Headed to a SASS match Saturday...

I shot SASS for about a year, just outside of Wilmington. Hurt my back in December and had to set out a month or two, then the virus thing shut everything down. I hope to get back started one of these days. Would be interested in how you like the Statesville experience...
 
There are lots problems with cowboy shooting.
1. Very expensive to get started.
2. Not enough places or shooters in this area.
3. Younger shooters are more interested long range. Like the golf saying...drive for show, putt for dough. There is a great range called Frontline Defense near me. They had 150 shooters for long range the past match. In this area you are lucky to get 15 cowboy shooters or big bore single shot. So there is no incentive to do a cowboy match. Out west the have a lot more shooters for cowboy shooting. Practicing is my main issue. There is no range that I can practice Cowboy shooting near me. Without practicing, one can't get better. Hard to go to a cowboy shoot and just shoot the matches one a month and get better. It saddens me to see cowboy shooting dying as a sport.
 
Where I shoot at in the Wilmington area (Buccaneer Gun Club), there are about 10+ active shooters. Some months we have 18-20, but most months we have 10-12. We shoot once per month. I am 65 years old, and there was usually 1 or 2 shooters younger than I. It is definitely an older sport on the eastern side of the USA. One of our active members went out west last year to the End of Trail competition, the Super Bowl of SASS. A couple of the local competitors that practice a lot and shoot stages in the 17-18 second range. Compared to myself, I shoot in the 45-50 second range per stage. I don't practice between matches; costs too much. I like to go shoot and spend time with the guys, not worrying too much about my time. Additionally, I like to go help the gang set up targets on Fridays before the match.

I prefer to shoot in the spring and fall, also in the winter when your fingers don't freeze. I don't care for shooting in the heat of the summer. The place I shoot at is in the Green Swamp of NC, and can get really hot and muggy in the summer. I worked in a paper mill for a living and don't need any more hot and humid in this life.
 
I think Buccaneer is having a Wild Bunch/SASS match this Saturday. We once had 40 - 50 shooters each match, but several factors have caused it to dwindle a bit. I have been unable to attend for two years but hope that I can start shooting matches fairly soon.

It is fairly expensive requiring two single action revolvers, a pistol-caliber lever action or pump rifle, and a suitable shotgun. You will shoot around 120 handgun/rifle rounds and about a box of shotgun shells. Wild Bunch uses a 1911 instead of two revolvers.

I really enjoy the matches for the shooting and for the nice people who like to get dressed up and play cowboy with real guns and live ammo.
 
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I've shot long range and tactical matches. I am currently looking for guns, but you guys are right... It's expensive to get into.

I look forward to going to the match Saturday, I need to look at the equipment and get the classes tied down. I have a 1894 Marlin in. 357.
 
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With the Marlin you have one of four. I started with a Marlin in 44 Mag, a Ruger Super Blackhawk, Uberti Cattleman in 45 Colt and a borrowed Stevens 311 in 20 gauge. Upgraded guns and leather as I went along. Daughter has a matched set of Uberties, consecutive serial numbers, I gave her the 97 Winchester clone when she got married, stock is to short for me. Sold one of my Blackhawks in 357, had a matching pair.
When I quit I was shooting the same Marlin, two 45 Colt Uberties and a replica of the Colt coach gun in 12 ga.
Biggest drawback for me was the drive, two hours one way minimum. Obummer getting elected, resulting in no ammo and no reloading components and a personal injury was what stopped me.
I want to get back, but the drive is still a killer.
CF

Also, Chihuahua Floyd was my SASS alias.
 
Went to my first match to observe todaywith the Iredell Regulators. To say these people are friendly, is a huge understatement. A guy mentioned I could shoot two different rifles if I wanted after the stage, before I knew it, I had a gun belt strapped on me and was shooting a stage. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun. Tons of tips and knowledge was passed along. I need some guns
 
With the Marlin you have one of four. I started with a Marlin in 44 Mag, a Ruger Super Blackhawk, Uberti Cattleman in 45 Colt and a borrowed Stevens 311 in 20 gauge. Upgraded guns and leather as I went along. Daughter has a matched set of Uberties, consecutive serial numbers, I gave her the 97 Winchester clone when she got married, stock is to short for me. Sold one of my Blackhawks in 357, had a matching pair.
When I quit I was shooting the same Marlin, two 45 Colt Uberties and a replica of the Colt coach gun in 12 ga.
Biggest drawback for me was the drive, two hours one way minimum. Obummer getting elected, resulting in no ammo and no reloading components and a personal injury was what stopped me.
I want to get back, but the drive is still a killer.
CF

Also, Chihuahua Floyd was my SASS alias.
I'm fortunate that I have a few places to shoot within an hour. Not too bad.
 
Went to my first match to observe todaywith the Iredell Regulators. To say these people are friendly, is a huge understatement. A guy mentioned I could shoot two different rifles if I wanted after the stage, before I knew it, I had a gun belt strapped on me and was shooting a stage. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun. Tons of tips and knowledge was passed along. I need some guns
Cowboy action shooters are the most friendly people you will ever meet. How many shooters were at the match? How far is Statesville from Elkin? Some of my gear is in Wilmington but I could be talked into shooting regularly in WNC. Where are the other clubs that you mentioned in your previous posts? Also, what is the monthly schedule? Thanks.
 
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Cowboy action shooters are the most friendly people you will ever meet. How many shooters were at the match? How far is Statesville from Elkin? Some of my gear is in Wilmington but I could be talked into shooting regularly in WNC. Where are the other clubs that you mentioned in your previous posts? Also, what is the monthly schedule? Thanks.
Look up Carolina cowboys.us they ha e their schedule. The Statesville group I shot with today had 15-16 shooters. The other big club is in Salisbury /rowan County.
 
Thanks for sharing!

Cowboy action is doing well in the Upstate of SC. We now have three clubs holding monthly matches. We are shooting tomorrow in Greenville.

Yes it’s a multi gun sport, as is Three Gun so there’s more gear to buy compared to, say IDPA. We share with new shooters while they acquire stuff. It took me a year to get everything. I shot every month that year because people shared with me.

I’ve been using the same revolvers, holsters and rifle for ten years. I did buy a second shotgun because my wife claimed my first one. I think I’ve gotten my money’s worth of fun from the purchase and if I sold them I would recoup a large percentage of the cost.

It’s a whole lot cheaper than buying and maintaining a BMW motorcycle, believe me.
 
SASS was a grand sport that has peaked. I have been to several regional matches in Givans Range outside of Summerville. Last year @Geezer , @RaceRedGT and I went. It was truly pitiful. 2 vendors. 1/3 the shooters the previous times we went. We used to finish our monthly matches with a Cowboy Action stage. The shooters Loved it.
 
I went twice with @BatteryOaksBilly to two of the regional matches there. I was underwhelmed both times. Oh, I got to see a little of the shooting and some of the speed with working single action revolvers, lever rifles, and shotguns was darned impressive. But, the lack of entrants and spectators really surprised me. Billy has had bigger crowds at his place on a lot of regular Sunday afternoons.
 
SASS was a grand sport that has peaked. I have been to several regional matches in Givans Range outside of Summerville. Last year @Geezer , @RaceRedGT and I went. It was truly pitiful. 2 vendors. 1/3 the shooters the previous times we went. We used to finish our monthly matches with a Cowboy Action stage. The shooters Loved it.
Very sad....now younger peeps like plastic and long range. They like to drive for show instead of putt for dough.
 
Typically SASS members will bombard you with friendliness and almost always eager to let you shoot their guns. Before I moved to Hickory in 2015, I used to shoot SASS in Valdosta, Ga. Had the whole family shooting. Talk about getting burned out fast, cleaning all those black powder firearms was exhausting!!!

I don't shoot CAS any more but still prefer the cowboy firearms for range shooting and hunting. I did visit the SASS range in Lenoir, NC but never did go back to shoot a match.

Back in 2008, I took my daughter to shoot a match in Jacksonville, Fl once. We had a problem thus another shooter loaned her two Ruger's and a rifle in .38 (357) and a bag of ammo to finish the match.

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Typically SASS members will bombard you with friendliness and almost always eager to let you shoot their guns. Before I moved to Hickory in 2015, I used to shoot SASS in Valdosta, Ga. Had the whole family shooting. Talk about getting burned out fast, cleaning all those black powder firearms was exhausting!!!

I don't shoot CAS any more but still prefer the cowboy firearms for range shooting and hunting. I did visit the SASS range in Lenoir, NC but never did go back to shoot a match.

Back in 2008, I took my daughter to shoot a match in Jacksonville, Fl once. We had a problem thus another shooter loaned her two Ruger's and a rifle in .38 (357) and a bag of ammo to finish the match.

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You should come down to that Iredell match, its kinda small, and was a good group. not too high speed :) Ill probably go the end of this month if things work out.
 
There are lots problems with cowboy shooting.
1. Very expensive to get started.
2. Not enough places or shooters in this area.
3. Younger shooters are more interested long range. Like the golf saying...drive for show, putt for dough. There is a great range called Frontline Defense near me. They had 150 shooters for long range the past match. In this area you are lucky to get 15 cowboy shooters or big bore single shot. So there is no incentive to do a cowboy match. Out west the have a lot more shooters for cowboy shooting. Practicing is my main issue. There is no range that I can practice Cowboy shooting near me. Without practicing, one can't get better. Hard to go to a cowboy shoot and just shoot the matches one a month and get better. It saddens me to see cowboy shooting dying as a sport.

This may sound heretical but maybe it is time for a reduced scale version using .22 single actions and .22 levers. Cheaper to practice, cheaper to equip, and cheaper to shoot. It might attract some of the aluminum and plastic group that don't want to pop for the full bore guns that they may end up not shooting all that much but everyone likes to plink with 22s.
 
I was having trouble with the NC state link too: => "Geocode was not successful for the following reason: REQUEST_DENIED"
And the Iredell WebSite failed with one of those "IP address could not be found" errors.
So they shoot the last Saturday in the month 9am at the FOP range in Statesville. Troutman or Barium Spgs exit. (you can google FOP range) I just went and watched. they were very friendly.
 
There are lots problems with cowboy shooting.
1. Very expensive to get started.
2. Not enough places or shooters in this area.
3. Younger shooters are more interested long range. Like the golf saying...drive for show, putt for dough. There is a great range called Frontline Defense near me. They had 150 shooters for long range the past match. In this area you are lucky to get 15 cowboy shooters or big bore single shot. So there is no incentive to do a cowboy match. Out west the have a lot more shooters for cowboy shooting. Practicing is my main issue. There is no range that I can practice Cowboy shooting near me. Without practicing, one can't get better. Hard to go to a cowboy shoot and just shoot the matches one a month and get better. It saddens me to see cowboy shooting dying as a sport.


Problem 4. Seems a bit weird. A lotta bit weird. Uncomfortablely wierd. Wierd.

I got invited to one, to watch. Never went back.

Picture my host, a short dude, 4ft 11. Tall and wide.

Double slung 7 in colt 45s in an extra xxx long double belt rig tucked up under the gut and side rolls... with guns akimbo nearly horizontally opposed and held from a fall only by the hammer thong and grip frames pinched in love handles..... and tangled with the 12in bladed and bejeweled Bowie in a too long aussie drover's coat .....while pushing a squeeking home made cart with rifles and shotties and ammo and .... box of chocolate ding dongs and a 6 pack of RC Cola..........

.....then he positions his weapons on the table. Table, tables (hell, fat Bob was gonna run and gun!)....... (Oh f-ck me! This is wierd!) , raises his hands in the air, hollers "I'm black bart and ya ain't taken me alive" and grabs (many times to untangle and draw) .....colts a blazing at targets 3 feet away and still yelling incomprehensible jibberish waddles right to table 2 in his too loose tractor supply boots to get his rifle and fumbleshot more pills at a third table covered in balloons..... and then winded, no more yelling, staggers to table 4 to fire 2 misses with #8 shot at 12" cardboard disks at 15 ft.

I felt like yelling. I'm Sharps40 and I'm getting the hell out here!...... But I had to wait cause Fat Bart was driving.
 
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Problem 4. Seems a bit weird. A lotta bit weird. Uncomfortablely wierd. Wierd.

I got invited to one, to watch. Never went back.

Picture my host, a short dude, 4ft 11. Tall and wide.

Double slung 7 in colt 45s in an extra xxx long double belt rig tucked up under the gut and side rolls... with guns akimbo nearly horizontally opposed and held from a fall only by the hammer thong and grip frames pinched in love handles..... and tangled with the 12in bladed and bejeweled Bowie in a too long aussie drover's coat .....while pushing a squeeking home made cart with rifles and shotties and ammo and .... box of chocolate ding dongs and a 6 pack of RC Cola..........

.....then he positions his weapons on the table. Table, tables (hell, fat Bob was gonna run and gun!)....... (Oh f-ck me! This is wierd!) , raises his hands in the air, hollers "I'm black bart and ya ain't taken me alive" and grabs (many times to untangle and draw) .....colts a blazing at targets 3 feet away and still yelling incomprehensible jibberish waddles right to table 2 in his too loose tractor supply boots to get his rifle and fumbleshot more pills at a third table covered in balloons..... and then winded, no more yelling, staggers to table 4 to fire 2 misses with #8 shot at 12" cardboard disks at 15 ft.

I felt like yelling. I'm Sharps40 and I'm getting the hell out here!...... But I had to wait cause Fat Bart was driving.
Thats funny...but they are not all like that. Do some youtube videos on cowboy shooting. Its about having fun. Yes you dress up cowboy, but it is really not much different then some of the getups I see in long range shooting or other shooting sports. They have more gear on their gun then a 007's car. But I do understand what you saw.....that might scare me too!
 
Problem 4. Seems a bit weird. A lotta bit weird. Uncomfortablely wierd. Wierd.

I got invited to one, to watch. Never went back.

Picture my host, a short dude, 4ft 11. Tall and wide.

Double slung 7 in colt 45s in an extra xxx long double belt rig tucked up under the gut and side rolls... with guns akimbo nearly horizontally opposed and held from a fall only by the hammer thong and grip frames pinched in love handles..... and tangled with the 12in bladed and bejeweled Bowie in a too long aussie drover's coat .....while pushing a squeeking home made cart with rifles and shotties and ammo and .... box of chocolate ding dongs and a 6 pack of RC Cola..........

.....then he positions his weapons on the table. Table, tables (hell, fat Bob was gonna run and gun!)....... (Oh f-ck me! This is wierd!) , raises his hands in the air, hollers "I'm black bart and ya ain't taken me alive" and grabs (many times to untangle and draw) .....colts a blazing at targets 3 feet away and still yelling incomprehensible jibberish waddles right to table 2 in his too loose tractor supply boots to get his rifle and fumbleshot more pills at a third table covered in balloons..... and then winded, no more yelling, staggers to table 4 to fire 2 misses with #8 shot at 12" cardboard disks at 15 ft.

I felt like yelling. I'm Sharps40 and I'm getting the hell out here!...... But I had to wait cause Fat Bart was driving.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Dude, I just wasted a good mouthful of IPA and I can’t breathe.
 
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