As I was leaving the range I saw Cowboy Action shooters begin their match. I watched in awe and smiled the whole time I watched. Did I get bitten by the bug?
Tell me about the pistols, revolvers, and shotguns used for cowboy action shooting. Your experiences, not click on a YouTube video. I would love to hear what you used and the bullets you cast for them.
The sooner I fall behind...the more time I have to catch up with
I really believe I would enjoy the shooting aspect of it. I don't think I could get into the costumes and such though. No offence to those that do, I just don't think it would be for me. Also, I don't think it is very big in my area. I don't know anywhere local that hosts it.
I have what most would call a basic setup. Top shooters use heavily modified weapons. Also read that costly. I’m cheap (frugal) and still use what I started with a few years ago. I am not willing to put in the practice time/monies to be a top shooter, so I am happy being in the upper half on the score sheet. I enjoy the camaraderie and the shooting, competing basically against myself. I also don’t go extreme with costuming, wearing blue jeans, long sleeve shirt, boots and hat.
Here is what I use for firearms.
Rifle: Rossi 1892’s in 357 Mag and 45 Colt. Use 3.0 grains of Bullseye in 38 Special casings behind either 125 or 158 round flat bullets. 45 Colt is 4.5 grains of Red Dot behind 255 round flat bullets.
Revolvers: 2 Ruger New Vaqueros in 357 Mag or 2 Ruger original Vaqueros in 45 Colt, shooting the same loads as in rifles.
Shotgun: Stoeger double barrel SxS in 12 gauge, using either Winchester Low Noise / Low Recoil or my hand loads. Those are 14 grains on Clays behind 3/4 ounces of #7 1/2 shot.
These loads are what I use. They are well below book listed loads, so use at your own discretion.
Top shooters are using very slicked up guns rifles and revolvers are usually short stroked by cowboy gunsmiths. Shotguns also slicked up.
These are the most common.
Rifles: Uberti 1873 using 38 Special ammo. Very light loads and bullet weights.
Revolvers: Ruger New Vaquero again using above ammo.
Shotgun: SKB 12 gauge SxS double with light loads.
Hope this helps. Go to a match. Cowboy shooters are a great bunch. They will talk your ears off and probably offer the use of their gear to shoot a round after the match. You don’t have to go whole hog with the best equipment and costuming.
Try it! You just might like it.
Sam Sackett
Sam said it all! Find a match and go watch. You will probaly be asked if you would like to try. Be carful, It can be contagious GW
It’s fun and like others have said, great bunch of people! I used two Ruger Vaqueros, 45 Colt . An 1873 Uberti in 45 Colt , and a 12ga. double barrel. Had the chambers on the double honed and polished so the empties just slid right out. Action jobs done on the Vaqueros. Big targets up close, speed is the key.
Keep your powder dry and watch your six !!
I tired of it after about 10 years. Not a lot of shooting for about six hours of range time.
Lots of great people and an older crowd
I was a gamer. Slicked up Colt SAA’s and 1873’s shooting .38 mouse fart loads. 7/8 oz 12 ga loads in slicked up SxS or 1897.
It is one of the least expensive shooting venues if you are OK with guns that will not be competitive.
The only guns I kept are a couple of slicked up JM Marlins in .38/.357.
Don Verna
I got into it because I want to have some fun. I'm not in it for trophies, belt buckles, none of that, just to shoot, hang out with like minded people, and have safe fun.
The very FIRST thing is, don't buy anything until you've gone to a few matches, and not as a shooter, just drop by to watch - they will love to have you!
Now, you asked for this...
All clothing with the exception of the boots and hat came from Wild West Mercantile. The hat was from a Mike's Custom Hatter in Longview, Texas and the boots traditional Cody James ropers from Boot Barn.
Howdy, my SASS alias is Dapper Dave.You don't HAVE to go whole hog - I did because I wanted to.
Pistols are a matched set of .357 Mag Uberti Ranch Hands I got from Palmetto State Armory. Nicely priced and very accurate. Mine are bone stock. However, an eagle eye will note the pistol in my left-hand holster is a Birds Head, which I bought before I got started in all of this, and now it serves as a backup in case a pistol goes down during a match. I bought the last Ranch hand after this picture.
Shotgun is a Stoeger Coach Gun synthetic. Yes, a plastic stock IS legal under the rules if it is the same shape as the original. Which is good, because I couldn't afford really nice stuff right then and there, this one was a hair over $300. Modifications are I spent HOURS going over the mating surfaces with fine grit sandpaper, drilled out the chambers with a mop and Mothers Mag Polish, and had a gunsmith buddy of mine replace the top lever spring with something that didn't require two hands, as well as modify the safety so it won't go "auto-on" every time the gun is broken open.
Lady Luck blew me a kiss a couple of months ago and this fell into my lap, brand new, and is off to Ken Griner getting a custom rub down.
Rifle is a Heritage 92, a rebadged Rossi 92 in .357 mag, cheapest one I could find, and it works just fine, bone stock.
Gun leather is all Mernickle, https://mernickleholsters.com/collec...ern-holsters-1, top quality stuff, but here's the trade secret...a lot of it is used. My gun cart is old and used. In fact, you can get a lot of gear used nowadays, and SASS members will always try to help new shooters. I had one fine gent sell me a MEC 600 loader for a song so I could start loading 12 ga. You will always find one old cowboy or another selling something, or sometimes even giving it away, and if you need to borrow a gun during a match? Heck yeah, we'll do that! I didn't shoot a match with all my own guns for about 8 months until I bought my stuff. In fact, when I started, I didn't have leather, pistols, or a rifle, and the club president loaned me all of that for each match. All I had to do was pay for ammo.
You said you are a reloader, my cowboy recipe is right here.
Now here is all the information about SASS you could ever want to know especially the requirements for costuming, guns, gear and ammo.
https://www.sassnet.com/
https://www.sassnet.com/uploads/down...0-%20FINAL.pdf
C'mon down, pard, and have yerself a ball!
Last edited by armoredman; 08-19-2025 at 11:38 PM.
I've been BAW (Bounty Hunter) for over 35 years, can say that I never tire of the match.
I use a pair of Ruger Vaquaros in 44/40, A Pedersoli 44/40 Lightning Pump, Spanish SxS 12ga and an 1886 47/70 for 'Pat Garret matches. Even have my own horse called "Trigger"
Hold Still Varmint; while I plugs Yer!
Oh this looks like fun. If I wasn’t bitten by the bug earlier I believe I am now.
The sooner I fall behind...the more time I have to catch up with
Watch for a Dillon 550 to speed up the reloading.
These guys love itOriginally Posted by Half Dog
https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php...2-sass-forums/
Yes, yes, we do.
Closest I ever got, I bought a Uberti "Evil Roy" model in 45 Colt back in 2009. Love the revolver.
If a 41 won't stop it, I wouldn't bet my life on a 44.
Hello.
The only thing that would keep me away from cowboy shooting is the extra-wimpy loads... I understand they shoot steel, but we did in IPSC with much hotter loads, and without problems. It's just not realistic "Wild West" loads as they were used. Also, .38sp and .357 did not exist back then. I'm sure it's fun, but the fact that they are trying to look authentic in other ways, the loads are not.
Same goes for fast draw, sort of. Nobody back then leaned backwards to the point of falling, to draw their guns. Of course that type of shootouts practically never happened. It just looks goofy and impractical to me.
Now, if cowboy shooting imposed power levels like IPSC, and calibers that existed back then, I'd jump in!
Gil.
I guess the Cowboy Action isn’t for everybody but it does seem like fun to me.
The sooner I fall behind...the more time I have to catch up with
Cowboy hats are not even authentic! Now a real Boss Of The Plains hat....well...that's the cat's meow!
Safety is kind of a modern invention, isn't it? Hearing protection wasn't available in the Old West, but we insist upon it, AND eye protection for everyone, even all spectators.
The load requirement are driven by the nearness of the targets, and I can tell you the exact numbers we require, which might surprise you;
...The maximum velocities are 1000 fps for revolvers and 1400 fps for rifles.
Quoted directly from the SASS handbook.REVOLVER AND RIFLE AMMUNITION - - - - -
May not be jacketed, semi-jacketed, hollow point, plated, or gas checked. It must
be all lead. Moly-Disulfide, polymer coated bullets, or equivalents are acceptable.
Must be of “single projectile” design. “Multiple projectile” bullets are illegal.
Ammunition with bullets recessed below the case mouth is not allowed.
All center-fire or rim-fire ammunition must be designed to package the bullet,
gunpowder, and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing
chamber of the firearm. The primer must be of the type that uses only a small
charge of impact sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case
head or at its rim.
Electrically fired ammunition is illegal.
SHOTGUN AMMUNITION - - - - - -
Shotgun size must be number 4 lead birdshot or smaller for all events (no steel or
plated shot).
Magnum and high velocity shotgun shells are not allowed.
Shotgun shells shall not be sized down (necked) by the use of any die not
manufactured for the specific gauge.
“Coned” shotgun ammunition (partially-crimped or ogival crimped) is not
allowed.
Shotgun shell shall not be scored (ringed) as to cause the shot-shell case, wad,
and shot column to be shot from the firearm as one projectile.
Pump and lever action shotguns are not allowed to load more than two live rounds
at a time in the main match stages unless specified in the stage description. In
team events, shotguns may be loaded to their maximum magazine capacity.
38 Special isn't cowboy? Well, yes it is, but BARELY, came out in 1898 as a black powder cartridge. 357 Mag is most definitely not, but 99% of the Italian reproductions are made in 357 Mag so as to be more useful, and we shoot 38 Spl through them. There are also a lot of shooters using .32 Long, which came out in 1896. There are more people shooting 45 Colt than you might thing, and almost all SASS black powder shooters are using 45 Colt or another wider bore cowboy round. I have fired black through my 357 Uberti. but I didn't like it as much as with 45 Colt through my Uberti New Model Army with Howell conversion cylinder. One thing we absolutely do not allow as noted above is anything but lead - as you pointed out, jacketed bullets were unknown in the Cowboy era.
Loads aren't hot enough? Ever look at what a factory lead round in 38 special moves out at? It's pretty rare to find one that steps out over 1000 FPS unless it is a self-defense load, and I won't be shooting those at the range on a regular basis. Come touch off a Colt Walker repro loaded to the hilt with black and you might be a wee bit more impressed - we have complete categories for both cartridge and cap and ball black powder.
You don't HAVE to shoot 38 Special, even though it is in the right era. if you want to shoot 44-40 or 45 Colt, or 32-30, or any other era appropriate cartridge loaded with era appropriate black powder, we'll be happy to give you a spot in the posse! Heck you can go buy a Harrington and Richardson in 38 SW and shoot that if you want - nothing like being period correct in the extreme!
Wimpy loads?? Guess you haven't been exposed to black powder loads. Those 44-40 loads will change your tune right quick. A whole lot of smoke, a whole lot of fire, and a ka-boom that you definitely can hear and if you are close enough, you will even feel it.
The wimpy loads are due to guys like me who want to shoot as fast as possible. There is no requirement for light loads. But if you shoot higher recoiling loads you will not be competitive. Also, a lot of older folks and ladies enjoy shooting wimpier loads to reduce recoil.
So, if you want to shoot heavier loads, you can. It is a fun sport for those who are satisfied shooting less than 150 rounds in 6 hours. Figure about 24 rounds per stage, 6 stages in a daily match and 20-40 seconds of shooting per hour depending on how fast/slow you are.
Don Verna
Try shooting some black powder 38 special loads from a derringer....that'el get yur attention.
Posting Permissions
| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
| LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
| GC | Gas Check |
Reply With Quote
