Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971

In my cap and ball revolvers I use a 15 grain volumetric measure, whatever powder I chose for the match and enough cream of wheat filler to get a lead ball seated at the depth I need. CAS is a competition and excess smoke and recoil is undesirable. My arthritic hands don’t like recoil either. Thirty or thirty-five grains of powder will easily topple knockdown targets. 60 rounds x 15 grains/round = 900 grains or ~ 2 oz.

Here's a suggestion for AZ shooters who valued Cow Town: nominate Barb Wire and Zona for the SASS Hall of Fame. They easily qualify. 🤠

Wash your brass thoroughly after firing with APP. Otherwise, the residue will eventually tarnish brass. I toss any plastic hulls fired with APP after a single use as crimps get brittle. I load Gun Club hulls as once-fired hulls are abundant and free at many clay ranges. The estimate of about 500 38 Special rounds from a pound of APP is consistent with my experience.

My wife's .32 H&R mag loads easily tipped the knockdown targets on #11. They were 115 grain bullets over Triple Seven especially loaded for knockdowns.

Beside the preceding warnings, I believe Pyrodex smoke will stunt the growth of Buckaroos and Buckarettes who might breathe it. 🤐

I shoot at three ranges in my metro area and am an officer at two of them. I defer to Garrison Joe regarding the situation at Legacy Ranch (formerly Founders Ranch). CAS shares berms with USPSA clubs and concealed carry classes. Ranges need income from all these sources to maintain berms. Intense thunderstorms in late summer erode berms and they require maintenance. Income from CAS matches alone could not maintain the berms. Not all users of berms housing CAS props are respectful of the props and have damaged them. Multiple users of berms help pay for range insurance. The Rio Grande Renegades shoot at the ABQ City Range. There is a good relationship between the club and range management. Encroachment is not an issue at the range and is unlikely to be so for decades. Rounds over side berms are a match DQ as others are frequently shooting in adjacent ranges during CAS matches. The City Range wants the club to host an annual match as it brings in visitors and their tourist dollars - a goal of City Government. The City Range provides some free services and facilities to the annual match. There is a group of about twelve reliable workers who run the club, perform maintenance and plan and run matches. I have seen a club run with as few as three workers, but they burned themselves out trying and eventually quit. The Zia Rifle and Pistol Club just south of ABQ operates on leased state land. The land was a WWII bombing range located on a flood plain. It is unsuitable for development though there is land slated for development south of the range. Development there will eventually force closure of the range. CAS was once shot at Zia though that ended after permanent props were built at other ranges. Berms at the range are actively used for practice shooting. The range recently modified its long-distance range to eliminate concerns from a nearby military facility. The club is committed to maintaining good relationships with its neighbors. It takes much energy to run the club. Even with paid maintenance and trash collection, the leadership and administration duties of the club make the club president's position a part-time job (sometimes full-time when flash floods damage the range).

Fire and Ice, an annual match held at Cow Town the weekend before EOT was always an important part of my overall EOT experience. I will miss my annual trip to Cow Town.

Sidebar: Jace wears his hat with a swagger that would attract the attention of a casting director for a western movie. Locally there are advertisements for extras in movies. Jace would likely be selected as an extra.

There are two equipment-based categories in Plainsman: Modern and Traditional. Rifles like a Handi-Rifle with ejectors are in the Modern category. Rifles without ejectors are in the Traditional category. Without ejectors they are slower shooting. I have rifles for both categories and enjoy shooting both. My Baby Rolling Block was ringing steel at 50-yds nicely at the recent EOT Plainsman match.

Both APP and genuine black powder will meet the smoke standard with no compression. With APP the ammo obviously meets the smoke standard.

Visit a Plainsman match sometime. We will let you handle and fire our rifles. There were several H&R Buffalo Classics at the EOT swap meet that are legal for the Plainsman. 45-70s can be downloaded for the Plainsman to save both the targets and your shoulder.

I saw a small camera taped to a pole overlooking the awards floor. I assumed the ceremony was videoed. I don’t know where to view the video.

At a major match a warm-up match will do much to refresh skills and get familiar with the local range.

I bought a few more bags of shot this morning. The vendor says he will not be back next year as he only comes every other year.

Yes, cap and ball revolvers can be quite accurate. I just finished EOT. I shot real black. My wife shot APP, for the reasons you mentioned. BTW, buy a single shot rifle and you can shoot a Plainsman side match (my favorite).