Tubby Butterman

I grew up in Colorado and Nebraska and lived and worked on a cattle ranch. I already have all the western wear from working cattle on horseback. Just put my hat on and it's not really comfortable anymore so it looks like I'll be upgrading. :-)

Update: I returned from Florida and now have some additional guns from my great grandfather including a M1877 Colt in .41 colt (“Thunderer”) made in 1879, a M1897 Winchester in 12 gauge made in 1904, and a side by side 20 gauge “Hopkins and Allen made between 1908 and 1915 (when they went out of business). I have a 16 gauge Model 1897 made in 1917 already. The Colt is in excellent condition and I’ve shot both smokeless and BP out of it. Very fun but not too useful for SASS. I bought the dies and supplies for reloading .41 so about to get started. Gun is so filthy after 15-20 rounds that it won’t function and it’s time for a bath. Folks warned me about the chore of cleaning black powder but it really makes you get to know your firearm very well. Fun! Model 1897 12 gauge is very well used with lots of bluing loss. I will take it apart and clean before firing. It does not have the buttons on the side for unloading the magazine like my later 16 gauge, it has the screws. Good for SASS and WB. H&A shotgun needs oiling and I wouldn’t hazard a guess on when it was last fired. It’s not a twist or Damascus barrel but will have it checked out by a real gunsmith before it gets used. I also want to determine the chamber length as well. Not a lot of info on H&As and I’ve found the best source to be old catalogs. The books about them usually just parrot what the catalogs have in them. i also received three other single shot shotguns, all breech break action. A Stevens 94C in 28 gauge, a Stevens in .410 made in 1951 and a H&A in 12 gauge which appears to be a reinforced “Duck” gun. I have no idea what to do with these. All three looks to be worth about $50 to $75 a piece. I will clean and oil them for now. My competition instinct is to get new revolvers and a rifle in .38-40. Keep to one caliber but stay historic. I like to find a pair of SAA in .41 colt. Decisions, decisions. I did find a guy on Gunbroker selling a pair of USFA pistols duel chambered in .41 colt and a cylinder with .38-40. Perfect for me but the $7500 price tag steered me away. No oilwells in my backyard.

My plan is to shoot a few more before I buy. I think I’ve narrowed the rifle down to an 1873 in .44-40. I want to try both smokeless and black powder. Leaning toward the Miroku Winchester. looking at the SASS pair of stainless Ruger New Vaqueros in .45. I like the stainless. I kinda want the pistols in the same caliber as the rifle and it looks like there’s some made in .44-40. None in stainless, but I do like the case hardened look. i found myself looking at cap and ball revolvers as well. My old gun infection is getting worse.

Great video thanks!

I am in Minnesota. Looks like there are several groups in the area. They also meet every Wednesday night at my local gun club. I intend to take up their offer and try out their hardware. The challenge for for me is everything feels so different that sometimes it’s hard to determine which is better. I did already figure out that I don’t like the “birds head” style grips.

I attended a CAS overview held at my local gun club that involved an informational overview then we all went in the range and fired some revolvers and pistols. I got interested as I've inherited a Colt M1877 Thunderer (.41 Colt), several 1897 shotguns (16 and 12), a double barrel shotgun amongst other guns (mostly single shot shotguns). Looks like I need two pistols and a pistol caliber rifle, besides my shotguns, to get started. I intend to do some matches but don't expect to do it enough to make it a focus. I do 3Gun occasionally as I like the format but not enough to ever break out of the bottom 25% on a stage. Like I said, I'll be learning and having fun. I was looking at a new from Winchester 1873 but there are so many variations, not sure what is best for CAS. There are cheaper options out there but many of my other guns are Winchesters (M1 Garand, shotguns, M1903, etc.) that I wanted to buy the real thing. Spending $1000 to $1500, I'm fine with. I'm thinking of getting it in .44-40 or 45 Colt to match my potential revolvers. I like the .44-40 for it's historical value but having 45 colt would be convenient with the pistols. I've been reading that lots of folks are using .38/.357 rifles/pistols, other than cheaper off the shelf ammo, any advantages there? I reload so I expect to do most of my own ammo. Looking at a pair of Ruger New Vaqueros in 45 colt. I'm open to other suggestions. I don't mind spending more for quality stuff. I don't want to spend $3K to just want to spend $3K getting something else. I'm looking for suggestions, advice, links to tutorials, articles and what is the latest developments in CAS. Many thanks all for responding!