H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

Hey, anyone who's ever seen "Specter of the Gun" knows that the Earps were the bad guys and the Clantons were the vanquished heroes! :)

Wait... No more Trailboss?

Saying SASS or CAS is going to be meaningless to most. But actually saying Cowboy Action Shooting, or Single Action Shooting Society, is pretty self explanatory. Remember, what is abbreviated CAS is a generic term, SASS is specific to our rules and interpretation of the game.

As the owner of a Colt 2nd Gen Dragoon, I have two words. "Buy it!" For that price I have three words. "Buy it quick!"

Or if you prefer, about 0.392" Call it a .40 caliber shelf. The metric system should not exist.

Seen that. Pretty well done. Never did understand why he made it work with a shortened version of .40 S&W. Seems to me that it woulda been easier to make it of a .380 if he wanted a rimless cartridge. But I'm just glad he was able to do it. I've heard of the .22's, but never seen one, not even a pic. But as a .22 it'd be hard to use at a match. Yeah, yeah, just like a Mare's Leg, it'd prolly not be SASS legal, but some clubs'll let you use 'em if you ask nicely in advance.

As far as making your own ersatz Volcanic out of a Henry frame, it would seem to me that there are a couple of "options." The first, as has been discussed, is get a frame that has never been made into a rifle. You could then put a 12" barrel on it and declare it to be a "pistol." As to if the frame is identified as a "rifle frame" or just a "frame" is something I do not know. You'd have to check with the ATF to be sure on that, and get it in writing. The other option would be to put a 16" barrel on it and think of it as a "Volcanic Buntline," and made sure that the overall length of the thing is at least (I think it's) 26". Then, no matter what it's shaped like, it not an SBR, just a very impractical rifle. In this option, you'd probably have to have a Mare's Leg type grip instead of trying to reshape the tang to get a more Volcanic like grip. (In fact, I have long considered doing this with a reproduction 86 to make a "real" version of what the Mare's claimed to be.) In either case, you'd probably have to find someone with great skill as a welder to customize the lever into the Volcanic's circle lever instead of the Henry's oblong one. I doubt that anyone will ever market a replica Volcanic. On the one hand, it would fill in the same niche as the Mares Leg, but would be a lot more work. Mare's Legs are basically chopped versions of existing rifles. A true Volcanic replica would require tooling up to make frames and things in the correct size. But it would be cool to have one in either .32 S&W or .38 S&W. (The most logical calibers to put it in, IMO.) Ah, the possibilities!

Well, I decided for various reasons, to go with the 66. Thank you all for your thoughts on the matter. They were helpful.

Well, I drove from Boston to Reno for a shoot once. But that was part of a vacation. Two and a half hours'll get me just about anyplace in New England. But of the two clubs I shoot at more or less regularly, one's about 30 minutes, and the other is just over an hour. Used to go to a few others in that general amount of distance, but they switched from Saturday to Sunday, so I don't go to them anymore.

Ah, never mind.

Since girls can be "Boy Scouts" can boys be "Girl Scouts?"

Uhm... I have said from the beginning the beginning that the whole point of the comparison is to examine how they are different just as much as it is to look at the similarities. I have specifically said that the frame and action are different.

It's not about the names. It's about how the pistols themselves are similar, and how they are different. To say that you can't compare different pistols to each other to see what they have in common and/or how they differ is bizarre to me. Sure, I don't see much point comparing, say, a S&W New Model 3 to a Russian Nagant. Those are so radically different that there's really not much to compare. On the other hand, the various Model 3's have a lot in common with each other, a lot of differences, and yep, some portions of the Merwin & Hulbert, while very different overall, have interchangable parts in the lockwork. The whole point of the original post is that these two pistols have enough in common visually as to invite comparison. "But they're different, so you can't compare them." Wow...

I generally don't buy nickeled brass, but I get some occasionally at random. I just toss it in with the rest of my brass in the same caliber and use it until it's not usable anymore. The one exception to this is Winchester made .38 S&W nickel brass. This is unique in that if you put a .360" bullet in it, the case bulges and will not chamber. It is the only brass I have that has this odd quirk. So, if I want to reuse it, I use a .358" hollow based bullet. I also load it hotter than my regular .38 S&W. Basically, I try to replicate .38/200 for use in my Webley Mark IV or S&W Victory Models. (Don't know if my Colt Police Positives/Detective Specials can handle the hotter load, so I don't bother.) Gives me a visual difference from my normal low power stuff for use in everything else.

A friend of my in the Air Force once gave me 5 shotbags full of once fired .38 Special military brass. For free. Yes, you gotta swage the pockets. But it was free brass, and it works just fine. I wouldn't throw the S&B away. If you don't want it, I am sure someone would be willing to make use of it.

Okay.... Can you compare the Colt SAA to the Ruger? Are they similar enough that it is logical to compare them, or are they so different that doing a comparison is pointless. Or... Can you compare the Colt SAA to the Remington 1875? There are a lot of similarities that would make people want to compare them. Or are they just too different so that comparing them makes no sense? Or... Can you compare the USFA Omni Potent to the Colt 1878? They clearly look similar, but the USFA is not a SA only version of the 78, it's an SAA made to resemble the 78, so comparing them is silly. The Cimarron Lightning is not an SA only version of the Colt Lightning. It is a scaled down SAA made to somewhat resemble the Colt Lightning. If the above three comparisons make no sense, then comparing these two pistols makes no sense. But if the top three comparisons are logical ones to make, then comparing the two pistols known as the Lightning is also a logical one to make.

Actually, it is kinda close. Just not exact. Unless you are blind you can SEE that it is meant to be reminiscent of the old Colt Lightning. Not exactly the same, but nobody ever said it was. I don't see any pottery in that reality.

Well I already have the 73 in .32-20.

Simple grammar. "Along the lines" means similar to or evocative of, not the same as. Everyone knows they are not the same thing.

You are mistaken. I did not make an error. You just don't agree with my conclusions. Learn the difference.

One of the many reasons why I want one of these guns is for the top eject. And the way to make a "battery" of all the guns being the same design. And cuz I think they are cool.

The action of the Cimarron Lightning is indeed pretty much the same as the SAA. Original Lightings had a very different system, far beyond just being double action. In fact, you could make the point that the Cimarron gun is just a scaled down SAA with Lightning style grips. BUT, just as the USFA Omnipotent was made to resemble the Colt 1878, the Cimarron Lightning was made to make you think of the Colt 1877, or Lightning as we call it. Comparing them is a legitimate thing to do, because while one is not a copy of the other, or even just an SA only version of the original, there are deliberate similarities. Comparing them is a logical thing to do.

Out of rifles, .32-20 is a fairly quiet round. Out of pistols, it is the most efficient round for converting gunpowder to noise. Curiously, my 7.5" Colt is somehow louder than either my 5.5 of 4-3/4" barreled ones. I don't get it, but that's the way it is.

Mine was made in 1903. My Sheriff's model was 1887. Of curiosity is how the old one clearly has a .375 bore, but the newer on has a .357. That's why I use .358" hollow base bullets for this .38 Long Colt. I have other guns with both the larger and smaller bores.

And yet they allow real Lightnings. Or at least they used to. NCOWS is the National Congress of Old West Shooters. It is a CAS club that is more historical reenacting than fantasy like SASS is. You have to prove that what you are shooting and wearing existed back in the day. A reading of their rules shows that they are quite strict on this point. But beyond that, it seems like their stage scenarios are pretty similar to ours.