Prefered caliber and gauge

[Roosterpoop]

I know that it is probably more manly to use a .45 and 12 gauge firearms but what is the common sence approach to selecting the caliber and gauge for this sport?  Ammo for the smaller bores is somewhat cheaper and the recoil would be less and therefore you may become more accurate....and a hit is a hit it is not like you are looking for knock down power. Please share your thoughts.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

The two top calibers in this sport are .45 and .38, the most economical is .38. factory ammo wise and reloading wise.
The best shotgun guage is 12, there's more factory loads available for it, and there is more components/loading data for it as well. A downloaded 12 will thump you less than 20ga will..........Buck

[litl rooster]

The two top calibers in this sport are .45 and .38, the most economical is .38. factory ammo wise and reloading wise.
The best shotgun guage is 12, there's more factory loads available for it, and there is more components/loading data for it as well. A downloaded 12 will thump you less than 20ga will..........Buck

Agree with 4 eyed Buck (12ga and the .38)....prices on bought ammo can be shopped out on the internet. Ifn' yer buyin like I do, If you reload you already know what it cost.

[Arcey]

Lots of reasons folks pick what they do.  What's common sense for one may not be what the other wants.  It's all good.

For my part, my employer said I could carry X 24/7.  If I carried anything else and shot someone with it, I was on my own.  So everything I had was X.  When I started this silly game, I already had a suitable pistol and a rifle in X caliber.  Bullet moulds, loading dies and everything else I needed to shoot cowboy in X caliber.  Have no desire to change.  If someone doesn't approve of X caliber they can look the other way when I'm at the tables.

The 12?  Invest a bit of money in the equipment.  Read loading data and work from there.  Trial 'n error.  In awhile you'll be loading stuff that'll make ya think yer shootin' a pop-gun. 

..

[Big John Denny]

Well, I reload everything I shoot so my cost per bullet or shell is not that much. I shoot all 45 Colt in both my revolvers and my 1866 rifle. That was the original round for the SAA and still is in my opinion. I also shoot a 12 Ga double with my loaded shells that will knock down any knockdown target, but not beat me to death.

You see every kind of caliber and guage at a match. You need to ask to shoot a few rounds from different calibers and decide what's best for you. Most Pards will let a new guy shoot their guns and be glad to do it.

[tarheel mac]

Common sense approach?  In this sport/hobby?  I don't think that there is any common sense involved at all.  Most of us are kids that never grew up, and we use what our heros used back in the glory days of TV/Hollywood westerns.  The rest of us flustrated historians that use what was really used back then, Just grab what seems fun to youand head out there and join us...but yeah, shotgun just about has to be a 12...(although there was one guy in Lenior who used a 20 ga. regularly..He has since gone to that Big Round-Up In the Sky and I never met him, but by all reports he was awfully good...)

[Lars]

Shoot what you can shoot really well. That has much more to do with gun than with cartridge. I shoot guns that I shoot quite well -- in part because the stock, balance and sights have all been fitted to me and my limitations/strong points.

For me that usually means one Ruger Vaquero 45 Colt loads with round ball loads that duplicate a 44 C&B in powder and a 38 Special in recoil. The other Ruger Vaquero in 44-40 and loaded with premium BP loads giving the same ballistics as the original loads. Ditto for my Rossi 92 in 44-40. Why these loads? Because they are among the very best grouping and functioning loads for this caliber.

The shotgun is one of two lightweight, long-barreled (75 cm) Husqvarna hammer doubles, one in 12 gauge and one in 16, both loaded with 7/8 oz (24 gram) of shot at about 1100 fps -- those are also the loads I use for trap, skeet and sporting clays. These are also two of my favorite bird guns.

NONE of these guns were bought solely for CAS.

Lars

[Dakota Dan from OZ]

I reload rifle and pistol ammo and shoot 38's in both and use a 12 gauge SxS shotgun with the barrels cut back to 24". I buy my smokeless shotgun ammo but load my blackpowder shotgun ammo.

D D