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Getting Started Firearms


dannyvp

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I’m looking into getting my boys started in SASS. We’ve been to several pawn shops and gun stores looking at firearms.  

Anywhere we go, will have to order guns for us. What are our most affordable entry guns?

 

38 cal. Pistols and rifle 

hammerless coach shotguns.

 

i know it’s a open question, we have shoot several types.  We can do action jobs later, right now, we just need to shoot.

 

i have reached out at the club about used firearms. Haven’t found anything yet.

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I have my preferences, but need more information.  What age are your boys?  Where are you located?  Are they going to just shoot age categories, or will they want to be classic cowboys, B-Western, frontiersmen or frontier cartridge?  

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Your 11 year old could shoot Ruger Wranglers which go for about $180 each. For a 17 year old I would bite the bullet and get either .38 special Ruger Vaqueros, $1350 or so for a pair, or Ruger Single Sixes in .32 H&R Magnum, for $1400 and up for a pair. They’re not ‘entry level’ but they will last forever with minimal issues.

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I'd stick with the same caliber for your pistols and rifles (38's for age based categories or 45's for classic cowboy)-this way u can keep the reloading cost down  if u decide to go that direction. 

Beware of good deals you don't want to buy someone else's head aches. For most part You get what you pay for! Just saying. 

You can get a lot of good advice from the Cowboys at you local matches and You don't need to buy complete sets of guns for each of you, because u can share the guns by having someone shoot early and someone towards the end of each stage.  I would imagine that eventually each would want their own equipment. 

Just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions!

 

 

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Stoeger coach SxS shotguns are popular, entry-level shotguns.  Like others say, visit matches and try loan firearms before buying.  Avoid Henry rifles no matter how pretty they look and how attractive they are priced.

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1 hour ago, Straight Arrow Hombre said:

Pietta pistols, a Marlin 1894c, and a stoeger shotgun are probably the most reasonably priced guns that are worth owning. All can be shot as stock guns and the smith work for them is affordable. 

 

 

What he said.

 

Go with Ruger pistol if you can handle the hit all at once. If not. Go with the Pietta's

 

But the Marlin rifle and Stoeger shotgun would be good to get started with.

 

Marlin can be more than just a starter rifle also. They can be good for a LONG time. And very fast at that.

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I found a stoger shotgun today for $299 today. I think it was $299. They had a 20 and a 12.

 

im hoping to find a used marlin so that I can cut it down.

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SASS allows single-barrel break-open shotguns with ejecters.   A good used H&R may run $75-$100 and leave more $$ for other guns.

Pistols are "personal" tools since we wear them.

I like the idea of Ruger Wrangler .22 for the 11 year old and a pair of Pietta .38s for the older boy, and invest in a good Uberti 1866 in .38 that they can share.

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The 11 year old shot some 38 lightening pistols the other day and did excellent with them. When I mentioned 22’s he kinda turned up his nose.

he wanted to shoot what his big brother and I shoot.

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3 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

Stoeger coach SxS shotguns are popular, entry-level shotguns.  Like others say, visit matches and try loan firearms before buying.  Avoid Henry rifles no matter how pretty they look and how attractive they are priced.

 

Does the Henry advice go toward 22’s also?

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7 minutes ago, dannyvp said:

 

Does the Henry advice go toward 22’s also?

No, Henry .22s in youth models are slick out of the box and quite suited for a buckaroo.   Henry center fire rifles are clunky.

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23 minutes ago, dannyvp said:

The 11 year old shot some 38 lightening pistols the other day and did excellent with them. When I mentioned 22’s he kinda turned up his nose.

he wanted to shoot what his big brother and I shoot.

 

Well there you go.  Share one set of guns for awhile.  When they start beating you, then you can justify investing in the top tier of CAS tuned firearms for them.  

 

Might not take too long, either.  Wish I had the reflexes of a teenager again!!  :D

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39 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

What's wrong with pump rifles?   I am faster with them than a lever and my only clean matches have been with them.

Well lets see in the last 10years name anyone  that has won a overall National or World championship with a pump. MOST where all won with a 73.

 Choose what works for you. 

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https://www.emf-company.com/store/pc/DAKOTA-II-357Mag-4-3-4-p1374.htm

 

you can often find these online for around $400 each and if you don’t mind the black finish, are super nice guns. Kinda need to find out if you guys prefer Rugers or Colt clones. I shot Rugers for years before I realized the EMF’s fit

me much better. Another option if you want Rugers is Blackhawks. Much less expensive than Vaqueros and guns that will last you a lifetime if you don’t mind the one handed categories.

 

BD

 

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We started with firearms that could be worked over to be competitive  at a later date.  Chicken George is going through the process with his family.  It is costly to recover from most mistakes.  He is doing his homework and talking with shooters.   Hells Comin has given my family advice for a long time and keep us from making costly mistakes.  I would start with 38s and 12 gauges for most kids.  You can start with 22s but most kids grow out of them fast.  Depends on the child.  I have seen too many shooters that start out saying they are not interested in being competitive and get the bug.  Once you have shot a slicked up action, it is hard to stay with factory.  

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Don't make the mistake of starting out both with guns that you'll end up replacing and have trouble recouping any of your expenses.  I wouldn't even think about .22s or 20 gauge shotguns at all.  Light load 12 gauge shotgun shells actually have less kick than 20s and it is easier to find hulls to reload instead of purchasing new shells all the time.  At some point you WILL reload.  You can actually get started reloading fairly inexpensively and move up to  more fancy reloading equipment later without much loss in value.  If you can only afford one set of "good" guns now, start there and have them share.  Later buy another set.

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12 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

What's wrong with pump rifles?   I am faster with them than a lever and my only clean matches have been with them.

 

 

There is a reason you don't see many on the range.

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Go with 38/12ga. Stoegers are good entry level guns. Can't beat Marlins. Ones coming out of remlington these days are as good as any. Henry builds fine, fine rifles. They have a rather long stroke. Not nearly as bad as Winchesters though but the Marlin hands down is the better buy. 

 

Rugers.

 

I love my Colts, Piettas and such but you just can't beat a Ruger for longevity. I love my 73's but dang, their pricing is getting up there. (and I thought new Marlins were bad, LOL)

 

I'd forgo the 22's. That young'n will outgrow'em faster than you think. 32's aren't a bad choice but you'll be ahead from the standpoint of availability and cost to just go with 38's. If you don't reload now, you will eventually and cost-wise, 38/12 is about as cheap as you're gonna find if you shop wisely for components.

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I am going to agree a set of ruger in 357 shooting 38 or if you can find them 32 single sixes in 32.  Either can eventually be tuned to top notch.

Marlins are KISS simple also in 357 and plenty of go fast parts for when getting faster.

Stoger 12g SxS cheap and plenty use them, because of that there are parts to help with them as well.  Lighter lever springs and decent firing pins when the stock ones inevitably mushroom.

 

All these will last and be competitive for a very long time.

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A steoger is a great gun to use but  I would stay away from the single trigger model. 

 

  Don't shy away from the single shot either. With practice it can be ran as fast as most shooters using a double or 97.  I've won matches shooting a h&r singleshot.  It will never be a top speed gun but it can compete with more than you would think

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To keep our start up costs down son and I shared two pistols, rifle and shotgun.  We agreed on the caliber and Uberti clone.  Pistol barrel length we didn't agree on.  4 3/4" would fir in both of our closed bottom holster.  As funds permitted son got his longer barrels, a '73 and a SxS without hammers.

 

If buying two full sets for your boys is a financial concern, perhaps they could also agree to share? 

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I’ve got a call into my gun store to start looking at some prices. 

Im outside of Detroit this week, and there is a Cabela’s up here, so I may stop into see what they have.

 

i think at least the older boy and I can share guns. The younger one maybe able to share pistols also.

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Caution: Cabelas advertises 30-30 lever action rifles as suitable for SASS matches.  Take the rule book and know what is legal.  Don't be misled by the counter help at Cabelas.

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11 hours ago, dannyvp said:

i think at least the older boy and I can share guns. The younger one maybe able to share pistols also.

My 3 boys and I shared all the same guns for a while when my boys were 8, 10, and 13. If your youngest handled the revolvers fine then the kick of the long guns probably isn't an issue. It is probably the stock being too long and the gun being too heavy to hold up on his shoulder. All our younger kids when they couldn't hold it up on their shoulders, they put the stock under their arm with their arm up high enough that they could still aim. It isn't as fast on the rifle because they have to lower it to lever but it works and they could handle any size gun. Also, it wasn't very long shooting like that before they gained the strength to put it on their shoulders. 

 

My daughter who just turned 8 is now shooting a borrowed 12 guage Stoeger double that is a friend's backup. She was shooting a 97 for about 9 months that had a very short stock. She could hold the 97 on her shoulder but is faster shooting this gun not on her shoulder because loading is what takes her the longest and she can load 2 at a time with the double. Her 12 gauge loads probably kick less than our rifle loads. About 7 grains of powder, 1/2 Oz of shot and then overshot cards or fillers. Those loads knocked down every target at EOT even though she didn't have to (she never misses with her shotgun). 

 

All I'm saying is that at his age there is no need to get special guns for him unless you want to, like others have said. 

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Hi Danny,

 

I see no reason you can't all share guns, especially if you get .38s and a 12 gauge and use light loads. You have wonderful advice here. We've had families out here  share for a while until they developed preferences. In fact, with light loads, I can barely tell the difference in Hubby's .45s and my .38s.

 

A well known young man (Badlands Bud) thought my loads were too light (not enough recoil). That is an easy fix, if you reload. I once shot factory loads and didn't like the recoil.:o

 

The moral of my post is that it is more about the bullet than the caliber of the gun.

 

Happy trails,

 

Allie

 

 

 

 

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So, we went with 2 Cimarron Pistoleros in 357, one Nickle and one Color case hardened.  I run 38s there.  399 for one and the nickle was 459, we found a pre safety Rossi 92 in 357 (paid 450at a gun show) which I did the slick work on and it operates with one finger, but only likes the 357 cases for feeding.  We got a Stoeger coach in 12ga on the SASSnet classifieds, and recently got another Stoeger coach in 20ga from Johnny Meadows here on SASS. We run Win AA low recoil in both coach guns and they run like a dream. Save your Hulls for reloading.  I would suggest getting in touch Johhny Meadows for your shotgun, as he does great work.  AND at a good price.  I added leathers from Wylie Leather.  The deals are out there. I just scored 2 Uberti Stoeger clones, an 1873 rifle, Octagon bbl, in 45 Colt, and it's companion 1873 Cattelmen in 45 Colt.  Both for $500.

Both boy's should be able to operate all of the above.

 

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13 minutes ago, dannyvp said:

I keep seeing pre safety Rossi rifles.

can a Rossi be bought without a safety now?

whats the advantages to no safety?

Safetys can be easily pushed into place when handling a gun.  Fixing the problem can take several seconds of time on the clock.  Even worse, one might jack several live rounds out of a rifle before realizing the problem is the safety and not the ammo.  Having a safety on a CAS is just one more train wreck that can happen on a stage.

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