Had my first experience as a competitor in a cowboy match yesterday. I have been postponing it for awhile as I don't have the guns I need but was finally talked into trying it by my buddy who is the cowboy match director at our local club. So with a piecemeal holster rig (thick leather belt, cheap holster and a borrowed cross draw holster) and 2 borrowed guns I stepped up to the line and shot something other than film for the first time at a SASS match. I competed in the modern class as one of my pistols was a Ruger Blackhawck with an adjustable sight. I was so nervous on the first stage that I had problems hitting with my shotgun and completed the stage pretty slowly with a total of 4 misses but no procedurals or safety violations. Second stage went much better and I shot it clean in a reasonable amount of time (it's amazing how well you do after the initial nervousness has passed). Totals for the match were (I think) 8 misses out of 5 stages and I managed to shoot 2 of the stages clean, I had no procedural errors and no safety violations so managed to keep from scaring the other cowboys.
All in all a very fun experience and one I will be repeating often. I'll definately need to get a full set of guns soon as this was more fun than a human has a right to have with a gun! I highly recomend the sport to any that haven't tried it out yet. All the other shooters were very friendly and helpful to a newby and I felt right at home with them. Great fun and great people made for an awesome first experience!
All in all a very fun experience and one I will be repeating often. I'll definately need to get a full set of guns soon as this was more fun than a human has a right to have with a gun! I highly recomend the sport to any that haven't tried it out yet. All the other shooters were very friendly and helpful to a newby and I felt right at home with them. Great fun and great people made for an awesome first experience!