Cowboy Action Shooting You’ve got your empty six-shooter strapped to your side. You’re looking down the barrel of your Winchester, you know your next shot must count or it’s all over. It all started a few hours earlier, you and your posse all got together for a little fun, but none of them have a chance now. It’s all riding on this one last shot, and this shot has got to count, you can’t afford a miss, but the shot will have to be quick. Your sights seem to fall in line with the bad guy; you exhale slightly, and start squeezing the trigger. Suddenly the rifle bucks in your hands, you hear the report and see the flame and smoke out of your barrel. You know your shot was good even before you see the results of the 44 slug. The bad guy is down. Congratulations! You are the CAS shooting champion, at your local club. Welcome to Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS), one of the fastest growing shooting sports in America. CAS was started in 1981 by Harper Creigh (Judge Roy Bean). As a fan of westerns, and an avid shooter in other action shooting sports, he got with a couple of shooting buddies and they decided to spent an afternoon shooting western type guns. The number of cowboy shooters has since grown from 3 to over 30,000. CAS matches normally set up different scenarios. These scenarios are written to re-create the old west, or a famous western movie scene. CAS shooting is focused on speed. The targets are normally large, and easy to hit – when one takes his/her time, but when shooting against a timer, even the easiest targets can be missed. Props and action targets are a must. These cowboys want more excitement than punching holes in paper. The targets can be moving or of the knock down variety. Some targets ring loudly when hit. There are even targets that, when hit, will release a skeet, that then must be shot. Some targets are of a shooter vs. shooter variety. These targets are normally made of two targets about two to three feet apart, connected in the middle. Two shooters will lineup, each shooting at one of the targets. When hit the targets will swing toward the winning shooter (The guy who hits his target first). This kind of target simulates a gunfight, but luckily you can loose more than once. With enough shooters, there will be different classes depending on type of guns, age, and gender. Cowboy shooting just wouldn’t be cowboyish if the shooters weren’t required to look the part. CAS rules state that members must choose a persona, and dress the part. Don’t worry the rules are pretty loose here. You can dress in authentic styled clothes of the era, or like a Hollywood Cowboy. If it has a cowboy feel you can probably were it. The rules do say no baseball caps and no tennis shoes. Many CAS members say they enjoy dressing the part as much, or more than the shooting. CAS members are also required to pick an alias- The alias can be from a historical character, an ancestor, or one that reflects a personality trait, geographical area, career or what ever. The rules for aliases are pretty liberal. The aliases help adds to your persona, and the atmosphere of the match. Seeing a CAS shoot is almost like stepping back in time 120 years ago. With all the cowboys, six-guns leather and smoke, and you’ll feel like you are living a piece of history. CAS rules dictate that shooter must use firearm technology that existed in the late 1800’s. These guns include, single action revolvers, lever action rifles (of pistol caliber) and must have an external hammer, and a side by side, or pump shotgun (with an external hammer). Many shooters actually use authentic guns, but if your budget doesn’t permit purchasing these antiques, there are several importers that import replica six-guns and lever-guns giving the shooter a wide selection of guns to choose from. Some CAS members will select their guns based on the persona they are trying to re-create. It is very common to see shooters shooting black powder (the only gun powder available in the 1800s) cartridges. Some shooters even opt to use the old styled cap and ball revolvers. While these guns may be primitive by today’s standards, it’s amazing how fast and accurate a CAS shooter can become. There are a lot of CAS shooters who choose their guns based on personal appeal rather the competitiveness of the gun. These shooters want to have fun shooting the guns of the past, and aren’t concerned about their scores. CAS is focused on fun and entertainment. The rules do not allow for cash prizes, which eliminate a lot of the commercialism of other shooting sports. CAS keeps rules simple and encourages the “spirit of the game” or the “cowboy way”. Put in modern terms it means CAS encourages sportsmanship and good times. Don’t misread this as saying that CAS is not competitive. What it does mean is if a shooter has problems with a gun, there is usually a line of cowboys offering to loan the shooter one of their guns. The shooters often will sit and swap techniques, secrets and offer advise to new shooters. In fact, it is not uncommon for a new shooter to show up at a match with no guns, end having several offers to try different guns in different stages. CAS members are there to have fun, and they want others to enjoy the fun too. CAS is one of the friendliest shooting sports of today. If you want to learn more about this go to www.sassnet.com. Happy Shooting,   Back Home