (After waiting a couple of days to see if a rules committee person wanted to run with this football) I believe the WB RO committee have settled on the "once the pistol leaves your hand" you may no longer fix a problem with it. This has wavered back and forth a little recently, which is probably why the pocket card is out of step with the Shooter's Handbook. Perhaps a rules committee member can comment, especially if I'm wrong about the current state of the rules.

Per your second question. You have pulled out two references that are specific SDQ penalties. There are more. The general pistol restaging rules that cover this situation are in the Range Operations section: Was slide locked open? No - It was probably jammed partially closed on the three-point jam. Was the magazine empty or removed? No - There was a cartridge still partially in the magazine. So, either of these two conditions would have made it a SDQ penalty to restage the pistol without declaring a malfunction. Both conditions - well, you get the penalty for sure. The rule book makes an attempt to point out two of a large number of possible reasons the gun can not be safe to be staged. It can't point out all the reasons and be brief. So, it's better to use the rule of what IS safe to do, and declare all the rest unsafe, as the Range Operations rule does. SDQ. A cartridge jammed in a three-point configuration is NOT "in the chamber". However, a jam where the cartridge is neither chambered, nor still partly in the magazine, can occur. A stovepipe is one. A "double feed" jam could be another. And the three-point jam is what you saw (had the rim cleared the magazine lips). All of these jams still result in a "loaded gun" that cannot safely be put down as it is. To prevent that penalty, either clear the jam and lock slide back, or declare a malfunction and ground the gun safely (pointing down range either way). It is more important for the shooter to know the condition of his guns in Wild Bunch than it is in cowboy shooting.

I find more problems when I run Model 12s really hard. IMHO, they do best when run smoothly and just firmly. Don't panic - run one like you are just a firm master of the mechanism. And just for completeness: At the loading table with a Model 12, you drop the hammer by pulling the trigger. All it takes is close action and pull trigger. Many folks are hanging a scarf or some other indicator from the trigger guard before they head for the line. It's a reminder to both the TO and the shooter that the Model 12 has to be checked at the line that the hammer is down. Take the "M12 indicator" off the gun, show the hammer has already fallen by pulling trigger, stow the indicator in your back pocket or other storage spot. You knew that already, I would venture! Good luck with that lovely hunk of steel and walnut! GJ

ER - Be glad to help anywhere I can. Assign me a job that you are having trouble filling. Good luck and see you there, if not sooner! GJ

Many folks have a Win 94 chambered for 45 Colt. Not a single one has ever reported that is it anything but balky and clunky when you try to run it fast. Surprise! It's a rifle length design that was modified to shoot pistol cartridges. Because it is so clunky, no gunsmiths I know of even want to do much tuning, let along try to figure out how to short stroke it. Would be like hotrodding a Rambler rather than starting with a Camaro or Mustang or deuce coupe. Results wouldn't be all that fast, and it won't look good either. Save that 94 for when you want to shoot Ruger level loads at pigs, bears or cats. Good luck, GJ

Sintered metal - steel alloy powder pressed to rough shape, then heated under pressure almost to melting point to partially weld the grains of powder together. Minor pocks can be seen in the surface on parts that are not well sintered. When those pocks are on the surface of a hammer, for example, I can feel the grating as the trigger is pulled, and the wear is quicker on the parts. That is what my hammer and apparently the sear were made of on an early Armscorp/RIA 1911. Fire control parts are what make up the firing controls - so, hammer, sear, trigger, disconnector, firing pin and retainer plate, some folks include the grip safety, thumb safety and slide release in the fire control category. A failure in any of them puts the gun out of commission and possibly allows it go go full auto. Good luck, GJ

Oh, and I have seen some lousy RIA and other Phillipie guns. When you use parts that are MIM and sintered for fire control, you are asking for fast wear. Good luck, GJ

cachet - reputation cache - a stockpile of supplies Good luck, GJ