J. Frank Norfleet

I would think that a spherical front sight would cause sighting errors depending on the light direction. This is a great sight that a lot of people use: http://www.sdmfabricating.com/Gold%20Bead.htm

Legendary, No "Man Modern" doesn't sound right, Modern works just fine. But I think that "Lady Modern" sounds better than "Ladies Modern" and that's why the lady categories are named that way in the Handbook. We use Lady Modern and Lady Traditional because they're already the official category titles. Since noticing this I have always thought the usage of the plural "Ladies" sounded funky, if not grammatically incorrect. This began several years ago when ordering buckles for the state match. Buckle makers like Molly's have limits on the number of letters that can go any line. The limiting line on wether we could use a buckle design is "Ladies Traditional," seventeen letters. That's when I realized that the official category in the handbook was "Lady Traditional," fifteen letters. Yahoo, two less letters for me to find a line for them to fit on. Since then we have had the four main categories: Modern, Traditional, Lady Modern and Lady Traditional. I hope you don't change the Handbook on me, getting everything on a buckle is enough of an ordeal as it is. JFN

"From the far north woods" Vicious, was that Shell Stuffer?

Legendary, A question of semantics, which I asked the SASS office last month and got the "this is the way we've always done it" answer. In the protected categories you used "Ladies" Modern and "Ladies" Traditional. The WB Handbook specifically lists the categories as "Lady" Modern and "Lady" Traditional. From an awards perspective the shorter singular is easier to fit on a buckle or an award. But the SASS office uses "Ladies." Now a rule question. If a female enters in the open modern or traditional category, are they still eligible to win Overall Lady (or as SASS labels it, Ladies Overall)? I assume not, but . . . Lastly, are you ready for the day when a male says he identifies as a female and enters the Lady categories? I don't need to tell you what Bubba said. :) JFN

The prohibition of loading a single round into the chamber of the pistol has been removed. You can, but you risk chipping your extractor. So I wouldn’t make it a practice. I used to shoot with a guy who did. Eventually his extractor failed. JFN

Technically dry firing is bringing up a weapon up to the line of sight and pulling the trigger. Since the pistol is cleared on the line it should never be cocked or the slide racked at the load table. I do see a number of shooters closing the action on a long gun and dropping the hammer. Personally I prefer to ease the hammer down on my rifle. But, with the M12 you have no choice but to pull the trigger and drop the hammer at the load table. A number of M12 shooters hold the trigger while closing the action as if slam firing it. There is no difference, in both cases the hammer is dropped on an empty chamber. At the load table I want to hear the hammer drop so I pull the trigger after closing the action. So, close the action, pull the trigger, listen for the hammer to fall (yes that's OCD) and load it. I guarantee you the loudest sound you will ever hear is the sound of the hammer dropping after the TO stops you and says "pull the trigger," because you couldn't rack a round into the chamber of your M12. JFN

Largo, Let's let wreck of 2020 have its last gasp and see what 2021 brings. I'm sure a name will present itself. Congrats to Crazy Dazy on her winning a Covid trophy! Good to see you again. JFN

I want to thank all of you who braved Covid 19 to shoot the NM State Championship. Especially all of you from out of state. In spite of the virus we had two more shooters than last year. What a great time we had with all of you. I hope that next year we will be back to normal. Thank you for coming to the Covid Classic, see you next year. JFN

You might ask on the SASS wire. There are several cowboy shooters that have used them with great success. I had an American Western that ran like a charm with both LC and Schoefield brass. Running a pump rifle and a pump shotgun in competition is a challenge. A M12 works best if you run it like you stole it. A Lightning is an object of finesse. I gave up because I couldn't go from one to another, but a lot of shooters do. They are really fun rifles. JFN

Go to GunBroker and look at prices. I have bought 2 nearly new M12's on GunBroker, mid-1950s vintage for $350 shipped to me, including the FFL transfer fee on my end. There are a lot of nearly new M12s out there. I wouldn't pay over $200 for a well used one. So, make sure it is of recent manufacture in good condition and don't buy a "duck gun" i.e. 3" chamber. Most of them don't work for WB. Ribbed barrels are more and add nothing especially after you cut the barrel so I avoided them too. JFN

Here are the trophies that Arizona Smiley made. These are masterpieces! JFN trophy.pdf

Wait til you see the trophies that Arizona Smiley made! They are brilliant! JFN

New Mexico State Wild Bunch match is a go. Set aside the dates August 22nd-23rd, side matches starting the afternoon of 21st. Good food, Good friends and Good shooting. What more could you ask for. This year we are calling our match the "Covid Classic."

I've used a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die for all my 45 ACP rounds and 45 Colt since I started shooting WB. Makes a uniform round. I seem to remember Capt. Baylor recommending it in a Chronicle article, but I could be wrong. I usually get a couple 1000's of growth from seating to crimping but I get that with Dillon crimp dies too. JFN

The only way I can get photos to load is using the "Attachments and other options" at the bottom. And then choose them one at a time, you can only do 2. JFN

I wasn't at Winter Range so I can't speak to those distances. It has been a frustration of mine that we shoot rifle targets at pistol distances. Move them out so it is no longer a game of how fast you can lever the rifle but can you hit the target! JFN

The shape I really like are the oval grips that came on my Colt Wiley Clapp. They are thin in the front and thick in the back. Unfortunately they are too slick for me. So, I use the standard VZ grips with sharp checkering. Mil-Tac sells grips with an oval profile but their checkering is not sharp enough for me. JFN

GJ, That rib looks like it is added, not milled onto the slide like a Gold Cup. Added ribs are illegal. FYI bought a ribbed slide recently from Fusion Firearms to replace a broken slide. Couldn't use it because the holster no longer fit my holster. JFN

So is it like a Original Gold Cup style rib? Which is allowed. JFN

Happy Jack and the rest of the committee, I don't disagree with the call of one miss and a P. My question is this, Does the rule that knockdown targets and missed targets may not be re-engaged serve any other purpose than to create a P? We shoot a set number of rounds per string and in a set pattern. Any re-engaged target will translate in to a miss at end of the string when the shooter runs out of ammo. Just askin', JFN

Southpaw Gringo, If memory serves me, I don't think it is legal. There is no mention in the Handbook but it is different from the other M12s. It is a solid frame model that holds 4 rounds. Before you buy, get a definitive answer from HJ. All the variations that GJ mentions are cosmetic and quality differences except for the 3" Duck gun and the duck gun won't run on short shells without a lot of gunsmithing. So don't buy it either. There are too many firearm variations to exclude in the Shooters Handbook, especially in the 1911. So, unless it is specially included, consider it excluded unless a member of the WB committee tells you otherwise. JFN

GJ, another great movie is the Amazon film, "In Pursuit of Honor" staring Don Johnson. It is set in the 1930's portraying the disbanding of the Cavalry. Lots of great gear and costumes. JFN

I've been told that the actor who played Mapache was also the model for the Oscar statue. JFN

Might be time to spilt the WB shooters into waves. Morning shooters and afternoon shooters. Wish I could be there. I've had shoulder surgery and the Dr. told me to wait a while longer to start shooting. I will miss you all. JFN

Actually it has filled every year since I started shooting WB. JFN