Frontier Days No12 - A Cowboy Black Powder Event at Double R Bar,
May 18, 2008
It was a great but gruesome day with the heat index in
Lucerne Valley on Sunday. The temperature grew to over 100 degrees. Twenty,
very hearty and dedicated souls braved the conditions but had a wonderful
time shooting that good ‘ol smokey stuff. From the 181 rounds required
by all 6 stages, over 20lbs of black powder and substitutes went up in
smoke that day. Now this didn’t include all of those extra shotgun shells
used on Stage 2 when you had to shoot from the Hip! Yes, there were quite
a variety of stage designs where in some cases; a little bit of role playing
went on before you were given the buzzer. But it didn’t take long before
a little bit of adlib came into play. This was a sure sign of people having
fun.
Stage 2 – Barkeep, I need MORE whiskey! As Doc Skinner
starts off…… |
The match this year included another new category, Josey
Wales. This required the use of 4 pistols and a shotgun. No rifle is used
so the stage designs became a little challenging. Initially, the thought
was to just shoot the pistol caliber rifle targets. That was the requirement
only on a couple of stages. The remainder was to continue with a variety
of sequences on the same or additional set of pistol targets. Looked as
if it worked out. Next year, this category may require 2 of the 4 pistols
to be either Walkers or Dragoons. Remember that the Josey Wales character
wore 2 Walkers and a ’58 Remington in a shoulder rig.
Buffalo Hunter and Monte Walsh still remain very strong
big bore rifle categories. Monte Walsh only being offered initially last
year at shoot No11 held at Pala, enjoyed an equally good number at Thunder
Valley in December. Thanks again to Weedy and Ivory Jack for getting us
to bring this to reality.
Stage 4 – Where’s the BEEF?! As Honest Henry sends another
one way out there shooting the Monte Walsh category. By the way, he won
that category. |
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This shooting discipline requires just a few more pieces
of hardware than that plain ‘ol smokeless stuff. |
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“Down boy, DOWN!” Jailhouse Jim with his shotgun from
the hip in Stage 2. A few extra shells were used here by many. |
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The match wrapped up about mid afternoon. So with Prof
Bullspit being our honorary scorer, we finished up with a few donated door
prizes and proceeded to the presentation.
Back row (L-R): Desert Dawg, Cowboy, Diamond Back Jack, Outlaw,
Jailhouse Jim, Buffalo Hunter, and Speckles, Lady Outlaw
Front Row (L-R): White Lightnin, Real Cowboy, Prof Bullspit,
Josey Wales, and Honest Henry, Monte Walsh. |
Honest Henry was our overall high score for the match.
Congratulations to all and hope to see ya all again.
I would like to extend my gratification to Double R Bar
and the Lions organizations for their support and use of this fine facility.
Frontier Days has been running since 1997 down at Pala and once at Cajon
Cowboys in 2002. I believe we’ve found a new home.
Adios,
Red Sun
SASS #635
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Reloading Blackpowder Shotshells with Antique Tooling
– No 4
by Red Sun SASS#635
Welcome back to the final installation of this series
of articles. We’re going to complete the loading process of this hull and
roll crimp the end. In addition, there will be a few items regarding the
vintage tooling used for the roll crimping. Now let’s get going with the
loading process. Last month we showed an array of components that will
be loaded into the hull. Here’s a repeat of the items displayed.
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For this particular length hull and capacity, the components
shown have been chosen to provide the correct stack so that the roll crimp
can be formed with good retention properties. Leaving about 3/16” at the
end of the hull allows the paper to fold over down to the overshot card.
We’ll examine that later in the process. So here we go….
First our 2½ drams of powder will be dropped in
to the funnel and then an over powder card will be placed over the powder.
This card is punched out of a milk carton.
Now we’ll take the plunger and firmly set the card with
some compression on the black powder. Some firm hand pressure and hearing
the “crunch” is about all I do. Next we insert the wad. This is the gas
seal for the assembly, so it will be a little tight starting into the funnel.
And now we use the plunger with another good firm push to seat it.
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You may have noticed the shot weight marking on the card.
These are created by a set of rubber stamps available through Ballistic
Products. In fact, most all of these components can be ordered from them.
It’s helpful to mark these to know what you may have loaded. You can also,
simply write on the card itself too.
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Overshot card samples on some vintage shotshells. Notice
all the details for the loads. |
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Tool made by Ideal Mfg patented in 1896. This would be
their Diamond Grade model. This tool will be used for the roll crimping.
The choice comes from the fact that Ideal patented a “round” crimp tool
insert that was serviceable unlike most other tools that I have come across.
Below are the details from one of their catalogs.
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We’ll start by looking at the hull after we have seated
the over shot card. Here the remaining lip of the hull is the key in getting
just the right fold over edge that helps in retaining the components in
place and providing a seal.
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The “edge” revealed is the area that will be “rolled”
over. |
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Now we setup the crimper onto a worktable or bench and proceed
with the crimp process.
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With the left hand, the pressure arm of the tool holds the shell in
place and the gripper bites the edges of the brass base and keeps the shell
from turning while you turn the crimp handle. Usually the rate at which
the handle is turned will affect the quality of the crimp and finish. This
is a trial and error type effort. |
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And now we have the finished product. Let me say that
this is not limited to paper hulls. The same can be accomplished using
a plastic hull. The rolling pins in this tool are hardened and will work
well on plastic.
In summary, we have gone through quite an exercise. I’ll
have to admit that we’ve spent that last 4 months with this and at this
rate it will be 8 years before we fill a box of shells. Actually, once
you have the setup, the average time per shell is less that a minute.
This concludes this series of articles. If you are interested
in a compiled and expanded version of these four articles, send me an email.
The charge at this time will be $12.00 including the shipping. You can
send check or money order to:
F.D. Boatright
928 Oldham Court
Encinitas, CA 92024
In the meantime, your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Please forward those to Redsun635@aol.com.
Happy Reloading,
Red Sun
Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved
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All articles submitted to the "Brimstone
Gazette" are the property of the author, used with their expressed permission.
The Brimstone Pistoleros are not
responsible for any accidents which may occur from use of loading
data, firearms information, or recommendations published on the Brimstone
Pistoleros web site. |
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