Cowboy shooting

[jcw1970]

I've been thinking about trying some cowboy shooting and was wondering what would be a good gun to start with. Funds are a little limited so nothing too fancy. Is there a certain caliber anyone can recommend?

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon The Ruger SA models are hard to beat. Sturdy, safe, and lots of used ones for sale. A standard caliber will serve you well for more than CAS. If I did not have an ingrown hair for 41 mag I would go with the 44 or 45. They are easy to find, easy to load, and when you decide to go hunting plenty of power.
The only reason I would not recommend 41 mag is because the caliber is just a shade harder to find equipment. The other two calibers will do all the 41 can anyway.
Many use .357. But the .357 is minimal for hunting larger than cayotes. I have a limited budget also so my firearms have to be multi-purpose and the 41mag or larger can fill any purpose I know of.

[waksupi]

I think you can shoot cowboys with pretty much any caliber.

[EDK]

I'd go with RUGER blackhawks, a MARLIN 1894 and either an 1897 WINCHESTER (or clone) or a side by side shotgun...probably a 12 gauge. There is some difference of opinion on calibers. 357 is very popular, then 45 colt.

The reasoning on 357 is common caliber....or some people load it down pretty low. Cowboy shooting is pretty social, but there are some "win at all cost" types in any sport. 45 Colt is traditional...but not historical in rifles, but no need to discuss that. I shoot my standard 44 ammo at about 900 fps+ in 5.5 inch VAQUEROS/BISLEY VAQUEROS or their adjustable sighted siblings. My rifles are 1894 MARLIN Cowboys in 20 and 24 inch. I had my guns before getting into Cowboy Shooting (and don't compete much) and I'll have them if I loose interest in it.

BOTTOM LINE: Use something relatively inexpensive and in calibers you can sell if you decide you don't like CAS/SASS. Go to sassnet.com/forums/ and do some reading.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[jcw1970]

Good afternoon The Ruger SA models are hard to beat. Sturdy, safe, and lots of used ones for sale. A standard caliber will serve you well for more than CAS. If I did not have an ingrown hair for 41 mag I would go with the 44 or 45. They are easy to find, easy to load, and when you decide to go hunting plenty of power.
The only reason I would not recommend 41 mag is because the caliber is just a shade harder to find equipment. The other two calibers will do all the 41 can anyway.
Many use .357. But the .357 is minimal for hunting larger than cayotes. I have a limited budget also so my firearms have to be multi-purpose and the 41mag or larger can fill any purpose I know of.

When you say 45, is that 45 Long Colt?

[missionary5155]

Yep... 45 Long Colt... Back about 1873 the 45 Colt was the "magnum" pistol Cartridge of its day. Today in a modern revolver it is still a Major powerhouse.
But I still prefer 41 mag..

[Lloyd Smale]

id say the new ruger vaqueros are probably the most popular gun and the 45 colt is probably the most popular round.

[jcw1970]

id say the new ruger vaqueros are probably the most popular gun and the 45 colt is probably the most popular round.

I've seen on here some people have had trouble with the vaqueros.

[August]

I saw at least four, used new vaqueros in .45 Colt's caliber for under 400 bucks each at the emporium yesterday. The .38s run about a hundred more. Stoeger double gunz are around for 350-400 bucks. Good rifles at good prices are hard to come by. However, in general, rifles in .45 Colt's caliber run two to four hundred bucks less than the same piece in .38.

The problem with going with .45s is, once you've got 'em, your stuck with 'em.

Most people that end up staying in the game end up with .38s or one of the two, black powder compatible calibers. Newcomers often start with .45 Colt's and gradually get tired of dealing with the caliber's limitations. Some people, however, stick with the .45 and like it.

So, a feller can get started for 2K bucks in .45 or 3K bucks in .38. A good, tuned, competitive set-o-gunz will cost 4K bucks.

The age old advice in SASS is to just show up and people will start throwing gunz at you so you can play. Lots o' pards carry extra shotgunz and rilfes on their carts. So, if you "want to get started" get some leather and a brace of pistols and show up with some ammo and you'll be taken care of.

It really is an economical sport -- once you've got the gunz you want. It takes most pards in SASS about ten years to get their gunz refined to the point where they are happy with 'em.

Guys that complain about the cost of CAS are simply people who've never owned a sailboat.

[Springfield]

My wife and I started with all 45 Colt guns, and she still shoots hers. I have switched over to 44-40 as I shoot mostly Blackpowder. We don't own any 38's for cowboy. No real need as far as I can se, you can load the 45 down quite a bit and use lighter bullets if you are worried about recoil, unless you are a win at all costs kind of guy. Most of the top shooters do shoot 38's, and even 32's. Just don't seem cowboy to me. If you want to use your guns for hunting then I would get some Rugers, will hold up better with full power loads then Ubertis, although I have been shooting the same pair of 44-40 Ubertis for 4 years now with no problems. Wife has been shooting her pair about 3-4 times a year for the last 5 years and hers work fine also. You could get a pair of Blackhawks, they just changed the classes and adjustable sighted guns can now shoot in the regular classes, no longer have to shoot by themselves.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Money was extremely tight when I started Cowboy Shooting, So I started with 1851 Navy Colt clones from Pietta. Guns were a lot less, Legal in all catagories, And loads of fun. Still shooting frontiersman.

Sam :-D

[KCSO]

If you are on a budget the Taurus Gaucho is a lower cost opting that is perfectly acceptable. Since Cowboy shooting has fell far down the slope of gamesmanship you will find that most prefer a 38-357 with wimp loads to cut their time. A tuned Rossi levergun is a good starter but most are using a short thow 73 for their levergun. Shotgun makes liittle difference as you are limited to loading two shots.

[WildmanJack]

jcw1970,
I have a pair of Taurus Gaucho's in .357, Out of the box they feel like they've had a trigger job. Smooth action and well made. I had to send one back after someone pulled the trigger at half cock and messed up the sear. They had it back to me in less than two weeks. I was impresed with their service. Good luck with your SASS.
Jack

[Jbar4Ranch]

An 1892 or a Marlin M94 would be the most economical rifle to start with. SxS 12 gauges are easy to find on the used racks or in pawn shops. Brass framed 1851 or 1860 C&B revolvers in .44 cal can be had new for well under $200 each, but, unless you go with '58 Remingtons, you will definitely have cap jams at some point. Ruger Old Army's are the gun to use if you're serious about C&B's, but they're getting expensive, and Remington #10's are the cap of choice. Some of the Uberti 1873 clones are reasonably priced and are a decent gun out of the box, but Blackhawks and Vaqueros are the guns of choice. Thirty eights are the most economical to shoot, of course.
My favorites are a vintage Marlin SRC in .38-40, a pair of 1860 C&B's or a pair of .38-40 Vaqueros (I've managed to find three of 'em), and a hammered SxS shotgun.

Check out the SASS WIRE (http://sassnet.com/forums/index.php?) for a ton more info on the subject.

[cajun shooter]

JCW1970, It all depends on what kind of cowboy you want to be. If you are a "GAMER" and want to be first then you will end up with 38's shooting "MOUSE FART LOADS" which were never loaded in any real old west cowboy gun. You will have a $1500 mdl 73 short stroked and trick out to the max. You will have for your shotgun a mdl 97 Win which was never used in the real old west but was ok'ed so that the "GAMERS" could win. Or you could attend a few matches and watch the Frontiersman and Frontier Cartridge classes and see a bunch of guys who do it the real way. If you stay long enough you will see the division in the ranks that I'm talking about. I shoot 45's loaded to the top with the "HOLY BLACK" and don't care what the damn clock says. As Springfield stated the 44-40 is a good choice for the sealing of the rifle chamber. The reason that no rifles were chambered for the original 45 Colt was that the case was made with a very small rim and would have been a bear to design an extractor that would work and clear the chamber. It had nothing to do with it being a bad cartridge as some believe today. I will close and step down off the soap box. You can see that I have strong feelings about CAS.

[Jbar4Ranch]

Here's an original Benet primed .45 Colt I recently added to my collection - It's very easy to see why a rifle was never chambered for it. The folded rim of the copper case is virtually non-existent and there was simply nothing for the extractor to grab on to.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/jbar4ranch/BenetPrimed45Colt.jpg

[45nut]

Excellent pic,, never seen one of those 45 Colts, VERY obvious why the 45 COlt was not able to be hot-rodded OR loaded in leverguns back then.

Speaking of non-existent rims,,,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/100_0662.jpg