Tom Bullweed

I was in Valle Crucis, NC this week, near Grandfather Mtn and Boone. There were marks of high waters on the door jambs, up to four feet above ground or many feet above the nearest river. These water marks coincuded with hurricanes that came north from the gulf. More hurricane deaths in the NC miuntains than the NC coast is what I have read.

With the primer shortage, having an option to load SP is a plus.

Are you saying that a bit of fungi can make a bad pair/pear?

I had an original in .32-20. The guide screws limited how fast I could run the gun. These screws, only in the original .32, did not give enough support to the cartridge to run fast. Now that I shoot mostly B-Western, an original in .38-40 is one ,y short list of wanted guns.

I bought my first .32 H&R mag in 1986, a Ruger Single Six. I shot Ruger OMVs in .45 since 2005 but bought a baby Vaquero in .32 with a birdshead grip in early 2019. I looked for a match until late 2020. Now I have a salt&pepper set (one blued and one stainless) to match my OMVs. I prefer the look of one working blued gun and one shiny engraved gun.

I got to handle a Marlin 1893 in .32-40 with a 14" barrel. Short barrel rifle caliber lever guns were popular with trappers about 100 years ago. Very handy and light as they wanted a brush gun that could down a bear or wolf while they worked their traps.

Win 1876 in .45-60.

Rooster, the important information needed here is the serial number that is on the receiver and the two barrel assemblies. If they match or are very close, then I would get a letter from the Cody Museum about this gun. The $65 letter authenticates how the gun originally shipped from Winchester, and if it shipped with two barrels, the value could be high. If the numbers are far apart, then some shooter just matched a second barrel assembly. Still a good find.

I use CCI #11 caps on stock Oietta 1851s. I did file some of the nipples to make them more consistent. I also use Rem #10s when I can find them.

Not sure if the Mex laws have changed, but for decades a citizen could not own a pistol in a military cartridge or a cartridge larger than .40 caliber. The 1911 is .38 Super is popular south of the border.

I use on-line manufacturer's data since I like to believe that it is the most up-to-date. I use Handloader magazine to help me understand the different loads. Brian Pearce and Mike Venturino were good sources when I started loading .32 and .38 WCF (a.k.a. .32-20 and .38-40).

BP loads can be made hotter by layering the first 20 grains of FFFg, tamping that tightly and then adding FFg for the desired total powder charge (usually 65-80 grains). The finer powder combust quicker and raises pressure by combusting the coarser powder with a larger flash than just a primer. These types of loads were used by harvest duck and goose hunters in the late 1800s.

I live in a small city. Their list of recyclables does not include everything that says that it can be recycled. No fast food cups, newspaper or glossy paper.

I will not modify these. Every dim is too big and would require removing material deeper than the hardened zone. The heat-treat on these seems to only to surface hardness since the parts are somewhat pliable. If I can't find the right part, I will just retire this gun from matches. I have peened the existing extractor about as much as I am willing to go but half of the hulls on one side are bypassed by the extractor.

I use cornmeal. Never understood why people use grits. Grits seem too hard and angular to send down a bore. I like grits, but cornmeal&bp smell right together.

I shoot a Stoeger 20-ga sxs coachgun occasionally. The ejector was damaged by a previous owner. I ordered a new one from a well-known source and got a 12-ga extractor in a 20-ga marked baggy. I e-mailed them of the dilemma and they said that they would send another. And they did; another 12-ga extractor in a 20-ga marked bag. They said that it had to be fitted by a gunsmith, but every dimension is 5-15% too big. I work in precision metal fabrication and know better. My offer: my two new 12-ga extractors for one new 20-ga extractor.

A .45 caliber bullet that does not expand is closer to a perfect .30 cal bullet that does expand, and the .45 Colt at long distances will likely be to slow to expand reliably. A blunt nose TC or SWC would be as good as it could reliably be in this non-magnum pistol cartridge. Ben Pierce of Handloader magazine said that 2400 was his choice for getting the .38 WCF, .44 WCF and .45 Colt to perform in rifles.

Worked with a fella from SE Asia whose first name was Meth. We sent new employees out to find Meth in the plant. Funny days...

Size with .45 Colt die. Case holder is .45 Colt. Flare, seat and crimp with .45 ACP. This does make a taper crimp. I always made a hard tape for loads used my rifly thingy. Standard taper crimp should be okay in a pistol unless the loads have significant recoil.

A girlfriend coaxed an unknowing me to see The Crying Game. I was out in 10-15 minutes. She stayed and I went next door to a pub. We broke up a short while later. I won't watch a movie like High Noon or Firecreek. Those settlers, cowboys and such were the product of a nation-splitting war and an expansion in the face of countless challenges. Think of Northfield, MN when they took on the James and Younger gangs.

I paid $550 for a 1908 in 60% condition in 2005, $475 for a 1928 in 50% in 2008 and $225 for a 1914 in 20% condition. That $225 is the ugliest but best shooter for our game of my three. I do not understand screw-in chokes in a full-choke barrel. I think that the choke in these old guns runs 6-10 inches from the muzzle.

I use Lee Precision tumble-lube dies. Just cast and tumble lube. No sizing. With 777 or APP , I skip the lube step. Casting is a self-cleaning process. Lead has a low melt point of 621F. Impurities like dirt, copper, zinc and sulphur rise to the top and are removed as dross. Wax, lube and plastic burn off. No matter what goes in, if you control the temp, the lead is purified. I pick up lead for free. I provide copy paper at work in exchange for new battery terminals. Craigslist can be a good source for window weights, decoy ballasts and fishing weights. I do not use battery

Buy primers in a store. Still hoping to find in estate sales and such if reasonable.

Please, let of these responses be bad. I have a hankering for another 1892 in .32WCF, and the recent run of Jap-chesters included a pistol-grip take-down SRC in .32 WCF. Very pricey and hard to find. All bad responses, all bad....

I got my 15-year SASS pin last year. I shoot around 15-20 matches a year. I have never shot more than three matches in a row with the same guns or in the same category. Everything from Frontiersman to B-Western is fun. I have never shot a clean match but have proven that a shooter can miss fast enough to be a category winner, even in a state match. Those fellas in the west sure missed alot too, based on contemporary records. 'Nuff about me. Has anyone tried to write a match that allowed Comstock rules? SASS allows Comstock rules for shotgun when we can make up a miss