Fire N Iron

Hey everyone! Great info. I really appreciate it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. I’ll let y’all know what he ends up going with. I think we’ll shoot a few more different options before we “pull the trigger”.... sorry, terrible pun. This is such a great forum!

Hello Everyone, Fire N Iron here. One of my greatest excitements about getting into CAS is the fact that my 11 yr old boy is very excited to do it with me. He loved Winter Range this year and got to shoot a Ruger Wrangler. As we consider guns for him, I have some questions for y’all. He has been shooting .22s since he was 5 yrs old. He is currently comfortable shooting a Sig SP2022 9mm (my wife’s) and does not mind the recoil. While I know he can shoot .22 as a Buckaroo, I think he would do fine with something a bit bigger. Does it make sense to go for a .38 right off the bat since he can handle it (especially with light loads)? I understand he will only be able to shoot .22s until he is 13. I’m also curious about the size of the pistol. He really liked the Taylor Stallion he held at the Taylor tent at WR. He also likes my vaquero. Any reason not to have a younger shooter use a little bit larger gun if they are comfortable handling and shooting it? I’m a little concerned about how it would go over a longer day shooting multiple stages. For those of you with experience with kiddos and CAS, what are your thoughts? Anyone have recommendations on guns to consider? Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Hope you are having an excellent Friday! -Fire N Iron

WOW! I’m blow away by all of the great responses and the years of experience being shared. I can’t thank each of you enough for taking the time to share what you have learned and what has worked for you. This has got to be the friendliest and most helpful forum out there! I am so excited to be getting into such a great sport with so many outstanding folks! Y’all have helped me make up my mind on the .44-40. I expect over time I will probably get into the other WCF cartridges too. The more I learn the more intrigued I am. Thanks pards!!! -A grateful greenhorn, a.k.a Fire N Iron.

Hi! I don’t have a complete pair of anything yet LOL. Pistols: Ruger Vaquero in .45 Colt. 3 c&b revolvers (‘51 Navy, ‘60 Army, ‘58 Remington with .44 front loader and .45 conversion cylinder). Shotgun: I have an original 1890’s Newman Bros SXS external hammer 12 ga. 2-5/8 chambers. I shoot the shotgun with brass shotshells and BP. It came from the factory as a coach gun with 18.2” barrels. As you can see, a real Hodgepodge. Some of us are late bloomers I guess. I’ve loved shooting these guns for years, never thought about CAS until recently. I took my 11 yr old boy to Winter Ranger last week. I live 2 hrs away in Flagstaff. We are both hooked. Loved the shooting, and absolutely loved the people!!! -Matt

Thanks everyone for your thoughts so far. I really mean the comment about “Hall of knowledge”. I have a ton of respect for the folks here and your knowledge and experience. Sounding like I don’t need to worry too much about the brass on .44-40, and that the cases are both available and long lasting. I’ll do some thinking about .38 WCF as well. Lot’s to think about. I sure love this forum!!!!! -Fire N Iron

Hello Everyone! My first post here, but I have been reading a ton of the great posts already out there. Haven’t found an answer to this question / questions in the existing hall of knowledge so thought I would ask. I am certain that I want to shoot black powder in CAS. Even though I am a newbie and wet behind the ears. I have been shooting muzzle stuffers and c&b revolvers with real black powder for 20 years+. I am already addicted and have no desire to go to smokeless. As such I am asking this from the angle of bp loads rather than smokeless. I also reload a little bit, loading .45 Colt, .44 Russian, and .45-70 BPCR. For those of you that shoot .44-40 with BP, what kind of life do you get out of your brass? I have to admit, I am drawn by the history and authenticity (I am a part time blacksmith at a museum, to give you an idea) but I am intimidated by the thin brass on the neck. Not so much with reloading (y’all have posted some awesome info on that) but on just how fragile the cases seem to be. I have been shooting .45 Colt loads with BP for a couple of years in a revolver. Now that I am looking to get a lever gun I am researching my best options. On one side, I see a strong theme of folks loving .44-40 for bp in a lever gun, on the other I worry about the brass longevity/availability. For those folks that opt for the .45 Colt in a rifle and neck-size to reduce blow-by, how is the longevity on those cases? I would imagine that working the neck like that would cause them to wear out faster. Does that mean that neck-sizing .45 Colt will make the brass last about as long as .44-40 and it’s a wash? Sorry for the long post. I just thought giving a little background might be helpful. Thanks in advance for any help you might have, and for tolerating another greenhorn. I tried hard to look all over the past posts on the SASS wire before asking. -Fire N Iron