Helping new cowboy action shooters

[Crunchy Frog]

The Single Action Shooting Society has an Internet forum called the "SASS Wire". Non members can register as guests in order to post topics and replies. I am always interested to see how people get started in the sport so I notice when new folks show up on the Wire. The mistake that many prospective shooters have is that they spend months reading computer screens when they could be shooting and getting first hand info.

I met yesterday with a new shooter who is on the right path. Here's what he did. He was already an experienced shooter who was curious about cowboy shooting. I met him at the Greenville Gun Show where I was manning an informational table. He told me he had been reading online and wanted to get started. I steered him to a dealer at the show who had Bakail coach guns. I gave him our club website and invited him to bring his wife to our next match.

Attending a match is a "must" in my opinion. My friend and his wife came to a couple of matches to watch and to ask questions. I think you can learn more in one hour watching and talking to shooters than in a year of reading about it. You can also get a feel for whether the game is for you. Finally, you can meet the people in the sport. You might find them to be a good group who are eager to help you. My friend told me that he and his wife decided to gear up for cowboy because of the people.

The next step for my friend was to contact the leadership in his local club and ask for help getting started. I made arrangements to meet him outside of a match day for some hands on orientation and practice. I call it a "cowboy shooting clinic". Since prospective new shooters often don't have all of the guns or leather, I get a couple other cowboy shooters to bring their guns and equipment. We went over the safety rules, how to operate the 19th Century guns, loading table and unloading table procedure, stage layout and transitions. We have a variety of different guns to try. We work on the different guns (revolvers, rifle and shotgun) one at a time if the shooter wants to, then we put them all together and shoot a stage. This allows the shooter to do everything they would have to do at an actual match, without the pressure and time constraints.

Now my friend is ready to shoot his first match. We will assign him a mentor to stay with him. The Range Officer will coach him through each stage. Since he has not gathered all of his gear yet (this fellow has a shotgun and one revolver), he can shoot the guns that he has. If he lacks leather he can stage his revolver on a table. More likely the other shooters will lend him a rifle, a second revolver, and maybe an extra gun belt. There will be space on a cart to carry his shotgun. He will bring his own ammo.

Should you be thinking that you would like to check out cowboy action shooting, come on out to a local match. If you don't know where to find one, contact me. I'd be glad to point you in the right direction.

 

[Poor Farmer WF]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum. As well, I'm returning to an activity that I left over 30 years ago when I turned in my "782" gear in the USMCR and that activity is shooting. I really appreciate Crunchy Frog's help to those of us newbies who are thinking of taking up Cowboy Action Shooting. For example, the post above let me know that yes, a person could jump into this gig with only one revolver rather than having to wait for two.

I too am from the upstate and hope to attend this Sunday's meet. While I realize there are many ways to skin a cat, wondering if a fellow can just go out, do the work for the fun of it, without having to be "competitive?" Another words, I love C&B revolvers. Not the fastest thing to reload and handle. So? Thinking maybe I don't worry about beating the clock as much as being safe while enjoying those weapons.

Question for Mr. Crunchy. A C&B .44 Navy, single shot Savage 16, and maybe one day a .44 or .45lc 92? Would this setup work for a newbie just looking to enjoy the fun, fellowship, smell of gunpowder, and simply hanging out on a beautiful day?

I look forward to seeing the GGC's action on Sunday. Have to ask, should I come hoping to play or simply set this one out? Advice always appreciated and welcomed.

Thanks,

Poor Farmer WF

 

[Crunchy Frog]

Farmer, click on the "PM" icon in my post and send me a private message with your name and phone number. I will call you after work.

 

[Crunchy Frog]

Farmer, I enjoyed speaking with you and look forward to your coming out Sunday for the "nickel tour" prior to the match; then you can "posse up" with everyone for the shooter's meeting including the mandatory (for shooters) safety briefing. Our shooter's meeting always includes the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer.

I wanted to answer your questions for the benefit of other prospective new shooters.

YES you can come and participate to have fun. "Competitive" is an interesting word. Some shooters are focused on trying to get the best score and best ranking, both in their category and in the overall standings. That's great-having top shooters helps everyone improve their game and in cowboy shooting the top shooters are often the first to help the beginners. I am not a top shooter if you look at the scores but I am "competitive" in the sense that I am always trying to improve-I set performance goals and when I begin to exceed them, I set new ones. I am competing against myself. I also know shooters who are not very concerned about their ranking and not necessarily trying to shave a few seconds from the last match scores. Each shooter can play the game in the way that is fun for them, and the "competitive" folks have fun, too.

Some guns are easier to shoot and therefore easier to shoot faster. A cap and ball revolver is not going to run as fast as a Colt SAA (or replica thereof). If you shoot "capguns", you can opt for the Frontiersman category where percussion revolvers are required. That way you are scored against other shooters in that category where everyone is using the same types of revolvers. We don't load the revolvers "on the clock" so the time to load them does not factor into the scores.

Regarding the guns you asked about, all of them are SASS Legal. There are certainly others to choose from and you can see just about everything in use at the matches. We do use two revolvers (plus rifle and shotgun) in each stage of our matches. If a shooter has only a single revolver, there are a couple of possibilities under the rules. You could fire five shots (we always load five, leaving an empty chamber under the hammer and YES it applies to my Rugers as well) and move on, taking the five misses on each stage. Alternatively, you could reload the revolver "on the clock" and engage the next five pistol targets, although this is really not practical with a cap n ball revolver because that would hold up the train and might be difficult to do safely in the middle of the stage. As a practical matter, I'm betting that someone would lend you a revolver; it happens all the time.

There are stories about people who come "just to watch" and are invited to "try their hand" during the match. We can't promise this will happen, for a number of reasons including time constraints and the need to evaluate new shooters before they are turned loose with loaded guns. I recommend that any prospective new shooter attend a match to watch and to ask questions. Spectators are welcome as long as they wear good eye protection and hearing protection. At our club we ask spectators to sign a waiver if they come into the shooting area. That way you can see what we do in a match and get an idea of whether it is for you. I'm betting the answer will be "yes". If after watching a match or two you are interested in getting started, we will show you how.

To others reading this thread: Spectators and prospective new shooters are welcome. Come and check it out-the weather this Sunday is supposed to be great. If you have questions, send me a PM.

 

[Poor Farmer WF]

Hello Crunchy!

Have to say, I truly appreciate your help this past Sunday! What an experience! Great folks, great shooting, and lots of fun! Now, if I can just get my self in-gear and stay with it. I really appreciated your taking the time to walk me through how a stage works, including the loading and unloading tables, etc. So very helpful to my watching the other shooters for the day.

Have to say the Greenville bunch are just a good group of folks. Enjoyed hanging out.

Looking forward to the next event. Figuring I'll head over to Belton during their next meet.

You introduced me to a fellow who normally shoots black powder. What's name again? And where does he hail from? Need to find some black powder REAL soon now, and can't seem to find a supply in the Greenville area.

Any info would be appreciated.

Again, thanks for stepping in to help a new CAS out!

Poor Farmer WF

 

[Gleedaniel13]

The Single Action Shooting Society has an Internet forum called the "SASS Wire". Non members can register as guests in order to post topics and replies. I am always interested to see how people get started in the sport so I notice when new folks show up on the Wire. The mistake that many prospective shooters have is that they spend months reading computer screens when they could be shooting and getting first hand info.

That was a very intelligent action of the administrator in which they allow guest users .