SASS shooters get no respect

[The O'Meara Himself]

_{My shooting sport is great. Your shooting sport sucks!}

_{My school is great. Your school sucks!}

_{My truck is great. Your truck sucks!}

_etc.

_{See a pattern here? Some people are like that. Avoids them if possible.}

 

_{The O'Meara Himself}

[Shooting Bull]

"We don't need to remove the "big and close" fun but we may need to add in some more challenging targets to help our shooters learn a higher skill level. "

 

This one I'd have to strongly disagree with. As a match director it's not my job to "help shooters learn a higher skill level", that's on them. My job is to provide as many shooters as possible the most fun possible. That's why I come here and start so many threads asking what shooters enjoy in a match.

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

 

This one I'd have to strongly disagree with. As a match director it's not my job to "help shooters learn a higher skill level", that's on them. My job is to provide as many shooters as possible the most fun possible. That's why I come here and start so many threads asking what shooters enjoy in a match.

Hey look I agree with Philly, wow the earth is off kilter.

[Bad Hand]

Think about this, we are the only shooting sport (that I know of) where the competitors score each other.

[Brother King, SASS #69031]

In about 1996 I was at Rauhagge's in Norco for a sporting clays match when I saw this stream of trucks going to the other end of the facility. Even from where I was standing near the office I could see the cowboy hats. I shot clays in a cowboy hat (mostly I have worn a cowboy lid everywhere I go...yes, long hair and all).

 

I asked "WTH?" in a nice manner and they told me about the cowboy action shooting and urged me to go see. I asked if the targets moved and of course they said "No"...and I laughed. The next year I won the Nat'l Sporting Skins in Lana'i, HI. Then a farming accident put me out of clays forever. One of my sons saw SASS on TV and I sold the A&S I owned to buy all my guns. I didn't need to buy any clothes, boots, hats, wild rags etc. to get started.

 

Now I shoot SASS and when there is no SASS match I shoot IDPA. I always wonder what I forgot when I go to an IDPA match. I won the CDP division here my first trip. I'm not a great shot as all my pards will attest. But, I have watched SASS closely enough to note that top shooters like Holy Terror (Randi Rogers), Jessie Duff, and many others got their start shooting SASS. When they move to any other gun sport they just kick ass.

 

I've never missed a SASS popper. I love those moving targets, and I'm with Dang it Dan and others about the need to throw in a few challenges. No, I don't shoot clean matches either, but that's not really the point. In skiing we say, "No falls, No balls".If you never miss in this sport you just didn't try fast enough.

 

To me there's nothing more goofy than a fat man wearing a lycra shirt emblazoned with a zillion logos or one of those goofy-assed fisherman/photo vests that are too frumpy to wear even to the coffee shop. I call them "SHOOT ME FIRST" vests. Guess I'm glad I live where seeing another cowboy is just...seeing another cowboy.

 

Sometime soon I'm trying 3 gun... WTH? Learning these skills may be important all too soon. Meantime, for me it's all fun with guns and we gotta do this stuff before something comes along that stops the fun. For me it was almost breaking my neck. For my ex-brother in law it was the headache on Tuesday that was a brain cancer operation on Monday.

 

"There's always next year" is the biggest delusion of them all.

[High Sierra]

Other cowboys (especially those in this forum) have shot much more than me. My active shooting competition experience includes 4 year of singles trap, 4 years of DCM/highpower, 3 years of rimfire bullseye, 2 years of pistol silhouette, 6 years of IPSC and 6 years of CAS. I am an average shooter at best.

 

I have found opinionated shooters in all of these venues.

I have found people that I enjoyed being around in all of these venues.

 

1. The .44 rimfire used in the Henry 1860 and Winchester 1866 (the guns that won the west) shot a 200 grain bullet at around 950 fps, very similar to all but the lightest of gamey loads.

2. I have shot IPSC stages where we ran down a hall of sixteen man-sized targets at 3-ft to double-tap each target.

3. We need to realize that we are all on one big posse against those that would take our guns from us to make us safer.

+1.I shoot IDPA and will be shooting CAS at the end of the year. I have never heard anyone saying anything bad about SASS or CAS. Any shooting sport that shoots 4 guns as fast as some IDPA shooters while trying to find a target through a cloud of smoke deserves my respect.

 

HS

[Cypress Sun]

If people that play ping pong say tennis is not a sport, are they right? How about soccer players the say football is not really true football. There will always be someone that says that a sport similar in nature to what they do, is not a legimate sport in their opinion.

 

Sometimes I may pine for the old days.........spring loaded chipmonk targets, 9" x 9" rifle targets at 25 yards, 12 shotgun rounds at clays and the like. Then I think to myself, I like to get home before dark thirty. Was stuff like that fun, sure as hell was.......that was then, this is now. It's still fun now and at times more enjoyable.

 

Have the targets moved in and got bigger. They have moved in which makes them seem larger. Is that a bad thing, I think not. There is no target that is too close or big to miss.

Just last weekend I was at a match that had 2 cardboard IPSC targets across the table where one pistol was staged. Maximum distance to target was between 1' to 2". Did someone miss the cardboard........yep, they did. Did they have fun, yep they did.

 

I guess you'll have to place me in the I don't care what you think about the current form of SASS shooting. If you think its easy, come on out to a match. I'll loan you my guns and ammo........lets see how well you do. After all, it's when you come back for the second go around that really matters.

 

CS

[Manatee]

DIfference between SASS shooter and a "Modern" competitor.

 

Modern: Spends a few thousand $ on one gun and a backup.

SASS: Spends a few thousand dollars on 4 guns.

 

Modern: Took a course from Massad Ayoob and thinks he's a Tier 1 Operator.

SASS: Probably a vet. Learned SASS from another shooter who probably loaned him cartridges and guns. Thinks he's a cowboy.

 

Add your own to the list.

 

I've worked with a number of shooters in all of the disciplines. Overall, I'd have to say that the big difference is that most of the SASS folks have their egos under control. Certainly not all of them, but most of them.

[Happy Jack, SASS #20451]

I'm not sure I can add any enlightment to this thread so I'll just add the reminder:

 

For those CAS shooters looking for some more challenging targets/engagements, there's always Wild Bunch.

 

Come join us, same friendly attitude, a 1911, 150 power factor, and targets a wee bit more difficult but FUN

[Manatee]

I'll add one more thought (or two ) and be done.

 

I do not like paper targets. They are just fine for sighting in a rifle or a pistol/revolver, but otherwise, it is a stupid thing to shoot at. You have an object with a tremendous amount of kinetic energy and you spend your time putting itty bitty holes in a piece of cellulose? C'mon! That ain't what the firearm was designed for.

 

Thought two: I've never stood in front of anyone (and I've got the T-shirt a time or two) who was shooting at me and wondered if where I was standing was a great place to be. Normally, I attempted to remove myowndangself from the ballistic path of that projectile. It never occurred to me that it might be a cowboy load. Damn! had them little Asian fellers been shootin' cowboy loads, we woulda marched right up and b*t*h-slapped them and won that dang war.

 

or...mebbe not.

[Brother King, SASS #69031]

I'm not sure I can add any enlightment to this thread so I'll just add the reminder:

 

For those CAS shooters looking for some more challenging targets/engagements, there's always Wild Bunch.

 

Come join us, same friendly attitude, a 1911, 150 power factor, and targets a wee bit more difficult but FUN

+1 .... I was whupped tired... mentally and physically... all the challenge I could eat at EOT WB....27 misses... and top 10. Now don't that beat all?

 

Got home after EOT with WB and Main Match and the next weekend shot an IDPA match. 5 stages bet I shot 50-60 rounds max outta 1 gun. Left feeling like I'd had French food for supper and drove 21/2 hours to do it.

[stepnmud#33546]

^{went on a long weekend pig hunt and never fired a shot, think I'll stay with cas matches.}

[Madd Mike #8595]

With regard to target size and distance. The typical bedroom is 12 to 15 feet wide or long and the typical family room is 22 to 25 ft wide or long. This is feet not yards. in yards the bedroom would be 4 to 5 yards and the family room would be 7 to 8 yards. The typical torso of a male human being is about 15" from armpit to armpit and 20" from the base of the neck to the belt line. so what was that you were saying about targets being too close and too big???

not every target in the old west was in your log cabin, unless you were so sloppy, ya missed em as they rode in on ya from a distance, nailing a few targets before they do the door kick aint such a bad idea

 

just an idea to mix up a match a tad bit

 

its not about forcing folks to learn skills

[Middlefork Bob, SASS #53945]

not every target in the old west was in your log cabin,

Thats why we shoot rifles!

[backshootin beauford mcgee]

I find the 'cowboy loads' comment funny. I generally shoot "Pale Rider" with 35 grains of black in a 44-440 with a 200 grain bullet. Also like to use a 10 ga. shotgun. Even when I shoot that new fangled smokeless stuff, my 44 mag. loads will chrono almost 900 fps with a 200 grain out of my vaqueros. Certainly equal to a factory 45acp load.

[Blastmaster]

Sass shooters skill,,,, which is the original topic?

 

5% of the top SASS shooter skills are awesome. They are awesome/good!!!... at any distance/size or firearm. 5% more are darn good and equally capable at gun handling (at a slower speed), hitting whatever size/distant target. Generally speaking, the rest of the 90% are,,,,OK,,, but the closer the targets, the bigger the targets, the less movement, the more stand-n-deliver stages at a huge dump target, the less varience staging of firearms or reloads or extra gun handling skills eliminated....Well, it becomes a circus entertainment event and less than a skills demo even.

 

Don't confuse skill with entertainment,,, SASS is fun!!! Just like riding a Ferries Wheel at a Carnival.

 

To be fair, SASS shooters must be proficient with four firearms,,,, where other shooting sports only have to deal with ONE firearm!!

 

Just saying....

 

Blastmaster

[Chuckaroo #13080 Regulator]

Dan,

If the targets are indeed 3 yards I have a tendency to agree that we may have gone to far.

 

When it comes down to pulling the hammer and trigger as fast as you can, with little chance of missing, are we shooting with any difficulty?

 

However, I don't really need the respect of other shooting disciplines. They play their game, and we play ours. Ours sport is about fun and competition not about the prize for winning.

 

Our shooters have talents as worthy as theirs. If they don't see it, I see no need to shift gears to impress them.

 

As Dutch Coroner stated, we shoot Cops and Cowboy matches and believe me, the police officers expressed a lot of respect for what we do with antique firearms. None of them ever expressed anything negative about our shooting sport.

 

I guess because we don't use tricked out semi auto's with enough gizmos on the gun to make it look futuristic, or take one shot every three minutes at a stationary target far away, CAS is not a shooting sport? That's BS. We shoot with western clothing, they shoot in shots or custom shooting outfits. Would they shoot with long sleeve shirts and pants along with a big cowboy hat? Nope.

We have fractions of seconds to complete the stage, some shooting sports take longer to mount gun than we do for a whole stage.

 

There are far more prima donnas in the other sports than there is in CAS. For the interim, I think we are doing just fine.

 

Roo

[Delta Glen, SASS #39197 Life]

This one I'd have to strongly disagree with. As a match director it's not my job to "help shooters learn a higher skill level", that's on them. My job is to provide as many shooters as possible the most fun possible. That's why I come here and start so many threads asking what shooters enjoy in a match.

 

I don't believe the two concepts are mutually exclusive...having fun and helping the shooters improve.

 

I know of no other shooting sport that has brought so many inexperienced people into the world of competition shooting. Continuing to compete indicates the shooter is attempting to improve. But, if the game consists primarily of transitions and gun manipulation at the expense of sight picture and trigger control, a shooter will be frustrated when presented with more challenging targets. What could be more fun than being able to hit a variety of targets as fast as we can with our guns?

 

As Cowboy Junky mentioned, a stage with small knockdowns or flying clays presents a challenge and with makeup shots available to keep penalties down, both fun and challenge have been achieved.

 

To me this discussion is less about what others think of our game and more about suggesting a good mix of shooting problems that allow all who play to have fun AND improve their shooting skills.

[Nota John, SASS #51089L]

You having fun with CAS? Don't worry about anything that anyone else thinks. Life is short enough. Nota John

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

 

I don't believe the two concepts are mutually exclusive...having fun and helping the shooters improve.

 

I know of no other shooting sport that has brought so many inexperienced people into the world of competition shooting. Continuing to compete indicates the shooter is attempting to improve. But, if the game consists primarily of transitions and gun manipulation at the expense of sight picture and trigger control, a shooter will be frustrated when presented with more challenging targets. What could be more fun than being able to hit a variety of targets as fast as we can with our guns?

 

As Cowboy Junky mentioned, a stage with small knockdowns or flying clays presents a challenge and with makeup shots available to keep penalties down, both fun and challenge have been achieved.

 

To me this discussion is less about what others think of our game and more about suggesting a good mix of shooting problems that allow all who play to have fun AND improve their shooting skills.

I will agree with you on some of those items. But many "challenging" targets have a higher level of subjectivity to them. We have enough of that and don't need to create more of it. Lots will say there's no Cadillac to be had but I've seen that attitude change when getting the short end of the stick. I'll shoot anything but it MUST perform the same for everyone otherwise it's no good.

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

I don't believe the two concepts are mutually exclusive...having fun and helping the shooters improve.

 

I know of no other shooting sport that has brought so many inexperienced people into the world of competition shooting. Continuing to compete indicates the shooter is attempting to improve. But, if the game consists primarily of transitions and gun manipulation at the expense of sight picture and trigger control, a shooter will be frustrated when presented with more challenging targets. What could be more fun than being able to hit a variety of targets as fast as we can with our guns?

 

As Cowboy Junky mentioned, a stage with small knockdowns or flying clays presents a challenge and with makeup shots available to keep penalties down, both fun and challenge have been achieved.

 

To me this discussion is less about what others think of our game and more about suggesting a good mix of shooting problems that allow all who play to have fun AND improve their shooting skills.

Practice time is when you improve your shooting skills...match is for testing them.

 

And if you don't think that it takes a sight picture to hit big and close targets at warp speed...yer wrong. Fact is that in order to be competitive with big/close targets, you have to learn to acquire a sight picture REAL fast. If you're sloppy, you'll miss. Remember, you're going real fast...can't be sloppy.

 

But again, let folks play on match day...and stop with trying to make them shooters that you feel have adequate skill.

 

Phantom

[Madd Mike #8595]

Thats why we shoot rifles!

yup at 9+- yards, yikes

a outhouse is usally farther than that from yer homestede

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

Why are we not respected?

Because we don't respect ourselves.

I have never seen participants in any other discipline bad mouth themselves so much.

 

Half of the of folks in cowboy act like they are ashamed to play cowboy.

Oh, they will tell you what great folks we all are, but ask them about our game and they make excuses about the lack of "challenge" in our game

We ARE a simple, straightforward game that embraces shooters of ALL skill levels - I am not going to apologize for that.

 

If I cared about the respect and adoration of another discipline - I would shoot that discipline.

[Widder, SASS #59054]

......... I'll shoot anything but it MUST perform the same for everyone otherwise it's no good.

 

 

AMEN. I wish more folks had this mind set.

 

 

..........Widder

[Dang It Dan 13202]

And if you don't think that it takes a sight picture to hit big and close targets at warp speed...yer wrong. Fact is that in order to be competitive with big/close targets, you have to learn to acquire a sight picture REAL fast. If you're sloppy, you'll miss. Remember, you're going real fast...can't be sloppy.

 

 

Phantom

 

Phantom - Delta is no slouch when it comes to speed so I think he is qualified to say what it takes to be competitive. On this one point, I have to disagree with you. A shooter CAN be sloppy and still hit targets at 3 and 5 yards.

 

The SINGLE variable that separates the top shooter from an "also ran" is distance to the target.

[Rance - SASS # 54090]

Well.. I've read about every post...

 

To me the general feeling.. and I kinda' go along with it..

"I don't care what they think"..

"They aren't shooting my sport.."

"Come and try it.."

 

One thing I saw mentioned many times that I never thought of..

All shooting sports having a non divided front..

Reckon we all need to stick together on this..

 

Rance

Thinkin' that means "Don't speak badly about your fella shooters sport"

 

 

oh yeah.. and leave my shooting sport alone too... I'm havin' all the fun I can afford..

[Arcadia Outlaw, SASS 71385]

Phantom - Delta is no slouch when it comes to speed so I think he is qualified to say what it takes to be competitive. On this one point, I have to disagree with you. A shooter CAN be sloppy and still hit targets at 3 and 5 yards.

 

The SINGLE variable that separates the top shooter from an "also ran" is distance to the target.

 

 

+1 on both points,

 

 

And I will add that although its not up to clubs/matches to train shooters, I (Match director at Lake County Pistolero's) like to set up matches to get us shooters ready for whatever a another match might run into, although I dont do small and far targets thats really about basic fundamentals and boring for action shooting.

 

Personally I like the pistol targets around 6 - 7 yds and rifle around 12 to 14 yds with most targets being at least 16".

 

I had a fellow tell me one time that he spent alot of money to make his rifle run fast, I took that to heart and feel the same way so I set up most stages to be shot that away

 

 

AO

[Santa Fe River Stan,36999L]

Human Nature.......it's a funny thing......

 

Most folks will proclaim that their Shooting Sport of choice is the best.......Trap is better than skeet, Sporting Clays is better than Trap, IDPA is better than IPSC, 3Gun is better than IDPA.... blah blah blah.......if they didn't think they were doing the "best" thing then they would change. I know there are folks that shoot multiple disciplines but I bet they have a favorite because of (Fill in the Blank). Who cares what the other guys think........if they are that confident then let's go head to head and see who comes out on top. It looked fun on TV!

 

Another Human Nature trait........give them an inch and they will take a mile........We changed something and it was GREAT. Let's do it again the next time. Finally a point is reached where there are diminishing returns on the enjoyment created from the change. The task either becomes too easy or too hard to accomplish. What usually happens next is that there is a backlash against the trend because it went too far and the direction changes back until the enjoyment returns.

 

Have we hit that point......IMHO.....SURE.......we are close to becoming "manipulators" of mechanisms more than "shooters".

 

Before you grab the rope to string me up.......Delta Glen will attest that I do not believe we put on matches to make people better shooters.....we put on matches to ENTERTAIN. My time on the Last Stand Committee taught me a lot. As Deuce stated the Last Stand was one of the first BIG and CLOSE matches. When I got involved 7 yards was still pretty close.......we brought them in little by little and they got bigger and bigger.....one year I used a 4' x 4' target for the pistols at 5 yards. it received 1 shot out of the string. 4,3,2,1......Novelties are wonderful and we had them. a full size horse and carriage.....a full size cowboy and indian.....a 3x3 target....a 4x4 target......our smallest target was 18x24 and yet the fastest shooters still averaged 18 seconds a stage raw time.

 

I like to think we had some gun manipulation, some moving, some aiming, some negotiating the stage, some creativity was allowed, some "cowboy" stuff.

 

Our goal was for the shooter to shoot 10 DIFFERENT stages. Did we reach our goal every year....NOPE but I like to think we were close.

 

if the MD's will subscribe to variety then their match will flourish.....if it becomes repetitive and boring it will dry up........

 

TOO MUCH of a good thing is never good........maybe we've reached "too much" with big and close......VARIETY is the spice that shooters LOVE!

 

Stan

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

Phantom - Delta is no slouch when it comes to speed so I think he is qualified to say what it takes to be competitive. On this one point, I have to disagree with you. A shooter CAN be sloppy and still hit targets at 3 and 5 yards.

 

The SINGLE variable that separates the top shooter from an "also ran" is distance to the target.

I'll respectfully disagree (not about the Delta part ).

 

CAN you be sloppy? Yes. Can you be sloppy and win? No.

 

Once you learn to acquire your sight picture fast...hitting the smaller/farther targets is done at a faster pace.

 

This is my belief...theory if you will. I've come to this belief based on match results of late.

 

Phantom

[Two Rig a Tony , #54423]

First off I agree with Dan in his opening remarks maybe it is time for us to reevaluate where SASS is going with respect to size and distance of targets.

Originally the purpose of moving targets in was to give everyone a chance to hit targets (more fun to hit a target than miss it) more fun more participants more money generated.

But we never expected to have 20" targets at 3 an4 yrds or even 6yrds.

What i don't want to see is my opinion in writing but rather the opinion of all those men and women that consistantly shoot in the top ten of the larger matchs.I applaud Dan, Deuce, Tom, Arcadia, for speaking up, now I would like to hear what other top shooters think about where we are at.

 

I do not want to go back to 10" targets at 10 yrds but neither do I want to shoot 20" at 3 yrds

 

Hope we can stay on this topic and not drift on to something else!

[Pit Bull Tex]

Too big,too close.Do I like to hit the target,SURE.Would missing the target make me not have fun,NO.The fun is being with the people,the fun is being helped by a world champ and all the other cowboys there.the fun is all the cowboys and cowgirls being there for you when you need them.A 6" target at 10 yards or 40 yards won't change how I feel about this game.I love to see the really fast shooters lay down a 15 sec. stage.I love to see a 10 year old shooter shoot the same stage in 148 sec.This game is about HEART,how you feel the night before the shoot.How you feel when you get to the shoot.How you feel shooting and how you feel after the shoot is done.I can't see how the love for the game and people can change because the the targets are too big and too close.The closest I ever came to a clean match was at CAC this past year and I had one miss for the match and it was a buffalo the size of a VW and I missed it with my rifle.Did it change anything,NO.Did I get rode,yes and still do,and still love it.This game means so much to me that I can't ever tell people how much.I have the biggest family in my SASS family.I just pray that I will be able to have this game a long time.Pit Bull

[Madd Mike #8595]

First off I agree with Dan in his opening remarks maybe it is time for us to reevaluate where SASS is going with respect to size and distance of targets.

Originally the purpose of moving targets in was to give everyone a chance to hit targets (more fun to hit a target than miss it) more fun more participants more money generated.

But we never expected to have 20" targets at 3 an4 yrds or even 6yrds.

What i don't want to see is my opinion in writing but rather the opinion of all those men and women that consistantly shoot in the top ten of the larger matchs.I applaud Dan, Deuce, Tom, Arcadia, for speaking up, now I would like to hear what other top shooters think about where we are at.

 

I do not want to go back to 10" targets at 10 yrds but neither do I want to shoot 20" at 3 yrds

 

Hope we can stay on this topic and not drift on to something else!

2 rig-a-tony, that is what I have been trying to say as well, in other words when is big and close, big and close enough

 

speed is addicting, it becomes a natural high, now what happens when you move targets back a tadd bit

gud be withdrawls, now what?

yikes

 

ps

most things in life that turn out to be addictive, turn out to be not so good for the whole in the long run

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

Madd Mike, it's just as much of a high to shoot a 10-10-4 with movement on 16" targets at 7 and 14 yards in 13-15 seconds. Do it all the time. But it is a different skill set.

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

I, too, agree on some points in Dan's OP. I also agree with the thought of others, that much of the criticism just goes back to the “my game is better than yours”. I believe one of the big reasons some think their game is the best is they are in a money game, money at both ends, higher priced firearms in most cases versus bigger winnings. We, as competitors, know competition is competition, plus there is the fun factor for us all, more so for others, doubt the fun part prevails as much in their game. I know absolutely little about the semi-auto sports so can offer little comment, however seems to me they have their share of top shooters who dominate over those who pay their own way to a greater extent. In CAS we are pretty equal in the pay our own way part but still have same goal. Like Dan, I do think our big targets often get to close and I being adamant about sight on target catch myself shooting the biggys in a manner not really my style. It is that something different that CAS offers from match to match. Our sport is unique in that we have the ability at clubs to offer lots of creativity in stages. OK, maybe we have strayed a little from this, but it is still out there from annual to another annual. I mentioned in another thread the creativity TA presented at EOT this year (Target Distance Formula thread, post 31). Great work, fantastic match…..could I offer a personal criticism, sure (and trust me I know TA well enough that he would welcome it—we are friends and have camped almost directly beside each other for many years) I felt on a few stages rifle targets were a little close….purely personal but along the lines that I believe Dan is presenting. Not sure as to where I am going with this other to offer some agreement with OP but to say I like what we have and see little room for improvement when compared to a match such at 2013 EOT, and if I want a little more challenge in this area we have MVV’s Shootn in the Shade Hot Springs, AR….not as big and a little further at times….not to mention all the trees, sunlight here, shade there, etc.

 

I will add one more comment about how those in other sports feel about ours. I believe Dan is quite right about many of them for many of the reasons listed in above posts; however I do believe we are respected by many. STORY: I have presented the CAS way as instructor at many Women in the Outdoors (sponsored by National Turkey Wildlife Federation) events. I offered a typical CAS stage complete with small (8” squares on stands) shotgun knockdowns, ammo, and guns of mine for the ladies to shoot. I believe in the years doing this ALL had fun; some had never shot a revolver, lever action, etc, most very limited. My goal was to not particularly have them shoot the stage per say but to shoot what each wanted and for no one to walk away not knowing how to hit a target. Some chose not to shoot shotgun and that was their choice then there might be those who chose to shoot shotgun target with rifle or revolver. Sometimes I got a surprised, which brings me to this one lady. She was very polite letting the other entire ladies shoot then the offer came to her. To say the least I was impressed with her shooting and committed that she had certainly shot before, she claim yes. Class over ladies leave except for her and she commences to help me pickup brass waiting on next group. Wow…I comment that that was one reason I never shot much of the “45” game so I did not have to pick up so much brass. This so pleasant, attractive lady looked at me and said she had competed in IDPA, told me who her husband was and I then knew her name (as I knew she had the name of my late wife) and we went on to get to know each other finding that we both even enjoyed handgun hunting. Her and her husband (probably one of those Dan hints of) had moved into a very remote part of the area I have claimed home all my life. I am sure many of you can guess this nice ladies name, seen her on TOC (along with our own Holly Terror), and know as I do now…that she is/was president of said, IDPA. Ya know I think she really enjoyed seeing and taking part in what CAS is about…..I class her as one of the good ones in that other sport for sure.

 

Sorry for the long post, just felt a good place for it.

[Bart Solo]

I thought I needed improve my 1911 work so a month ago started shooting USPSA practices matches at the local club. I am pretty slow (not the bottom, but close) but I am shooting single stack with my Springfield GI 1911. On a typical stage I am doing 3-4 reloads to the other guys who are doing one or two. I am slow a foot and I am still learning to run safely with a gun in hand. Once my procedures are down. I figure I will fit in.

 

The one thing that nobody has told me about my shooting is I can't hit the target. On most stages my hit totals are right up there with the top guys in the club. I just don't move as fast and the one thing I can say about the IPSA shooting I have been doing is that it seems to be mostly an armed track meet. I suspect most of the guys in SASS wouldn't have much trouble adjusting to another shooting sport. It's all front sight and follow through.

 

By the way shooting paper isn't much fun. I would rather shoot steel.