Thinking of SASS Cowboy Shooting

[Grimjaws]

My brother and I are looking to go watch a few matches and talk to various folks to see what it is all about. We have two local clubs. My brother reloads so we have access to lead ammo but that’s it. So we would be starting out from scratch for guns, leather, hats, boots, the right style clothes, etc

My thoughts
Step one is to watch some matches
Talk to people
Get their feedback and decide from there

Question - can we share guns? Just thinking if we start out to get one set between us (we live close to each other) and pool our funding.

My brother also reloads for .45 ACP so we might see about the Wild Bunch side shoots too.

BEFORE we do any of that is there any advice you can give someone who comes to watch a match? Besides hearing and eye protection and being polite what are some things to do or ask about? Can we come in normal clothes for just watching? Is there any questions YOU would ask?

Thanks for your feedback to a total novice in this sport.

 

[sureshotbob]

Grimjaws when I shot Sass spectators did not need to be dressed in period clothes.

And yes you can share gun's with your brother . I do think it is better to use a pistol class rifle and 2 pistol's in the same caliber . As for a shotgun a lot of people use a double bbl.

As for clothing you can start out with jeans and a long sleeve shirt and a pair of cheap cowboy boots . If you and your brother are close in size you can share a set of holsters.

Depending how competitive you want to be you can have a lot of fun so good luck.

 

[Inusuit]

In my SASS experience, spectators and potential new shooters were welcomed with open arms. Not unusual for participants to offer spectators the opportunity to try various firearms after the match closed.

As SSBob noted, you and your brother can use the same firearms. Let the people at signup know that you want to assigned to the same "posse" and spaced far enough apart in the lineup to allow the transfer of guns to the second user. Minimum is two single action revolvers, double barrel or hammer pump shotgun, and a pistol caliber rifle.

At our local matches, we were very lenient about "costumes" for new shooters. Someone said that SASS was unique in that the men talked about clothes and the women talked about firearms. Jeans, long sleeved shirt, and boots of some sort are adequate. I never saw anyone turned away because they weren't dressed appropriately.

Some shooters are very competitive. Others see it as an opportunity to dress up and have fun with old time firearms.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

One more time.
Ma and Pa SASS.
Taken a few years ago at The Founders Ranch, Edgewood, NM.

 

[Wrangler Rich]

The first time I tried it, I was hooked. That was 20 years ago.

Still shooting!

WR

 

[NYlakesider]

My brother and I are looking to go watch a few matches and talk to various folks to see what it is all about. We have two local clubs. My brother reloads so we have access to lead ammo but that’s it. So we would be starting out from scratch for guns, leather, hats, boots, the right style clothes, etc

My thoughts
Step one is to watch some matches
Talk to people
Get their feedback and decide from there

Question - can we share guns? Just thinking if we start out to get one set between us (we live close to each other) and pool our funding.

My brother also reloads for .45 ACP so we might see about the Wild Bunch side shoots too.

BEFORE we do any of that is there any advice you can give someone who comes to watch a match? Besides hearing and eye protection and being polite what are some things to do or ask about? Can we come in normal clothes for just watching? Is there any questions YOU would ask?

Thanks for your feedback to a total novice in this sport.

Kayaderosseras gun cub (Saratoga County NY) is having a shoot like that this weekend. I do not shoot it so do not know if the club grounds are open to none members or not.(that Coved19 thing)

 

[emptypockets]

A friend and I went to a local match and had the red carpet rolled out for us. What a great bunch of people who enjoy their sport as well as each other. They made us feel like we were part of their family. I really wanted to join just never got around to it. Have you and your brother thought about what your alias would be? Dry Gulching Bushwhacker or Hang Em High something like that.

I would have been Colorado Dude since I like the movie Rio Bravo so much. A combination of Dean Martin and Ricky Nelsons' characters.

 

[mauser9]

They sure sound fun. A Ruger Vaquero in .45 Colt and maybe the Uberti or Miroku 1873 carbine should fit right in.

 

[growr]

At almost all clubs you will find a community of fabulous folks that will welcome you like you are royalty.

Many will offer you the use of their guns and ammo to try it out. You cannot pay them anything for the ammo!

I usually offer this advice on guns, use what you already have if you have it first. Look at the carts and see what is being used most for rifles, shotguns, and revolvers.

Don't get in a hurry to buy everything new.....many matches there are other shooters selling or trading into or out of something.

Rifles are most often clones of Winchester 66's and '73's most often in .38 spl/.357 due to less recoil and expense. Many use 1894 Marlin's as well. You won't see many Henry line up other than their copy of the original Henry chambered in 44-40 or 45 Colt.

Revolvers are mostly Ruger Vaquero's and clones of the 1873 Colt from Uberti, EMF etc. Again usually in .38 spl for the same reasons as the rifle

Shotguns are often a good double barrel 12 gauge....many start with a Stoeger Coach Gun or a Stevens 325.....very solid, reliable and not super expensive. Some use a 20 gauge but the 12 dominates..

The Winchester 1897 is the only pump gun allowed.

Holsters will need to be set up to use 2 revolvers on a stage. Many choices as to style. See what others in your area are using....you can go from mild to wild in style and pricing.

Sharing of guns is no problem and for many shooters it allows them to join the sport with a small outlay of money. Just be sure to have several shooters in between so that the shared gear has enough time to be passed along

As far as attire goes you can go whole hog, or use what you might already have.....here in Montana we almost all have hats, boots, and jeans. You are only limited by your own imagination....many shooters find clothing at second had shops like Salvation Army, etc. One of my shirts cost me a quarter!

The same goes for creating your alias.....there is a registry to check to see if yours has already been taken or not.....

For ME, SASS is a game of speed and accuracy.....I am NOT very speedy so I choose to be accurate.

I really like Bang Clang instead of Bang Dang!

Randy

AKA "Bugler"

PS. Beware of the Dark Side.....ie Black Powder......addicting in it's own right....lot's of boom and smoke, therefore no mosquitos to bug you!!

 

[DWalt]

There aren't many choices for a visible hammer pump shotgun, mainly a Winchester 1897 or its Chinese clones. There are some old Marlin visible hammer pump shotguns (look much like an 1897) which will be OK, but you won't often run across one. There are also several Winchester Model 1887 Lever Action shotgun replicas, but they can get fairly expensive. Best bet is to find an older double gun. You can use replica black powder cap and ball revolvers, but they are slow and messy to reload and will need to be cleaned frequently during a match. I used a pair of BP Remington 1858 Navy replica revolvers when I first started SASS. Just to make ammunition reloading simple, your revolvers and rifle should be the same caliber. I wouldn't worry about clothing. Jeans, a western shirt, denim vest, cheap boots, straw cowboy hat, etc. is adequate. Shop at Goodwill and stay cheap on clothing, money is better spent on equipment and ammo. But if you want to spend $500 (or more) to look like Wyatt Earp or Wild Bill Hickok, that's up to you. That didn't interest me as I was there mainly to shoot, not to duplicate the appearance of some Old West character.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I started shooting SASS in the mid 90's. A couple of things you need to know. 1) No tennis shoes! 2) A hat is required, no Baseball caps, just about anything else goes. (I wear a Derby or Cowboy hat,) Those in period uniform are allowed the correct hat. Cavalry would be slouch, Infantry would be a Kepi, Artillery, just about anything goes.

Minimum caliber on guns is 32. Be sure you handguns are the same (not a rule!) But if they are different be wat different. For example: a 45 and a 357 are way different , but a 45 and any 44 are way too similar (ammo mixups can and will happen under these conditions!)

Most courses of fire are 10 handgun (5 each) and 10 rifle, and from Zero to 10 shotgun! There are also sometimes a reload on the clock. any dropped round is not allowed to be touched (picked up) by the shooter, so look to have some spare ammo easy to get to. (This is one of the best safety rules there is! I insist on it when skeet and Sporting Clays shooting also! You don't want a guy with a loaded gun (or 4) bending over!

The course of fire will be explained at the beginning of station, that includes the number of rounds. From experience don't have more ammo than required to load into guns, use a loading block, a bag (leather or canvas) or a loading strip. Extra ammo in you guns will bring penalties! from 5 to 50 seconds on up to station or day disqualification. Always count your ammo and count to your self as you load each gun! There is a person checking on you but I had one short many people so they ended up loading one more round on the clock! (That person was never allowed on our range again!)

Different classes of shooters have different gun requirements. Those are usually caliber, type of shotgun and the Black Powder classes. (To shoot Wild Bunch you'll need a 1911 or 1911A1, a lever rifle and a Model 97 shotgun the magazine is allowed to hold 6. You will want a total of 5 1911 mags as well and pouches for 4.

Lastly about sharing guns: It is allowed! (and sometimes encouraged) It is easy to share guns. IT IS DIFFICULT TO SHARE HOLSTERS AND BELTS! (but no rule against it.) Holsters muse be Leather of synthetic leather. NO PLASTIC OR KYDEX!

I started with a 2 Ruger Vaqueros and a Rossi 92 in 45 Colt and a SxS shotgun all bought used. I am currently down to 4 complete sets of equipment (down from 6) two in 45 Colt, one in 38/357 & one in 44 Russian/Special. I have been known to fill half a posse with my family! (sold off my 44-40 set and a bunch of junk in 45 Colt)

Every club I have been to has welcomed strangers with open arms! As a spectator, I would expect a dozen or more people to offer for you to try their guns. The sport is designed to be family friendly. Clubs that don't shoot on Sundays are usually more so (Lots of Church goers), There are lots of young shooters to. ( I watched Sage Chick grow up from a 2nd grader (shorter than her shotgun) to an Adult Women's National Champion!) Around 2008, 5 of the top 10 youth in the country shot at my club! You will meet some wonderful people!

Ivan The Butcher
SASS#40349

 

[glowe]

Great fun. Lots of chapters have weekly summer shoots that are basically for fun and practice, with no competitive atmosphere. The rules of SASS are enforced at any associated event, so you will need the minimum amount of qualified firearms required to shoot at these practice sessions.

Get a double barrel hammerless shotgun to start, 20 gauge or 12 gauge. They need to be extractor guns not ejector types. Cheap to find used ones and new reproductions can be found everywhere, but at a higher at a higher cost. The rules for shotgun are below, but download the SASS rules and read through them before going.

Any side-by-side or single shot shotgun typical of the period from approximately 1860 until 1899 with or without external hammers, having single or double triggers is allowed.Automatic ejectors are allowed on single shot break action, lever and pump action shotguns ONLY. Side-by-side shotguns may not use automatic ejectors. Lever action, tubular feed, exposed hammer shotguns of the period are allowed, whether original or replicas. The only slide action shotgun allowed is the Model 1897 Winchester shotgun, whether original or replica. Certain shooting categories require a specific type of shotgun and ammunition to be used. Military configurations are not allowed (i.e., trench guns). Please see the shooting categories for further information.

I started with a pair of 45 Colt Uberti Single Actions and an Uberti 45 Colt Model 1873. To be honest, a cheap used double-trigger Savage will do the trick, but I have always been a shotgun shooter and have several double guns, so just used what I had. Never felt I needed anything more, but did do some fine-tuning with the guns over time. Polished the shotgun chambers, smoothed the actions on both revolvers and rifle and fortunately never broke anything on the guns. I was a smokeless shooter, mostly since I had to get up and go to work the next day and cleaning got to be too much, so BP was only used occasionally if I wanted to make lots of smoke.

Have fun.

 

[keith44spl]

I shot a lit'l SASS years ago....Pick yurself a cool western handle.

Way back when...I chose Ranger Ira Aten.

Google him for a grin or two.

.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My very first posse marshal was "Ustas B. Slim" and his wife "Ivana Goodtime"

Because I wore a derby, they called me "Ivan The Butler" once and a while! You'll know when you've become member of the family, everyone will be picking on you! (Just like real family!) My oldest was home on leave and was wearing a cap like kids wore "Back Then" and that same posse marshal walks up to me and says "Does everyone in your family wear a goofy hat?" Why are you picking on me? He's the one in the hat! "True, but I'm sure I can outrun you!" That's pretty typical! My son's alias was "Vladimir the Butcher", but he changed it to "Cold Heartless One" But I always signed the blond hair and Green eyed 6'2" paratrooper as "Cold Heartless Juan"! That was always good for some Senorita jokes!

Ivan

 

[Golddollar]

I have been a member of SASS since 1990. My number is #1286 Life, so I am one the longest in time members in the organization. I joined even though I wasn't near a club because when I read about Cowboy Action Shooting in American Handgunner and thought it looked like a lot of fun. The outfit in the picture is pretty simple, boots, shield shirt, serape I got at a county fair, and bandanas. I got double duty from the outfit by wearing it for chili cookoffs. For the dinners I get a little fancier, but that can wait awhile.

But SASS is more than the shooting. Due to medical issues, I no longer can compete, but I didn't want to go away from SASS. So a couple years ago I wrote to the director of the PA State Championship why I hadn't competed for a number of years but I decided that I would like to come around just to see everybody. The director told me that absolutely I should come up. When I came, I found that people remembered me and I was welcomed back with opened arms. The lesson is that when you join SASS, there will always be a place for you.

Golddollar aka Punxsutawney Pete SASS #1286 Life

 

[Step N. Mud]

Have been a SASS member since 2000 under the same alias as here. Also have some medical issues that has caused me to not shoot for a couple years. Had great fun and experiences and glad I did and meet lots of fine folks too. Visit the SASS Wire forum and check it out.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Over the years I shot with a couple of the Punxsutawney fellows! But I don't remember which ones! And I got an invite to the "Steel City Soot Shooters", a Black Powder group inside a Pittsburgh area club. (The BP guys are almost a cult unto themselves inside any club. My home club is "The Ohio Valley Vigilantes", the oldest club east of the Mississippi. (it was around 18-20 years old when I joined) I usually shoot smokeless, but have been known to make a few "Clouds" of my own! The Conservation Club in Sunbury, Ohio has a couple of SxS Sporting Clays shoots a year. My all brass BP rounds always draw a crowd, until a cloud blows over them and they get a whiff of sulfur! Biggest problem is getting the score keeper to watch the birds and not the fire breathing shotgun!

Ivan

The OVV 3 day shoot "The Final Showdown" starts this Friday, I'm swinging by to look around!

 

[jimbo728]

A local F&G club ran Cowboy Action Shoots back in the early `80`s.
I shot that 3 or 4 years in a row. Shot a Blackhawk and a .44-40 El Tigre.
At least once El Tigre got fed 37gr FFF to push a 200gr slug. I got accused of laying down a Navy smoke screen. Rifle stage was fired from in the saddle on a 55gal drum rocking 'horse'.
Jim

 

[growr]

The Dark side gives a whole new meaning to the saying of "When the Smoke Clears" doesn't it?

On more than one occasion I have had to shoot where it seemed like there was a target......certainly couldn't SEE anything down range.

Randy

AKA "Bugler"

 

[DWalt]

The only time I tried shooting CAS shotgun with BP loads wasn't repeated. I loaded one box of shells with BP and also used conventional plastic shot cups. The plastic of the shot cups stripped off in the barrel, leaving long strands of plastic. I didn't have any fiber wads so I loaded no more shotshells with BP.