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Have you stopped going to CAS matches?


Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663

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It was fun for a while...back before I got realy bored with shooting at spiting distance and the meaningless shotgun targets. Along about then, I began noticing that the stages were becoming such a mental exersize that a lot of guys were having zero misses but scoring poorly. Such shenanagens can take the fun right out of something. Then there was the constant rush and hurry. Everyone seemed in such a hurry...hurry to get there, hurry to sign up, hurry up to shoot, hurry up while you're shooting, hurry up to clear the range and put everything away, then hurry up to get outa there and head home. To me, once the new wore off, it quickly became more of a chore than a sorce of fun. I guess that I wasn't the only one getting burned out because within a year, the club I was with split up and as far as I can tell, has mostly ceased to exist.

 

 

I aint saying any of that to knock CAS and I surely wouldn't want to discourage any prospective new shooters. I'm just simply giving my reasons for being away from it the past couple of years. On the flip-side of the coin though, I did meet a lot of real nice folks, had some fun, and learned a lot about how to use these old gun designs. Some of the personal relationships that I developed through CAS continue to this day, as does the memory of the fun times. In fact, I'm presently gathering up enough stuff to try it again later on this year. This time though, I won't be going into it with a lot of unrealistic expectations.

 

WWW

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I use to shoot a couple of matches a month, but quite as they stopped being fun. It got to be a speed match. No fun stuff like shooting off of barrels and dropping a stick of TNT in a box. Just get to the line and empty both six guns and the rifle and then knock down a few shotgun targets and shoot the shotgun till you knocked them down.

 

I did find another group, which is not into speed and has brought back some fun. I'm back to shooting monthly shoot with them when they get together and if the weather is good.

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Been awhile for me, too. Work problems( none) kinda put a kink in my ability to acquire supplies and match funds. Plus the gas prices really get in the way also. Hope to get to go in March, if not April.........Buck :mellow::blush:

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yes I shoot less these days

I am making time for new thrills

such as

 

windy days

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ7n6Z2wxok&feature=pyv&ad=3140068783&gclid=CNnH8trxo6cCFcPt7Qodtz23DA

 

purty cheap to operate too

 

sunny warm days

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g8Ypxqek2Q

 

only mine is blue and gray

 

I still shoot SASS

just less these days

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I started CAS in '99 two days before my twelfth birthday. My uncle and I shot 3 to 4 matches a week in til I was 14. Uncle had to shoot less matches and so did I. I eventually got a job a t a paint-ball field and wound up playing for a sponsored tournament team and traveling around the country. I stopped that to play college ball and get my degree. When my four years of eligibility was up I got an internship and then a job while I finished my undergrad. When I graduated my Uncle presented me with a pair of Ruger NVs. I collected the rest of my gear, dusted off the loader and I'm back in the game. Now I'm just waiting for the CO. Weather to warm up so I can head to some monthlies. YER HAW!!!

 

Regards

Brim.

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I only started a year ago and was hitting at least one match a month.

 

With 5 kids and one of them being a brand new baby, I find that there is always something going on that doesn't allow me to get to as many matches as I would like. Always a sport or activity for the kids.

 

I will be going to more as time progresses and the littlest one can be around the range. But this year is looking pretty slim for shooting.

 

I love this game and am working to get the kids interested and shooting and hopefully will get the wife out shooting too.

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I only started a year ago and was hitting at least one match a month.

 

With 5 kids and one of them being a brand new baby, I find that there is always something going on that doesn't allow me to get to as many matches as I would like. Always a sport or activity for the kids.

 

I will be going to more as time progresses and the littlest one can be around the range. But this year is looking pretty slim for shooting.

 

I love this game and am working to get the kids interested and shooting and hopefully will get the wife out shooting too.

 

We've missed seeing you at the range.

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I started CAS in '99 two days before my twelfth birthday. My uncle and I shot 3 to 4 matches a week in til I was 14. Uncle had to shoot less matches and so did I. I eventually got a job a t a paint-ball field and wound up playing for a sponsored tournament team and traveling around the country. I stopped that to play college ball and get my degree. When my four years of eligibility was up I got an internship and then a job while I finished my undergrad. When I graduated my Uncle presented me with a pair of Ruger NVs. I collected the rest of my gear, dusted off the loader and I'm back in the game. Now I'm just waiting for the CO. Weather to warm up so I can head to some monthlies. YER HAW!!!

 

Regards

Brim.

 

Brim - come over to this side of the hill, we've been shooting all winter! Gateway Kid wanders over this way fairly often to shoot. When I graduated from either HS or college my dad gave me a life membership in the NRA, talk about a great gift!

 

I started maybe may of 09, first year shot 2-3 matches a month when I could, second year that tapered off a bit due to other commitments at the beginning of the year, but by the end I decided to heck with other stuff, life is for living and started making more matches. Can't imagine it getting stale enough to stop going, and I reckon if it did I'd just have to try gunfighter or black powder or both.

 

Grizz

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I'm lucky to have alot of monthly matches within an hour or two from home. I can't afford to do annuals where I have to stay in a motel several nights very often, so if it wasn't for the local monthlies, I wouldn't shoot much at all.

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God bless your club and may many others follow suit! This idea would make it easier for new shooters, those on a fixed income, or some with disabilities. The one pistol, shotgun combo would be a price conscious option for us, and based on the dozens of old Tin Type photo's I have of our Lawmen relatives, period correct! ;)

 

 

BSD & SSG

 

I've been out of CAS for years now because I can't afford it. Or more accurately, affording CAS would mean not affording things that are more important. I still shoot, but not as much as I'd like, and the pure "fun" side of shooting has had to take a significant back seat. Being able to do 22's would make a HUGE difference. Not just the ammo costs, but costs of the guns. It doesn't seem like that big a deal, but the options for two pistols and a rifle in 22 might mean over a thousand dollars in savings over even a basic full bore set.

 

Right now I'm looking at rebuilding my equipment and am trying to decide what caliber to go with. Cost is most definitely a factor, both starting and ongoing. 45LC shares reloading components with my working guns, but long term cost would be higher and the extra recoil's just extra recoil in this sport. On the other hand, I do love big bores and there's just something about the 45's... I have a feeling it's going to come down to a coin toss, or whether I find a great deal on a rifle or first pistol in one caliber or the other.

 

I do have to say, things are looking up for CAS in this area. There are some higher quality but less expensive options for leather now. The new Vaqueros aren't that expensive and the additional options on the market give shooters on a tight budget more choices than we had before. It used to be a Vaquero or a clone if you wanted to start without spending a bunch, and the clones mostly required a lot of work to be practical.

 

In my case, I've let me membership lapse simply because I no longer even had the gear, but I'll probably rejoin once I at least have some of it again and a reasonable time line on the rest. CAS isn't cheap. As far as shooting sports go it's not particularly expensive, but even with cheap choices we haul around $2k in guns, a couple hundred or more in leather, then clothing, ammo and match costs.

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I know that folks participate in CAS for a few years and then just seem to stop going to CAS matches. I still love going to the CAS matches but so many faces that were there when I started CAS six years ago are no longer present. :(

 

Are you one that still keeps your SASS membership but has stopped going to CAS matches? :mellow:

 

There were a lot less last year. Not many within a drive of less that a coupla' hours, add in 3rd shift and I think i shot 8 times last year :angry: Going to start a "weekend" work shift, so until I hit the lotto I'm probably done for awhile.

 

 

None of it by real choice, staying working is certainly cutting into the recreation.

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Used to shoot 2 or 3 a month for a few years. Then my boss got laid off, and I got stuck on weekends. So I either try to wrangle the schedule or burn vacation days to play. If I get to one a month this season I'll be happy.

 

Unless I get laid off, then I'll shoot whenever I want to.

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Of course the people posting are only the ones that the OP applies to and not a random sampling of SASS shooters, but it is sad none the less. I had no idea that there were so many folk that weren't shooting or shooting considerably less and a lot due to financial reasons. I also did not realize that so many shooters had 2-3 hour commutes (one way) to get to their place to shoot SASS. I must be very fortunate as I live less than 5 miles from each of two separate SASS ranges that I can chose to shoot at, one on Saturday's and the other on Sunday's. A decision to move next to my parents home (where I spent my high school years and before I knew of any shooting opportunities) also landed me less than 5 miles from a brand new SASS range and club. Fortunate indeed! Finances and health have been the only reasons that have kept me from shooting (and my pending move), but my new address promises to provide a steady shooting base for the future. I trust that the folks in this thread will have the opportunity and desire to once again return to active shooting like they once were use to and if something more pressing is taking their time then good for them and best of luck in their future indevours. Smithy.

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I shoot usually twice a month, sometimes 3. Having too much fun. I shoot with a great bunch and it's always a hoot. We have a few BP shooters so some times we will have our own triathalon. One month we shoot Frontiersman, then Frontier cartridge and then Frontier cartridge duelist. Some matches we will have a "Professionals" catagory. Keeps thing fresh.

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Here in NY we have to shut down due to weather. That is the only reason I stop. Having said that my home club has an indoor range and I can shoot my handguns and rifle to stay active. There is one club not to far from home that is kinda inside outside deal with some heat and if the snow does not hinder target set up the match is a go.

 

This is the sport I take part in now, and as long as I can come up with the $$ I am going to every match I can make. If I play my cards right I can shoot 4 - 5 times a month. The longest drive is 2hrs and the shortest is 15min.

 

I to at times see less familiar faces but also a bunch of new ones to take their place.

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Work and $$$ have been getting in the way a lot, lately. But I love it when I can make it! And goshdarnit, LongColt and Kansas City Jack; get the heck back out there! I miss both of your fine gentleman's company!

 

Cheers,

FJT

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I'm going into my 14th year of cowboy shooting. I still shoot regularly, but am down to 1 monthly match during the season (April-November) and two state level matches. I've cut back a little as gas and ammo prices went up and I stopped going to a regional because it was no longer fun to shoot in very hot and humid weather. SASS should be fun, not an endurance match, so if the weather is too hot or too cold or it's raining, I no longer feel compelled to go to the match.

 

I've taken several month breaks in the past and go back when I start missing everybody. I switched from Modern/Traditional to Frontiersman and find I am enjoying myself more then ever.

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I know that folks participate in CAS for a few years and then just seem to stop going to CAS matches. I still love going to the CAS matches but so many faces that were there when I started CAS six years ago are no longer present. :(

 

Are you one that still keeps your SASS membership but has stopped going to CAS matches? :mellow:

 

Yep. Guilty as charged.

 

Last actual match was an 3 day annual about 6 years ago.

 

Life got in the way, pistols have been sold and I am attepting to switch caliber. Once the second pistol is purchased then the leather construction will occur. But with things being as they are, next firearm purchase will be a while from now.

 

But I keep the membership, hang out here when I can, and shoot as often as possible....I will get around to a match some day in the future. :)

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Last year I only shot twice. I haven’t shot since September, I think.

When I got into CAS, I knew then it was never going to be my primary hobby. I have several hobbies that take up what little spare time I have. For me, one of the good things about CAS was I could pick up anytime from where I’d left off. I never went nuts on the clothes and only bought ONLY what I knew I’d use at shoots and nothing else. I only have two western outfits to shoot CAS in and no excess firearms other than what I take to the range (not counting the Cimarron Arms Volunteer model SAA I got, which I use for living history).

The past year was really rough, lots of OT and other demands on my time. I’m also a “fair weather” CAS shooter (I hated shooting in the rain when Uncle Sam PAID me to do it) and in the Pacific NW, it’s tough to find a local shoot on a sunny day. And I only shoot with the local club. So that all adds up to not getting to the range much. I LOVE it when I do go, though. I’ve stockpiled plenty of bullets for when I do go, enough to easily see me through a year (maybe enough for two months for most CAS shooters, though). But there have been a few times when the weather is right and I have only the one day off and I just would rather spend the time with something that doesn’t take up my one free day and I might not go then.

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Kinda funny you ask......it has been discuseed around the ranch.

I am a life member, and have been a member of SASS for over 20 years.

I have NOT shot a match in over a year.

We used to make a match every weekend March/April thru November.

 

Then we made the move to the AZ....beautiful state, loads of matches.

But there are problems.....

Distance to go and start times means being up at oh-dark-thirty, and DeadEye's not into that anymore.

I loathe going without her.

And they like to shoot 7 or 8 stages at each match - its more than I need, and it takes all day.

I basically lose a day when I have other pressing things to do - yeah, life sometimes gets in the way.

I go out and shoot 3-gun, tactical & subgun matches, I'm done in 2 1/2 or 3 hours then hoime by lunch.

It makes a difference.

 

DeadEye did lke going to a club nearby that shot nighttime matches in the summer - but they went away from it.

 

Sometimes it is hard to explain, but it is a bunch of little things that add up.

I think we miss our pards of many years from back east - thank gawd for the folks in posse 1 at Rio - I love them 'cause I think they understand me (I'm a ham and a goof). Its hard to find people to understand/put up with me.

 

Then there was the time I was dressed down down by a so called "champion" cause he took exception to how I ran the clock.

Well, he didn't know me, and was condescending to me until he realized I had been shooting SASS/CAS for almost 20 years, was TG for 2 different clubs, and helped to organized and run shoots and posses, etc. (Realized cause I told him.)

I stopped wearing my SAS badge long ago. I don't feel the need to tell showoff how long I've been around.

When I told that story to the pards back east, they all had a real good laugh.

 

I will shoot CAS again, I still have a safe full original/antiques and repros, I'm just not sure when.

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No, I still attend a few matches when I can, just to see friends and spend time with them. I had to stop shooting last year due to health problems, but drove from MI. to WI. to attend Fandango so I could enjoy the compiany of frienda.

 

I have been a Life Member for years, now, and that Life Membership will end sometime this summer. St. Jude's Charity Shoot will probiblt be the last shoot I get to attend, but I will make the drive over there, simply to see and visit with friends, and loved ones.

 

CAS has been the best thing I've found to make friends and force me to be a better person. The values, standers, and morals of Cowboys are a standard of conduct are seldome found in real life, but I've found over the years that good people are every where, and it makes me want to be a better man each day.

 

Thank tou SASS, and CAS in general for everything.

 

Greeenriver

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No, I still attend a few matches when I can, just to see friends and spend time with them. I had to stop shooting last year due to health problems, but drove from MI. to WI. to attend Fandango so I could enjoy the compiany of frienda.

 

I have been a Life Member for years, now, and that Life Membership will end sometime this summer. St. Jude's Charity Shoot will probiblt be the last shoot I get to attend, but I will make the drive over there, simply to see and visit with friends, and loved ones.

 

CAS has been the best thing I've found to make friends and force me to be a better person. The values, standers, and morals of Cowboys are a standard of conduct are seldome found in real life, but I've found over the years that good people are every where, and it makes me want to be a better man each day.

 

Thank tou SASS, and CAS in general for everything.

 

Greeenriver

May God bless and comfort you my friend!

 

BSD

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I used to shoot twice a month, and then "life happened" as the song says. I'm trying to get back to doing at least one a month once the ranges around here open this spring. I managed one shoot last year, and one the year before.

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Slacked off a little end of last year because of Wife's hobby (dog showing). Cut back on guns, so I can buy more and upgrade this year. I'm planning on shooting more and convincing my Wife to go along more. I've decided I'm old enough that I need to have more fun and less work while I can.

I'm lucky enough to have several monthly matches close and a bunch of really good 3-day matches.

Work did mess things up this year by putting me back on Saturday work schedule (Only 26 years seniority). That cuts out the 1st and 3rd Saturdau monthly match that's 1 mile from my house. I can hear the shooting from work.

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I wish that I could shoot a match everyday. We have 3 to 4 matches a month around here depending on which range I go to. My job gets in the way a lot because I am in the retail world. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about C.A.S. I should be shooting today but I am still waiting on my rifle to be returned from Cody.

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Yep. Guilty as charged.

 

Last actual match was an 3 day annual about 6 years ago.

 

Life got in the way, pistols have been sold and I am attepting to switch caliber. Once the second pistol is purchased then the leather construction will occur. But with things being as they are, next firearm purchase will be a while from now.

 

But I keep the membership, hang out here when I can, and shoot as often as possible....I will get around to a match some day in the future. :)

Doc,

 

Come on out and bring Geri! I'd love to see you guys again.

 

Hey! I haven't seen Balvenie in ages either.

 

I hope you all can come to an Outlaws match at Cowboy Town on the first Saturday. Or, come and have lunch with us at the Golf Course in Ione after a match.

Hope to see you soon!

 

Allie Mo

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No, I still attend a few matches when I can, just to see friends and spend time with them. I had to stop shooting last year due to health problems, but drove from MI. to WI. to attend Fandango so I could enjoy the compiany of frienda.

 

I have been a Life Member for years, now, and that Life Membership will end sometime this summer. St. Jude's Charity Shoot will probiblt be the last shoot I get to attend, but I will make the drive over there, simply to see and visit with friends, and loved ones.

 

CAS has been the best thing I've found to make friends and force me to be a better person. The values, standers, and morals of Cowboys are a standard of conduct are seldome found in real life, but I've found over the years that good people are every where, and it makes me want to be a better man each day.

 

Thank tou SASS, and CAS in general for everything.

 

Greeenriver

 

Don't know how to reply...all I can say is you will ALWAYS be a part of SASS... and you were one of the main pards that got me shootin' again. I loved those dime loads you made up for me a couple years back. Hope to see you soon pard...I will be in Rockford for the next coule matchs. Sure pray to see you.

 

NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

 

Your friend,

 

GG ~ :FlagAm:

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I think it may be that a lot of folks are feelin' the pain of a super bad economy.

 

Roy

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Just 2 cents worth. Let's see, get up at 6AM, drive 90 miles, shoot 5 stages @ 45 seconds per, pick up gear, go to clubhouse to get scores, drive 90 miles arrive home at 3 PM. Cost of diesel $ 45.00, ammo $38.00. That seems like a lot to ask of people for 2 minutes and 25 seconds of fun. Don't get me wrong, I am in love with the idea of CAS and the people, but it's just not practical for everyone.

 

DAS

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