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Am I done with SASS?


longcolt 14205L

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I am just now dusting off the saddle after a few years of minimal participation. I found out I still have friends in this game (sport) :)

 

Stick with it - like BT Blade told me..."You come for the shooting, but stay for the people"

 

GG ~ :FlagAm:

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Loncolt my friend... it's perspective.

 

When I first met you So. Cal was the CAS Mecca! Those in the area had clubs that drew in 125-200 shooters at their monthlies... And then there was EOT!! 2004 brought in 25000 non-shooting attendees!! It was like nothing else then or now.

 

Go to the club's now and they are drawing a fraction... Go to EOT and it's not even a resemblance of EOT Norco.

 

For those that experienced the So. Cal SASS life, this can be kind of depressing.

 

Fact is, don't force it. Find what makes it fun for you and go with it. If there isn't anything that makes shooting CAS fun anymore, move on. Those of us that have been in the game a while probably wrestle with the thought of quiting all the time.

 

Always your friend ...

Phantom

 

PS: So. Cal fishing is awesome;)

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13 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

LongColt,

You just need to change who you are shooting with.

Between 15 minutes and 2 hours of drive time from my house there are 8+ clubs and at least 20 matches that I can choose from any given month. Each club / match offers a slightly different experience. I have shot with all but 2 of 8 plus available clubs and they all put on a first rate match.

Not all of the available matches are SASS. There are NCOWS, Cody Dixon, BAMM, GAMM, and Wild Bunch/Professional matches available to name a few. There are also unique variations that allow CAS shooters to shoot and enjoy firearms that otherwise would collect dust in the back of their safes.

A few of the clubs have a tradition of getting together to enjoy a meal and good conversation after the match. Sometimes it is at the range and other times it is at a local restaurant. Either way the food, drink and discussion usually last 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

 

Guess which clubs I tend to gravitate to... Hint it is not determined by driving distance alone; rather I gravitate towards the matches where a bunch get together after the shooting is done and enjoy each others company. I also gravitate towards matches where style points mean more than who won what category. I am not alone in this as I know of several others that choose to do the same.

 

Rather than give up CAS all together I suggest you find a club that offers  what you are looking for in a monthly match. Maybe it is the club next door and maybe it requires some drive time. All I know is that there is a club that has what you are looking for.  I also suggest you act on the desire to go fishing or golfing instead of shooting. Variety is the spice of life after all.

 

Maybe it is time to take a hiatus from the big matches. Personally I have found that I get significantly more enjoyment for my dollar at monthly matches than the bigger ones. So, I haven't attended any big matches as a shooter in several years. That said I have plans to attend a few bigger matches in the coming year but only because I will be attending them at the insistence of like minded friends who will be there as well and who don't take themselves too seriously.

 

 

Well said Dave, we love having you and your wife at our little club in Leonard! See you soon...CoJack

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A a new shooter, I hope you don't bail. I always enjoy our local matches more when seasoned shooters are there. I got into SASS totally by accident, but boy I'm having fun. I have no illusions about beating any of our top shooters, I just like shooting cowboy guns and hanging around with other folks that feel the same way.

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Escondido Bandidos have a good match next Saturday.

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I stopped shooting about four(?) years ago and as much as I  moaned about the passing of good old days it was, in the end, becoming a lunger that brought me down.  Due to trying some new things over the last year I have had a bit of an uptick and plan to take advantage of it while it lasts by trying to fish and shoot again.  Not sure if it will work but hope to try soon if things continue to go well.  One sad part for me is that many of the things I used to lament losing, I would not be able to do now anyway!!!   I guess what goes around, comes around.   

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I hesitated writing anything when I first read the post, but then thought why not hear from a new guy?  I just started this year and if it weren't for the "seasoned" shooters I would've been sitting in a corner sucking my thumb.  Lady Gator and Gator Bait took me under their wing and have been coaching me, and I'd never be able to thank them enough.  Now I'm no where near fast enough to be competitive with anyone but myself.  But as long as I'm having fun and meeting new pards I'll keep on going.  That said if I wasn't having fun I wouldn't go no matter how fast I was.  So Longcolt, have fun, don't worry about the competition, and enjoy yourself and maybe along the way you can take a new shooter under your wing.

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Another 100,000+ number here.  Found this sport by accident after finally quitting hockey after 40+ years. Needed something for those competitive juices.  As far as firearms go, I was strictly a meat Hunter, never held a handgun. Now I couldn't hold all the gear in my old hockey bag. I was able to pull my outfit from my folks attic and use gear when I worked the Medicine Bow in the late 70s and early 80s for the Forest Service. Every weekend I'm able to shoot is with great guys and brings up good memories. Glad I found this for when I stop punching the clock and can concentrate on this for real. Hope to shoot with you. Find your new good old days. 

 

 

 

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Longcolt,

I've been in this ever since mid 1997. I've thought about quitting several times during that time, never did. There are only three people from back then that are still doing this. Two of them are related to me and the other has quit several times and came back. I still keep in touch with some of the folks that quit, the rest of them have either passed away, moved away or dropped out of sight.

 

With that being said, SASS and CAS has changed. Some for the better and some for the worse. I never had any fantasy about being Roy, John or Clint, in fact, when I first went to my first match....I thought these people are out of their minds. Dress like this, use these old antiquated type guns and pretend that they are in some type of Western. That was 22 years ago. 

 

What hasn't changed is the great, friendly people. Every match that I go to, it seems that I find new acquaintances, some of which eventually turn into friends. Friend or not, we share a common bond of the Cowboy Way. 

 

I've never been to EOT, probably never will. I don't know how the old times were in that respect. All I know is now and the people haven't changed, society has though. With SASS, you can quit if you want to, but you'll always be family and welcome back into the fold as if you never left.

 

There used to be a guy on the news around here in Tampa Bay Florida named Ernie Lee. He'd play music and show pictures, that were sent into him, of fish folks caught....all of them were trophy fish. Had a saying, "If yer too busy to go fishin', yer just too busy". Go, fishing, do something different. If you find out that it was for you then that's great. Just don't forget, no matter how long you stay away, there will alway be room for you at the table of SASS and CAS.

 

The Indians had a saying that only Earth and Sky last forever. Not true, the friendships that I have been lucky enough to establish through the years have lasted forever, at least as forever as I will be on this Earth.

 

Sun

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I have been shooting CAS for more than 30 years. I have always enjoyed the competition aspect, but I do think that over the time I have been in the sport there has been a larger focus on winning at all cost, which in my opinion is not very interesting.  But, at its heart, I think the sport is really about the people.  SASS folks are generally great, but it can be hard to find really good friends to shoot and hang out with. But they are out there.  Spend some time looking and shooting SASS could get more fun.  

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1 hour ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

The Indians had a saying that only Earth and Sky last forever. Not true, the friendships that I have been lucky enough to establish through the years have lasted forever, at least as forever as I will be on this Earth.

 

Sun

 

There's iron in these words.

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Longcolt, I understand what you're feeling. As others have said, nothing ever stays the same. Youth baseball for my grandson is nothing like it was for me, music IMHO isn't as good. network TV sucks, and our politics, WOW! Life's too short and getting shorter for all of us.  Hung in there, Pard. Best wishes to you

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Longcolt, I understand what you're feeling. As others have said, nothing ever stays the same. Youth baseball for my grandson is nothing like it was for me, music IMHO isn't as good. network TV sucks, and our politics, WOW! Life's too short and getting shorter for all of us.  Hung in there, Pard. Best wishes to you

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Longcolt, I understand what you're feeling. As others have said, nothing ever stays the same. Youth baseball for my grandson is nothing like it was for me, music IMHO isn't as good. network TV sucks, and our politics, WOW! Life's too short and getting shorter for all of us.  Hung in there, Pard. Best wishes to you

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I get to shoot Blackpowder with my daughter and my wife and son shoot that other stuff, but we all have fun. I like to dress up, my daughter does but not as much and my son dresses minimum, but at least he shoots. Which is better than all of his friends who just play video games. The world is a different place than most of us grew up in, and that is just how it is. So shoot however you want and hang out with the shooters you enjoy being around and don't worry about what everybody else is doing. I just went backpacking with my wife and daughter, and that too is not how it used to be 15 years ago.. We are much slower and everything is more difficult, but at least my wife and I can still go. It isn't about speed, it is about enjoying what you are doing. I'm 63 and just received my 20 year pin in the mail and have no intention of quitting SASS anytime soon. I personally don't believe in any aged based categories except Buckaroo and Silver Senior, and will never shoo in one, but that is my choice. When it starts being more work than fun I will stop shooting SASS, but not until then.

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im in for the long haul , i bough a life membership because i already committed , we can make it fun for all by being there and giving it what we got - enjoying what we get and making new friends that share our enjoyment , do not go way lest you regret it later - too many of us living it as you want to and willing to share that time together , always welcome at my campfire for easy conversation , a beer and a cigar if you like but even if you dont , just the conversation , 

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On 7/25/2019 at 1:33 AM, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

Let me know if you leave. Longcolt is a pretty cool alias and I might snag it up once you’re gone? What? Too soon? 

I doubt it.  He's a lifer.

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LongColt,

Good comment.  We've been in SASS about fourteen years.  Wife and I are of the "Old school", we enjoy the like-minded members.  Fellowship was one of the biggest reasons we got started.  I like competition, but....it's a sport - and that is supposed to be fun!  If I was making a living at this, I'd be very competitive.  We run two SASS clubs and shoot darned near every weekend.  Our clubs encourage and welcome new shooters to the sport.  If emphasis is on competition only, any club will soon loose membership and dwindle!  Our club has classes on RO-I, RO-II, Wild Bunch, Reloading, NRA firearm safety and more.  Members help new shooters get "healed" outfitted and even with an "outfit".  We have a true "Wild Bunch" Match every month as well.

If you are in our area, come join us for a great bunch of likeminded folks.

Bear Creek Volunteers and Liberty Land and Cattle Company.  We are just north of Branson, MO - Two miles West of Highway 65 on Bear Creek Road!

COL Ben Grierson

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37 minutes ago, Captain Bill Burt said:

Dead computer, ground it and move to phone please.;)

Unless it's one a them double barrel computers with two hard drives

Just don't go reloadin anything in the plugged up drive   :D

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4 hours ago, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

Yes I am aware of it. That was the joke.

It was meant to be funny.

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We spend pages and pages talking about how to attract new shooters in order to secure the future of our sport, and all shooting sports in general. But yet we are surprised when those new shooters bring with them new ideas, suggestions, and ways of doing things. We can't have it both ways. 

 

The big challenge is to evolve, improve, and move forward, gaining new shooters while keeping the culture, history, and people upon which this sport was founded.

 

I believe that End of Trail and Winter Range do a great job of balancing all these needs; as do countless other successful smaller clubs.

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52 minutes ago, Mustang Gregg said:

It was meant to be funny.

Are you trying to say I failed at being funny? Certainly not the first time I have done that. Maybe the second time though.

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I just hope he doesn't drop SASS.

ITS STILL A LOAD OF FUN!!

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On 7/25/2019 at 10:10 AM, longcolt 14205L said:

What has happened in this cowboys opinion is competition. Competition and more competition.

What happened is CAS expanded around the world. EoT is the World championship. You have to expect it to attract competitors. :)

 

If you leave, then the rest of us will have less of what it is you are wanting. Don't complain and then walk; complain and then take action. The former is whining; the latter is not.

 

If you haven't been going already, I personally find club annual matches in nearby towns have plenty of everything you are missing. :)

 

On competing vs. having fun:

 

Someone quipped elsewhere that we have somewhere between 1 and 2 million categories now (on a good day). Outside of the cost to organisers for trophies, and the added length of award ceremonies, where is the harm? If you tick the box for "Ladies Senior B Western Black Powder Left-handed Gunfighter", you are consciously electing to compete. If you don't want to compete, all you have to do is tick the Cowboy/Cowgirl box on the entry form and go back to having fun when the timer beeps. I doubt you'll ever be troubled by the master of ceremonies again. :)

 

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6 hours ago, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

Are you trying to say I failed at being funny? Certainly not the first time I have done that. Maybe the second time though.

The Redwood Kid was funnier and easier to pronounce, just sayin:P.

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One thing I wish there was more of is team shooting....two or three person teams shooting directly against another team. Many matches offer this after main match and it is great fun. Wouldn’t mind a whole weekend of team shoots.

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It has been a number of years since we visited a local club shoot, and I joined this forum, when we were curious about organized shooting of older types of weapons. Retirement has recently given me the time to revisit this matter. My viewing of some some Youtube videos, and reading the forum, does seem  to indicate that everything is more competition-oriented, at least while looking at things on-line. I should visit the local club shoot, and will, hopefully, find folks who are, still, more interested in camaraderie and fellowship, than competition.

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3 minutes ago, Rexster said:

It has been a number of years since we visited a local club shoot, and I joined this forum, when we were curious about organized shooting of older types of weapons. Retirement has recently given me the time to revisit this matter. My viewing of some some Youtube videos, and reading the forum, does seem  to indicate that everything is more competition-oriented, at least while looking at things on-line. I should visit the local club shoot, and will, hopefully, find folks who are, still, more interested in camaraderie and fellowship, than competition.

 

YES-Get yourownself to a match.

Would help us, to know your location.

OLG

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I hate to say it... but I've always found anything done for profit or leisure returns results commiserate with what's put in.  SASS ain't no exception.

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