Shooting off'n a dummy horse

[Modoc 0]

We are another club with a great horse, but...... he is a 55 gal. Drum with 3"x3' pipe legs with a real saddle screwed on and a carved 4" wide neck. last time we used him as a sit on stage, we needed 2 assistants for mounting and dismounting. Personally, I really enjoyed him, but we are using him more as a non-shooting prop now. In truth, I wish that he was made from a 30 gal. drum with ALOT shorter legs.

[L. G., SASS #48097 0]

One of the clubs I shoot at has their horse on a box spring, horse moves around a little, much fun! At our club, we have steps to get on and off our horse with, and you are always handed and hand off long guns if that is what's shot from the horse.

[Gold Canyon Kid #43974 105]

For those of you that like to ride a horse and shoot, I suggest you consider SASS Mounted Shooting. Most of the rest of us are overjoyed shooting firmly attached to the earth with both feet.

[Allie Mo, SASS No. 25217 5,920]

Hi Pard,

 

California Rangers had a horse prop. It was a barrel set on short legs. My toes touched the ground when I was on it. It was stationery. If you allow the shooter to mount before the clock and get off after they're done, I think it can be done safely. That was a good set up. I've seen them where the shooters hand off the long guns or put them in scabbards.

 

Once we had to mount a tall horse that someone rocked. That was very unfair as folks got different rocking speeds. That whole match was screwy and we never went back.

 

Before my time, the OWSS in Chabot had a coin-operated horse. Hubby said they quit using it when someone complained about it hurting his back. He said accuracy was so bad that they counted hits instead of misses. They also had a box springs that was used like a buckboard. That wasn't bad.

 

Regards,

 

Allie Mo

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 1,030]

For those of you that like to ride a horse and shoot, I suggest you consider SASS Mounted Shooting.

 

Oh yeah,like that's really gonna happen. I'm gonna run out and buy a horse, and find a place to stable it, and find the money to pay for a new hobby. Then I'm gonna take riding lessons so I actually know which end of the horse is the front, and I'm gonna learn to ride well enough so I can control the horse while I am shooting pistols. Then I'm gonna find an actual club that actually does mounted shooting. They ain't too plentiful in this neck of the woods.

 

Sheesh! I just liked sitting on a dummy horse and pretending. Is that such a crime?

 

I would also love to be sitting in a mine car or other such conveyance and shooting at targets while the cart rolled along. But it seems that is not too popular an idea either.

 

By the way, we don't have much mounted shooting in this neck of the woods, but a few years ago I attended a yearly match where the nearest mounted club came and put on an exhibition. Then they dragged out a nice little cart and asked if anybody wanted to try. Boy howdy I was the first one in line. I had a driver who took the reins while I leaned out of the cart and blasted all the balloons with blanks. I loved it and would do it again in a New York minute.

[Buck Bisley 0]

At one of the clubs I've shot at, we have a horse, "Old Paint". I enjoy stages written using Old Paint. I've even mounted up ala Roy style with a slight run and jump from the back into the saddle. I read this thread early this morning and have pondered a thought in my head about it all day.

For me it's no issue as I am 47 and still in fairly decent shape. (if I say so myself )

My wife and I also own three live horses and in my younger days I logged a lot of miles and hours in the saddle working at a guest ranch in Colorado.

But I do understand as time is ticking away on me also, that in time I'll see such activity as getting harder to accomplish.

Now don't flame me to death as these are only my thoughts; but it seems as the general populous of the CAS community ages that perhaps we need yet another layer. You see we have Cowboy Mounted Shooting "CMSA", which I hope to have my horse "Dusty" accomplish someday... We have Cowboy Action Shooting "CAS", that we have all been a part of. Perhaps it's time to create "CTS" or Cowboy Target Shooting. It would be for the more mobility challenged who still love what we do but may not be able to do so as they used to, or maybe never were able to. It could be arranged so that a club sets up the CAS/CTS shoot the following way: Shooters sign up in their appropriate category in either the CAS or CTS division. All shooters get possied up as either a CAS posse or a CTS posse and what ever sub groups under those that evolve (i.e. a posse that is holy black only type thing). The stage writers would need to write maybe a few stages differently (at most) so that CAS shooters run, ride etc. and the CTS shooters take a less active approach. There are a lot of stages that have been created where it would suit either group so I don't feel it would create a huge situation to accomodate two different divisions shooting the at the same club the same day. I hope those of you reading are following my thoughts. For instance...

CAS stage one: Your in the hide out when you see the posse coming in. They've found you. You know you're going to have to fight your way out of this one, so you'll shoot your way out of the hide out hop on the horse and ride off shooting as you go. At the buzzer your standing with the shotgun at port arms, take two knockdowns with fliers in any order. Stage shotgun, grab rifle staged at table and shoot continous nevada sweep on rifle targets starting from left to right. Stage rifle back on table, grab saddlebags throw on horse mount horse and take pistol targets double tapping each from right to left.

CTS Stage One: Your in the hide out when you see the posse coming in. They've found you. You know you're going to have to fight your way out of this one but that sheriff and his yeller belly deputies haven't a chance as they come in to your fortified hide out. At the buzzer your standing with the shotgun at port arms, take two knockdowns with fliers in any order. Stage shotgun, (sit in chair? maybe?) grab rifle staged at table and shoot continous nevada sweep on rifle targets starting from left to right. Stage rifle back on table, take pistol targets double tapping each from right to left.

Ok so I'm no stage writer but I hope folks get the idea. I'm just offering a possible solution of a way to accomodate all who want to play the game. My example shows stage one with the targets and props set in a manner that would accomodate both groups. The only difference is that one group approaches it slightly different than the other.

The division scores could be separate, as well be together. I know I'm not the fastest by any means and there are plenty who may be less mobile than I that can out shoot me on any day.

Aplogies for the lengthy post folks. Again it's just an idea I had. Hope I didn't bore you too much reading it; but hey it's winter and with a few feet of snow on the ground what else is there to do.

Take Care All

Buck

[Jefro, SASS#69420 408]

Perhaps it's time to create "CTS" or Cowboy Target Shooting. It would be for the more mobility challenged who still love what we do but may not be able to do so as they used to, or maybe never were able to. It could be arranged so that a club sets up the CAS/CTS shoot

Get a grip , the rules say accomodations will be made for those of us that are phyiscally challenged, if you don't mind I'll just stand beside the horse, you can jump on it. I don't need no stinkin CTS posse or watered down stages. I come to play the game no matter how I finish

 

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

[Buck Bisley 0]

Get a grip , the rules say accomodations will be made for those of us that are phyiscally challenged, if you don't mind I'll just stand beside the horse, you can jump on it. I don't need no stinkin CTS posse or watered down stages. I come to play the game no matter how I finish

 

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

As long as clubs accomodate those of us who can, I'm fine with shooting with those who can't. My thoughts were only because of comments made by others who felt some things should be removed altogether. I don't feel things should be changed to a degree so that those who can, no longer will at all because those who can't determined that because they are not able to, then no one else will either. It was only my thoughts and I was only trying to offer them politely and in a manner that would accomodate everyone.

[Jefro, SASS#69420 408]

As long as clubs accomodate those of us who can, I'm fine with shooting with those who can't. My thoughts were only because of comments made by others who felt some things should be removed altogether. I don't feel things should be changed to a degree so that those who can, no longer will at all because those who can't determined that because they are not able to, then no one else will either. It was only my thoughts and I was only trying to offer them politely and in a manner that would accomodate everyone.

I haven't seen any club dumb down thier match just to accomodate those that are challanged, none of us want stand and deliver(CTS), I like movement, just not a foot race, don't know of any top shooters that like a foot race either. Write the stages and I'll shoot em the best I can and still go home happy. However there have been plenty of horses and other props built that looked good on paper, but were phased out not because a few couldn't handle them, but because they were not very good props for masses........I'm just saying

 

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

[Buck Bisley 0]

I haven't seen any club dumb down thier match just to accomodate those that are challanged, none of us want stand and deliver(CTS), I like movement, just not a foot race, don't know of any top shooters that like a foot race either. Write the stages and I'll shoot em the best I can and still go home happy. However there have been plenty of horses and other props built that looked good on paper, but were phased out not because a few couldn't handle them, but because they were not very good props for masses........I'm just saying

 

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

I haven't seen any club dumb them down either. However it seems as though the SASS folks add and remove categories all the time, that in some ways, do just that.