# Cowboy Action Shootin' Guns



## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

Howdy,

I've been pretty absent here, recently, spending most of my time learning about Cowboy Action Shooting.

And acquiring new guns.

Here's what's been added to the safe:

First, 3Reds MADE me go buy this gun for her last Friday, so she would have a rifle she could handle. Its a Marlin 1894c:










We bought this Uberti clone of a Winchester Model 1873 about a month ago for CAS. It shoots .38/.357 really well, but at a little over 8 pounds it was too heavy for 3Reds (lucky me):










CAS requrires a shotgun, so we picked up this clone of a Winchester Model 1894 12 gauge pump shotgun with an 18" barrel:










And finally, I had a Ruger Blackhawk in .357, but needed a second gun. This Ruger New Model Vaquero is actually 3Reds, but she lets me shoot it if I'm nice:










WM


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

Who are you, again? :smt017


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## niadhf (Jan 20, 2008)

:drooling::drooling: Nice new aquisitions WM and 3 reds. How goes the shoots? i Love that 1873 rifle. Might even consider trading my Marlin 1894 in 32-20 for something like that. Or just buying one. doh. course it would need to be 45 colt for me.
Enjoy. (what class you shooting lad)? :draw:


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

Todd said:


> Who are you, again? :smt017


:smt019 phhhbt!



niadhf said:


> :drooling::drooling: Nice new aquisitions WM and 3 reds. How goes the shoots? i Love that 1873 rifle. Might even consider trading my Marlin 1894 in 32-20 for something like that. Or just buying one. doh. course it would need to be 45 colt for me.
> Enjoy. (what class you shooting lad)? :draw:


Only got to shoot once, so far. But had a blast.

Since we share a Blackhawk, that puts us in the "Modern" class. Once we acquire our second Vaquero we'll move into the 49er class.

We had my Blackhawk, 3Reds' Vaquero, and the Uberti/Win '73 for our first shoot. We borrowed a shotgun from one of the crowd.

The first time 3Reds shot the shotgun, it sent her back a step. She says all she could think of was "I've got to shoot this thing three more times?"

After fiinishing the first stage the other ladies in the group gathered round and offered her help.

By the second stage she was doing this:










We had a great time.

It got a little hectic. Since we used someone elses shotgun, we shot toward the end of each stage.

And since we were sharing holsters and guns with each other, I had to make a mad dash back behind the lines to reload the belts so 3Reds could get to the loading station and load the guns, and not make everyone wait.

Next time should be a little less hectic.

WM


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## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

Lookin purty good WM. That sure is a nice set of hardware.

I hope you both have a bunch of fun.


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

That's fantastic you two.:smt023 Please keep us in the loop on what is happening and more pictures. Sure looks like to me she has some good form with that shotgun. Hope you have a lot of fun.:smt041:smt038 Good luck.:smt1099


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

That's great!!!! Glad they let you do the cross draw Sasshay!!! Used to do alot of SASS a few years back, but unfortunately the club folded when they shoulda held a pair. I love that time period and the guns that go with it. I shoot them better than I do modern autos. Used to go by the moniker "The Mexican Tornado". Wife always used to say.. "A little more Mexican, a lot less Tornado and you'll get better scores!!" She was right, but by darn, shootin' Gunfighter is all about having fun, who cares what the score is!!!! 

Good luck to you and your missus.

Zhur


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## 3Reds (Feb 12, 2007)

I am looking forward to the next shoot. We now have a Marlin rifle that is a better weight for me and our own shotgun. Now I just need my holster to arrive. It is a lot more fun to shoot cowboy style than I thought and the people are great!


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

zhurdan said:


> That's great!!!! Glad they let you do the cross draw Sasshay!!! Used to do alot of SASS a few years back, but unfortunately the club folded when they shoulda held a pair. I love that time period and the guns that go with it. I shoot them better than I do modern autos. Used to go by the moniker "The Mexican Tornado". Wife always used to say.. "A little more Mexican, a lot less Tornado and you'll get better scores!!" She was right, but by darn, shootin' Gunfighter is all about having fun, who cares what the score is!!!!
> 
> Good luck to you and your missus.
> 
> Zhur


Mosey on down to Texas. Lots of clubs. Lots of Mexican(-American)s, and (if you travel far enough south), not many tornados.

Plus, you could give me pointers.

We have only one person shooting Gunsfighter style in our club ... he needs competition.

WM


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## Bishop746 (Apr 4, 2008)

Maybe you can answer a question I have about Cowboy Action Shooting. I was watching some videos on Down Range TV of some CAS events and I was struck by the low recoil of the rifles and pistols. Does CAS use underpowered loads or are the loads historically accurate but not as powerful as a modern bullet.

BTW, those Wild Bunch matches look like alot of fun.


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Some people "load down" their rounds to just where they'll make it to the steel targets. In my opinion, that's a "Spirit of the game" violation, but they always used to let it slide. No self respecting cowboy would load their rounds down.

Zhur


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

Bishop746 said:


> Maybe you can answer a question I have about Cowboy Action Shooting. I was watching some videos on Down Range TV of some CAS events and I was struck by the low recoil of the rifles and pistols. Does CAS use underpowered loads or are the loads historically accurate but not as powerful as a modern bullet.
> 
> BTW, those Wild Bunch matches look like alot of fun.


That is the current controversy in SASS. Cowboy loads were historically less potent than current loads, probably because of technology.

Still, some folks load even less powder, making a round that barely makes it to the plate.

I think SASS is trying to put a lower limit on how soft a load can be.

There are also those among SASS who believe people who shoot .38/.357 guns are "gamers", or just using the guns to get an unfair advantage. While that may be true of some folk, there are a whole lot of us (including me ... note the predjudice?) who shoot .38/.357 because of cost and or health (back problems).

WM


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## bill5074 (Jun 23, 2008)

I watched a program on the Cowboy action shooting a few weeks ago on ESPN Shooting USA with Jim Scoutten. They showed all the different guns used, the cost, and what it takes to get involved. It looks like a blast. Good Luck!!:smt023


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Wandering Man said:


> While that may be true of some folk, there are a whole lot of us (including me ... note the predjudice?) who shoot .38/.357 because of cost and or health (back problems).
> 
> WM


There's a stark difference between people who are loading down for health concerns and those that are loading down for an advantage.

The people who are "gaming" often times don't follow all the stage protocols, like when they are asked to say a line, or unlock a lock box (that doesn't really have a key) or some such thing. They do the bare minimums rather than enjoy the spirit of the game. Usually they get called on those things, but it's rare that I ever saw that anyone complained about the fact that a plastic dart gun had more power than some peoples .38's.

Zhur


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

zhurdan said:


> Usually they get called on those things, but it's rare that I ever saw that anyone complained about the fact that a plastic dart gun had more power than some peoples .38's.
> 
> Zhur


:smt082 :smt082

WM


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## sixguncowboy (Jul 7, 2009)

*Cas*

Folks if you want to learn about CAS go here: http://http://sassnet.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=12

I've been shooting CAS since '95 and shoot 45 Colt. Standard factory specs for 45 Colt is a 255gr bullet at 950fps. I load mine up at a 200gr bullet at 723fps. It not only allows for quicker sight recovery on the next target but it saves wear & tear on my guns and the targets. :smt1099 tumbleweed


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