Frederick Jackson Turner

Same week as the SHOT Show and Antique Firearms Show in Las Vegas. I have to work! You're killin' me! 😞 Hope everyone has a great time... Cheers, FJT

As stated above, if you buckle in the rear, it leaves the front open for business; mag pouches/shotshells/rifle reloads...some more robust gentlemen or ladies may not require utilizing all the available real estate, and choose to do otherwise. But, my 32 inch waist (34 after Thanksgiving dinner) is hard pressed to find a location for these necessities, otherwise. Cheers! FJT

I like a good mix of target distances and difficulty. But, the human mind is geared to process one event at a time. So...close targets can be fun to whale away on, and you can arrange more complex scenarios, if shooter is not overly worried about sight acquisition and proper trigger pressure. Longer distances - keep it a bit simpler, so the shooters can focus on their sights. In other words - good advice to match directors in ANY discipline - only have one problem for the shooter to solve, per stage. And you can easily fill the need by those who wish for more difficult pistol targets, by occasionally using the Rifle targets as R/P targets and also by sometimes allowing the option of shooting the Rifle targets with the Pistol. Mix it up, and have some fun! Cheers, FJT

A Remington R1 that Bodie 601 turned into something special; Les Baer Premiere II out of the box; Springfield flat front 1911 with MMC sights, with an Ed Brown barrel, link and bushing fitted to it; Colt Series 70 with better sights and a 15 lb spring kit. Sig 365 for EDC. Are you guys nuts? 😮 Cheers, FJT

You can definitely mod them to take six standard 2 /34 ss shells. Cheers, FJT

I like the idea of adding a bit of fun to the proceedings, Whitey! Series 70 Colt for Traditional. Les Baer Premiere for Modern. Seems to be working out! Cheers, FJT

C.N.; Let there be no doubt, I prefer the greater challenge that WB typically offers. (For that matter, I prefer slightly more difficult cowboy matches, too...) But, when you go to Bordertown, you know what you're in for; a "sit down, shut up, hold on," video game of a match. And, knowing 'Zona, I'm pretty sure he had mixed feelings about following those Bordertown dictates. But, I still feel he did a good job, and, for me, it was worth the 1,200 mile drive. Hope to see you down the road! Then, we can compare match notes. Best wishes, FJT

Just back from Bordertown, the Arizona State Championship, where, as an adjunct to the Fastest SASS Match In The World, they have a very popular and well attended WB sidematch. It is not formally sanctioned, so they played a bit fast and loose with the SASS WB rules, such as allowing shooters to start C&L (Condition 1), to make up missed SG targets with reloads, and Bordertown distance targets. It was fast, furious, great fun, and no one put their eye out. 'Zona designed a great match, and, if you find yourself in the area next year, I highly recommend it for something different! Cheers, FJT

Lassiter, chief progenitor of the "drop two" mod, says that an 1887 CAN be returned to stoke mode with a simple part which is easily installed. Yes to the Model 12; yes to the 1897 second, but I just ran a WB match with a fellow shooting a very slick 1887, and he was running just fine with it. Cheers, FJT

Hey, folks; I just wanted to share the results of my trip up to the Rough Riders Wild Bunch match, at the Chorro Valley shooting facility. Ambs Aces put on a terrific match; some targets were new WBup close, with numerous targets at SASS rifle distance, so you had to mind your sights. Long and short, I had a good time, with a great bunch of folks, and recommend it to anyone near the Central California coast. As a plus, they start at 11:00 a.m. (YES!!!!) and the weather, as it usually is, was perfect. I will be going back. Cheers! FJT

Looks like they've got the right guy in front of this. Thanks, Dutch. Cheers, FJT

California State SASS championship includes a mini WB match; Tully Mars' matches up in northern California are absolutely outstanding but too distant for more than once a year, and both Canyon Oaks Shootists and Panorama's Northfield Raiders will allow WB to be shot at their cowboy matches. Canyon Oaks is an old-timey SASS match, so the target distances are about right for WB, while Northfield tolerates us with a smile, without WB being scored with the rest of the shooters. Going to Try Chorro Valley's 5 stage monthly this weekend. It's a drive, but the pickings are a bit slim, so I'll give it a go! Shout out if there are others! Cheers, FJT P.S. As detailed in the April Chronicle, The German SASS shooters put on an absolutely terrific annual WB match, if you happen to be in the area...

https://www.sassnet.com/resources/cowboy-chronicle July 2024 edition. I welcome your thoughts. Cheers, FJT

https://www.sassnet.com/uploads/downloads/cowboychronicle/2024/AprilChronGO2024.pdf Cheers! FJT

I rather liked the match. The target distances were reasonable, with a trio of rifle targets that were a legit challenge... Both the target distances and the target spreads were greater than cowboy matches, and for all the concern about "cowboying my WB Match..." only five shooters shot it clean. A couple of the stage descriptions were rather complex, and there were two stages which allowed/encouraged, running with two guns simultaneously - in the middle of a shooting string. Not too crazy about that. I thought it was quite encouraging, especially given the shroud of mystery surrounding the architect of the match. As always, the all KD stage was popular, and there were a few stages which allowed the pistol to be employed in lieu of the rifle, which I really like. I have to admit, most of the in-it-to-win-it shooters used .38/.357 rifles, although distances and knockdowns kept that from being as big an advantage as they might have hoped. Everyone else shot what they had. There were no SxS shooters on my posse, but I believe I did see at least 1 1887. Good for them! Removing the politics from the match, I liked it, and would give it a solid "B." And would be glad to shoot the likes of it again. Hope that's helpful! Cheers, FJT