Garrison Joe

Could be because any 1911 that is reliable and somewhat accurate will be good enough, if that is what you like. And there are lots of possible choices, unlike the very limited manufacturers still in the Single Action revolver market. I still feel the Traditional gun to compare to is a Colt Series 70, made either in 70s or 80s. Of course, one of those that has not been customized is hard to find. And, it will need bigger sights. A popular Traditional gun was the Remington 1911 R1, which is probably hard to find now. And uses the Series 80 firing pin safety. Or the Ruger 1911 with mil-spec fixed sights, which is also hard to find now. The Ruger has no firing pin safety. Both out of production, as far as I know. Using one of the Springfields (with their Brazilian cast frame) or Philippine guns (Rock Island, EMF, Cimarron, etc) is the choice of many folks who don't want to hunt around for a forged frame gun made to mil-specs, without lots of MIM parts (which is kind of my base line for acceptance for a reliable gun). You can easily spend $500 to $5000 for a top shelf Traditional gun. And more for a Modern category gun. And of course, many custom makers will go to any lengths your wallet can afford. It really is your choice of "how good" a gun you want. Not many want a Traditional gun priced north of, say, $2000. More the realm of top Modern guns. There is no clear consensus because there are lots of good (and poor) choices out there. good luck, GJ

20 to 22" barrels are common. Polychoke will have to be removed - illegal in WB Check the timing of the action that it never tries to feed a new shell while ejecting the fired hull. Don't know anyone who recommends changing out springs on a Mod 12 when they don't need 'em. Clean magazine tube really well and use a dry lube on inside of that, on mag spring and follower. If you can't comfortably put six cartridges in the tube and get them all to feed, then you can start looking for some help. If it's just that the spring is resisting the last shell, check for too much spring length. Only need a mag spring "unloaded" length that is about 4" longer than the mag tube. Good recoil pad makes many folks more comfortable. Consider shortening stock if you have average or shorter length arms or a stocky chest. 13" length of pull is usually not too short for medium frame fellows. If you are someone who looks at front sight beads, a larger bead probably will help you. A new firing pin is a good spare part to have on hand. Run them as smoothly as you can at high speed. That design needs to be run smoothly but firmly. good luck, GJ

I see more slides with 4 rounds more than other numbers. Mernickle makes slides with 4 shotshells and 5 rifle rounds. I've found that adequate for all but the most shotgun-obsessed stages in WB. good luck, GJ

My belt slide from Mernickle holds 4 shotgun and 5 rifle rounds. Snaps over my belt buckle. Would not be without it when shooting WB. good luck, GJ

What you do NOT want to do is to load a "loose" round into the chamber of a 1911 and drop the slide on it. The extractor is not designed to let the hook snap over the rim of a round as the slide goes into battery. 1911s feed new rounds by sliding the top cartridge in the mag up and behind the hook of the extractor. That way the extractor never has to flex more than a few thousandths of an inch. You may not chip or over-bend an extractor the first time you put a round in without sticking it in a magazine, but you will at some point damage the extractor so as to have to replace it. So, carry an extra loaded magazine, as EJ has mentioned. Or even 2 extra loaded mags if you ever fumble one during a stage. For rifle, yes you can do a reload to replace an ejected round, a round that failed to fire, a non-functioning or jammed round that you cleared from the gun, and that reload can come from any legal carry of extra ammo. Pockets and belt slides included. For shotgun, you can do a reload for all those failures, too, and using the same sources of extra ammo. If an ejected round falls on a table or prop, you can still use it. Catch it in the air - yep, reuse it. On the ground, you can reuse it, but firearm(s) have to remain safely pointed in the 170 degree cone while you retrieve the round. That is almost never the fastest way to reload, however. You just can't run back to a cart or borrow a round off of another shooter, because it has to be ammo you brought properly to the firing line if you want to reload with it. good luck, GJ

And Clays will be cheaper to load, easier to find in stores, and burn cleaner. Well noted for being very accurate in pistol-cartridges. Also makes a great shotgun powder. good luck, GJ

Well, given no wood working skills and no luck finding a part "for several years", I'd suggest that you look for a restoration gunsmith who has the skill to work the gun the way you want it done. You can have a from-scratch plate built or you can put on a different style stock that Winchester was putting on carbines at the factory, and be totally compliant with "no external, unapproved modifications" rule. Doug Turnbull https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/restoration-services/ Lonnie at Run-N-Iron http://www.runniron.com/index_cowboy.html Either would do a fabulous job, or even a "just make it functional" job - your choice. Waiting longer without a plan doesn't fix much or let you put your firearm to use. good luck, GJ

Would Gunville shotgun style butt stock and butt plate for the 1895 be of interest? https://gunville.com/collections/all?page=10

If cast bullets don't feed well in your 1911, you have chosen a poor bullet shape, or your 1911 REALLY needs a throating job, or you are loading to non-suitable length, or leaving some of the front band of the slug exposed above the case mouth. I shoot two different designs of cast bullets (conventionally lubed) in a couple of 1911s and have a hard time remembering one that failed to feed in either over the last 5 years. And I've loaded for another wild bunch shooter as well, and his gun doesn't have any feed issues. But, coated bullets can be shot with the same load data as cast bullets of the same weight, sometimes producing less muzzle velocity though. And they do keep the gun much cleaner since bullet lube is not being squirted into the action and chamber. So, not saying that you need to avoid poly coated slugs. Just that I don't think changing from a lubed bullet to a coated bullet is going to improve feeding. Your lead bullet load has some sort of problem, most likely the driving band sticking out beyond the case mouth. Regardless of which type of slug you load, every single one of your assembled rounds needs to be chamber checked to ensure they will feed. Dillon makes a good checker gauge. Faster than taking the barrel out of your 1911. good luck, GJ

What's the year the gun was manufactured? Tried S&S Firearms? http://www.ssfirearms.com Granpas? https://www.granpasgunparts.com Jack First? www.JackFirstGunParts.com NuLine? http://www.nulineguns.com/ Asked the Rules Committee if you can square off the butt and put on a low-profile recoil pad? That particular model just begs for a good recoil pad. Ouch. good luck, GJ

Maybe the easiest way to figure out what rifle model you have - watch this video showing many historical Swiss military rifles good luck, GJ

Since we allow shortening of stocks on long guns, if the rest of that Krag carbine has been kept in military configuration, I would GUESS that it would be allowed. Certainly is old enough. Probably having the rules committee look at a few pictures will be what is needed for a solid answer. Grab your phone or camera and take a few, in focus! Be aware that loading after the first five rounds on that gun will be slower than most other BAMM rifles. good luck, GJ

Need a pic or an arsenal and model number to be sure of that being a rifle issued to some armed forces up through WW II, but most of the Swiss 7.5 rifles and carbines are correct for BAMM (or Doughboy). It needs to be unmodified from the configuration and sights it was issued with. If it works as usual, your rifle will like a cast bullet load that many others don't. Murphy at work. But some great cast bullet military cartridge powders for 1600 to 1800 FPS are Varget, Reloder 7, 5744, 4198, 2400, 4227. For lighter loads, then Unique and Red Dot and 231. Cast bullet at least 16 Brinell hardness, sized .309 ought to be just about perfect. I'd look for a 150 to 180 grain design that you like. So that 170 grain mold you already have would be first thing to try. good luck, GJ

The full rules handbook can be found at this link (on the SASS handbooks page): https://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/SASS%20WILD%20BUNCH%20Action%20Shooting%20Handbook%20Vers%2015%203.5.21.pdf I don't find either the full rules or the summary of changes on the Wild Bunch Rules forum yet, though. They will probably show up there fairly soon. A new version of the WB RO manual is here: https://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/WB%20RO_Manual%20-%2015%203.16.21.pdf And the WB match director's guide here: https://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/WB%20MD%20Handbook%20-%20Vers%2012%203.5.21.pdf good luck, GJ

Well, your rifle is probably a Swiss K31 straight pull bolt rifle then. Should look like the attached picture. 7.5×55mm Swiss is that gun's cartridge. It takes an odd size lead or jacketed bullet - nominally .306". A cast bullet sized to .307 or .308 usually works fine. Without too much worry, normal 30 caliber jacketed bullets will work safely. It's generally a VERY accurate piece, and uncommonly well taken care of. And was never dropped. Hard to get brass for it. And the stripper clips for rapid reloading are fragile, expensive and unique to that gun. Privi Partisan is making new ammo for it, and sometimes you can find Hornady rounds too.

After I had picked myself up off the ground from laughing so hard, I'd use the meta-rule - "Don't be a hard A$$" (Besides, a round needs to be FIRED to actually have a bullet go down range for shooter to own stage) good luck, GJ

My best loads for 6.5 Swede for BAMM rifle use the Lyman 266673 mold from which I drop a 16 Brinell hardness bullet at 150 grain weight. Then I water quench to about 27 Brinell hardness, lube with Xlox or Carnuba Red lubes. Most importantly, shoot for a muzzle velocity close to 1600 FPS. The Swede barrels have a VERY fast twist rate and don't shoot any cast bullet accurately MOST of the time at velocities higher than that. (Which is not the sweet spot for most other military surplus rifles. '03 Springfields tend to like 1800-1900 FPS in my experience) So, a real good load I use is 17 grains of Reloder 7 - shoots under 1.5" at 100 yards. But if you have some old (no longer made) IMR 4759, about 16.5 grains will usually shoot even tighter. Also, the Night Owl Enterprises 270-163 mold is another winner. I've gotten some loads using it's water-quenched bullets grouping 0.75" at 100 (iron sights). Again, right at about 1600 FPS. As for brass - a lot of mine is Lapua. Seems like I was getting most of that from Graf's on-line, but that was WELL before our current panic situation. It is VERY well made and makes accurate loads. For just "shooting" ammo, I was able to get a few hundred Privi Partisan FMJ rounds and fire to obtain "pretty good" brass. Hornady also has made runs of nice 6.5 Swede brass in the past. Today, Brass is where you find it, and since I haven't tried to find it for several years, my suggestions may be "dry holes" now. good luck, GJ

And most folks in the shooting industry believe it is recoil momentum, not recoil energy, that is what most folks feel. Since power factor is a momentum calculation (mass times velocity), and both weights of bullets can be loaded to the same power factor to meet rules, it makes sense to me that they have just about the same felt recoil. And that is what I feel when I shoot those loads side by side - just about the same recoil effects. (Yes, I have read the SAAMI definition of gun recoil ENERGY. They start out talking about momentum being what they are concerned with, and then shift the discussion to energy. Although their math works, I believe their shift in focus from momentum to free energy is just wrong). But, what should matter to YOU is what YOU experience with recoil. Try it out and see. I just have found myself that there is little difference with both bullet weights loaded to the same Power Factor. BTW - why would our WB rules establish that Power Factor was the correct way to set a minimum floor for making sure folks were not shooting powder-puff loads, and then some folks want to shift to energy to talk about recoil? good luck, GJ

You don't make it clear, but I assume you are talking about 250 grain bullets in a .45 Colt RIFLE load. That would be fine, and especially useful with a Marlin rifle with it's standard OVERSIZE chamber that is hard to seal up from the blow back of combustion gases. Where a 250 grain bullet usually CANNOT be made to work is in the .45 auto case for your pistol. If you seat most 250 grain bullets deep enough to meet the max OAL length for that cartridge, the base of the bullet swells the case enough to cause a bulge there, and some rounds will not chamber. Its in reference to PISTOL loads that you saw most of the comments about using a 230 grain bullet instead of a 200 grain bullet. There's so slight a difference there that I don't care, and I continue to shoot a 200 grain Truncated Cone slug (both in pistol and rifle). THAT really helps ME keep things simple. good luck, GJ

I'd give Johnny Meadows a call. He's very likely to have at least one in his inventory. There's another post with his phone number on the forum. email - johnnymeadows55 at-sign yahoo.com good luck, GJ

I have had serious repair work (including timing resetting, locking recess recutting) done by NuLine Guns in Missouri. They are also a GREAT source of new old stock M12 parts, since they bought a lot of Winchester parts stock decades ago. http://www.nulineguns.com/ You are a few years too late to have either Herb Orre or Stu Wright, both of whom worked in Pinckneyville, IL, work on your 12. I had Stu sleeve a badly bulged M12 chamber coming from a previous owner getting carried away with high pressure loads. Those two were Model 12 geniuses. But there is a younger guy now at Mann's Gunshop that I have heard does lots of Winchester shotgun work, by the name of Justin. 618-357-2911 If you just want your M12 slicked up, there are several SASS/WB gunsmiths who can do that. See other folks' posts. good luck, GJ

Although no one has posted round counts yet, typical "big match" WB round counts (average per stage) run about 35 pistol, 8 rifle and 7 shotgun per stage. Multiply by the 12 stages they expect to put up, and you can see the ammo needed for the WB match. Then take another 100-200 pistol, 100 rifle and 100-200 shotgun for spares and side matches (which have not been called out yet either), and you know how big the pack mule is going to have to be. Be SURE you have chronographed your loads and calculated power factors for ammo shot from your 1911 and rifle. Big matches always chrono a sample of shooters and their ammo. 160 PF is a good average power factor to "shoot" for. good luck, GJ

I use a 19# mainspring (rather than 17#), but really do like the 15# recoil spring. That is all that is needed if you only shoot WB level loads. If you would expect to shoot a lot of factory or hotter loads, then the factory standard 23 and 16 springs make sense. If you don't have a rounded-bottom-edge firing pin retainer, it makes a big difference in racking the slide to load a round. Firing pin and spring - I usually let go for 25,000 rounds. Extractor - when I no longer see fired brass piling up in my usual location about 6 feet from gun, and about 30-45 degrees back from the firing line. Or when I get 10% of case mouths dinged up. A "10-8 extractor test" or a "shake-the-slide-with-dummy-round-under-extractor test" gets performed periodically - maybe once a year. good luck, GJ

I replace those two springs at about 5,000 rounds. I often use Wilson springs, but Wolff are fine by me too. And when replacing the mainspring, I usually put in a new sear (three-fingered) spring. Flat springs are not long life springs. good luck, GJ

I've seen folks report that GD works fine at our "moderate" power factors. Lyman cast bullet loading data shows it to be very safe to run in .45 auto loading. It won't be as clean and accurate as WST when loading .45 auto. But it will function the 1911 just fine. BTW - If you are chasing a slightly slower burn rate powder to try to get less felt recoil in the 1911, that is a hard goal to achieve. Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook data for .45 auto calls for 4.8 grains Green Dot under a 225 grain cast bullet to make 725 FPS. That would be 163 Power Factor, if your pistol shoots like Lyman's test gun did. Or about 5.4 grains to make 750 FPS with a 200 grain cast bullet. As always, chronograph the loads in your gun to make sure you meet PF. good luck, GJ