Why aren't you a cowboy action shooter?

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I find it amusing as people talk about dress up!!!

DO YOU NOT READ ABOUT MINIMUMS!!!!!!

There is more dress up at the 3 Gun or Standard USPSA/IPSC matches

Dress up at an IPSC match is.

5.11 Tactical Pants or Blackhawk Pants (most prefer 5.11 Because you need them, in case you do a tactical entry, and they are tacticool, most prefer tan pants with black shirt that is the style thats currently in)

Short Sleeve - GLOCK, STI, Para, or whatever gun or bullet company shirt.

Oakley - Half Jacket Shooting Glasses

LaRue Tactical Hat

Dress up at a SASS Match.

Jeans

Long Sleeve Shirt

Boots

Cowboy Hat optional

(The second sounds pretty much like my standard attire without the hat)

Money for guns isn't a problem. Ammo isn't a problem either, I have two Dillion 550's (one for small primers and one for large)

Time certainly is. I work all summer. I have actually given up USPSA.


BTW:

Dress Up at the Shot Show

5.11 pants, Black Shirt, Stomach that hangs over 5.11 pants
 
I have not shot CAS in a few years because the range that was close shut down. I purchased my (what most of you call a costume) attire at Goodwill including a hat for $8.00. I wear a button up shirt (Goodwill $6.00), cowboy hat (Goodwill $4.00) blue jeans, lace up work boots (that I have anyway). Unlike some of you, any reason to by more guns is a good reason. I enjoy it and do not shoot powder puff loads, I shoot 45LC Ruger Vaqueros and Lever Action Rifle and 12ga shotgun. I built my Gun cart out of scrap lumber laying around the house and purchase two wheels for I think $20.

There as been recent activity at a new range in my area and I am planning on going to check it out when the weather warms up. Yes, some of the stuff is silly but I try to make it enjoyable. Some people take it way to serious but it is only a fun as you make it.
I was a memeber of SASS but the price of membership didn't give me what I thought it should so I stopped that.

It's fun and funny all in a morning of shooting weapons with other people who like shooting weapons.

I'd rather Shoot CAS than Play Golf...
 
And ANOTHER thing. :D

I just remembered that even the button up shirt isn't a requirement. You can wear a long sleeve Henley style t-shirt instad of the standard button up collar shirt. Only stipulation on those is you'd have to take off the pocket if it has one. (They didn't have pockets on their t-shirts back in the 1800s.)
 
You have to train a horse to not panic around gunfire. None of them come that way. I've never done it but my cows, donkeys, cats and chickens are all very comfortable around it. I can't go out back and shoot without a cat at my feet. So it can't be too difficult. There are books and articles on the subject.
 
I trained my horse but my horses have been around gunfire because I shoot at my house all the time so they are used to it and it wasn't hard to do except for one high strung Arabian that just will not do it .If they are around other horses that do not get scared when you fire they will not be scared either.
 
I do not do it because I've never had any interest in it. My family has no ties to the old west, we're from the southeast. I like shooting stuff but my style is more like "redneck plinking" than cowboy shooting
 
To the OP's question:

I originally thought that the costume requirement would do me in, along with the cutesy names. Way too much like SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) without the good partying. Now that I know that all I'd need to buy would be a shirt, jeans and boots, that's not so bad. Still have the cutesy name thing though.

Now it appears the gun cost would be a bit much. It would be cool to have a lever action rifle, so no problem there. One single action revolver I'd like, two is too much. Same for a shotgun that I could only really use for this one thing.

The other thing is the attitude. Something about the CAS people I've run into has rubbed me the wrong way. Could be just luck of the draw, as there are some of the local IDPA that aren't exactly on my Christmas card list either, if you know what I mean.

Oh, BTW, low speed bullets are MORE likely to ricochet than fast ones, regardless of whether lead or jacketed.
 
Nuclear: "Still have the cutesy name thing though."

Is Nuclear your real name? :D


The only issue I can't address is the attitudes some folks have run into. I'm terribly sorry for your experience. I sure wish I could change what you've seen but, I can't. The best I can do is tell you that I've been involved in a LOT of different shooting sports over the years. And the folks I've met in SASS have been without a doubt the kindest, most generous group of people I've ever met.

If you ever find yourself in the Las Vegas area, we have four clubs within easy driving distance. That means you can go to a match any weekend of the month. Get ahold of me and I'll show you what Cowboy Action Shooting is REALLY about. You'll have a ball. Even if you don't choose to take it up, at least you'll have a more honest representation from which to make your decision. ;)
 
"Is Nuclear your real name?" Nope, just a cutesy name I use on internet forums to avoid embarrassing the rest of my family more than I already do. ;-)

That does give me an idea about changing my real name, though...just kidding.

I'll try to remember to take you up on your offer the next time I'm in Vegas on my annual trip.
 
Why I'm not a cowboy action shooter...

Well I already have all of the requisite guns; I have always been fascinated with the Colt SAA, lever action rifles, and double barrel SxS shotguns. I even have the ammo and the appropiate leather gear, and I wear the basic clothing requirement every day when I'm not at work (don't have a cowboy hat but that's not a big deal). Don't have a problem with having an "alias" either; I'm glad my computer can remember all of my user names because I sure as heck can't.

I suppose the biggest problem for me would be finding the time to do it, and also the travel involved. I checked the SASS website and not one of the dozen or more affiliated clubs in my state are anything less than 3 hours away. Couple that with having to work the occasional weekend, with precious little time leftover to spend with my family as it is (while also going to all of their school functions and sporting events), and that's why I'm not (going to) be a cowboy action shooter.
 
There is a discussion on the SASS Wire about how to attract more shooters into Cowboy Action Shooting.
Click to expand...
They could START by NOT JUMPING DOWN PEOPLES THROATS when they sign up and ask a simple question about the rules. :mad:

A year or more ago, I had become very interested in joining, so I signed up for the SASS wire forum....

I had the NERVE to ask why the rules exclude many historical weapons from competition, and got a non answer ("because the rules say so" :rolleyes:).

I THEN had the GALL to politely point out that my question was blatantly ignored... and that invoked a 3 page "pile on the noob" retaliation.

In the end, one of the senior members came along and said something to the effect of "because we are not a historical shooting group, and we are only concerned with recreating inaccurate 1950's spaghetti westerns."

That sealed the deal for me. I will never be in ANY CAS group, let alone the SASS.

The No.1 problem for the SASS IS the SASS. The very members who are posting in that thread ARE THE ONES WHO DRIVE PEOPLE OFF.


(The obsession with "lonesome dove" doesn't help them click with outsiders either.)
 
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99.99% of SASS shooters DO NOT post on the SASS Wire. You will find the shooters at a match to be more friendly than the curmudgeons on the internet, if you give them a chance. (Yes, sometimes I am a curmudgeon.)
 
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I shot cowboy action....

for several years. I gave it up because the "spirit of the game" bacame
"win at any costs". It was not fun any longer when 5 guys had to count shots/misses and the shooters would argue every one. Case closed. I still have all my guns because they are fun to shoot. I will never enter that arena again......life is too short to put up with all that BS....chris3:mad:
 
I don't shoot cowboy action because I outgrew Halloween by age ten. However, it is a shooting sport and I will support any who choose to do it.
 
I did CAS...once. I showed up with 2 Rugers in 45LC, a repro Colt Lightning, and an original 1897 shottie. After being told on multiple stages my Rugers weren't "original" enough, even though they fit all rules, I decided I would rather shoot with folks not so judgmental. I was seeking a fun group of folks, but found a number of cash flashers, intent on belittling those just getting started that have limited means.
 
I have no problem with the dress-up aspect of the sport. It could be rather fun if you are into that period. I just have no interest in single action revolvers and the whole cowboy culture.

I would love to see a nationwide sport as popular as Cowboy Action but inspired by film noir and the guns of the "Golden Era". Maybe there could be a stage where you have to spin around and fire after being hit in the head with a sap? Or another where you have to shoot straight after taking a belt from the bottle of rye in the bottom drawer. Haha OK I'm joking about that but seriously I would love to see a sport like this.
 
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I am a SASS member, and have only shot a few years. My
brother and I shoot black powder cartridge in our rifles,
black powder shotshells, and this coming season, cap and
ball revolvers. For us, it is not about speed or using light
loads for reduced recoil. We like to replicate what was
shot back in the day.

I do most of my shooting at a club that is not SASS affiliated.
It is not uncommon to see regular folks wearing regular clothes
shooting at a match. They even have a class for those who
only have one pistol. They also allow folks to shoot a 1911
instead of two revolvers. The atmosphere is very relaxed,
but of course, safety is still paramount.

At SASS affiliated club shoots that I have attended, the gamers
are usually put together in one or two posses. They do
their thing, and we do ours. I have no desire to be ultra fast,
particularly at the expense of shooting light loads. I shoot
to enjoy the big boom and smoke of black powder loads in
my guns.

I did not think I would enjoy dressing up, but in fact, it is
part of the fun for me. To each his own, I guess.
 
OK

They even have a class for those who
only have one pistol. They also allow folks to shoot a 1911
Click to expand...

Now...that would be just fine. I give that a try in a minute.
I have a Vaquero and I have a 1911. Could do either. Or both.
Pete
 
Wild Bunch Action Shooting has it's roots in the movie The Wild Bunch. Since the only semi-auto handgun represented in that movie was a Colt 1911 in .45 ACP, that's the pistol requirement in WBAS.
Click to expand...
I do know where it comes from. But it seems like this simply ignores that many of the "1911" guns used by the main actors in the movie were actually Star 9mm's that just looked like 1911's. Is this what you mean by "the only semi-auto handgun 'represented' in that movie was a Colt 1911"? ;)
IIRC; At the time the movie was made, Star 9mm's were more reliable with blanks than the 1911.
No worries.....it's a game and folks can make up any rules they want for their games.
 
I gave up playing cowboys and Indians nearly 60 years ago, I've lived around real cowboys enough to know that CAS is make believe and let's pretend. It's too expensive to boot. Shooting low powered loads doesn't help either.

Black powder cartridge rifle shooting looks interesting, but is way too expensive for me.
 
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