CAS/SASS

hey tanker6 thanks for the info.

i have a .357 marlin will that qualify as a lever...1894 model?

yes in fact i do have a muzzle load shotgun which i purchased for a C.W. event "Bummers over georgia", which i never attended.

if the 1894 will do then i 'm happy with not having to purchase another rifle, though the rifle will not acompilment my historical impression 1866-1873...I can always ditch it if photos are taken .

s.m.
 
Frontiersman is my category. It requires two cap and ball pistols with fixed sights, a cowboy legal lever gun and a SxS(with or without exposed hammers) or lever action shot gun. All must be loaded with black powder or subs. Pistols must be shot duelist.
Frankly, the learning curve for this category is fairly steep. It can be very frustrating for a beginner until they begin to learn the hows and whys of care and feeding of these pistols. Takes a while.
Dealing with the smoke and the 1860 era engineering of the guns makes things much more difficult than shooting modern guns.
An example is a State match I attended in 2008 had around 200 shooters. The best score shot by a Frontiersman(one of the best in the country st the time) put him in 43 place.
 
Sewerman,

Yes, your Marlin 1894 is acceptable for CAS events. I just bought a Marlin 1894 in .357 specifically for cowboy action shooting.
 
BTW... I found a way to get on the SASS site... turns out they hold state championships pretty close to where I live... I'll definately have to go watch a monthly match in April & see if I get a good feeling from that group ( there are 2-3 other clubs within reasonable driving distances ) but I think I'd like to try shooting this summer...

looked at the results from last years monthly matches, & the best times looked to be in the 20's ( seconds ) ( I know... newbie talking here ), but would seem reasonable that after va summer of shooting monthly matches, I should be ableto at least get close to those times ???
 
As in most things, speed comes from experience and dedication. Practice is a dirty word but it really does help.
For the average shooter with new guns, I would say it will take more than a summer to get into the 20 second range. Again it will depend on the effort you are willing to put into it.

Sure is fun to try though.

Call the contact number listed before you go and let them know you are coming. Then introductions are over and you can begin an immediate integration.
 
I'm smilin' as I type this.....:D......that's cuz I said pretty much the same thing -- "It shouldn't be that hard to break 30 seconds....I'm a good shooter who's been shootin' regularly for more than 20 years.....I'm ex-military....always shot expert in every weapon.....I just haven't fired a single action pistol before." :p

Well, I've shot 4 shoots now. Most of the shoots had six stages. I've broken 40 twice. :rolleyes:

I can't tell you how many times I've shot a stage so far and thought, "That should be pretty good" and have the timer announce, "44.87" or some such. :cool: I also remember hearin', "36.33......with a P" (which is a penalty for shooting a target out of order....and adding 5 seconds to your time). :(

The funny thing is this -- I don't really care. Do I want to shoot faster? Sure. But the thing is, it doesn't really matter as much cuz I'm havin' fun.

Now, my 13 y/o came within 20 seconds of beating me at our last shoot (overrall time), and THAT might set a fire under me a bit. :)
 
OK... well in all fairness I was orginally thinking each gun was a stage :o ( I was wondering how those guys were killing 20 seconds to shoot 4 shot with a shotgun :o )

meaning I was thinking I could start out at 60 seconds, & go down from there :rolleyes:

I was trying to look at it realistically...

still I used to race ATV's well into my "senior" ( senior for ATV racing anyways ) years... been shooting for most of my adult life, have my own rifle & pistol range, I'm an avid handloader, & was able to copy off the 12 stages from last years state championship ( I know they'll change regularly ) but that should help me practice similar types of stages ( something most newbies might not get how to practice ) I'm thinking I'll go & watch one of the 1st this spring ( hopefully practice several times before that ) & maybe go up to shoot the 2nd event they have...

I'm now shopping for a rifle...

BTW... can I load brass shells for the shotgun ??? ( I'd assume I can )

as a budding holster maker, any suggestions off the top for holsters ???

I currently have a stamp tooled double holster rig ( cheaper unit given to me for Christmas a couple years ago )... I'll make a leather shell holder for my belt ( can I make a leather one for the gun ??? )

any other tips you guys want to offer to a newbie ???
 
Noz, you're holding out. You ain't told them about money. Say travelin' to Conyers, GA for the Southeast Regional (since moved to South Carolina). Lets see, Wednesday night through Saturday night is around $400.00 at the Holiday Inn. The three bottles of Dickel ran around $38.00 each. Fuel for the diesel was about $300.00. Twelve miles to the gallon pulling the trailer. Steaks and drinks each night runs about $75.00 a night. Gotta pick up a new hat for around $200.00. The turquoise necklace for the wife ran about $70.00. Add some more for some Silver Bullets. Well you can see what I mean.

Some years back I would talk to someone about equipment for a long time. I changed to a simple question. "Can you afford to pay almost $2000.00 for just your guns?" You could see the glaze come over most of 'em.

Ramblins from a guy who would give almost anything to be thirty years old and starting in cowboy (with money in my pocket).

I had the most fun in my life travelin' and shooting cowboy. As you have been told, you will never meet a more hospitable group. I have participated in a number of shooting disciplines but Cowboy is the best. I was/am ate up with it. I participated from 2000 to about 2007.

This is/was my guncart. Called the Fluffymobile. My nickname (not my alias) is Fluffy .Long story.

IMG_0382.jpg


The FluffyHauler is in the background. Thats a E350 Ford 6.0 diesel to your right. The Chevy 15 passenger 350 couldn't hack it.

Double Aught, how long you been shooting?

Looking at cowboy, one would think it is easy. Nope. Unless you have shot a match or two, you ain't got a clue.

Forget about power factors. Join, shoot, and then start your campaign.

To be real competitive you have to have the desire to do what it takes. Practice, practice, practice. And not just shooting. How to draw. Can you close your eyes, hit the gun at the sound of the buzzer, fire five rounds fast (I don't care if you hit something) and with eyes still closed, hit the holster with that gun while you are pulling the other pistol, transfer to the shooting hand and fire five more.
Firearms transitions. Never let idle moments occur during a stage. You and your hands and your feet are always moving.
You saw the videos. Awesome ain't it.

Is it Saturday yet?
 
Magnum Wheel Fan, go to some matches. Real low like, mention to someone you would like try some rifles. Too loud and you will be buried.

#3 Marlin
#2 1866 Winchester (replica)
#1 1873 Winchester (replica)

I am aware what they cost.

If you are TRULY competitive, get 38s.
 
Noz, you're holding out. You ain't told them about money. Say travelin' to Conyers, GA for the Southeast Regional (since moved to South Carolina). Lets see, Wednesday night through Saturday night is around $400.00 at the Holiday Inn. The three bottles of Dickel ran around $38.00 each. Fuel for the diesel was about $300.00. Twelve miles to the gallon pulling the trailer. Steaks and drinks each night runs about $75.00 a night. Gotta pick up a new hat for around $200.00. The turquoise necklace for the wife ran about $70.00. Add some more for some Silver Bullets. Well you can see what I mean.

Some years back I would talk to someone about equipment for a long time. I changed to a simple question. "Can you afford to pay almost $2000.00 for just your guns?" You could see the glaze come over most of 'em.

Ramblins from a guy who would give almost anything to be thirty years old and starting in cowboy (with money in my pocket).

I had the most fun in my life travelin' and shooting cowboy. As you have been told, you will never meet a more hospitable group. I have participated in a number of shooting disciplines but Cowboy is the best. I was/am ate up with it. I participated from 2000 to about 2007.

This is/was my guncart. Called the Fluffymobile. My nickname (not my alias) is Fluffy .Long story.

IMG_0382.jpg


The FluffyHauler is in the background. Thats a E350 Ford 6.0 diesel to your right. The Chevy 15 passenger 350 couldn't hack it.

Double Aught, how long you been shooting?

Looking at cowboy, one would think it is easy. Nope. Unless you have shot a match or two, you ain't got a clue.

Forget about power factors. Join, shoot, and then start your campaign.

To be real competitive you have to have the desire to do what it takes. Practice, practice, practice. And not just shooting. How to draw. Can you close your eyes, hit the gun at the sound of the buzzer, fire five rounds fast (I don't care if you hit something) and with eyes still closed, hit the holster with that gun while you are pulling the other pistol, transfer to the shooting hand and fire five more.
Firearms transitions. Never let idle moments occur during a stage. You and your hands and your feet are always moving.
You saw the videos. Awesome ain't it.

Is it Saturday yet?
 
Magnum Wheel Man, for leather ideas pick up the book Packing Iron - Gunleather of the Frontier West by Richard C Rattenbury. This is a great book with lots of pictures.
 
SASS Cowboys

I have shot Cowboy on and off for the last 5 Years and have loved every
minute of it. Picking your Alias is part of being a SASS Cowboy.
Once everybody learns your Alias you have lost your real name to all your Pards. I am Hagen to everybody now.
I shoot 45 Colt Guns cause thats what my cousin Festus Hagen carried in all his movies.
Come on out to a Match , if you don't have what you need one of us will
get it for you. We usually have some good cookin to share also
Always Remember:
"Don't squat with your spurs on."
"Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's good to know what it was."
"Always drink your whiskey with your gun hand, to show your friendly intentions."
"Never try to dry a wet pair of jeans in the oven."

Double Ought Hagen
 
awesome pics & suggestions guys...

got a couple more questions...

my local mentor ( not a cowboy ), but retired gun smith, tool & die guy, & life long bullet caster & reloader... suggested I get a 45 Colt rifle, because my revolvers are 45 Colt... ( that way I'd only have to carry one cartridge, rather than 2 different ones )( personally I do shoot some 357, & that was my 1st gun, so over the years, I've accumulated probably 1500 - 357 & 38 special cases ) but now there are so many other intersting cartridges to shoot, so I rarely shoot my 357's anymore, so I was thinking about a 357 mag lever gun, to make use of some of those cases... ( if I was going to start shooting "cowboy" I'd have to pick up at least another 500 - 45 Colt cases ) thoughts ???

also I don't currently load shotgun shells, & don't have room to start, since my loading bench has also crossed over to my leather working bench as well... that's why I was thinking about doing brass shells... until I get to that point, are there cowboy loads commercially available for the 12 ga ??? mine is an old fluid steel barrel double with rebounding firing pins, & rabbit hammers, that has been shortened to "coach length", so even though it has the fluid steel barrels, I'm going to want reasonably light loads in that gun...

... even before I was seriously looking at doing cowboy, I had been looking at making a leather 4 or 6 shell holder that would mount to the forearm of the shotgun... would it be legal for the shells to be mounted on the shotgun ??? even though in thinking about it, the belt mounted shell holder would likely be faster... but curious if I can build the shell holder for the "coach" & use it in cowboy ???

... side matches... I have a collection of original spur trigger revolvers, & am customizing a Ruger Montado into a pocket / belly gun... I have several S&W 32 S&W spur triggers ( one I actually use for CCW ) & several 38 S&W spur triggers ( again one I also use for CCW ) what kinds of fun can a guy have with these antique S&W's & my new Ruger belly gun ???

BTW... RED... I didn't know modern "mules" would be allowed... here's mine... ( folding chairs mount to the aluminum diamond plate roof for spectating )

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I figured I'd have to use my "lil wooden wagon" I built for my wife's cousins muzzle loader shoot to haul guns & coolers, etc... it's all wood ( including the wheels ) it's held together with square head nails, & blind screwed for reinforcement... pulls with a rope, & was built from wood stored in a shed for a long time that was all chewed up by the rodents, so it looks like it was straight out of the 1800's
 
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