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I love SASS & will always support them. I knew all the original Wild Bunch on a first name basis & they all knew me. I have been away from CAS for quite a while, as I was fairly young when I joined (23). I took time off to get married & raise a family. Life & other priorities took precedence. Now that my children are almost out on their own I want to get involved again, but like the legendary titans that were displaced by Zeus & his newer gods, I feel out of place. From what I am seeing this is not the CAS I remember. I have seen recent videos of shooters shooting at machine gun speed at close targets, countless talk of short-strokes, Codymatics 3rd, 4th, 5th generations (?), & other modifications that were not allowed when SASS started. I feel so intimidated that I am not sure I would enjoy shooting at anything higher than a local match because of the emphasis that appears to be on speed & close targets. Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with speed; I am merely stating my 2 cents, & maybe other past SASS members feel the same way. Maybe that is the reason why they have strayed from the herd? The very first stage I ever shot, before we could even engage a target we had to knock over the dynamite (wood prop) with a bull whip. It was hilarious to watch as some were decent & some took forever. I had been practicing with a bullwhip at the time & was fairly accurate, so I was actually able to grab the TNT & yank it back- I then proceeded to miss all five targets because of the adrenaline rush! The thing about it though... IT WAS FUN!!! I was hooked after that. Having to ride a stick pony to a designated spot? Silly, but FUN! The guns were unmodified, except for action jobs, & only a few shooters had any semblance of real speed. With no disrespect to any of these skilled shooters nowadays, back then it was commonly preached & understood that when SASS became a speed race with modified guns, that would be the day it began its decline. The motto was, "if it didn't exist in the old west or if you wouldn't see John Wayne using it, it was not allowed." i have always been more interested in the costuming & comraderie, so I will enjoy myself no matter what, but as far as shooting I currently feel like maybe it's not for me anymore? I am not competitive-driven in this sport but after being away for so long I have no wish to look the fool, either. I joined many moons ago because it was fun, not because I had to be fast. Maybe SASS should think about breaking out these amazingly fast shooters & putting them in an entirely new class... I don't know. I am only saying that intimidation may keep a lot of people away from participating. Want to get the numbers back up? Make the stages fun again & not just a speed race. I personally cannot see how rattling off 20 rounds in less than 2 seconds (exaggeration?) can be considered cowboy shooting. Impressive? Hell yes, but cowboy? Not in my book. Thank you for your time.

Allie Mo pointed me to this thread. I haven't been shooting in quite some time. I developed a palsy in my hands and can't hold a revolver steady any longer. It's apparently genetic. So I've taken to cycling. Mostly Mountain Bike these days. Hope everyone is well.

Jonah Hex, I'm relatively new to the SASS game having just begun in late 2014, still working running our small business. Given that, I don't get to shoot nearly enough to 1) make me happy; 2) become competitive, especially at these larger state matches. Having just attended the Texas State Championship and watching the speed rifle and speed pistol competitions, it is rather frustrating to see 10 rounds from a rifle fly out at 2.82 seconds while I felt great with a personal best of 5.99 seconds. I had not been able to shoot since late February so that showed as fumble fingers and lower speeds. Day 2 was an improvement over day 1. You bring up some very good points about: The motto was, "if it didn't exist in the old west or if you wouldn't see John Wayne using it, it was not allowed." Knowing that owning and running a small business is going to take up most of my time for the next 10 years or so, I'll then be in the Silver Senior category. Maybe it is a good idea to separate out the "speed racer" shooters into another category. Maybe separate categories for 'modified' firearms vs. non-modified. Maybe moving targets back a bit would make it more challenging. Some of the pistol targets seem to be close enough that I could lean over the table and whack them with my pistol. Adding more elements like the dynamite throw, sitting in the jail cell and having to 'break out', etc., could add to the fun and challenge. Six Gun Justice in Idaho did those things and that is a fun shoot. Kind of frustrating when I had a reasonably good match, only 2 misses the first day, clean the second but would still have had to shave 120+ points off my score just to get into a buckle at the TSC. I'm not begrudging those that get to shoot every day, a couple times a week or even weekly. I would love to be able to do that and know I would improve greatly. Just wondering if there might be room for some changes. But even if things stay exactly as they are, I will still play, still costume up and still meet some of the nicest, best people out there. SASS is wonderful and I wish I would have discovered it a couple decades earlier.

Lots a good cowboys mentioned here and some replied. I sure miss a lot of them. Most were active on the wire when I first started shooting in 2003.

I ain't dead yet! Sheesh. Sounds like a Eulogy. I still read the Wire every so often, but you got a whole new crop of people who've been in the game long enough to give great advice that some of us who have to check what body part fell off this morning can keep our traps shut. I hope to get out to a match this spring. Phantom got the heave-ho, huh?

This post is a "retro"... 'bout a fella I liked a lot. This fella... he was a great guy... good contributor to this site. The day he passed... I kinda went nuts... knowin' that LL was gone... and Osama Bin Laden... was still alive at the time. That just infuriated me... simulaneously saddened me... and then I went and got drunk. I loved this guy... a really fine fella.

I would trust you with my life... the lives of my progeny.... or all of my property. You was always good to me. Sure hope that yore progeny are fairing well. ts