recipe for a good start

[links0311]

i am a big fan of handguns. i currently own a glock and a springfield 1911. i am looking to get into SA shooting but am a fish out of water here. when it came time to buy a glock i had friends that had some so i could try them out to see which i liked. when i ask those same friends about SA shooting they look at me like i have three heads. i need some help. for a rookie to the sport what would be a good gun to start out with? I am looking for something that is durable first and foremost. tell me what you started with and what you wish you would have done different. i have an indoor range at my disposal at would like the to spend the winter getting comfortable with this new style of shooting. thanks and have a happy thanksgiving.

beau

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I started out with a Ruger Vaquero when they first came out. When I started CAS, I switched to American Western Arms SAA's because the Rugers weren't copies of anything and I always wanted to figure out how to make mine more like a Colt. I shot those for 4 or 5 years then got interested in Remingtons (copies, that is). The Remington is a better feel for my hand and points right at the center of the target for me. Along the way, I tried Schofields, but they didn't fit my hand although I like the design. If you can attend a Cowboy Action Shooting match near you, you will be able to see what different people like and maybe even shoot a few (guns, not people). The bottom line is, what feels best in your hand. You can't go too far wrong if you get a good quality copy of one of the old ones or a Ruger. The most accurate pistols I own are my Uberti 1858 Remingtons with R&D cylinder conversions in them. They are what I shoot now at matches.

Here's a link to Taylor's & Co where you can order both the pistol and the conversion cylinder. If you get the .44 cal pistol, the .45lc cylinder drops right in and works great. You will need to avoid shooting the hotter loads so you don't damage the gun over time.

Here are a couple photos for you. The first is one of my Remingtons and the second is one of my American Westerns.

[hellgate]

For starters I'd get a Ruger Vaquero (fixed sights) or a used Ruger Blackhawk (adjustible sights). Both are very rugged, widely availible and not overpriced.

[Micheal Fortune]

Well what I would do, not what I did of course, but what I would do if'n I was you, get yourself out to a couple of local matches.

Local Matches???  Yeppers, If you are thinking of shooting SASS then hit their web site and find a club near you.. www.sassnet.com
And if not them then find what your looking for.

Then when you get out there ask a lot of questions, do a lot of looking around.  When you start to narrow down what you like and don't like, ask them people to let you shoot their guns, you will surprised by how many will jump right up to let you shoot.

What I did was go buy a pair of Colt clones, then a Win94, all in .45colt and then got a Stevens 311a side by side all before I went to my first shoot.

The pistols I still shoot but the rest was a waste of money, well not a total waste because it got me into the sport and I love it.

A year and a half later I own 4 pistols (two RNV's), 3 rifles and 3 CAS shotguns with another on order.......

And while you are at these shoots checking things out, check out the gun carts cause you are going to want one.

Hope this helps.

[Stump Water]

I started in '02 with Ruger Vaqueros in .45 with 5.5" bbl... the old tanks, there weren't any "new" vaqueros then.

Done different?  Nuthin'.  I'm still shootin' 'em.  Matter o' fact, I just recently got another pair of the same gun... except these are in .357/.38.   Ya see, I was goin' thru one of those "maybe I'll switch to .38s" phases and decided that, if I did, I'd want exactly the same gun... just a smaller hole.  I did some pokin' around and found out just how scarce NIB old style RVs are getting to be.  I panicked.    Finally found a pair (in different places) and bought 'em.

I reckon I'm done buyin' pistols fer CAS... kinda sad ain't it. 

Then again.... there's always C&B.     Would be Ruger Old Armys... no question.


Longs guns?  Whooo.... entirely different story.  I have a Marlin and a '73 rifle.  I shoot one of my wife's '73s mostly... go figger.  I have two Winchester '97 shotguns and a Liberty II hammered dual exhaust shotgun.  I shoot one of the '97s mostly.