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

[Raylan]

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

Let's see - 1st wife, 2nd wife, 3rd wife, fiance, it's a long list. 

[Hillbilly Drifter]

On 12/13/2020 at 9:41 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

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...

I fell out of love with it in a hurry over the last winter. Not sure why. 
I still enjoy the wire but no longer shoot cowboy. 
my interest changed to long range rifle. 

[Sixgun Sheridan]

I used to love working on cars. Now it's a huge chore and I hate it. Probably happened about the same time engine bays became so crowded I couldn't stick my hand inside them without getting trapped.

[MizPete]

I used to love to dig in the dirt and grow stuff.  Now it just feels like work.

Re CAS:  the game itself is not as much fun as it used to be but we can't quit - it's where all our friends are.

[Finagler 6853 Life]

You see, that's why I love this group.  We can disagree, have a fight and still be family.  You think it is silly to stand around for an hour to shoot for 25 seconds?  I wish I could shoot a stage in 25 seconds.  Heck, I have to think about it for that long before I even get started.  You want to hear something really stupid?  How about you work on a car all week to go out on a Saturday night to run practice, time trials, a heat race and then a feature race of 20 laps lasting all of 10 minutes if there isn't a caution.  Did that far too long but I loved it and got to do it with my two boys.

I've been in CAS/SASS since around 98.  Met some really great people and we loved putting fun in the stages.  Shortly after I started, my oldest son started shooting with me so now I had a partner.  When my daughter got old enough or took interest in it, I had two partners!  She like the dress up aspect.  I didn't mind dressing up as an old saddle bum.  Kind of fits me.  The last few years, son got married and started a family.  Daughter got married to a, I can't say it, a fisherman.  They started doing things in their own lives.

Those great people I met when I started?  I stay in contact with some.  They don't shoot much either.  They are getting older and a few have taken a dirt nap (RIP).  We used to laugh, poke fun at each other while they were shooting, make up bad stories about each other and work to make our shoots (OUR shoots) fun.  Help out the old pharts because one day we will be one.  Mentor new shooters.  Be a friend.  Strange concept.  Went to a shoot earlier this year.  First one in 3 years.  I knew only one shooter of the 10 that showed up.  I didn't shoot well that day as I brought guns to try out but I still had fun but the camaraderie just wasn't there.

The club I shot the most at and was the TG for a few years, well as you would expect, new guys took over as the founders and older guys saw the need to do other things in life, the new guys decided they wanted to make the shoots all about speed.  Big targets, up close, no dealing cards, making a general ass of yourself, no climbing on and off the horse (too hard for the old folks.  Horse hockey).  They had one of the "world class shooters" do a seminar at the club one year and when he saw the target placement he proclaimed, "what is this?  A sniper range?"  Well the targets got brought up close and personal after that.  It was all about speed.

I still communicate with some.  Facebook with others. Have all my rigs.  I'm hoping there is an 8 year old boy that wants to go shooting with grandpa lurking around my oldest daughters house.  We'll go have FUN!

 

I don't go to the Wire much.  Those people need a high colonic. 

[Dutch Nichols, SASS #6461]

Things change, people change, everything changes!

 

I started competitive shooting in IPSC mid 80's, and I loved it. then it changed and 7/8 rd 1911's

 couldn't keep up with hi cap Supers and 9's that were comped and had dots!!! No practifcality

was left.

Moved over to IDPA because it was what IPSC was 10 years prior. I  carried a gun 24x7,

I was a "martial artist",  and not some "gamer" after all. Today IDPA is  also a sport for gamers !!

 

I remember when some of what are now referred to as the old timers warned CAS was becoming IPSC

 with cowboy attire!  Personally when someone works an 1873 like an AR , it's like nails on a

chalkboard to me.   Don't get me started on short stroked SAA's!!! And targets you can hit with a  rock they're so close.........

I loved CAS because I felt like a kid playing cowboys and such. Today's CAS no longer has that feel to me.

 

Everything changes and for those of us who don't like the changes, well there's someone who does.

[Blackwater 53393]

I STILL love all the stuff I've done, with the possible exception of riding a post hole digger auger and spending time in the hospital!!  I've done too much of the latter lately!!

 

I don't go to the drag races anymore.  I can't say if I ever will again.  Both of my racing partners died tragically, though neither was lost to a racing activity, so I don't go anymore!!  I STILL love it!!  It's just that too many memories of loss come flooding in!  I still engage in the traffic light grand prix!!  I still build cars that have more horsepower and bigger tires and gears than any right thinking individual could EVER put to use on the street!! I STILL  watch and follow drag racing in the news and on TV!  If my son and grandson gang up on me, I WILL probably, gladly, go back!!

 

I STILL LOVE to ride my motorcycle!!  I haven't ridden since 2017 because of the issues with my foot and the fact that I can't ride my bike when it is ugly!!  The only vehicle I have that I am EXTREMELY VAIN about!!  I DID take it to Black Gold four years ago with the paint needing a real re-do because we had promised a ride as part of the event, but I was not happy with folks seeing it in less than stellar condition.  As I get time, I'll get it cleaned up, detailed, and painted when I get a couple of more pressing projects completed!!  In the meantime, I may wash up Schoolmarm's Sportster and go catch a few bugs in my beard!!

 

I STILL love to go and play music and sing for folks. The money is really just a way of keeping score!!  The more folks are willing to pay, the better I feel like I/we are as entertainers!!  I sometimes HATE the setting up and tearing down and once in a while I get a little irritated with some of the people we play for, but I wake up at night sometimes just to smile to myself when I think about being on stage with the band!!

 

I STILL love to drink alcohol!!  I seldom do so anymore because it costs more money than I like to spend and I'm subject to perform really insane activities when I drink too much!!  I also go armed almost ALL of the time!! Those two things in combination, are usually not legal in most places. It's also all too often that I find myself surrounded by folks who have consumed too much and who aren't able to hold their liquor!!  Nowadays, I drink at home, rarely to excess, and at two of the shoots that are as much party as anything!!  Those that know me know which ones!!

 

I STILL get excited about shooting and about being with my friends, old and new, at SASS matches!  I was asked by a friend who saw this thread, how long it had been since I'd shot a match!!  It's been twenty months!!  I shot the Iron Cowboy match at Park City, Kentucky in April of 2019!!  Not being able to stand on both feet for more than a minute or two at a time has curtailed my shooting until now!!  I'm hoping to shoot the Jan. 2nd match at Wartrace the first of the year!!

 

If you can't or just don't shoot SASS anymore, for whatever reason, by all means don't just walk away from joining us in lively discussion and debate!!  Anyone who tells you you're not welcome or that your opinion doesn't matter or your position on something doesn't count, is WAAAAYYY out of line!!  If you're a member or past member of SASS, you should be welcome here   IF people can't agree to disagree, they are the ones who need to check themselves!!  I'll dish it out and I'll take it!!  I have and can be wrong and I have said so in the past, but I'll also stand up and take my side and I'll tell you when I don't agree with you, whether you like it or not!!!

 

The Wire isn't SASS!!  The Saloon isn't SASS!!  They are both fairly reflective of the general mood and outlook of the people of SASS, but the game, (AND IT IS A GAME) is whatever the individual chooses to make of it!!

 

 

 

 

[bgavin]

3 hours ago, Sixgun Sheridan said:

I used to love working on cars. Now it's a huge chore and I hate it. Probably happened about the same time engine bays became so crowded I couldn't stick my hand inside them without getting trapped.

Yep.
Back in the 70s I was NIASE certified...
Today, I have a good friend who owns a shop.
I have less than zero desire to work on cars anymore.

He fixes my cars - I fix his computers.
It works out well for both of us.

[DocWard]

On 12/13/2020 at 7:47 PM, Henry T Harrison said:

I guess that I should take my cancer and other health issues and just go home 

 

8 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

NO!

 

I don't agree with you on a lot of things, but hang in there so I can enjoy disagreeing with some one intelligent.

 

I'm right there with Forty Rod. We've disagreed more than a few times, but you have my respect, and I believe we're better off with you here than without you.

 

Edit: I should add you have my wishes for continued improved health.

[DocWard]

I used to enjoy shooting trap. Then the Grand American moved to Illinois, the Ohio State Shoot moved about an hour and a half away, many of the clubs that threw registered targets went away, and then, the final nail in the coffin, my father-in-law passed. He was my shooting partner, mentor and friend. I would like to get out and shoot more, but it is usually a melancholy experience for me when I do.

I came to CAS as a definite change of pace from that, but was late for all of the "fun" things that used to happen, so I can't say I miss them. Hard to miss something you've never experienced. I've only been shooting CAS for a few half dozen years or so, and since I've been shooting, money has been tight. That means I shoot the least expensive guns I can, and don't fret if I can't shoot as much as I would like. I shoot when I can. I didn't shoot at all this year. I was somewhat put out that the State match was cancelled this year, since I have made it a point to go since I started into this game.

Funny thing though, I have fun. Years ago, in college, I was shooting on our school's trap team. One of my fraternity brothers who shot on the team, and was/is a gifted natural shooter was having an exceptionally bad day at practice. I tried to act like I didn't notice, and to give him his space. When we were done, I gave the standard "How'd it go?" I still remember him grinning and saying "Great! Every time I squeezed the trigger, my gun went 'bang'!"

 

So, I'm slow, I miss more than I would like, but so long as my guns are going "bang" when I pull the trigger, and I'm around people who are having fun, I'm happy. There have been a couple of times my guns didn't go "bang," and then I was somewhat annoyed, to be sure, but even then, good people came to my rescue, like @mean gun mark and @Sixgun Seamus, among others. The day someone suggests I'm too slow, or miss too much, or whatever, I'll just smile and tell them to take a survey of the posse, and if they care to refund my fees, I'll pack up and leave. Otherwise, I don't really care. I might even slow down and... aim... every... single... shot...

 

As for those who would dictate who may speak, or offer opinions, or otherwise participate in a public forum, well, I will say that you can feel free to start your own forum, invite who you would like, those who are willing to allow you to be dictatorial with them, and have at it. That place is not here. Many have paid, and continue to pay, membership fees and sort of feel it is a matter of right that we be here, and are allowed to say what we wish within the bounds of the moderation of the forum. Not that it is a prerequisite by any means. But, if you want to shut someone up, or don't like what he or she says, there's an "ignore" feature for reasons. Using it repeatedly may help the butt hurt you seem to feel.

[Henry T Harrison]

25 minutes ago, DocWard said:

 

 

I'm right there with Forty Rod. We've disagreed more than a few times, but you have my respect, and I believe we're better off with you here than without you.

I want to thank both you and Forty as well as everyone else on this board I’m not going away I enjoy the people here to much to do that.

Wouldn’t this be a boring forum without the spirited banter and debate that makes this place what it is 

[DocWard]

4 minutes ago, Henry T Harrison said:

I want to thank both you and Forty as well as everyone else on this board I’m not going away I enjoy the people here to much to do that.

Wouldn’t this be a boring forum without the spirited banter and debate that makes this place what it is 

 

The honor is mine, and all I can say is, "Indeed."

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

My local clubs reflect the current state of SASS.

Used to have 50 members and around 30 to 35 for each monthly shoot, We shoot twice a month.

A group of us would come out on Friday afternoon and camp all weekend. We'd practice, shoot long range, beach chair 22's, cowboy trap.

Pot lucks, poker games, summer picnics, Christmas party.

Annual match with 175 shooters.

Many of us would attend out of area shoots as a group.

Now

40 members , 20 or so shooters each weekend.

No camping.

Some Saturday practice. The long range guys have upped the game and shoot once a month...700 yards so real long range.

No pot lucks, no picnic, no Christmas party

Annual shoot 65 people. We're at the point to drop that. 

A few members go out of area for shoots.

[Sedalia Dave]

On 12/13/2020 at 3:28 PM, 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.

 

You should come to a couple of the matches I attend regularly. You would be welcome and NO ONE would point fingers. We have a shooter that comes to our matches and just shoots his pistols. Long guns are no longer possible for health reasons. We are glad that he simply shows up. 

Last match I shot one of the regulars that is getting over some serious health issues came out and spent the entire match as a spotter. Everyone had a great time taking turns visiting between shooters. 

I know of 3 matches that you would be welcome at withing an hour drive and all have VIP parking for those that need it.

Just let me know and I'll send you times and locations. 

[Sedalia Dave]

Forgot to mention that you should bring your appetite as after the match several of us go out and break bread together. A late lunch and socializing take about 2 hours. 

[Wapaloosie73]

I have not shot in a organized match in years. Just got busy with other stuff. Great group of people!

 

I shoot at my ranch now. Doing some airsoft stuff too.

 

Just bought these 3D dummies for myself for Xmas. I’m gonna dress em up in some cheap clothes and have some fun! I got tired of steel.

[Dirty Dog Doug]

Fast cars  now my truck is just to get my gun cart to range 

taking photos for new pole dancers 

[Hendo]

1 hour ago, Dirty Dog Doug said:

Fast cars  now my truck is just to get my gun cart to range 

taking photos for new pole dancers 

I think you were spotted recently recruiting new models...

[Dirty Dog Doug]

2 hours ago, Hendo said:

I think you were spotted recently recruiting new models...

tattoo free  I would not mind taking pics 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Attaboy, Donald~!    

[Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381]

10 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Just let me know and I'll send you times and locations. 

 

I'll send you a message. Thanks.

[Captain Bill Burt]

I still love SASS matches, after 10 years.  Bass fishing comes and goes.  If the weather and my mood are both right, it's a go, otherwise I stay home.

[Dirty Dog Doug]

1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Attaboy, Donald~!    

hey we must wear masks in the club

I tell my sister in law put pole in her beauty shop 

and cut hair while we are waiting for next dancer 

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

There are two ex-wives and a few girlfriends that I fell out of love with.

 

Duffield

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

16 hours ago, Henry T Harrison said:

I want to thank both you and Forty as well as everyone else on this board I’m not going away I enjoy the people here to much to do that.

Wouldn’t this be a boring forum without the spirited banter and debate that makes this place what it is 

Would indeed be boring.

[Finagler 6853 Life]

1 hour ago, Duffield, SASS #23454 said:

There are two ex-wives and a few girlfriends that I fell out of love with.

 

Duffield

 

I'll give you the same advice I gave an older gentleman friend of mine who had been married and divorced at least 3 times that I know of. 

 

Why don't you just find a woman you don't like and buy her a house?  He didn't think it was funny but everyone around us thought it was hilarious. 

[Chuck Steak]

...is this thread supposed to be depressing or is it just trending that way?

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

9 minutes ago, Chuck Steak said:

...is this thread supposed to be depressing or is it just trending that way?

 

There's humor here... ya just gotta be open to it.  

[Blackwater 53393]

Most humor is based in pain or embarrassment!  Most often your own!!

 

You might as well laugh ‘cause it doesn’t do a damned bit of good to cry!!

 

 I never fell in love with school!!  I learned because I had to!!  I learned a lot more from living and I’ve never lost my love for life!!

[J-BAR #18287]

“If you think you might laugh about it someday, you may as well laugh about it now.”

 

...some of the best advice I ever heard.

[DocWard]

7 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

“If you think you might laugh about it someday, you may as well laugh about it now.”

 

...some of the best advice I ever heard.

I almost completely agree.

 

I won't go into details, but I once said to one of my closest friends in the military "We'll look back on this someday and laugh." He responded, "You bring this up and laugh, and so help me I'll punch you in the face." He is generally a non-violent guy with a good sense of humor. I've never brought it up.

[J-BAR #18287]

3 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said:

 

 I never fell in love with school!!  I learned because I had to!! 

High school was hell.  No amount of money could make me go back.

 

Jr. High was worse, whatever that is.  My home town tore down my Jr. High School a few weeks ago.  Good riddance.

[Rye Miles #13621]

On 12/14/2020 at 4:40 PM, Hillbilly Drifter said:

I fell out of love with it in a hurry over the last winter. Not sure why. 
I still enjoy the wire but no longer shoot cowboy. 
my interest changed to long range rifle. 

I shot with you a few times at Tusco, sorry to see you go but I understand. Happy Trails my friend.

[Pat Riot]

On 12/14/2020 at 1:40 PM, Hillbilly Drifter said:

I fell out of love with it in a hurry over the last winter. Not sure why. 
I still enjoy the wire but no longer shoot cowboy. 
my interest changed to long range rifle. 

I too am sad you’re going. Nothin’ says you can’t hang out here though. 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

On 12/14/2020 at 3:40 PM, Hillbilly Drifter said:

I fell out of love with it in a hurry over the last winter. Not sure why. 
I still enjoy the wire but no longer shoot cowboy. 
my interest changed to long range rifle. 

Know just how you feel.  

I'm deep into BPCR shooting now, and have been for

several  years.

 

OLG