Arcadia Outlaw, SASS 71385

I have not loaded ammo in years, Midwest Hale takes care of that for us. AO

One of my friends who I happened to be timing during FL ST Match had one of his revolvers not fire any shots during a stage, I thought maybe he forgot to load it. Turns out the T bar must have broken on the last shot of previous stage. He got rid of the transfer bars after that, you spend a lot of money going to matches especially bigger matches and the last thing you want is a gun to break. There is a thing called transfer bar pinch, where the T bar is hit a bit higher up because it needs a bit of fitting, this will cause the bars to break rather quickly. Some people should keep the transfer bars in place for safety sake, but without them the trigger feels better and it can’t break if you don’t have it, also with a half cock notch it could possibly save a run around. You can’t just take the T bars out or the gun or it won’t fire, you have have the gun modified or buy the Power Custom Hammers. Note,Your not going to be sending the guns back to Ruger for warranty after modifications, they will take out any parts that are not theirs. So make sure the gun is accurate and cylinder notches are not a problem and they will never have to go back to Ruger. AO

I thought all the stages were fun, our posse started on stage 11. The knockdowns you had to hit above center or more than likely they weren’t going down , we had a few shooters hit them low and they made them up with shotgun. As someone who is a Match Director I was concerned about this stage being a problem for some folks, AO

What was the DQ for ?

3.5 second reload is ok,(still better than a miss) but fast guys/gals can reload around/under 2.5 seconds, way better than taking a 5 second miss. I would agree clean matches are overrated especially if your getting beat by folks who have penalties. Competitors should make some dummy rounds and practice at home, Longhunter has some good techniques on YouTube. AO

You can reload at anytime but it’s easier and safer to reload when rifle is empty, your fighting heavier spring pressure when there are rds in the mag tube. Many times people don’t know if they jacked a round till they realize the gun is empty. AO

This was our first trip to Ben Avery , when Misty made her speech at Landrun about the changes for the match we decided to go. We were not disappointed at all, target size and distance were great for letting some of us run off the rails a couple of times 🤠 The opening ceremony and awards were well done ( buckles over the top)and they got us out of there pretty early Sunday so we could hit the road. Fantastic job, we are making plans to go for the last EOT at Ben Avery. Thanks for a great time AO & MH

Congratulations ! AO & MH

Congrats on a great finish, Jace had some outstanding stages looking at stage times. AO & MH

The incidents I’ve seen or heard about at loading table (been shooting CAS around 20 years and several matches a month, state, regional, National also been MD for half the time at least) have been rifles that had a rd in it from dirty or rusty follower as Waimea mentioned or a revolver indexed wrong or shooter drops hammer on a live round while loading and it goes off. The other thing is people holstering or unholstering their guns after loading or unloading and their sweeping other people at loading & unloading table, usually cross draws. The point I’m trying to make is there is a lot more potential for danger from people loading & unloading their guns and then holstering & unholstering there revolvers at the loading & unloading tables or even on firing line then there is someone pointing there uncocked gun in a safe direction and looking at sites or mimicking. And there is no rule against it. AO

Reloading pistol is an option that is not an option, who is going to do that ? I’m looking at it from a match director perspective, EOT had a lot of trouble getting folks to sign up that’s why this thread was started. 😉

“What if ! “ Sounds like a mother in law “ what if “ , might as well stay home in bed. Lol AO PS wish you were coming to FL St

I agree ! Before I holster my revolvers at the loading table I will look down the sights , just something I like to do. AO

We shoot revolver & rifle knockdowns quite a bit in Florida, I personally like shooting them, that being said revolver & rifle knockdowns in big matches are typically asking for trouble. Are they going to be consistent for all the shooters(stay calibrated) in the match? & How are jacked rounds going to be handled on the knockdowns? Or what if somebody’s rifle breaks on the last couple rds and they make up knockdowns with shotgun are they still scored two misses for unfired rds? Same could be said for a broke revolver. The way the stage is written you have to lay your shotgun down then shoot your revolvers then pick up your shotgun if needed to make up a miss, that’s a stage killer for a lot of folks. The best stages with revolver and rifle knockdowns are where you finish with shotgun and you have some dedicated make up knockdowns, that way the shooter is not having to pick up their shotgun again costing additional time, not the end of the world for top shooters but costing other shooters a lot of time. Just my 2 cents.

Cypress Sam, so many good times ! The T&R (Howey in the Hills Cowboys) practices and BS sessions, some of the best times out there ! At T&R Sam set the World Record for single shot shotgun, and I think it was mentioned he set the first gunfighter world record, we had a lot of fun with that. At the T&R practices he used to bring an over ripe banana for a snack, it bothered/disgusted one of the guys so each time the bananas got worse lol. We shot a lot of matches & practiced together over the years(since 05) and usually shot on the same posse, always fun watching him shoot & game a stage, always within the rules though, in fact he carried a copy of the rules in his guncart. One of the funniest stories is when Sam really got Santa Fe River Stan good one day at lunch with the “shooting the shotgun like Arcadia Outlaw(me), it made Stan so mad and we laughed so hard about that, then Stan found it funny later that Sam got him riled so good. We laughed about that one for a long time. When Sam became Match Director at WVC I don’t think I’ve ever run so much or so far between shooting positions and he had to be in his mid 70’s at the time. He also wrote all these stage instructions so there was no way people could get a Procedural instead it confused a lot of folks and caused more P’s lol. Sam did not like to be touched and that caused some really funny incidents ! Lots of great memories, AO & MH

The percentage of clean shooters for a match can kinda be sketchy as I’ve shot quite a few matches that were quite easy to shoot clean if that was the goal, but with big & close targets people like to push and that’s when you have the whole “ there’s never a target to big or to close that can’t be missed”. AO

Well written Creeker ! You have to make the folks paying the bills happy. I know friends of mine have lost interest in EOT because it was not fun, spend a lot of money not to have fun does not make very much sense. As someone who has been a Match Director for many years the best feeling is when you see folks smiling as they are switches stages or just walking somewhere on the range and you know that they’re having a great time without asking. Midwest Hale and myself are going to EOT for the first time looking forward to the changes. AO

Ditto to the OP ! This was our second trip to Land Run (first time was 2023)we both tanked the 1st time out but no fault of the match. They put together a really fun match again this year , We will definitely be back ! AO & Midwest Hale

Midwest Hale & myself had a great time at Ambush this year ! The weather had looked like rain but neither flight got wet as far as I know, it was perfect weather in my opinion, but the matches can’t control the weather anyway ! The match was well written and target placement was perfect to let ‘er rip if you dare, some pushed to hard but Hayley and I were both clean. I guess I should of pushed harder as I was 2nd in category. Congrats Christian Mortician. The Saturday night banquet was great with a few drinks before supper, the meal was great some very tender brisket. Lots of folks stayed after the awards and we had a great time ! Really nice Molly’s buckles for the category winners and plaques for 2nd place and down. Not part of the shoot but just a short distance from the range is Cathedral Cavern’s State park, has a hour and half cave tour which was pretty amazing if you have not done it , I recommend it. Thanks to all involved at the North Alabama Regulators, we shot with Dead Lee Shooter so we know who wrote and set up the match, Great Job ! Congrats to the Georgia Shooters for taking the Trail Driver Award this year. Congratulations to Sidekick for taking Overall Congratulations to my Midwest Hale for finishing 7th overall and taking Overall Lady. Next trip Land Run !!!! AO

Midwest Hale & myself had a great time ! AO

Midwest Hale and I had a great time! Polecat Joe, The Outlaw Travis James & Chickie Winsome did a great job with the match. Stages were fun , food was really good, nice awards (buckles) , all the details that go into a big match were covered. Folks should put this match on their radar if you’re in Florida in January. AO & MH

Hoping for a speedy recovery, just like he shoots stages ! Fast Eddie is one of the best people and don’t mean just shooting ! AO & Midwest Hale

A lot of us use tricked Vaquero’s with transfer bars removed & all slicked up but in reality it’s not going to make you go faster unless your duelist or gunfighter the short strike probably them helps quite a bit, but a spring kit will work wonders. Where you want to spend your money is on the rifle because that will make a huge difference on how it feels and functions. Shotguns also It’s a fun game when everything is working the way it’s supposed too. I started with Ruger.Vaqueros, a Cody matic 73 and a IAC 97, the only thing holding me back was me lol. AO

Ruger NewVaqueros or Vaqueros are the best , very robust., I don’t mind buying used ones at all. 357/38 is the cheapest caliber to shoot. AO

The wording on SASS approved boots is or was misunderstood in handbook. Unless your shooting B western or Classic Cowboy you can wear just about any boots or shoes that aren’t sneakers. Rubber sole work boots/shoes are fine. Go to some local matches and just hang out or help with posse duties. All Longhunter suggestions are spot on. SKB’s are really expensive but if you handle and shoot one there’s a reason why. Be careful buying used equipment as it can be someone’s problems, but there are also some good used guns as well. AO