Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Using THAT in a sentence referring to a person, instead of who/whom.

Thinner grips often give a shooter better control. Lighter loads would be what I'd try, though, as they will much more likely give you a solution to knuckle rapping. The Cowboy 45 Special case is ideal for making a light load that runs fine in .45 Colt chambered revolvers. Good luck, GJ

Blue Dot, or most powders that are slow enough for full-load 9 MM, make very lousy light shotgun loads in 12 gauge. But Red Dot load would be OK for 9 (not my first choice though), and EXCELLENT for a shotshell load. Perhaps you are willing to optimize for shotshell and squeak by on the 9 while he is here. Ditto for Clays. Good luck, GJ

I would suggest that the cartridge paper is NOT powder, and thus would be allowed to be used with BP without being considered a duplex load. But I am surprised you were able to create such a lengthy title to a post. Good luck, GJ

I use a lot of WST, and it's about as clean as the cleanest powders I've used. It and Clay Dot are real favorites of mine for Cowboy loads, with Clays close behind. I've not loaded either 32 Long or 38 spl with WST, however. I have loaded a lot in shotshells. Here's a one ounce load from my logs: Rem STS hull, 1 ounce shot in ClayBuster CB1100 (pink) wad, 19.0 gr WST, Fed 209A primer. That's going to make about 1150 FPS....kinda warm for strictly Cowboy, but I also shoot this for Wild Bunch. For me, it's not a hard recoiling load. WST is not cold sensitive. The factory claims it actually shoots stronger (slightly) in cold weather than in hot. I certainly found (Australian) Clays to be weak in cold weather in cowboy loads. Clay Dot is not, in my experience. Good luck, GJ

If I need a filler with Black Powder, I use fine-grain activated charcoal. That is of course exactly one component of black powder itself, so it will neither be "more abrasive", nor prone to compress into a solid cake that raises pressures (as most cereals can do). It adds NO more power to the black powder load, because there is no "extra oxygen" in the BP than just amount needed to burn the black powder's charcoal and sulfur. Besides, that activated charcoal "crunches" just like BP does - so you can hear that you have gotten a little compression when you seat the slug. And no one thinks you are cooking breakfast. Good luck, GJ

Don't make your choice of cartridges based on the cost of ammo. If you shoot this Cowboy game much, you will be reloading. And thus in some control of the cost of ammo. That will not be your big expense. If you are looking for speed, use a small caliber gun. .38 special is shot by most of the fastest. .44-40 guns shoot real cleanly. .45 Colt guns are satisfyingly historic (other than rifle, for which none of the frontier guns were chambered, but they are now). Go watch some local matches - even shoot in some when folks offer to let you. The fun you see folks having will help tell you what you want to shoot. But if you make this a dry economics research project - what a way to pour cold water on a fun startup, IMHO. Good luck, GJ

That 0.442" soft lead ball is perfect to slug with. You will probably shave a bit of the lead off the ball as you start it down the barrel, but what you shave off is a small amount of the ball, and with it being soft that little bit will come off quite easily. If you have a muzzle loading ball starter, it makes a nice short safe rod with which to get the ball into the muzzle safely. Good luck, GJ

Baikal made several lousy hammered doubles. Their non-hammered doubles were a lot better designed. I would not hold that experience against a Baikal, as I have found them to be a better cheap shotgun than a Stoeger for folks who run guns hard. Good luck, GJ

Don't slug a barrel with a hard alloy bullet. Pure soft lead (muzzleloader balls) or a lead fishing sinker upsets so much better. Watch out for zinc sinkers (can be labeled non-toxic) - they don't work well. Good luck, GJ

OK, you are almost done! I'm assuming you have the mag tube out at this point. If not, drive out the cross pin (about a 3/16" diameter pin) that fixes the mag tube in place up at the mag tube hanger (close to the muzzle). Once the cross pin is out, you can pull the mag tube out of the action. The forend cap hanger (block) is a dovetail fitting into the bottom side of the barrel. Lay rifle left side up, with an inch of space clear under the barrel at the hanger block. (So, something like a wood block under the barrel in front of the block) Take a 1/4" or so punch and tap the block down (to the right side of gun) until it clears the dovetail. (Like you would a front sight). Then, the forearm wood slides forward until you can pull it down off the barrel. Let me know if you need more info or even a pic. I've got a 73 apart I'm working on right now and can send you some. Of course, when reassembling, you need to watch real closely (I put some light under the mag tube hanger) so you twist the mag tube to get the groove in surface of mag tube lined up with hole in tube hanger when you reinsert that little pin! Otherwise, you can dent the mag tube inside wall with that pin. Good luck, GJ

Time for a refresher on firearms safety. A muzzle up does not sweep anyone any more than a muzzle straight down. And it is MUCH more natural to carry muzzle up when you carry two long guns at once. And you never have a sweep problem with muzzles up when you place guns into a cart, also muzzles up. SASS has defined muzzle straight up as a suitably safe carry arrangement, either in hands or in cart. Them's our rules. And they work. Good luck, GJ

No practical need for grounding a reloading press. Static does not set off either smokeless or black powder or primers, by experience, and by manufacturer's lack of warnings about it. Use static-reducing spray or dryer sheets to reduce the powder sticking to plastic hopper problem, if that is a problem for you (it's not to me). Now, steel parts in measures that handle Black Powder - that may be able to find a quartz granule or sand particle in the powder and create a HOT spark that will ignite powder. So, use BP measures, and don't put dirt or floor sweepings in your powder. A gentle suggestion - Spend your time worrying about something that is a real problem. Good luck, GJ

That "range gunsmith" was not knowledgeable about how to load for Cowboy rifles!!! Most of the Uberti 73s in 38 caliber will handle a round with an overall length of 1.46" or more. Very easy to get that length with .38 special cases and lighter bullets. Which gives you a lighter shooting round with cheap components. Sorry you got such expensive advice. For powder for light .38 special loads, I recommend one of Clays, Clay Dot, Red Dot, or 700-X. Clean, easily available, fast enough burn rates to run light loads. Good luck, GJ

For me: Orange/amber, it brings out the most sharpness and contrast in most light. Gray 90+ density for bright days. Colors that YOU need will most likely not match what many other people use. So, you may get interesting answers, but not necessarily helpful for YOU. You have to try them out yourself. A big match with a vendor selling shooting glasses (even a regional or national shotgun match - Trap, Skeet or Sporting Clays) can be very helpful in letting you try several varieties of glasses. Good luck, GJ