SASS questions

[Magnum Wheel Man]

you've gotten advice by a couple of the best here...

been doing CAS for several years... I'm now working on my 3rd complete set of CAS guns ( with 3rd & 4th sets 3/4 done ) ( 4th set involves buying a 32 H&R lever gun, to go with my matched pair of polished stainless Single Six Magnums... but it will be a long time, before I'll dedicate the funds to complete that 4th set, with as much as the 32 Mag lever guns go for )

I have traditionally shot Classic Cowboy, & shoot a full length rifle, & an uncut double barrel... I shoot smokeless loads, but about 3/4 up the load scale, not "gamer loads from the bottom of the load chart...

my 1st year, I was shooting 49er class I shot against one of the guys wives, that was shooting his hand me downs her revolvers were 2 different calibers, & 2 different length barrels, & a 3rd caliber for her carbine... ( she still outshot me, as a newbie, a good portion of the time...

from the very beginning I wasn't worried about how I "placed" I only tried to improve my times, & scores each week that I went... it took me 3/4 of my 1st season to shoot a "clean" match ( no misses )... I keep a spread sheet & only compete against my last score... the 1st year, I managed to improve every week... after you start going more often, improvement come in bits & pieces...

This year I'm thinking about trying Gun Fighter class, after I changed out the plowhandle grips from my 45 Colt Ruger Montados, I think I can cock & fire consistantly with one hand

I also started out with just a pair of button fly jeans & a Wrangler western shirt, & a cheap cowboy hat... in classic cowboy, you need more "costume" I now have a leather vest, pair of Chinks, spurs, wrist cuffs, pocket watch, & bandana... & a choice of 4 hats... ( I started collecting pocket watches after I got into CAS shooting... I have many, but the big silver cased watches I wear for fancy days... I even have a rusty blued steel pocket watch, that looks more the part of a working cowboy, on days I wear "working" clothes...

kinda funny, as the only thing I wear regular, is my pair of fancy cowboy boots, I wear when MRS & I go out once in a while...

In MN, we have a lot of heat & humidity during the summer... I assume FL would be the same... try to find cool clothes as possible for those hottest day...

you'll also find that a lot of the clubs will have little variations to the matches, & possibly the costume ( the club I shoot at doesn't allow straw hats, for example ) so I may not wear a hat on those hottest days, or I'll just go to my personal range & practice in shorts & t shirt

 

[sawdustdad]

I've been involved in CAS for about 18 months now. The first six months was attending local matches and gradually acquiring gear. I was in your position a little over a year ago. I made a couple mistakes.

I bought a Rossi 92, the price was right. It worked fine for a few months but I began to out run it and had a chance to try a pard's Cody-Matic Uberti 1873. It was so smooth and fast, I ordered one that week. So the $500 I spent on the Rossi was a learning experience. It's now my backup gun and can be used for B-Western category if I decide to shoot that.

I initially bought a pair of Ruger New Vaquero Bisleys in .357. With replacement springs then work great and I continue to shoot them.

I bought a Stoeger coach gun supreme. It lasted almost a year, then would not lock up properly due to wear in the action latching mechanism. I repaired it and am still shooting it. I honed and coned it, replaced springs, disabled the auto safety reset, installed a larger bead and installed cylinder choke tubes. It's a totally suitable gun for the game.

I ordered holsters and a shotshell belt from Bob Mernickle. The gunleather was fabulous quality but I ordered a buscadero rig suited for B Western, when I should have ordered a cross draw rig. I've since ordered a more appropriate rig from Mernickle and expect to get it soon. I used the B western rig for a year and despite the double strong side holsters and drop holsters configuration, my times have improved consistently and I'll have it if I ever shoot B-Western category.

CAS is an expensive thing to get into-it's a big leap of faith to shell out $4000 or more for something that you may or may not enjoy after you start. I already reload, so that is at least one expense that I did not have.

So after I made the mistakes on the Rossi and the holsters, I'd advise any new shooter to think these two decisions through more than I did.