Chuck Steak

I use an 8 shell slide - on stages when there are more shotgun targets than normal, I always start to sweat that, if I miss a couple - I could run out of shells. I see folks with belts that carry dang near a whole box of shells and sooner or later - I'll probably buy one eventually - for now, I wear a vest and keep extra rounds in the pockets for those days when my eyes and SxS are not working in sync (or those days when I accidentally jack a round out of my rifle). Ammo in my vest saved me not long ago - 6 target shotgun stage and right off the bat I knocked two of my shells out of the slide while drawing my pistol. Then, I missed my second target. If hadn't had extra shells in my vest pockets that day, I'd have been hosed.

Custom Leather and Ammo can also cause "when am I gonna get it" stress. - just not to the same extent as a 'missing' firearm. A "long" wait is not really not that "long" if the vendor tells you up front "hey - I have a back log - it's gonna be a while" The frustration is when they neglect to tell you that they don't have something in stock - or that they have a backlog. In fact - some of them will just wait until you get frustrated and ask for an update - THEN they give you the "oh, we are having some supply chain issues" excuse. Then - after giving you the "one more week" treatment until you have had enough, they try to fleece you for cancellation fees, or restockage fees. ...which is a hoot since they obviously didnt have it in stock in the first place. That type of delay is the type of amateur business practice that DESERVES to be called out in public.

I dont hate the Henry rifles - but damn - they are just way to expensive for my tastes for what they have to offer. Maybe I am just a cheapskate

After seeing how awesome it is to have a secret-black-ops lever action rifle, I went right out this afternoon and mounted an M-LOk rail on my fishing rod.

Never reloaded before - really looking to start this year. I just made a bulk purchase of .38 Special cowboy loads and I am hoping to collect the things I need to start reloading about the time my current cache of ammo runs out. Other than bullets, primers, and powder - what other items would I need to collect before I could pull the handle on my first .38 Special round?

I only have about 10 CAS matches under my belt so so far and I am trying to learn more and more as I go. I do not reload my own ammo right now but I am trying to take in all I can until I decide to lay out the money to start reloading. For now, I have to rely on buying the best bang for my bucks. I have tried several different factory and manufactured loads with varying degrees of success. So far, it seems like my .38 special Winchester 1866 likes to feed on a diet of 158 grain bullets. I have put semi-wadcutters, LRNFP, and even semiwadcutter hollow points through the rifle and it seems like 158 grain bullets "feel" best in the rifle. I have shot a few different brands of 125 grain flat nose through it but they dont feel quite the same. They shoot just fine but the heavier bullets shoot better. My pistols however, shoot the lighter 125 grain bullets much better. (I am shooting 5.5 inch Uberti's) I haven't shot any .357 rounds through the pistols and really dont have any plans to do so since the rifle only shoots .38 Special. The rifle seems to shoot the 125's better than the pistols shoot the heavier loads - so for now I just try to buy 125's when I can find them. Are there other lead bullets that can be found as bulk ammo hiding in different places on the internet that are good choices for CAS? So far I have used both Georgia Arms and Viper Munitions with good results but I am curious about "what else is out there" as far as decent .38 Special ammo that I can use for CAS. Any thoughts?

What kind of pouch do you use? The slide that I am using works for the time being but a decent pouch that can hold a few "insurance shells" would be a nice addition.

I still cant settle on a decent shotgun belt. So far I have just been using a slide attached across the front of the buckle on my gun belt. It isn't ideal, but it works until I find something that I like.

I am hoping to start shooting CC next year. I just don't have the guns for it right now and can't afford to buy four more cowboy guns all at once. All I need to make my current clothes meet CC standards is a set of sleeve garters and they cost a whole lot less than four Old West firearms. I even have an old family pocket watch - but I don't have a chain for it.

I really enjoy the history and legend of the old west. The costuming angle to CAS is probably the only thing that got me to shift from IDPA and 3-Gun to CAS. That being said - some of the costume rules really strike me as odd or even arbitrary especially in the B-Western category. While B-Western costumes may "depict leading role characters in B-Western movies" it seems odd to me that the SASS would specifically "outlaw" John Wayne, spaghetti western, and townsperson characters. I cant understand how "The Ringo Kid" or "Rooster Cogburn" would be unacceptable characters for a B-Western costume. I also can't wrap my head around the idea that "The Man with No Name" comes up short as an acceptable B-Western costume. Every townsperson character you could imagine played a huge role in B-Western movie history - the banker, the gambler, the saloon girl, the bar keeper - you can't have a B-Western movie without a cast of random townies. Admittedly, it would get pretty boring if everyone shooting B-Western showed up wearing the same wool poncho - or everyone showed up with an eye-patch - it just seems odd that two of the biggest western movie actors aren't worthy of B-Western costume status. The dress code seems more slanted to guitar slinging movie cowboy than gun slinging movie cowboy. ...but I reckon if someone wants to dress up like 'Blondie' they can shoot in an age based category all day long.

I have a few homemade Kydex holsters for other pistols but I have never tried to mold leather. -How much does "wet fitting" a holster change the color of the leather? -How long to soak the leather before you holster the gun - do you need to "press" the gun and holster or just let it hang and air dry? It sounds like a good garage project to kill some time and improve the fit/function of a holster - I'm just curious if there are any concerns with damaging the leather or changing the color so I don't ruin a decent rig.

I roll mine up and just sport the cuffs......

Never thought about the moisture in good leather - I reckon that is a good reason to continue keeping it in my gun cart instead of trying to squeeze leather into a safe.

I keep mine in the box on my gun cart. I do however understand why people might keep it in the safe. My holster set-up is my initial set of CAS leather and didnt set me back much. It is a different story when a professional grade set of leather might cost as much as a revolver. If I had a 500 dollar rig and room in mt safe - I'd probably lock it up as well.

I have looked everywhere and cant find the Remington low recoil any more. The lowest FPS that I can find is 1145 or something in that area. Featherlite and Federal Metro loads are by far the lowest FPS factory loaded shells I have found.