Have you ever fallen out of love with something that you loved doing?

[Pat Riot]

It’s funny, I have been spending a little time over in the Wire recently and something has become apparent to me. I am falling out of love with Cowboy Action Shooting...or maybe I do not like what it has become...or maybe I have romanticized it in my memory and perhaps it’s not that things have changed so much, but that I have changed. 
Regardless, my love and desires regarding CAS is seriously diminished. 
 

I have heard many times over “The Wire is not SASS.” Or “The Wire is not Cowboy Action Shooting.” But I do not believe that. The Wire is a reflection of CAS and that reflection is a facade of what Cowboy Action shooting once was for me. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with you all and I love my interactions with folks in SASS and at matches. Perhaps I just need to go to matches and hang in the Saloon  and stay off the Wire...

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

I did. I haven't shot a match in some years. Seemed like it just wasn't as much fun as my first 15 years or so plus some other factors. Seemed like it just got to be more work than is was fun.

JHC

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

Times change and we change.  Will you ever fall out of love with riding your bike?  Is it as exciting now as it was when you first started to ride? 

Some things that I used to love passionately I now can't do for one reason or another, some things I enjoy but not as much.

Tempus fugit.

 

Duffield

[Pat Riot]

2 minutes ago, Duffield, SASS #23454 said:

Will you ever fall out of love with riding your bike?

Probably not. I am as excited about motorcycles today as I was when I was a kid. 

[Cypress Sun]

Can't say as I blame you. After 23+ years shooting SASS, my interest is not even close to what it once was. I'll still shoot SASS, but not every weekend nor do 4 hour round trips to shoot for two minutes.

 

I used to get up early morning and couldn't wait to get to the match, talk to everyone and shoot. I still like talking to everyone and have fun when I get to the matches but it seems like I'm getting up to go to work any more....not getting up to go have fun. Quite frankly, if my Dad didn't still go to the matches then neither would I.

 

I can't put my finger on one point that changed my view of CAS. I still like the people for the most part. I think it was a combination of several things.

 

- I never thought that I'd say this but the targets have moved in ridiculously close. Seems like it's all about who can run their guns the fastest. Not saying that you can't miss a 2' X 2' target that's 10' away but IMO....the moving in of targets has gone too far.

- Most folks ponder on how to increase SASS membership and participation yet won't even try to keep the members that are already here. You'll have to refer back to the whole mask/social distancing/virus threads to see what I mean by that.

- I has become all about speed. In Florida, I haven't seen the degrading of folks take their time to shoot a stage. It's their stage, they paid their money the same as every one else.

 

I guess that everything looses it's luster after a while. Sometimes stepping back from something will bring back the magic, sometimes it won't. Only time will tell. 

[Choctaw Jack]

I recently experienced this very thing.I've been riding motorcycles  since the mid 1960's.Owned most makes,loved most of them.I went through a period of time when my kids  were small that I gave up riding because I thought if Igot hurt , or worse,  I didn't want to leave my family in hardship.I was miserable the whole time I was without a bike.The kids grew up, I decided I wasn't going to die , so I bought another bike. 

I really enjoyed riding up until a few years ago,and I realized I had lost my love for it.

By then I had found Cowboy Action Shooting and jumped in with both feet,and it has become as important to me as motorcycles ever were(if not more so).

I think due to advancing age and the change in my ability to wrestle the bike around, it's just time to move on.

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

From about 65-84 I lived for bass fishing and that’s what I did in my spare time. Then one day as I reeled in a spinnerbait it hit me” This is no fun” and I haven’t purposely fished for bass since.  I didn’t fish for a good while after that then gravitated back to crappie fishing....that’s what I did with my Dad and brother long ago.  Guess I came full circle.

[Hashknife Cowboy]

It is just as fun as it was in the beginning, the overwhelming majority  of the people are tremendous but there are a few that just, well you know what I am saying without saying it.   I am still in it for the fun, the people and the love of shooting sports.  Everything changes with time, I am looking forward to the day when I retire so I can dedicate myself to hauling my camp trailer to a shoot and take the sport to another level.  Remember though, it if is not longer fun, why do it?

[Dantankerous]

Playing cowboy gets old?

 

Whaaaaaaat?

 

 

I have involuntarily scaled back my playing opportunities which makes me miss it more. Perhaps that is the correlation.

 

 

[Rye Miles #13621]

As I get older and after 20 years of playing cowboy it has lost some of the "fun factor". I'm not quitting but I will cut down on shoots this year from 4 or 5 to about 2 a month.  Between driving and having to get up early to drive 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I'm tired! I can go my gun club and shoot when and what I want or go to the indoor range which is 4 miles from me. I plan on shooting some different guns if the primer/ammo supply ever comes back to at least semi-normal!

[Joke 'um]

Well if anybody's lookin' for trouble

You know I'm the one you wanna try

Well I'll fight any man that wants to

And I don't care who or why

Ya got to gamble on your story

Ya got no guts, Ya get no glory

I'm bettin' my money on an ace in the hole

Think I'm gettin' out of control

      -Eagles  "Out of Control"

 

That song, and the attitude it portrays, got my to go ahead and "throw the switch" and start into SASS.  When I get bored, it kicks my butt again.  What gets me bored?  The closely governed, rules dominated tameness that descends over matches.  The costume party.  The walker accessible stages. . . . .  What have I done about it?

-  shun the "rules" categories.  What you gotta wear, what you gotta shoot, how you gotta shoot it, what propels your bullets.  Mix and match as you will.  

-  shun the age catagories.  Use 'Cowboy' catagory and, "fight any man that wants to."

-  shoot faster than you can.  The targets will be far enough away when you start missing more.

-  hoot and holler.  Make an ass of yourself.  The first guy is weird.  He hasta take the arrows 'til the second guy joins in.  Go high or go home.

 

You make your own match.  You make your own SASS experience.

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Folks need variety football in fall gets old when i drags on to mid winter.

Basketball needs to stop in the spring not halfway thru summer.

People can burn out on almost anything.

Im burning out on watching tv all the time.

This virus thing needs to end soon.

I found work much more enjoyable after a two week trip.

Its a big mistake to not vacation.

And no taking a day off is NOT vacation.

Best

CR

I have recently taken to seeing as many James Cann movies as I can find.

I enjoyed him in a number of different roles. Latest was in Vegas as casino boss.

Hard to recognize the same fella in Ed Dorado

[Subdeacon Joe]

That happened to us with the SCA.  When we started it was small enough that people could be mentored into it, someone would take you under their wing and get you familiar with the customs and traditions.  You would get to know, at least by sight, almost everyone at events and, in turn, help the newcomers.  We had no problem telling someone who needed to borrow something, "Go into our tent, look for the (describe chest or basket), there should be one on  the right side towards the back."  Might not know them from Adam, other than we had seen them at some event before.  Nothing ever went missing, the items got left at our camp clean and not damaged.  Or, if something did get damaged the person tracked us down and told us right away.  

Then there was a big growth spurt.  The mentoring faded away.  The Board of Directors went all corporate-butt-covering, waivers of various sorts required, proof of insurance, etc, etc, etc.  We kept going for a while but the family feel had worn off.  Then we took some time off for other things, and when we went back it had lost all the charm.    
  

[Michigan Slim]

I haven't fallen out of love with CAS but I recently decided that it's not as important as it was. Love the guns. Love most of the people. But I surely enjoy hunting with my kids and fishing with my bride and that's my focus going forward. I'll still shoot and plan on shooting some new clubs this year but I'm going to wear out my boat.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

Interesting Topic.  Consider, of the dozen and a half contributors on the Saloon, the majority haven't shot a CAS match in years.  Yet are willing to tell all what is wrong with the organization and in general, the country.  Woe be it for those who disagree.  And it is true, the SASS forums are NOT representative of SASS.  The forums ARE representative of a few, who choose to treat the forums as their own particular Soap Box.

 

If your not playing in SASS nor CAS, seriously, consider going HOME.

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

I was a fanatic Nordic skier for over 30 years. For a great many years, I'd get out 15-25 times per season. It started to fall off a few years back and I got out maybe 5 times last year. XC skiing in the mountains is high-energy. I'm still in good health. But it's harder to do, and harder to get motivated. The exhilaration is reduced.

 

It's age and time. I think that accounts for most of this sort of thing.

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Interesting Topic.  Consider, of the dozen and a half contributors on the Saloon, the majority haven't shot a CAS match in years.  Yet are willing to tell all what is wrong with the organization and in general, the country.  Woe be it for those who disagree.  And it is true, the SASS forums are NOT representative of SASS.  The forums ARE representative of a few, who choose to treat the forums as their own particular Soap Box.

 

If your not playing in SASS nor CAS, seriously, consider going HOME.

 

Are you saying that unless you've shot SASS/CAS recently that you should have no opinion? Just kind of another nail, no pun intended. Maybe people should ask you for permission to voice their opinion. When's the last time you shot a SASS match?

 

For what it's worth, I shot a match yesterday. Is that recent enough for you?

[Sawhorse Kid]

 Yes, At this point of my life I have given up just about everything that is no longer within my financial grasp.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

There are several things I have fallen out of love with. e.g., high power rifle matches, IPSC, bullseye shooting, stamp collecting, model railroading, four wheeling, motorcycles.  I started shooting SASS in 1995 but did not join until 2000.  I was absolutely a fanatic and traveled all over the country.  The past two years I seldom post on the wire anymore.  As Coffinmaker noted there are about a dozen and one-half people that make 90% of the posts and I have nothing to add.  I sold my RV.  I've shot only a few matches the past two years.  I no longer enjoy standing for an hour, shoot 25 seconds, stand for an hour, shoot 25 seconds, over and over for however many stages there are.  I have forced myself to go to a few matches the past five or six months but it is no longer something I am totally excited about doing (although there is an smoldering ember) and if it is cold, rainy or someone on the posse is annoying I simply go home.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

When my legs started going ten years ago I dropped out of several things.  SASS matches became uncomfortable, then painful.  I dropped out of buck skinning entirely and haven't shot a SASS match in nine years. 

 

I no longer drive sports cars, partially because no one makes an affordable sports car any more.  I'm talking about two seat, open top, small engines, very maneuverable, drive to the edge and beyond cars like the MGA, AH 100 and 3000, TR-3 types of cars.

 

I haven't been on skis since the winter of '72 when I joined the Marines.

 

Lots of things I don't do any more, but I still love the SASS and OGR wires, and I still shoot when the weather and fire conditions allow.  Keeping my one or two guns, nothing fancy.

[Pat Riot]

2 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Interesting Topic.  Consider, of the dozen and a half contributors on the Saloon, the majority haven't shot a CAS match in years.  Yet are willing to tell all what is wrong with the organization and in general, the country.  Woe be it for those who disagree.  And it is true, the SASS forums are NOT representative of SASS.  The forums ARE representative of a few, who choose to treat the forums as their own particular Soap Box.

 

If your not playing in SASS nor CAS, seriously, consider going HOME.

Well, I pay my membership and doing that gives me the right to be here, I’m sure. I haven’t shot since last March due to medical issues, surgeries. CoVid puts a big damper on things. That’s for certain. 
 

As for the rest of your post I rarely go on the Wire so I don’t know if a few non-shooting Saloonatics go over there and tell people what they should or shouldn’t be doing. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

2 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Interesting Topic.  Consider, of the dozen and a half contributors on the Saloon, the majority haven't shot a CAS match in years.  Yet are willing to tell all what is wrong with the organization and in general, the country.  Woe be it for those who disagree.  And it is true, the SASS forums are NOT representative of SASS.  The forums ARE representative of a few, who choose to treat the forums as their own particular Soap Box.

 

If your not playing in SASS nor CAS, seriously, consider going HOME.

Oaky you can get off your SOAPBOX now!

[Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381]

3 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

That happened to us with the SCA...

 

Steak Cookoff Association?

[Subdeacon Joe]

11 minutes ago, Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 said:

 

Steak Cookoff Association?

 

Society for Creative Anachronism

[Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381]

I haven't fallen out of love with many activities, but my body has. Severe osteoarthritis first put an end to hunting, being too difficult to stomp the woods and hills. Scuba diving went next, because the gear was just too heavy to lug around, not to mention the long plane flights. CAS came next. It hurt too much to stand around/do posse duties. If i sat on my stool at matches, there were always those pointing fingers. The fun was lost when I couldn't contribute. I still have ham radio and BBQ judging. And I still plan on shooting a match here and there when the weather is warm. It is just not a priority anymore. Politics took a lot of the fun out of CAS as well, but I won't go there.

[J-BAR #18287]

2 hours ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

 I no longer enjoy standing for an hour, shoot 25 seconds, stand for an hour, shoot 25 seconds, over and over for however many stages there are.

I understand this.  At one of our midweek Old Coot’s shoots a couple of months ago, there were six of us shooting.  We rotated jobs for each shooter and shot 5 stages in an hour and 15 minutes.  It was SO much fun!  Exhilarating, particularly since was using percussion revolvers.  Load ‘em, shoot’em, repeat.  Too bad it can’t be like that all the time, at least for those of us who enjoy the shooting.

 

It’s also why I look forward to Tuesday evening practice sessions at the range.  I can put a lot of smoke in the air pretty fast,  and still have dinner with my missus!

 

So many matches are like playing golf behind a slow five-some;  it’s a drag.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

For me, the biggest turn off to SASS is the stupid close targets so common today.

Just happy it's not the 'thing' here with the few clubs we have shot with after moving to Missouri. 

Now, I'm just fighting age issues in my hands and shoulders. 

OLG

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

1 hour ago, Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 said:

I haven't fallen out of love with many activities, but my body has. Severe osteoarthritis first put an end to hunting, being too difficult to stomp the woods and hills. Scuba diving went next, because the gear was just too heavy to lug around, not to mention the long plane flights. CAS came next. It hurt too much to stand around/do posse duties. If i sat on my stool at matches, there were always those pointing fingers. The fun was lost when I couldn't contribute. I still have ham radio and BBQ judging. And I still plan on shooting a match here and there when the weather is warm. It is just not a priority anymore. Politics took a lot of the fun out of CAS as well, but I won't go there.

Doc, Old Arthur is horrible to deal with I know well of what you're dealing with. Very frustrating, to say the least.

OLG 

[Three Foot Johnson]

I shot 40 matches in 2018, 39 last year, and 42 so far this year, and there's one more this coming Saturday, so I might hit 43. I don't know that I'd say I have a passion for the game so much as I have no other hobbies. 

[Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172]

6 hours ago, Yellowhouse Sam # 25171 said:

From about 65-84 I lived for bass fishing and that’s what I did in my spare time. Then one day as I reeled in a spinnerbait it hit me” This is no fun” and I haven’t purposely fished for bass since.  I didn’t fish for a good while after that then gravitated back to crappie fishing....that’s what I did with my Dad and brother long ago.  Guess I came full circle.

Yeah, I think I have come full circle too.  After Willie Wheelgun passed, things just didn't seem the same. So I hung up my spurs, so to speak, drifted away from CAS and went to the trap range. But that too, lacked comaradere so I drifted away from that too. Then my health went south, so now I pretty much hang out in the Saloon.

[Rye Miles #13621]

Hey Badger, Have a couple drinks on my tab and remember there’s only about 70 days until baseball spring training.

[Yul Lose]

Years ago I used to love designing and building wooden boxes. My kids lived up in Wyoming and I bought an old cabin up there and restored it and was in a position to visit for a week every six weeks or so. I lined up a few gift stores and galleries along my travel route that would carry my boxes and sell them and then pay me my percentage and it worked out pretty well for many years and I was building a lot of boxes until one gallery closed down suddenly and disappeared with a number of my boxes and owed me a bunch of money from past sales. About that time I got into CAS and my box building changed over to gun cart building. I’ve got some carts to build this winter and spring and then I’m going to move back to box building primarily and a rare gun cart if I really have to.

[bgavin]

Just about everything over the last 10 years.
I retired, got bored, decided to try out prostate cancer.
Got tired of that, so got it fixed and moved on.

Mom went into dementia hell, her mom went into leukemia hell.
We had to leave to take care of this, so I gave up playing music and left my band.
Have not played in a note in 6 years now.

Kid, hubby and baby moved in with us 5 years ago.
Gave up sex for the most part... small house, thin walls... until the kids move out at the end of December.

Gave up water and snow skiing a long time ago..
Don't want the hassle of a boat, and the lawyers invaded the ski slopes.
Gave up commercial wedding photography because it is a LOT OF WORK.
The last years we were doing the wedding work, then giving the bride the negs and avoiding the albums and reprints.

Loved the motorcycle.. still own it.. a-feared to ride it in Sacramento... far too many injuries and deaths from those Phoning Behind The Wheel.
Loved the computer industry until engineer management was replaced by sales management, and the company went to hell.
The first 15 years was like going to heaven and paid to take the ride. 

We walked away from decades of Renaissance Faire for the same reason SDJ left SCA.

Having pissed away the entire decade of my 60s... this is now going to change.
Kids are gone the end of the month, parents are all gone, cancer is gone... we are very optimistic about dark clouds behind us.
Time to find another band, set up the new piano, renovate the house, see the floor of the garage again...

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

Times change. Things change. People change. That’s not necessarily bad.

[Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172]

57 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

Hey Badger, Have a couple drinks on my tab and remember there’s only about 70 days until baseball spring training.

I hope it is more exciting than the 2020 season, Rye.