Cowboy Action in Greenville SC

Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

The October monthly match will be held on Sunday, October 27. Safety briefing at 9:30, as usual.

Visitors and spectators are always welcome. If you've never attended a cowboy action shooting match, come check it out.

www.greenvillegunfighters.com
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

We had 52 shooters today and the weather was very pleasant after a cool start.

I spoke to several spectators and prospective new shooters. We try to make them feel welcome, whether they are just watching or getting ready to take the plunge and become cowboy/cowgirl shooters.

If you are interested in shooting, and meeting friendly people who enjoy shooting, what are you waiting for?
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

I used to take lots of photos at our matches but now that I'm an RO I find it difficult to find time to run the camera. Luckily one of our regulars takes great photos with his digital SLR. I will see if he is uploading them to the Photobucket account that is linked to the Greenville Gunfighters website.

I spoke with a half dozen spectators at the match yesterday. None of them mentioned this forum as their point of contact. I would like to have some forum members come out to a match.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

OK, here's the link to the Shutterfly page where match photos are posted: https://greenvilegunfighters.shutterfly.com/pictures The October match photos should be uploaded in the next couple of days. In the meantime you can see photos from September (that was a good match) and before.

You can also get there from the "Pics/Vids" tab at www.greenvillegunfighters.com
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Midnight Raver said:
Pictures please, or it never happened! :P

Ask and you shall receive. Pix from the October cowboy match are up: https://greenvilegunfighters.shutterfly.com/pictures

We had several black powder shooters including "Catfish Tom McTeef" who brought our a pair of reproduction Colt Walker percussion revolvers. BIG booms, big smiles.

Our next match is Sunday, November 24.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Gearing up for two back-to-back weeks of shooting with the Greenville Gunfighters.

Cowboy match is Sunday December 22.

Wild Bunch match is Sunday December 29.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

I went by the club today with a guest and shot some skeet and trap. Very nice outside and it's making me look forward to this Sunday's cowboy action match.

If you have not attended a match, let me extend you a personal invitation. I would be glad to give first-time visitors a "walk through" at about 9:00 before the safety briefing at 9:30. Send me a PM if interested.

Who knows, you might want to give it a try. It's not too late to put cowboy hardware on the Christmas wish list!
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

About a dozen people challenged the weather forecast and showed up for last Sunday's cowboy match. One couple left their gear at home but came to socialize but the rest of us went forward. As it turned out we finished all six stages before the rain started.

We had one fellow shooting his first full match after watching last month when he tried a couple of stages and was hooked. He has a rifle; he used our club's new "loaner" gunbelt; a shooter from Georgia lent him a pair of revolvers and he used my shotgun. We gave him some tips and saw his performance improving already. He shot the last stage clean in a little over thirty seconds. That's how it's done.

A shooter from Asheville brought his fianc?e who took pictures; she had been practicing with him a little but had not shot a match. I let her handle my wife's guns that have shortened stocks and told her how that had helped my wife. A lady shooter from Georgia also encouraged her so when the last shooter was done the young lady tried her hand shooting a stage.

A new family from Spartanburg found our club info from the SASS website and called our club contact who invited them out. Their son is crazy about cowboys and the trip was a surprise for him. They got to watch Phantom Rider, a twelve year old shooter from Georgia who shoots with his parents. I am working on setting up a clinic for the new family.

Another older gent showed up looking for the action pistol match that was actually held the previous Sunday. I always speak to spectators so we jawed about shooting IPSC "back in the day". He enjoys shooting the 1911 so I invited him to come back next Sunday for our Wild Bunch Action Shooting match.

Next month will mark my fourth year shooting cowboy. I always have a good time but this match really stood out as one of the best. On a day when most folks stayed home because of the weather! What a treat.

Next Sunday we will be shooting Wild Bunch. I hope the only thing raining down will be the brass! Y'all come see us, and a very Merry Christmas to all the nice folks on the Palmetto Shooters Form.

http://www.greenvillegunfighters.com
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Time to blow the dust off of this thread; our January match is NEXT Sunday, January 26.

We are continuing to grow. We will have a new family from Spartanburg starting with us in January; I'm pretty pumped about that.

I heard from a gentleman who relocated from Texas (where he shot in an NCOWS club) to Spartanburg; he'll be shooting his first SC cowboy match next week.

Another fellow from Greer will be shooting his second match with us in January; he's coming right along.

I think we have the best doggone cowboy action club in the Carolinas! Of course I may be a LITTLE biased.

The Greenville Gunfighters will host the South Carolina State Match for the third year in a row; it will start on Thursday, March 27 and wrap up on Sunday, March 30.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Hey Crunchy
I have recently taken up an interest in top break revolver like the Schofield or the S&W model 3. Are these legal in cowboy action?
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Paco said:
Hey Crunchy
I have recently taken up an interest in top break revolver like the Schofield or the S&W model 3. Are these legal in cowboy action?

Hi, Paco.

That's affirmative. The Smith & Wesson breaktops like the Schofield, the Russian, and the New Model Three are legal for SASS shooting. There are some modern reproductions out there but there is a shooter from Columbia (I think that's where he is from) who shoots with us regularly in Greenville using his honest-to-goodness New Models in .44 Russian.

Except for youngsters 13 and younger in the "Buckaroo" category who can shoot .22 revolvers and rifles, all rifles and pistols must be chambered in a pistol caliber of at least .32 caliber. As far as I know, all of the S&W Model 3s met this requirement but I'm no expert on them. I just like to see 'em in action.

Most folks find that they are not as easy to shoot fast as compared to a Colt style revolver so if you goal is to be the fastest shooter in the crowd you might want to "try before you buy". They carry major "style points" though. I like to see some variety in the hardware.

I understand that some clubs used to have stages with mandatory "on the clock" reloading of the revolver. This is where the breaktop has the Colt system beat. Some shooters would keep a breaktop squirreled away "for just such an occasion", to quote Foghorn Leghorn. The "on the clock pistol reload" has fallen out of favor, though. I've been shooting cowboy for four years now and I've never had to do it.

If you are interested in attending one of our matches, let me know ahead of time and I'll ask and make sure that my "Russian" friend will be in attendance so that you can see how they can work in a match.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Despite the rather cold weather, and the fact that several of our regulars were UNDER the weather, we had a good Winter turnout of 37 shooters yesterday. The State Championship Match, "Manse's Revenge", is coming up (March 27-30), I expect we'll have a big crowd at our February match as everyone is getting honed up for State.

I was proud to mentor a first time shooter who did VERY well his first time out, earning a "clean match" coin (shooting "clean" means no misses, no procedural penalties and no safety penalties). When you consider that we usually shoot 120 rounds from pistols and rifle, and about a box of shotgun shells, that's quite an achievement. This fellow has revolvers and a rifle. He does not have a shotgun but he was invited to try several different ones. He does not have leather but our club has a "loaner" rig that he used. He's kind of a low key fellow but he had the biggest smile on his face after he finished his first stage and got a big "Yee-Ha" from the whole posse. Oh, and I'm quite sure his clothing fell short of the SASS costuming requirements. I always say that if someone wants to try shooting their first match, they can wear a gorilla costume for all I care.

I had three distinctions in this match. First, it marked the third anniversary of my first ever cowboy match. Second, it was the first time I failed to throw an empty hull out of my shotgun to earn a ten second Minor Safety Violation (after having given the safety briefing at the beginning of the match. Third, it was my absolutely worst overall score in any match. I had to leave early to keep a promise to take my daughter to a movie she wanted to see, so I missed the last two stages. Yay!!
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

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
 
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.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

Crunchy Frog:
Thanks for the information. Yes you are correct, I do shoot 3GN but always looking for other challenges.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

The Greenville Gunfighters had a great monthly match today with 57 shooters. A Palmetto Shooters Forum member came to check out the match and stayed for the whole enchilada. Before it was over he got the chance to try shooting a stage with borrowed guns. We can't promise that to every "prospect" but it worked out today.

We won't have our regular 4th Sunday cowboy match in March, or a Wild Bunch match on the 5th Sunday; instead, the Greenville Gun Club will host the SASS SC State Match, "Manse's Revenge", from Thursday, March 27 through Sunday March 30. http://www.greenvillegunfighters.com/home/MansesRevenge

If you have never seen a cowboy action shooting event, the State Match is a great opportunity for a look-see. Bring your camera, bring the family, bring a shooting friend. No charge for parking, no charge for spectators (we do require that eye and ear protection be worn in the shooting bays). We have a vendor area for food, drinks and shopping.

Thursday is "side match" day, including a Wild Bunch match in the morning and a Black Powder Side Match in the afternoon.

All the competitors will be on site for the "main match stages" on Friday and Saturday. If you want to see what cowboy shooting matches are like, come out on Friday or Saturday.

On Sunday morning the top competitors go head-to-head in the "Shootoff" for an extra award.

Post a question here or send me a PM if you'd like more information.
 
Cowboy Action & Wild Bunch Action Shooting in Greenville SC

We have 156 shooters registered for the State Match as of the last update to the "who's shooting" page, with more applications arriving daily. We may hit our 200 shooter limit at this rate.

The word is out that "Manse's Revenge" is one of the best cowboy matches in the region.

This will be a great chance to check out the game. We kick off Thursday March 27 with "side matches". All of the shooters will be here Friday and Saturday for the "main match stages" and we wrap up Sunday morning with Cowboy Church and the top shooter "shootoff" elimination event.

www.greenvillegunfighters.com

I'd better hit the loading bench!
 
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