Abilene, SASS # 27489

STI

I hold the shell in my left hand, holding the punch in place inside the shell with the fingers of that hand (easier to do than to describe). Then tap the end of the punch with a small mallet, holding the shell over a box so the old primer falls into the box.

And if you think it is the gun and not your grip, try shooting it with the off hand and see what happens.

The odds are ALWAYS 50-50. Either it's gonna happen...or it ain't.

That website has been there for a really long time! Always good info. There was a shooter years ago, Stawberry Lars (wonder what happened to him?), who knew a lot about older shotguns and used to tell us that because of the longer forcing cones in modern shotguns, plastic wads gives better patterns than fiber wads. Use fiber in older shotguns. Which gets back to what J-Bar said: pattern your loads on paper so you know.

Almost exactly my load when using plastic hulls, but using the substitute Claybuster 1138.. I use slightly less than full on the 4.3 dipper. Used to use 1 oz shot but found that upping the shot and lowering the powder gave a good crimp, better patterns, and never fails to knock over anything. Less shot would take down most, but there are occasional pesky knockdowns around here. Tried fiber hulls originally but better pattern with plastic, and cleanup is still a breeze.

My first and only MDQ was the same way, at the loading table of the 1st stage of the first match of the year, a couple years ago. And to add injury to insult, not only did I miss the holster, the gun fell right on my nerve-damaged big toe! Yow!

Dunno about SASS frames, but you can get anything you want printed on them. Lots of vendors on ebay, which is where I got mine:

English Stranger, As far as the legality for main match, the Uberti is a pocket pistol due to its smaller frame, but I'm not sure about the Pietta. It is different from the Uberti (or original Colts) 1862 but I don't recall why. If it is made on a larger frame, it might be legal. Someone who knows more about that will chime in, I'm sure.

I would have been a tinkerer or engineer of some sort, working hard to invent air conditioning.

What they said. Have you changed anything with your load lately? Was the weather cold?

Every Chiappa I have handled felt very smooth when cycled empty. With ammo is where they get crunchy.

I think Lou Graham had a couple of those Hartford Remingtons when she came to a Texas BP shoot way back. I handled one and agree, it was a wonderful piece.

Phil, are you sure that is a 20" barrel? "Sporting Rifle" is the designation for 24" barrel (20" is called "short rifle"), and that barrel sure looks 24" to me.

Yes, N.C. Ordinance. Googling for ruger brass birdshead grip frame came up with several hits. Here's one: https://www.gunsamerica.com/966867111/Ruger-Vaquero-Lightning-Brass-Backstrap.htm