Cowboy Up....anyone Shoot It?

[eerw]

Was down sighting in my 10/22 and doing some practice at 75 yards..

too much wind..so I ended watching the local cowboy group...nice guys to chat with...

man..they have alot of stuff..many of them had 3 to 5 long guns and shotguns as well as their SAA..

anyone shoot cowboy?? what all do you shoot through your stages...is it all time based???

looked interesting...

[Flexmoney]

I am thinking a typical cowboy stage..

- uses all three (well, four, with two revolvers) guns

- you load 5 in each revolver, you have ten targets to engage with the revovlers, you shoot them empty and holster them as you go to the...

- loaded rifle, which you will shoot dry on the appropriate number of targets, you will swap the rifle out of the rack for the...

- unloaded shotgun. In shotgun, you can keep feeding it ammo until you get your hits.

- on the revolver and rifle targets, I think you get the miss penalty (time added) if you fail to hit one of those targets...no make-up shots (no reloads)

- you have to wear the right wardrobe...long sleeve shirt, proper hat, no tread boots, no 5.11 tactical pants...

[eerw]

Dang...I'll end up looking like Jackie Chan in Shanghai Knights..

[Phil Dunlop]

Flex, you forgot the bitching!

Its a pretty big discipline in our club and its just like IPSC in the old days with the 'martial artists' and 'gamesmen'

The big issue is power factor and the tolerance of 38 Special downloaded as far as possible. That doesn't sit well with the traditionalists. They're having a torrid time at the moment.

I think the two sides should each choose a champion and decide the issue by shootout at high noon! The outcome is a pretty safe bet!

[eerw]

Flex, you forgot the bitching!

guess some things just don't change..

guess I'll stick with my open gun...

[SRT Driver]

Cowboy is a big program at my home club. Big draws but mostly the same hardcore shooters each month, just like anything.

It's all steel and the scoring is screwy. The RO has to hear the hit and sometimes they don't. and the pistol steel is usually 10 yards or less with big chunks of lead flying around.

Safety rules are.... looks like a lot a sweeping going on. Reholstering etc.

I've heard some stories about timers being snapped to add time etc at big matches if the RO doesn't like the shooter.

And the lack of power factor is a joke. Necked down 32 mag is apparently the "gamesmans" caliber. The revos and lever guns are like shooting 22's.

Blackpwowder is fun to watch. Or not watch as the case may be.

They look like they have fun but IPSC has more to offer. I really can't see myself yelling "Yeee Haaaa, drop them cards and reach for the sky you yellow belly!!!" before a stage.

[BSeevers]

All shooting is good but buying 4 customized guns kinda makes a STI 38 Super seem cheap. I know some say you can get in for $XXXX Yea well you can get into a 38 Super EAA for $600 but we all try to get the best we can afford and what works and wins.

Or a 9mm Glock for Production REAL cheap

Those wimpy loads are kinda poor. Makes the match winner pretty much who can load a shotgun faster. I also notice that the steel is almost always at one distance and in a clump or cluster

It does have a certain appeal since we all "started" our shooting careers in Cowboy play matches. Heck shoot it. I would if I could

[ErikW]

One thing I noticed is that a stage might call for repeated hits on the same piece of steel without transitioning to other targets. Hose and ring.

[lcambre]

One thing I noticed is that a stage might call for repeated hits on the same piece of steel without transitioning to other targets. Hose and ring.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Erik,

Cowboy would be the perfect sport for you. You could shoot Vaqueros with the rear sight milled into the frame. We just need to come up with an alias for you.

Louis

[AikiDale]

One thing I noticed is that a stage might call for repeated hits on the same piece of steel without transitioning to other targets. Hose and ring.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Erik,

Cowboy would be the perfect sport for you. You could shoot Vaqueros with the rear sight milled into the frame. We just need to come up with an alias for you.

Louis

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sight Killer comes to mind

[JFlowers]

Now, Now. I shot SASS for years (including a 1st in Frontier Cartridge at the NC State) before hanging up my sixguns and moving back over to USPSA. Not because I like one more than the other, but hey I have more than just cowboy guns in the safe calling my name. Cowboy is a load of fun and shooters are the best people around. Like any sport, SASS has its ongoing rules discussions (like our own with the SP-01 in Production) and these issues will get resolved. The Board of Governors only meets once a year.

Erik - Cowboys love dump targets (large targets with multiple shots on them). It lets you see how hard you can push a sixgun or lever a rifle. And yes, you can miss a 4ft x 4ft steel plate at 11 yards by recoil walking the gun right off the plate.

BSeevers - Wimp loads have become something of an issue. I mean a 32 SW Short loaded with a magnum primer, 1.2grs of powder, and a 78gr pill does not compare with a 45 colt with a magnum primer, 35grs of FFFg, and a 255gr pill. But SASS did away with its minimum velcoity rule basically because no one enforced it. I would hate to see what a stout BP load would do to a chrono!

SRT - If sweeping is going on an the ROs are not calling it, then thats poor local officiating. The safety rules for SASS are a bit more generic but basically the same as the ones we live under. And as for snapping a timer, thats just so wrong on so many levels, any RO caught doing that should be escorted off the range and barred permanently! I have never known or heard of such a thing! As for scoring, what's screwy about it..... Time plus 5 secs a miss and most clubs use straight time scoring, rather than stage ranking. The RO should never be paying attention to targets, he has more pressing concerns managing the shooter. Designated spotters are supposed to LOOK and LISTEN to call misses (by the way, I don't like leaving the hit/miss call up to the eyes and ears of strangers but thats the way the game is played.)

I would recommend to anyone any of the local SASS clubs in western NC.

[SRT Driver]

jflowers,

I do not shoot Cowboy but I've watched many local matches. These are instances that I've heard from several very seasoned cowboy shooters. They are a nice bunch but..

..the scoring issue, and I'm sticking by my six-guns, is open to too much interpretation. I don't want someone elses ears scoring the target for me. Several shooters have relayed stories of really fast shooters being called with mikes or having obvious mike and not being called with them. Especially when shooting is happening on the next range. Steel is not painted in between shooters from what I've seen.

Ultra low velocity lead at close steel targets. It's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

Clicking of timers..one shooter said it happened at one particular match on several occasions.

Sweeping with cross draw holsters easy to do. I went to a local match and saw it happen several times. The RO's really don't watch the pistol/rifle/shotgun. Most are looking downrange somewhere. SASS does not have an NROI type program, as far as I'm aware.

I'm not bashing cowboy shooting. I know everyone that participates has fun but you won't see me out there.

[Flexmoney]

We score Steel Challenge pretty much the same way. The shooter does five runs on each stage (so there should be 5 witness marks). We paint between shooters. We call the hits or misses...seldom do we go to the witness marks.

[Cowboy]

Guy's I shoot cowboy. I like it very much, even more so since I have started IPSC. I only take IPSC seriously now, so I just play around with cowboy (actually shooting cowboy better now, learning a lot from IPSC that I would never learn from cowboy).

Funny things I have noticed are that IPSC guys think cowboy is not as safe as IPSC and cowboy guys think IPSC is not as safe as cowboy. I have to agree with the IPSC guys, but I think both are pretty safe (cowboy does have a RO training program).

Another thing that is really funny is the cowboy guys think IPSC is too expensive.

[parsonm1]

One of the local SASS groups also makes the shooting sequence a part of the stage. Picture a steel match with 4 targets. You have to ring them in a set order...

1-2-3-4-2-3-4-1-3-4-1-2-4-1-2-3

Any mistakes and its a 5 second penalty.

Plus a lot of the cowboy shooters around here are older guys who enjoy three gunning, they just don't like the fast-paced, over-competitive nature of the 3 gunners (no insult intended). They also just enjoy the social nature of cowboy.

I don't shoot it anymore, though. The ROs kept getting on me for my tennies and ball caps!

[ErikW]

SASS is cheaper than IPSC like sending four children to state college is cheaper than sending one child to Stanford.

[Singlestack]

I would be tempted to give it a try if they didn't have to get all duded up in all those hot clothes. Looks like fun.

[Flexmoney]

I think you can dress up like...Kid Rock.

[jnshapiro]

I shoot it quite a bit (2003 MD State Champion, and I also generally place near the top at other events). And also shoot Steel Challenge with my Cowboy guns. And I also once in a while shoot a USPSA match with a 1911 (L10).

At the top level in Cowboy, the shooters are very talented.

Yup, scoring is screwy, though there is a quiet grass-roots movement to a total time scoring basis. That makes a LOT more sense.

Also, there is another Cowboy game on the rise called Western 3 Gun. It's much closer to IPSC style. Shooting on the move, painting/pasting between shooters, a better scoring system, accuracy counts, stages presented as a shooting puzzle to work out, etc.

If you're in the Sacramento area on the 4th Saturday of the month (not May, we have a match conflict), come on out and see. I'm the MD there and thinking of adding a category for 1911's. That'll make it easier for IPSC/IDPA shooters to gear up.

E-mail me if you'd like more info.

Oh, clothes are easy. Jeans, boots, long sleeve shirt (rolled up of course), and a cowboy type hat are all you need. It's not as hot as you'd think as the clothes keep the sun off you and the hat provides a lot of shade.

Joel

[the duck of death]

I shoot IDPA/USPSA/CAS, CAS is just another shooting sport for me. Cas is alot of fun you should try it.

Three Fingered Fred

[SRT Driver]

I think you can dress up like...Kid Rock.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cool. Gold plated Colts, some chaps and Pam Anderson in the cart for after match entertainment.

Where do I sign up?

Anybody what to buy some guns...cheap?

[1911user]

There is a strong, active cowboy action shooting group locally. I watched part of a match and honestly wasn't impressed with the shooting ability so I didn't stay too long. They are very serious about the dress-up and props though and just plain boots, jeans, shirt, and hat would not have been acceptable. It seemed more a social event than competition. I did see quite a few families there and the 8-10 year old kids shooting 22 revolvers, 22 lever rifles, and 410 double shotguns was a hoot.

I would like to see a really good cowboy shooter sometime. I have an idea how fast they could be, but it'd be nice to actually see it.

[MBaneACP]

For ANY USPSA shooter to say SASS scoring is screwy...STEP BACK, you're about to be struck by lightning!!!! LOL!

SASS is fun — the guns are neat and a nice break from trick semiautos. The people at the top tier of the sport are spooky-good...Holy Terror — Randi Rogers — is the best woman shooter I've ever seen walk onto a range in any discipline...think an 18-year-old TGO in a purple hat! Wow...that's not so hard to visualize! Scary.

Current SASS practice, at least at the Regional level, is an RO running the timer and THREE spotters watching the targets. Any questionable hit goes to the shooter's favor, which is as it should be in ALL the sports!

SASS will teach you transitions. If you get a chance, shoot Western 3-Gun, which allows shooting and reloading on the move and features steel targets with 8-inch knock down center A-zones. It's a screaming hoot!

Michael B

[jnshapiro]

Michael, I assume you're going to be at the W3G World Cup in Piru? Looking forward to seeing you again!

Joel aka Doc Shapiro

[Dang It Dan]

1911user,

If you think there isn't alot of talant in SASS, how about a guy that can draw, shoot five rounds, holster, draw a second gun and shoot five rounds under FOUR seconds. It happens all the time SASS.

I don't want to blow my own horn, but I was a Master in IPSC, a nobody really, but in SASS I was a three time regional winner and a five time state winner. In both, I liked the people involved. In both, I appreciated the time and effort some put into it.

In the end, I tend to think that we are all shooters first, no matter what the disipline and that most regular folks will not understand what it takes to compete at any level. Don't knock any shooting sport. We are few and far between.

BTW, I see you Doc!

Dang It Dan

13202L

Dan L. Beale

TY-8513