(CAS-L) If you were going to run your own cowboy shoot....

[Marshal Halloway]

I will start posting some of the current threads from the caslist that people on this forum might find interesting. Here is the first one:

ML Roak:
I got a question for you. (Market research if you will).
If you were going to run your own cowboy shoot, what would you change/add to maximize your enjoyment at the shoot.
What kind of things would you like to see happen/not happen at a shoot.
ML Roak

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I like lots of gunfighter friendly stages, lots of reactive targets, knockdown plates, the Texas Death star, for rifle, pistol or shotgun, and poppers.

         L.G.

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I would like to see targets spaced several yards away from each other with more depth between targets  so that a shooter has to drastically shift his aim like what a gunfighter might have had to do.  I mean far enough away, like a 20-30 yard wide field of fire.
Seems that matches I've seen are more geared toward how fast someone can thumb the hammer than how well he can shoot like what a gunfighter had to do.  Also, one hand holds, like what a gunfighter might have had to do.  Same with rifles, same with shotguns like what a gunfighter might have had to do.  This will neutralize some of the gaming.

Emphasize shooting a revolver, rifle, shotgun instead of racing a clock.

Also, a Hogans Alley type event, like what some of us do with muzzleloaders, wouldn't be a bad idea.

I guess I would like to see a more authentic representation of what would have happened in the old
west instead of replicating modern shooting matches with the contestants using different firearms dressed as old westerners.

Yes, slow them down and create more of a shooting match than a shooting race.

Regards,   Tony

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Having attended one or two shoots in my career, and run a couple as well, my suggestion would be this.  Don't copy what everyone else is doing. Make the stages a little more challenging, instead of  speed runs.  When every stage at every shoot is the same thing,  pistol targets all at the same distance, and the same height, etc. with the shotgun and rifle; how do you differentiate one shoot from another?  You don't, they begin to blur into one another and a year later you don't remember what stage was at what shoot.  Throw in a candle target, i.e. shoot out the flame( if interested, write off list).  Or, a mover, they can be easy to build.  People remember those types of things.

Slippery Slim

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I guess I would like to see a more authentic representation of what would have happened in the old west instead of replicating modern shooting matches with the contestants using different firearms dressed as old westerners.

I agree.

I don't "race" my guns. I shoot them as they came out of the box. I shoot
one-handed, with a bent elbow and cocked wrist
as the old illustrations show them held.

I like authenticity.

-Sam Hane #28778 said that

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I love it!  Real men shot and shoot from cover. Real targets shoot back. Real targets have not been evenly spaced since then Zulu War and likely never in the goblin wars that a CAS scenario is supposed
to replicate.  Yes staggered targets randomly placed in distance and angle,. Never the same match to match.  I would even vote for targets that shoot paintball back at the good guys.

How about a street full of potential targets only 35% of which are real and the rest are non-combatant and if you hit a non-combatant you get penalized and if you hit 3 you get DQ'd?  That means not only
do you have to shoot accurately but you have to think before you cut loose?

The reality is a  lot of players lack the training to shoot such scenarios safely. So I would like to see what compromises we could make to make it more real [ ?realer?} 8-)  REmember any demand in
terms of real skill will raise the yell " Yur takin the fun outta hit!"

One Horse
WASA 26, SASS 2521, NCOWS 495, NRA 764682, NMLRA 1578 [yes that long ago!]

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Howdy Folks,

  I want the shoots changed to where I'm fast, and smooth, and never miss. I don't want to win, I would just like to beat Tuolumne Lawman and Abilene Drifter. <GGG>

Also, I have some serious hearing damage, and while my old EAR ear protectors dealt with the gunshots, but with them on, I can't hear RO instruction, or much of anything else. Missing the stage descriptions usually cost me at least one procedural in five stages. So I bought a pair of Peltor electronic muffs, with the wire that runs behind my neck, so they work well with a hat. They use AAA batteries work much
better than the electronic muffs that use coin shaped batteries, and are easy to find and relatively inexpensive.
The unit is true stereo, there is a microphone and volume control on each side, so you can change the volume on one side if your hearing loss is better or worse on that side. They are great for correct your existing hearing damage. Very simple and easy to use, selling for less than $70.00 from Cabelas. I can hear gunshots and a mild "thank" like a hand clap, and the hit on steel is attenuated, but you can
still hear them. You can also hear people talking in a normal voice when they are 15 feet or more away. I'd seriously recommend these to anyone who needs help with poor hearing, or those who are willing to trade off a little money now for healthy hearing in later years.
  Adios,

Deputy Beauregard Hooligan

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[Big John Denny]

Marshal, I would quit the habit of putting the targets in line like a "pistol plate" rack in a modern pistol speed shoot. We've tended to get away from target shooting into hell for bent speed shooting too much. The good, fast shooters will still win, but the rest of us would't feel like we're not competing.

[Marshal Halloway]

From CAS-L:
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 10:28:03 -0700 (PDT)

I love it!  Real men shot and shoot from cover. Real targets shoot back. Real targets have not been evenly spaced since then Zulu War and likely never in the goblin wars that a CAS scenario is supposed
to replicate.  Yes staggered targets randomly placed in distance and angle,. Never the same match to match.  I would even vote for targets that shoot paintball back at the good guys.

How about a street full of potential targets only 35% of which are real and the rest are non-combatant and if you hit a non-combatant you get penalized and if you hit 3 you get DQ'd?  That means not only
do you have to shoot accurately but you have to think before you cut loose?

The reality is a  lot of players lack the training to shoot such scenarios safely. So I would like to see what compromises we could make to make it more real [ ?realer?} 8-)  REmember any demand in
terms of real skill will raise the yell " Yur takin the fun outta hit!"

One Horse

Howdy One Horse,

I agree, but it is tough to do.  At the Yolo match on Sunday, the first stage was straight out of an action pistol or three gun match!  It was a "running gun" course, with pop ups, inocent bystanders, staggered target and split strings around barracades and 55 gallon drums. I almost felt It was 1995 again, and I should have had a Glock 10MM and a AR15 instead of a Schofield and a Henry!

Seriously, it was fun, but it was WAYYYYYY SLOWWWWWW! There were so many boobles and glitches, they made it an optional stage.  Clearly, those of us theat once were action pistol, IPSC, or well trained law enforcement did not find it hard.  Someone who has never been exposed to that kind of shooting, though, would have a lot of trouble!

TUOLUMNE LAWMAN