Abe E.S. Corpus SASS #87667

I’ve been using APP for several years now in .38 Special and 12 gauge and over the last couple of years in .44-40 and Cowboy .45 Special. In .38 Special I use a 158 grain bullet which fills up more of the case than the lighter bullets. Load powder to the base of the bullet and you are good. In .44-40 and C45S I don’t fill to capacity and use caulk backer rod as a filler. My guns can run at least six stages without any care. I do wet tumble my brass within a day or two of shooting to keep them from looking grungy. Cleaning guns is easy. PAM on the revolvers and rifle, clear Windex on the shotgun bores with the folded paper towel trick. Lightly oil with Ballistol after cleaning.

I bought a Codymatic my first year of shooting Cowboy (2010). It happens to be a Deluxe Short Rifle in .357, 20” barrel. No issues whatsoever. Some top shooters prefer a different setup and it’s possible to get a slicker, faster rifle for more money. I doubt a “better” rifle would improve my scores.

This statement may generally true but a new shooter in my club has a 16” rifle that she likes, so we worked with it a little. Bought a stainless follower and new spring from Steve’s Gunz and as an experiment we trimmed the way-too-long factory magazine spring. The rifle will now hold ten .38 Special cartridges with a 110gr TCFP bullet at a OAL of 1.44”. Although ‘92s usually run better with longer cartridges, this particular rifle will run the ones I described. We got lucky on this one, perhaps, but I no longer say “can’t” or “never”.

Best results are with the cartridges that Winchester developed for the rifle: .44 WCF (.44-40), .38 WCF (.38-40) and .32 WCF (.32-20). Of the three, the .44-40 (rifles and ammo/components) is the most readily available.

You may be aware that SASS rules allow only kids 13 and under to shoot rimfire. Some clubs (including mine) allow shooters of any age to shoot .22s. It’s not an option at a state or higher match. As others have said, if you want to be able to shoot at any club (some don’t allow rimfire) you may end up buying two sets of guns. You may need different holsters. That’s not saving you money. If you have basic marksmanship skills you don’t need a lot of live fire practice. Some of the most valuable practice is to practice your transitions (going from one gun to another) which can be done without firing a shot.

There is an aftermarket lever safety/trigger return spring available: https://www.slixprings.com/proddetail.php?prod=Miroku-Firing-Pin-Trigger-Safety-Spring

Depending upon the design of your cart you may be able to use a pistol “rack” similar to the one sold by Rugged Gear. Scarlett sells them, I think.

The Marlin 1894C has been used by SASS shooters for a long time prior to Ruger’s purchase of the Marlin brand. I haven’t heard an outcry about whether it can be altered to hold ten .357s. Every rifle is different. I had a “Remlin” 1894C for a short time; it fed my .38 Special cowboy ammo just fine (1.44” OAL).

We have tried a number of approaches over the years. Info tables at gun shows are fun but most of the people who say they are interested never show up, or show up and watch but never return. We have “leveraged” social media the last two or three years. It’s a low cost approach but it does take some time. Consumers expect to be able to easily find information online so you need to make the effort to keep your club’s website or social media presence updated with info easy to find. You also need to respond to inquiries. We have held “new shooter clinics” which are fun but a certain number of attendees are “lookie loos” who will take (or eat, or shoot) all they can for free. I charge a modest fee for these events especially with ammo costs having increased. I find that the most effective recruitment tool is a personal invitation. Let your guest know that you will be present at a match to greet them and show them around.

I put “no safety” (one groove around the circumference) base pins in my Pietta GW2s as soon as I bought them. They work fine.

Wow! Congratulations to you both!

Every rifle is different. I once tested a “Remlin” 1894c that (somewhat to my surprise) ran my .38 Special cowboy ammo just fine but refused to feed any .357 ammo I had on hand. A local shooter has a Rossi ‘92 that feeds .38s with an OAL of 1.44”. In theory the 1892 requires a longer .38 Special. Try the coated TCFP bullets that don’t have a crimp groove. They give you lots of flexibility in setting OAL.

I wasn’t aware that a Pietta hammer would fit a Uberti revolver. I have Alchimista low hammers installed in my Pietta revolvers. I like the profile of the Run-n-Iron hammers better. That’s just me.

We started offering Josey Wales at my club a year ago. The rules for this unofficial category differ by club so there is no one answer but the SASS safety rules trump everything so you must start a six shooter with an empty chamber under the hammer. Six shotgun targets therefore mean an on the clock reload to avoid a miss. We typically have four shotgun targets. Our Josey Wales rules allow the shooter to load with up to the number of shotgun targets. We expect the revolver to be “shot dry” at the end of the shotgun string. If you want to re-engage a target, you do it on the clock. Remember that a loaded revolver is already an advantage as compared to a shotgun staged empty. We also require Josey Wales shooters to knock the SG targets down unless they are using a Rimfire revolver. Hey, it’s supposed to be challenging!

It may be time to download the Shooters Handbook, free from www.sassnet.com. We don’t load the shotgun ahead of time (unless the stage instructions allow it which is rare). It is “staged” open and empty. We load it as we are preparing to shoot the shotgun targets. The shooter may load up to two shells into the shotgun at a time. Wild Bunch Action Shooting rules are different. One thing at a time.

As someone stated, don’t limit yourself to your home state. There are probably SASS-affiliated clubs in neighboring states as well. I would reach out to local clubs and ask whether they offer a new shooter clinic or a practice day. Some clubs do this on a regular basis, some on an ad hoc basis, and there are some cowboys who have their own practice range. This can be valuable as opposed to trying to shoot a new sport with brand new firearms without having even observed a match before. If you don’t already load your own ammo you may be taking up another hobby. Factory .45 Colt ammo can be expensive. For now check out “Cowboy Cartridges” available from Bullets by Scarlett.

And Greenville Gunfighters (not far off of I-85); our match is this Sunday.

If you like Titegroup try Shooters World Clean Shot.

If you want a more hand filling grip look into aftermarket stocks that extend below the bottom of the grip frame. Eagle Grips just announced one and there’s another company (Texas grips, maybe) that has been making them for years.

Stew does training in his “day job”. You won’t find a better RO class.

Don’t forget the Taurus Deputy, a transfer bar equipped single action revolver.

If a shooter is asked why he shot the stage incorrectly after earning a P, can they “take the Fifth”? Benefit if the doubt goes to the shooter, after all. This is said tongue in cheek.

Welcome, cmrwash. As others said, the Big Boy is, as has been for some time, a SASS-legal rifle. The “Classic Cowboy” category mentioned in one reply has some restrictions on rifles and other equipment but there are plenty of other categories in the game. Some of the criticism of the HBB’s “load from the muzzle” design is from people who don’t shoot the game. The “side gate” versions would be more convenient at the Loading Table, but a new shooter already owns a “so side gate”, they should bring it out. HRA makes a carbine version of the HBB that has something like a seven round magazine capacity. Any rifle that does not hold ten rounds in the magazine would be a poor choice for use in matches, but it does not make them illegal. Henry Repeating Arms does a great job with marketing. They also get their products on dealer’s shelves. I don’t think I had ever seen a Uberti 1873 rifle in a store before I attended my first match.

Make sure they chamber. My Miroku 1873 .44-40 is not “generous”.