Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971

Four times in six years according to an article from 2004 I read. No wonder Hodgdon gave up the business.

What is your intended use? Long range or CAS main match ammo?

When my father's trucking business went bankrupt my mother took a job to supplement the family's income and had no time to cook. My siblings and I ate many TV dinners that were easy to prepare. I liked the Salisbury Steak (a true mystery meat). I don't eat TV dinners now but do buy some healthier frozen entries for our travel trailer when on the road for matches. There are a few that do not have excessive salt.

I am an officer of a local SASS club and a larger, separate club. I comment on the situation at each club separately. SASS Club: There is limited or no cell reception at the club range with any carrier. In case of an emergency we tell match directors to drive a quarter mile to the range office and have them call for help. Our number one request to the range is to get cell coverage. We cannot process match fees onsite. We have an active club website and Facebook page. These are accessed regularly but cannot accept payments for monthly or annual matches. They have good location information and match schedules. Larger Club: We changed from mechanical locks to a key swipe system years ago. This decreased the administrative burden for the club and prevented duplicate keys being cut for non-members. It also allows quickly terminating access for rogue members. We are on our third website. We've had to change because previous software became obsolete and some hosts had poor security. We now renew annual memberships online and do not allow paper renewals. The admin burden of 1,500 paper renewals was too great and most members prefer online renewal. I found the renewal process clumsy but workable if one followed instructions carefully. It was not intuitive. Some matches are now registering shooters and reporting scores Practiscore. This reduced the admin burden for the match director and got scores posted days earlier.

I started this thread because primers are a frequent topic of discussion on the Wire. A change in ownership of production facilities should be of interest. See also this article from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Here is statement from the article: A source in the retail side of the Vista universe said that Czechoslovak Group wants the ammunition making capacity for the war in Ukraine. A Reuters article on Monday reinforced that opinion. It said, "Czech-based CSG has seen its revenue and profits rise since Russia's invasion of Ukraine as demand for heavy military equipment and ammunition to ship to Ukraine soared." The sky isn't falling and our ammo factories aren't being moved to Europe. However, CSG could ship enough ammo to Ukraine to change the supply situation in the US.

See this Bloomberg article. A member of the House Homeland Security Committee is requesting a national security review of the sale of Vista Outdoors ammo businesses to a Czech firm. The Czech firm would then control “nearly 70% of production capacity for primers in the Western world.” As a handloader this sale concerns me. I doubt there are national security concerns for a shortage of primers to handloaders. Some of us might be shooting .22s again.

SD, the producers of these videos are SASS members and often visit this Wire. If the OP wants a video file and not an internet link I'm sure he will ask for one. GD and JPR have already offered video files.

Not necessarily so! See this article from the National Institute of Health. While written for health care professionals it is clear that eating ultra-spicy peppers can cause a hellish experience lasting days.

Shamrock Sadie made this video. We posted it on our SASS Club's website to help with our recruitment. It is professional quality and features many black powder shooters.

Vista Outdoors has not yet completed its sale of its firearms and ammunition businesses to a Czech firm. See https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/vista-outdoor-gets-29-billion-takeover-offer-wsj-reports-2024-03-01/. Now is a good time to replenish primer supplies as a change in ownership could affect the supply situation.

I've seen old, worn out holsters used a buckets - not pretty but inexpensive.

I bought a pack. My snail mail address sent by PM. Thanks for quickly correcting the error. The fellow I bought the W209s for is waiting for me to give them to him. Update: received rebate in today's mail.

I shot Shootin' Foxes shot at EOT and had a clean match. His shot performs well on CAS targets.

It was last sold for $62/25-lb bag in ABQ. Glad to see a small price reduction.

My local Sportsmans Warehouse recently restocked with lead shot - mostly #8 but also some #7 1/2. There were shooters at Fire & Ice asking about lead shot so it seems there is a regional shortage. Check your Sportsmans if you need shot.

I recall that Triple Seven when ignited by standard shotgun primers leaves an undesirable crud ring just forward of the breech plug in muzzleloaders that interferes with follow-up shots. The muzzleloader primers are to prevent crud rings. I load reduced charges of Triple Seven in my wife's BP shotgun shells using standard 209 primers. It is possible that a crud ring forms just forward of the primer inside the plastic hull. I've never looked for one, but they would not be a problem as the hulls get tossed after a single firing. There is no evidence of a crud ring in our shotgun barrels after firing Triple Seven. This is my recollection and if anyone has better information feel free to correct this thread. Here is Federal's statement:

My local club had a collection of old gun carts donated by former members. We gave some of them away at our recent state match. One might be available for you in NH for the asking. As a retired machinist you have the skills to build a serviceable gun cart. Old baby strollers make good chassis. Rugged Gear Carts are great but new ones sell for $800+. If you don't reload start shopping for equipment. Used presses are durable and available at gun shows and estate sales. I load with both progressive and single stage presses. Both are useful. Shop for once-fired brass now. You can buy quality once-fired brass on auction sites for ~10-cents a case. Up to 2,000 can fit in a USPS flat rate box. We can advise you on what brass to avoid. Handloaders are at the bottom of the food chain for ammunition components. Increased armed conflict in the world or civil unrest increases the demand for manufactured ammunition and reloading components dry up for handloaders. Fortunately, components are available right now though at awful prices. Now is a good time to stock up on pistol primers and suitable powders. Cast bullet availability is less affected by shortages as our small-scale casters are not suppliers to major ammunition manufacturers. Keep the Henry after you buy the '73. Eventually the '73 will need repair and the Henry can be used to finish a match. Both my wife and I have had rifles break during major matches both due to fatigued springs that broke.

I used some for black powder shotgun shells loaded with Triple Seven many years ago. They worked fine. However, they are about twice the cost of Cheddites or Winchester 209s that are both currently available so I would not consider them now. If you just needed 100 black powder shotgun shells a purchase might make sense.

Laser Cast Bullets are hard bullets made to be shot at higher velocities than most commercial cast bullets. I load one of their gas checked bullets in 30-30 cartridges and get good accuracy. Their handgun bullets are too hard for CAS main match ammo.

DB, regarding knockdowns, many of us carry "knockdown rounds" for targets that need to be tipped over reliably. A 38 Special shooter will often keep a box of factory, 158 grain bullets in their gun carts for falling plates. Hit the plate in the middle or higher and they tip right over. My wife shoots .32s and shoot heavier bullets with the most powder BP sub available for her knockdown rounds. We also carry a few shotgun game loads on our belts in case we encounter SG targets out-of-calibration that need an extra push.

DS, many new shooters start with factory ammo but start reloading to reduce costs and get lower recoiling ammo. S&B cases are not favored for reloading. They have tight primer pockets that are difficult to reload. My Dillon presses often refuse to seat a primer in S&B brass. Quit buying S&B ammo and buy reloadable ammo. Fiocchi brass is reloadable. Do reload your own ammo and start soon. You will save a bundle and have ammo that feed flawlessly in your rifle. You can load revolver rounds in Cowboy 45 Special cases favored by many big bore competitors.

Calamity Crow (pictured) does an out outstanding job with her costumes. She recently joined my local club and her efforts in costuming have been noticed!

You could shoot long range pistol and pistol caliber rifle with your main match guns and ammo. If you have a lever action deer rifle in 30-30 or a similar caliber you could shoot lever action rifle - rifle caliber. The single shot rifle matches would require new firearms. You can shoot the clay side matches but don't bother with a coach gun. Clay shooting is best done with longer barreled shotguns. The Plainsman requires single shot rifles, cap and ball revolvers. Again, more guns to buy plus you have to load black powder ammo. Many shooters lack equipment to load black powder shotgun shells. There are more side matches than you can shoot in a day, so you could have plenty of fun with your existing equipment. (The Plainsman event is my favorite side match.)

Major matches often have a "side match day" before the main match. At the recent End of Trail match there were many long-range events. Even the Plainsman side match had some rifle targets set at ~50-yds. In a main match one needs to use their sights on plate racks. One needs to know how to bust clays too. The goofy stuff like roping steers or tossing tomahawks is fine so long as it is done before the timer starts.

Some were up and open before the Wild Bunch match though most set up later. I bought primers before the match started. Most took down their shops before the Sunday Awards ceremony. If you come just to shop, the main match days are your best bet. Bring cash as some vendors were unable to process credit card sales.