CAS Question

[campingnights]

Just a question on CAS. I see alot saying that you have to have two revolvers to participate, well OK thats the rules, but I have found nothing on the reason why? The cowboys would hardly have owned two guns, one would have been sufficient and with a rifle it was pretty much what they could afford. Not trying to argue just looking for the rational involved? I have several handguns, none in timeperiod, except for my Henry 357, but am cogitating CAS shooting.

[salvadore]

I'm not a cowpoke, but I think it has less to do with fact and more to with Gene and Roy.

[campingnights]

Ya might just be right, but then shouldn't a guitar be required too?

[SG29736]

It pretty much comes down to two guns = more shooting. It takes much longer to empty and reload one revolver and since most shooters wanted to shoot more they eventually shifted to requiring most everyone using two revolvers. Most cowboys wouldn't have wasted ammo on a competition event so you would be done with that before you even started. Mark

[Fingers McGee]

CAS is a fantasy shooting game that has nothing to do with being a 'Cowboy'; and not everyone that shoots has a 'Cowboy' persona. The inventors of the game decided early on that two revolvers was way more fun to shoot than one.

[Hellgate]

Back in the day (late 80s-early 90s) we typically had one revolver stages often with reloads. But as the sport became more popular and we needed to move more shooters through the stages the pistol reloads were dropped and a second handgun was used. Today, if you showed up at a match with only one revolver there would be several shooters willing to loan you an extra and maybe even the ammo for it so you could shoot the match. Twice I have forgotten pistols and twice I was loaned both guns and ammo so I didn't have to drive home w/o shooting the match. That's just how Cowboy /action Shooters are.

[campingnights]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys. It probably does have alot to do with moving folks through faster by having two guns instead of reloading. I watched some videos on CAS and it wasn't what I was thinking it was, those folks seemed more interested in speed than savoring the experience, I mean if I wanted to shoot that fast I'd use my 9mm and a semiauto rifle. Guess it likely wouldn't work for me. I'm slow and use a cane, and would be there more for the fun of shooting than competition and speed. To each their own. I still think I'll get a Cimmaron Outlaw 357 (maybe for Christmas) and continue savoring the experience with my Grandson at the range. Happy Trails

Thought I should clarify that I'm not downtalking CAS shooters. It's just that I was thinking it would be more like the muzzeloading group I participated in a couple of decades ago. We took our time and relaxed during the "blanket shoot" and weren't all that worried about scores (well at least most of us). It's all good

[Fingers McGee]

Not all of us are there for the speed. I shoot Frontiersman with a pair of percussion Colt's. I've got six pairs that get rotated throughout the year; but a pair of 1861 Navies are my favorite. Don't judge CAS by the videos, the shooters you see there only represent a small percentage of the people that compete. Attend a few matches in your area & you'll be surprised at the social aspect.

I've heard it said that folks join SASS for the shooting and stay for the people.

[campingnights]

Your likely right Fingers, think I'll check the club calendar and visit a CAS shoot. Your navys are fine pieces. I once had a 1862? police 36 that I was partial too. Good balance on those. Few modern guns feel as good in the hand as the open top percussions.

[noelf2]

two revolvers was way more fun to shoot than one.

Boy ain't that the truth! Even for folks like me that don't do CAS.

[thickice]

Campingnights; A lot of the videos you see are of the fastest shooters. SASS has several categories, including age based ones, so you are competing with others in your age group. I too have to use a cane, and generally shoot a typical stage in the 50 sec range. That doesn't diminish the fun I have. Remember there are two CAS organizations, SASS and NCOWS. SASS is more about the shooting, and NCOWS is more period correct. NCOWS has a category called "working cowboy", one revolver and one rifle, no gun carts allowed. Both have web sites.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Cameras usually gravitate to the fast shooters because it is more interesting to watch on TV. They seldom show the middle of the road shooters who do not shoot as fast. There are plenty of us who 'savor the experience' and do not shoot particularly fast. There are also a fair number of us who believe that savoring the experience is shooting Black Powder, not Smokeless.

CAS is not historical re-enactment and was not meant to be. Don't look to deep for historical correctness, it ain't there. NCOWS stresses historical accuracy more than SASS does, but SASS is a much bigger organization and SASS shoots are much easier to find than NCOWS shoots.

The first place I shot used to shoot with just one pistol. Eventually they changed over to the two pistol standard. One day they decided to have a one pistol only match, mostly at my urging. At the end of the match I had to admit, it is much more fun to shoot two pistols.

[Jim Watson]

The only reasonable way to get the round count up was to go 4 gun with two revolvers.

I recall reloading a SAA on the clock once ever. That was not popular.

Asking people who are accustomed to loading their lever actions while on a table and poking cartridges through the gate with a stick to reload hastily from their person is not thought reasonable either.

And a shotgun kicks if you have to shoot it a whole lot.

[campingnights]

Ya, my Henry big boy isn't a fast reload either, what with needing to remove the magazine follower each time. I do like the idea of a working cowboy class, but from what I have read, I don't think that NCOWs would allow a modern Henry and I have grown mighty partial to mine.
Well thanks guys. Since I likely can't convince anyone that my m92 or snubby 357 revolver is from the correct time period, my derringer might pass though, I'll just stop in at a local event and visit. Maybe an open top revolver or two will come my way this Christmas. My wife is always telling me that I can't have too many guns, but every time I buy another and tell her I'm just following her advice, "I can never have too many guns", she seems perturbed at me...go figure

[Driftwood Johnson]

I recall reloading a SAA on the clock once ever. That was not popular.

Yup, me too. Reloading a revolver on the clock hasn't happened in these parts in a long time. Never encountered a full reload, only encountered adding one more round. Not very popular because there is no simple way to know exactly where the new live round is.

Asking people who are accustomed to loading their lever actions while on a table and poking cartridges through the gate with a stick to reload hastily from their person is not thought reasonable either.

We still have rifle reloads. Usually just one round. No big deal really to shove one more into the loading gate and work the lever. Nobody around here uses a stick to poke rounds through the loading gate, our thumbs work just fine. I shoot an 1860 Henry. For reloads I just shove down the carrier and reload over the top. Much simpler than opening up the magazine to load from the front, which probably wouldn't be safe anyway, seeing as I would not be able to control my muzzle direction very well under the clock. Much simpler to just shove down the carrier and load over the top. You can do that with any of the toggle link guns; 1860 Henry, 1866 or 1873.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

we have guys that use the tube speed loaders...

I've thought about a stick / tool to help load the 38's in my lever action ( my finger doesn't fit in the loading gate, & if I have gloves on... forget about it...

I switched to 45 Colt in my lever gun, & donated the 38 to MRS that has smaller fingers...

I shoot classic cowboy... takes extra costume, but I'm there for the experience, not a race

[T. O'Heir]

CAS doesn't recreate or profess to recreate history. It's a shooting game just like IPSC and IDPA.
Anyway, the chances of a 19th Century 'cowboy' owning any firearm was slim. Certainly not a Colt. Too expensive for a guy making $40 or less a month. Most didn't own the horse they rode either.
"...Twice I have..." Shooters everywhere, shooting anything are like that. Muzzle on my 870 split at a plate match, long ago. Fortunately I noticed it and stopped the show. I literally took five steps when one of the guys handed me his Winchester, a 2200 I think, and the ammo to finish. And promptly short stroked it.

[thickice]

CAS doesn't recreate or profess to recreate history. It's a shooting game just like IPSC and IDPA.

CAS is Cowboy Action Shooting which includes SASS and NCOWS. While SASS, (Single Action Shooting Society) is more of a shooting game, so to speak, NCOWS tends to be more period correct in their organization and matches. I belong to both groups and enjoy them equally.

[campingnights]

Closer to the period revolvers needed now. I treated myself to a Cimarron Frontier in 357, courtesy of "Cheaper Than Dirt". Pretty case hardening on that. I also took advantage of Cabellas sale and picked up a Pietta Model 1858 Sheriff in 44 percussion. I'll likely pick up a conversion cylinder for the Remington, assuming the wife allows me to survive the experience when she finds out I bought 2 new guns.

[SG29736]

If you go to any shooting match, SASS, IDPA, USPSA, ICORE (I'm a member of all of these) you will see all levels of ability represented. There are the top level competitors down to the guys that are barely able to get through the course of fire. All of them are having fun. The top competitors of each are usually who will be shown on videos representing each sport. Mark