Cowboy Action Shooting - Let's Talk!

Over the last few years, I've added my two cents here and there on a few discussion boards on the net. 

Most of the time it had to do with politics, TV shows, the News, or some shooting sport or another. 

And usually, well I'd just read something that didn't sit well and I'd just have an urge to tell someone what I thought. Imagine that!

I remember the day that I first got the chance to get out to the range and shoot my first match. It was a great day.

One of the other shooters lent me one of his pistols and a hundred rounds just so that I'd be able to join in on the fun and shoot that day. 

After that, it was all a matter of time before I picked up what I needed to start Cowboy Action Shooting. 

I found out that I needed to join the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) to shoot with that club as it was a SASS affiliated club.  So I looked SASS up on a Google search and found their website at http://www.sassnet.com/index.php  

Once there, I found out what I needed to do to join.  And yes, I saw on their website that they have an Internet forum called the Wire.

Actually they have more than just one forum going at once.  They have the SASS Wire, the SASS Saloon, a SASS Wire for Mounted Shooters, a SASS Wire for Classifieds, a SASS Wild Bunch Wire, and a SASS Wire for the Territorial Governors, if I'm right. And all are geared to their members.

I'd have to say that the SASS Wire is their main board.  This discussion board has a lot of great topics and is really a great place to go to if you're just starting in Cowboy Action Shooting.  You can get a lot of questions answered.  And yes, that was my initial reason for joining that forum. 

I remember how I got bitten by the Cowboy Action Shooting bug.  I was so eager to learn as much as I could about this new type of shooting. 

Yes, though I'd been shooting all my life, this was new to me.

I had already had a taste of the fun and the great fellowship at the range, so now I needed to know the rules and the "how comes" of the sport. The SASS Wire came in very handy.

The big reason that I liked the Wire being there is because I really didn't want to be a PITA (pain in the ass) out at the range by asking people a whole lot of questions about this and that.  That's why I was happy to find out that SASS had a discussion board.

Once I was on there, there was no getting off of it for the longest time.  I read a lot, and  I have to admit that I asked every dumb question that a new member could think of.  No kidding, it was great.

I read about what members were talking about with the hopes that they were talking about some of the questions that I had and wanted to ask.  And yes, I found great information. 

And friends, all sorts of subjects are talked about. 

From shooting tips, gun talk, and good conversation, to just about anything under the sun. 

From the advantages and history behind shooting two handed verses one handed shooting, to Custer's screw up at the Little Big Horn and other Old West history. 

From shooting sweep sequences and patterns, to the pluses and minuses of using different calibers, different guns, and different powders.

From talking about the latest assault from the Liberal Left on the 2nd Amendment, to news about recently introduced guns. 

Yes, it's all there.

Sometimes the talk gets heated, but for the most part it's just great talk between friends. The topics are called threads, and I'm thinking it's called that because of the way the talk weaves in and out of the topic sometimes. But then again, that's just my guess.

A few weeks ago a member posted a link to another shooting forum that was talking about our sport of Cowboy Action Shooting.  The discussion ranged from who those guys were, to why are these guys talking about our sport since they have never shot with us, to well let them go and talk because there may be one or two who might be interested in joining us at a match.

I took a look at the other site and thought that some of these guys would probably enjoy shooting with us.  And of course it was very clear that some wouldn't. 

I have to say that I was amazed that a lot of folks on that other forum talked about shooting in a way the sort of sounded like they never shot before.  It was as if they really never seem to get out to a range much, or any range at all, ever.

All had certainly never been to a SASS match, either a local monthly or one of our bigger annual matches, anyone in this sport could tell that by the way they were talking. 

Many of those guys sounded sort of odd, almost as if reading a prepared script.

It was more as if they were just reading what they knew out of a book.  It didn't sound like first hand knowledge.

I believe that shooting is sort of like a hangover.  You can talk about it all you want.  But unless you've experience it, well then you're just guessing how it feels. 

It really is the same way with shooting.  Unless you've had a pistol, or rifle, or shotgun in your hand and actually fired it, then you're probably just going with what you've seen on TV, or the movies, or maybe read about, or something you may have been told.

And being real honest here, that other discussion board is not alone when it comes to people who talk about shooting but actually don't shoot much.  Some people on the SASS Wire talk a great game, yet they are the first to admit they don't get out to shoot as much as they would like to. 

After reading some of the posts on that other forum, I was amazed at what some of those people were saying.  They talked about things that they were just ignorant about. 

Some people on there seem to go on and on almost relishing some crazy idea that we at SASS weren't growing as an organization or that SASS and Cowboy Shooting was a dieing sport. 

Well, to paraphrase someone else, the demise of SASS and Cowboy Action Shooting is greatly exaggerated. 

I don't know if our membership is getting older or not, but the fact is is that we are also growing in number. 

Want evidence? Here's some great evidence.

When joining SASS, we members pick an Alias and we get issued a badge with a badge number on it.  It is our membership number.  It shows folks just how many members SASS has had, or roughly still has.  

Since I'm originally from Hawaii, and I was taught to Cowboy in the old Paniolo style by my grandfather, my alias is Paniolo Cowboy.  Yup, I'm him!

My badge number is 75875, and I started about 4 years ago. SASS is now issuing badge numbers in the high 90,000 range.  Friends, that's called growth.

One of the complaints that I read is that our members are aging.  Well aren't we all. And yes, it sure beats the alternative!  But let's get real here and be honest, the fact is that everyone joining SASS is not only in the 60s or 70s age group.

I'd say that we probably have a higher percentage of members in their 50s and 60's, but the fact is that we also have kids that shoot in SASS as well. 

Some aren't just "kids" as in "anyone under 70," but really are kids. 

Yes, they are kids. They're called Buckaroos. We're all real proud of them.  And I have to say that watching them shoot is a kick in the pants. Those kids have a great time!

So I'd say that we have a pretty wide variety of ages represented.

Granted the majority might be a little older, but that's just how life works. Especially when one considers that some of us didn't join in on the fun until after we retired and finally had the free time to get involved in something that we never had the time for before. 

Another thing to think about is that our whole nation is aging, and as a result it may be a sign of how much people enjoy SASS.  Heck, no one feels like giving it up even if they are getting up there in years.

As far as the other people on that other shooting board talking about what size loads we use, or our clothing requirements, or if we require hats, or if our guns are too expensive?  Well, first off that all part of our sport. 

We have a minimum and maximum criteria for the size of loads that are acceptable.  We also have requirements on dress that same as some other sports do, and yes we like folks to look like Cowboys if they are going to shoot Cowboy Action Shooting.

I find it interesting that no one at the range gives a rip what the next guy is shooting, or  whether or not he or she is shooting light loads, or if it goes pop instead of boom. 

Although I do have to admit that someone once asked me if my loads were so heavy that they were going to screw up the targets, because yes replacing or fixing targets cost clubs money. 

But that was only once, and I was shooting some very hot loads. So I understood his concern.

And actually thinking about it right now, I can honestly say that at the range there is the occasional gut-busting laughter that comes from your posse as you just boomed away with a full load of BP (black powder).  And for you folks that have never seen it, well BP makes a lot of smoke.

When some of the guys and gals shoot BP, I think they actually enjoy the idea that they smoke out everyone around you.  

And then of course after they shoot, well heck, then they have to wait a minute because they can't see the target again. 

And yes, especially if the wind hadn't swept the BP smoke away so that the counters could see if they really were hitting the targets or not. 

Now do I really care what some joker on another shooting forum says about Cowboy Action Shooting?

Well, I honestly don't.  For me, I take offense to some things in life but what someone says on another discussion board ain't one of the things high on my list of give-a-shit-items.

Then again, as everyone knows, I do get a little steamed when misinformation is being passed around about something that may be near and dear to me.

In Cowboy Action Shooting, some of our shooters wear some interesting clothing.  Mostly we dress in the period that we're shooting, and just so happens we are shooting only guns from the years just prior to the year 1900.

The years considered the heyday of the Old West mostly.  Guns from the 1860s to 1890s.  Although these days SASS is trying out a category to allow people who want to shoot 1911 pistols, but everyone still dresses Cowboy.

For some folks they go all out, and yes some of the ladies look absolutely stunning.  And then there are guys like me, who don't go so far and stick with the John Wayne School of dressing Cowboy for the matches.

Then again, I remember when one Saturday my wife and I drove over to the range to see about joining in on the fun.  It was a few weeks before my first match and the range was clearing out.  The shooters had just ended their match and a lot of folks were already putting their stuff away and leaving.

I stopped and talked to a man about my age, in his 50s, and asked him some questions about Cowboy Action Shooting. 

He was a nice guy who was soon joined by a friend, so the three of us stood there and chewed the fat for a bit about the guns that were needed, when they met to shoot, and some other things like how there are all sorts of Clubs that shoot there on other weekends.

Then one of the guys looks at me and says, "And hey, looks like you already have your Costume!"

We all laughed, shook hands, and said goodbye. 

Then once I got back in my truck, I looked at my wife and said, "Costume?  They think I'm wearing a Costume?"

My wife and I had a laugh about that, really because this was what I wear everyday.  I wear boots, jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and my Resistol hat in the winter.  In the summer I wear a straw "Cowboy" hat, and have for more years than I'd like to owe up to.

So when some people say, "Oh, the guns and clothing are so expensive!" I can't help but say to myself, "Oh come on, give me a break."

Heck, if you already dress casual Cowboy then what's the problem.  But if you want to order $45 Wild Rags, and buy $50 special era-correct shirts, and go get a $300 pair of mule ear boots, along with a $200 Stetson hat, then have at it pard.  

For me, well I wasn't born rich and have never made a whole lot of money in my life. 

So for me, well I buy my shirts at Wal-Mart and I wear jeans.

I buy my boots when they're on sale.  And yes unlike some folks, I really use mine all the time and not "just for the matches." 

As for hats, well I have a few of them, and honestly I've had Cowboy hats all my life.

And yes, the one that I use when I'm at a match is the same one that I wear around on a daily basis. If I remember right, it ran me around $65 on sale at a Western Store in Livermore, California.

As for guns, well some sports cost more than others. Guns are not cheap unless of course you buy used guns. But heck, I have a nephew who paid over $500 for a Snow Board. And yes, he says that he owns 3 of them.  

In fact that's light considering my friend who bought his daughter a $2800 horse to ride once a month in a gymkhana.  It cost him over $350 a month to board the horse, and another $90 every 8 weeks to shoe the horse. 

So let's be realistic here and agree that some things cost more than others. 

In the case of my friend buying his daughter a horse. Well, she used the horse four times and became disinterested with riding. He was going to sell the horse, but she begged her dad not to sell the horse.  Imagine that.

I have horses and I thank God that I can keep them here on my property.  If I had to board my horses, I wouldn't be able to own the horses that I have.  

Shooting equipment can be a one time investment, if you want it to be.  Or like anything else, if you can afford to go out and buy a rifle or pistol or shotgun every time you turn around  - than you just might do it.

For me, I have the guns that I need for Cowboy Shooting and I'm happy with what I have.  I actually got lucky in the respect that I had been collecting some of the guns over a long period of time. 

So yes, when I wanted to go into Cowboy Shooting, all I had to do was buy a second pistol and I was ready to go.

Since I've started shooting Cowboy, I've only had to replace the rifle that I was using.  I replaced my old Navy Arms Henry Rifle in .44-40 with a used Marlin 1895 in .45 LC to go along with my Ruger Vaqueros.  And friends, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

For most of us who shoot Cowboy Action Shooting, we have the attitude that "you can never have enough guns!"

As for ammo, well luckily my father-in-law Nickle Jim reloads ammo and that cuts down my cost to a few dollars a match verses a lot more money a month for ammunition.

It all depends on how you want to do it. 

There are ways of going into things without breaking the bank, whether it's shooting Cowboy, or Trap, or Sporting Clays.

Heck, I know two guys who are getting their gear together.  They've decided to share the cost of the guns and will share their guns during a match.  Since one is heavier than the other, they have to buy individual holsters and gun belts. 

So when it comes to shooting a match, all they have to do is get on the same Posse and have one shoot early in the lineup.  They can do it until that get their own guns.

Together they will spend close to $2000 for their two new single action pistols, a side by side shotgun, and a lever action rifle. 

There are some real good deals on holsters and gun belts out there. In fact, here is a link to a website that has a great competition Starter Rig. 

Click this link to see a Great Starter Rig

One of the reasons I recommend the rigs on this site is because the rigs are recommended by Deuce Stevens, who happens to be one of our Top Shooters in SASS.

Also remember that many of the Gun Clubs have websites with listings of guns and gear for sale, and used guns can save a Beginner a lot of money when he or she is just getting started. 

After your gear and your guns, it's just a matter of getting ammo and going to the range to have some fun.

And yes, it's all about fun. You know, fun, 楽しい, развлечение, diversión, lustig, 乐趣 ... yes, fun!

Most people have a great opinion of Cowboys, and once they go to a match then they'll usually see how much fun it is.  Fun is the name of the game for everyone out there.  At least everyone who I've met anyways.

Fun is what it's all about.  Fun is shooting fast, is making a lot of smoke, is just trying to shoot clean with no misses, is booming away with heavy loads, is the fact that you're among friends and pards, is the fact that you're outside, fun is to be had in all sorts of ways.

It happens out there at the range all the time.  From someone like me who goes out there to strictly socialize with friends and pards who don't care if I shoot as slow as molasses, to someone who steps up to the stage firing line and shoots so fast that he or she is a blur of speed and accuracy.

Everyone at the range has there own definition of fun.

I respect people, and I certainly respect folks enough to allow them to shoot their own game.  What I have seen more and more is people coming to the range and seeing how much fun everyone is having, and then wanting to get in on the fun. 

Most folks really care if it looks like fun or not.  And let's be honest, fun is almost always the bottom line when folks want to do things away from home.

As for the people on the other discussion boards, well they really don't know what they're talking about. Honestly, if they went to a range and shot with any SASS Club then they'd be welcomed and have fun. They should try it before knocking it.

I really don't like reading something when it's as plain as the nose on your face that that person writing his opinion really doesn't know what he's talking about. 

As a friend once told his teenage son who was always pretty opinionated, "You should learn to listen more and keep your mouth shut so you never sound like an idiot, instead of opening it and erase all doubt from the minds of those around you."

Cowboy Action Shooting is a wonderful shooting sport, and the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) has members and club affiliations all over the world - probably because it's a real good organization.

I can only recommend what I know is good for me and you, and I'd recommend joining the fun and shooting with the pards at any match anytime you get the chance.  For me, today I'm talking about Cowboy Action Shooting on here. 

But tomorrow, well tomorrow I will get to go out the the range and shoot with the High Sierra Drifters which is my home club. 

We are not as big as some Clubs, but they are a great bunch of folks. In fact, I can honestly say that SASS members are some of the best people around.  Everyone gets along, all are pretty much like minded, and all are there to have fun. 

And why not, after all it's the Cowboy way!