Dred Bob

Definitely go to EoT. Me and a buddy made it last year and it was only our 3rd SASS match ever plus we shot Wild Bunch for the first time. Figured while we were there might as well go for broke. We didn't set any records but had a fantastic time and met a lot of great people. I still work and it was a real challenge to drive across the country, spend a week and drive back. I can't make it every year but I'll definitely be back. I strongly recommend going and it sounds like you're local so you don't have the travel and accommodation challenge. One of my best vacations ever. I did have some equipment issues but between me and my buddy we were able to share and make it through both events. You won't regret it even if you're not sure if you're ready.

If you're not trying to run an A/C unit try getting a portable Solar Generator. Basically a rechargeable battery pack that can supply clean A/C. I like Ecoflow and you can add more battery and scale to your usage. If you're not trying to run an AC unit you can probably get a day of power out of a recharge and I can recharge it off of a Honda 2200 in about an hour. Run gas generator only as needed. Ecoflow also has a small inverter generator that is able to pair with their power units to startup and recharge whenever needed (ie. start recharge at 10% and stop at 80%). best of both worlds. The lower end units are good enough to supply portable 30A. It gets a bit more expensive for one that supplies 50A 220. It's nice to run silent all day/night and just do a quick recharge when nobody is bothered. I've also tried Bluetti but I'm more impressed by Ecoflow products. They can also recharge off of solar panels but I'm saving those for the zombie apocalypse. The small generator is fast / easy / cheap as needed. Overall a great off grid boondocking solution for power.

I'm a new shooter and shotgun reloader as well and here is a recent thread I started on reloading TiteGroup with Rem Gun Club loads. A lot of good information in the thread on reloading shotshell and specific recipes. Here's the final recipe that I'll be sticking with. It's a slightly milder load than the original Remington GC Target factory load. I like it. - Remington Green Gun Club 2 3/4" - Winchester 209 primer - TiteGroup, ~16 gr (#16 MEC bushing) - 12ga, 7/8 oz, WAA12L CB0178-12 (grey), gave me the extra 1/8" for a full shell stack and tight crimp over 1oz wad - 1 oz, #7.5 soft lead shot Edit ** this is almost identical to the Hodgdon published load except I changed the wad for a tighter crimp/stack. As recommended in this thread I wanted to use a published recipe but my crimp was a little too loose and the wad change fixed it. Note that it's costing me ~$9 / box to reload using this recipe with my shells and current component prices but I was able to purchase new Remington GC Low-recoil Target loads for $8 / box on sale last week. There are times when reloading makes sense but if you can find this stuff on sale it makes sense to shoot new shells. keep your options open. My biggest savings is definitely reloading pistol/rifle cartridges along with all the options for bullet/powder. No comparison. Shotgun is more about availability since I'm shooting almost a standard low-recoil recipe. Cost is normally almost the same at the Target load end given the cost of Primers / lead currently.

with the action open I marked the bar with a sharpie then cut the bar leaving about 1mm extending past the bracket. It should make sense when you see how it works. I removed it and cut it with a dremel and replaced the spring with the custom drop-in.

If you decide to modify the spring there is a drop in replacement kit that allows you to adjust the tension by swapping some spacers. You can save the original spring and adjust the drop-in as needed later by changing spacers. It's a pretty easy change. I did it proving that no actual skill required. https://pvgunworks.com/product/stoeger-top-lever-spring-kit/ I wouldn't permanently disable the safety but I did remove a bit of the reset bar so it doesn't get activated automatically. I can still manually engage the safety. Seemed like a reasonable compromise.

A buddy and I joined SASS late 2023 and ended up going to EoT last Spring (2024). We had a fantastic time and would love to go again but we live in Northern Ohio and I still work so the expense and logistics of trucking out to Phoenix again make it a difficult trek until I retire. We'll be back but probably not next year. We shot several annual matches and the OH State match last year and had a fantastic time. As a compromise we thought we'd look for some good Spring matches East of the Mississippi that we might attend. Looking for recommendations.

I don't think I said that the synthetic stock makes it a good SASS shotgun. Just saying that like any other Stoeger Coach gun it will make a good SASS shotgun. However, If I actually stop and consider it in the year I've been in SASS I have a 97' with a split pump grip and a 73 where the wood stock split at the tang but I have never had a synthetic stock on any other gun in my collection damaged by any level of abuse or weather conditions. They don't warp, they don't chip, they don't crack. abuse it enough maybe some bondo and a can of black Krylon, good to go. It's just possible that this black synthetic stock may actually stand up to way more abuse than a traditional wood stock subjected to rain and dropped on stage tables with impunity. This gun might be worth investing more time into slicking up the action and getting it ready for competition. Or I might just swap this stock for one of my *good* Stoegers. thanks for the idea, I honestly think it might be a good one. Might be my shotgun to go to EoT next spring. I really don't see a downside to this change. feeling inspired.

I'm going to add a Model 12 to next year's watchlist. I'm not looking to win my WB matches just looking for a chance to not be stuck clearing, checking, reloading, my 97 during a good stage. I really love the 97s and want to keep it as my main WB shotgun. I'm going to work on/with them. The Model 12 sounds like a great plan B. We just had our last match of the season Saturday and I was talking with one of the seasoned local cowboys there. Said he starting shooting SASS with his buddy Lassiter. That got my attention. He's not a gunsmith but to say he's experienced working on these guns is probably an understatement. He offered to let me bring the guns by his workshop this winter and work on them with me which in my book is even better than dropping them off somewhere. Although equipment problems are frustrating working on and learning about these guns is its own hobby and reward. Maybe with an experienced eye over my shoulder I won't ruin them and quite possibly he'll see a problem part we can fix or replace.

received mine Friday. It is absolutely a synthetic stock and I don't mind a bit. I think the Black Wood stocks were just on a supreme model which is about $600 ($350 more). I still like the look of the gun and unless you look close it makes a good shotgun for SASS. It's the first new Stoeger I've purchased, the others were all used guns purchased at matches or from SASSNET that were well broken in with various levels of professional and amateur tuning. Some have been a little problematic to be honest. This gun is stiff but probably no more so than any other new Stoeger and needs the same work to prepare for match shooting. That aside I wouldn't hesitate a second to use this in a match once I loosen it up a bit. I like the black on black on black look and may use it once in a while just for the look of it. I think this is a good buy for a starting shooter that may not have the money or availability of other choices. I was looking for a cheap shotgun for my mancave and I really like SxS's and the short Stoegers so it will probably hang on the wall there when not in use. I spend a LOT of money every year at my LGS(s) but they don't always have the same selection and often can't acquire certain firearms and products from their distributors. I don't feel guilty when I find a good deal and besides for this price point they may even make more money just on the FFL transfer than they would on the sale. Also by this logic (LGS only) we wouldn't be buying used guns from each other and cutting out the middle man. I don't feel guilty about purchasing direct from other SASS members at matches or here where I have purchased numerous items. I don't prioritize my purchases on the lowest bidder and don't mind spending a reasonable amount more to buy local but I don't think that LGS is the only option that should be considered. It's certainly not wrong to advocate for supporting local merchants but we each have different resources and priorities to consider. Anyways, I appreciate the heads up and I'm happy to welcome the new addition to the collection and even welcome the opportunity to practice tuning it up over the winter without risking a large financial investment or buggering up a *good* gun. Thanks for posting the Sale link. and I ended up purchasing another $300 worth of shotgun primers, wads, and lead from my LGS while I was picking up the gun and paying them for the FFL transfer. I'm pretty sure this worked out quite well for all parties involved.

I haven't run into any for sale locally but I'll definitely add it to the watch list.

got it and I'll write it down. You might want to edit out the number so it doesn't show up for the trolls and scammers and other miscreants.

I don't know a gunsmith locally, still trying to find somebody. If you know anybody in the NW Ohio region or a couple of hours away let me know. I don't want to put a bunch of money into these guns, it would probably be cheaper to buy another *good* one but then I'm still rolling the dice that I get a good one. Worst case I use my coach gun in WB but I'm not shooting WB to use my Cowboy guns so what would be the point. ironically the tube is the one place I didn't actually spray the Dry Lube. I think the shell stop(s) (i didn't know what it was called) was the original problem on the short which seemed to get fixed by the Dry Lube but now the action sticks and won't move forward every few rounds. I have to give the carrier a direct push from the back. The other gun was cycling pretty well but now I think the shell stops are letting more than one shell release.... I did see the videos in a recent post on the 97 which were excellent although a little intimidating. Winter project if I can't find a 97 gunsmith to look them over.

I have acquired a couple of Win 97's specifically for shooting Wild Bunch. Both are at best rough and one looks like it may have actually sat in the bottom of a WW1 trench for a few decades before making it's way into my collection. I have a short barrel takedown (1931?) and a long barrel solid frame (1907?) that I was able to purchase at our local matches. Neither shotgun is particularly reliable but I'd like to get to the point where at least one of them can make it through a couple or few stages without an issue. - The short barrel likes to lockup trying to cycle. I also replaced the tube spring to allow 6 rnds in the tube but then it wouldn't feed the 6th shell. It would stick in the tube. I sprayed the action with some dry lube and the last shotshell seems to release pretty reliably but now the action locks up almost every other round..... - The long barrel was actually somewhat reliable UNTIL I decided to hit it with the same dry lube and now I think it is double feeding shells when I cycle, or not ejecting or something. I tried to use it our last WB match and it was nearly impossible and kept finding multiple shotshells in the action and had to dump them out. Quite distracting and honestly I'm not sure exactly what was going on except I was reduced to single feeding to get through a stage. Is Dry lube causing any of these issues? I didn't want to gum up the actions and thought it might be a clean way to free them up a bit, but since I applied the lubricant they've both started acting noticeably worse. I know that these 97's are very complicated beasts with a lot of parts and intricately designed. I plan on taking them apart this winter and just giving them a good cleaning. I doubt I'll know a problem if I see one but at least maybe it'll help. I've got nothing to loose at this point. Any other suggestions? like don't use "Dry Lube" in a 97' action....

it was free shipping and no sales tax charged. So just FFL. edit: I couldn't help myself. cheaper than a couple of boxes of primers and a lb of powder.

if you don't find a suitable trade I've had a fantastic experience with the Tisas 1911A1 and if you catch them on sale you can get them for just over $300 new https://tisasusa.com/tisas-1911-a1-us-army-45-wg/