Cowboy Junky

Clay pigeon probably around 20-25 yards. Most of our ranges won't let you shoot much farther due to the size of the berm.

My holsters are actually cut for the larger Vaqueros and I shoot the New model that are smaller. I don't know if that's the magic or it just the brand by they go in & out easy but hold really well. Even if you do happen to do a cartwheel...…...lol. The problem I had when I did my roll wasn't the guns coming out it was the hammer trying to poke through my rib cage that was the worst part.

My first 73 I hated the Uberti red so I stripped it down beat it with a chain and took off some of the blue with steel wool. Back then they were $700 bucks...…...lol. I'm 90% sure I used minwax dark walnut and stain poly. Maybe I'll look for that stain & chain.

I use to play around in the basement with my powder loads I think many of us did at some point. Then I realized in that when I was shooting much heavier loads in shootoff's in just a few runs you forget about the recoil and your timing would adjust quickly. So IMO you get use to the tiny changes in recoil quickly and then you don't have to worry about keeping your ammo warm, backed out primers etc. I'd just put a little more powder in.

Or change the topic I'm getting proven wrong again post.

They probably say shoot the pistol targets with the pistols and the rifle targets with the rifles too in the stage instructions......the SG targets are no different. If you don't hit the intended target you missed it. What you were aiming at doesn't matter......it didn't hit what the stage instructions said it should have.

I don't think you can totally prevent them......so what I do is put myself in those situations at monthlies. I'll shoot before I'm ready, talk to people (the ones that want to talk to you) at the loading table instead of running the routine through my head, go to the loading table when it's empty knowing the TO will call you up the moment the last cartridge goes in your gun etc...…. Then (IMO) you are more prepared for that situation that isn't perfect because you have prepared for it. If you have a negative thought it's kinda' the same thing...…..learn to let it float right on by and not attach itself to anything.

This gets a lot of folks to the point I have had veteran shooters argue with me about the call. If you don't hit a pistol target with a pistol it missed it. If you didn't hit a rifle target with a rifle you missed it. If you missed a knock down shotgun target with the shotgun then you miss that too. The confusion comes in when you start worrying about what was hit with that miss...…….lol

That would be true if you stuck to the reloading data for sure. But in CAS I have seen 45LC loaded down to insanely low velocity so it can be done. Whether or not you should can be debated but people are doing it without incident every weekend. So if you take a 38 Spl loaded near factory levels (even less) it can have more recoil than a 45 LC if you choose to go down in the basement so there is crossover depending on the load if you roll yer' own. I don't like a really light 38 load and I was helping a new shooter with his 44-40 loads. He was shooting 5 grains of Tightgroup under a 200 grain and I was at 3.9 of Reddot with a 105 grain and we both shot each others loads and there was no real noticeable difference in recoil which surprised me quite a bit honestly. His loads are much hotter than many of the 45LC's I have watched go down range so I'll agree with you if you stick to published data but not everyone does that.

Checkering & looks...….other than that no difference IMO. Also the PG weighs a tad more if that matters.

I keep the pistols in the same holster for a few reasons. 1) if you start to have intermittent problems it's easy to see if the problem stays with the gun or if it's another issue. 2) My guns are blued and the holsters wear the blue differently for each gun. They are old Rugers done by Jimmy Spurs with many years of hard use on them so they have been in & out quite a few times.....if I switched sides randomly then they wouldn't have ANY blue left on them...….lol. They both have the same POI and are very reliable so if it's a "guns on the table" stage then it doesn't matter but if they go back into leather they go in the same holster every time.

Well if it was the Barber match in Aynor SC you missed a GOOD one....so good it just might have changed yer' mind.

Well wider is one of the most knowledgeable folks and helpful gunsmiths in the business so I sure don't want anyone to take this the wrong way but I still think how you cycle the rifle is key. That's why the rifle you cycle my ammo for Widder but not for me. I was bending the levers on a 73 inside a month because I opened the gun so aggressively. The more I tore up the 73 the more people told me I wasn't opening the leaver so IMO that's what led to this aggressive style.....and things got worse and I was in a downward spiral. That was the path that led me to the Marlin. So when I got the Marlin I didn't change that style I slammed the lever open just as hard having confidence I couldn't or didn't have to worry about bending that lever. Too me it seems strange that I would open the lever so hard on a 73 it would bend in under 300 rounds but when I switched to the Marlin I went to somehow not opening it all the way. The stroke length on the SS Marlin was very similar to my 3rd gen 73...…..so it just seems strange. I think you can open the gun and if you have a softer stroke the ammo is less effected by the momentum as it comes up to chamber the round. But if you open the lever too hard it might cause the ammo to react differently than if you open it with less force. Since the round is not captive that (and moving the gun L&R) can let the ammo move out of place as it tries to chamber....thus the shoot them like you are walking on ice comment I made. The best runs I had with the rifle I feel like I had to shoot it like it was in a gun vise...….and it was taxing. The 105's for me seemed to be worse than 158's of the same OAL and I "think" it's because the round was heavier and less effected by the hard open even though the 105 had a more forgiving profile for feeding. Many Marlin shooters know (and I saw it a lot) not to try to lever the gun as you bring it to your shoulder so that makes me think the two are related. Because that first round can jam as you are moving the rifle around while the round is chambering and the gun is less stable. I know folks trying to modify the feeding system to overcome this and have the same theories but I got tried of the fight...……..lol. Again everyone please understand I'm just trying to explain what I "think" I saw and I could right but I could be wrong and the goal is to help figure this out not argue with my favorite Jedi warrior in the game.

Running a Marlin fast is like running fast on ice. You have to be very smooth and that's if the gun is set up well. They can be run fast because many people are doing it but IMO they are much more difficult to setup than a 73. That's because the rounds aren't captive like in a 73 so they can bounce around while feeding. So OAL, bullet types and even how you stroke the lever are more critical on a Marlin. I think the SS Marlins are more critical than a stock Marlin and then the Widder mod makes them feed any OAL but that doesn't let you get away without having a smoother technique. I can take a Marlin that shoots great for a fast shooter and it runs like crap for me...…..same gun. I tweaked mine and with the help of some GREAT cowboys almost got to the point where I was going all in but I never could get the rifle to shoot fast without some hickups. Like I said it can be done but the design of the gun makes it much harder to shoot fast. Good luck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPe7DDAPRTE

I have been using these by Boyt for about 10 years now and really like them. They make a double for the long guns as well. That way when I travel I have all 4 guns is two cases.