[Anyone use HSM bullets?]

I just used HSM's 45-70 in the long range match today.  Everyone else was commenting that it was hitting hard and one guy said it was whistling through the air.   I'm disappointed to hear it's too hot because I have a trapdoor Springfield I was hoping to use them in.  They are the same bullet weight and within 100 fps of the loads my buddy from the gun club loads for me, so I was hoping it'd be safe.  At least, according to the specs, I don't have any way of checking it. 

 

I bought a bunch of them because I found a good deal at cabelas.  Looks like I need a new rifle for the long range matches. 

 

Anyway, i can't help ya with the hardness because that's over my head. 

 

[How can I tell a new from old Vaquero?]

The way I tell is by whether the base pin comes all the way out.  But it occurs to me that this might change with different barrel lengths.  I am pretty much only interested in 5.5" barrels, and in that length the OMVs base pin won't come all the way out (at least not with the amt of effort I've been willing to give it), but on NMVs, colts, and colt clones it does. 

 

So my question to some of you who like those oddball barrel lengths, does that hold true? 

 

To answer a couple of other things that were brought up: 

1.  The part number for the feather lights is FL7 or FL8 (depending on shot size), indicating that Winchester could have at least internally called them featherlights even if it wasn't ever on the box. 

2.  "Model" is important because then we can shorten them to NMV and OMV and everyone will know what we're talking about.  OV isn't nearly as clear given that it's only a 2 letter three letter acronym. 

 

 

[How many SASS competitors are using original Colt SAA's?]

 

I don't think anyone's gonna get the third "non Colt." It's the bottom 1911. (Or the only 1911A1 if you wanna get technical) It is genuine GI surplus, but it was made by Remington Rand during WW2.

 

Thanks for playing everyone!

 

You aint gunna believe this, but I was actually about to guess that. I couldn't tell who made it, but I zoomed in on the picture and I could tell the markings on the frame and slide were missing, or at least different enough from the 2 above it that you can't see them in the picture.

[UNOFFICIAL, Official Steampunk Cowboy / Cowgirl Guidelines]

Me too. I didn't have any plans of shooting steampunk, but my wife would probably like it, and she shoots gunfighter.

[Surely there's some boat folks here]

I work on oil production platforms all around the gulf. I'm usually on platforms out on the continental shelf, and I've yet to be on one where I had a cell signal. I was told stories though, that sometimes ships have repeaters. One fella in particular cranked up his phone one day and had a signal, so he called his wife and chatted for a few minutes. The bill for that call was more than he made in a year.

 

I think the platforms I'm on are somewhere around 50 miles from the heliport, so a little less than that from "shore"

 

However, lotsa people use the wireless internet connection to make phone calls. If that ship had internet (and most of the big ones these days seem to) she could have been doing that.

[Pistol choice for duelists?]

Like everybody else said, go try some guns. My hands are a little smaller than yours and I shoot gunfighter (like double duelist, but both guns out at once) I don't have trouble shooting any gun other than the birdshead grips like in warden callaway's post. Those kinda jump around on me. Hammer height doesn't seem to matter to me and I think it's because of my hand size. If I were buying a new gun now, I'd take a hard look at the alchemista 3. Made by pietta, sold by EMF. It's a heavier colt clone with octagonal barrels and an 1860 grip instead of the shorter standard size. Keep in mind if a grip doesn't fill your hand well, you can always buy wider replacement grips.

[Prescription Shooting Glasses]

I have a bunch of prescription safety glasses because of some shenanigans with the flex spending. A couple years ago I had $2k+ in a flex account and the only thing I could spend it on was glasses. (I'm not kidding, they were even denying dental expenses ... made me pay some of those back) I made them all safety glasses because after getting a pair for free from work, I couldn't see a reason to ever get non safety glasses. The pair I use for shoots is more or less period correct other than the earpiece. They are smallish and round. I found them at wal-mart. The hardest part was finding glasses that would fit my big fat head correctly. These were wide enough that there's virtually no gap around the edges.

 

 

[How many SASS competitors are using original Colt SAA's?]

 

Well, Griff, you are close. 2 outta 3 ain't bad.

 

The Lighting rifle is an AWA The lower right 5-1/2" SAA is an Armi San Marco.

 

But the middle 1911 is a real Colt. It's one of the new original 1911's that they made in the early 2000's I took it back to Hartford and had them put the ambi safety on it at the factory.

 

Special recognition now goes to Griff for getting 2 of the 3. Good for you, Griff.

 

Shall I reveal the third, or does anyone else wish to guess?

Making a wild guess at the third one, but was that black rifle on top made by mattel?

 

Note my other 2 original guesses were already guessed and were wrong.

 

I also think I see a smith and wesson, but don't know how to describe it's location because it's kind of in the middle. It's the double action revolver that's got a medallion at the top of the grips.

[Who Got You Started?]

Got me started with what? My love of guns would be my grandpa. We'd visit them 2 or 3 times a year and he had an end table chock full of old NRA magazines. My parents would let me pick a couple every visit to take home (the limiting factor was my parents, grandpa woulda let me take em all). I read them cover to cover over and over again. 2 of them even had articles about (what I think were) the first 2 end of trails.

 

Shooting would be my brother in law. I'd been shooting with my dad, but it was limited to sighting in and hunting. My brother in law had me plinking for fun.

 

SASS would be my wife's dad who I never met. He left her a bunch of guns when he passed, and once we were married and settled in the mother in law called us up and told us to come get the guns out of her house. Amongst the guns was a colt peacemaker made in 1877. It was in pieces when I found it and I actually thought it was a broken toy at first. Once I took a good look at it and decided to get it fixed, I was naturally lead into the tender arms of SASS.

 

Now, through the years I'd had some exposure to SASS. Aside from the old NRA magazines, in Austin a SASS club started showing up at the gun shows. I had lots a of questions and they confused me greatly at first. I also had a friend who did cowboy shooting before SASS was the big thing. So when I was researching the sixgun and being led to SASS, I already kinda knew who you guys were and was finally ready to join up.

[PANTS - LEGAL & ILLEGAL]

Are bib overalls period correct? I've been wanting to get a pair, but thought they were more modern.

[Purchase and Proper Fit for New Holster]

My opinion will probably be unpopular, but it's what I did and I'm glad I did it this way. I got a cheap rig to start off with and used it for the first couple years. Then when I figured out what I was actually looking for in a belt and holsters, I had one of the local custom guys make one for me and I love it. When it came time to get my first 'real' set of leather, I never would have ordered from someone I couldn't see face to face. But as I get more experience and know what I want better, I probably won't have a problem doing that.

 

Since we're talking about trigger guards, I personally won't have a holster that exposes the trigger guard. I don't think too much less of the fellas who do, but it doesn't feel as secure to me. I don't need to use my trigger finger to get a good grip on it. That said, I have to admit that when that first cheap rig was getting old the part covering the trigger guard actually caused problems. But my custom holsters (from JM leather BTW) have that edge formed and hardened