Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

But not legal for SASS in any category if you do that. Now, if they are welded up and profiled to be like the fixed sight ROA, after THAT $400 surgery they will be legal. Good luck, GJ

Our shortened coach guns work extremely well in most cowboy main matches. That would be a "Cylinder" choke for those that don't understand chokes. Some side matches that involve clay targets (cowboy trap, cowboy skeet, cowboy clays, wobble trap, etc) are shot at far enough distances that those shooting chokes with some restriction have a slight advange (or even significant advantage). A cylinder choke (no choke) easily provides a 12 in wide pattern out to about 15 yards. At our normal match distances (8 yards), a tight choke (Modified or Full) will make it HARDER to get a knockdown to fall than cylinder does, because the pattern of those tight chokes is quite a bit smaller, and it is quite easy to miss a stationary target up close! Probably 80% of the guns shot in matches are cylinder and cylinder. Good luck, GJ

Did I just hear that Black MZ was discontinued? If so, and you want to shoot that, better stock it in. Good luck, GJ

I've got old eyes, but I can be corrected to 20/20 fairly easily and use progressive lenses in my every-day-wear frames, both clear and sunglasses. Never tried bifocals. I like my safety/shooting glasses set up with master eye set to 18" distance, and weak eye set to far distance. This takes a little getting used to the first time or two out, after that I seem to be able to jump right into my shooting glasses with no "eye confusion". But that means my glasses are single-vision lenses (much cheaper) AND I don't have to tilt my head to get sharp vision of my sights - they are sharp where ever I look. I can't shoot handguns in progressive lenses quickly. Hard to get the right spot in the lens to see the sights. Your vision may vary. GJ

This model variation from Kick-eez has that angled top (heel) right from the factory! https://kickeezproducts.com/recoil-pads/sporting-clay-recoil-pad/ It's the model I use on my cowboy and wild bunch shotguns, if I want to take off the hard plastic or steel factory plate. Good luck, GJ

A grind to fit pad will fit best. Because 1. Norinco didn't make the stocks the same size during their production, and 2. When you shorten the stock, the butt tapers and you need a little bit smaller size. I'd recommend a Kick-Eez sporting clays grind to fit, about 3/4 inch thick, if you want one that lasts and mounts fast and absorbs recoil pretty well. The other popular brands are Pachmayer and Limbsaver. I find the LS pads soften when hit by any solvents and stick to stuff - like pads in a safe or fabric of your shirt. Good luck, GJ

It's always good to put parts loaned like that into a plastic zip lock with a note containing the address and phone number. Too late now, but maybe a reminder to the rest of us. It's amazing how fast something like that gets buried on workbenches and turns up a year or 2 later....at least I think I remember stuff like that happening. Good luck, GJ

I'd guess Stoeger shotgun at about $325, but otherwise, I'm with Rye. This assumes they are all "match-worn" and have at least a couple of years of use put on them. Condition counts a lot, so if you want to provide their current condition, we could refine our guesses. Using the NRA gun condition rating system would be easiest condition scale to understand. Good luck, GJ

Brisance. Spell checker got to your post, OLG. Dictionary meaning - "shattering effect of the sudden release of energy in an explosion" Applied to primers, brisance is the volume and energy of hot sparks that are thrown by the primer, with more heat, more velocity and more solids thrown usually igniting powder better. Good luck, GJ

For a well-documented reference piece on the history of various primer compounds, see: https://www.bevfitchett.us/ballistics/priming-compounds-and-primers-introduction.html Good luck, GJ

Copper primer case. Potassium Perchlorate compound in those primers - corrosive as all get out once fired. The old timers did not make their own - there were patents on most of the priming technology, and the chemistry was beyond what all but the best chemists could make happen. Cartridges and the guns that fired them were the HIGH TECH of the old west. Primer design was largely one of three types - Boxer (like we use today, invented by a Brit), Berdan (like some euro ammo, invented by an American); or pin fire (a pin whacked from outside of the cartridge, that punched a primer pellet inside the case; French firearms used these a lot). Also, there were lots more rimfire cases than what we see today. Making primers then would be sorta like making your own cell phone today. They would be gob-smacked by how (and how quickly) we put up ammo in our garages and sheds today. They bought components and loaded with tong tools and such low-tech equipment (and a lot of those folks were professional hunters/buffalo butchers). Or they shot factory loads. Good luck, GJ

Bet Hodgdon and Alliant have a real good idea.....that is why one of the last steps in producing smokeless powder is a drying step. In fact, here is a 10 year old note on this very subject from experiments done by the chief ballistican at Bofors (the Swedish powder company): http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2008/09/tech-tip-humidity-can-change-powder-burn-rates/ It is NOT the TRANSFER of powder into a hopper or case that lets much water in. It is the LONG TERM STORAGE in a container that is exposed to the atmosphere. I DO know from personal experience and those of some other local shooters that a humid summer can contaminate Pyrodex while loaded in shotshells with enough moisture from the air to affect the power of plastic hulled shotshells BADLY, and even lead to the powder BURNING instead of EXPLODING, leading to "flaming squibs" where the plastic hull is literally ignited but not providing enough pressure to eject the shot and wad at normal velocity. Not standing water, which old paper shells were badly affected by, but just moisture from 80% relative humidity atmosphere, leaking that moisture around wads in the shells. Only happened one summer here in the high desert, but it happened to several shooters and myself at an August (wet season) NM state match. Never seen that with any other substitute, or real Black, or smokeless. So, what was the container that let in the moisture? The crimp opening of the shotshells! Keeping some of the same shotshell ammo in closed ammo cans with desiccant packets - prevented further problems. So did changing from Pyrodex to real Black. Good luck, GJ

I would be much more concerned about leaving powder exposed to a high-humidity atmosphere for a week or two between loading sessions, than worrying about a case with a little moist air in it when powder is being dispensed! Good luck, GJ BUT - don't take cold brass into a warm humid area to load immediately. That COULD gather a little condensation in and on the cases.

If you wanted more realistic "random start" capability to practice with, and wanted to spend some money and a little time hooking up a light, you could use the Competition Electronics ProTimer IV Super, at about $200, which will turn on a relay for a light circuit (which you could wire to any type of lighting system, including, say, a portable light or a miniature LED light attached to brim of your hat...) when the "buzzer" goes off. https://www.competitionelectronics.com/product/protimer-iv-super/ But your approach is useful to know! Good luck, GJ

Best one I've seen is between 2 and 3 inches from your strong hand's thumb to the tip of your nose when the gun is fully up on shoulder. You should be looking down the barrel, seeing both the rear of action and the full length of barrel lined up. Too much front sight visible, you shoot over. Too little, you shoot low. Yep, a TTN is a gun for fellows who are tall and thin - all that drop lets the receiver sit way up high. (Bet your Baikal shoots high if you aren't careful to raise it all the way up to your cheek.) Good luck, GJ