Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Closest well-known Cowboy smiths to you seem be: Pioneer Gunworks in Springfield OR Run-n-Iron Customizing in Bertrand NE Griner Gunworks, Bloomfield NM All three have web sites which will give you contact info and show samples of what they do. All three are great on cowboy guns! good luck, GJ

IME, Guns that don't shoot the H&G #68 need to have gunsmith work on the feed ramp and and chamber entry and extractor tuning. I find that most lead bullets have at least OCCASIONAL feed hiccups in guns that fail to feed a cast #68 SWC design properly seated. Now, is it worth having a gun that is 100% reliable with SWC? To me, yes, since I like the ability to shoot something that is about the most accurate PAPER TARGET load available IF I ever want to. But, I don't shoot those SWCs in big Wild Bunch matches. I save mine for practice. GJ

Clay Dot is my favorites for light .38 spl cowboy loads in cold weather or hot. Bet is would be fine in .38 Short Colt too. GJ

Correct length for any SWC in the 1911 is to have to top of the highest bullet band JUST 0.010" to 0.050" above the mouth of the case. Due to very tight throats in 1911 barrels. There were several designs which copied the H&G 200 grainer, so adjust to leave just that sliver of lead above the case mouth. More than a sliver out of the case, and you will get rounds that don't chamber the last 1/8" of slide travel. But if you don't seat at least to the level of the case mouth, you have a "hanging sharp edge" of the case to catch on during feeding. They will work fine loaded as spec'd, unless they are cast REAL hard, in which case expect some leading in the barrel. Use a high quality lube! I load any 200 grain bullet with 4.6 grains of WST. Clean and very reliable in cold weather. And, no, they won't throw splatter back any more than any other design. good luck, GJ

They have an age check mechanism as the entry point on the site - perhaps that chokes on your IP address, especially if you have a VPN running to disguise your IP.. Their web site seems not very polished and is incompletely built out - so they may need some time to spin up to commercial level service. good luck, GJ

A usual starting point is to run an OAL of 1.500" - it usually works in most factory Uberti toggle link guns. By modifying the cartridge return ramp on the front of the carrier, usually the gun can run down to as short as about 1.420" I see no need to buy the more expensive .357 brass! Used .38 spl brass is usually pretty easy to find. All 73s that I have had to load for would run 1.500" OAL and a 125 grain bullet. good luck, GJ

Gun and Trophy has a good reputation, and I use them. Search for that by the name I just stated. Used to rely on a gun rider on my home insurance. Found many folks got a poor settlement from big insurance companies. One thing I especially like about G&T is full coverage on any guns while you are traveling! Anything to know? Check references with other gun owners! G&T does not require photos or serials for under $75K of covered valuation. good luck, GJ

Did you have an Out Of Battery discharge? Where gun fired with action partially open or while being closed (usually at speed)? Or some other event which put enough force into the action to bend a part? Usually accompanied by a strong thump that you feel in your lever hand when it tries to provide the locking action which the UNLOCKED toggle cannot since it has not gotten to "straight in-line links". If so, the LEVER was probably what was bent. Bending the lifter arm (which is pretty stout) with normal use is unusual. So, you manually bent the lifter arm to get carrier back to "in time", but that fixed half the problem (just the rise of the carrier). The lever being bent reduces some of it's rearward travel length (where the lever is pinned to the back of the bolt). So now you have the bolt not retracting far enough, even though carrier rises well. A bent lever can be reshaped (bent) back to factory, especially if you have an unbent lever to use as a pattern. (Or a new one bought - perhaps a hardened one from Cowboys and Indian store.) If you don't, then the best thing would be to let a good cowboy gunsmith have at it. Get the lever "back into shape", then go back and set the lifter arm movement to be correct. This is what is called Correcting the Timing of a toggle link gun. Both motions - bolt forward and back and the carrier rising and lowering - have to be coordinated (timed) so there is no collision between parts and yet also proper amount of travel of bolt and carrier. You worked on only half of the timing, I would guess. good luck, GJ

Then what were folks posting complaints about crashes for? A lot seemed to be directed at the payment processing software, which often gives shooting matches BIG headaches. If the Land Run web site was not the right place to register, then a big note on the LR web site with a link to the right web address to use would have been very preventative. good luck, GJ

I'd use Titegroup. It is pretty similar, available in the market like PP is, and definitely was initially designed as a handgun powder. I use Perfect Pattern all the time as my main 12 gauge shotgun powder. Since I can't get Red Dot or Clay Dot. good luck, GJ

Glad things mostly worked after the initial rush.! But, a successful registration is not a SPECIAL event. It would have been SPECIAL if the site and the form and the instructions all had been distributed well, described well and executed well the first day. A success story from a couple of shooters who registered (especially if they registered after the big rush) is not really news. It is what all customers SHOULD expect from a major event. good luck, GJ

Keeping the shell grooves clean in the edge of the Dillon shell plate is very important to my success loading .45 auto on my 550. (.45 Colt cases I seem to have little problem with.) I never shoot 9 mm, so I don't have experience to assist you on that. Second cause is just failing to push a case fully into position at the deprimer/size (#1) station. And the same station's shell support plate attachment screws (underneath and hard to get to) I have started blue "Loktite"ing in place, since those seem to loosen up without that Henkel solution after about 3-4K rounds loaded. good luck, GJ

Well, sounds like the on-line payment processor was very slow. If you have no control over the reliability and responsiveness of that function, then you could separate the payment processing (which is not a time-critical function, as long as you get the money in the next week or so, who really is hurt by a delay getting the credit card charge done?) from the match reservation and the RV slot request. Then folks could be referred to the payment processor with a link to hit at their leisure. If they ignore paying, after some amount of days you have an automated registration "cancellation" (or even a manual email telling the shooter - sorry, no payment received by deadline). Think of where the problem spots are in the process and fix - that's how improvement happens. GJ

I'd agree there was probably either a high-pressure event or an OOB that sheared the firing pin extension cross pin. Something should have been noticeable as that occurred. Any damaged brass or sharp recoil or loud report? So, 2 videos of a very floppy trigger, and still you don't have any spring tension against the sear/trigger. Find that cause. Does that spring have normal force downward on the shelf of the sear? Sometimes it is helpful to assemble the three parts (trigger, sear, hammer) on the top surface of the frame laid on the workbench, and push the trigger and hammer pins (or some even longer drill-rod of the same diameter) through the parts so you can examine their fit and function is correct. Does the trigger nest properly with the sear, and does the sear "tip" fit properly against the hammer? If the sear tip has been broken off so it does not catch on the hammer's full cock notch, that would be cause of a trigger won't set and hammer will fall when cocked situation. good luck, GJ

So, is it better to serve the 800 or so shooters, or a staff person running the match?

Ah, the problems that happen when a large amount of heavy-processing traffic (like electronic payment) tries to hit a non-commercial web site that has not been built for high traffic, just because the club decides to do a "Land Run" (all folks stampede at once to get to the resource) sign-up technique. Aptly named, BTW. Could be why EOT and Bordertown still use the two-step process of publishing the registration form at a given time, then having users MAIL IN the completed form. No load really gets put on the host web site, but instead on the post office, which is staffed for large volumes (of a thousand applications) coming in. And it prevents the "rushed" completion of applications and forgetting to mark the Wild Bunch match on the form (see another thread) because shooters are trying to get registered "by rushing their work". good luck, GJ

Lever is coming right back against the lower tang, so it does not appear to have been bent (open) due to an Out of Battery discharge. I'd look carefully at how your trigger and sear are installed. You definitely have no trigger spring (VTI part # 19) tension right now, so either the spring is badly bent, broken or the trigger/sear/hammer parts are not installed correctly with the tip of the trigger leaf spring pulling down on the back of the sear/trigger. I also see no trigger safety bar sticking out of the lower tang! Have you removed that part? Or, if it is still installed, is it jammed so the safety bar cannot get into "locked" position? A photo taken looking down on the trigger, sear, safety bar would be useful - but you have to pull the buttstock, mainspring and the lower tang off to see in that area clearly. good luck, GJ

I don't have any crushed cases, misaligned bullets, or other notable problems using my Dillon 550s run exactly as the manufacturer designed them. No problems detectable in cowboy shooting, at least, shooting fast at large targets set close. Reading and applying a few experimental techniques from high precision or long range shooters seems overkill for our game - wasted time and effort that has no pay-back. I need more live fire time. Now, for long range rifle, I load on a more precise turret press, but I get no where near doing all the work of a Precision Rifle Shooter. good luck, GJ

Tension I use is about 8 pounds on a trigger pull gauge pulling up on the tip of the extractor while mounted in the bolt, using a small loop of wire to connect the gauge hook and the tip of extractor. With bolt open far enough that the nose (tip) will clear the barrel relief cut for the nose of extractor. Now, that's the precise way. What works good enough for me is to open the bolt so your finger tip can pull up from under the tip, putting pressure right into your finger tip. If the extractor lifts up higher than the top of the bolt and it does not really hurt your finger tip, you don't have enough tension any more. But, as said above, the most common problem is the fouling that builds up under the leg of the extractor, and the tip can not lower itself far enough to fully seat over the rim. Check that visually with a dummy round or fired round. If fouling is light, it can usually be flushed out with a spray can of gun solvent and the "straw" that came with the can, while you pull up the extractor up to open the gap. If heavy, then you have to knock out the extractor holding pin and clean out the groove the extract sits in. (Requires removing bolt from action - major disassembly). Some folks need a "bolt holding block" to hold the bolt for punching out that 1/16" diameter pin (as well as a good steel 1/16" punch. I can do it just putting the bolt in a brass jaw vise. It is a fiddly bit of work replacing and fitting (lightening) a replacement, so you may want to seek out your gunsmith to do this job. I find on my main match guns I replace the extractor after about 3 years of hard use. GJ

Nope. The H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) does break down WAY sooner than the alcohol evaporates. I just make a new batch. Make maybe a cup of solution at a time. Lasts fine in a spray bottle at least a couple of weeks! I get dry skin in the winter, and even with working man's hand lotion used often, I get cracked fingertips. What do I treat those cuts with? Hydrogen peroxide to boil out the cut until it doesn't hurt. Then super glue to coat over the cut to let is heal without getting deeper. Maybe I just ought to use PAM for a hand lotion...😆 GJ

Work inside a bead-blasting box or a large cardboard box that will help catch flying loose parts you can't afford to lose! GJ

When you get good enough to do this quality of TIG ing, let me know and I'll send you some work. GJ

Cannelures have been applied by the factory during the loading process. They do NOT cannelure brass that is sold unloaded, and many times the factory only applies cannelures to specific loads they make. Sometimes factories claim the cannelure helps hold the bullet in place. Other times, especially where they applied more than one, they say they applied the cannelures as an identification between different loads they make. I have had a few .38 special cases split around the cannelure ring, breaking off the front end of the case in the chamber. Lots of these were nickeled brass cases, which have the property of cracking faster than brass cases. So, in .38 spl, I would not use them in rifle loads. Could cost you several rounds not fired. Pistol - meh, I'll use them for local matches or practice. In .45 Colt, the cannelures (Winchester cases, often made particularly deep and sharp) have never been seen by me to cause a crack. Case walls in .45 Colt are lots stronger. good luck, GJ

Just as I wrote earlier 🙂 Ballistol works, I just don't care for the cost or the smell. good luck, GJ

I like PAM solution for cleaning BP residue, it's cheap and wife won't complain about the smell. PAM is equal parts of * hydrogen peroxide (drug store) * rubbing alcohol (same) * Murphy's oil soap (ditto, or a store with household cleaning products) Make small batches, store in the empty peroxide bottle with a label "PAM's magic" - that will make the wife wonder. Nothing there to harm a gun. Cleans better than soapy water, and leaves a vegetable oil residue behind prevents rust and is kind to wood stocks, too. Barrels with BP fouling need a 5 minute wetting down before running a patch through the barrel. (I keep a small spray bottle with PAM in it, even take that to the range for a mid-shoot cleanup if desired). A couple of 1/4 pieces of paper towel push any moistened fouling out the muzzle, and one wetted towel finishes the barrel cleaning. Easier than smokeless! PAM also cleans greasy stove tops and counters better than most anything else! As for load, about 40 grains of BP is plenty, and 1 or 1 1/8 ounce of shot - stretch that expensive powder as far as you can. good luck, GJ