I need more guns...

[DallasRix]

Howdy Pards,
  I am new and interested in joining SASS, there isnt any club near me...however I need morefirearms..I just have a Ruger Vaq .44-40.  If anyone has any Idea of a inexspensive but good quality Rifle in this caliber and another revolver preferably lighter weight...I love my vaq but it seems alot heavier than my Grandfathers Colt I shot as a boy.

I need a Rifle, revolver, and shotgun.

I am very interested in second hand or used Items particularly in        .44-40.  But the main concern is cost, I am a law student that has just been married and the new old lady is hard to convince, so penny pinching is a must.

Thanks pards
Dallas

[Will Ketchum]

Having once been a married law student I know just what you mean.

Normally I would suggest that a person have both revolvers close to the same but don't klet that prevent you from participating.  First since I have no idea where Glade Springs VA is I can't point you towards a SASS or NCOWS group in you area.  Perhaps if you can let us know what area of VA you are in we can hekp.

Will Ketchum

[Will Ketchum]

Dallas, I just read about the upcoming Virginia state championship coming up near Roanoak.  The web site for the SASS club putting it on.

The URL is  www.RoanokeRifle.com   Why don't you check them out.

Will Ketchum

[DallasRix]

Howdy Will,
  I plan on attending the Star City shootout as an observer to get a feel for it before I participate...Roanoke is about 2.5 hours away...I live closer to Bristol VA,TN ...in the southwestern tip of VA.  We are famous for our "nothingness" - nothing happens around here.
  Another question...are there many young folk involved in SASS.I mean 25-30...

Also..do you think its best to get the other revolver first...Maybe a Uberti (for the light weight), or should I look into a Rifle next?

[Will Ketchum]

Revolvers are usually considered the most "personal" of the CAS battery so you probably want to get just what you want.  I just saw a rifle at the classifieds for $250 but it is a 45 and you said you want a 44-40.  .  Don't be in too much of a hurry to get the guns.  Go to a couple of shoots let people know your new and want to get into CAS.  They will bend over backwards to help.

There are many people 25 to 30 in our sport.  The latedt End of Trail winners are even younger .

Will Ketchum

[Shoshone Slim]

DallasRix, welcome to the sport.  Will is right, go to some shoots and talk to the pards.  Try some guns.  I garuantee you there will be people who'll loan ya the shootin' irons.    Go to www.sassnet.com and click on the clubs in your state and tenn. and check out their classifieds also.

[Major Matt Lewis]

The median age for CAS Shooters is 52.  I happen to be 33 and find that I am usually one of the youngest shooters around.  At least in my area.  Makes a certain amount of sense.  I have probably put more than $15,000 into this sport and I have only been in it 2 years.  Most don't have that much disposable income at an early age. 

Dallas,

Think of the guns that you by know as your first set of guns.  Kind of the "Starter Package."  I know have three different complete sets of guns to compete with.  I will also eventually dump my Rugers and replace them with Remmie 75's.  So that being said, the one thing that I will definately offer you is to keep the caliber of the guns all the same.  That will make your second new hobby, reloading, much easier.  So I would suggest, that you stick with .44-40 in the rifle.  So that would mean a Uberti/Navy Arms/Cimmaron/EMF (they are all the same), 1866 Yellowboy or an 1873 model. 

Keep this in mind.  I went to Handlebar Doc's Shooting School last month.  If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it.  The entry fee was only $250.  The ammo was around $500 and that is all reloaded.  The guns are a high up front cost however, the ammo is the real cost driver in this sport.

[Irish Red O'Toole]

Throwing my two cents worth here....that .44/40 is going to get awful costly to feed after awhile.  You might seriously think about going .38 Special for all your guns.  The cost of ammo is way cheaper than your .44/40.

My favs for a good starter set of .38 Special guns:
2 Ruger Vaqueros
Marlin Cowboy
Stoeger SxS

This set will give you years of service with little in the way of hiccups.

If you want to keep shooting the .44/40 (which is perfectly acceptable...and some would argue more fun), get another Vaquero first.  Then, sticking with .44/40 for your rifle, you can get either a Rossi 1892 clone or a Uberti 1866 or 1873.  The 92 is the lightest of the bunch but may need some action work to insure reliability.  The 66 or 73 can probably be used straight out of the box, but they are considerably pricier (at or over double the cost of the 92).  As for a shotgun, you can go with a nice Stoeger SxS or a 97.  The Stoeger is cheaper by about $100.

As some have already suggested, go to some shoots and try some things out first, before you buy. 

As for your age question, two of the top shooters in this addiction....er....hobby are under 20.  Lead Dispencer was EOT Champion in 2003 and is only 19!!  Holy Terror is the current EOT Women's Chamiopn and is only 17!!  I've met both of these kids and they are just great people.  I'm 41 and I am usually the youngest on my posse.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

[knucklehead]

One thing that i did not see mentioned in everyones response to you is "decide what catagory you want or may want to shoot in.

The reason for this is because the classic cowboy catagory requires specific calibers and certian rifle and shotgun.

I just purchased a 1866 yellowboy in .45 long colt for cowboy shooting. I debated buying it in .38 cal but decided on the .45 long colt because i may someday shoot classic cowboy. I can use the 66 yellowboy in .45 long colt in all of the catagories that sass has.

also you may want to look at what type of gunpowder you want to use (smokeless or black powder).

the .44-40 is a great round to shoot black powder with. its a bottleneck case that helps keep the fouling in the barrel of the rifle instead of fouling in the action of the rifle like a straight wall case. reason for this is the straight walled case will not seal off the chamber as well as a bottleneck case.

other than that have fun.

[RRio]

Clink on the link for locations:

http://www.sassnet.com/AClubs-Main-001A.php

Hope that helps.

[Bucksaw]

Dallas

    Im 22 and there arent many shooters in our age range.  Im getting ready to move to Knoxville for grad school.  Have you checked into clubs in TN.  You may really want to consider going to another caliber such as 38  because the ammo is cheaper.  Oh and by the way you will always need more guns.

[Camille Eonich]

Y'all Dallas ain't even been around since about a month after he posted this in June of 2004.   

[Ozark Tracker]

aw Cammy, ya know with a title like that somebody's gonna have to look,   all of us always "NEED MORE GUNS"

[Camille Eonich]

Yeah yeah...I know I know

[Lucky Irish Tom]

So you don't want any more guns Cammie?  Bet Stump'll be happy to hear that! 

[Frank Dalton]

I know that this is an older topic, but I wanted to add that once you get to a match, and start meeting folks, you may find some that are willing to sell their closet queens from time to time, and will cut a good deal for a fellow CAS member.

I ended up with a great double hammered 12GA for a great price, because I was there and one of the pards was thinning their collection.

[Camille Eonich]

So you don't want any more guns Cammie?  Bet Stump'll be happy to hear that! 

Where did I say that?   

[GunClick Rick]

Seeing how your a lawyer,if i rob that young 33 year old with all the money ,kin ya get me out of it?I'll split it with ya and we can both get new guns and ammo and holsters and belts and horses and whiskey and~~~~~