Leaving for a...

[Pitmaster]

SASS match in a few minutes. SUV is loaded with guns, corned beef and cabbage (match lunch), and winter survival provisions. Temperature is 17º, winds 10-20 mph, and about a foot of snow on the ground with more snow expected today and tomorrow.

Match attendance usually ranges from 50-60 shooters. Today I suspect we will max out at 15 but more likely be about 10. I'll try to get some pictures.

I'll be shooting my first self loaded black powder rounds with my own cast boolits. I've got 3 samples to test and if they work out ok another 50 for the Vaqueros and back up smokeless just in case.

What match are you shooting today.:gun_guns:

[Blackdog]

Sounds like fun PM. I'd like to load up some black powder 44 rounds just for fun.

I don't think I'll be heading out to do any shooting today.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo44/Blackdog_08/c-c-c-cold.jpg
(http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/01/brazil.floods/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn)

[bfox]

Sounds like a lot of Fun .

You guys eating all that Corn beef and cabbage at least you got those 10 to 20 mph winds ! :43:

Bill

[Pitmaster]

The day wasn't bad. Weather was a little better there. About 6" less snow and 3-4 degrees warmer. Sun came out for the last stage. Came in 1st in my category and 6th overall.

Corned beef went pretty quick. Lots of cabbage left and some potatoes. I have just enough corned beef left to add to some of the potatoes for a nice corned beef hash for breakfast tomorrow.

Camera stayed in coat so no pictures. Returned home with all fingers and hands attached so the BP rounds must have been loaded correctly. Its hard to shoot through BP and steamed up glasses with much accuracy and speed. Snowy stages preclude fast movement between shooting spots.

Good time with lots of laughs. Next SASS match is Feb.6. Indoor USPSA starts Thursday evening for the next 2 months. I'm going to shoot the SW 625 Thursday.

[cohutt]

Came in 1st in my category and 6th overall.

.


There is a "chuck wagon" category in SASS?

http://www.capitalnranch.com/Chuck-wagon.jpg

[CZ93X62]

Good work, PM!

Black powder cartridge shooting.......well, ANY kind of black powder shooting has its own unique challenges brought on by the smoke and the bore fouling. One problem these days is the quality of the available black powders--nowhere near as well-made as BP was in the 1880s and 1890s. The Swiss BP is about as close as we can get to that grade of THB (The Holy Black). I haven't tried any of the premium-grade Goex yet, so the jury is still out as far as that stuff goes.

That said, the best groups EVER fired in my Ruger #1 x 45-70 came with BP. Lee 405 grain plain-base in 30-1 alloy, sized .459", SPG lube, 55.0 grain of Goex 2F compressed about 1/16" in R-P nickel-plated cases, Fed 215 primers. 1100 FPS, and 5-shot groups from 1" to 1-1/8" at 100 yards. Smokeless loads can approach that accuracy standard, but not quite match it.

[Bush Pilot]

There is a "chuck wagon" category in SASS?

http://www.capitalnranch.com/Chuck-wagon.jpg

Doesn't look much like Wishbone and Rowdy to me or is that Cohutt's new RV?

[jawjaboy]

One problem these days is the quality of the available black powders--nowhere near as well-made as BP was in the 1880s and 1890s.


Yessir. And GA made the best in the world. :) Been there, still got pics around here somewhere.

"Over the next three years came to be the central gun powder making plant in the South and an important western arsenal. Threatened by Sherman in his "March to the Sea", Augusta Arsenal production fell dramatically in the late fall and winter of 1864. Although never destroyed, by early spring 1865 it had become largely ineffective due to the crumbling Southern infrastructure, labor and material shortages. Throughout the war Augusta was a prolific supplier of all kinds of arms and equipment including horse equipment particularly curry combs and brushes and, arguably produced the finest grade of gun powder in the world!"

http://www.confederatesaddles.com/augusta.html

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[Pitmaster]

There is a "chuck wagon" category in SASS?

http://www.capitalnranch.com/Chuck-wagon.jpg

I originally planned to make a chuckwagon as a gun cart. Too much hassle so I got one of these and it plowed easily through the snow.

http://www.ruggedgear.com/cartimages/prd_lg_214.jpg

[Pitmaster]

Here's what the weather looked like. I hope he posts one of us shooting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFO7xpfLwbY

[jawjaboy]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g194/jawjaboy/cid_8FE1B29A182E430CA0776DBAE5DC15C.jpg

[cvann]

Where be the dusters? Those nylon coats don't appear to be period.... ;)

[Pitmaster]

Dress code isn't quite as strict during the winter.