Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667

Scarlett can tell us for sure but Shockley’s Gold may be discontinued, with all the company’s powder now sold as APP. I never understood why they bothered with two different powders. I can attest that APP generates plenty of smoke! I have two Sportsman’s Warehouse stores in my area. I did my best to clean out their remaining stock of Black MZ. I pretty much use it for shotshells.

I believe it is considered a Semi-replica of a Marlin 1894 which satisfies the category requirement of a post 1880 design.

The term "transported" is not defined in the SHB but I have understood it as referring to carrying and moving outside of the "firing line", including long guns in a cart. Note that there are exceptions not written in the SHB for long guns in cases, scabbards and enclosed carts. To my understanding there is no penalty for violating this particular rule. There is a long established interpretation that there is no penalty for sweeping yourself so "no call" if you are looking into the bores of your long guns in your cart. I also agree with Hollifer A. Dollar's interpretation that "sweeping" applies to a firearm in a Shooter's hands, or at least within the Shooter's control.

Lots of folks wear lace up boots. Just about any all leather shoe would be legal. There are only two specialized categories that require “cowboy boots”. Get to a local match and talk to folks. Lots of good clubs in Florida.

One thought on Ruger Blackhawks. They are legal in the “Open Age” category, in all age based categories and in B-Western. Those categories probably represent the majority of shooters. That said, there are categories that require fixed sight revolvers, including Duelist, Gunfighter, Classic, and the Frontier Cartridge categories. When I got started ten years ago, I passed up the opportunity to buy a pair of 50th Anniversary .357 Blackhawks. I paid a good bit more to acquire Ruger New Vaqueros. I was shooting in an age based category for several years, thinking that perhaps I should have bought the Blackhawks. Later on, though, I began experimenting with other shooting styles and moved to Gunfighter. A little later I decided to try black powder. I was able to move to those categories because I had chosen fixed sight revolvers. If a new shooter owns Blackhawks, I say “run what you have”. Similarly if a new shooter finds a deal on Blackhawks, they can be great for the sport. With all such choices just be informed.

A word about black powder shooting. Some folks think that means cap and ball revolvers. Fact is, back in the mid to late 1800s all ammunition was charged with black powder. Most modern cartridge firearms (the AR-15 may be an exception) will work fine with black powder cartridges. You don’t need separate sets of guns to shoot black powder. That said, the Frontier Cartridge categories do have some restrictions on firearms (for example, revolvers must have fixed sights).

If the spring loaded plunger on the base pin is sticking, it cannot do its job of pushing the transfer bar to the rear and the T-bar will snag on the firing pin as you are cocking the hammer.

There are also Bisley Blackhawks, some built on the larger cylinder frame, but the “Flattop” variant uses the same cylinder frame of the New Vaquero. I have one in .44 Special; that may be the only chambering available.

The .44 Special is a great cartridge. As a black powder cartridge I think it would do a little better in the rifle than the .45 Colt. If you wanted a milder BP load in the pistols using .44 Russian cases would be ideal. Don't make the mistake that most new shooters make, thinking they need to accumulate all the gear before coming out. Get to a local match now!

“Cavalry”.

http://www.srscowboy.com/ContactUs.html His phone number and email address are at this link.

I’ve never worried much about carbon rings in the front of the cylinder of a revolver. A couple of years ago I bought some Ballistol to use in cleaning my (stainless) New Vaqueros after shooting cartridges charged with Goex. I pulled the cylinders, sprayed the revolvers with Ballistol, let them sit a few hours, then wiped them down and swabbed the bores and chambers. I was amazed to find that the Ballistol had dissolved the long accumulated carbon rings. You might give Ballistol a try.

Isn't that a Chicago Palm Pistol?

It’s also a help to new shooters that WBAS rules allow magazines and ammo to be staged.

This right here. Most new Wild Bunch shooters come from cowboy ranks. We never reholster the 1911 on the clock in WBAS so any legal holster that will retain the pistol until you draw it is fine.