Abe E.S. Corpus

“The Bushwhack”, the South Carolina state championship match, will include a four stage Wild Bunch match on Thursday, April 6, 2023. This is the third year in a row that the Belton Bushwhackers have hosted our state match. It started off as a very good match, but every year it gets even better. https://sites.google.com/site/scstatematch/

We all know that the WBAS Shooters Handbook mandates that the TO clear the pistol at the position on the line where it was discarded or in the shooter’s hands. Rifle and shotgun are cleared at the ULT as in CAS (part of me really wants to stop making and reading references to CAS but since SASS is the sanctioning organization for both sports…). Because we tend to have fewer shooters in Wild Bunch, and of those we tie up two or more picking up brass, we often end up clearing the long guns “on the line” as well, avoiding the need for an Unloading Table Officer. I’ve heard it said that SASS has resisted changing the Handbook to conform to this practice. Of course, I heard the same comments early on about five rounds in the 1911 magazine and tactical reloads, so I have hope that additional rule changes are possible. Condition One starting position one day? As it stands now, if “sanctioned” matches require the shooter to clear long guns at the ULT while monthly (I wish) or quarterly local matches do not, we have to be very careful that we are not training ourselves into SDQs when we walk from the stage to our carts one day. At some matches we have cleared all guns on the line but required (encouraged?) shooters to stop at the ULT on their way out. Like tagging a base. I tried to stop there for a few seconds just to set the habit in my mind. I saw LL’s comment that some possible rule changes would be discussed at EOT. If this is not on the agenda, I am tossing it out to the Rules Committee. While you’re at it, if you want leaving the LT with the 1911 cocked to be a SDQ, please say so in the Handbook. I’d also ask that the TO be given a chance to “save” the shooter before the stage begins, similar to what we do with the rifle. Make that change with the shotgun, too, while you’re at it.

This is a good thread. The language in question is under “Range Operations”, not safety. Is it treated as a Stage Convention that could be overridden or clarified by the stage writer?

But…but…a cowboy action “black pin” said it wasn’t legal. Give me a break. I’ve been shooting cowboy a little longer than I’ve been shooting WBAS. Most of the CAS RO Instructors are great at what they do. Even the really good ones can be wrong, even on simple questions. That’s OK, they are volunteers. I’ve seen isolated instances where a black pin has not exhibited the highest level of competence and integrity. Even the best black pin might be uninformed about WBAS rules, and most of those would not offer an opinion on the subject. My experience with Wild Bunch officials (Committee members and WB Ambassadors) has been that they know their stuff. If there’s a more complex question they consider it carefully and give a reasoned response. It’s actually quite refreshing.

www.greenvillegunfighters.com We are having another “Introduction to Cowboy Action Shooting” the day after Christmas. We covered WBAS last year and will do so again this year. We have a 5th Saturday WBAS match in the Upstate (alas, not on 12/31/22) but that helps generate interest. If you are in the region happy to have you join us!

www.greenvillegunfighters.com We are having another “Introduction to Cowboy Action Shooting” the day after Christmas. We covered WBAS last year and will do so again this year. We have a 5th Saturday WBAS match in the Upstate (alas, not on 12/31/22) but that helps generate interest. If you are in the region happy to have you join us!

Or close by?

Our local matches have required 3 or 4 magazines per stage. I keep a magazine loaded with a single round handy in case I have a malfunction that results in a live round being thrown out.

Welcome! Where are you located?

Bad weather again; the match has been postponed.

We had 13 shooters, fewer than I had hoped but everyone seemed to have a good time. Napa Sidewinder came from Tennessee to shoot with us; another great guy. Aren’t all WBAS shooters the best? The next fifth Saturday falls on December 31 so there probably won’t be a match (despite my protest).

Draft stages are available on the Belton Bushwhackers website.

I agree that the overloaded magazine is a “no call” unless the extra round is fired. Interesting question in two comments as to which magazine held the extra round. If eight rounds were fired from any of the first three (of four) magazines, different result. When the shooter is not changing locations, making tactical reloads legal, it can be harder to keep track of rounds fired from a magazine. Back in the “all reloads from slide lock” days, it was easier. Not that I want to go back!

The next Belton, SC is a month away, on Saturday October 29, 2022. We have to make up for the Carolinas Shootout that has been postponed from October 1 to late November.

The match has been postponed from October 1 due to the forecast.

There have been other instances in which the Handbook did not reflect the intention of the drafters. I suggest this may be one of those times. The solution is in the pen, so to speak. I’ve been shooting Wild Bunch for about ten years. I don’t recall ever seeing a shooter leave the LT with a cocked pistol, but should it happen, I want to make the correct call based on the rules. I understand that when we clear the pistol at the conclusion of the stage that we direct the shooter to pull the trigger to drop the hammer (a final verification that the pistol has been cleared), then to holster the pistol. I don’t think that provides a basis for a penalty on a subsequent stage.

I don’t see a requirement in the Handbook that the 1911 hammer be at rest at the LT. The rule for movement with the pistol requires only that the chamber be empty. The slide can be open or closed. I don’t see a penalty for a movement with cocked hammer on a pistol. I looked at the WB RO/MD Handbook. I don’t think it leads to a different conclusion. In some places it contradicts the Handbook. For example, it refers to “loaded” firearms in a way that is inconsistent with the Handbook’s definition of a “loaded” firearm which is a firearm with a live round in the CHAMBER. I’m not recommending that shooters begin the stage with a cocked hammer on the holstered or staged pistol. I just want requirements to be clear before we hand out penalties. Someone asked recently whether it was legal for a shooter who had difficulty charging a 1911 to draw the pistol, thumb back the hammer and then rack the slide. I said yes, and I believe that is correct, but the way the Handbook is written it may be legal for a shooter to cock the hammer at the LT (assuming the chamber is empty). If that is not the intended result the Handbook should be revised.

There are some “Traditional compliant” pistols out there that have more visible sights than the original GI types. I think the Springfield Mil-Spec does. Ditto for the base model Remington R-1. If you are a cowboy shooter a revolver holster may serve as a Wild Bunch holster. Use the savings to buy good magazines. Mernickle makes good mag pouches. Most of the pouches cover too much if the magazine, slowing you down. Note also that Wild Bunch rules allow ANY shooter to stage magazines and ammunition.

It was one of the rules deemed to be an unnecessary penalty. I still keep a “malfunction magazine” with one round. Thanks to the “culling” of unnecessary penalties, I can keep it on my right side (I am right handed) next to my rifle and shotgun reloads.

For the last several years Cotton Gloves (the "ramrod" of WBAS in the Carolinas, even though he is from NORTH Carolina which we will overlook, giving grace to the less fortunate) has organized and run an annual match called the "Carolinas Wild Bunch Shootout". This year's event will be held on Saturday, November 26, 2022 (rescheduled again from the prior August and October 1 dates) at Gunpowder Creek Regulators in Lenoir, North Carolina. Gunpowder Creek is a "dedicated" cowboy shooting range with nifty props. Looks like this year’s match will be five stages with lunch provided. Watch this thread for more details.

Less than a week away from the match. Belton is making it easy to participate by allowing: Any SASS-legal rifle Any 1911 pistol Any pump shotgun A few people in the area own semiauto Thompson carbines. Belton has a “gangster” category for them.

Round count and draft stages are up! https://sites.google.com/site/beltonbushwhackers/

The Belton 5th Saturday matches were to have begun in January but that match was called due to weather, so the first match will happen on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Already looking forward to it!

At one time 1911 fixed sights that were more visible than the tiny sights found on military type pistols were referred to as “hardball sights”. I still use that term for rear sights that do not extend back from the dovetail (as with the old MMC sights or a Novak style rear sight). Is that still an accepted definition?

Don’t let a lack of magazine pouches keep you from shooting. Wild Bunch rules allow all shooters to stage ammunition and magazines. There should be a staging surface at each pistol shooting position (in case the shooter needs to discard a malfunctioning pistol).