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Crossed cowboy shooting off my list...Sadly!
Hokkmike
Member Posts: 577 ✭✭✭✭
No disrespect to all of you cowboy action shooters. I checked out a local SASS range, store fronts and all, and met some friendly folk, but.....
They really need to come up with a one gun event for newbies. It is unreasonable to expect an entry level participant to come up with two revolvers, a lever action rifle, and period shotgun JUST to get started.
I KNOW, I KNOW - you can borrow guns but that is something I am funny about, so I guess it is my problem. I admit that.
Like I said, NO disrespect intended.
Maybe the powers that be in the sport will someday come up with a one gun novice cowboy revolver shoot or something. I think it would attract a lot of folk like me. You know, get your feet wet, start slow, and grow!
They really need to come up with a one gun event for newbies. It is unreasonable to expect an entry level participant to come up with two revolvers, a lever action rifle, and period shotgun JUST to get started.
I KNOW, I KNOW - you can borrow guns but that is something I am funny about, so I guess it is my problem. I admit that.
Like I said, NO disrespect intended.
Maybe the powers that be in the sport will someday come up with a one gun novice cowboy revolver shoot or something. I think it would attract a lot of folk like me. You know, get your feet wet, start slow, and grow!
Comments
Otherwise, I agree that it is tough starting out. My wife and I will be attending our second event this weekend, and we only own one lever action rifle. However, all the folks we have met so far have been real supportive and have offered to share guns. In fact a few have recommended NOT buying guns for a while until we know just what we want.
I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you. [:(]
SASS folks are great people for the most part, some gamers in all shooting sports...
I ain't fast, I shoot for the shear fun of it, and enjoy myself... so does the wife...
Also, was an excuse to buy more guns... can never have enough..
First of all, as a new shooter, I was very overwhelmed. After the match was over (we shot 5 stages) I was exhausted and stressed. Apparently there was an extra rush today to get done early before the heat set in. Also they were putting out some rather complicated stages that even the veterans were grumbling about. Unfortunately, there were about 5 different shooters giving me "advice" (most of it conflicting), plus the R.O. barking at everyone to hurry up, etc. In hindsight it would have been nice to have ONE veteran shooter assigned to help me out. Nothing I hate worse than to be told to do something one way then have somebody else come over and tell me how I did it all wrong.
Second, I'm with you Hokkmike on the share guns thing. At first I thought it would be no problem, try out different guns and all, but it just turned out to be a fiasco. I showed up with my one lever rifle and immediately I was swamped with folks that were piling leathers and guns on me. I was much appreciative, but I couldn't keep straight who had given me what, and of course the big problem was that they each had "special" instructions about how to use their precious firearm. The fellow that let me borrow his pistols had his certain special reload ammo that could only be used in them. Sure made the loading table a hassle lugging around two ammo cans, one for his special pistol ammo and one for my regular rifle ammo.
Third, although the folks were very gracious and generous, at times they got a bit TOO comfortable. For example, I had my rifle jam on the first stage, so I had to clear the stage to take care of my jam. But before I know it, a fellow has my rifle on the unloading table, with the buttstock removed, proceeding to unscrew the magazine stopper, the hammer and trigger mechanism, etc. Now I've cleared jams on that gun quite a bit, even replaced the carrier on my own, and I know for a fact that removing two screws (the lever and the carrier) will clear just about any jam. Instead this gentlemen proceeds to disassemble my rifle without consulting me whatsoever or even asking my permission. When I began to object I was met with remarks from other shooters saying, "oh, don't worry, he is a gunsmith". Apparently if you have a SASS number in the hundreds then you can do whatever you want to whomever's guns at a CAS event. I was about to grab the pieces of my rifle off the table, head to my truck, and forget CAS forever.
But I cooled off and the rest of the day went better. I have to say that there are some yahoos (or is it yayhoos?) at these events. Most folks are pretty nice, but occassionally you run into one of THOSE folks, you know the same kind of guys that sit around a gun shop all day, wearing three guns at the hip, turning every conversation into a pissing contest. Those are the types of gun shops that I just turn right around and walk out of, and I felt some of that today out on that CAS range.
My wife enjoyed the experience, but I was honestly a bit aggravated. Not relaxing or enjoyable shooting by any means. But I want to give it a fair shake, so I promised my wife I would give it a year.
-Wolf
In fact, I know a fella' who came to matches for over a year and shot one 357 Mag Ruger Blackhawk ($175 at a pawn shop...it was ugly but functional), an NEF 20 gauge shotgun with the automatic ejector disabled (around $100 brand new), and a Rossi 92 357 Mag carbine ($275 at a gun show). His leather was bought from pawn shop and gun show used leather bins and cost about $30. He took an old pair of his Wrangler jeans, carefully removed the belt loops, put two bucks worth of "bachelor buttons" on for suspenders, and bought a pair of galluses (suspenders) from the Salvation Army for a buck. At the same place, he got a couple button-up cotton workshirts for a dollar each. His hat was a nice palm leaf job ($20 new), and his boots were Ariat lace-up ropers. They were fairly spendy at $100, but they lasted him over two years and he wore them every day.
So CAS can be enjoyed on the cheap within the existing rules. No, you won't win any matches, but -not to put too fine a point on it- newbies aren't generally in contention anyway, so that argument isn't a strong one. The main reason they don't create a single gun category is the difficulty with creating scenarios that will work with existing setups and then keeping the timing and scoring seperate. Just remember that everyone who sets up steel, writes stages, times the shooters, and tallies scores is a volunteer. Asking them to create a "match within a match" for the very few who don't want to make a fullscale committment to the sport from the get-go is asking a lot.
[:D]
More than half the shooters at our National Shoot this year shot the Working Cowboy Class. Give us a look at www.ncows.com