Cowboy Action - Anyone still shooting?

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SG1

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Hey all. As the subject line reads, anyone still shooting cowboy action? The last thread I could find was about 2 years old. I just shot my first match in August with a nice bunch of folks in Wilmore, KY. I was planning to shoot again last month but pouring rain for days on end caused a situation in my basement that prevented me from making the match. I'm hooked though, and will be shooting with the Foxbend Peacemakers again soon!

The problem I'm seeing is that a lot of clubs (at least anywhere remotely near my location) either have websites that haven't been updated in a few years, or are no longer working period. I have found an NCOWS group not too far from me, but their rules are a little more strict than SASS and some of my gear doesn't meet the requirements. I'm still researching more places to shoot. My job has been the most limiting factor the past few months. Just not enough free weekends to get to all the places I'd like to visit and shoot. This same problem with work has delayed my plans to start shooting steel challenge matches too, which is another sport I'm very interested in giving a try. So any SASS/CAS/NCOWS shooters out there still doing monthlies or annual matches? If so, where do you shoot and how often to you get out to shoot?
 
There was a thread the other day called "why I shoot Cowboy" or some such.

They are on here. quite a few of them.

I love shooting cowboy guns, but I have yet to shoot a cowboy match.
I shoot mostly 2/3 gun these days, but I also like to try and put old revolvers in modern situations and see how they stack up.
 
CAS/SASS has fallen off remarkably far in the last 10-15yrs. It’s unfortunate. I think the generation of kids who grew up watching western TV shows and movies have passed through the game, and the subsequent generations don’t have the same passion for that particular brand of whimsy.

That’s the biggest difference I might cite between CAS/SASS and other shooting sports - the prevalence of Whimsy over Sport. Most clubs I shot with when I was active did not have ANY competitive shooters - they were all out to have fun. They competed, but only really because it was a scorable sport. Most guys were there to play cowboy first and shooting was secondary. Any young blood coming in with an appetite for competition - aka myself - was often treated as overly ambitious or “gaming.” Gaming in most sports is recognized as a necessary and pertinent aspect of the game, but it felt like we were largely frowned upon for it by the older shooters which made the monthly matches world go ‘round.

I stopped competing at all for a few years when professional rodeo and my engineering career dominated my life, so maybe that was a larger feature in why I was so willing to leave SASS/CAS, but it just wasn’t much fun after folks started souring.

I went to two NCOWS events and decided it was not for me. SASS/CAS did become about as heavily regulated, just not as focused on historical accuracy. These sports had the highest density of over-zealous RO’s and MD’s of any sport I have seen. I’ve been a CRSO for over 20yrs, and some of the safety calls and discussions I saw in cowboy games were above and beyond the point of silliness. When we’re discussing Stage vs. match DQ’s for dropping ammunition at a loading table, I just can’t swallow it. When a monthly match has to go to “the Wire” to get a consensus ruling on some coked up procedural, it takes the fun out of the game. When there’s a club committee review meeting to discuss whether shooting human shaped silhouettes is “sending the wrong message about our non-violent sport,” I just wanna cry (side note: I can appreciate some concession to NOT wanting to play “cowboys & Indians” out of sensitivity for past injustice, naturally, but many clubs/MD’s struck any human shaped targets).

The GAME of SASS/CAS/Cowboy 4 gun is disgustingly fun, however. If you find or have a good club culture to live in, it’s an incredibly challenging and rewarding game, with unique firearms you wouldn’t utilize in any other competition format.

I kept my gear when I quit, then kinda came back and shot a few matches a year for a while, but haven’t for over a year now. I did buy another Stoeger stainless coach gun a while back to replace the one I had sold, so I would have a complete stainless set once more. I also do wish I had my set of 357 Vaq’s and Marlins which I sold, as my 44mag kit does put me at a pretty deep disadvantage.

Maybe someday I’ll be back doing it every weekend, if the sport survives that long.
 
I have been shooting cas a long time. The clubs that I shoot have some incredible shooters scary fast great competitors and really nice guys. Some love to dress the part like me some bare minimum dress. Find a club shoot to have fun compete against yourself you will be your toughest competition. Gus McCall sass #3836
 
there are still plenty of folks out there shooting SASS. I wish them the best and hope they have a grand time enjoying their chosen sport.

Me, I dropped out because life got in the way, and it been long enough that I would have to go dig out the paperwork to remember my SASS# now. As far as the few folks I met through CAS that I still have contact with. they've all either dropped out or cut back to only shoot CAS occasionally, for two diametrically opposite reasons. The older guys dropped out for what amounts to health reasons, and the younger to middle aged guys, for lack of a better way to express it, got bored of every stage being some iteration of the formula
  • " 5 shots revolver
  • 5 shots other revolver
  • 10 shots rifle
  • 4-6 rounds shotgun
  • at a set of huge, pretty much minimum safe distance, steel targets
  • while performing a crabwise shuffle between 4 positions or less
And very little innovation or imagination going into the stage designs.

From my own experience, If you find you like movement and having to think you way through a stage as in USPSA and to a slight lesser extent IDPA , CAS can begin to feel slow and well, boring. couple of the guys started to say it was "too much (hokey Hollywood bs) Cowboy and not enough action" or that SASS stood for "Slow Action Shootists Society". (this sure didn't apply to the guys that could make a SAA sound like a machine gun, but I digress)

anyway, it's a whole different strokes for different folks thing. for whatever reason(s) not everyone is comfortable with or able to perform the level of movement that other "action" shooting sports require, some are. some want to play dress up with guns and shout "The Clantons are coming!", some find a heavily armed costume guild isn't to their liking. <= i'm in the middle on this one, there is a vintage 2-gun match that if I'm able to shoot it next year i'm thinking of doing in period gear.
everybody has to determine what they want and need from their chosen shooting sport.
 
Guys are still shooting it, but it’s certainly lost momentum. In the early 2000’s, I recall reports of 15,000-25,000 new members in SASS per year. The number last year was somewhere around 3,000. For a number of years, CAS/SASS was the fastest growing shooting sport in the country. That heyday is over now. It’s hanging on, but it ain’t what it used to be.
 
It was something I was interested in joining after I retired. When I checked out what was involved,I quickly backed off when I started reading the required dress code and what was required with firearms. I own a Vaquero and Miroku/Win 73 Carbine. I don't want another SSA and certainly not another shotgun. I also backed off when I saw rules like no stitching allowed on boot toes and no snaps on shirts... All my shirts have snaps. If they made the sport not so expensive to join with a nitpicking dress code,I'm sure a lot more people would join. Maybe this is a way of keeping the sport exclusive.
 
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Guys are still shooting it, but it’s certainly lost momentum. In the early 2000’s, I recall reports of 15,000-25,000 new members in SASS per year. The number last year was somewhere around 3,000. For a number of years, CAS/SASS was the fastest growing shooting sport in the country. That heyday is over now. It’s hanging on, but it ain’t what it used to be.

let's be truthful here, that surge in membership corresponds to when the generation that grew up on Roy Rodgers, John Wayne, the Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, etc. retired or found they had spare time with the kids moved out. and so, many decided that they wanted to relive their youth and play cowboy. Much of what CAS (or at least SASS) has become is because that is the main body of membership. the first few "cowboy matches" I ever watched, back in the mid to late 90's were more akin to IDPA/multi-gun matches cognizant of the capacity limitations of the guns, IE there was movement and problem solving involved but no reloads. now it seems like the mindset is to have the shooter get done with the stage and back sitting on their chair/cart ASAP. and I understand the reasoning, if the larger portion of your participant base is less physically able you accommodate them. But it's kind of like playing golf, you're more successful when you play the less golf.

It was something I was interested in joining after I retired. When I checked out what was involved,I quickly backed off when I started reading the required dress code and what was required with firearms. I own a Vaquero and Miroku/Win 73 Carbine. I don't want another SSA and certainly not another shotgun. I also backed off when I saw rules like no stitching allowed on boot toes and no snaps on shirts... All my shirts have snaps. If they made the sport not so expensive to join with a nitpicking dress code,I'm sure a lot more people would join. Maybe this is a way of keeping the sport exclusive.

Unless somethings have Drastically changed, That "dress code" sounds like NCOWS (the smaller, more anal about historical accuracy, CAS group). NCOWS wouldn't/won't let you use a Buscadero(sp?) rig (that "western drop leg" holster used in every western show you saw growing up) because it wasn't invented till after the their prescribed period. and your pistol has to be a SAA, a contemporary competing design, or clones thereof.

Shirts with snaps and boots with decorative stitching were and I assume still are no problem at all in SASS. Many of the guys I knew doing SASS were into dressing up more in a Roy Rodgers Archetype outfit than anything "historical".

but yeah "the rig" ie 4 guns, a double holster rig, and truthfully a cart to haul the long guns and ammo around in, is one hell of an outlay of cash to enter the sport. keep in mind though that established shooters will gladly loan you pretty much any gear you need to get started, especially while you're buying/building your own. pretty much any long term CAS shooter will have extras and backups.
 
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I shoot CAS and am a SASS member, but I, like many, choose to engage in a forum focused on that sport, a venue where it is a sort of circle hug with no need to defend the interest or entertain any lack of respect for the sport. Everybody starts by embracing the interest but don't necessarily agree about all aspects, and thus the ensuing discussions.
 
Hey all. As the subject line reads, anyone still shooting cowboy action? The last thread I could find was about 2 years old. I just shot my first match in August with a nice bunch of folks in Wilmore, KY. I was planning to shoot again last month but pouring rain for days on end caused a situation in my basement that prevented me from making the match. I'm hooked though, and will be shooting with the Foxbend Peacemakers again soon!

The problem I'm seeing is that a lot of clubs (at least anywhere remotely near my location) either have websites that haven't been updated in a few years, or are no longer working period. I have found an NCOWS group not too far from me, but their rules are a little more strict than SASS and some of my gear doesn't meet the requirements. I'm still researching more places to shoot. My job has been the most limiting factor the past few months. Just not enough free weekends to get to all the places I'd like to visit and shoot. This same problem with work has delayed my plans to start shooting steel challenge matches too, which is another sport I'm very interested in giving a try. So any SASS/CAS/NCOWS shooters out there still doing monthlies or annual matches? If so, where do you shoot and how often to you get out to shoot?

Where you at SG1? Have you been to our NCOWS club Johnson County Rangers?
 
NCOWS is actually easier to get into than SASS. Just have to buy the right stuff but you don't need a whole arsenal of guns and all tricked out to have fun. Most popular categories are just one pistol and rifle, you can get an entire outfit from Hamilton Dry goods for 69 bucks not counting your shoes.

The stories about the stitch counters in NCOWS is not true, just so you have the clothing basics and guns down, the rest of your persona is up to you how far you want to take it.
 
It was something I was interested in joining after I retired. When I checked out what was involved,I quickly backed off when I started reading the required dress code and what was required with firearms. I own a Vaquero and Miroku/Win 73 Carbine. I don't want another SSA and certainly not another shotgun. I also backed off when I saw rules like no stitching allowed on boot toes and no snaps on shirts... All my shirts have snaps. If they made the sport not so expensive to join with a nitpicking dress code,I'm sure a lot more people would join. Maybe this is a way of keeping the sport exclusive.

If you're talking about NCOWS then just don't wear a modern western shirt and any pair of brogans or most plain old work boots will work. It's certainly not about keeping it exclusive, the more the merrier and we welcome new members. Also you have an entire year to be compliant with the dress code anyway.

I keep hearing the excuses about expensive clothing keeping people from joining and that is bull mullarky. First as I said you have a year grace period as you gather your outfit. Hamilton Dry goods cowboy special is 69 bucks and it has all you need except a pair of shoes. Many in our group goes to the tux rental places once a year when they blow out their used rental clothes cheap, many of the formal wear shirts and vests meet 19th century dress code.

Ruger Vaquero is allowed because it at least does look like a SAA for the most part. The Miroku 73 is not allowed though because unfortunately it was not made with the same action as the original 73 winchester.
 
If you're talking about NCOWS then just don't wear a modern western shirt and any pair of brogans or most plain old work boots will work. It's certainly not about keeping it exclusive, the more the merrier and we welcome new members. Also you have an entire year to be compliant with the dress code anyway.

I keep hearing the excuses about expensive clothing keeping people from joining and that is bull mullarky. First as I said you have a year grace period as you gather your outfit. Hamilton Dry goods cowboy special is 69 bucks and it has all you need except a pair of shoes. Many in our group goes to the tux rental places once a year when they blow out their used rental clothes cheap, many of the formal wear shirts and vests meet 19th century dress code.

Ruger Vaquero is allowed because it at least does look like a SAA for the most part. The Miroku 73 is not allowed though because unfortunately it was not made with the same action as the original 73 winchester.

This is a(n apparent) change from when I was still involved with CAS and I think that it's a good one. I can understand some strictness in trying to stick to "period" rather than Hollywood. but there should be a reasonable limit to that strictness as well.
During my period of dabbling with CAS, (off and on between 2000-08 or so) all of the info I was able to find RE: NCOWS was "Period dress only (with an implication of civil war reenactor level stich counting), and don't bring no damned Rugers! they ain't right Dang it!!" that may or may not have been the official line, but it certainly was the message getting out to those looking into things at the time. Which is why my I never bothered to hunt for an NCOWS shoot in my area at the time.

BTW what's the current "allowable time period" for NCOWS? it's been long enough I've forgotten the cutoff. and as a further query are period correct double actions still allowed? or has a lack of interest/functional examples caused that to fade away.
 
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My SASS # was 13999...but I haven't shot CAS in years. :(

I still like "cowboy" guns, gear and lore though!

Stay safe!
 
My SASS # was 13999...but I haven't shot CAS in years. :(

I still like "cowboy" guns, gear and lore though!

Stay safe!

Same here, I'm very unlikely to ever shoot a CAS match again. but quite a selection of guns and gear from that period is on my wishlist, Win '97 (though I have to say one of the Chinese trench gun variants is more a likely choice), another marlin 1894, Ruger Vaquero or two and the parts to convert them to Bisley Vaquero config since Ruger has seen fit to discontinue the blued version thereof, not strictly CAS related some day I want to have my own Sharps, and the list goes on.
 
SG1,

You may have to drive a ways...

I live in Springfield, Missouri and the last time I checked there were 11 SASS clubs within a 3 hour drive of my house.

The Southern Missouri Rangers hosted the Missouri State Championship on September 18-21. This past weekend I was one of about 60 competitors at Border Wars in Mountain Home, Arkansas. (Missouri won. Again.). The clubs in Byhalia, Mississippi and Boaz, Kentucky put on great matches. Mayhem on the Mountain is being held soon in Heber Springs, Arkansas, and the Arkansas State Championship was recently held in Hot Springs. Prince of the Pistoleers is held in early June in Kansas City (well, Lenexa, KS) and is on my must attend list.

Cowboy Action Shooting is alive and well in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. I’ve only shot once in Texas, but Comin’ Atcha in Clarksville was a hoot.

Here’s hoping you can go west, young man, and pay us a visit! :thumbup:
 
Thanks for the response folks! I've been away for a few days and last time I checked, no one had posted.

I'm in Louisville, KY. There are a couple SASS clubs within a reasonable driving distance from me (less than 2 hours). One of my limiting factors is that right now work takes up some of the weekends that clubs shoot near me. So for the time being, I'm kind of limited to 1 club I can find that shoots the 4th Sunday of the month. The work situation should change by spring, so I'm hoping to get out to some other clubs next year.

I have looked into NCOWS, and there is a club within reasonable driving distance from me, but I don't have a gun for it (yet). Right now my six guns are a Uberti Cattleman with a bird's head grip. Not the lightning/Thunderer grip frame, but the (new style?) bird's head grip. I like it a lot, but the NCOWS rules say no bird's head grips. My other revolver is a blackhawk for now, and it is not legal either. However, as soon as I can replace the blackhawk with another SAA clone in .357/.38, I'll have enough to shoot working cowboy in NCOWS. I have a Cimarron Winchester 1873 clone in the "short rifle" configuration.

I'm a registered SASS member and I frequent their forums as well. I've been a member here for a long time and just wanted to start a discussion on the sport and see if any members here shoot.

I'm hoping next year I can do a little more travelling to places outside Kentucky to shoot. I'd love to hit Winter Range or End of Trail. I know there are some quality clubs in KY and Southern IN. I just need more time away from work to make the matches.
 
By the way, just like any competition shooting, if you wait until you're ready you'll never be ready. I think I might be quoting someone on that, but can't remember.

I put it off for a long time thinking that there was too much to get started. Honestly the guns are the biggest expense and if you're patient, there are deals to be found on used guns. If you have a buddy interested, you can even split the cost and share the guns. As far as clothes, most clubs I've talked to or read about aren't real strict on clothing. All you really need is a long sleeve button up shirt or Henley type shirt. You can grab one of those at the store for $15. I had to buy one and actually got a nice button up for $15 on clearance. Pair that with some jeans and some boots and you're ready to roll. I don't think a hat is required, but it does keep the brass off your head.

Probably the second most expensive part of the gear is the gun leather. But deals can be found on new and used stuff. You just have to look around. Some starter rigs run less than $200.
 
I started shooting CAS back in the mid 90s when I was stationed in WA state haven't shot a match in years though. Like one other poster mentioned, life, family, deployments caught up. I've still got a pair of tuned, Colt SAAs, slicked up 1897, and a re-worked Marlin Cowboy. Actually have a leather rig made by Phil Spangenberger (Guns and Ammo fame) under his company name of Red River Outfitters. Never knew it was him till I called wanting another holster, and he answered his phone with "Phil Spangenberger".....

I started drifting away after shooting CAS LR side matches, which led me to Sharps repros, Buffalo shoots, then LR and finally BPCS (Silhouette). Now I shoot matches that don't take as long to load for (IDPA & 3GUN). I keep thinking that when I retire (again) I'll get back into it. Was/is a lot of fun and a great bunch of folks.
 
I’ve been shooting cowboy action for almost nine years in Upstate SC. We have two SASS affiliated clubs within a 30 minute drive from my house so I shoot two monthly matches on a regular basis and occasionally travel out of town for a match.

All shooting sports seem to go through cycles of interest. For years my home club offered Bullseye pistol and high power rifle matches. Those were popular for decades but the numbers dwindled over time and the club discontinued the matches. In the late ‘70s and the 80s I read lots of articles about IHMSA, but those matches are hard to find now. IDPA was a very popular discipline in my home club for many years but recently that match was replaced by another game because there were too few people willing to run the matches.

I enjoy shooting cowboy action. Is it for everyone? No, but neither is Three Gun, or Sporting Clays or Benchrest Rifle.
 
This is a(n apparent) change from when I was still involved with CAS and I think that it's a good one. I can understand some strictness in trying to stick to "period" rather than Hollywood. but there should be a reasonable limit to that strictness as well.
During my period of dabbling with CAS, (off and on between 2000-08 or so) all of the info I was able to find RE: NCOWS was "Period dress only (with an implication of civil war reenactor level stich counting), and don't bring no damned Rugers! they ain't right Dang it!!" that may or may not have been the official line, but it certainly was the message getting out to those looking into things at the time. Which is why my I never bothered to hunt for an NCOWS shoot in my area at the time.

BTW what's the current "allowable time period" for NCOWS? it's been long enough I've forgotten the cutoff. and as a further query are period correct double actions still allowed? or has a lack of interest/functional examples caused that to fade away.

NCOWS time period from 1865-1899. I have heard all those rumors about NCOWS but have never experienced it first hand. I think it was a bunch of misinformation given by another CAS organization that is run for profit. NCOWS is member ran organization. It is supposed to be documentable clothing and reproductions that meet the requirements that would have been seen during the 1865-1899 time period but I see quite a few things that are not right, especially in the area I specialize in which is gun leather.

Some people just go far enough to get by to shoot and have fun and some people go as far as having two or three personas they act out as part of their fun.

Vaqueros are allowed and I see a few being shot, they are not a copy of anything but they do at least resemble a Colt from across a large room and back when it was started there were not the options available as today so the Ruger is essentially grandfathered in. I would say if the organization were starting up today the Ruger would not be allowed because there are too many other more correct reproductions that can easily be had for less money than the Ruger.

Edit to add, there is a category called the Originals Class where the participants in that class actually do have to document all their clothes and items they are using with a storyline and are judged by their peers in the category as part of the points when shooting. That could be where some of the misinformation comes from.
 
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