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Does .38 Special make you a gamer?


Ben Cartwright #84097

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if the term gamer is someone that will help out any shooter,if they just ask for help,or be the first one to help a new shooter,or know the rules well and shoot so fast its fun just to watch-----then Twelve Mile Reb you my friend are a GAMER.

Your pard Lefty Pete

P.S. thanks for all your help.

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Welcome to SASS!

Shoot the game the way you want with the loads you like! Your shooting for yourself not others.

Enjoy the company of the other shooters, be safe and have a good time.

Win or lose, as long as you feel good about how your shooting then you’re playing the game right IMHO!

Tully

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Hi Ben,

 

The term "gamer" is used entirely too much with a negative connotation. As you can see from the posts on this thread, it brought out negativity. I think it's best to not even use it.

 

My opinion of the term coincides with the first definition Rowdy provided, "a player who is game; especially: an athlete who relishes competition." I would add that it is a person who practices to eliminate unnessary movements and to compete in the most efficient manner using the guns, propellants, and pistol-shooting styles that give that person pleasure.

 

About using .38s, it might just make you frugal and cost conscious. I've shot my husband's .45s and did not notice much difference from my .38s other than being lighter guns. Weight was the reason I tried them. When it was barely noticable, I went back to my .38s.

 

At the 2011 SASS Convention, I took a Wild Bunch Action Shooting class from a World Champion WB shooter, Crazy Kurt. One of the first things he said was that he was a gamer. He proceeded to show us stances, grips, clip loading techniques, pistol modifications..., which were things he does or recommends to make us more efficient shooters. There was nothing negative or illegal (in WBAS rules) there.

 

Regards,

 

Allie Mo

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Welcome to CAS at SASS!

 

Being a gamer is a state of mind and definition.

 

My definition for a gamer;

A person whose every decision about a match, be it caliber, barrel length, powder type and amount, bullet weight, clothing, category all has to do with getting as much advantage without actually breaking the rules.

 

Now that I told you what I think a gamer is; The real point is that you shouldn't care about what others think.

Go to the range, be safe, shoot your game as you want.

 

AND HAVE FUN ! :FlagAm::rolleyes:

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Lets see here. Someone wants to do there VERY best.

So they look at the rules. And then within those rules.

They pick the best equipment and caliber to do that with.

They learn the best way to stage there guns and get ready to shoot.

They practice a lot to be able to use that legal equipment.

Dang. That sound like a competitor in just about every sport or event going.

And most would look at them in those other events or sports and say WOW.

But MANY in SASS just like to look down at them and call them GAMER. And use it

in a negitive way.

 

That's sad. Feel sorry for those folks. They just don't get it. Don't want to get it.

Never will get it.

 

They shoot and play WELL within the rules. And some look down at them for it. :angry:

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GAMER ya say? Sure, ok. I shoot .45s with 130 grain bullets running less than 600 fps. How gamey is that? You can, and I have, beat the recoil dragon with any caliber we have. You like .45s, there's a light load for that. .45s your cup of tea, we can do that with very low recoil too. GAMER is somebody else's word, not mine.

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... I read this months article on gamers, and wonder do I fall under that?.....I am shooting double duelist...Some of my loads are at the bottom of the reloading book "scale" .... I don't do it for no recoil.

 

I am not competing against anyone but myself..... My big thing is to have fun....am competed out. I want to play cowboy and have fun.

Nope, don't sound like a gamer to me. I, too use .38, but that's because that's what my revolvers came in (Cimmarron Lightning).

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Ben;

Welcome aboard. Screw all the "gamer" crap; shoot what you want, as fast and as accurately as you can, and whoop it up. Go to the range, and you'll see what I mean. This kind of lingo tends to propagate on the Wire, not at matches.

 

Calling someone derogatory names never seemed very cowboy to me, anyway.

 

Cheers,

Frederick Jackson Turner

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.38 Special = gamer cartridge? Not hardly. .38 Special = not period correct? Kind of, but not really. The .38 Special is virtually identical to the .38 Long Colt, introduced in 1875, and the .38 Special itself was around as early as 1898. It is longer than the .38 Long Colt by the thickness of only three $1 bills, and can certainly be considered period correct by either example. Loaded to standard velocities, it can hardly be considered a "gamer cartridge".

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When you check out any large shoot that is a lost brass match, you will find that 357/38 brass equals all the other calibers combined. I guess that makes over half the shooters a gamer according to H. K, Uriah. The idea that folks that shoot 38s are irritating, take the fun out of it for others, or is somehow trying to get an unfair advantage as stated by H. K. Uriah are just plain wrong. Attitudes such as his are what is wrong with our sport. Maybe if I get enough time I will let you know how I really feel about it.

 

Sigh...

 

Did you even read my post? The very first thing I said was that using .38's does NOT make you a gamer.

 

I said that someone shooting .45's can be a gamer.

 

A gamer is NOT one who does everything possible within the rules to have fun or be more competative. And those two goals do not negate each other.

 

A "gamer" as I understand the term is one who makes an irritant of themselves in some fashion. They can be shooting any caliber, and style, any level of gun customization from none to greatly enhanced.

 

Yes, some people do use the term as a joke or even a compliment in some specific circumstances, but the original post had me thinking that the poster was concerned about the negative aspects of the label. He asked if using .38's made him a gamer, and I said "no."

 

Or let me put it another way, someone using heavy .45's and complaining about people using light .38's to the point where the .45 user feels they should not be allowed to use them is the gamer. Not the person using light .38's.

 

That is the thought I was expressing in my earlier post.

 

And for the record, I have seen very few "gamers" in the negative sense of the word. I'd say that well over 99% of us are here to have fun. We do it the way we most enjoy, and don't begrudge those who do it radically differntly from our personal style. That's everyone from the bottom of the pack to the very top shooters.

 

The bigger problem is those who see posts on the wire, and twist the intent of that post to something that the poster did not mean instead of asking for clarification when the post might not be clear.

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SOME of us need to be a bit less prissy, and a whole lot GAMER! Then again, some probably don't know whether the "GAMER" others see is the same one we see in the mirror... and if you wonder about that... you're probably right to!

 

Read Rowdy's definition again. Do you fill both those shoes? (Are you GAME? And do you RELISH the competition?)

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Nope being a Gammer is more about attitude,,,,,,, than anything else ....

 

When folks start talking about having "Special Heavy Loads" for Knock-downs ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, then you just might be a gamer ...

 

Mostly it's Do you want to be a gamer,,,,,, then you probley is ...

 

Have lot's of fun and play the game the way it suits you ... Welcome to da shootin...

 

 

Jabez Cowboy

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If you shoot 90grain pills at 390 feet per second the term "gamer" might cross someones mind.

 

Blackfoot

But that would not be a legal load would it? Do you know any fast shooters that do not meet the min power factor?

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I believe the posse I shoot on regularly could accurately be described as a 'fast' posse both because we work together to move through stages efficiently and because there are quite a few fast shooters on it most of the time. When my pards on that posse started occasionally calling me a gamer I took it as the complement it was meant to be. I think I fit into the description Hacker provided above with exception of clothing and category (I wear what I can afford and only shoot Wrangler). In fact I proudly display a card, given to me by Buck D. Law, on my cart which proclaims me to be a 'Certified Gamer.'

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Gamer has a negative connotation. The caliber doesn't determine whether or not you are trying to "game" the system. Shooting very light bullets with very light powder charges is the beginning, velocities so low you can watch the bullets go is another and an audible report so low that the sound of the bullets hitting the targets louder than the report could be thought of as "gaming" the system.

 

Using skill, talent and practice to win is NOT gaming. It is playing the game to win. There will always be those that want you to play their "game" and will disparage anything different. So, play your own "game" and enjoy it. You will find many more pards thinking that way than those that bad mouth you.

 

Of course, those that shoot big boomers with Genuine Powder will welcome you when you are ready for a real "Old West" experience. . . .

 

DD-MDA

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What "irritates" me is folks who think they are the only people who are "shooting for fun" and that "gamers" couldn't possibly be having any fun!

 

"He's gamer. Me, i'm just out here to have fun, and hang with my buddies," What a crock of crap! :P

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NO EXPLANATION NEEDED! It's just a game shoot whatever makes you happy!

Make sure it's a acceptable caliber per SASS.

Happy trails

QDG :)

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Gamer has a negative connotation. The caliber doesn't determine whether or not you are trying to "game" the system. Shooting very light bullets with very light powder charges is the beginning, velocities so low you can watch the bullets go is another and an audible report so low that the sound of the bullets hitting the targets louder than the report could be thought of as "gaming" the system.

 

Using skill, talent and practice to win is NOT gaming. It is playing the game to win. There will always be those that want you to play their "game" and will disparage anything different. So, play your own "game" and enjoy it. You will find many more pards thinking that way than those that bad mouth you.

 

Of course, those that shoot big boomers with Genuine Powder will welcome you when you are ready for a real "Old West" experience. . . .

 

DD-MDA

How do these light bullets going so slow you can see them in flight meet the min power factor or min velocity? A shooter with ammo meeting the power factor is not gaming the system or cheating as some have implied. A whole lot of shooters get plenty of old west experience without shooting black powder or big heavy bullets or 40 plus caliber.

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Hi Ben,

 

The term "gamer" is used entirely too much with a negative connotation. As you can see from the posts on this thread, it brought out negativity. I think it's best to not even use it.

 

 

Allie Mo

 

Yup. It's a stupid term that needs to be retired.

 

Personally, I don't give a hoot what you shoot.

Just smile when you do it. :lol:

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Gamer a derogatory term used as a backhanded insult to those individuals that know and understand the rules and care enough about this game to point out problems before they become problems.

 

Gamer an insulting term often used as a not so veiled method of calling another individual a cheat.

 

Gamer a critical term sometimes used to describe an individual that will not help his posse.

 

Gamer a belittling term often used by those that wished they could do as well “a form of sour grapes”.

 

The strange thing is if a competitor of some distinction would say that to you after a very good run it would be a complement. If a friend would say “oh you gamer” it would be a complement. If someone you don’t know hisses out the word “gamer” its an insult.

 

There is nothing good about using the term use it if you will but understand that almost everyone will will interpret your comment as speaking negatively about the person.

Semper Fi

12

 

 

 

Gosh, and after 6 years I was so looking forward to the first time I shot well enough to be called a gamer. Now, you've gone and spoiled it for me.

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A properly loaded .38 Special will work handily as a defense round. That said, I also shoot them for CAS but mine are renamed as .38/22/158..... Black Powder nomenclature... They exit my 4 3/4 inch revolvers at 850 FPS as did the original .38 Special loading and reach 1130 FPS out of my 24 inch barreled Marlin.

 

These are some serious loadings and will outperform many .44 and .45 rounds that some people load down.

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I'm a genuine, certified, bona fide, card totin', see you at the finish line GAMER! and I got the card to prove it. Click here.

 

OK BDL. I have got to get me one of those!! :)

 

How does one do so??

 

Regards

 

:FlagAm:

 

Gateway Kid

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Does shooting 38's make you a Gamer?? NO! Unless you are a Black Powder shooter, it makes you smarter than the average cat. For Black Powder, 44-40's are the unquestionable best of the bunch.

 

38's are far more pleasant to shoot, extremely accurate, cheaper to reload because brass and bullets are way cheaper and it takes less powder, plus a set of Rugers in your prefered configuration will last a lifetime, as will any other good quality revolver.

 

Shoot them 38's and have a blast, at each and every match.

 

RBK

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On a more serious note, the pards I shoot with on a regular basis would not hesitate to call each other "gamer" in the most positive sense of the word.

We have all put in untold hours of practice, load experimentation, trial and error of choosing equipment that helps us be our best at this game we love, within the rules!!

 

The only ones I have met who use the term in a negative sense are those who (usually) want to be at the top of the score sheet, but choose to point fingers rather than work on their own shortcomings and then cry about how they don't approve of a (completely legal) method. In extreme cases they will come up with their own "rules" saying that the "gamers" are unsafe or irresponsible and need to be slowed down.

 

I say we are involved in a competitive endeavor and for me that means speed. A 17 second stage is fun, so is a 25 second stage, but the 17 second stage is just more intense. So long as the rules are adhered to I get my fun by doing my best and really don't care what others are doing (unless they figured out something I could use myself :) )

 

My definition of gamer - someone who figures out a better way to shoot the stage AFTER you are done! :lol: Are you listening CBJ?

 

Regards

 

:FlagAm:

 

Gateway (proud to be a gamer) Kid

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Last summer, at the end of one of our regular practice sessions, Rowdy Buckshot, the reigning Kansas State Champion, took the cowboy hat off my head and afixed a tag that reads "Gamer in training." I have worn that hat proudly ever since. Don't let anybody tell you that "Gamer" is anything but a term of respect for somebody who works hard to improve and always tries to do his or her very best at our game. Maybe someday I will no longer be a gamer in training. I will just be a gamer.

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OK BDL. I have got to get me one of those!! :)

 

How does one do so??

 

Regards

 

:FlagAm:

 

Gateway Kid

 

It's pretty simple. Send a self addressed stamped envelope with a note saying how many you need to:

 

Buck D. Law

101 Rainbow Industrial Blvd

Rainbow City, AL 35906-8901

 

 

I created this card after this conversation took place at the loading table back when I was a fairly new shooter, was having a great great day (for then) and nothing or nobody could take the smile from my face.

 

ROT: Ahhh, shooting .38's. A gamer I see.

BDL: Genuine, certified, see you at the finish line.

 

At the end of the day I got to thinking about it and thought since I am in the printing business, I could do something with that. I added to my original comment and created the card. It was originally done in 2005 and at the time, although everyone was talking about the New Vaquero, I had yet to see one. The pistol on the card is, yep, a New Vaquero and the rifle is of course a Marlin.

 

At the time, I did not know Rusty O'Toole and wasn't sure how he meant his gamer comment, but we are friends to this day and every time I introduce him to someone, I give him credit for inspiring the card.

 

I've mailed them to cowboys and cowgirls across the country and have personally handed them out in, thus far, 15 states. They have appeared in the hat bands of shooters in the Chronicle and on the T.V. show, Cowboys, many times. I've got to admit, it gives me a kick. Who would have ever thought.

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To me a gamer is a person that can take your rig and guns regardless of caliber and whip your best stage times with it. They are to be shown respect as such. By the way they usually work as hard behind the scenes helping run a posse or match as they do burning down a stage.

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Last summer, at the end of one of our regular practice sessions, Rowdy Buckshot, the reigning Kansas State Champion, took the cowboy hat off my head and afixed a tag that reads "Gamer in training." I have worn that hat proudly ever since. Don't let anybody tell you that "Gamer" is anything but a term of respect for somebody who works hard to improve and always tries to do his or her very best at our game. Maybe someday I will no longer be a gamer in training. I will just be a gamer.

 

I certified Rowdy in Texas. :D

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Hey Ben

 

You probably just picked the scab off of the biggest sore on the wire.

 

Every single one of these people is a "gamer", by definition.

It's just that a select few of them put in the time to hone the skill, and the rest sit around and complain. Pretending that they don"t really care if they NEVER win.

 

It's the same in every sport. Thank heaven for all the losers, cuz without THEM, we wouldn't have any winners.

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