sarcasmn

Actually I did check the end of my driveway. I just did not walk all the way down to the end of my driveway and look across the street to see if the box was laying on the ground next to my mailbox. plus I never thought the driver would ignore the signature required or in this case sign for it himself.

So luckily I was not robbed. I have a 900 foot long gravel driveway through the woods to my house. There is a circular turnaround at my house plenty big enough for any box truck to use. The driver evidently did not want to come up to the house so he faked the signature and left the box next to my driveway down at the road. fedex does this all the time. UPS, Amazon and the postal service have no problem coming to the house but fedex thinks it’s ok to leave packages on or near the driveway near the road. we have had dog food from Chewy left by the road overnight as we did not know it was delivered and critters chewed into the box and bag and ate some of the dog food. I had a case of shotgun shells, unfortunately in a box marked Remington Ammunition disappear after it was supposedly delivered and left by the road. The fedex driver consistently leaves our packages down by the road. Only FedEx does this. luckily the rifle was still down at the end of the driveway when I went down there. The rifle is one of the new Ruger made Marlin 1894’s. It was really nice when I got it. The action work done by Longhunter is amazing. Smooth as silk. I would happily recommend his shop to anyone.

I purchased a new Marlin. Sent it to Longhunter to be slicked up. He finished what I am sure was great work and then mailed it back via fedex with a signature required. The package was delayed in route and due today. I just checked the tracking number and it states the package was delivered and signed for I have been home all day and no package was delivered. Anyone have any experience with this? What is my recourse? I called fedex and the are starting an investigation immediately.

I am short. 5’6 with a 48 inch chest. I have to have my long guns shortened. I had my local gunsmith shorten me butts and include a nice padded sand to fit butt pad. I started looking for covers and the prices and finally ordered some leather and a couple of tools off Amazon. A butt pad is really not that hard to make unless you want fancy. Mine turned out fine. I just stood my shotgun on a piece of paper and traced around the butt pad. Then measure and cut another piece for the cone and use some kind of string or twine to put it all together. Not difficult at all.

I want chaps do’s SASS. Don’t need just want. My experience with chaps has been those I wore on a horse farm growing up and for motorcycles. Both had a zipper all the way down each leg. my question is do I want shotguns or bat wing. Here in SW Georgia I am thinking bat wings will be cooler than shotgun. How are bat wings to run in? Do they hinder movement between stages? Are they any cooler than shotgun? Inquiring minds want to know.

I have two 45-70s. I got into the cartridge years ago shooting an 1874 in BCPR silhouette matches. I liked a 535 grain postel bullet except for the chickens. That was a lot of bullet to shoot from offhand. when I retired, my troops gave me a Marlin 1895 Cowboy. Love that gun. I started off with checking out the different offerings of factory hunting rounds. These were somewhere in the range of 2100 fps. They also kicked like a mule. I knew from my experience with black powder cartridges that was really fast. Heck in the old days they were loading around 1300 fps and killing buffalo with them. I loaded up some 405 grain bullets with Trail Boss. Much easier on the shoulder and the two deer I have taken dropped right there. I use Trail Boss a lot for that rifle. look for Trap Door loads for plinking.

Paul A Matthews also has some good books on the subject.

I used to shoot a lot of BCPR silhouette. Those competitions only went out to 600 yards but I have also shot some 1000 yard matches. There will be a lot more loading information for the 45-70. Brass will be much easier to find and a lot cheaper. Like someone above stated, do not skimp on the sights. I have a Dixie Gun Works Silhouette Rifle that was made by Pedersoli. Great rifle with a 30 inch barrel. I think the longer barrel helps at distance. At the few Quigley matches I attended, the 1874 sharps was by far the most popular rifle but that could be that they are more popular because of the movie. Paul A. Matthews has a number of great books on the subject.

Does anyone make a belt pouch for the round aluminum loading block that Cowboy Bullets sells?

I have two of the Ruger Marlins. One is a 336 for hunting. The other is a 1894 classic I plan to use in SASS. The fit and finish on both is excellent. The 336 went to a smith in Montana that works hunting rifles. He did an action and trigger job on the rifle. He also usually smooths the bore a bit, hand lapping, to make Marlins shoot lead bullets better. He sent my money back for the bore saying he wouldn’t feel right about charging me for the little bit of work he did on the bore. He had high praise for the rifle. I have been working up hunting loads for this rifle and it is the most accurate Marlin I have ever owned. Being 57, an avid hunter and a big fan of the 336 for woods hunting, I have owned a few Marlins. I have had some good and some not so good. This 336 is the best I have ever had my hands on. the 1894 is on its way to Longhunter in Texas to be Sassorized. For the short time I handled it and put a bore scope in it I found it to be of the same quality that the 336 was. I know that Ruger took two years to put out the first rifle after they had bought Marlin. They were aware of the problems Remington had and the damage that did to Marlin’s reputation. They are not going to take chances and put out junk. They have built in a lot of quality control. I called them about the marks on my loading gate and they explained they shoot the guns before they leave the factory. The nice rep said I could send it back if I wanted. I said no worries. My 357 shot two boxes of 38’s really well and I am not giving it back. I am sure it will only improve after Longhunter does his magic. there are four Marlins in my gun safe. One is a pretty good JM that I had to got through three different rifles over the years to find. One is a later years Remington made 45-70 that my smith was able to make into a pretty good rifle. My Two Ruger made Marlins are the best of the bunch. I know people are bitching about the 1200 dollar msrp of the new rifles but I have had good JM’s and bad JM’s and they are going for 1500. I paid a little under a grand for my new Marlin and I think it’s one of the best Marlins I have ever owned.

Had my first match with Russel County Regulators at the East Alabama Gun Club. what a great bunch of people. Lots of fun. I even took a friend that has maybe shot a gun once or twice before. The club president took her to an unused bay and had her shoot the guns and get comfortable and then she joined the posse and shot a few stages. I will definitely be going there every month.

I will be shooting a Ruger/Marlin 1894

I am gearing up to shoot .38. I know some rifles do not feed .38 well and some people load .357 brass for the rifle and .38 brass for the revolvers. For ease of reloading I was wondering why you would load both. Would it not be easier to load .357 brass for all?

Thanks everyone. I wanted to try the truncated cone bullets. Somehow I got it in my head that they didn’t feed well. I tell ya, the people I have met at matches and here on line are some of the best people.

I just pulled the trigger on a Ruger made 1894. I think I will shoot a few matches with it and then send it to Long Hunter to get slick. I may just send it to him right off and save a few headaches. I have reloaded for .308, 6.5 CM. 30-30, 10mm, 45-70, both black powder and smokeless, and 45 Colt so I am not new to reloading just reloading .38's for CAS. Does anyone have experience with the new Marlins? I am guessing they are about the same as the old as far as bullet profiles and OAL. I use Shooters World Clean Shot and Trail boss in .45. I will probably use Clean Shot since I am down to one large container of Trail Boss and want to save that for my 45-70 hunting loads. My questions are mostly about what bullet and maybe brass. Should I just load .357 brass for the rifle? The literature states it holds nine 357's or ten 38's. Is that just a matter of shortening the spring? I would prefer to just have one load. Can I load .38 brass for this rifle? Can I load the same bullets for both rifle and pistol? What shape bullets? What weight? I would really like to load 105 grains for both but will load 125 grain if I can use just one load. (Don't be a hater, I am helping a new lady shooter and reload for her too so I try to keep recoil to a minimum. I have shot .45 Colt for a while and even use Buffalo Bore ammo in my Blackhawk.) Does anyone use the NEW PROFILE 105 grain 38 Caliber FP Coated by Scarlett for rifles?

Oh so glad I am retired.

One other thing. I have no experience with sass long range but if they are timed events or have timed shoot offs, then a High Wall rifle might be better as it auto cocks when you open the breech. Very similar to the sharps just no outside hammer. If I knew then what I know now, I would have a high wall in 40-65. Little harder to get brass but great rifle. if your heart is set on a 1874 then get one. I guarantee you will giggle like a school girl every time you shoot it. one really helpfully trick is to put baby powder on top of the barrel when you shoot it. The baby powder will show you the barrel vibration nodes. Then you place the barrel in your shooting sticks right at the node so the stick has the least effect on the barrel vibration. if you need any assistance, pm me. I will give you my phone number and I will help you all I can

I have a Pedersoli 1874 and it is excellent. I used it for BPCR silhouette competition. Great rifle. I have a Lee Shaver soul sight on it however. Being only 5’6” and a damn yankee to boot, I blasphemously have the length of pull shortened and added a recoil pad. Made the rifle very comfortable to shoot. Black powder doesn’t have the kick of modern charges. when I got a Marlin 45-70 cowboy, I got some modern hunting rounds. They were running 2100 fps. Murder on the shoulder. I thought about it and black powder rounds were only about 1300 fps and they killed buffalo with them. I then researched some trap door rounds and loaded up some 4198 at those velocities and the Marlin is a pleasure to shoot and devastating on deer. A 500 grain bullet over 72 grains of Swiss 1 1/2 is about where I shoot also.

I am looking to pick up a truck rifle. I may just grab a Marlin but I really like the 92. Does anyone know how good the Chiapas are? I like the octagonal barrel on a 20 inch. I have a Rossi in 45 with a 24 inch barrel I sometimes use for hunting but I want a 20 inch for the truck. would love a Winchester but really don’t want the safety. I know Rossi has a safety but I can fix that. Just curious as to the quality of the Chiappa 92s.

Funny you would say that. I have managed to get two 97’s one is a 08 coyote cap and the other was set up by Jimmy Spurs so I think I have two pretty good 97’s.

You guys are bad for me to talk with. Now I want two walkers to shoot gunfighter with.

Yeah I know they are a handful. I love history and these guns have great history. I want one just because.

I am a big fan of Josey Wales after reading the book. I am thinking of getting one of the monster Walkers just for fun. I have a lot of experience shooting and hunting with muzzleloading rifles, both cap and flint lock. I do not however have any experience with black powder revolvers. Is the Uberti replica ok. I am sure there are members here that shoot black powder and could steer me in the right direction. Like I said, I doubt I would try to shoot matches with this thing but would like to dip a toe into percussion pistols.

I am actually using Trail Boss in my 45-70 deer loads. Factory loads are running at a shoulder punishing 2100fps. I find that funny as the original black powder loads at around 1300fps were taking down buffalo. I have found that in the Georgia woods these “buffalo” rounds take down deer just as well as a 30-30 or 308 with less meat damage. I have switched to Cleanshot for my SASS loads and am saving my Trail Boss for the 45-70. I forgot to mention. I was gifted a really nice Marlin 1895 Cowboy and even with the longer barrel it’s a pleasure to take into the woods

Yeah Widder and this one is supposed to have been set up by jimmy spurs. It’s nice and smooth so I think I got a good one. Now I just need to practice what you teach in your videos