McCandless

I'm only relating my experiences with "Rifle Last" stages. Make of it what you will. I shoot at a club that sometimes has rifle last stages. These were all open, with no facades, no windows, no doors, nothing. As a T.O. I was able to pick up all shots, and reliably pick up the last shot. Calibers used by the shooters ranged from .32 to .45. No problem. However, I did have the opportunity to time a buckaroo at a recent State Match. No matter how I tried, I could not pick up the shots fired with his .22 rifle. Across 10 stages I tried angling the timer, getting it out as far as I could without impeding the shooter. There were no enclosed stages. These were "rifle not last" stages. I could pick up the pistols and shotgun without problem, so all was good. I'm considering now, what I would have had to do, if these had been "rifle last" stages...

I shoot my Nagants now and then. Just for something different. I make a semblence of the ammo using 32-20 brass. It doesn't give you the gas seal as real Nagant ammo, but it gets the job done. They'll slow you down a good deal, but for once in a while it's something different. Confounds the Loading Table officer, if your club used one.

The MagTech is looking like the old Winchester rounds from the 1990's - early 2000s. They had that deep cannelure. I always wondered if brass (if used multiple times), would break off there.

If you'd prefer, the ETS Mag Speed-Loader is sold on Amazon. I found out that these multi-round speed loaders require significant force.

If you already have one that you want to use to get started.... I started out with a Stevens 311. Oy! After having it worked on, and then doing the "$7 fix" It was still a gun that I had to use my off hand to open wide enough instead of going for my shells. The major mistake was having the barrels cut down. The gun needs that forward weight to open the breech. Then it has that big lug between the chambers that increases the fumble-factor while loading. Anyway, here are some older instructions for working on it. https://marauder.homestead.com/Stevens311.html

Cowboy Mounted Shooting at Winter Range 1996. CMSA founders. L to R: Bronc aka John Peel, William Bruce aka Jim Rodgers and Rawhide Rawlins aka Phil Spangenberger.

Whatever you choose for a start line, even if it's just "Ready". Please, say it loud enough to be heard, or nod your head. Remember, T.O.s are wearing earplugs, too.

I followed Widder's exact instructions, measurements, and tweaks that he posted on Marauder's Old Irons site and made my Marlin into a Widdermatic. That little rifle is slick now. The timing was off before I started as I did have an instance of the "Marlin Jam". If you do want someone else to work on it, since Widder retired, he taught Slater at Slater's In House Guns, in Louisville, TN, how to sweeten up sour Marlins. In your neck o' the woods, Cowboy Carty, Carty Allaman, Western Gun Works, Monmouth, IL (309) 536-0163 is a wizard with Marlins.

For loading with Cleanshot, I used Scarlett's data and settled on 3.0 grains with an overall cartridge length of 1.485 I do recommend dropping down to 125gr bullets when you next buy or cast them. No problem with knockdowns as the velocity is faster using the same amount of powder. Anyway, 3.0 is a good starting point and if you want even more oomph to kill those pesky charging rhinoceri, you can tweak your load.

A question to ask is, do you reload? If yes then it's only a matter of the difference in the cost of components. If no, then .38 special is far more economical than paying over $1 a round for .45 Colt... 120+ rounds per match x the number of matches you shoot per month. That's not counting any practice you may wish to do.

Another go 'round

Photos added

Private Message sent. I saw that you had your phone number posted. Don't respond to any texts or calls, it ain't me. Scammers have been posing as sellers that way. Let's communicate via PM Thanks!

Cleaning out the workshop in preparation for moving. I'll post a lot of "stuff" for guns I worked on or don't have anymore... I have 5 pair 4 pair of blued .36 caliber percussion cylinders for the Pietta "1851" Navy revolvers. Also will work for Pietta 1861 .36 and 1862 .36 Enough for 5 more stages without recharging. 4 pair have the engraved naval scene, 1 pair are blank. None of the cylinders have turn lines. Stock nipples. None are frozen. Freshly lubed. Buy 1 pair, 2 pair or all of them... 75.00 per pair, plus shipping.

Cleaning out the workshop in preparation for moving. I'll post a lot of "stuff" for guns I worked on or don't have anymore... First up. A pair of blued .36 caliber percussion cylinders for the Pietta "1858" Navy revolvers. One is in new condition. The other is in 90% condition with no turn line. 75.00 for the pair, plus shipping.