Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971

I agree on the high desert areas of the Southwest. Elevations between 4,000 and 6,000 feet are quite nice. Snow is infrequent and melts quickly. Temperatures drop quickly at night. Look at Southern Utah around St. George, Prescott and Tucson in Arizona, and Central New Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley. We do have strong Spring winds. However, they are not every day and mornings are calm. You can investigate tax rates, crime stats and gun laws online.

I find the hardest to size 44 mag brass is the occasional 45 Colt that got mixed in and I missed while sorting. I quickly learned to stop sizing and check when encountering extra resistance. Fortunately all my 44 mag brass is the same length and I can easily seat and crimp in a single step.

What not to use: fine grained sand. My club has two plinking pits where shooters are allowed to place targets in the ground. The sand prevents bullets from bouncing out of the berm. However, the sand is difficult to walk on and you would not want to set steel in these berms.

You waited too long to trade. The Wall Street Journal reports Americans have a surplus of TP.

At least the Plainsman side match is calling. I find cap and ball revolvers quite accurate. Persons shooting metallic cartridge revolvers don't believe me.

My S&W 1911 has an external extractor - preferred by some. I have a scandium alloy frame model. These are comfortable to carry but unsuitable for competition as a steel frame absorbs recoil better. My Kimber target model has a better trigger. My S&W 1911 is my carry gun where I might encounter feral hogs or a bear.

Kirk defeats the Gorn with homemade gunpowder.

Bordertown has many things going for it besides target size and being a state championship. It is held in a historic, Old West location. Weather in October is consistently very good. There is onsite camping and plenty of nearby full-service campgrounds. Tombstone has plenty restaurants and motel rooms. All these positives help draw shooters.

ABQ has high wind conditions. Here is an article with video of an outhouse blowing down a city street. There was no information whether the "driver" was cited regarding the lack of a license plate.

Remember the 2016 Heinz Superbowl commercial with the weiner dogs charging humanoid bottles of ketchup and yellow mustard?

This is so. All action shooting matches I've ever seen use a shot timer. We sometimes have side matches where time is a secondary consideration. Perhaps those who dislike timers but like 19th century firearms should seek out other shooting sports.

A club where I am a member shoots Cowboy Silhouette. Long-barreled, lever action rifles and cast bullets but no timer. They have fun. I might join them sometime to prepare for a SASS side match.

Ammunition and component shortages are recurring. They seem to happen about twice as often as economic recessions. Wars overseas can use up components. Democrats in control in Washington causes panic buying as does fear of domestic instability. The ammunition supply chain eventually over produces and one sees sales. When primers and powder are reasonably-priced and you see online retailers offering free shipping with no HAZMAT charges you will know it is time to restock.

N320 burns very clean. You may never return to dirtier smokeless powders.

When spotting one often doesn't have to be close to the shooting line. Standing back helps protect against lead splatter and cap fragments from percussion revolvers and keeps you out of the way the shooter and timer operator. I don't look at shotgun targets when they are engaged if there is no shooting order. One can see whether targets fell after the shooter is done. I look at the ground letting my hat catch any returning shot. When shooting I use soft cast bullets and small shot to protect myself and the timer operator from returning lead. Also, maximum velocity loads are no

I still shoot modern action handgun matches. I shoot a 1911 or a double action revolver. Might try shooting these if you cannot hold up a long gun. You get to shoot while moving and don't have to remember complicated sweeps. It's fun and the people are nice. The younger shooters don't understand why I don't shoot a plastic gun topped by a red dot sight.

From an IMR Trail Boss label:

Green chile and cheese for me though spicy brown mustard will do if green chile is unavailable. I love ketchup on grilled or fried potato products. I don't look down on those who like ketchup on a dawg. It's just a personal preference.

I bought as many of those STS shells as I could last year (emptying two Wal*Marts in Oklahoma) and applied for the $2/box rebate. Yesterday I got my rebate check. I thought I'd never see that rebate.

The powders you listed are all Alliant Products. Here is a link to their cowboy loads (they are all too hot). For Green Dot, Alliant publishes 3.5 grains under a 158 grain bullet, no 125 grain data. Here is a link to the pdf of Alliant's Manual.

Yes, the FAA is particularly tough on illegal air shipments. See this FAA press release.

I've got real misgivings about the rec area for felons concept. I've shot for years at the ranch with spare firearms (backups and a shotgun for 5-stand) unsecured in my vehicle. Now I will have to drive my TT tow vehicle with a truck vault to feel secure. I'm holding off buying a ranch membership until my security concerns get sorted out.

A big roadrunner moved under my back porch and promptly ate all the nearby lizards. Ants are invading our kitchen - a sure sign of warm weather.

I got a surprising e-mail yesterday. A local CAS club will shoot at the ranch today. I won't join them but am pleased matches are continuing. I thought this would take much longer.

Around the ranch there are locations with a few inches of dirt covering limestone bedrock with no water table. Houses are supplied with water by large water tanks filled by water haulers (see picture below). The nearby village of Tijeras has people tapping into its municipal system after dark and stealing water.