Roger Rapid

Shortage is not only due to hoarding; most ammo, primer, and gun-manufacturing plants were shut down, and then on limited staff due to the coronavirus. When Italy was hit hard by COVID-19, Uberti and Pedersoli - to name just two - shut down, then went to very limited staff, and still have a bunch of non-manufacturing folks working from home. RR

OMG! - Super photo!!!! Looks like gun didn't "break" - but instead that wedge fell out. Was this his first shot? I'm sure it got his adrenaline pumping! Wow! RR

Good eye, Marauder! - My bad - Disregard Bear Creek - Steve only makes and sells lead. RR

I urge that you go to Steve at Bear Creek Bullets (www.bearcreekbulletssupply.com). He produces an extensive line of cowboy bullets, at very fair prices. His bullets are coated with a special coating so that you are not touching lead. RR

GJ... Sure glad I didn't show it with a screw in place of the nail!!!

Here's photo of a surrogate/slave pin that GJ referred to. Holds trigger in place until trigger assembly is back in the receiver. Easily comes out when regular pin is driven in. RR

Cowpokes… We’re galloping down the trail towards the 2020 California State Match, September 2-6, 2020. Hosted by the World Famous Double R Bar Regulators at our range in Lucerne Valley, California, this promises to be a not-to-miss match that will include: 12 Main Match stages, three 4-stage Warm-up Matches, a Black Powder Night Shoot, Long Range, Wild Bunch, Doily Gang Clinic, BB Gun Side Match, Plainsman Match, Sweet 16 Eliminator, Team Shoot, and more. Please CLICK HERE for our Registation form or our promotional flyer with match schedule and more information. We’re only a few months out so get your registation form in the mail now and don’t get left in the dust! For information about nearby hotels and trailer rentals please CLICK HERE or visit our website at: www.DoubleRBarRegulators.com See you in September! John Ringo Match Director / Chief Range Officer (The Double R Bar is committed to the safety of its shooters. This may translate into smaller than usual posses and the shooters choice to use masks. Sanitation will be pursued vigorously in common areas and will include hand sanitizer on every stage. Our annual Friday night potluck dinner may have to be cancelled, and our Saturday night catered dinner may have to be a “take out” meal. We are following California State mandates and will keep you informed of any changes as our match date draws near.)

We have a seven-page white paper on BLL entitled "Controlling Blood Lead Levels" (for shooters) available for a free download under "Documents/Papers" on our website at: www.PRVCatLazyArrow.com. (This document is now being used by several law enforcement agencies.) As GJ pointed out, the greatest exposure to lead particulate is when shooting, and especially with revolvers where there is a rather large cloud of lead particulate around a pistol when fired. TOs are especially prone to inhaling excessive amounts of lead particulate because of their proximity to numerous shooters. The body has several types of skin; the skin on your palm and inner facings of your fingers is referred to as "glabrous" skin and has very few open pores and no hair follicles, so absorption through the skin when reloading is minimal. The danger with lead on your hands comes when you are reloading or shooting and you pull something to eat out of its wrapper and transfer lead particulate directly to the food you are eating. Carelessly opening a bottle of water and rubbing lead around the mouth of the bottle before putting it to your lips is another dangerous practice. Smoking while at the range is another way to transfer lead from your fingers to he tip of your cigarette and then to your mouth. Inhalation and ingestion are two prominent methods of lead introduction to the body. Absorption through the skin is virtually zero. As previously noted, spirulina (especially the Hawaiian version) is not only a great herb, but is a super chelation (metal removal) agent and is far more enjoyable and easier on your body than any of the scripted drugs for lead removal. My wife and I both take a teaspoon of spirulina a day in our protein drink. Five years ago, my BLL (blood lead level) was 18.5mg/dl (18.5 milligrams per deciliter), it is now 7.5mg/dl and I have not changed my shooting or gun handling practices. Cilantro and chlorella are two other natural chelation agents (but spirulina is more effective.) I know of at least a dozen folks in our four sister clubs who have taken spirulina and successfully reduced their BLL. As noted previously, most doctors and hematologists aim for a BLL of less than 5mg/dl. Greater than 10mg/dl and the lab must report it to the Board of Health (so you'll most likely get a letter and some pamphlet's in the mail). What's too high? As you have already read, there is a wide disparity of opinions, but most professionals feel that anything over 10-12mg/dl is not good. What does it cause? My life-long friend is a neurologist and he says there's an array of neurological issues that include things like memory loss, tingling in the fingers, muscle pains, joint pains, twitches, etc., and in each case folks with these symptoms often are found to have high BLL levels. Donating blood? Check with your agency before donating blood. If you - and they - know you have elevated BLL, they may not accept you as a plasma donor. (Lots of studies on this - Google it if you're interested.) How to reduce BLL? Masks and bandanas will help (and I think the coronavirus mandates will help to reduce BLL in cowboy shooters - if the virus doesn't come and get us first!!!!). Washing your hands thoroughly, and using D-Lead soap where available, is a very important thing to do when finished shooting - especially before you eat. Not touching bottle tips, and holding food by the wrapper rather than touching the food is very important. Washing your cowboy clothes regularly - especially your shirt - is very important to not introducing lead particulate to your house and other clothes. Be healthy please.... RR

Make the investment in a Franfort tumbler, and as previously stated get some Strat-O-Sheen from www.riogrande.com. Use 2oz Strat-o-Sheen with one gallon of water and you'll get this (idea to wear nitrile gloves - solution is caustic). If you pop out your primers before you wet clean, the stainless pins and Strat-o-Sheen will most likely clean out the primer pockets. If primer pockets are really gunked get a primer pocket cleaning tool, sit in front of the TV, and give your primer pockets a good cleaning - with subsequent wet tumbling the clean pockets should last for a long time. RR

Hi Old Grouch... I'll send you a copy of my Taurus manual (24 pages). The Taurus "ThunderBolt" Lightning is more similar to the AWA version - the Uberti and Pedersoli internal workings are quite different from each other, and from the AWA version. Uberti or Pedersoli parts will NOT fit the AWA version. (I have also prepared detailed manuals for the Uberti and Pedersoli Lightnings.) On its way to you. Stay Healthy! RR

Hold on Gents… Before we overwork the “make safe” language, please don’t forget that we provided the scenarios that Phantom was referring to as “virtual scenarios.” In the absence of actually being at the range and holding guns in your hands, the scenarios were intended to make you think about everything you do rather than just saying “rifle, pistol, shotgun, you’re done!” We say things like “with pistols holstered, move to…” While you’d obviously holster your pistols, we wanted you to envision doing it. Having you going through the motions in your mind while not being able to be at the range was the whole spirit of our Virtual Cowboy Shooting exercise.. RR

Speaks Easy. We have 24 scenarios that are free downloads (PDFs) on our "Virtual Cowboy Shooting" page in our website. They were intended to use with our "Virtual Timer" to practice on your computer during the coronavirus. Web site is: www.PRVCatLazyArrow.com - then click on Virtual Cowboy Shooting page, or the direct link is: http://www.prvcatlazyarrow.com/prvcatylazyarrow.com/Virtual_Cowboy_Shooting.html Enjoy... ERE

Lightning rifles are super fun to shoot, but do take some practice - as with anything - to learn how to cycle them smoothly and consistently. Most problems I see with Lightnings are the driver, not the vehicle. The AWAs can be made to run well. Taurus is the bottom of the barrel. Uberti's have too many built-in safety's, and a Pedersoli Lightning is a fine machine. They are all tight out-of-the-box and need some help with slicking (unless worked on before), and they all need frequent teardown and cleaning because of intricate inner workings - but look at the cleaning as your friend, it's what you do if you want to shoot one. Because of the bolt design, the straight-shell versions (.45LC/.357) have some blowback (the necked case of the .44-40/.38-40 have much less) but good glasses help. I have several flavors, and my Pedersoli is my favorite match gun - it helped win me a buckle! I have detailed teardown documentation for the Pedersoli, Uberti, and Taurus (Taurus document can be used for AWA) that is available gratis - just PM me. RR

Hi Allie Mo - hope all is good with you! This is our understanding, too. Further, I’m sure there are a few shooters who actually read the waivers, but most don’t and therefore they don’t know what it says - or doesn’t say. I think a waiver serves the greater purpose of having a shooter think or believe that if they choose to participate, they assume some responsibility when they sign it. RR

J-Bar... Not quite sure I agree with the "catch-22" idea. If a club makes a best effort to exercise diligence as it relates to gun safety, or health safety - as in the case of the COVID-19 issue - and someone does get sick, a lawyer "could make a case for negligence..." but I think it would be a very tough case to win. I agree with you that we are responsible for our own health and safety, but others should be considerate and somewhat responsible for OUR health and safety, too. One of the reasons folks should wear masks - aside from protecting themselves - is to protect you and me from something they have (that, in fact, they might not even know they have). I was setting targets at our range last week and I was the only one of four folks wearing a mask. I was a little upset that the other cowpokes were not considering my best interest - as I was considering theirs. You and I are also responsible for our physical safety at a range, but if another shooter is careless, and one of us gets hurt, then we would certainly question why they were not following the commonly-held gun safety rules. Yes, there will be matches that do not follow the guidelines, and some that follow them to the letter. And, for my well-being, I'd rather attend the match where there is some attention to health safety; at the end of he day, I'd much rather be on this side of the grass. RR