What Gives with Cowboy Action Shooting?

Shotgun, I have days when I seem fine and then all of a sudden I fall down.

The club in Higginsville, MO, I am sure, would work with me, but personal and personnel safety would be questionable. (I usually sit to shoot.) I would still highly recommend to anyone to go see a match and meet the folks.

I also have to agree, the CAS has gotten a lot of folks in to shooting.
 
There was a time when IPSC used real guns with real recoil,then along the way the scores became 'the thing' instead of the shooting,and here came the race guns,mandated power factors,etc.

Cowboy shooting has followed that same path,good or bad.Tuned guns,light loads,etc have sure changed the game.But only for some.

but not for me,I still uses stock guns firing ammo that rings the steel nicely,and I still :) after every match no matter how I shot. I'll never catch the fast guys,and could care less.We all have a LOT of fun at every match, Funy Clothing not with standing. LOL

The only downside to cowboy shooting is . .. not enough shooting. Actual time shooting in a 6-stage match is less than 4 minutes,but the fun lasts all day !!
 
By the time my I exited the Marine Corps, the novelty of machine guns & semi-autos had worn off & I'd found out about SASS, to my delight. I grew up on western films & the history of the American Frontier. I'm still reading Louis L'Amour novels. I was given a copy of Guns of the Old West magazine & soon discovered the now-defunct (sniffle) Shoot!.

Nonetheless, it took a while for me to make it to a SASS match & while everybody seemed enthused about the game & the prospect of a new member, I, too, was taken aback by the closeness of the targets & the light loads. I was also struck by how enthused the group was to get the match over with. I've since been to a just a couple more matches in different areas & they're all the same. It's all over with so fast that I wonder if there is an unspoken urgency to shoot a match in less time than the vaunted OK Corral fight took.

Why the hurry?

I drool over the cartridge conversions & asked why everybody has the Peacemaker. It was explained that the construction of the 1873 is much sturdier than the open-topped Colts & therefore is much more tolerant of heavier chamber pressures.

What heavier chamber pressures!? You could ring those targets with wax bullets at the distance the matches are set up at, not worry at all about pieces of lead coming back at you & leave the earplugs home!

I borrowed a rifle at a match & quickly put every round into the same spot on the target. Someone marveled at my accuracy & I was tempted to turn & spit on the steel...not as an insult but rather to indicate that, particularly with a rifle, accuracy at that distance should cost no effort at all.

It is my intention to attend more matches, if for nothing else than to be around my kinda nerd. It is fun, albeit very, very quickly. To show up & dump your ammo ASAP is just boring, though. Speed is nice & it certainly counts for something, but I read somewhere that Hickock advised to take your time. Certainly every bit of training I ever received as a Marine grunt emphasized accuracy over speed & while we definitely found targets much closer to us than anybody in a "real situation" should desire, accuracy ALWAYS trumps speed. Ask Dave Tutt...um, or not.
 
Anyone a round San Antonio Texas who'd like to start an NCOWS Club, contact me. Or we could even doing something of our own, who knows. BTW, I have a range to use, 'A Place To Shoot' has SASS and Wild Bunch already.
 
<--- NOT a gamer.

The way it was meant to be, with a 7 1/2" .45 in each hand loaded to the hilt with black powder and 250 grain cast bullets. :)

Gunfighter45NVblackpowder.jpg
 
Shotgun693 said:
I've shot with folks using Walkers and a couple of guys in wheelchairs.
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Do you know how long I thought about why someone with disabilities would use a Walker, before I realized you meant walker? (I'm pretty slow til I have my first gallon of coffee!)
 
You're slow? On my own, I'd have never realized it all & kept wondering. Can only expect so much from a Jarhead with Polish blood runnin' through my veins.
 
This type of thread turns up every six months or so.

We in SASS play a game. It is not hunting preparation nor is it intended to make you a proficient self defense shooter, it is a game with guns.

The "mouse fart" loads are a thing of the past in most events. the good shooters discovered that even they need some feedback from the gun to shoot well and shoot fast.

Close targets? Yes they are SASS is a game of speed and accuracy. We try to shoot fast and we do not have bulls eyes on the targets. We will, however penalize you for missing the targets and/or shooting them out of order.

Limited motion? Yes, in some cases. Our shooters are not teenagers and many of us are limited in the way we travel. Our rules of engagement lean heavily toward the safe side of shooting.

Funny clothes? Not necessarily. Long sleeve shirt(protection from hot brass) leather foot gear, and a pair of Levis and you fulfill all of the costume requirements. Hats are not even required. How much more you wish to add to the costuming is up to you. You can go whole hog and do the ultra fancy B-Western Category or Classic Cowboy category. The only thing we object to is t-shirts, baseball caps and tennis shoes.

Social event? You betcha. I shoot with my friends. I enjoy the shooting but I also enjoy their company. Our club makes it a policy that everyone at the shoot is invited to go to lunch together after the match concludes. These lunches will frequently run 2 hours or longer.

If you know these things up front then I don't see where the gripes come from.

If you are wondering, the current world record for shooting at and hitting 10 rifle from a lever action or pump rifle on 5 targets in two sweeps, 10 pistol from 2 single action revolvers on 5 targets in two sweeps and 4 shot gun targets knocked down is just under 14 seconds. All long guns are staged on a table rifle loaded with 10 rounds, hammer down on an empty chamber and shot gun staged open and empty. Pistols are loaded with 5 rounds and hammer down on an empty chamber.

If you get off of your high horse and try to play the game as it is being offered, you will have a good time. Even if you are an experienced shooter in other venues, expect to get your butt kicked by an awfully lot of shooters when you first enter our game.

If you come and try it with an open mind and don't like it, we wish you well and hope you find a game you like.

But, we'll be there next month with our funny clothes and guns and having a ball!
 
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Do you need two pistols for this? I have thought about trying it but the only thing I still have that I think would qualify is a side by side shot gun. I have planed on getting a single action in .357 and a lever action to match, just for fun. Thought if I do I might give competition a try. The main reason for .357 is that I already load and shoot a lot of it.
 
Much of the impetus for more speed comes from those who are marketing it. i.e. gunsmith services, repacement kits, springs, ammo/bullet/holster makers, instructors who put on classes, and those who need a reputation in order to endorse the above, etc., etc., etc. The majority are like me, we just like to shoot, belch smoke & fire, and compete against ourselves or a few friends in the same category. The one thing that distinguishes SASS from IPSC is there are no money prizes which has pretty much kept the sport amature and friendly to those who aren't fast for a variety of reasons (age, weight, arthritis, war wounds, etc.). A lot of the complaints about CAS can pretty much be focused on who is running the individual clubs. Some clubs are very into speed if the cowboy club president is too but not necessarily. Some clubs are run by "my way or the highway" types and others are pretty much fun loving and more tolerant. Typically, the my way/highway clubs will have blowups that lead to the formation of new cowboy clubs that are much more welcoming, open to new ideas and much less uptight. Those newer clubs are more fun to shoot at.
 
Many thanks to all who replied; after perusing the NCOWS web site I guess -in my ignorance- I thought that’s what SASS aspired to be; however, after looking at the SASS web site they appear to be based on social gatherings than western historical significance circa 1865 -1899 and that’s just fine too. Yet, for me NCOWS is more in line with what I consider Cowboy Action Shooting, sadly the nearest chapter is > 1K miles away. In any event, any organization that promotes any firearm sport is fine with me, so rock-on SASS and NCOWS.
 
Noz said:
This type of thread turns up every six months or so.

We in SASS play a game. It is not hunting preparation nor is it intended to make you a proficient self defense shooter, it is a game with guns.

The "mouse fart" loads are a thing of the past in most events. the good shooters discovered that even they need some feedback from the gun to shoot well and shoot fast.

Close targets? Yes they are SASS is a game of speed and accuracy. We try to shoot fast and we do not have bulls eyes on the targets. We will, however penalize you for missing the targets and/or shooting them out of order.

Limited motion? Yes, in some cases. Our shooters are not teenagers and many of us are limited in the way we travel. Our rules of engagement lean heavily toward the safe side of shooting.

Funny clothes? Not necessarily. Long sleeve shirt(protection from hot brass) leather foot gear, and a pair of Levis and you fulfill all of the costume requirements. Hats are not even required. How much more you wish to add to the costuming is up to you. You can go whole hog and do the ultra fancy B-Western Category or Classic Cowboy category. The only thing we object to is t-shirts, baseball caps and tennis shoes.

Social event? You betcha. I shoot with my friends. I enjoy the shooting but I also enjoy their company. Our club makes it a policy that everyone at the shoot is invited to go to lunch together after the match concludes. These lunches will frequently run 2 hours or longer.

If you know these things up front then I don't see where the gripes come from.

If you are wondering, the current world record for shooting at and hitting 10 rifle from a lever action or pump rifle on 5 targets in two sweeps, 10 pistol from 2 single action revolvers on 5 targets in two sweeps and 4 shot gun targets knocked down is just under 14 seconds. All long guns are staged on a table rifle loaded with 10 rounds, hammer down on an empty chamber and shot gun staged open and empty. Pistols are loaded with 5 rounds and hammer down on an empty chamber.

If you get off of your high horse and try to play the game as it is being offered, you will have a good time. Even if you are an experienced shooter in other venues, expect to get your butt kicked by an awfully lot of shooters when you first enter our game.

If you come and try it with an open mind and don't like it, we wish you well and hope you find a game you like.

But, we'll be there next month with our funny clothes and guns and having a ball!
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I need to copy this to my hard drive so that it can be repeated every six months or so when somebody makes the same inquiry. I don't think it can be said any better than that.

And as for "mouse fart" loads....well, I guess I've not been shooting SASS/CAS long enough (about a year) because I've not seen any. I know I wouldn't want to be shot by a 125 gn lead bullet at 800 fps out of a .38 special.....at least if that's the definition of "mouse fart" loads.:rolleyes:
 
Tanker6 said:
I need to copy this to my hard drive so that it can be repeated every six months or so when somebody makes the same inquiry. I don't think it can be said any better than that.
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+1. Noz does have a way with words.
 
And as for "mouse fart" loads....well, I guess I've not been shooting SASS/CAS long enough (about a year) because I've not seen any. I know I wouldn't want to be shot by a 125 gn lead bullet at 800 fps out of a .38 special...
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A mouse fart runs about 400 fps.:D
 
One of the Gamers was recently talking about his 88 gr bullet at 600 fps, yes Mouse Farts.
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Then he was shooting illegal ammunition. Minimum power factor is 60. His 88 at 600 only makes 52. It would have to be pushed out at at least 682 fps to be legal. A 150 grain bullet at 400 fps would be legal.
 
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The clubs I shoot with in the Cleburne, Texas area do this right. SASS/CAS and Wild Bunch are based on 'the Spirit of the Game'. This rhymes with good sportsmanship. There are a few 'rules' about what firearms can be used, how powerful the ammo must be and what clothes to wear. But, everyone follows the two basic rules of "be safe" and "have fun". If some young competitive minded fellow wants to shoot loads that go 'puff puff puff ' and shoots a stage is 23 seconds, that's fine. He's being safe and having fun. If some old phart like me wants the shoot near factory loads that go BOOM BOOM and shoots the same stage in 64.8 seconds, that's fine. I'm safe and having fun. So, get your hat, boots, and guns. Come out, be safe and have fun. You'll find a bunch of folks ready to help you out and do you a favor, expecting nothing more than you living the 'spirit of the game' and doing the same for someone else when it's your turn.
 
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