The Shootin Iron

Dec. 01, 2005 By Duane Otis

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Cowboy Action Shooting The Guns

Written By: Duane Otis

Hijinx riding out of Texas has asked me to provide some keen insight on the guns that are used in the Cowboy Action Shooting Game. I hope that all of you folks have taken the opportunity to follow the link to SASS and get signed up with the biggest outfit that ever was. Once you join up, you will be receiving a copy of that SASS Shooters Handbook. It will guide you on what is legal and what is not. As stated in the section "The Game", please be cautious about trading away the very gun you may need down the trail. Basically you can get going in this game with just a few well chosen guns. The object of this article is to get you started and think of a few common sense ideas that will save you grief in the long run. Revolvers: I wish we only needed one, but the truth of it is that match designers have chosen to have many stages involving the use of two. So you may as well face it. You will need two. If you live in an area or shoot with a club that designs their stages for one gun. Hurrah for you! Travel to a big match with a 50-300+ shooters and you will need the 2nd revolver. That's a fact. So if you happen to have two of different caliber's, no real big problem. But sooner or later you will run into the problem of a .45 Colt on one hip and a .44-40 or .357 Magnum on the other. You will forget the correct ammo sooner or later and be standing their with an empty gun when the timer goes off. Sorry! So think ahead, go for revolvers of the same caliber. One gun belt, same ammo. Along that line, it makes much more sense to have both guns of the same make and mechanism and handling characteristics. I own and shoot Colts and Rugers. I like both. Taking it a bit further, should they be a matched set? Sure looks good, BUT I strongly doubt that you will ever get two revolvers (without adjustable sights) to shoot to the same point of impact. Sooner or later the one that hits about 2" high is going to get switched with the one that is dead on at 25 yards but throws 3" to the right. Oops! Missed target! How do you beat that? Consider two different barrel lengths or two different finishes or grips. Your trembling hand pulls that iron from the holster, or scoops it from the table or hay bale, the brain goes into overdrive and the hand tells your mind that this is the gun that throws them 3" to the right...simple...no need to twist the barrel, just aim 3" to the left. Bingo! You have hit the middle of the target! Most of you are going to become reloaders of great piles of ammunition. You will discover that by changing powder charges, bullet weights, etc. that you can actually change the point of impact. All part of the great fun of the game. If you decide to shoot Modern category, you miss all these great excuses for a miss. In the beginning of the game, seems just about everyone was shooting Ruger Blackhawks, good strong guns, they just spun the sights till they were zeroed. No problems. Then a funny thing happened. The Traditional shooters ( without the sights )began to grow in number. Seems they were having more fun. We are not shooting at tiny targets a great distances. Lets say that if you can hit a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper at 15-20 yards shooting a shot every 2-3 seconds you will probably hit at least 75% of your targets. Where do you get them? New Colts may set you back between $800-1200. Replicas from a variety of sources. Sure do look good. Wide choices of styles and finishes and calibers. Most will require a bit of smoothing and perhaps a trigger job, and will give years of service. Then there is the Ruger Vaquero. My Stetson is off to Mr. Ruger. He saw a market and a demand and rose to the challenge. For a bit over $400.00 you can get a Vaquero in .44-40, .44 Magnum or .45 Colt. Choice of Blue with case color finish or the high polish Stainless. Shoot good, look good, are good. Expect 2-3" 25 yard groups with all of them with any barrel length. Barrel length? Too many arguments for me to handle. Great for campfire discussions. Of opinion that 5 1/2" most practical. My 2nd gun is the shorter 4 5/8". I know the 7 1/2" gives a nice sight picture but it does take some time to get it lined up. Whatever you get in pistols, work with them, fire them one handed and two handed. Shoot them a lot. I really mean a lot. These revolvers should be like old friends. Please don't tinker with them; trying to smooth them up. That's why gunsmiths exist. Very simply, they know what they are doing. Feel free to get the grips of your choice in the material that suits your fancy. Get those grips to fit the gun frame. Much more comfortable. Caliber choice. Again your choice within the rules. If you can handle it, shoot it. Don't get over-gunned. You have to control that iron, can't be done if hand size and strength won't permit. Keep in mind that some clubs have stages that have a mandatory knockdown for pistols in some or all stages. Don't expect a .32 or .38 to do it all the time. You get some insurance with a bigger slug. If you already have a pistol that is legal; shoot it. If it has adjustable sights, no problem, register to shoot Modern Category. It is not written in stone that you will be a Modern shooter forever. It may be that you will see the light sooner or later and do the Traditional way. Right now may be a very good time to give a plug to a man down in Arizona. I have never met him, I don't owe him any money..but he deserves a big hand from all of us in this game. He has taken many hours to write a great book. If it is not in your local bookstore, order it. His name is Charly Gullett. The name of his book is naturally: COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING. The Complete Old West Era Competition Reference. It is that. It is published by Wolfe Publishing Company 6471 Airpark Drive Prescott, AZ 86301 For your bookstore clerk here is a special number. It is ISBN 1-879356-27-9. Charly will guide you through just about everything that you will be thinking of. If you are getting interested in the Black Powder game, you have to have this book! Bucks well spent! Rifles: Will go into some additional detail in a later month's page. Rifles seem to present a problem. The problem is, they are hard to find. Remember the current rules call for a least a .32 caliber with minimum bbl. length of 16" in a PISTOL caliber! So Grandad's Winchester 94 Carbine in 30-30 (30 WCF) is not going to do it just yet. But grab it anyway. Look for or place an order for a Winchester Trapper or Wrangler or Marlin right now. Set you back about $400 when you can find one. Think the moral may be if you find it, new or used, and it looks OK, buy it. I am not in business of selling them, but it seems more folks get held back by not having one. What makes sense? Having the same caliber as your pistols for sure. One less thing to worry about. Secret: Look for Winchesters 1892's. They won't be around much longer. Consider the Browning 1892 or the Rossi 1892. Now available in 45 Colt! Consider the replicas. Many to choose from with wide choice of finishes. Your choice seems limited by the size of your wallet. When considering the extra fancy engraved models with extra grades of wood, keep in mind that the gun will be placed on a nasty variety of surfaces, ranging from a piece of rough wood to the top of a hay bale with rusty wires. Shoot a lot and they will begin to look like what they are. Used. They will not stay in pristine collector's condition. Shotguns: Again the subject of another month's page. Same moral, if you see one that is legal and you need it, buy it. I can remember when Winchester 97's were in every gun store. No more! The word is out, between the turkey hunters of the South and the Cowboy Shooters of the World, they are going, going. See One; buy one. The hombres will probably look for a 12 gauge. Great guns. If all you can find is a Full choke 30" don't pass it by. You can always have the bbl. cut. If you are really lucky, you may find an old takedown from the 20's or 30's with a spare bbl. The use of the Winchester '97 and '93 and some Marlins, has been questioned by many, but it is legal. You will never feel quite complete until you have one. So look for them. So much for keeping it simple. Sooner or later you will be looking for a side by side double. Perhaps with a short barrel; maybe even with exposed hammers. Might as well be on notice. Some clubs only have matches for the doubles. Great Fun! In the next few months we will look a bit closer at the rifles and carbines, both old and new. Will try to cover calibers, barrel lengths, choice of sights. Plan to share some information about all these things called Side Matches. Do I need a derringer? What is a belly gun? What is a pocket gun? A long range single shot black powder Sharps? Where does it end? Until we meet up again. Good Shootin! Tioga #1552 Duane Otis dotis@a.crl.com