Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC
craigp said:
I was trying to find a list of approved firearms but couldn't seem to find any specific information. Can you point me to a place where this information can be found?
Thanks
You bet. Here is a link to the Shooter's Handbook on the SASS website:
http://www.sassnet.com/Downloads/SASSHa ... 9-2014.pdf
The requirements for rifle, revolvers and shotgun are on pages 9-11 of the Shooter's Handbook, but here are some highlights. Except for youngsters 13 and under, who may shoot .22LR revolvers and rifles, and shotguns as small as .410s, the rifle and revolver must be a minimum of .32 caliber up to .45 caliber; the most popular chambering is .38 Special/.357 Magnum, with .45 Colt in second place. Minimum shotgun is 20 gauge; 12 gauge is most popular even for smaller shooters since light 12 gauge shells are available.
In general we use the types of guns that were in existence prior to 1900.
Revolvers must be single action (I have had people ask if they could bring a DA revolver and rooster it for every shot). There is a category where cap and ball revolvers can be used but of course most folks use cartridge guns. The Rugers are the most common revolvers, mostly New Vaqueros (including the Bisley version) and the larger "original" Vaqueros; Blackhawks are allowed in most categories (adjustable sights used to put you in the "Modern" category but that was eliminated in I think 2009). We only load five in the revolver so the transfer bar ignition of the Ruger does not give an advantage.
Most of the non-Ruger revolvers are the occasional Colt SAA and the modern reproductions or "clones" of the Colt. Most of those are now made by Uberti or Pietta and imported under various importer names including Cimarron and Taylors. There is a wide variety of guns at various price points. Some of the big chain stores carry them at prices starting at under $400.
There are some other revolvers that I'd guess make up about 10% of the guns I see in matches, including reproductions of "conversion" revolvers (cap and ball revolvers converted to shoot cartridges) and S&W breaktop revolvers.
The rifles must be pistol caliber, not rifle calibers like .30-30. I think the handbook says they need to be lever action or pump action, tubular magazines and exposed hammers of the types developed in the Old West. The rules also expressly allow some other rifles that are not "reproductions", like the Henry Big Boy. The legal pump action rifles are repros of the Colt Lightning; those are not often seen because they are pricey, tend to be "tempermental" and are not faster than a good levergun. I'm sure I will forget one or two but the popular rifles include the Winchester 1873 and 1966 (repros mostly; these are the "top guns"), the Marlin 1894, repros of the Winchester 1892 (this is the most affordable rifle), reproduction 1860 Henry, and the Henry Big Boy. There were some pistol caliber Winchester 1894s made but I've never seen one used.
In the shotgun there are three choices: a side-by-side double, a Winchester 1897 pump (real or repro) or a Winchester 1887 lever action (real or repro). Only two rounds can be loaded in any shotgun which levels the field a bit. The double can have extractors but not ejectors (they can be disabled if you use a modern gun with them). It can have internal hammers or external hammers (there is only one category in which you cannot use an internal hammer double). You can have two triggers or a single trigger. The double is the most popular shotgun with the '97 pump coming in second. Very few '87s in use. Most of the doubles are short barreled but you can use a hunting style gun as well. The most popular doubles are the Baikal and the Stoeger Coach Gun; they are both inexpensive and rough out of the box. Action jobs needed but usually affordable. The "premium" doubles are SKBs or Browning BSSs; count on spending $1200-1500 for the gun and action work.
Ammo must have lead bullets at maximum pistol velocity of 1000 fps (1400 fps for rifle). Birdshot in the scattergun; our local club rule is 7.5 or smaller shot.
I make myself hoarse saying this to prospective new shooters: DON'T BUY ANYTHING before coming to a couple of matches and seeing what folks are using. Cowboy shooters are friendly and will let new folks handle their guns. What may seem ideal at the gun store counter may be the wrong choice. Come and handle the match guns and make a more informed choice. Buy once, cry once and all that. Before my first match, I had done some shopping and I thought I knew exactly what sort of rifle to buy. I tried that rifle, and about six others, at the match. My "first choice" became my last choice. It saved me hundreds of dollars.
We do NOT expect people to have all the gear before getting started. Just come out. OK, enough whippin' on that dead horse.
Craig, as I recall from other posts you are a Three Gun shooter. You might also like to check out our Wild Bunch Action Shooting matches. I call that "Early 20th Century Three Gun" (circa 1913). We use a .45 ACP 1911 pistol, a cowboy rifle, and a 12 gauge pump shotgun (Winchester 1897 or a Winnie Model 12). Unless we squeeze in a "special" match beforehand, our next WBAS match will be the four stage "side match" on the Thursday of our SASS SC State Match in late March.
Anyone can send me a PM for more information about these matches. We've had an information table at some of the past gun shows but we're not doing this weekend's show.