SASS on a budget?

J

jclayto

New member
Hi everyone, my wife and I are interested in SASS shooting after spending a day with some cowboys running scenarios and learning about the game. We both had a blast and want to start shooting the match asap. Everyone at the local sass club is very friendly and willing to loan us guns but we would like to purchase our own belts and holsters. Can someone recommend a place to look for leather without breaking the bank? I really hate to go full steam ahead without shooting a few matches first but I don't want to completely cheap out on leather and end up with a holster that is not stiff enough to stay open when the revolver is un-holstered.

Also is there a generic revolver holster available since we are not sure which revolvers we will end up with? I am leaning toward the Vaquero SASS set if I can run across a deal one day but I have not ruled out a Colt replica either.

While we are on the topic if anyone has input on where to look for good deals on SASS guns, clothing etc I am all ears.
 
The SASS wire, the official Website of Cowboy Action Shooting.
http://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?

Another one.
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/

There will be mainly three different sizes of frames; one will be a small frame revolver like Model P Jr's or open top designs (1872's and C&B revolvers excepting the Ruger Old Army, 1858 Remington, 1847 Walkers, and Dragoons), a medium frame such as the current model Ruger New Model Vaqueros, Model P/1873 clones, and Blackhawks, and a slightly larger frame such as the original model Vaqueros, the old Virginian Dragoons, etc.
 
i do not shoot cass...yet, but i enjoy watching it and i enjoy the cowboy style weapons they use. as for leather, there is a big price and quality range to work with. as for lower price leather i have uberti cattlemen revolvers in 45 cal. i purchased my leather holsters and belt from Sportsmans Guide and i have been totally happy with what i received. i'm sure many will not agree with my choice and again i don't use it to compete, but for the price and my needs i have been totally happy.

make your choice of gun before you buy any leather. the holster and ammo belt you choose may depend on the gun make, model, length and caliber. otherwise have fun, do some research and buy what suits you in your price range.
 
To start with, the Uberti Cattleman Hombres with a matte balck (non glare) finish (not "period", some hate others love like me) are the best bargain out there. You may find them for as low as $250 per gun in 45LC or 38/357mag with the shorter barrel (4 5/8"?). Marlin and Rossi rifles are more affordable than the '73 Winchesters. Lotsa SXSs around.
 
Holsters are easy to make. I have used a pair that I made for a grand total of $16 for the pair. Pretty? No! Functional? Yes!

String them on a cheap leather belt and you are good to get started.

Professionally made leather is better but you may change a half a dozen times before you finally land where you want to be.

The Hombres are good starter guns.

Baikal Shotgun and a Marlin rifle and you are good to go.
 
Ask around when you visit SASS clubs, you might find a couple of mismatched spare holsters cheap. Maybe email local match directors, they may know of some.
 
Bye CAS!

Well I hate to say this but in case ya haven't noticed, CAS has priced itself out of popularity!
This is an honest and frank post. I'm sorry if it hurts but it's true.
The new 3 gun "Modern" events are taking over!
CAS has balooned into a sport of the rich, as to be competitive, only the best will do. Seems they lost sight of the "REAL" reason it started and that was to shoot a bunch of fun type guns and have a lot of laughs doing it! Heck now, if you don't have a Period Correct Pocket Knife, you are out of vogue. High priced, lined Leather won't get you laughed off the Boardwalk but Sportsman's Guide or Cabelas unlined holsters really does draw sneers! I have seen it and got priced right out of the game because of it.
Sure my Ruger Vaquero is a great gun but on a family mans budget (one who has more than ONE hobby) I just couldn't justify the second revolver and face it, you reallly Do need a good rifle, stroked and worked over to be competitive and you do need a decent Shotgun! A Russian hunk of castiron just won't do.
Maybe if the 2 revolver rule was done away with and you could shoot just one you could take $600 off the cost and if they alowed zippers and snaps clothing costs would drop.
Face it CAS is so costly that you must choose to do ONLY it and have no other shooting hobbys.
Yea the new 3 gun guys are beating our Old West Love and doing it at less than 1/3 of the cost. This is why all the outdoor channel shows are all about 3 gun where just 2 years ago it was all CAS!
Soon CAS will dwindle and be just an also ran because it got too complicated.
JMHO,
ZVP
 
ZVP,
I have no interest in being that competitive or I wouldn't have stayed with Frontiersman for about 18 years. The cost of gas is probably the major ongoing expense for most. The 3 Gun has not really caught on around here. Two major clubs were doing it then one dropped it. The first club still does it but they are lucky to get 20 shooters in their W3G matches, other shooters at their club still do SASS at the same time. My opinion is the 3 gun gets air time because they are selling something: SPEED to win CASH prizes. In order to wring out that last few seconds of speed you need more & more expensive equipment or services that sponsors are glad to sell. I think 3 gun is gonna die first. SASS is alive and well here in the Northwest. The one club I know of keeps having the West Coast Championship and maybe 30-40 people show. The outdoor channel is just an informercial for products they hope to sell. I think a SXS, two Cattleman Hombres & a Rossi '92 is not that prohibitive. If a local club is run by speed demons with stuff/services to sell you may end up with CAS no longer being fun because everyone is taking it too seriously. The clubs with the most fun have the most women shooters because high competition is a turn off for them. I suspect you are surrounded by either bum clubs or bums running the clubs.
 
You need to rationalize it as a one time expense. You need two single action army pistols, they need not be Ruger Vaquero’s, the less expensive Italian pistols like Uberti, EAA, Cimarron, etc., are great and look great. You do not need a short stroke model 1866 or 1873, when a Marlin model 1894 or Rossi are also great. You do not need a real Winchester model 1897, the Stoeger SxS competes well. My main, heck my only competition is with myself. A better rifle, a better shotgun, and a better hat, will not let me shoot any faster than I can.
 
Alot of the changes are money and age. There's NOT enough money and there's TOO much age going on. :)
Alot of the guys who made the fun/sport get popular are getting older and don't/can't attend as much as they did years ago. At least around here.

Sadly too, the world of Cowboy fun (for our age) isn't the same fantasy for the younger crowd now. That and "legal" shooting being SO punished by Hollywood and their PC goons in the media, let alone politics.

But, we can enjoy it while we can.
 
"Maybe if the 2 revolver rule was done away with and you could shoot just one you could take $600 off the cost and if they alowed zippers and snaps clothing costs would drop."

So, since you never got that second revolver I guess it's safe to say you never really did get involved with SASS shooting. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about if you think that SASS doesn't allow zippers and snaps on clothing. You are just another one of those people that assume you know how the sport works, but don't.

How much do you think the modern 3 gun (AR-15's, semi auto handguns, and shotguns) and all the accessories, have wrapped up in their gear. You can participate in modern 3 gun with less expensive guns, but most of the serious competitors have a couple of thousand in their AR's, a little less in their shotguns and it varies a lot on their handguns, plus a lot of other gear is needed. Mark
 
i worked all my life and did not enjoy it too much,so now that i,m retired i don,t do much i don,t enjoy. plain and simple,its got to be fun or its not done. eastbank.
 
SG and others I offended,
Please accept my apology but I DID apply and got the rules hammered into my head BEFORE even firing a shot! It was hell to get approved to my first shoot!
I LOVE the Old West and CAS but some Clubs really enforce the rules and some Clubs are real sloppy with them!I am handicapped and need to wear special footwear. I HAD go thru a very stringent review in order to prove that myfootwear was necessary, couldn;t be adapted to a more "Western" look, and would not hinder my shooting.
Once I got my shoes approved, I went through the Clothing test, My club har to approve all my activity clothing to ensure that there were no snaps or Zippers that weren't available in the old west!
Passing that test, I then needed to have my holsters approved Styrong Side R/H and a 20 degree Crossdraw. Though my gear was deemed "cheap", it passed.
Next came the guns a Borrowed Conversion cylinder for my Remington and my trusty Vaquero I had to borrow a Marlin and a double Shotgun.
Games day:
Showing up I was nearly stripsearched to re-approve my clothing, had to re-address the shoe topic (had the Club President not been there to vouch for my shoes, I would have been disqualified). I had to be measured and demonstrate the function of my "Cheap"Crossdraw and though the box said it was a 20 degree cant, one of the officals wouldn't buy it... Again the President passed my holster.
The questions came up of my using 2 calibers .38 Special and .45 Colt. My borrowed rifle was called too slow and the hammerless shotgun got much scrutiny concerning it's authentic appearance?
All in all the experience was very demeaning and difficult, filled with too much scruitny over the most basic points of adherance to the rules and the Cheap Holsters were barely accepted by the officals.
So let it not be said I know not what I have spoken as I lived it and though YOUR Club may not adhere as strictly to the RUle Book, soe Clubs take it verbatum and enforce it.
Far as the CAS-vs-3 Gun?
3 Gun is cheaper to gear-up for, the rules are more broad, The Pistols are generally cheap as an Italian revolver and you only need one! The Rifle and Shotgun are about the same Cost as a competition 'Lever Action and a '97, and there is no clothing requirement other than closed toe shoes.
Do I want to see 3 Gun beat Cas? Hell NO! I want Cas to lighten-up and let beginner shooters enter individual stage events and not be required to do the whole 3 gun thing! One plastic Holster and nylon belt, one Mag holder. One Pistol and 3 Mags. One Stock AR and one used Semi-auto Shotgun.
To be compeditive just like in CAS, the sky is the limit for spending money!
In the end you still need to pratice to be good!
What would be wrong with a single Revolver only stage? You could shoot it and have a lot of fun on it by itself! You'd get more entry fees and eventually more Club members. Bottom line, more cash for the Club!
I am very Pro CAS, it just needs to wake-up and see where it's missing out getting new shooters involved!
Personally, I gave-up and just go as a spectator now. I can't keep up with the rising costs of clothing and gear.
So all who I may have teed-off, please accept this explaination and see where I have come from...
ZVP
 
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My wife and I both shoot SASS and WE LOVE IT!
I did continual research on the Internet. Use Google and type in what you want. You will find plenty of items out there.
 
I wonder how many REAL cowboys carried 2 revolvers?

In the historical Old West I wonder how many cowboys actually carried 2 revolvers, I would imagine not too many. Guns were an expensive item in the day and probably most could only afford one. I know some gunfighters like Wild Bill carried 2 but they were professtional killers. That would be an interesting research project.
 
ZVP,

I don't know if your club is SASS or NCOWS, but I never heard of a SASS club that vetoed zippers or snaps.

I started CAS shooting in 1995 with a Colt Navy C&B and a Hawes Western Marshal .44 mag. For a rifle I had anWinchester 1894 in .44 mag along with my 12 ga SxS bird hunting gun.

My first CAS shirt was an old dress shirt with the collar cut off, and I cut the belt loops off of a pair of jeans and added suspender buttons.

Many years later I have a lot more gear, but I still wear pants with zippers and get no complaints.

Most SASS clubs are very easy with newcomers. We know it takes awhile to get a proper rig together.

(I had to edit this because I wrote it on my iPhone...I'll never be a texter...no skills)
 
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ZVP,
No apology needed. Your experience does not mirror most other's experience. We have one club in the area where you might find the kind of scrutiny that you went through (primarily in the orientation department not so much the costuming). Geeze, if anyone just makes a token effort ther's no problem. NCOWS is a bit more of a stickler for authenticity. There are no chapters near me so I have no first hand experience with them. No matter what the club theme, the "authenticity police" tend to spoil it for the more casual members (I'm thinking re-enactors, buckskinners, etc.). I've always had cheapo leather, shirts from the Goodwill, bad hats, etc. I also have full Civil War outfits that probably wouldn't come close to passing inspection at a re-enactment but no one in SASS that I've met were that particular even though there are some real impressive costuers. I suspect your local club has stagnating numbers or fewer members than other comparable clubs bases (local population). That's the case with one of our local clubs. People vote with their feet.
 
ZVP, What club and state were you shooting at? You can wear Levis and Wranglers and shoot Cowboy class. Also you can shoot up to 3 times I think before they are supposed to enforce any dress code. I have never heard of a club that was that strict. Come on down to Ga Pard and we will treat you right. I will even loan you my guns to shoot and have fun. Sorry you have had such bad experiences.

Arkansas Stretch SASS 93076
 
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