Silly questions from a newbie!

[thehairlessone]

I have a few silly ?'s. Hope you dont get asked this too much.

I am thinking about trying the cas thing but I also would like to get a couple guns I can hunt with if I want.

I think I have the pistol narrowed down a bit. I found a new ruger vaquero w/ 5 1/2" barrel .357 for a really good price.

I am unsure about the rifle. Which caliber would be ok for that? I see alot of people use the .45's but is there a different lever action that would be more practicle for hunting and still be ok for cas?

Same for a shotgun. I am leaning towards a 12 double barrell. I would also like to use it for turkey hunting.

How much can I expect to pay for each both new & used? I dont want to get too expensive since I am just starting out.

Which different calibers of rifle could you use? I have another shop in town to check with. I would like to buy new if there was a decent offbrand you could get reasonably.

Also, the one thing I am really unsure about it ammo. I read that you have to have ammo with slower fps speeds than normal so I am guessing that you use a different type of ammo for cas?

Where do you get it and how much can I expect? I have no idea how to reload but that may be something I could look into down the line.

All the help you can give me would be appreciated. I found a match in a couple weeks that I am going to try to make so I can watch.

rick

[L.G.]

Well since you've already found one .357 pistol, get another, and a rifle in the same caliber.  A 1892 Hartford or a Marlin in .357 would be very economical to purchase.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

I agree with LG.. Marlin makes two in .357 and one in .38 Special. The CB and CBC have octogon barrels at 20", and the 1894 C/CS have 18 1/2" round barrels. The C/CS's are a little less expensive than the CB's, but still have the same action..........Buck

[Ozarks Ranger]

I will get BOOed at for this but I have a Stoeger 12ga. I bought the uplander which has 26in. barrels mod/full so I can hunt with it I think current price is about $380, A lot of shooters don't like the steoger but I like mine.
Don't know about price for .38/ .357 ammo but cowboy loads for a .45 are about $24 a box 38s are promably 1/2 that. I need to check the chronicle for pricing.

Aint no silly questions here

Snake Eyes

[jrdudas]

I started shooting CAS last Spring; my pistols are Ruger Blackhawks in .357 (I shoot in the Senior class where Blackhawks are allowed).  Some folks don't like the Ruger's because they want something that looks more period correct, however most folks will agree that Rugers are tough and durable.  My rifle is a Marlin 1894 CB in .38 Special.  My shotgun is a Stoeger Uplander in 12 gauge. 

[jrdudas]

Somehow my reply got posted before I completed it.  Here's the rest:  The rifle and pistols are great, and I have no trouble hitting the shotgun targets with the Stoeger.  However, I also shoot some Trap occassionally and I tried the Stoeger there.  While others who fired it were hitting the clays with regularity, I went from hitting 18 or 19 with my pump gun to hitting 8 or 9 with the Stoeger.  Would I buy it again; yes, my main interest for it is CAS and it works great for that.  I am not a hunter so I can't comment on the Stoeger's use for that purpose.  The Uplander is supposed to be for upland game, but I think I would do better with a single barrel.

JR

[Coop Trawlaine]

As far as ammo goes, you could check out  Ten X, they do cowboy loads with the lead bullets that are required in this type sport.

I use .38 Renegades in my Marlin and they only cost 11.50 a box of 50 and 6.00 for reloads of your own brass.
.45 with a 200 gr bullet are 16.50 a box and 9.00 on reloads    250 gr bullet 17.00 new loads and 9.00 reloads.

www.ten-x.com  they are in Ontario, California

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I bought the uplander which has 26in. barrels mod/full so I can hunt with it I think current price is about $380, A lot of shooters don't like the steoger but I like mine.

I use the Stoeger Uplander double with the 26" bbls for CAS, too. I bought the single trigger one and that is the only mistake I made. Every now and then it lobs off both barrels at the same time. There isn't any way to predict when it'll happen and no apparent fix for it. Anyway, if you get one, be sure to get the double trigger one. Other than that, it's a great shotgun. I like the screw-in chokes because I can set it up any way I wish. Now that it's dialed in, I don't change the chokes. It's a good skeet gun, too, so would be good for hunting as well. The shorter coach guns would probably be too wide a pattern for anything other than CAS or home protections. To be legal for SASS sanctioned matches you will need to change the front sight to a round bead and disable the automatic eject mechanism so it only lifts the shells up rather than tossing them out. No big deal. Great shotgun.