Reverend P. Babcock Chase

Howdy Mr. Malco, I started with a 2 gun cart. It served me well, but when I got backups for my SG and Rifle, I made a 4 gun cart so my backups would be handy. When I feel the need, I throw a back sixgun in. I figure the one sure way to need a backup to have it way down in the parking area, or worse, back home in the safe. Rev. Chase

As a point of interest, I have a third model Dragoon with a gated .45 Colt conversion cylinder installed. It is very cool; however, it is heavy and once started to swing through the targets it's hard to stop. By the way did I say that it's very cool. I can only imagine what a behemoth like a Walker must be to shoot in a match. Not to mention the loading lever dropping down after each shot. I removed the Dragoon's loading lever. Oh yeah, you have to find a holster that fits that large mass of iron and then tighten your gun belt so it doesn't drop down to your knees while moving during the stage. A note: don't forget to loosen the tight belt periodically so your leg don't get numb. It's great fun to shoot those big hand cannons but ;you have to content yourself with style points as you are not going to be setting any winning times with these heavyweights. Rev. Chase

Howdy Tall, Don't cut the barrels. The longer the barrel, the closer you are to the knockdown. If you already have a coach gun, try shooting the SKB with the full length barrels. You may like it. Also, it will be a more versatile gun for moving targets. Rev. Chase

Howdy Deadeye, For what it's worth, If you are considering .38 Spec like in your rifle, definitely get the factory produced conversion pistols. Converting a C&B .36 cal. percussion revolver to cartridge either requires shooting .38 Colt (I think that is more complex to reload) or fussing with hollow base wadcutter bullets in .38 S&W which expand to fill the larger bore (or pay to have the barrel lined for .38 in which case factory produced conversions make sense.) Either of the above ways will require separate ammo for rifle and sixgun. I shoot a Rem. conversion in .45 and it shoots very well and is easy to reload by just taking out the cylinder. Colt pattern conversions are more complicated needing the barrel to be removed (unless there is a loading port cut into the frame.) Advise as valuable as the price you paid for it, Rev. Chase

Howdy Chancy (and others), I have tried both. I started with a tang sight based on the "logic" you espouse. Then, after some advise by a top shooter I went to the barrel sight. With the distances we shoot rifle targets, I believe that I only use the front sight. I bet if you lay the tang sight down and shoot a stage you won't notice the difference except that you might be a little faster. That's MY story. Rev. Chase

I seem to remember a military term for the senior officers as "Brass Hats". I wonder is a "Copper Hat" above or below a "Brass Hat"? Rev. Chase

Howdy Currahee, Years ago I was invited to some winter indoor cowboy "practice" shoots. No steel. They hung those plastic/rubber self-sealing targets. You could see them move when hit. It was not a competitive event, but it did keep the rust from forming on both the guns and the shooter. Rev. Chase

Howdy Fed, I can't speak to Dillon dies, But I have been neck sizing my .45 Colt brass for years (decades?) with case splits that I can count on one or two hands and I have never annealed any brass. Further, I taper crimp to work the brass the least possible. That has made my brass really last. Rev. Chase

Howdy HK & Others, Having a dump plate solves and safety concerns. If the shooter can't make 5 hits with 10 shots, just score the misses and have him move on. I'm sure there would be some complaints, but I think it would make an interesting stage. Like the Texas star, folks would either love is or hate it. Rev. Chase

Howdy Kid, Wow, the upgraded model with cup holders. Nice job. Rev. Chase

Howdy Trouble, First, attend a/some match(s). Hammerless doubles and '97's are the choice for most categories. Classic Cowboy mandates Hammer Double or '87. I can not speak to the new '87's which seem to be getting pretty good reviews. I shoot a Hammer Double or an older chinese '87 for Classic Cowboy and can affirm that the hammer gun is faster for me. My '87 is fun and cool for style points but generates "train wrecks" regularly. If you are starting out and will shoot a category that allows a hammerless double or '97, I'd suggest you consider one of those. Rev. Chase

Howdy Tex, (again) What Garrison Joe said, too. You are going to have to remove both the hammer and the trigger to see what's up. I have seen where, once the parts are removed, they can be put in the proper position for inspection by putting their respective screws through the left side of the frame to hold the parts in place. This will allow a full view of how they work together. Of course, when you first take the parts out of the frame, a careful inspection may reveal the problem right away. Good luck. Rev. Chase

Howdy Tex, Sounds like you have a burr on the hammer's full cock notch. Might need some LIGHT stoning to remove the burr. Be careful not to change the angle of the notch. Or seek professional help. Rev. Chase

Howdy Texas, I noticed a similar problem while loading my .45 Colt mixed brass. I seat and taper crimp separately. I measured my mixed cases and found that, having set up my crimp station with some of the shorter cases, the longer cases were being over crimped. Trimmed all the cases that were long and the problem went away. By the way, I use a Lyman two step "M" expanding die adjusted to just let the bullet fit the case mouth with almost no "belling". Then with the taper crimp, the case mouth is worked as little as possible. With Cowboy level loads my case life is almost infinite. I can't remember more that a few split cases in 20 years. This is using light, but not gamer, level loads. Rev. Chase

Howdy Myron, Study Red Rider Rudy's photo. It should be perfect for you. It even has snow. Rev. Chase