Questions about starting out

[talkinghalls]

I am looking for a new hobby and I stumbled upon SASS but I have a few questions before I blow 600-1200 bucks on it haha.

The shooting style I am interested in is Gunfighter (two guns at the same time), I have my eyes on a set of Ruger Vaquero's they are about 1200. But I am not sure why they are so expensive, at the same gun store I could buy two Ruger Vaquero's (not a set) for about 1000, yeah it saves 200 bucks but thats 200 I could use of ammo. Whats with the price difference?

also what is a good way to 'get into' or start out for gun fighter? My father has a ruger black hawk and I normally shoot it one handed (cocking with my thumb) and I can use either my left or right hand and still hit what I am aiming at (more so with my right over my left). I have never shot two guns at the same time, and I have zero access to a second gun to try out before I go and buy two.


Also I am not really interested in competitions this would be more or less just for myself and a few friends to go to the range and shoot up some tin cans for the hell of it.



and lastly I cannot decide between .357 or the .45 LC, I've shot many .357 and .38s but the only 45 I've ever shot was out of a glock (45 acp) I know .357 ammo is way cheaper than 45 but any reason to go for the 45 over the 357?



Thank you for all your help.



-Charles

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Welcome to our sport, and to cascity.com.

I'll bet you can't just stop at plinkin' cans with your Pards.

Before you spend any money, look up your nearest SASS or NCOWS club and drop in and introduce yourself.  The members will welcome you and give you all the advice neccessary to get started efficiently.  Most of us have bought a lot of gear that turned out to be less suitable than expected.  The result is a lot of firearm purchases that may have pleased us in the moment, and may still give pleasure but have been replaced several times over.  Hands-on mentoring is the best way to start.

http://www.sassnet.com/clubs/index.php

http://www.ncows.org/posses.html

[Shotgun Franklin]

Good advice from Sir Charles.
Also, go to a local monthly match. Take 2 boxes of ammo, lead bullets, and 1 box of Dove loads, 12 or 20 ga. Trust me when I say that someone, or some people, will let you try guns. Oh, if you have a nice thick wide leather belt take that too. For people starting out I recommend not buying anything until you've tried a few different types of guns. No point in spending big bucks to then decide that what you have doesn't match what you'd rather be shooting.
BTW, in Gunfighter you're not supposed to discharge both guns at once because it's impossible to count misses, so they say.

[Cookie]

First off, welcome to the sport. One you get bitten, you're not easily cured! 

+1 (as always) to Sir Charles and Shotgun Franklin. They give excellent advice. Even though not enough Cowboys follow that advice.

Take what gear you have (forget the rest) and GO TO A LOCAL SHOOT. Franklin was right about bringing your own ammo, but even that's not really necessary, especially on your very first shoot. JUST GO!!! I guarantee you'll get more than one Cowboy offering his guns for a trial run and test drives are the best only way to figure out what guns fit you and your style.

For example - I didn't follow this advice as well as I should have, and my entire first set of guns was wrong. I ended up passing those guns onto my son and had to buy an entire new set once I figured out what fit me. DO NOT repeat my mistake.

Also, since nobody mentioned this, look into reloading. It's really the only way most people can afford this sport. An average match will use 2 boxes of ammo and 1 box of shells. Reloading will cost a fraction of factory ammo, and if you cast your own lead, its' even cheaper still. I save about 80% on my costs by casting and reloading.

Finally, regarding gunfighter - it's all muscle memory. If you shoot one-handed (Duelist), you halfway there. This may sound crazy, but if you're set on Gunfighter (and I say go for it) and you don't have access to 2 revolvers, go grab a pair of dollar store cowboy cap guns. As long as thy have a hammer and a trigger, they'll work. And just practice with those. You need to train your hands to cock one while shooting the other. It's all muscle memory.

This is also true with all your guns. Most of this sport is practice. Not just shooting, but loading, drawing, transitions, etc. You need to train your hands how to do all that without even thinking it.