Happy trails, Hopidy.

Key words there being cocked revolver sweeping shooter's other hand. Says nothing about the 170. The same would also hold true for a duelist that shoots one dry and then holds the dry pistol wherever as they're shooting their second pistol. Doesn't matter that the one they're shooting is just within the 170 of the one that was shot dry.

Where is this rule?

From your description, it sounds like you don't want to eliminate the "hands at the sides and not touching any firearm" from SASS default and just want to override "the shooter shall stand upright" with your stage instructions. And that's ok. However, some stage writers don't care if your hands are hovering over the gun, so they tell you that you can have your hands anywhere you want, but they don't want you to actually touch the gun. You can be a millimeter from it, just don't touch it. Some don't even care if you are touching it, either, and they will override that as well. Different strokes for different folks. Ya, but will everybody else see it the same way? Or will some see the different wording and assume there is a difference in a prohibition between touching something and having something else in hand and argue about it for three pages on the wire?

I'll agree that you don't need to tell people to make guns safe or to holster your pistols, but, to the OP, how would you as a stage writer differentiate between the stages that you don't want people to touch gun or ammo and the ones that you don't care if they do in the event you want to relieve the shooter from adhering to the SASS default "hands at sides" on the stage? And, to the OP point, where is the stage convention that says "hands not touching ammo?" Furthermore, to drive again off topic, on a stage which allows a shooter to begin with a rifle reload on the clock after the beep, for those shooter who wears a buscadero or drop holsters, and have pistol reloads on their holster, what prevents them from having their hands at their side pinching the rifle reload between their thumb and forefinger in the event that we cannot determine what is "ammunition in hand(s)"?

So...it seems as if we have really wandered from the OP's question. What we know: Stage Convention SASS default: If no starting position is given, the shooter shall stand upright with revolvers holstered, hands at the sides and not touching any firearm. We know that overriding one part of this convention does not override the others. For instance, if shooter is to start with hands on hat or other stance, they must remain standing upright until after the beep, unless stage instructions indicate otherwise. o Example: Just because the scenario states to point 1 hand downrange does not mean the shooter can have the other hand on the gun or bend down over the gun, unless stage instructions state otherwise. The other hand must be at SASS default, at side not touching guns and shooter must be standing upright. Ammunition convention Shooters may not start a stage with ammunition in hand(s). We also know that these non-safety conventions can be overridden by stage instructions. So...just thinking out loud here, if the stage writer wants to have a starting position outside of the SASS default (which I am a firm believer that NO stage should start at SASS default because it's boring), then it is critical that the limits that you wish to place on the shooter are clearly stated. For instance: Shooter starts anywhere at their discretion, hands not touching guns or ammo. This way, the shooter not only knows their expected position for starting, but also what they are explicitly not allowed to do, especially in the instance where a match or stage writer is making up their own stage conventions such as 'ready position' or 'agayw'. Just a thought.

Revolver in hand is defined in the SHB Revolver in hand – when the muzzle of the revolver clears the mouth of the holster, or breaks contact with a prop where it was initially staged.

Plainsman side match is offered at EOT: https://endoftrail.org/plainsman-match/

Looks like you are missing the strap that goes around your neck. The strap goes through the loop on the back side of the tie. You could run a piece on black ribbon in place of the strap and secure with a small knot hidden behind the bow or under the collar.

SHB pg 10 CATEGORY MATRIX Above the “Base Categories” listed in this handbook, the local club monthly match and club annual match level, all SASS recognized shooting categories may be offered by subdividing by all factors; including age, gender, shooting style, and propellant. When breaking down all style/costume categories, the regulations for the base category are to be applied first, then the age limits. A full listing of all possible shooting category combinations is unavailable. The breakdown examples below serve to provide a glimpse into the various possibilities: