Dred Bob

I can't find the old Carrier at the moment, suffering from CRS (Can't Remember S***). The worn carrier was missing material in the center beveled area between the red and green arrows. The cartridge was dropping lower into that beveled area and the rim catching and jamming at the most rearward point of travel. it was stopping the bolt from completing the cycle rearward and sticking with the cartridge wedged up at a 45d angle when running the lever quickly. The new carrier seems to have fixed that issue since it has more material in the bevelled area. I haven't shot it much since the *Fix* but it was happening consistently 1-2 times every stage during competition. Next step is to work on that gate as recommended. If the gate is able to open wider I think the cartridges will load much easier. Seems like the easiest next step anyway. This has been a good learning experience. I'm learning that Jim and the rest of these guys tuning these rifles are earning their pay.

I'll try to catchup with recent posts. I reached out to Jim at Long Hunter first when I identified the problem and he replied and has been incredibly helpful although I didn't want to drag him too deep unless I send it to him to completely rework (which I still might). I was *told* the rifle was Long Hunter tuned when I bought it but there's no way for me to know if that was true or not or to what extent he did the work and I think it is an older rifle with a lot of miles on it. It is .38/.357. The top of the block was very very worn where the cartridge rim scrapes along the top/rear edge of the carrier during ejection. When I eject a cartridge, about 1-2 times per magazine full the lever would jam at the bottom with a cartridge stuck at a 45d angle trapped between the bolt and carrier block. A quick jiggle and it would release but of course when shooting a stage it completely wrecks your rhythm and time when it jams a couple of times during the stage even though you can clear it. A friend of mine just purchased a new rifle from Long Hunter with the FULL action work. He had all the original parts removed from his rifle so I did attempt to go back to an original block but that wouldn't cycle at all. I have no idea why but it was a total no-go. Jim resells an identical looking "Pioneer" block so I ordered one because to all appearances my problem was only because of the wear on the top of the carrier. I got the new carrier block in and it looked identical but when I replaced it the bolt was dragging and sticking. My calipers showed that the carrier walls were several .001's thicker than the one I pulled so I just filed it out until the bolt stopped dragging. That allowed the rifle to cycle smoothly. I did take the rifle to a match last weekend and it did not jam and no issues with feeding it during cycling. Back to the remaining problem with loading. Cartridges loaded pretty smooth/easily with the original block but with the new block they have to be pushed hard to get them to feed into the tube. My guess was that the thicker carrier walls wasn't allowing the cartridge to feed "around the corner" but Jim followed up and indicated that the gate may be rubbing on the block and not opening all the way and that sometimes you need to file some material off the bottom of the gate. I'm going to take a look and see if it's the gate or if I need to remove a little more material off of the inside of the block where the nose of the cartridge might be rubbing. Maybe a sharpie or some paint on a bullet tip will show were to file. I'm very close to having this rifle back in the groove. I did get a reply from "Willshootem" at Pioneer Gun Works and again "Very Helpful". He did indicate that his supplier is very good with quality but they have had a few occasions where product dimensions were off and did require some filing. I don't know which carrier is correct but there is a definite measurable difference between my old and the new so having to take a file to the new one seems more reasonable now. I feel a little better that I'm not creating more trouble for myself or doing something that could ultimately make the gun a safety concern. I'm going to go back through the thread and see if there was anything I missed but I really appreciate all the replies and help. I don't want to be a gunsmith but I do like knowing how they work and there's a certain amount of DiY that I think you need to be able to do with this hobby. There's also a line somewhere that I don't want to cross. I'm amazed and appreciative by how helpful everybody has been with SASS, from the local guys at the matches to the guys here online and the vendors like Jim and 'Will...'. The amount of support adds to the fun and participation. It's not just showing up on Saturday and pulling a trigger.

my inclination was to just try to drop in the new carrier because I could tell the old one was really worn and it was definitely jamming when ejecting because of the additional wear on the carrier. When I did the swap it wasn't a timing issue, or at least not *just* a timing issue because the face of the bolt actually did not fit in the carrier without rubbing. I pulled out the calipers and the new carrier definitely had a measurable smaller void for the bolt to travel. No timing fix was going to make that bolt fit in the carrier as it was. In for a dime.... I pulled out some files and that did the trick. It cycles smooth and cartridges seem to run fine although I haven't actually shot it in a match yet. First local match is tomorrow so I'll see if it'll run. I just need to figure out the loading issue. I don't want to force the cartridges. It could definitely be a result of the narrower carrier channel. Either I file some more or maybe try some shorter .38 test rounds. and if that doesn't work I'll just send it to Jim for a rebuild.

I bought a well used 1873 Uberti rifle at a local match last fall from a shooter that was selling off a collection of guns from another shooter that had passed. The rifle was identified as a Long Hunter tuned rifle and had a very nice action. It was one of the last matches of the year and I didn't get a chance to use it in any local matches. I just joined SASS late last year and have only shot a couple of matches total though I ended up going to EoT 2024 and took this rifle to shoot but it kept jamming while ejecting rounds so I had to switch and use the rifle of a friend that was shooting in my EoT posse. The Carrier Block was *well* worn and was missing some material on top of the block where teh rim rides which was causing a cartridge to jam when it was supposed to extract. I ordered a replacement "Pioneer" Carrier block from Jim at Long Hunter which looks exactly identical to the one in the rifle. I replaced the block but found that my bolt was dragging and jamming in the new block when cycling the action. I pulled the block and compared the two with calipers and found that the new block was noticeably different in many areas. Basically the walls were thicker, less material had been milled out. I was able to see where the bolt was dragging and used a file to remove a few .001" and it cycles well now. I still have an issue with trying to load cartridges, they stick hard when trying to push them in through the gate so I probably have to file some more out somewhere. Newb questions. Is it typical to have to file a new carrier block like this to fit and cycle? Does anybody know who actually makes the Pioneer blocks? I'd like to reach out to them directly but I didn't save the packaging. Any other comments or advice would be welcome as well.

never heard of it before but looked it up because you mentioned it. It's a good looking SxS. Not the usual price point I associate with Heritage firearms for sure. It'll be interesting to see if anybody has one. I assume you're asking about its suitability as a SASS competition shotgun. https://heritagemfg.com/shotguns/badlander-series/421-badlander-18-5inch-barrel-12ga-2rds

anybody mention the Taylor 6-shot 1873 Cattleman .22LR revolvers? they're the same as any other Uberti 1873 clone except that they are a touch heavier with the smaller bore barrel and cylinder holes. You can tune them up or buy them tuned. It solves many of the issues with switching between different revolvers if you normally shoot an Uberti / Taylor / Cimmaron. They're fun to just plink with as well because its an 1873 clone. My Ruger / Heritage and other .22 SA's don't see sunlight anymore. Accuracy on the .22 Uberti's are much much better than my Wranglers or Heritage guns if you're looking for accuracy when you shoot an 1873. They are expensive compared to the Wrangler / Heritage and exactly the same price as any other Uberti 1873 clone in .357 or .45 if you're adding to the collection.

This is a lot of great information and I appreciate all the feedback. The Throwback / Specialty stages look like they're really common in the Annual matches so I think I need to try and visit a few of those this year as well as maybe some of the clubs mentioned and NCOWS. Exactly the feedback I was looking for. I'll also mention that EoT had a Stage (7) where they used Knockdown targets for Every gun and it was terrific fun. They included a 5 shot knockdown for rifle on a rack where each target was in line behind the prior target. You had to knock down a target to see the next in line and each target was smaller than the previous. You had 10 rounds for 5 targets and whatever was leftover (if any) was dumped on a stationary plate as fast as you could work the action. The pistol Knockdowns were on another rack but lined up side by side. They were a very heavy metal and hard to knock over if you didn't hit them high especially with light .38's. Sometimes you'd have to double tap one while moving to get it to fall. Again, 10 shots for 5 KD's with a dump plate. That alone was different enough to add a bunch of excitement and in the case of my shooting pawdner he lost about 5 hours of sleep worrying about it the night before shooting the stage . It took some special equipment at the range but it was great fun and some really good times were still achieved by the dedicated shooters. I look forward to hearing about more and finding and trying out other clubs for fun. It doesn't look like I have to look too far to find it. As challenging as the sweeps are if that was ALL there was to it I'd probably lose some interest. Shooting at other clubs and side matches sounds like a good compromise and a chance to get around and meet more people.

Thank you all, I'm thoroughly enjoying what SASS has to offer and it'll be a long time (if ever) before I will achieve any level of mastery of what is already here. I'm not a spring chicken and arrived to the party very late in life so I'm not really looking to do Cirque d Solei either. I think what I'm looking for likely exists in the annual local or regional matches as side events. I'll start looking for those and maybe visit some other local clubs. It's all been fun but some "Throwback" stages would spice things up a bit in between getting my butt kicked on the regular timed stages.. The folks at EoT did an amazing job with coordinating all of the shooters, events, and activities. Absolutely amazing what they did. Coordinating 700 shooters over several days and not a hitch. Everything started on time and ended on time and it all worked smoothly. I hope to attend again in the future and it was worth the 2000 mile drive each way. The stages were fun and challenging and the sets were amazing. I met a lot of volunteer rangers who helped make it happen and want to thank them for providing their time and money to show up and work weeks early to provide entertainment for the rest of us. It was also fun to rub elbows with shooters from around the world and hear their stories and experiences with SASS from other countries.

First I've heard mention of NCOWS. I just looked it up, there aren't any clubs in Ohio but there's one a reasonable distance in Indiana. Definitely worth some more research. We saw the listings for the side matches but didn't have a clue what they were or what equipment would be needed to shoot in them. We were registered for the practice Cowboy stages that day so we didn't get to watch any of the side matches. But point made. I can try to research those more for upcoming events. I'll check out those clubs / events in PA and WV. they'd be overnighters but that's not a deal breaker.

First let me say that I'm brand new to SASS and didn't shoot in my first local match until late last Fall after watching from the sidelines and trying to overcome the intimidation of acquiring all the right stuff and stepping up to the line for the first time. The people have been consistently supportive and I've never been part of a finer group of people. Me and a friend that started in this together both attended EoT 2024 (with our total experience of 3 prior local matches). We met and shot with some great shooters from around the world and learned a lot and had a great time. Again, even though we were rubbing elbows WAY above our level everybody in our Posses (Wild Bunch, practice, and Cowboy) were patient and helpful. I'm having a blast and have a lot more to learn and there's plenty of learning curve left to challenge me. That said, from reading the pinned thread on this forum on the Early Days and from reading other posts it seems that SASS used to have more variety and imagination in some of the stages presented. My experience is limited to my local club and EoT but stages are consistently crafted for close, large targets with a focus on how fast you can send lead down range. I'm not suggesting that from a competitive standpoint that is wrong, but I've shot a couple of stages where the targets were just a little farther out or where they were just a little smaller or used knock-downs. I've seen pictures of some hilarious and fascinating stages (guys in tubs, sitting on horses, shooting pendulums, Texas star, fluttering laundry, etc etc). My question is are there clubs or matches, preferably in or adjacent to Ohio, where these types of stages are included for fun. I understand that they really skew the curve for competitive shooters but as side matches or something they just look like great fun and I'd like to find more of these "challenging" stage events. Does this exist somewhere? They'd be worth the drive beyond my local matches.

Our Posse was specifically told that the shotgun could be hung over the board on start. There were a couple of stages setup this way because the 2nd position was on a table forward of the offside starting positions and this ensured that no firearm was left positioned pointing downrange potentially at the next position. The emphasis was that after moving from the position no firearm was touching the red board (pointing downrange). We had one shooter leave his rifle on the board and he was given a stage/safety violation for leaving it there after shooting the position. This is my first year with SASS and my first experience with a non-local event but from a safety consideration it did seem reasonable that you could start with the empty open shotgun draped over the board but not advance with any guns violating the plane/berm/board requirement. It didn't sound like the PM was making his own interpretation for our benefit and claimed it was called out that way on the walkthrough.

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I ride a new Roadmaster but there is NOTHING like a classic. Our Indian rider group meets up with a Vintage Indian group every year and does a ride in the hills and I can't help but wish I had the skills to own one. You have an amazing bike. If you have a more public link I can pass on to the group I'd be happy to do so.

I'll visit you at EoT, I just need to see how much money I have left over after getting there seeing what else is for sale. As for preference I *need* LP's but am fine using LPM's if that's whats available.

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