Captain Bill Burt

Cart umbrella, WD40 and an Outback slicker. A spare towel of two is also helpful.

We’re getting close! Two more monthlies then it’s time to rock. It looks like we are going to have two flights…

The Burt's all have Fast Eddie SKBs as well!

I agree with Gateway. The likelihood of having a gun break during a stage, but still having an opportunity to place well with a backup is pretty low. I guess it could happen if it broke on the last round out of that particular gun, but otherwise competitively you're done at that point. Since we usually have three shooters in the game, and often four we don't really need backups. The Iron Cowboy's rifle is identical to mine, so we back each other up there. Shootin Sharyn's pistols are almost identical to mine in terms of the action (both Jimmy Spurs .32 H&R) so there's our backups if needed. All four of us shoot SKB 100s done by Fast Eddie, so we can back each other up there as well. That's long winded, but no, we don't carry backups.

Yeah, that was Mackenzie River Drifter. RIP

So young! I'm sorry for your loss FJT.

Locally 22 seems to be the magic number that leads to two posses. It works. With four Burts on one 11 person posse we inevitably have to spot for each other though.

My concern with ending it at NC State is that I don't typically shoot that match and I need to be at the final AND, it's a long wait from the last state match prior (TN State). I think we probably need to end at either the Regional or TN State. I think this is a good idea. I'll start including categories when I list who is competing. I'm happy to split BP out into different categories if there's demand for that. This past year we had Frontier Cartridge and Frontiersman, but not enough demand for a third BP category. Given the nature of the competition I don't think there will ever be a 'perfect' solution in terms of how it's scored, so I'm going with what seems not only fair, but relatively easy to calculate and communicate. Keep in mind that the average stage times of the different matches are radically different, so if we go with total time people will get an even bigger advantage from attending certain matches than they currently get. The last time I looked, the average stage time difference between the fastest and slowest matches in the Magnificent 7 was about 6-7 seconds a stage. So a shooter could gain as much as a 60-70 second advantage just by choosing match A over match B. Rank points takes that advantage away. On the down side it introduces the advantage of competing in matches that have fewer Magnificent 7 competitors. Given the objective is to increase match attendance that's both a bug AND a feature.

I know. It’s a puzzle wrapped in an Enigma…I’ll listen to people smarter than me and eventually figure it out.

You bring up some good points. We may end up with the Awesome Eight and run from FL state through the regional.

Correct. I was thinking they would kick off the competition then we would have a long break (unfortunately) until the bulk of the matches occur in the spring. We would have another break between TN State in June and the SER in September. None of this is for sure. I'm trying to figure out a way to bring NC State in (if they're interested) and bring in the Regional, which I think would mean more people could get in the minimum 3 matches.

That was my thought as well!

I think that's worth consideration. My original thought was that I wanted to give as many people a chance to compete as possible and felt bad that NC wasn't in the mix. Ending the competition at the Regional seemed like a good possibility because it draws so many shooters, but TN State draws just as many or more, so I will have to think about it and see what other people have to say.

I need input for a change I'm considering for 2027. If I was able to get the South Eastern Regional and North Carolina State to participate how would everyone feel about "The Notorious 9", which would run just like the Magnificent 7.

No need to check your calendars, it's still 2025, but amazingly we already have 15 people signed up for 2026! With that in mind I'm going to start sign up earlier this year. I don't have a 2026 form yet, so it's perfectly fine to register using the 2025 form. It's available on our website and I've linked it below. https://southeastopenmagnificentseven.com/ The 2025 Magnificent 7 saw our highest participation in the three years it's been running with 77 people signing up. We gave out more buckles than ever before and gave away some great door prizes generously donated by our sponsors: Bullets by Scarlett, Page Custom Knives, Outlaw Bullets, Buffalo's Wild West and "Diamond" Jake Rewa. We're extremely grateful to SASS, and all seven state clubs who sponsored us and look forward to their sponsorship in 2026. The rules will be the same, the same 7 matches are sponsoring us again, though the South Carolina Championship will be hosted by the Geechee Gunfighters this year. Thank you Doc Kemm for continuing with us. My goal for this year is to hit 100 participants. If you participated in the past and want to join us again we're grateful. If you haven't done the Magnificent 7 we hope you'll consider it this year. The price is still $20 and it's still non-profit. All entrance fees go towards Molly buckles and/or door prizes. The deadline to sign up will be the opening of The Last Stand, our kick off match. Some categories are pretty much locked in because we know we'll get the minimum needed (5). Other categories will be honored based on whether we get the minimum number of participants. Last year quite a few people were interested in Classic Cowboy and Frontiersman, so they recruited enough competitors and we added those categories. I encourage anyone who is interested to recruit a few more people and we'll honor whatever category you're interested in. Here's our current list of participants and their requested categories: Happy Shootzmore. Gunfighter Tam Bam. L./49r/Cwgirl Harry Trigger Elder Statesman Coyote James Cowboy Tin Can Sailor Silver Senior Scarlett Darling ? Tyrell Cody Frontiersman LaSombra Frontier Cartridge T-Square Frontiersman/Pale Sedalia Dave Frontiersman Diamond Jake Frontier Cartridge Captain Bill Burt. Senior Shootin Sharyn Cowgirl Iron Cowboy Cowboy Kid Flash Junior Midwest Hale Cowgirl Arcadia Outlaw. Cowboy Crawdaddy. Elder Statesman Buck O. Billy Duelist Categories need 4 each to fill. Magnificent Seven 2025.pdf

Looking forward to it. This will be our last big match of 2025. Will there be two flights?

With some reservations I agree. We need a tent that’s big enough for Dave and Gator while retaining the Cowboy vibe.

Thanks for your input.

I will do that! I have several 1911's, which I intend to keep, but the idea of a double stack 9 mm on the 1911 platform is intriguing.

So, you’re saying you don’t know much about them but you don’t like the way they look?

I appreciate any feedback. It’s always good to be informed on options. I’ve handled a few Prodigy’s but haven’t shot one. They seem well made.

Definitely. I’m wondering if others have felt they were worth the premium.

Are there any Staccato owners on the board? I'm thinking of picking up a C2 and would love to hear any feedback from current owners.

I'm sure it would be!

H.K. I suspect this is the answer to your question. If ejectors were allowed most double shooters would reach parity with each other (in terms of equipment) about as quickly as they could get ejectors put back into their guns. 97 shooters would not have that option. To be fair, and definitely no criticism implied, you're not a typical CAS shooter and the performance oriented rules are written for the majority, or should be, not for the minority. They also take into consideration the amount of money many competitive shooters have in their current guns. If your suggestion were followed I suspect you would quickly see the number of shooters using 97s and 87 drop dramatically in favor of doubles and hammered doubles. You would also see a lot of unhappy shooters who would be faced with a disadvantage using their current guns, or the need to spend more money to regain competitiveness.