Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Such a shooter would not be welcome again on a range I was in charge of. What happened to the Cowboy Way? GJ

Obviously, he had the muzzle pointed at the other shooter's gun when it fired. Serious lack of muzzle control. "Never point the gun at something you do not want to destroy" Shooter had also better be ready to pay for any needed repair to that other pard's gun. good luck, GJ

Pressure is only adjusted by filing some material off the arm of the extractor to thin it. Do not be trying to bend it to reduce pressure. I go by the pounds of pressure the extractor hook gives at "fully down" position. I can measure it precisely with a fishing scale and some mono line or small gauge wire caught in the groove. Pull straight up with the action mostly closed, but still have the extractor nose clearing the back of barrel. I like 4 pounds of pressure. Or, with having done extractors for years, I just put my finger tip on the nose of extractor and try to lift it. If it hurts my fingertip a little, it's tight enough. Killing my finger - too tight. With bolt out of gun, you DO NOT want any slack between the hook and edge of case rim, nor any wiggling of case, if you have the case placed between the hook and the cartridge tab and you shake the bolt up and down or side to side. Slack there, or not enough pressure, means the case has a good chance of slipping off the cartridge tab at bottom of bolt face, then bouncing around in the carrier actioninstead of being held firmly enough that the carrier block coming up can slap the case up and out of the gun. A stock extractor will probably have about 10 pounds of pressure, and will work, but many folks don't like the little bit of resistance that a tight extractor gives in the last 1/2" of bolt travel during cartridge chambering. And, I change extractors about every 3 years - just because it's a flat spring with lots of force on it. good luck, GJ

Almost all the guns we use now for cowboy action are just parts kits already assembled by factory. I find VERY few that do not take at least some cleanup and tuning before they will run in a match. Sounds like the factory may have skipped the finish reaming of the chamber! And then paid no attention to very balky ammo chambering! Serious faults which would qualify for a warranty repair in my book. If you had the time to wait. Sounds like you took a practical approach! But, then, how did that first gunsmith do an action upgrade without SHOOTING the finished gun and finding the real problem? Hmmmmm. good luck, GJ

Many powders will work for the light loads we shoot in cowboy matches. 700-X,, WST, TiteWad, TiteGroup (High Over All Gun is another name for the exact same powder) are some of the common ones that are in moderate production and often available. ExtraLlite, Red Dot, Unique, Green Dot, Clay Dot, American Select, are occasionally made and on the market now, but you have to get very luck to find them. good luck, GJ

Most shooters find the .38 spl cycles faster (lighter ammo) and moves off target less between shots) than a .45 Colt rifle. good luck, GJ

Here's some of my favorites with WST for Cowboy - considerably lower velocities! C45 Special 175 grain bullet, 4.2 grains 45 Colt 200 grain bullet, 5.8-6.2 grains 45 Auto 200 grain bullet, 4.6 grains Makes Wild Bunch power factor All stuff I have shot for 10 years. GJ

Yeah, 4.3 grains of 231 should make about 825 FPS. Not really a light load. 2.8 grains of Clays in a revolver will be down around 650 FPS. You WILL notice it's softer and cleaner. GJ

231 will be too slow a powder for light .38 special. Been tried by many. 2.8 grains of Clays or Clay Dot will work, but don't count on being able to buy any for QUITE a while. You could load until you run out, though. TiteGroup (also named High Gun) is often available now and will make good loads for that cartridge and bullet. good luck, GJ

Looks to me like heavy rust spots from where gun was stored touching something that could hold moisture. Maybe a cloth pad on a gun rack. Then owner scrubbed most of the rust off, leaving bluing thinned out around the spot. Something like a front sling loop would have normally been soldered to the rib, not both barrels. And desoldering a sling loop would not have left those pits. That's my guess. good luck, GJ

So disappointed I did not see a photo with tartan skirt on the box! It's a sad day you can't measure your muzzle velocity. Remember, "It's never too close to miss" GJ

Beware a wool content hat - any amount of wool. Unfortunately, that is the mainstay of the "cheapo" hat sellers. You will never be satisfied with a wool hat. Folks above gave you a good review of the minimum (10% beaver) to the very best quality (100% beaver) hats. I find it hard to get a hat now that is better than 50% beaver, what with the decrease in their population. A good high-beaver hat will be north of $600, but will hold up to rain storms of a biblical proportion, and last a long time if maintained and kept out of hot parked vehicles (which shrink a hat). A hat less than $300 would be quite suspect in quality. So, find yourself the best LOCAL hat shop in your part of TX (should be several). Ask at your SASS club (or the local farm/feed store if you don't have a clue). Get the best hat body you feel you can afford. It can be reshaped into just about any shape you desire. And never get in the habit of picking it up by the front of the crown - you will pinch a hole in it. Grab the brim or cradle the crown in your palm. And that LOCAL shop - will (knock wood) be around to reshape or clean your hat over time. good luck, GJ

Just so folks will find that alloy in a search, it's spelled "Cerrosafe." https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/bore-barrel-tools/reamers-cutters/cerrosafe~-chamber-casting-alloy/ This is a different way to spell the "sera" sound than with the metal coating - Cerakote. English is complicated enough (being a dog pile mix of languages that came before), then we have companies making up new words for their products every day. good luck, GJ

After years of use, the pin has worn enough to drift to the side a little. Reassemble it and put some red locktite (removable) on both ends of the pin - just a drop is plenty. Will help hold the pin from drifting. You could order a new one that MIGHT fit more tightly, then again, the wear may be in the holes of the toggle links. And, one could just polish the points on the side plates where the pin ends have been dragging. End round the pin ends slightly. That would reduce the feeling of friction. good luck, GJ

Allan Harton likely will be booked for a year out or more. Nate Kiowa Jones will work well - Steve Young, Steve's Gunz, Lampasas, TX (512) 564-1015 (from past work and he's also on the SASS gunsmith list in the FAQ pages) good luck, GJ