Yeeha! Which caliber for cowboy 357 or 45 colt?

[Joseywales3]

I have been putting this off and now our club is thinking cowboy shooting. I am partial to the 45 colts and probably a Uberti to start. Is there that much of a difference between the 45 colt cowboy loads and 357, as far as recoil? I love the way the 4 3/4" 45s feel, but is the 5" or 5.5" better for cowboy shooting?

 

[wanderinwalker]

First off, I am not a cowboy action shooter, nor do I play one on TV nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. That said, I do believe most CAS shooters use .38 Special.

You won't be able to use full-power .357 ammo in matches at any rate. Somebody else will have to give you the velocity allowances, but they are fairly low. Minimize riccochets from the steel targets I assume.

Good luck with it an enjoy. It looks like fun, but I'm already a Highpower shooter.

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, I DO shoot CAS and my guns are .44s.
There are some real powderpuff .45 loads and storebought cartridges out there but if you are concerned about recoil, by all means buy the .38s.

 

[Howdy Doody]

And................I notice a lot of folks shooting .32s in pistol and rifle. Yup, high power loads are not necessary and actually hinder you for shooting CAS.
Lead only of course. It seems that .38 spl is still the most popular around my parts. You can down load a 45lc to some really low recoil. The reason .38spl is still so popular is cost. You shoot up an awful lot of ammo in the course of a year if you are active. Most cowboy shooters eventually get into reloading and even into casting to stretch a buck on out. Picture your favorite pistol shooting a 45lc and a few grains of smokeless and a lead boolet of around 160gr. That isn't much of a muzzle flip there at all pard.

 

[ajkurp]

No cowboy...

...worth his pay could look himself in the pond with respect on a frosty morning during a cattle drive if he carried anything other than a .45...

 

[blackedoutharley]

"...worth his pay could look himself in the pond with respect on a frosty morning during a cattle drive if he carried anything other than a .45..."

WITH BLACK POWDER LOADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that is true Yeeha factor.

 

[Rem700]

No cowboy...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...worth his pay could look himself in the pond with respect on a frosty morning during a cattle drive if he carried anything other than a .45...

Now iffin your a real cowboy on a a for real cattle drive this might hold water but for playin SASS it doesnt. 38 is most popular from a cost stand point but in the end it comes down to what you want to shoot. Horse a piece on barrel length.

 

[SASS#23149]

If ya want to win ribbons and bragging rights

shoot .38's.
If,however,ya want to make the steel plates fear ya,shoot .45's and MAKE 'EM RING.

Heck,knock em off the target stands!!!!

 

[DaltonSpringfield]

I agree totaly with SASS#23149, I will elaborate a little on his general concept.

This is only my opinion, shared by the small group of cowpokes I shoot with. Feel free to shoot whatever you want, it's more about having fun and being safe than anything else.

If you want to make a lot of noise, shoot .45's
If you don't care about being the fastest, shoot .45's
If historical accuracy is very important to you, shoot .45's
If you already have a nice pair of .45's and don't want to buy new guns, shoot .45's

If you want to compete for ribbon's and trophies, shoot .38's
If you use what most other's use, shoot .38's
If you want to spend alot less $$ on ammo, shoot .38's

If you are a real wuss shoot .32's
If you have incredibly small hands (i.e. female), shoot .32
If you have arthritis, shoot .32's

This is not to say that .45 shooters CAN"T win. Some shooters do quite well with .45's, I just am not one of them.

Basicly the ammo requirements are as follows
Must have muzzle velocity less than 1000fps (safety)
Must be all lead, no jackets allowed (safety again)
Rifle ammo must be flat nosed, i.e. SWC, WC, TC, LFN (by far the most common is the TC Truncated Cone, second is the LFN Lead Flat Nose, this is a safety issue with tube magazines)
Pistol ammo may be any lead bullet, no jacketed rounds. (most folks shoot the same caliber and bullet in both rifle and pistol for the sake of simplicty)
No caliber smaller than .32 or larger than .45

I and the small group of shooters I shoot with all share the same caliber choice, the same reloading press and the same ammo recipie, it may work for others so here it is.
Using good brass for matches, new brass for big matches and old brass for practice,
Federal small pistol primers,
3.1gr of Clay's powder (clean burning, and alot easier to find than the preffered TrailBoss)
125gr Truncated Cone Bullets made by another shooter at our club.(commercialy available bullets work just as good)
Stir vigoursly and viola, ammo!, your milage may vary.


I am not sure exactly on the shotgun ammo requirements, I have never seen anyone shooting magnums, most people use a light target load such as winchester AA light target. or the remington version therof, avoid walmart federal shotgun shells, they are cheap for a reason.

Have fun and be safe

Dalton

 

[Jim Watson]

Why are there so many fiddle players on the Net?
Every time somebody comes up with something smart, he starts talking about his viola.

 

[dtalley]

I figure I since I dress 19th Century the part I might as well shoot the correct 19th Century caliber guns also...

If you want to be fast and win the ribbons, You can always find a group that will have 4 foot plates at 10 feet so you can be real fast and not miss.

Or you can shoot the little girl guns.

 

[Big Larry]

Speaking of playing fiddles (viola), ever see the movie, "Evil Roy Slade"? Walks into the saloon and pulls a gun on a cello player. Tells him "You'll hold that thar fiddle under yore chin like a good fiddle player." LOL.

 

[DaltonSpringfield]

My last post seems a little bias tward the gamer, I was realy trying to say the choice will depend on you and your style. I will try to simplify it without stepping on anyone's toes.

There are basicly 4 types of CAS shooters, and your type will be only slightly dependant on your caliber selection.

These are only my opinions based on my observation of the crowd at any given CAS match.

Type 1
Called "The Gamer"
He/She Shoots .38spc hand loaded "mouse fart" (low recoil) ammo.
Most likely has had some kind of action work done on his/her guns (paid for by the money he saved on ammo).
Willing to drive for hours to go to a match.
Goes to at least 1 match per weekend.
Does dry fire practice at home.
Will spend big bucks on the trappings of CAS (guns, gun cart, etc.)
Always gives 110% at a match.



Type 2
Called "Fun Shooter"
Shoots whatever he/she has or can get at a reasonable price.
Goes to 1 or 2 monthly matches.
Always has a good time, even if he/she finished dead last.
Usualy an all around nice person.



Type 3
Called "History Buff"
These are the folks who get more into being histoicly accurate than anything else.
His/her costume will be 100% period correct. Maybe even home made.
His/her guns will be 100% period correct (caliber too, either .45LC or a cap-n-ball in .44 depending on what character the shooter is playing)
He/She will spend more time/money on costumes than other types.
Usualy has a good story about his character choice and a wonderfull knowledge of old west history.



Type 4
Called "The Masochist"
These folks only go to make noise and smoke.
He/She will be shooting either .45LC or a cap-n-ball with a full black powder charge.
He/she shoots primarly for the "BOOM" factor.
He/she has as much or more fun as a "Fun Shooter"

It is possible to blend these basic types.
For example, I classify myself as a "Fun Shooter" with "Gamer" tendancies.
Some of the folks I shoot with are "History Buff's" who shoot full loads like "The Masochist" will. It is all fun no matter what you choose. It is best in my opinion to go to a match before you decide what you will buy. Cowboys are wonderful people and most likely if you go to a match someone will lend you what you need to try it out. If you are at a match and see something you like, just ask, most folks will even let you try it out after the match. It's the Cowboy Way.

Have fun.
Dalton

 

[richardschennberg]

Light loads only work if Cowboys score properly. "Maybe" is not a miss, but too often light-load shooters get called a miss when the target does not move or make a clang noise, even if no one saw the bullet hit in the dirt. I shot my best match ever with 240gr 44 Magnum at 980 fps.
Kentucky Jack
SASS #5918
AKA Richard
Schennberg.com

 

[WTA]

We are just gearing up for cowboy action shooting here. Mounted shooting will be our biggest event. It's 45 colt only. SInce the officials supply the special "blank" ammo for it it's much easier to only have one kind of ammo. The 45 is what most cowboy action folks use in this area anyway. It's also what I carry. A 45 winchester and a 45 Colt. Or sometimes a M-14. Depends if I'm going for protection or hunting. I can lay my horse down and have a great rest for long shots with the M14 but it's a little unweildy in the saddle for someone trying to rip me off.

At the other local place that has cowboy events other than mounted shooting they use all the popular cowboy calibers but again, the 45 colt is most common. Haven't you ever heard everything is bigger in Texas?

 

[Sistema1927]

I am a Type II with some Type III characteristics. The goal is to have FUN!

That said, I shoot a pair of Taurus Gauchos, 5.5" CCH/Blue in .45 Colt. Until my .45 Colt M92 makes it back from Steve Young, I am shooting a .357 Marlin 1894C with .38's. I shoot a 12 gauge Remington Spartan SxS with external hammers.

Am I fast? Heck no, and probably never will be. Yet, I have as much fun as anyone I know, and more than most. Unless you have both the money and the time to devote to become a world class shooter, don't sweat the small stuff. Buy what you can afford, and have fun.

(Did I say that the goal was to have fun?)