bgavin

IMO, you should get your hands around both Bisley and standard Plowhandle grips on the Vaqueros before you buy. You cannot order a SASS pair in Bisley, but for the same price you can buy two Bisley separately. Cliff Hanger #3720LR This topic comes up rather frequently. There is a way to check which might be better for you. 1. find a 1/2" dowel or some other item, I used a long wooden cooking spoon. 2. Hold it in your strong hand with half the item above and half the item below your fingers. 3. Take your standard shooting stance. 4. Now close your eyes and raise your gun hand up as if you were aiming at a target. 5. Without moving your hands, open your eyes and look to see if the item is vertical or leaning forward at the top. 6. The more vertical the item is, the more a Bisley will point naturally. 7. the more the item leans forward, the more naturally the P frame grip will point. 8. Standing next to a mirror so you can see your hand will help to see what angle your hand naturally has. Depending on the angle of your hand has naturally will tell you which grip will work best. If you have to move your wrist forward or back to get a straight sight alignment, you should try the other grip. Here in CA, we have 30 day waiting periods between handgun purchases, even if a matched set. I got my wife's SASS pair from Tombstone Tactical in AZ, and the price went up $100 a day later. These are "new model" with the smaller frame size. My Bisleys are both "old model" which is pre-2005 production with 2-digit serial prefixes. These are the larger frame models, which is irrelevant for 357, but more suited for magnum loads. CAS does not shoot, or allow, magnum loads, so this is a non-issue. Should you decide to simplify and shoot all 45 Colt, either Vaquero model will do great. Ask around, do your research so you Buy Once, Cry Once.

InstantPot™

We live in the same neck of the woods. Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (Ione-ish) is the parent site for Diamond Dick's Cowboy Town. I pay a yearly family fee to SVSC and another yearly fee to DDCT, which makes you a "member" of all the posses that shoot here. http://californiagunslingers.com/ The above URL will give you a list of clubs and the calendar of shoots at DDCT. We attend the Outlaws and Shady Ladies matches, each on a Saturday. The posses are very friendly and make you feel welcome. We are also noobs, so we come out to keep score and pick up brass to help out, while we are ramping up to shoot. You learn a LOT about the game just by doing this. Your choice of guns can determine which classes you shoot. I have zero interest in 45 Colt, black powder nor antique replicas. Ours are Ruger Vaqueros in 357, Marlin 1894CB in 357, and Stoeger Coach 12-gauge, double trigger (more reliable). These choices keep us out of a few classes. Guns and California waiting periods for those guns, will be your largest up-front expense, and waste of your time. I have accumulated 170 days of CA waiting periods since January (5 revolvers, 2 rifles, 1 shotgun) and a couple months of shipping time. My FFL expense is $50 per gun, and $25 per background check. Leather is another consideration, as certain holster types will limit you from a few classes. Get your leather from a maker who is fully knowledgeable about the game. Buy once, cry once. Reloading is another big up-front expense. It will save you a huge amount of $$ in the long run, compared to store-bought ammo. Cowboy loads are low pressure, low velocity types. Most factory loads are near the SAAMI maximum pressures. Revolvers are limited to a max of 1,000 feet per second. All-lead bullets are mandatory. 38 Special is much less costly to reload than 45 Colt.

The one that I spent the most time with, was a Remington #6 take-down in 22. This was a falling block single shot that was bought new by my Uncle Floyd at the start of the last century. It went to my Dad about 1921 or thereabouts, and then to me around 1960. We lived on the desert, so it was a sage-crawling gun for a kid. I learned to get close, make a careful shot, and dispatch prairie dogs for their flying lessons. Many years later, my house was robbed. Lost the Remington, three Nikons, all the lenses, and a Gibson banjo. Got the banjo back after seeing it in a pawn shop window. The PD made a typo on the crime report, and all my stuff went through that pawn shop. I got ahold of the detective, and we walked into the pawn shop. He went over and picked it up, handed it to me, told the pawn owner, "You have something that belongs to us." and walked out. I still have the banjo.

I absolutely hated my Ruger 77/22 boat paddle. It had the F150TC trigger (Ford F150 + tow chain) at nearly 9 pounds. The Volquartzen kit was a vast improvement to this awful lawyer trigger. I inherited my Dad's Remington 740 Woodsmaster semi in 30-06. This unreliable P.O.S. is unsuitable even as a boat anchor, because it would only sink intermittently. I won't shoot this at all, under any circumstances, so the 77/22 still holds the "least favorite" slot.

Ruger Super Redhawk. I was Jonesing for one, decided to hit the range in San Diego and rented one. Bought a box of 44-mag, could hardly wait until they were gone so I could leave. The SRH was an utter pig compared to my Ruger KGP161. As I get old and gray, I have learned to own only those toys I play with. No more safe queens, guns, electric basses or cameras. My neighbor is bringing his 1895 in 45-70 to the range, so I can get that out of my system as well. His is real pretty, but I won't ever shoot it, so no point in owning it. He is also bringing his S&W 460, which I will laugh at, and shoot only 1x, just to do it.

Yul, I've been in your Frys while we were staying in SD a few years back. At that time it was hyper-crowded and stocked. Here in Sacramento, I only go to Fry's in a dire emergency. Amazon same-day has much better computer component prices than Frys, and I don't have to drive. Considering what a pain it was getting to your Fry's from our place in Pacific Beach, I can understand the appeal of Amazon.

Yep. Understand that fully. I have a blue one from the early 90s, bought two more in 2019 in Bisley stainless 22LR.

Calguns.Net gets a lot of visibility.

Everything I own in 22LR, cuz I shoot all day for cheap.

One of my lodge brothers has the Gamo, and let me take a shot in his back yard (illegal here). Even with the suppressor in place, it seemed to about the same level of "crack" as my Weihrauch.

There is no problem here.. cuz Superman is a fictional character. Fictional characters can bend or break all the laws of the universe...

This vendor stocks a fair amount of Stoeger parts. Many are out of stock, though. I keep waiting for the impeller to come back into stock. Long Hunter is another, more limited source. https://www.midwestgunworks.com/stoeger-side-by-side/parts.html http://www.longhunt.com/storelh/index.php?route=product/category&path=88_95

BTW, I just saw a notice from SandboxIE: it is now "freeware" instead of subscription. I'm a lifetime paid subscription, but free is good also. This is *WELL* worth the time to install and learn to use it.