Dusty Devil Dale
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Posts posted by Dusty Devil Dale
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3 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:
The biggest issue that I see with stage writers is the "all or nothing".
There seems to be this mindset that "If" there are ANY old school cowboy components - then the match has to be old school in EVERY facet.
Or IF the match is under the so called current cowboy mode - then NO element of playtime should exist.
I also detest the TWO - TWO - TWO match design; where the stage writer lacks the ability/ imagination to intermingle flavors and basically writes three two stage matches; two "big, close, fast" - two medium (which is exactly the same as big, close, fast - just with an extra 4 or 5 paces) and two difficult (or challenging to use the code word) with distant targets and ridiculous sequences.
The stage writer needs to create stages that combine of the most desired of cowboy ingredients.
The "majority" of shooters prefer big, close, fast target arrays - that doesn't mean every stage has to be Bordertown distances; but that when setting steel - bigger is generally superior and better received.
The "majority" of shooters prefer simple, easy to follow sequences - that doesn't mean every stage is dumps, but that when determining sequences - logical, linear sequences are better received.
The "majority" of shooters prefer their cowboy match to include allusions to playing cowboy - this means simple non shooting elements like carry the money bag, throw the bottle at the bartender, stab the dummy, ring the train bell, flip the card table, light the dynamite, so on and so forth - these elements can be stage start elements to signify ready - they can be on the clock elements AS LONG as they are accessible and equitable to "all" (as many as possible).
Now there are those who will say they are they SOLELY for a shooting match and you cannot "force" anyone to whole heartedly participate in cowboy elements; but most of us willingly bought the guns, the clothes and created an "Alias"; we could have easily gravitated toward other shooting sports with a lower cost of entry and minus the "extra elements" - we are apparently open to some level of "pretend and silliness".
As stage writers and shooters; we HAVE to acknowledge that "pretend and silliness" adds time to a stage - if the only goal is to encourage 10 second stages; cowboy elements will detract.
But as long as the "pretend and silliness" is equitable and does not materially change the outcome of the shooting match - the majority of us will participate and have a great time doing so - the VERY FEW shooters that don't wish to participate will eventually find other things to do.
That is useful input. Stage/match writing is a balancing act, any way you look at it. No matter what you do, there will be people out on one or the other end of the curve who will either like or dislike it. I've found most (not all) of our shooters to be pretty tolerant and accepting. If somebody seems to have real heartburn, I usually invite them to write the next match. They usually do a good job of it.
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3 hours ago, Captain Bill Burt said:
I do think you sometimes miss what people are looking for.
CBB, You just nailed what is the hardest part of stage writing.
In every club there are different people, with different skills and interests, and they will prefer almost every different style of stage.
I say 'almost', because I don't believe anybody likes stressful stages with brain-teaser scenarios that are hard to remember and invite Procedurals, or that distract from serious competitors' concentration.
Likewise, nobody likes shooting a clay bird at 50 yards with a pistol, with misses counted. An occasional shooting challenge is fun, if it can be done without materially affecting match outcomes. People LOVE hitting that 50 yard bird and hearing a 'whoop' out of the posse, but they hate getting assigned a miss if things don't go well.
But at the other end of the scale are the people who are there purely for the fun of challenging shooting, who don't care so much about the timer or score sheet.
Some people are mobile and like shooter movement. Others want fast 'stand and shoot'. Some people also shoot trap, so they love clay targets. Others not so much. (But everybody seems to like shooting the Texas Star at reasonable distance !)
There is a point where creativity can outstrip peoples' capability and interest. That destroys both the fun and the practice and/or competition value of the match. (and I admit to doing that a time or two-- live and learn!)
Searching out all of those threshholds is not easy. Stage writing is difficult, and sadly, most people seem to be more open about stage criticism with other shooters, than they are with the person who wrote the stage and needs to hear what shooters honestly want. People come up and say they really enjoyed the match, but then you hear that they told other shooters otherwise. And without real feedback, a stage writer cannot provide the variety that people like.
When I took the job writing stages for our club, I knew full well that I was never going to be carried down our Main Street by a cheering crowd--except to a gallows. But I have to say I did not start out with an understanding of the difficulty of gearing stages to such a broad field of likes and dislikes.
So like everybody else, I can only do my best. I try to:
1.) write and set up stages with an eye toward equity for all shooters,
2.) Avoid safety hazards and operational rule glitches.
3.) balance the western thematic things against stage difficulty,
4.) avoid building in likely misses or penalty traps,
5.) have stages reviewed in advance by a varied group of reviewers (WHO WILL COMMENT CANDIDLY! ),
6.) Pay attention to the comments received,
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7). I try to post our stages to our club website about 10 days before the match so people can come prepared with what they need and they can decide whether or not the match will be what they are looking for.
For me, hitting the shooter preference targets in stage writing is a lot more difficult than shooting the match itself, because it has consequences for everybody. It cannot be just a casual -- or overdone-- process.
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Our club, Kings River Regulators, has a long standing reputation for traditional cowboy matches with a strong historical western flavor. Our stages are often rich in props, moving or unusual targets, off-the-clock extras, shooter movement, occasional longer targets and occasional shooting from a moving ore cart. We usually have historical but short story lines and related start lines.
Our membership has grown in the last 2 years from about 55 in 2022 to 88 today. About half of our new shooters are younger, between 8 and 45. Some of the shooters drive 2 to 3 hours, one way, to shoot our monthly matches.
Not everyone in the club loves the traditional shooting, but to our knowledge, nobody has vacated our club or matches because of it.
Our growth shows that there are still a number of folks who want more imagination in the game and stages. Their equation includes more than just fast stage times on big, close targets, wearing cowboy hats.
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On 9/29/2024 at 9:34 AM, Captain Bill Burt said:
There are shooting bonuses, which cease to be ‘bonuses’ as soon as someone earns one and there are non shooting bonuses.
I’m not at all opposed to shooting bonuses and very much opposed to non shooting bonuses.
I do use bonuses occasionally as a means to lower the penalty for a miss on a more difficult target where you expect some shooters to have problems.
For example:
"No miss counted on flying clay bird, shot with the rifle, but a 2 sec bonus if hit."
The miss on the bird is then only a 2 sec loss (only if somebody else hits it), and shooter does not incur a scored miss to mess up an otherwise clean match. But if a shooter can hit the bird, they get a small gain.
(We actually did that clay bird rifle shot and saw about 20% hits --and a LOT of fun !).
But I do avoid bonuses for non-shooting tasks or large bonuses that, of themselves, are likely to decide matches. I once shot a match that had 15-second bonuses for both, a hand axe throw and a knife throw. As soon as someone got both bonuses, the match became pointless, IMO.
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On 10/5/2024 at 9:34 AM, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:
No one will gain much ground in the Middle East until we get out of our little "Crusader Villages" and roll out everything we have and start kicking a$$! And we must DEMAND assistance from the countries who have been riding our coat tails for over a century!
Quit the UN and throw them off our soil (Let them move their HQ to whatever mud nation has provided the current Secretary General and live under those conditions, laws, and customs...and infrastructures and supplies), and defy the UN to do anything about what we are going to do. Ignore whatever they have to say about it.
Do away with Diplomatic Immunity" and get their spy systems, operatives, and saboteurs out of our country. If any are caught use our court system, the way it was meant to be and punish them to the full extent of OUR laws and demand equal treatment from the rest of the world.
Stop supplying our enemies (and the others who don't care about us as long as we support their governments and causes). Cut them off completely. If they have resources we need we could negotiate contracts for those items and / or services ONLY, at fair market value, and notify the world that we will violently and immediately defend our sources...but not otherwise get involved. Any attacks on U. S. personnel or properties anywhere in the world will be met with immediate violent and total responses.
If some country needs what we have we can do the same thing for them.
Defend Israel, Taiwan, and other places that we literally created, and demand across the globe that the people we fought for and saved repay the debts (with interest) we are owed. So many of our enemies and competitors would not even exist if we hadn't provided supplies, money, lives, and technology, etc. for them to survive.
Great Britain, every government in the Pacific, all of Europe, China, Russia, a large part of India, north Africa, the Middle East, the Atlantic coastal areas, quite a bit of Central and South America, and the list goes on, all owe us for what we did for them.
We must stop apologizing to the world for being better than they are and for any other thing we are or do. BE PROUD OF OUR COUNTRY ( if our internal politicians and do-gooders ever allow that to happen.... but that's another discussion.)
There are those who will argue that we couldn't have won these fights had it not been for the countries we saved,. Maybe not...but we stepped in and helped, we footed the bill, provided all manner of materials, covered their butts, and even helped plan products, movements, communications, training, propaganda, and a myriad of other things so that "they could help us win the numerous wars...then and now!" WE weren't obligated to do any of this, but we did.
When it was over with we stepped in and helped rebuild these countries, many of which almost instantly turned on us
and are now our greatest adversaries.
Rant over. I'm going to the grocery store.
I think you might make an excellent Secretary of State. You absolutely hammered the needed solutions!
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On 10/5/2024 at 6:06 PM, John Kloehr said:
According to the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (source of clipart), 5 degrees from vertical.
10 degrees looks bigger:
As a rule of thumb, a pencil sharpener cuts about 5 degrees from each side, so the pencil taper is (about) 10 degrees.
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4 hours ago, Hoss said:
I don’t use sound only (actually lack thereof) to determine a miss. It’s just one of the things I use to help me properly score.
I think we all get a lot of different signals telling us whether or not rounds hit the targets. The signals all come at once in a split second and our brain has to take in all of that data and spit out conclusions -- and for 20 or more rounds in fast succession. When you think about it, that's quite a task. I guess that's why there are three spotters who hopefully make calls independently.
For me, a big part of spotting is positioning-- not just standing in position for seeing the targets, but moving with the shooter where possible, staying where I can see misses hit the ground behind target plates. Many times I've seen bullets hit far up on berms at obtuse angles and had to check targets with the other spotters for edge hits. I've also called some hits after only seeing bullets hit the ground at those seriously obtuse angles (benefit of doubt to shooter).
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On 9/24/2024 at 6:58 AM, Hoss said:
to call a miss I need 2 “indicators”
no see
no hear
no target movement
see bullet hit berm/ground (if I see it hit the ground, look for edge hit)
Sound is not always a reliable indicator of hits or misses, particularly with hearing impaired, ear protected spotters.
Also, when plates are set close in, loud rounds that miss can echo off of plates in a way that resembles the sound and pitch of a hit. We tested it one day while setting up a match. Shooter fired 45 Colt, deliberately missing some of the plates. Two spotters, standing behind the shooter with eyes covered called hits on about half of the missed rounds.
I don't call misses unless I see a round strike something that is not the intended target. I don't call misses based on things I did not actually see -- things like not seeing the target move or not seeing the bullet strike the plate. Too often a bullet strikes a prior hit mark and does not leave a new visible mark.
Splatter on the ground directly below and/or beside a target is usually a good hit indicator.
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Blind spotters
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Start lines obviously are intended to let the T.O. and spotters know when the shooter is ready. But they can also add some laughs to the game, especially when shooters individualize.
But (and this is a question) was the addition of start lines originally intended as a stage "task", i.e., to level the playing field by all shooter's having to deal with the same distraction from their "zone" as they approach the stage? Was the line intended to be a "Stage Direction", or just a fun and useful informal stage feature?
Stage writers usually handle all of that by just keeping lines short, fun for the posse, loosely managed, and by posting them conveniently for shooters. It seems like it is working OK in most matches I've attended.
I've seen a lot of cases where the Stage Direction just said "indicate ready". In one case it said "Indicate ready by saying the posted line".
I've also seen some really fun lines, like a stage in a Halloween themed match where the Stage Direction called for holding up a witches broom and saying, "Of course I can drive a stick!"
Simple and fun is most popular, but is the posted line a requirement?
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Don't underestimate the technical difficulty of measuring and boring a (hopefully true, round) hole to precise depth on a cylindrical workpiece. A tiny side shift on the cylinder or flex or dullness in the bit could cause the edge of your bit to break through into the pistol rifling.
Larsen's advice about boring it with a rigid end mill is very good advice.
If you do not have a milling machine with very precise x-y positioning and precision boring depth control, I would consider spending a few $$ and having the boring and tapping done by a qualified gunsmith.
At the very least, make a solid, accurate drill guide and practice on scrap round stock until you can get it right every time.
Just my $0.25 worth.
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Browning BSS. More expensive up front, to be sure, and a bit heavier than most, but you'll have to buy only one. I've seen a number of shooters go through several shotgun upgrades, looking for something dependable. They spent way more than I spent for the Browning. In ten years now, I have never had one malfunction.
SKB would probably be my next choice, followed by Baikal. The Baikal seems to be a Russian made Browning knock-off. Nice, lightweight gun, if you can get parts.
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Two questions:
1) Was the shooter the only person swept by his/her rifle, or did a T.O. also get swept in following the shooter?
My understanding has been that a shooter sweeping themself is a no call. Not so for sweeping a T.O.
2) What do you mean by "slightly to the right"?
If the stage requires the gun to be restated in a position that places the shooter's required movement within the 170 degree range, I would absolutely call that a defective and unsafe stage design.
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I once made the mistake of calculating (estimating) what I would have had at my retirement from 44 years working, if I'd been allowed to keep and invest my payments into SS. It would have been mine to invest through the 70s and 80s, when the compounding interest rate on simple CD savings was well over 10% and you could buy Microsoft for $1.75/share. Don't go there. Your calcs will make you I'll !
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Last time I lost one (and Ive lost many!), it turned up a week later stuck to a magnetized screwdriver on the workbench. Yes, it is a magnetic stainless steel alloy-- at least mine was.
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If your rifle is a Uberti, take a look at the machining marks left on the inside of the sideplates. Mine were rough -- could have been used as a light file. I sanded the texture off, with ordinary sand paper (down to 1000 grit), ONLY in the narrow strip where the lever pin makes contact. I can't say it made much difference in levering, but it made me feel like I had done something, FWIW.
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On 8/20/2024 at 5:32 AM, Still hand Bill said:
For maximum protection, foam plugs are the best. You can get over 30 db of protection if inserted correctly and your ears fit them. Ear shapes can vary a lot and some simply don’t work for foam plugs. Custom plugs offer mid to high 20’s for protection, but fit more ear shapes. Note there are different types of custom plugs. There are lab made which are molded from an impression made of your ears. These have the advantage of being able to made of different materials for longer life and better performance. There are also custom made that are simply impressions that are trimmed and then used as plugs. Down side of these is the materials are more limited as it has to be able to be used as the impression.
the final custom type is self molded. From testing lab made where the canals were short, I would expect these don’t provide much protection. I know I could not mold a plug that would provide any level of protection and I would not wear these.
Just for background I worked at what was the largest lab in the US in the new products group. We got to make plugs and test them daily. Even did user fit NRR testing of our plugs which is far more difficult testing than the typical experimenter fit testing (highly suspect imho). One of my fellow engineers worked with niosh to help write a better standard which unfortunately never got implemented. Btw they used to call nrr not really relevant.
I totally agree about the self (hot water) moulded plugs. I would not recommend them, based on some unhappy experience.
I had previously used custom moulded earplugs, purchased from a vendor at a Regional Match. But they gradually losened in my ears, and I had trouble locating a vendor or lab to replace them.
So I bought, via Amazon, two different types of self-moulded plugs, over a 7- month period, trying to get proper protection. One was just a hard plastic ear mould with a detachable foam insert. The other had a small filter insert advertised to give 30% protection while allowing you to hear conversations.
I never succeeded in getting a decent fit to my ear, despite repeated re-moulding attempts, per the directions. The plugs felt like they sealed OK, but even light CAS gunfire sound was pretty uncomfortable. When tightly moulded, they were also quite painful to wear for long periods.
Over that 7 months, I experienced a nearly 40% permanent hearing loss in the mid and upper frequencies. When I saw that test result,
I immediately went to using the disposable foam plugs which do give the advertised 30%.
I fully realize that at my advanced age (75), Fallapartitis is also a factor in my hearing loss, but the 7-month massive loss was undeniably due to deficient protection. I learned a hard lesson, and so I'm passing it on here.
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My rifles all have loose lever pins that shift back and forth and rub both side plates. I mirror polished the side plate insides to get rid of the rough machining marks, but rub marks quickly come back, even with the sides and pins well lubed. I normally use a very light coating of cheap red grease, which seems to work OK. But Phantom is right about grease mess, requiring more frequent disassembly and cleaning.
I really can't say I've ever felt any consequential levering drag from the side plate friction.
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On 8/22/2024 at 3:35 PM, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:
Or you can support a guy that has put in a LOT of R&D time...is a SASS shooter and supporter...just a thought.
Phantom
My 75 years has seen a lot of good design engineers and vendors disappear either because cheaper but inferior products appeared, or their products were copied, or DIY band-aid solutions to problems came along and were popularized, eliminating their market. But when that happens, ALL of their products silently disappear, including those that you cannot easily or economically DIY.
So I've learned to appreciate by patronizing, wherever I can afford to. $49 is 1/3 the cost of a tank of California gasoline. Not such a big deal for most CAS people, I suspect.
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It was indeed a great event, as has been the case every year. CVR commits 100% on every detail, and the flow of the match and many side events reflects their huge effort. Thank you Sinful (Match Director) and CVR!
Larsen, I enjoyed finally meeting you in person and possying with you for the three days. It's always fun to have a face to go with the names and posts here on the Wire. IMO, we had a great posse and a great time. Hopefully we can meet up again at the Western Regional in future years. We are all hopeful that something can be worked out with the State, to allow the venue to continue to be used by CVR.
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The left image makes me think of Alex Baldwin and his camera person.
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There are too many variables and needs between different shooters. Garrison Joe shared some good advice, above. Teach basics of reloading for our game, and let individuals figure out how to fit that into their own lifestyle and budget.
There are just two rules of thumb for me:
1. I buy components earlier, rather than later, because prices are not going to drop in our lifetimes and there WILL be pauses in availability.
2. I don't store flammable components or large quantities of loaded ammo in my home or connected shop-garage. I keep them in a separate outbuilding, to avoid my insurance being voided in case of a fire. Most insurance carriers disclaim flammable or explosive materials (and they are clueless about smokeless powder differences).
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When I began cowboy shooting, a close friend (named Snakebite) told me that before long I would need to decide if I wanted to be a CAS "Competitor", or be a "Participant". He explained the difference, including the cost and commitment, but I think it all went on through my brain without sticking.
Both my wife and I went through some stages in making (or evolving) that decision.
First, We found ourselves in the living room almost every night, decked out in leather, guns loaded up with snap caps and sticky note targets hanging from the mantle and walls.
Then, every chance we had, (dozens of days) we were at the range wearing ear protection, timing and videoing each other in live fire transition drills, then analyzing the results and working on stick points.
In between those sessions, I spent countless hours and dollars sitting, pulling the handle on a 650XL, until I literally developed shoulder tendinitis. As the component costs escalated, the hours at the loader became VERY expensive, but still we practiced every chance we could find, either at the Club range or up at our ranch. That went on for years! Although Snakebite's words remained in my memory, the game was gradually revealing to me that I do not have the speed and dexderity to progress very far beyond a mediocre "Competitor". (But both of us are fine "Participants"!)
My stage times on difficult stages remained between 20 and 30 sec, which is simply not fast enough to win buckles and accolades at big matches.
As my age has stretched out to 75, it has become evident that I am slowing down, rather than speeding up. But I really think that is OK.
Would I like to have spent less time practicing, case cleaning, reloading and working at our club range? Possibly --I dont really know. I have enjoyed all of that a great deal, but I do get a lump in my throat looking at my backpack, or pulling out my big tuna reels and realizing I may never have a chance to feel them in action again. For a decade, I have done little else besides cowboy shooting, drifting away from other shooting sports, fishing, and a host of hobbies.
Now time is passing faster. Weeks seem to go by in hours.
Both of us still shoot, but we've laid off of 90% of the practice, realizing it was a huge time investment that was not producing fruit.
We've gotten back into backpacking, road trips, fishing, and a wider range of activities. We both still love our club events, comeraderie, and the competition, but we just want more breadth from the time we have left together.
So if you seek to be a top "Competitor", then realize it won't come free or easy. Make sure it is what you really want. Our lives have a lot to offer. Just some food for thought.
I didn't catch this big girl, but I had a lot of fun trying (and posing beside it. )
Again--- life has a lot to offer.
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Is the entire length of the firing pin hole clean? No crud at the front end?
WTC - 170 degree rule.
in SASS Wire
Posted
Wow! Sorry!