Friendship Finals

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Yes we did it!!! Wife took the Women's National Pistol Championship for the
9th year. I go lucky and won the "As Issue" Revolver Championship and got
First in the 13 shot Repical Revolver match. This is 13 shots on the International
25 yd target. The "10" ring is only about a inch in dia. I used my Euroarms
Remington both. Shot well, but got very tired. Wife also won the 25 shots 50 yd
Match and the 50 yd re-entry. You really don't want to mess with her on those
50 yd matches. We had a GREAT time. Glad to be back home.





Daughter did not shoot this trip. She is getting more and more into music.

 

[Doak]

Seein' fotos of you two together, havin' what looks to me like a blast!...and readin' about your shooting accomplishments...I gotta tell ya...IT MAKES ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!! WAY TO GO!!!

Kindest Regards,
Doak

 

[4v50 Gary]

Kudos to wife.

 

[Mike OTDP]

So try out for the 2014 World Championships! We need all the shooters we can get. BTW, the venue has changed - Granada, Spain, not South Africa.

 

[72coupe]

Congratulations!!

 

[Cosmoline]

Great stuff! I really want to get out there one of these years.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Congratulations to you both !

 

[BCRider]

Yeah! WELL DONE TO BOTH OF YA!

I was out with my two 1860's over the past week doing some serious bullseye shooting to check the my newly installed taller front sight mods. The pistols are certainly capable of better than I can manage. The long sight baseline made me look like I had palsy while I watched the front blade jerking and wandering over what seemed like all of Hell's Half Acre So when I see you two doing so well in competitions I know what it takes to hold the gun that steady and I'm highly impressed.

 

[Crawdad1]

Great shooting Kwhi!!!! Is that the same Remington you showed a pics of few weeks ago on here? Seeing other posts about Friendship and other people's pictures of the competition it looks like all of the target shooters there were mostly using Remingtons.

 

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Yes it is. In the "As Issue" matches everybody I know and see uses a Remington
"As Issue means you must use what was issued to the troops in the Civil War.
You cannot do anything to the revolver except put on a taller front sight. Then
It has to be the little flat half moon. Cannot be over .080 thick. No trigger stops
But the actions can be slicked up. Revolvers half to be inspected by the range
Master and a sticker attached. In the open revolver matches most use the
Ruger. Most have been converted to .36 caliber. I have never seen a Colt type
Being used in the 22 years I have been shooting there. Either balls or bullets
Are allowed. I have never seen or heard of anybody using bullets. Funny when
I read on forums that some say the bullet is more accurate . If this were so don't
You think they would use them at Friendship?. Also I read that some think 30
Or 35 grs is more accurate. I know what charges are shot at Friendship and
Believe me 22 is about the most I haver heard used. I use 18 grs Swiss. Also
Wads or grease cookies. Believe me NO body uses this. It hurts accuracy.
I get a really good laugh when I read about you want to shave a ring off the ball
When seating. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You want to Swege the
Ball into the chamber not shave it. This is how we do it at Friendship where
Accuracy is what everybody is there for. Creme-of-wheat is used as a filler.
Lube is put over the ball. Caps fit the nipples.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Doesn't surprise me. You see the same thing both at the N-SSA Nationals and the MLAIC World Championships. I did arms inspection for one day at the 2012 Worlds. An interesting experience, but the revolvers were dull. Just one Remington (usually Hege) after another. The occasional FWB Rogers & Spencer.

And the loads were always the same....454 or .457 round ball, Cream of Wheat (or local equivalent), 12-25 grains of powder. Lube on top of the bullet.

 

[FiveStrings]

Sure is a nice looking banjo in that last picture.

 

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The fellow sitting next to my daughter Howard Kelly made it. He also makes fiddles. He gave us a CD he made of old time fiddle tunes. He is always at
Friendship same place every year. He makes barrels also. Here is another picture of it.

 

[Crawdad1]

Agreed kwhi, however not all black powder shooters are looking for max accuracy but are balancing accuracy with stopping power (penetration). Like rifles, every revolver is an individual in its own right and shouldn't the shooter 'Find' the load his revolver shoots the best according to the ultimate use the owner wants? As an example, if I'm getting award winning groups with 20 grains and a 451 ball but that same load only punches half way through a phone book that may be not what I'm satisfied with for my revolver. However, if I jump up to 35 grains and a 454 or 457 ball that 'rings' while loading and from that load I may be getting only a 2" group at that same distance but it blasts apart that same size phone book, which load would I use to hunt with? Which load would I use to compete with?

 

[kituwa]

I think most target shooters use small powder charges has more to do with shootabilty than accuracy.I am almost certain that if you put a gun in a machine rest you would find that most guns would in fact be more accurate with a heavier charge for several reasons.As to almost no one useing anything but remingtons,target shooters are notorius for following fades of a sort.There is no eason a properly tuned colt would not be just as accurate as a remington.As you said on another thred, a large number of the pro's use the hedge remingtons.Im guessing those are far more tuned than a italian import.For one im sure the chambers are all reamed the exact same size and have the proper match to barrel lands and grooves.That being the case then not shaving a lead ring would make total sense.They more than likely have match barrels and proper forcing cones and things like that.That would be a whole diffrent animal compared to the average remington imports that most of us shoot.And, if round ball were more accurate than bullets then modern cartrage guns would be loaded with them too,lol.Its just that for several reasons most of the imports are not properly set up for conicals.Another reason targets shooters would not use bullets is the same as heavy powder charges,shootabilty or lower recoil that will not break the shooters concentration. I remember years ago when shooting in police combat pistol matches with custom K-38's, that it was common to see wad cutters barely stuck into the wood frame around the targets, thats how low many of the reloads were loaded.As good as you are doing with your compatition i bet you would be even better when you get a hedge!

 

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This Remington fad has been going on for around 70 years that I know of.
That's what dominated the pistol line in the 1930's. Don't get me wrong. I love
The Colt's. The 1851 Navy and 1860 Army are GREAT!! If I shot my Navy like
I do my Remington I would use it. But I don't and neither does anyone else.
If anyone thinks bullets and heavy charges are more accurate, please come
To Friendship and show us. We have a open mind. We are willing to learn
Just show us. The proof is in the pudding. Here's a little round ball and light
Charges at 25 yds. 10 of them. Show me yours.

 

[Doak]

That's some tasty pudding!

Kindest Regards,
Doak

 

[kituwa]

That is an excelent group by anyones standards.Dont get me wrong, if i was shooting that type of match i would chose a remington also simply because they dont require as much to tune them and the sights are better.However, i do not agree that real lights loads are nessesarily more accurate, mostly just more shootable in a match where you have to shoot a lot of shots.I have seen people that can shoots groups just as good as the target shown that were done with a NAA single action in 454.And at some other types of matches where the 1911 raines king does not mean a sig or browning high power will not shoot as good or better,fad has more to do with target shooting than a lot of people think.Also in the as issued matches the idea is that the guns be close to what were used in the civil war era.I am pretty sure if you were going to try and keep that image then 18 to 20 gr loads are not in keeping with that at all. But that type thing has been a lot of conflict in other type matches too like diffrent types of combat shooting matches.I am not down playing what you do at al.I think it looks like great fun and you are obviously very skilled at it.I am just not agreeing that your ideas on whatis accurate, such as tiny loads and balls that dont shave a ring as being laughable. That may well be in the type guns you shoot in the way you do it for that type of match but does not nessesarilly hold true with the typical untuned revolver shot in the way most people use them.Please dont take me wrong, i admire what you do and very much enjoyed you sharing your shoot and how you and your wife go about it!

 

[Mike OTDP]

That's a very impressive group. The best I've ever managed in N-SSA competition was a 99-4X - which that beats by a country mile.

 

[vagunmonkey]

That is a very nice target! Was that off hand or from a bench?

 

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Offhand. One hand hold un-supported.

 

[vagunmonkey]

Wow !!! Very impressive, I've only been shooting a Remington for a couple years and my best is a 94-4x. Other then a tuned revolver and light loads (which I use) what advice would you have for a developing shooter?

 

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Attend matches. You Need competition to get better. Keep your eye on that
Front sight. Use a center hold instead of 6:00. If you don't plan to shoot any
"As Issue" matches install a trigger stop. As long as that front is in the black
Keep squeezing . The worst you can get is a 9. Nobody holds dead still. If you
Can't get the shot off in 5 seconds, drop the gun down and start over. Come
In on the black from the top of the paper, not from the bottom up. Lay a dime
Flat on the barrel right behind the front sight. Hold the pistol out and dry fire.
Practice this until the dime remains on the barrel. Keep both eyes open if you
Can. Lay off the beer the night before a match. Get plenty of rest. Good Luck.
Phil

 

[vagunmonkey]

Thank you Phil. I am pretty much following your advice but need more competition and dry firing. Do you dry fire with your competition revolver? If so do you change out the nipples? If not do you have the same sight picture and trigger pull on your "dry fire" revolver? I have been using an IZH 46 match grade air pistol, and it has been helping, but I'm not sure the different sight picture and trigger pull are making it as helpfull as it should. How much dry/live fire are you doing per week?

Thanks

Don

 

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Take one nipple out. Dry fire 10 a day with the dime on the barrel.