Got to check out my first cowboy action shooting match

Status
Not open for further replies.
Driftwood Johnson said:
An interesting myth about the Old West. No idea if it is really true. The way I heard it, a $20 bill would be rolled up and left in the empty chamber. I tried this with both a S&W #2 32 Rimfire Tip Up cylinder and a SAA 45 Colt cylinder.

View attachment 952063




The $20 bill would not fit in a chamber of the Tip Up.

View attachment 952064




It fits fine in the 45 Chamber, but I suspect if the revolver was fired the bill would get charred. Mean to try it at the next CAS match I attend. Have not attended any this year because of the Corona Virus. Don't fancy wearing a mask all day in the hot sun. Will wait and see if I can start attending matches again next summer.

View attachment 952065
Click to expand...

As noted, paper money back then was sized differently. Another thing with regards the $ in the chamber; if you got in a gunfight and forgot to replace the money with a live round, after you shot five, and pulled the trigger the sixth time, you'd have "shot the wad."
Or so I've heard.:D

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.:p

Another tidbit; the idea of safely carrying a S. A. A. 1873 with a empty chamber made it to Hollywood in the John Wayne film THE SHOOTIST.
Wayne's character is shown slipping a 6th round in as he goes off knowing he'll need his gun, mentioning something to the effect that if you load all six, you'll shoot your foot off .... or something to that effect.
 
expat_alaska said:
Goon, I cannot disagree more. Maybe your business depends in part upon these guys, but my interests in BP revolvers has nothing to do with those folks with their high and mighty attitudes.

Piling on?? Really?? Gimme a break, sir. Nothing even remotely like that is happening.

My interests are mostly historical insofar as repros are concerned, and all these guys are concerned about is how fast their guns can shoot.

Neither the twain shall meet.
Click to expand...

LOL...I don't think you get out much. Happy to show you a great event if you are ever in the Shenandoah Valley.
 
Well, there are a lot of different people that shoot CAS.

Some of them are extremely competitive and since the competition is based on time in completing a stage/match (speed) and doing so without penalty (accuracy), they shave as close to the rules as possible in pursuit of speed and accuracy. To suggest that it takes something other than skill earned through hard work to win at state, regional, and national level is absurd in the extreme. It is the equivalent of saying the Bullseye is a con game "because they can take virtually all day to make those shots".

Some of them are fanatic about costume and persona. They dig on their character and backstory and I will admit that I sometimes find it a little disturbing in an adult, but they do no harm and are just having fun.

Some folks are just out to socialize. They would like to win a stage or match of course, but there are plenty of retired folks who go to several shoots a month and may load of the modern day Conestoga for a month or two and travel to different shoots. God bless them.

Some folks are Into the firearms and enjoy shooting them in company, seeing other people's guns, and making noise.

There are all kinds of people out there at a SASS match. Haven't shot NCOWS but I'd like to. I shoot in a club level event for pre-1898 design rifles where we shoot at distance. Like that too. I shoot in some "modern" games as well, mainly pistol with some carbine and shotgun sides. Shoot clays: sporting and skeet, but don't compete anymore. Pretty similar folks. Except Trap. They're all fat, angry, grumps :p
 
I haven't shot SASS for a couple of years, the problem is my schedule more than a lack of desire.

The only person I compete against is myself. I shoot .45 Colt in revolvers and carbine with standard loads (no mouse farts), and an external hammer double gun. No low ride buscadero rig, just holsters that ride high and tight. I know that I was never going to be the fastest, and thus concentrated on hitting every target. I typically end up in the middle of the pack. That is just fine with me, since the main goal is to have fun.
 
In all of the plate shooting matches that I've attended, the shooters aren't allowed to draw from a holster because it's too hazardous.
That's because people don't always control their muzzle direction when drawing a holstered gun, especially if done in a rush to compete.
There's too much liability for a gun club that could be sued and lose their insurance if there were an accident, and also because the general public is invited.
Each club may have different rules but most here require match guns to be brought to the match table in a pistol case. and they can only be loaded at the match table which would be equal to capping them.

Each individual plate match begins with the guns in each shooter's hands, with one part touching the table and with fingers off the triggers.
The revolvers are allowed to be fully cocked in the ready position with a range officer standing next to each to insure that they comply until the buzzer sounds.

Using this ready position, the main hazard which I've seen happen once was an unintended discharge into the match table, with the gun angled in the general downrange direction.

It would be very difficult to find or organize a BP revolver plate match without a BP club to sponsor it.
Shooters would probably want to load with 777 because it produces the least amount of smoke which would help to see the plates better.
And being that there's usually 5 plates on each rack, if both shooters fail to knock down all of the plates with 6 rounds then a reloading competition would occur.
Loading an extra paper cartridge and capping it verses a cylinder change would need to be planned for in advance.
And perhaps with its 9 shot cylinder the LeMat would become a popular revolver to compete with.
Plate racks can be custom made, but many use 8 inch plates that are fired at from 3o feet away.
Plate matches are a man against man contest competing in side by side combat style shooting which can lead to very exciting finishes.
The center plate must be knocked down last, and the winner is based on which center plate is the first to fall all of the way down, and some plates fall at a faster rate than others based on where they are hit.
The matches can be so close that a laser light setup is used to help determine the winner.
 
Last edited:
arcticap said:
In all of the plate shooting matches that I've attended, the shooters aren't allowed to draw from a holster because it's too hazardous.
Click to expand...

Local matches, local rules.
I have shot some SCSA and close copy matches and they follow USPSA divisions. Centerfire pistols are shot from the draw. Rimfire pistols are shot from the low ready position because of a lack of holsters for .22s and poor safeties on many like my Model 41.
There is no provision for cap and ball or BPC.
 
Jim Watson said:
Local matches, local rules.
I have shot some SCSA and close copy matches and they follow USPSA divisions. Centerfire pistols are shot from the draw. Rimfire pistols are shot from the low ready position because of a lack of holsters for .22s and poor safeties on many like my Model 41.
There is no provision for cap and ball or BPC.
Click to expand...

Do they sponsor man against man falling steel plate matches?
In falling plate matches the competitors are shooting side by side very close to each other.
They're firing at falling plates on a rack and not stationary steel plates, and time isn't scored.
The racks make it easy to quickly reset the plates by simply pulling a rope.
That organization also doesn't have any clubs in CT.
Most falling plate matches here are held at indoor ranges, but some are outdoors.
 
Last edited:
The closest SCSA club held some man on man overlapping popper shoots before they affiliated with SCSA but not since.
My local club did a few years ago, but we lost most of our steel in a move and it didn't get restarted after we reequipped.
In both cases, side by side competition was from the leather.
To quote a usually reliable source (Me!) "local matches, local rules."
 
treedoc1 said:
I don’t believe you have ever been to a match.
Click to expand...

I've been a SASS member since 1995,,,
I first joined in Riverside, California where the thing started.

Now I will admit I haven't been to a match in the last 7-8-9 years,,,
So things might have changed since I was active.

But I have conversed with the founders of SASS,,,
All of them were adamant about not being affiliated with anything even resembling quick draw.

Aarond

.
 
aarondhgraham said:
I've been a SASS member since 1995,,,
I first joined in Riverside, California where the thing started.

Now I will admit I haven't been to a match in the last 7-8-9 years,,,
So things might have changed since I was active.

But I have conversed with the founders of SASS,,,
All of them were adamant about not being affiliated with anything even resembling quick draw.

Aarond

.
Click to expand...
Well, I don’t know your definition of quick draw. When I start a stage and the timer goes off I’m clear in leather pretty quick.
 
aarondhgraham said:
I've been a SASS member since 1995,,,
I first joined in Riverside, California where the thing started.

Now I will admit I haven't been to a match in the last 7-8-9 years,,,
So things might have changed since I was active.

But I have conversed with the founders of SASS,,,
All of them were adamant about not being affiliated with anything even resembling quick draw.

Aarond

.
Click to expand...

Won't debate your experience or who you know, but I have never been to a SASS match in which the majority of pistol stages didn't start with revolvers in holster and hammer down on an empty chamber. Beep goes off, draw and shoot. There are very strict rules to avoid sweeps, but that's the.way it goes.
 
aarondhgraham said:
SASS never starts from the draw,,,
They didn't want the liability of "quick draw".

Aarond

.
Click to expand...

I’m in my 11th year of being an active cowboy action shooter. I’ve had an RO2 certification since 2012.

The rules allow for pistols to be staged (placed on a table or other horizontal surface) if so directed in the stage instructions but the vast majority of stages direct that the shooter starts with revolvers holstered. There are rules that govern the handling of the revolvers. You cannot sweep anyone or break the 170. You cannot cock the revolver before it is within 45 degrees of the target. You cannot change position with a cocked revolver or let a cocked revolver to leave your hand. You cannot de-cock a revolver absent a direction from the TO. You cannot drop a revolver. You cannot engage in unsafe gun handling (such as looking down the muzzle of your revolver. I probably forgot something but there is no rule that restricts how quickly you may draw a revolver.

Some of the fast draw competitions allow the shooter to fan the hammer. This is specially prohibited under SASS rules. Perhaps that’s what the Founders were concerned about.
 
This video has been posted before but perhaps in light of the topic it might be worth a rerun.

Missouri Lefty set 4 cowboy action World Record times at one match; Gunfighter (revolver in each hand, firing alternately), Frontier Cartridge (using black powder in revolvers, rifle and shotgun, shooting revolvers two-handed), Frontier Cartridge Duelist (using blackpowder in all cartridges for revolvers, rifle and shotgun, cocking and firing revolvers one-handed), and Frontiersman (blackpowder cartridges in rifle and shotgun, using percussion revolvers cocked and fired one-handed.)

Note that revolvers must be drawn from holsters and returned to the holsters after firing. This is a typical cowboy action scenario.

Target sizes and distances are specified for World Record attempts. Revolver targets at 7 yards, rifle targets at 18 yards, shotgun targets at 12 yards, with plate sizes and spacings also specified. 5 shots from each of two revolvers, 10 shots from the rifle, 4 in the shotgun. Lefty has recorded times down in single digits when the targets are closer.

 
J-Bar said:
This video has been posted before but perhaps in light of the topic it might be worth a rerun.

Missouri Lefty set 4 cowboy action World Record times at one match; Gunfighter (revolver in each hand, firing alternately), Frontier Cartridge (using black powder in revolvers, rifle and shotgun, shooting revolvers two-handed), Frontier Cartridge Duelist (using blackpowder in all cartridges for revolvers, rifle and shotgun, cocking and firing revolvers one-handed), and Frontiersman (blackpowder cartridges in rifle and shotgun, using percussion revolvers cocked and fired one-handed.)

Note that revolvers must be drawn from holsters and returned to the holsters after firing. This is a typical cowboy action scenario.

Target sizes and distances are specified for World Record attempts. Revolver targets at 7 yards, rifle targets at 18 yards, shotgun targets at 12 yards, with plate sizes and spacings also specified. 5 shots from each of two revolvers, 10 shots from the rifle, 4 in the shotgun. Lefty has recorded times down in single digits when the targets are closer.

Click to expand...


If only our local shoots had such easy left to right shooting patterns.
 
drobs said:
If only our local shoots had such easy left to right shooting patterns.
Click to expand...

Easy.

Right.

:rofl:

I held the 3 blackpowder records before Lefty beat me. I probably had to shoot each category at least 10 times before making a run without a miss. Pushing for speed makes bad things happen.

Easy.

Right.
 
Last edited:
Howdy Again

And now, here is a video of my old Pard Wild Bill Blackerby shooting a stage. In this stage we started with the shotgun in hand. I don't remember the order of the rifle shots, but it was not a simple left to right or right to left. Wild Bill is shooting his Open Tops gunfighter style. Notice he carries them both butt forward. He has perfected the Cavalry Twist, that allows him to pull his pistols and reholster without breaking the 170.

 
arcticap said:
In all of the plate shooting matches that I've attended, the shooters aren't allowed to draw from a holster because it's too hazardous.
That's because people don't always control their muzzle direction when drawing a holstered gun, especially if done in a rush to compete.
There's too much liability for a gun club that could be sued and lose their insurance if there were an accident, and also because the general public is invited.
Each club may have different rules but most here require match guns to be brought to the match table in a pistol case. and they can only be loaded at the match table which would be equal to capping them.
Click to expand...

In CAS we almost always draw our pistols from our holsters, unless the stage description specifically states other wise. As has been said, we are not allowed to cock the hammer until the pistol is pointed downrange. We have strict rules against not breaking the 170, so guns are always pointed down range. Also, we follow the 'basketball rule' on traveling. No moving at all when shooting. You may have noticed in my earlier video I took a step to the side with my rifle to see the targets past the smoke. But I kept one foot planted. If I had moved both feet, I would have gotten a stage DQ.
 
Captain*kirk said:
Gotta admit; looks like a whole lotta fun. What are the downsides, if any?
Click to expand...

You have to have four guns. Two single action revolvers, a rifle and a shotgun.

Contrary to what a lot of folks will tell you, you do not have to spend a fortune on your costume, you can find most of what you need in the back of your closet or a used clothing store. You don't even have to wear a cowboy hat or cowboy boots, but I suggest a broad brimmed hat to keep hot ejected rifle brass from falling down inside your shirt. Trust me on this.



You can read all about it here:

https://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/Shooters Handbook Vers 24_2 MASTER.pdf
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

drobs
  • Locked
Cowboy Action - Met JBar and Fingers McGee this last Saturday.
Replies
9
Views
687
noelf2
noelf2
B
  • Locked
Cowboy Action rounds out of a .44 Mag?
Replies
9
Views
2K
stellarpod
S
Crunchy Frog
  • Locked
Wild Bunch Action Shooting
Replies
2
Views
826
Crunchy Frog
Crunchy Frog
Tayne
  • Locked
Cowboy Action holster rigs
Replies
6
Views
1K
Tayne
Tayne
R
  • Locked
Single Action Shooting Society
Replies
1
Views
385
griz
G
Back
Top