Widder, SASS #59054

Gizzly country minimum carry would be the .460 Rowland. Would prefer a hot loaded .44 mag or .45 Colt with proper BULLET selection for penetration. And of course, ya gotta consider the .460 and .500 S&W. BUT..... my #1 choice would be a good 12 gauge pump or Beretta A300 or 1301. ..........Widder

Howdy Bgavin. I'm glad you saw this thread. As you already know cause we've discussed it before, it took me over 2 years before I would shoulder my shotgun again. After consulting with my heart doctor, he said that unless I had other symptoms of heart issues, It should be o.k. for me to shoot shoulder guns again. I didn't seem to have any issues with shooting the SG or a thumping rifle. BUT, I can sure understand your concerns and there will come a time when you'll know it feels right to shoot some shoulder fired 'thumpers'. Best regards and keep in touch. ..........Widder

Hey TJB. Yea, 10 yrds. My test was for velocities and not accuracy. BUT, I did place a 2" target at 10 yards to see if my Point of Impact was the same as my Point of Aim. Basically, both pistols are capable of 'Minute of Snake Head' accuracy at 10 yards...... ..........Widder

Howdy fellow Oak Ridge Outlaw. I had a TIA about 20 years ago. Doc put me on Plavix, baby aspirin, and a couple other things since. The ONLY known results from the TIA is that I have trouble remembering peoples names. My shooting skills, body movements, eye sight, etc.... are the same but name recognition is horrible. Nothing else changed. At 73, I still shoot GF and on a good day, I'm a good GF. I just don't have many 'good' days..... Since the TIA, I've had stents put in both my carotid arteries and 5 heart stents. FOUR years ago, I had a double by-pass and a pig valve to replace my normal valve. My normal Aorta Valve was all built up with plaque and had to be replaced. All is well now and I still take my blood thinners, such as plavix. I haven't had ANY known problems with Plavix......... BUT, I do understand some folks can get blood so thin that it could seep thru their veins, etc......... This is something the doctors check on periodically, or atleast that's what I've been told. I really like my heart doctor, who has been the one to do all my stents. His name is Dr. Malcolm Foster and he is with TENOVA at Turkey Creek. (West Knoxville). I think his 'group' is called 'E.TN Heart Consultants'. Best wishes on staying healthy. ..........Widder

PR I've used 2 different Chrono's over the past few years and the results of the hot loads in the rifle are always real impressive in BOTH of my Marlin .45's. I've mentioned many times that a good hot .45 Colt load in a rifle will give results that mirror .454 Casull fodder from a 7" pistol. At 73, the only physical hinderance I seem to have is eye sight. So far, my hands, thumbs, etc..... still enjoy those big 'thunder boomers'. I will admit that the Marlin does have some noticeable felt recoil on the shoulder. But most big bore lever guns do, especially with smokeless powder. Glad you like the information. ........,,Widder

For me, its comforting to know that I have a good handgun close by should a rampaging, charging Jurassic Groundhog comes after me. ..........Widder

Using load data from Hodgdon website load data, here are my recent results from some 'hot' loaded ammo. Pistols were a 5.5" Ruger SBH Hunter, Mag-Na-Port'd. A 7.5" Ruger SBH Hunter. (non-ported) Marlin 1894 Cowboy cut to 16.5" Velocity was chronographed 8 feet from muzzle 1st column: velocity from 5.5" Ruger 2nd column: velocity from 7.5" Ruger 3rd column: velocity from 16.5" Marlin 1894 4th column: Muzzle Energy for each velocity shown in 'bold'. 240 gr. XTP Mag. 27.0 LilGun 1336 1431 1970 950 / 1091 / 2067 240 gr. XTP Mag. 27.5 H-110 1181 1220 1760 743 / 798 / 1650 250 gr. XTP. 25.0 LilGun 1322 1318 1866 969 / 964 / 1932 (please note: average velocity in the 7.5" was lower than the 5.5") 250 gr. XTP. 26.0 H-110 1212 1245 1660 815 / 860 / 1629 CRIMP MOVEMENT: a test bullet was used to measure movement at 3 shots, 6 shots, 9 shots and 12 shots. At original OAL, my test bullet was 1.643 After 3 shots, the OAL was 1.644 After 6 shots, the OAL was 1.651 After 9 shots, the OAL was 1.651 After 12 shots, the OAL was 1.651 Although the bullet slightly moved from recoil, it never moved out of the crimp groove. I was very happy with my crimp consistency. Other useful info: My brass was .454 Casull brass, cut to .45 Colt length. Primers were Small Rifle Magnum. (Casull brass uses Small primers) There were NO pressure signs showing any flattened primers, BUT..... slightly sticky ejections from the Marlin were experienced when firing the .240 gr. XTP Mag using 27.0 Lilgun powder. I had NO split cases. Because accuracy is subjected to the shooter, I will only say that I am well pleased with the accuracy of all these reloads. At 10 yards, both Ruger's were hitting at the same POA. I love shooting big bore pistols, but I must admit that shooting gloves are recommended. ..........Widder

Well, I just hope it ain't 'Chicken George's' foot...... 🤨 ..........Widder

Somethings in life get old. BUT..... having FUN never gets old. And the TN State is one heck of a fun match, fun with friends and its actually a pretty nice fun venue with those local small towns with their antique shops and eating places. I ain't talking about McDonalds or Wendy's.......... I'm talking about a restaurant that serves some of the best foods you ever 'ett'. (Bell Buckle Cafe). The Wartrace Regulators know how to put on a great match and host a great banquet. And with a little luck, ya might even run into TN Williams and get a first hand experience of what a professional liar is all about..... ( I meant 'story teller)..... 😀 And who knows, ya might even see a few gunslingers from New Mexico. Happy Trails, Y'all. ..........Widder

ATOM or ADAM ? ..........Widder.

GOSH and Golly Gee! I've posted video(s) of shooting my .460 Rowlands and 10mm semi-auto pistols. Those ain't even close to Cowboy. But, it was shooting info and 'entertainment'. I plan to post more in the future. I'm sure there are many Saloonaholics that aren't interested..... but some are. ..........Widder

I've used the 'flash the bright lights' to oncoming traffic to indicate 'approach with caution'. Sometimes, it has been because of a speed check ahead. BUT, mostly its used to warn the oncoming traffic they are approaching an area that is unusually congested or an accident is ahead. However it may be intended, the traffic slows down, even if they are within the speed limits. ..........Widder

Abilene, Many years back, I bought 2 bricks of CCI 'large pistol' primers that were sligtly oversized. Trying to prime my brass on an RCBS 'auto-primer' unit was nearly impossible. I share this information because sometimes, although VERY rare, primers can be over spec'd. Before you proceed with all those other things, its an easy and simple check to mic your primers and see if they are within specs. ..........Widder

Them big ole rodents look like an East TN groundhog or something migrating out of Texas..... 😀 Better load up the Beretta 1301 with slugs. ..........Widder

SJ, Thanks for posting those videos. I enjoyed them and I am glad they are out there. ..........Widder

Most of 'US' seem to form our opinions of folks based on YouTube videos. And we base our opinions on 'groups of people', like LEO's, based on YouTube videos. The problem is....... ONLY the negative videos are shown on YouTube. Nobody puts the good stuff on YouTube cause it doesn't garner much attention. My guess is that there are THOUSANDS of vehicle stops everyday and hundreds of those stops are probably being filmed with a GoPro or Phone. Only some folks want to be put on YouTube so they stage a situation and make themselves look 'tough' and put it on YouTube for the gullible YouTube watchers. We all know there are bad LEO's among the many good ones. HECK, it ain't much different than politicians or even Preachers or TV Evangelist. I doubt we will ever see a YouTube video of an LEO giving some life support help to an elderly heart attack victim before First Responder could arrive. Or delivering a new born from a screaming mother who didn't make it to the hopital and get her epidermal before delivery. Those type of things don't seem to get filmed and put on YouTube. Y'all have a good day. And God Bless those in uniform who stand in harms way and take great efforts to help keep us safe. ..........Widder

why not use a shotgun? I doubt even a Jurassic Rat would need much more than a good smack from a 12 gauge. ..........Widder

Agree. When I watched the movie 'Pearl Harbor', I really loved the looks of how the actresses were dressed up and adorned to look the era. Very classy looking. ..........Widder

Yea..... I've thought the same thing. PLUS, I would consider using a revolver and still scatter a bunch of semi-auto brass around. I would also consider leaving a Coke/Pepsi, etc... ..... OR, an empty DQ Banana Split bowl. 😀 ..........Widder

That's one of the mysteries of 'Stealth'. 😀 ..........Widder

My guess is that the majority of those officers are super nice guys who would normally NOT be in favor of any kind of 'stop' check points. BUT, somebody on City Council or someone sitting behind a big oak desk has decided to strut authority and has assigned the street LEO's a job to make it look like they are preventing crime. Of course, downtown in the back alleys or on Main Street USA, a door is being busted open by crooks trying to steal a home owners belongings. ..........Widder

I would contact Snake Oil George out in Oklahoma. He does pistols with octagon barrels of various calibers. He might be able to produce a rifle length, octagon barrel. Good luck. P.S. - Where did it split? If its out towards the muzzle, it might be salvageable by cutting off any length over 16 inches. If its back towards the chamber, it can still be cut off, rechamsbered and threaded to the receiver........ all this assuming your final barrel OAL is 16 inches or more. I think 16 inches is the legal minimum. ..........Widder

Just a thought..... If the smaller caliber equated to faster shooting (assuming everything else is equal in the rifles), then you would think the top gunners would use a .32 Simply put, the good Marlins that Deuce and Bogus Jim use are rifles they have practiced hard with, whether it be the .38 of Deuce or the .32 of Bogus Jim. And the various calibers that Smokestack has videos seem to be properly setup 73's that he uses with lots of practice. My opinion, regardless of caliber, the performance capabilities of your rifle probably correlates to the amount of effort you put into your practice to get its top performance levels. Have you ever seen Jackalope shoot his 73 chambered in .45 Colt....... with black powder? He can run his rifle probably faster for 10 shots than 90+ % of other shooters using smaller caliber rifles. ..........Widder

Howdy RYE. Here is how you establish 'The Perfect Crimp' in relation to your ammo power. Actually, you can have various 'perfect crimps', so I better explain. If your ammo is lightly powered, the crimp don't have to be so much. Measure the OAL and put 6 rounds of your crimped ammo in your revolver and shoot only 5. Pull the 6th round out and measure the OAL for any movement. If recoil doesn't effect the OAL, then your crimp is sufficient.. Actually, I usually shoot 10 rounds, pull the unfired round and measure. If recoil hasn't effected the OAL after being in the cylinder for 10 fired rounds, I'm confident my ammo is crimped correctly. If you shoot HOT stuff, your crimp will need to be adjusted and do the same test. Pull the unfired round from the cylinder and measure its OAL. Your crimp 'tightness' should be sufficient that recoil does not allow the bullet to move out of the crimp groove. The crimp in your 1st picture is the kind of crimp you might want on .44 mag or .454 Casull ammo. The crimp in your 2nd picture is more conducive to Cowboy power type ammo, which is a nice looking crimp. As others have stated, over crimping can fatigue the mouth of the brass and cause premature splitting. ..........Widder

It ain't Charlie you need to worry about. We know what to expect from Charlie. The way Slo Jen, Ocoee Red, Picket, Fast Eddie, Capt BB, Slater, Yohan, etc..... have been shooting, the competition at the top is gonna be crowded, to say the least. TW won't be there cause he is still being hampered with his arm injury...... plus he's scared of getting whooped. 😀 Get that rifle (73) greased up for some 'lightening fast' runs cause you're probably gonna need to run it wide open on Saturday. And I understand that Slater has got your pistols runnin better than ever. Thats great. EDIT: I may have to bring my magnetic bullets for this match..... 😀 ..........Widder