Griff

My son started shooting CAS in 1988 when he was on the cusp of his 10th birthday at monthly matches. He started out shooting his Mom's pistol, rifle & a Stoeger Uplander in 12 ga with 26" barrels to help with recoil, and the stock cut to fit. I loaded his shells a little lighter than mine, (very close to LNLR Winchesters now). Both rifle & pistol used 158 grain bullets. His Mom's rifle was a Rossi mdl 65 in .38/.457 loaded with .38Spls. In 1989 I got him is own Rossi, and slicked it up like his Mom's. The Rossi is a little less AOL sensitive than the Marlin as it has a positive cartridge stop, easing the lifter detent & ball lessens the propensity for it to throw cartridges too high (stovepiping), and shimming the right cartridge guide to help control carrier jump;; also aided by the heavier bullet. Marauder's Tuning Tips has articles with instruction for both makes of rifles. He won Jr. at his first EOT in 1990, finishing 2nd in 1991 to a 16 year old. By that time he was also running the timer at a couple local monthlies. He also won Jr. at the National Shootout in Raton 4 years running using that combination of firearms. (1991-1994). c: 1992/3, yea, he mighta been a little big for his age. The first time he beat me in a match was a proud day. As I'm sure other Dad's can attest!

Dunna matter; PWB hath spoken: The .38 Special was designed and entered production in 1898. With the first handgun produced for the Cartridge in 1899. It was originally a BP round, but ammo manufacturers began producing smokeless loads after just a year of introduction.

Y'all did note that PWB already posted that he's inquired of the ROC whether the threaded barrel will be an exempted external modification, right? You also shou'da noted that he didn't make any mention of the 9mm chambering. Ergo, if the 9mm is legal as a pistol cartridge, and rifles must be in a pistol cartridge, it stands to reason that 9mm will be legal in the rifle also. (Okay, not in Classic Cowboy/girl, but all other categories, fine).

Yep, I agree with this. Whatever they were set on to dry reacted with the cleaner you used and didn't get rinsed well enough.

Polish, and I mean mirror bright polish the chambers. Not just smooth, but shiney, like they're polished chrome bright. A quick jerk forward as you reach for the next pair and the hulls stay stationary, the left falls to the left of your hand & the right to the right You have to keep the barrels horizontal.

My side match buckles don't.

Ya done good, Grasshopper!

I haven't, wouldn't in an original, and would so advise anyone else. Good plan on letting him have some real BP.

This ↑↑↑ Although I remove the die from my Dillon toolhead and screw into my Rockchucker.

As you adjust your dies, all of them, keep in mind that the threads are "coarse", meaning that it only requires small adjustments to make significant changes in the amount of flare (or bell in the venacular), seating depth or crimp. Here is a thread I created on another forum to show how I make a Adjustment for a Proper Rollcrimp.

Sorry TM... but that pictured round looks neither fully seated nor showing any crimp at all. And Mike be only ½ right. With adequate neck tension, a 38 Spl, might not need a crimp in a revolver, but they don't have the combined weight of up to 8 rounds plus spring pressure pushing against that neck tension. Add in the hammer effect of both recoil and the movement of that column of cartridges in the magazine.

I've run real BP thru my Dillon 550 since it was new in 1987, and the MEC 600Jr.

And, if the Stage instructions were to read sweep the targets in a 3,2,4,1,5 sweep, would your erstwhile shooter, making the determination that target 3 was the 1st target on the left, with 2 the next target to the right, followed by 4, 1 & 5, as long as he was consistent, be following the stage instructions? To me, that seems like anarchy.

Doc, you very well know the answer to your question... relative scarcity, and complexity of design/build. And while a few might think they're "bad rifles for SASS", I think that's more a reflection on the Taurus reputation, observed continuing mishaps on the line, plus the difficulty in mastering their very different operation, when you have years and years of muscle memory to overcome. Some talented folks can span that bridge quite easily, while others struggle. I enjoy mine very much, but do struggle with it sometimes. Sometimes it runs like a house afire, other times it's like the firemen are gaining ground! I'm more than certain it's operator related, but haven't yet figured out just how to consistently get that house afire run. And while I limit my Lightning use to Wild Bunch, the difference in stroke length between the 1987 or mdl 12 and the Lightning is such that I'm still a bit "off" with the Lightning.

Since English is read left to right, even a lefty would conclude that target one was the left-most target. Being one of those which believe, "...if not expressly prohibited, I can..." I might be the reason SASS has stage conventions.