Grouchy Spike

As soon as the Registration form is posted, I'll be handing it to the USPS! Hotel is booked already.

You were missed last year. :-\ If 2019 is improved over 2018, then CVV will have almost done a miracle! ;D I'm looking forward to another good time with lots of shooting, hotel is booked, and the reloading for this match starts next month. ::)

Dusty, several BAMMers are already scouting the gun stores for Garands to become GAMMers! 8) Goatneck, thanks for your persuasive efforts! :)

On March 9, the Texican Rangers will include GAMM in the Saturday BAMM side match! Limited to 8 rounds per scenario while the management becomes comfortable with the Garand reloads and safety. If successful, GAMM could be a side match at the club’s annual match Comancheria Days in 2020 as well as monthly matches alongside BAMM after March. I’m thinking Doughboy in the future!

The January issue of the Cowboy Chronicle lists the 2019 Oklahoma State Wild Bunch Match as scheduled October 4 - 6, 2019. Read the article about the 2018 match in that issue of the CC by Dusty Boddams, and if that don't have your 1911 quivering to shoot that match in 2019, you might be ready for the undertaker! Hondo Tweed and the Roughriders host an outstanding match. Registration forms and a schedule of events are not yet posted. In the meantime, you can make hotel reservations. I'm doing that today! http://cowboy.okcgunclub.org/Wild%20Bunch%20Assets/wild_bunch.html The chicken-fried steak from the restaurant of Roughrider John Elder was undoubtedly the biggest and best one I've ever tasted. It literally filled the plate!

Dusty's enthusiasm for Wild Bunch and BAMM, and now GAMM, is contagious! He has 'infected' at least 23 BAMM shooters in Central and Southeastern Texas, and there is a growing number looking for a Garand for use in GAMM! There are some Garands now stashed in safes that are being oiled up, loads are being developed for anticipated action. Dusty has made significant contributions to our game!

Yep that's the way it's scored. Total hits. Time is the tie-breaker. If the targets were to be hit in a certain sequence and you didn't hit the correct target, no 'P' either., it's a miss. One club in Texas incorporates BAM into Long Range using steel targets with center bulls, and there is no timer. Scored on points (1 point for steel, 2 points for bull), and a tie is broken by a shoot-off. Good fun!

Goatneck, will the reformed feed lips of a magazine remain reformed after extensive use? Can the magazine tool repair feed lips that are spread out and cause feeding problems of 230 gr LRN? My experience with magazines with deformed feed lips are all mags with either GI or hybrid feed lips. What's yours?

GJ, in you opinion are well used magazines with GI feed lips more likely to allow the top round to pop out of the magazine, compared to say wadcutter feed lips which are parallel feed lips? I've had a round pop up from well used magazines with hybrid feed lips that are no longer reliable feeders. Fortunately the round popped up either while loading the magazine, or after insertion into mag well and locking into mag release.

1911 fires when loose round pops out of the magazine being inserted into mag well. The 1911 was not at slide lock, but had a chambered round with slide forward while the magazine was inserted: https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/12/20/one-in-a-million-bullet-triggers-race-gun-not-a-negligent-discharge/ Best diagnoses: The loose round either bumped the sear/disconnector or the trigger stirrup, and released the hammer to fire the chambered round. Has anyone had this experience?

Last Chance, my apologies for detouring your thread. I was addressing "We Wanna Grow".

Marshal Stone and Baltimore Red, I too want to see an increase in interest and participation in Wild Bunch, and that’s because I like to shoot the 1911 with numerous reloads and want more company! Having said that, I LIKE WBAS as it is, but would entertain any ideas for changes to add excitement to and participation in the game. IMO the framework of Wild Bunch Action Shooting is Cowboy Action Shooting no matter how much we might deny that. Substitute two SA revolvers for the 1911, reduce the pistol round count to ten, move the targets closer to the firing line, and WBAS surely looks like CAS. To boot we shoot WB on stages physically designed to look cowboy scenes. The market for WBAS would seem to me to be mostly CAS shooters. The movie ‘Wild Bunch” was a western setting without the cows, past the end of the ‘cowboy’ period as defined by the originators of Cowboy Action Shooting. The motorcar in the movie perhaps doesn’t play well either, although I recall that our hero John Wayne was in a western movie ‘Big Jake’ set in 1909 that included not only a motorcar but a motorcycle. Nonetheless we don’t have motorcars on CAS stages, only horses, wagons, buckboards, stagecoaches. I’ve not seen an equipment race (maybe I didn’t hear the buzzer) and IMO the rules don’t allow much freedom in equipment other than the use of a few external ‘modern’ parts on the traditional Government Model 1911: sights and beaver tail grip safeties, ejection port modification. No go-fast items like compensators, electronic sights, etc. If my observations and opinions are reasonably correct, then the options seem to be changes in the framework which includes changes to rules for attire, changes in scenarios, and changes to the design of the stages. That doesn’t fit well on ranges designed by and for CAS and would probably financially prohibitive for most CAS clubs. Many months ago I started a thread on the SASS Wire asking cowboys and cowgirls what would stimulate their interest and participation in Wild Bunch, but can’t find it in a search. I read with interest the objections in several responses, including recommendations for changes in the requirement about shotguns and lever action rifle caliber, but don’t recall any recommendations for significant changes in WBAS. I concluded that many CAS shooters just prefer that their handgun is revolving instead of sliding, don’t want to change, and like the cowboy atmosphere. Rightfully so! I grew up on Saturday afternoon western movies too. Well, maybe I didn’t grow up but I experienced that era in the theaters. “My heroes have always been cowboys,” as said Willie! This topic is a head-scratcher. :-\ Maybe one stage should include a BMG. Seriously, maybe the rifle rules should include a bolt-action military rifle from the period? That Doughboy category is gaining some attention and for a while that was an option locally. 8) I do welcome a discussion to increase participation in Wild Bunch. What do you suggest be changed/modified/improved to accomplish that? Let’s contribute ideas, no negatives – no words such as ‘not’ or ‘no’. The ideas can be sorted for feasibility AFTER we brainstorm.

Kid, how much PF are you making? I load 4.0 TB to hit 160 PF with a 230 gr LRN bullet and Federal Large Pistol Primers.

BD, Is is your experience that Magazines with the parallel wadcutter feed lips offer more resistance to spreading of the feed lips compared to GI or Hybrid feel lips?

I have a similar experience with these magazines in Ruger 9mm and Colt 38 Super. I sent all of my worn 45 Auto mags for exchange, complete with followers and springs as they request. Not a wiggle of a problem so far in hundreds of rounds in range duty. Haven't tried 45 Auto. https://www.edbrown.com/magexchange/ The base plates do not meet the specs for Wild Bunch, but for use in practice and self-defense cartridges, I'm well satisfied.

Hmm. In the example stated by Jorge, I understand the rule in the SHB to be that only 7 rounds could be loaded, which is the initial target sequence. 10 rounds would be the complete target sequence. There should be a penalty for not following the loading table procedures if 10 would be loaded at the LT, unless otherwise exempted by stage instructions. What am I missing here? Maybe some comprehension? Good questions, thanks for hashing this out!

I'd not known of the background about Peckinpah and the movie Wild Bunch. For others who also didn't know of the background and enjoyed the movie, here is a link to 'the rest of the story': https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/fighting-mexican-revolution.html "Real violent death is seldom pretty or bloodless, and Peckinpah’s insistence on realism means that The Wild Bunch portrays this as accurately as 1960s special effects allow."

LV, make sure that the rifle is a K31 and not any other variation of a Swiss Rifle including the Schmidt-Rubin 1911 Carbine. http://www.swissrifles.com/sr/detail/

LV, I second the notion by Dusty Boddams! You will enjoy the K31. The furniture might look a bit rough but I have yet to see one that doesn’t have functional hardware. Overall cartridge length is critical but easily determined. For the 170 gr Sil GC bullet sized to 0.310” by Purcella, 2.790 to 2.795 is likely the range with which you should experiment. I experimented with and use Trail Boss (15.0 to 15.5 gr) but there is no reason not to use other powders. There is a L E Wilson case gauge available which will help you when resizing the PPU case (good brass) to determine min and max case length and shoulder setback. That item will eliminate many headaches. I tossed the Lee sizing die and use a Redding Full Length resizing die which would resize the case further down toward the rim. I also chamber check EVERY round. If you buy a K31, send me a PM Or email and I’ll send notes which may help you climb the learning curve faster! I have an email address for you. Polymer Stripper clips are available from Northridge: https://www.northridgeinc.com/product-p/sc-4-1.htm

The Texas State WB Match for 2018 was an outstanding success! The scenarios were easy to follow and targets varied from 'not too close' to 'use your sights'. Goatneck Clem's connections insured that Main Match days were dry. BAMM and GAMM, Fastest Rifle and Fastest Pistol on Side Match Friday saw a few showers to help the hay crops, but we were under cover and dry. More side matches on Saturday and Sunday afternoons insured that the extra ammo supply was spent. Stomachs were full too! If anyone didn't have enough shooting, they must have run out of ammo before the activities ended. We did send some lead downrange! Thanks to Shady McLarry, Goatneck Clem, Dusty Boddams and all of those in the Comanche Valley Vigilantes who worked to host this match. Special thanks to Dusty and Goatneck for sponsoring Friday lunch and to Chula Cat and Shady for being the match cooks. Well done, CVV!

Another component that has an effect on the force required to retract the slide is the shape of the lower edge of the firing pin stop. A squared edge contacts the hammer a bit lower than a rounded edge, offering less leverage to move the hammer. A squared edge also slows (slightly) the initial movement of the slide to the rear when a cartridge is fired.

Good info. I've also been bitten by the Super Bug, with 124 gr XTP and 147 gr Cast! That's a bit too hot at 1225 fps and 1025 fps respectively with Power Pistol so I'll reduce the powder. Next powder to try is Bullseye. Local store has no Accurate 7. How much of which powder did you load behind that 160 gr bullet?

I've seen a shooter use a polymer stripper clip for a K31 to load his Krag. The stripper clip has a large cutout for the thumb to push the cartridges from the clip into the box. The polymer allows for a speedy drop of cartridges as the cartridges are held in the clip at two points - toward the case head and near the neck. http://www.northridgeinc.com/product-p/sc-4-1.htm These polymer clips are much more sturdy than the surplus OEM cardboard clips.

Last Chance, 100 Tripps? Awesome! I have a half-dozen or so Tripp magazines, and they perform well. I’m not beyond looking for new engineering or technology for improved performance or longevity, thus the question to the community. Whether the CMC feed rails with two times the strength of other feed rails (including Tripps?) will improve either remains to be seen. Who knows, the CMC magazines might outlast all of us. ;)

Hey Lobo, when you're shooting cast bullets, ALL copper fouling in the barrel should be removed for best results in accuracy testing. The 03A3 is one sweet rifle. You're gonna love it!