Wild Bunch Action Shooting

[duelist1954]

I'm not sure if Wild Bunch matches are on topic here. If not you have my apologies in advance. I just finished a Wild Bunch Action Shooting article for "Guns of the Old West" magazine on the Taylor's & Co. 1911, and I thought I'd share a couple of pictures.

Anyone who has seen the movie "The Wild Bunch" will get the steel washers in the first picture.

 

[Cardboard_killer]

Silver Rings!

 

[AethelstanAegen]

Very nice! Will you be posting a video at some point of the pistol as well?

 

[andrewdl007]

My all time favorite movie. Always happy to see it get some love. I need to look into a Wild Bunch Shoot. Will have to get myself a campaign hat and a Browning machine gun.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I've never heard of these matches but you've got me interested- gonna Google it later tonight!

 

[cpt-t]

If you allready shoot Cowboy action, all You need is a 1911 and a handfull of clips, and some new leather to fit it. I just love to Cowboy action shoot, but this Wild Bunch shooting is like starting all over fresh. It is a hoot, You need to go give it a try. Wild Bunch Shooting, just great and You with the same people. And that movie is one of my all time favorites, they don`t make them like that any more IMHO.
ken

 

[dondavis3]

I've done cowboy shooting for years.

I've never heard of "Wild Bunch"

Sounds fun to me.

 

[Crunchy Frog]

We are one of the only clubs in the Carolinas offering a regularly scheduled Wild Bunch match. We hosted the first ever South Carolina State Championship in September 2013.

Wild Bunch Action Shooting (WBAS) is sort of a spinoff of cowboy action shooting. The sanctioning body is the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) which is the largest cowboy shooting organization.

I sometimes read that Wild Bunch is a "category" within cowboy action shooting. That is not the case under SASS rules, although local clubs have a lot of flexibility and some cowboy clubs do mix in some Wild Bunch elements in their matches. WBAS has its own rulebook and is a separate shooting sport.

There are many similarities between cowboy action shooting and WBAS, aside from the fact that the same organization sanctions both games. Both sports are "three gun" matches in which the competitor uses pistol(s), rifle and shotgun. Both games involve lead bullets and steel targets. In both, participants adopt and alias and wear clothes appropriate to the period.

Cowboy action shooting uses guns and costuming appropriate to the late 1800s. WBAS is loosely based on the 1969 film "The Wild Bunch" which was set in 1913. I describe WBAS as "Early 20th Century Three Gun"; competitors use a .45 ACP 1911 pistol, a pistol caliber lever action or pump action rifle of at least .40 caliber, and a 12 gauge pump shotgun (1897 Winchester, 93/97 replica or a Winchester Model 12). WBAS is distinguished from cowboy action by a higher power factor, a higher round count (particularly for the pistol), the use of reactive targets and a little greater difficulty in targets (in regard to target size and distance).

For a list of clubs offering WBAS matches check out this club listing: http://www.sassnet.com/clubs/WBClubs_list.php?wildbunch=1

If you are interested but don't see a local club on the Wild Bunch clubs page, find a local cowboy club here: http://www.sassnet.com/clubs/index.php Then reach out to the club contact person and ask whether they offer Wild Bunch matches.

 

[Crunchy Frog]

I was talking to a (Modern) Three Gun shooter today and was telling him about WBAS.

This was AFTER I had established my "creds" by talking AR-15s for a few minutes.

Hey, it's a big tent. I would love to try shooting rifle targets at 200 yards while that timer is running. I'd invite my Modern Three Gun pals to try their hand running a lever action rifle on steel targets.

"The true test of the warrior is within". Then you take shot of prune juice. "A warrior's drink".