Tex Jones, SASS 2263

Belated Happy New Year, Bob!

So far this season we haven't had much snow. Latest one dropped less than 2 inches and shoveling it was not a problem. Anything more than 4 or 5 inches, the landscaper plows it out. I have many years of shoveling in NY and NJ, no more of that. My neighbor and his 8 yr old son help out clearing the walkway from the house. The boy loves to shovel the snow. Lucky to have good neighbors.

Good to learn you're still around and doing well. Don't be a stranger.

Don't wait. Call your credit card provider and request a charge back. Make it TACNATION's problem.

I watched it on Netflix and it's one that requires attention. It's a good example of several, possibly intertwined story lines. A good cast, although Costner is, in my opinion, the weakest character. I didn't care for the final few minutes highlighting what appears to be scenes from the second part. Overall though, it's pretty interesting.

The dates haven't been set yet, but the Midwest Regional Match, Gunsmoke, held at the Cedar Valley Vigilantes Club in Morristown, MN is usually at the end of September. Always a good match.

Plenty of good gunsmiths who can tune up a Uberti. If you're in Ohio, then try contacting Lassiter (Tom Wildenauer) in New Lebanon: Tom's Single Action Shop, New Lebanon OH- 937-687-1039. Tom doesn't do much on the web; best to call him, usually in the afternoon. If you're handy, there are spring kits available for Ubertis from Pioneer Gun Works (pioneergunworks.com) and Shotgun Boogie Gun Works (sbgwllc.com) among others. Good luck.

I doubt anyone could understand this guy now.

I saw Ray in West Berlin in 1970. Still remember it.

I do, but it's 7 5/8.

Guns International has a couple of used Alfonso rigs for sale under Gun Parts and Accessories/ Holsters and Belts. They are in the $400-500 range and, although used, they are in better shape than the one you show. Even if the rig was revitalized, I doubt that it would be worth doing in terms of return.

Welcome aboard, Zeke!

This is one version of the B&T pistol. As it's a Class III firearm, tracing ownership may be easier.

The latest theory by some "experts" is that the firearm is possibly a B &T VP9 pistol with an integral "silencer", an update of the Welrod design used in WW II.

Phantom makes a good point. A friend who is knowledgeable about CAS firearms and gear, and will give you unbiased information is a plus. You can find all sorts of advice about the game, but it's difficult to discern between good, not so good and bad advice if you're just starting out. Good luck, be safe and have fun.

Reminds me of the line: "It seemed like a good idea at the time".

Hal Needham did a lot of the stunts for the Paladin character, this before he became a director. Ozzie Nelson's son David was an assistant director, if I recall correctly. The show is still on TV.

Welcome aboard. Lots of fun to be had, lots of good people.

USFA China Camp with Colt 3rd gen grips. Most of the material removed was from the top side of the back strap. The butt end didn't need much at all. The bottom of the frame just behind the trigger guard is slightly proud of the grips, but there was no way to get it any closer as the top of the grips were flush to the frame. The holes for the stock pins were marked and bored out very close to the original holes.

Hang in there, Bear. Hope everything turns out OK.

From the Customs and Border Protection web site: Generally, there are no restrictions on baked goods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has a general list of approved products of which breads, cakes, cookies, and other bakery goods are listed. Note: Importing Moon cakes, for example, may depend on the country of origin, whether or not the eggs were raw, partially cooked or fully cooked, and the foreign animal disease status of the country of origin. If the Moon cakes were produced in Canada and the importer can prove they are unequivocally of Canadian origin, there will be no import restriction.

The Spartans weren't at Marathon. They showed up after it was all over.

Colt third generation grips can be fitted to USFAs with some sanding. The stock pins on USFAs are in a different location than on Colts, and new holes have to be drilled into the grips.

This is a rather lengthy article from the Wall Street Journal on November 16th titled: Where have all the American Revolutionary War Re-Enactors Gone? Similar issues to CAS/SASS. Patrick Mantle, an East Rockaway, N.Y., history buff, needs a few good men and women—and even children—to fill the ranks of the Huntington Militia. Mantle isn’t some radical firebrand. He is commander of a storied American Revolutionary War re-enactors group whose membership has dropped in recent years as an older generation retires or dies out. Younger recruits, he says, are harder to come by in an age of endless distractions that include organized sports, the time-suck of social media and a culture more interested in being entertained than in joining something. Cost is also an issue, Mantle says, since a full Revolutionary War soldier’s kit, including uniform and musket, can run $3,000 and upward. The Ancient and Honorable Huntington Militia, as it is known, was formed in 1653 to protect the village of Huntington from hostile Dutch colonials nearby. By the outbreak of the American Revolution, the militia had thrown in its lot with the Continental Congress and would go on to fight in several Revolutionary War battles. Re-enactors like Mantle accouter themselves in authentic (or as authentic as possible) colonial-era garb and weapons, and gather at historic sites to re-enact battles, military-camp life and even the British occupation of American towns. Another touch of authenticity: As was true during the Revolution, soldiers are often joined in camp by their wives and children. The Civil War dominates The U.S. has some 240 Revolutionary War re-enactor groups representing about 4,500 hobbyists, according to the Brigade of the American Revolution, a Pennsylvania-based umbrella group that tracks membership. By comparison, Civil War re-enactors number about 25,000 to 30,000. During the run-up to the 1976 U.S. bicentennial, as many as 20,000 hobbyists signed up to participate in Revolutionary War re-enacting events, according to the Brigade. Mantle’s Huntington Militia has about 40 members, with about half that many attending events, down from a peak of 50 when Mantle joined in 2013. Three other Long Island re-enactor groups are having similar recruiting issues. “It’s all about keeping the history alive,” says the 34-year-old Mantle, a TV news photographer who majored in history with an American Revolution focus. “To do that, we have to find a way to keep the hobby going,” he says. The recruiting slump is all the more pressing as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday—the U.S. semiquincentennial—on July 4, 2026. While Revolutionary War battles are celebrated and re-enacted every year, many in the re-enactor community were expecting a surge in membership as the 250th anniversaries of key battles and other historic events draw nearer. But so far the community has mostly been disappointed, says James McKane, a Brigade board member. “We expected new recruits would be joining up left and right,” says McKane, a 25-year-old Scranton, Pa., resident who works for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “But unfortunately that has not been the case for every unit.” John Rees, a 68-year-old New Hope, Pa., Postal Service retiree who has been re-enacting since 1994, doesn’t belong to a particular group but floats among several units in the Pennsylvania area, typically attending smaller-scale events that emphasize authenticity. While membership in some of these groups has dropped off in recent years, he still finds the movement “vibrant.” Rees, who has written on the overlooked participation of women and Black people in the Revolutionary War, says that young people tend to be more receptive to that research. “We need to reach out,” he says. “The core of any group should be the younger generation,” he says. On the battlefield Appealing to a younger cohort is important in another way, too, says Rees, who dresses as a private. “You really shouldn’t have a unit where everybody is in their 40s and 50s and 60s,” he says. It isn’t representative of the typical Revolutionary War soldier who, according to research, was in his early 20s, with some as young as 14 serving. McKane, who is also the commander of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment, or Jersey Greys, says his group—which George Washington called “the flower of all North American forces”—is trying to recruit in the 18-to-34-year-old demographic, the same people who flock to wildly popular combat-action videogames. The Greys also try to appeal to younger participants with their style of field tactics. While older re-enactors tend to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in sprawling lines and fire at each other with their muskets, McKane says, his Greys tend to be much more active. “This means a lot of running, quick movements,” in addition to period-campaign-camping styles, “that sort of thing,” says McKane. Similarly, Austin Duebel, a 28-year-old recruiter and coordinator for a group of mostly New Jersey and Pennsylvania re-enactors, has embraced social media, posting videos and photos of events as a recruitment tool. He communicates by email with about 110 people, although average turnout at events, he says, is about half of that. His group also has a YouTube channel that helps streamline training with guides on musket cleaning, close-order drills and other skills. The idea, again, is to make joining easy and not simply throw people into the field at an event where “the guns are going off and people are saying, ‘Gee, what’s going on?’ ” says Duebel. That’s all to the good. But Daniel Murphy, a 19-year-old member of the 43rd, shows how real-world demands and logistics make Revolutionary War re-enacting tough for young people. Murphy, a history major at Susquehanna University, says he loves re-enacting, a hobby he started in high school. But between his college classes, the tennis team and plans to study abroad, he has had to put re-enacting “on the back burner for now.” The same is true, he says, for many of his generation, who “sign up in high school only to leave or become disinterested in the hobby due to entering college and adulthood.” In search of authenticity For some re-enactor groups, an effort to modernize attitudes has helped keep membership steady. To Niels Hobbs, captain of His Majesty’s 40th Regiment of Foot, that has meant convincing 20- and 30-somethings that his re-enactor group is dedicated to a more “progressive” and inclusive take on the Revolutionary War than was sometimes seen in the past. The unit, which portrays a storied British regiment so relentless in combat they were known as the “bloodhounds,” has about “50 members on paper” who come from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and several other states, says Hobbs. “Younger folks coming into the hobby expect better and more rewarding experience, usually tied with more immersion and historic authenticity,” says Hobbs, a University of Rhode Island biology professor. It isn’t just a matter of having the “correct camp gear…or, essentially, glamorizing battles,” Hobbs says. “It’s portraying the stories of the invisible or forgotten people of the period—the soldiers, the lower-class civilians, the enslaved.” Another major change that has helped recruitment, Hobbs says, is erasing of gender and racial barriers. “Traditionally, units often have been very gender-restrictive, but this is really starting to change,” he says. “Currently, our unit is primarily men portraying soldiers and women portraying the civilians who followed the army as wives and nurses. But our membership includes both men, women and queer/nonbinary folks. And, while most of our membership over the decades has been Caucasian, we’ve had several people of color in our ranks.” There are still re-enactors performing who were part of the bicentennial surge. For retiree Paul Loane of His Majesty’s 43rd, a former director of alumni relations for Rutgers University, the hobby gives him an outlet for his love of American history and the Revolutionary War period. Jim Gallagher of Yorktown, Va., shares those sentiments. After a 27-year career as an Air Force aviator and a stint at the State Department, Gallagher signed up as a re-enactor in the 7th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line. Gallagher also appears regularly at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown portraying Thomas Nelson Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Done properly, says Gallagher, re-enacting reconnects the public to a “palpable feeling” of the spirit and times of America’s Revolutionary War fervor. Loane agrees. Movies and books are one thing, he says, “but there is nothing better than actually wearing the uniform, carrying the equipment, learning the drill used in the 1700s. Maneuvering over a smoke-covered field at a battle re-enactment just as they did at Germantown or Monmouth will give you the best clue as to what being a Revolutionary War soldier was really like.”

Chris Colt as portrayed by Wade Preston. The show didn't last long as Warner Bros and Preston had a falling out and the show was cancelled. This show was part of the western series produced by WB: Maverick, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco Layne, and Lawman.