almost ready to "cowboy up"

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I think I'm going to my 1st one... we'll see if they'll let me shoot, this next Saturday... Mrs. Magnum had gotten my an antique Suit Case to see if I wanted it for my 1938 Nash as an accessory... which I didn't really...

but I think I found a use for it... 2 boxes of 12 ga, 2 - 50 round plastic boxes of 45 Colt fit nicely on the bottom of one side... I picked up some brass acorn nuts, & made 1.25" wide straps that hold each box in place with a snap to close them... I'm going to add 2 more straps on the side for my lever action 38 special rounds... with the ammo strapped around the edges, there is room for my leather in the middle... there is a cloth & snap devider in the middle, & I think on the other side, I'll make 4 generic holsters / pistol scabards to store my revolvers in... this is an old pine suit case with heavy leather look paper on the outsides leather corners & handles, & cloth liner... I think it'll work nicely for my ammo & handguns I think I'll also make some pockets for other necessities as I figure out what I need...

so... how much ammo do you take ??? ( I'll be taking 50 shotgun rounds, 100 revolver rounds, & 100 lever action rounds )

what do you tote your stuff in ???

any suggestions for a period looking case for my rifle & double 12 coach ???

[Hawg]

You may bring a few rounds of each home.

[Tanker6]

Our normal local matches have 6 stages. Some other clubs have only 5 (especially in the heat of the summer).

So, with just one shooter, you're looking at (for 6 stages) around 60 rounds of pistol, 60 rounds of rifle, and 24 rounds of shotgun. I shoot the same round in pistol and rifle, so I normally make sure I have at least 150 .38's. That's normally more than I need (even if I have to reshoot a stage) and a box (and 8-10 loose rounds) of shotgun.

As for toting the stuff around, you'll find that most CAS shooters have a gun cart with racks built in for their long guns and boxes on them for ammo, ear plugs, eye protection, etc. I normally have my pistols in carry boxes (cheap plastic stuff I've picked up at Academy or Gander) and long guns in gun cases. I remove them at the truck and place them in the holsters or racks (as appropriate) when I arrive.

Have fun and welcome to the fire!

Tanker6 a/k/a Chickahominy Charlie

[Stephanie B]

With a `38 Nash, sounds as though you'd be a good fit with the Zoot Shooters.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

naaaa... I'm a revolver guy... got a 1911... just don't shoot it as well as I do my "wheel guns"

but the car is definately gangster looking... its a grey suicide door trunk back sedan

[rodent.22]

many clubs request that you attend your first shoot and watch, get a feel for what's going on.....

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I'm going early enough to chat a little before the shooters meeting, before the shoot... if they don't let me, I can live with that too... just trying to get started

[Noz]

I wold be astounded if they don't let you shoot.

The harshest we might get is to have an experienced shooter "mentor" you through the first shoot, and that's only if we are concerned about your safety or gun handling knowledge.

[Tanker6]

+1 on Noz's comment. Just show that you can shoot safely and they'll let you give it a shot.

The "only" two real rules of SASS are 1. Shoot Safe and 2. Have Fun.

.....Oh, and don't forget to have fun!

[bedbugbilly]

Enough of all of this talk . . . I WANT TO SEE A PHOTO OF THE NASH!
Just tell us that your hogleg is in the car . . that's close enough for me to fit in to this forum.

Good luck at the shoot as well . . let us know how you like it! Thanks!

[Magnum Wheel Man]

OK... there is a "Chicago typewriter" in the car right now... you can see it... right

too many hobbies

[Magnum Wheel Man]

well I had a GREAT time... Cedar Valley Vigilanties were were a great group of shooters to work with... they offered me lots of tips, even offered me a shotgun shell carrier ( which I should have accepted the use of... I had practiced at home with a leather belt bag that holds 8 rounds ) I found myself fumbling around quite a bit more than if I had been able to grab them in pairs )... they did pair me up with a "mentor" in my posse, who let me share his cart as well... they were not worried about my gun grips at all... they had one stage that had 6 shotgun targets, so I ended up shooting 60 handgun 60 rifle, & 26 shotgun shells...

I honestly have not done much speed shooting, so this was quite a challenge for me... I was perfect with my shotgun, ( which is suprising, since I shoot shotgun the least of the 3 guns ) I had 3-4 screw ups with my rifle ( one or two misses, & 3 times did not rack the lever fully, ( trying to rush ) the 1st time I ended up ejecting a live round, twice after that I was able to correct my mistake & get the gun to feed without dropping any live rounds ) I had a fair amount of misses with the handguns ( 4-5 ) from trying different shooting techniques to speed up my shooting, & I'm honestly not used to shooting that close of targets... I would have been much better off slowing down & getting full hits I had one proceadural penalty, where we were supposed to engage 4 targets with the revolvers, shooting 1-2-3-4, then 1-2-3, then 1-2, then 1... I shot one of the targets out of order... so that cost me some points... ( I think a 10 sec. penalty ??? ) my time was around 500 seconds, shooting all 6 stages, with my miss & proceadure penalties... which put me in last place with 49 shooters at this shoot... I looked up some of the other shoots scores, & there have been many with slower scores, so I'm not unhappy with my 1st try... I did shoot a clean stage on my last stage, so I think I got better as I went...

I joined the club... they have a super nice range ( from the pics, one of the best I've ever seen for cowboy shooting ) they have 6 stages, & added 6 new ones this year, since they regularly host the state championships, so they'll have 12 stages for that shoot

I'll be shooting again at the next shoot in 2 weeks... I hope to have a cartridge loop for the shot shells made, as well as finish up my buggy ( range cart )

I don't know if I've even seen these discussed or pictured, but every shooter seemed to have one & lots of interesting designs... mine was made for a black powder shoot, & doesn't have a rifle rack ( yet ), has 4 wheels & pulls like a wagon... has wooden wheels & axels... I'll have to see if I can get it modified for my next trip

[Tanker6]

Glad you had fun! From your post it appears that there's another shooter addicted.

Don't worry about time. I went from shooting 60+ seconds on the average stage to sub 35's in just a few months. Dry fire practice helps a bunch at getting the guns in action and transitioning from one to another.

Oh....and how do I know that you're addicted already?.....talkin' 'bout a gun cart for your second shoot!

Tanker6 a/k/a Chick

[Crunchy Frog]

Welcome to the party, Wheel Man! Sounds like you had fun. Most clubs welcome new shooters and help them along.

The first time I visited a cowboy match I was not ready to shoot, I was just looking to get an idea. The creativity of the homemade gun carts was one of the things that I really liked.

When I started shooting my first criteria for a gun cart was portability since I don't have a truck or van. I needed something that I could put into the trunk of a compact car. I ended up making mine out of a used jogging cart. It's much lighter than a wooden cart and pretty stable.

I visited a club in Texas and four wheeled carts were popular there. Many of them were styled like wagons or stagecoaches. Very fun.