In the beginning, Cowboy Action shooting was fun. The people were friendly, and the attitude was "shoot something that is, or looks Old West-ish, and wear a cowboy hat. And, we'll lend you the hat if you don't have your own".
Along come the gamesmen, with their new rules, and that changed pretty quickly.
Can't shoot my Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt, they say. (ok can shoot it in "modern class, only)
Why not, its an 1873 round!!
Sorry, no, your gun has adjustable sights! Modern class only!!
What if I promise not to adjust the sights??
still "No!"
can't shoot my Ruger No.3 .45-70
Why not its an 1873 round!
sorry, your gun doesn't have a hammer! Modern class only (or go home)
And that was just the beginning.
Today it's barking ridiculous. There's a huge double standard.
They exclude guns that aren't "traditional" (or traditional enough to satisfy them) and at the same time allow (or even encourage) calibers and loads that not only aren't traditional, but would have been sneered at by any cowboy who actually might have to use the gun for a real purpose.
180gr @ 475fps! Wow!! I am impressed!
Gamesmen took the Practical out of IPSC, and the "Stock cars" that they race these days aren't even remotely "stock". Shooting uber light loads (including .38 special wadcutters) is kind of like using the cheat codes in video games, to me. Double standard big time.
Won't allow a Blackhawk, because of the sights (too "modern"), but will allow a .38 Special (which didn't exist until 1902), won't allow a 9mm Luger (which ALSO didn't exist until 1902).
Upper velocity limit, too much power is baaaadd, but cat sneeze loads are just fine. Accuracy needed? not much, all you have to do is hit the target, somewhere...
I think cowboy shooting would benefit from a "mad cow" or Stampede event. Set up a popper or falling plate type target, one that needs a certain amount of momentum, in the right spot, to be knocked over. One where the force needed can be met by all the standard loads from period cartridges, but not by the 'cat sneeze" light loads. You have to stop that charging cow, or be trampled. To do it, you need enough power, in the right place, not just any hit in any place.
And make it a pass/fail thing. Like, you have to drop the steer within a time period (like how fast a running cow will cover the 15yds or whatever the distance is from it to you), not the fastest guy to drop it wins, but everyone who fails to stop it in time loses. That's a real world situation a cowboy might face, but the gamesmen will hate it. Claim "tis not fair!!" etc.
800lbs of scared cow doesn't care about "fair".
I can see a use for the .45 Special (though not one that applies to me), but I don't see a NEED for it. After all, .45 Colt brass + case trimmer+a little effort = .45 "special" short brass.
180gr bullet at 475fps??? I'd be afraid that if I shot a rat with that, the rat would catch the bullet and throw it back at me, FASTER than I shot it!