Lou Graham, # 26112

I am another one that used these wonderful shotguns for years before they was banned by SASS. (It was before I switched to BP, so it's been awhile) Function check as described on Maurader's website was done every time it came out of the safe. Best pump shotgun ever, loved that gun. It was 10 times better than the best-operating '97 ever thought of being. Note the "APOMO" in my signature. Stands for "A Pi$$ed Off Marlin Owner." Anybody can do something stupid with any firearm that results in serious injury or even death. During an ownership change, the lawyers for Marlin assumed the shooting public was a collection of morons and they disavowed all responsibility for an accident by telling everyone not to use any of them. Problem solved as far as the lawyers were concerned.

Howdy Rusty! Glad you are coming back. Get with Harmon, he's still a hoot n' a half and a great pard. We sure had some laughs in Maine back in the day...……... I'm another one from Bushwacker Nation that bailed and moved to AZ. And I still have my little .38 Marlin you fixed up for me. I'll never part with it. It has been used to teach countless teenage girls and ladies over the years.

There is nothing wrong with looking at people that already shoot to draw in new members. Another place to get shooters is the non-shooting population. Many states require a class to get a license. Big hurdle to some, but even if they do that, they still didn't get any range time with the kind of guns we use. We specifically say coming to a match is not the place to learn to shoot. Yes, we help new people on an ad hoc basis but there's not an overall plan for that in SASS. Ladies are the key: If Mamma wants to shoot, the family is gonna go shooting! Women on Target from the NRA does events for non-shooting ladies. Often, the fellers have to chip in to help run them as we don't have enough ladies to do all the instruction, supervision and to run the event. Having as many women as you can is key so the ladies can see that it is totally possible for them to learn to shoot. Sometimes it is a pared-down day taken from an NRA basic pistol class, with safety instruction followed by one-on-one assistance at the firing line, sometimes it features a variety of shooting sports (IDPA, silhouette, trap, COWBOY, etc). Another feature of the day can be demonstrations by people (hopefully mostly or at least some ladies) of what doing that specific sport looks like in competition. Yes, you can bring in a top shooter to wow them but average or less is even better. Non-shooters perceive things differently and a mediocre lady shooting BP gunfighter will draw more enthusiasm than a shooter with multiple championship buckles. Maybe we could work on partnering more with the NRA to get in on more of these events. it seems to me it's a local thing and dependent on having a cowboy that happens to be involved in a WoT sponsoring range or club. We could also partner with the ranges and clubs and NRA instructors locally to offer a cowboy gun-specific follow up once the NRA class is complete (next day, next weekend, once a month on a specific day) A simple flyer with link to local cowboy club that has the contact info to sign up would do it. Some overall SASS plan or strategy would need to be in place - Perhaps official coordinators by Region so there were easy points of contact for the NRA and someone that knows the who's who in the Region to pair them up?

All of my Marlins were made in CT sometime between 1904 and 2005 or so. I've shot BP out the .38, 38-40, 44-40, and .45. The .38 needed the bolt taken down twice a year during the time I was shooting 3 or 4 matches a month and 3 or 4 multi-day shoots a year. I was still using sub powder at that time so that may have been a factor. Trying to get the pins out, keep track of them ( always taped to a sticky note after the cat hopped on the bench to help one time) and get them back in was a PITA. I started using real BP and the .45 which was a little better. Had a change in how I cleaned, too. I would flush the bolt real good and then blow it out with the compressor and it would go a year or even longer. I've never taken the bolt down on any of any of my 44-40's or the 38-40. I use a 44-40 as my main match go-to rifle now and have for years. I still flush and blow out the bolt periodically. There's never much in the receiver when I clean after a match. I still poke and wipe around just in case. I dump all the guts, remove the mag tub, etc once a year to detail clean and look for problems. All magazine springs are stainless. I've lived in a very dry climate for 3 years now but apparently, I still have my humidity paranoia! I think the moral of the story is that calibers made for BP do best, calibers that were made for smokeless are going to be more work.

The little kit of car detailing attachments for a shop vac work well to get the loose cruds and crumbs up in all the nooks and crannies. I use alcohol to get stubborn stuff. Doing it before it gets really nasty is easier than leaving it for a long time. I recently took the 650 to Dillon for the "total makeover" after about 17 years of hard use. It came back looking like new and runs great. I had gotten used to the quirks and occasional fussing over time and didn't really notice it was running in a sub-optimal way until I started loading after the re-build. It was a huge difference and worth every penny.

Welcome Jedi TJD and Jedi Dirt Dart. May the Force be with you.

Since the handbook officially states it has to be shot duelist, that pretty much closes the door. Individual matches are free to add additional categories with a minimum number of shooters to make it "go" if they choose to do so and that seems like the solution to allow more ladies to participate. The issue is some of them want to do Plainsman but can't manage the guns duelist. Create a name for the category and allow an actual two handed grip. The minimum can be 1 person for the ladies if that is how you want to do it. Some matches you might end up with 2 or 3 or 4 ladies shooting two handed and none shooting duelist. GREAT! Before I get jumped on about category expansion - we're talking about a SIDE MATCH, not main match. Now, as an example and reminder, I'm going to use a bit of history from main match BP categories. Go back in time and there were no ladies BP categories at all. I could shoot with the men or the Smokeless Ones in a ladies category. Yes, it's hard to find ladies that like to shoot GF or duelist in main match but LFC gets good participation now. Moral: Let them hang on with both hands and they will come.

I put more pressure on myself when I'm practicing both mentally and pushing physically to make the perfect pickup or shoot faster, or whatever it is I'm working on at that time. I found out a long time ago that I do a lot worse getting all spun out because it's a state, a regional, etc. A stage is a stage is a stage. Every one of them is an opportunity to execute with perfection and a possibility of a train wreak. I can easily pick up on posse members tension, angst, etc and it does have a negative effect on me so I try real hard to not be one of the ones "transmitting" that kind of energy.

I believe the only specific thing is related to external mods. Previous post mentioned a shooter with a mod on the long gun to accommodate his prothesis hook. That's an example of a legal external mod as it's necessary for maintaining control of the firearm. I've shot with several people over the years with various needs. A one-size-fits-all set of hard and fast rules doesn't fit with the reality of the array of ranges we use. Some are dead flat with nice concrete pads, some are built into a dirt cliff that turns into a waterfall if it starts to rain...…….. Some ranges just aren't accessible for wheelchairs and the SASS club most likely is using the range, not in control of it. On an accessible range, we ask the shooter what they need help with (like moving guns to loading table) or what they may need modified in stage instructions (like staging pistols every time) and then we do it.

I think the part we're missing here is that anybody can go to the airport, park, stroll into baggage claim and open fire. He didn't have to come on the plane. I've checked guns and ammo many times when I fly. I generally don't bother with the ammo anymore as it's not enough to get through a match and just send it all ground. It can be in a factory box or reloader's box, either is fine as long as it's not over the weight limit. In all the years and times I've flown, I have never been asked for my permit and have only had a couple of nasty people from either the airline or TSA. Often the gun case just comes down with the rest of the luggage, which I don't like. Some airports are more careful and you have to pick it up at the baggage office by showing the claim check or they call your name on the loudspeaker and ask you to meet the baggage person at a specific location. I like that better. Even moving security to the entrance to the airport won't help, he did everything per the rules and would have gotten on the plane, gotten off at his destination, gone to baggage claim and we would have the same result. The issue is how did a mentally unstable person - and a vet to boot - end up not getting the help and attention he needed before he went totally off the deep end and killed a bunch of people?