Inexpensive way to start in Cowboy Action Shooting.

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

There's a lot of talk about how expensive it is to get started in Cowboy Action Shooting and it can be very expensive if you start with the best of everything. Not everyone can afford to buy once and cry once. Not everyone has their sights set on winning the World Championship. Years ago I started on the cheap and after buying one of the new Stoegers recently I decided to see if it was still possible. 

 

First find a club in your area and talk to everyone you can about what you need and see if anyone has anything you can buy cheap!. When I started I bought a box of holsters and belts for $75 from a Cowboy getting out of the sport. They were cheap but they got me started and I was able to trade 2 of the holsters for a old guncart to a Cowboy who had upgraded. 

 

I have no affiliation with Bud's Guns but I searched their website for a Rossi '92 and found this. $523

 

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/122638/rossi+r92+.357+magnum+24+blued+octagon+barrel+hardwood+stock+12+1

 

I searched Sportsman's Warehouse and found the Stoeger SxS  $299

 

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/shotguns/stoeger-coach-12-gauge-3in-matte-black-side-by-side-shotgun-20in/p/1906621

 

A friend had a new Pietta Revolver last Saturday, he said it was a little stiff but shot well $397 ea.

 

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/723020133/pietta+1873+limited+edition+.357+magnum+4+3+4

 

This will get all 4 needed guns for $1616 + tax and transfers if needed.

 

For another $400 you can get a SASS Mernickle Starter Rig.

 

https://mernickleholsters.com/products/official-sass™-starter-kit

 

All of the guns could use some smoothing up and much of it can be done if you are fairly handy.

 

Someone could get all the guns and rig to get started for less than the price of a tricked out and race ready SKB.

You might eventually upgrade all the guns, but you can never have too many guns!

 

I'm sure many will dispute this Idea but it would get someone started fairly inexpensively.

 

Randy

 

 

 

 

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Here’s an article from many years ago, written by Abilene.
I put it to good use years ago.

After all, I needed to buy gunz, leather, etc., so saving money on duds was an important consideration!

I still give it to new shooters, as a way to help them start out on a budget!

—Dawg

 

cheep duds copy.pdf

[Rip Snorter]

Simple enough to order patterns and leather from Tandy and DIY your leather.  Have made every set I have used.  Actually when I sold my OMVs the holster rig was a big factor in getting a good price, same with a Derringer.

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

Buy used guns! T did when I started and soon found out what I really needed and fit my style of shooting. I then sold, traded and bought new stuff (at least for me). 

[Dapper Dave]

The Stoeger is working VERY well for this broke Cowboy. I have one pistol, need one more and that Mernickle Starter Rig is one I am drooling over, when finances agree. The GUN cart is one expense I haven't figured out yet, gotta get to the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores and see if there is a golf bag cart out there cheap. 

 

 

Edited December 24, 2024 by Dapper Dave
spelling

[Hoss]

On the flip side, nearly every gun I have I could resell for a profit. (I call it my 401-G )

CAS is cheaper to get into than many leisure activities. Boat, motorcycle, RV, classic car, horses, pool in the backyard. A good set of golf clubs is close to 3K. 
hitting the saloons every night will probably wind up costing your marriage 
 

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

56 minutes ago, Dapper Dave said:

The Stoeger is working VERY well for this broke Cowboy. I have one pistol, need one more and that Mernickle Starg Rig is one I am drooling over, when finances agree. The GUN cart is one expense I haven't figured out yet, gotta get to the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores and see if there is a golf bag cart out there cheap. 

 

 

 

Once again, check again with your local club for carts donated by former members.  There may be something serviceable taking up valuable space that they would like you to haul off.  (I have two I could give away.)

[Mister Badly]

https://m.facebook.com/ReddogLeatherHolsters/

 

 

My first rig was from reddog. Great rig and price

[Mister Badly]

https://www.ebay.com/str/reddogleather

[Fill Yer Hand]

Red dog leather has made all my rigs. I found them affordable and the quality to be outstanding.

[Dapper Dave]

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

Once again, check again with your local club for carts donated by former members.  There may be something serviceable taking up valuable space that they would like you to haul off.  (I have two I could give away.)

I will check when I can. I don't live anywhere close and I don't know anyone yet beyond alias's given the three times I've been around, one match I watched, my orientation, and the one match I've actually shot.  I'm sure there is an avenue to follow, thank you very much indeed 

[Griff]

The dead nuts cheapest way to get started is to already own the needed guns.  When I started, one only needed 3 guns... I'd already owned my Colt SAA & shotgun for a little over 11 years, and if I'd started a year before, I could've used an already owned rifle.  As it was, that was the only gun I had to buy... A Rossi '92 in .357 for $239.  

[watab kid]

i started with that attitude - i bought the cheapest used i could find and then figured that id trade up to what i wanted once i knew what that was , it was a very expensive adventure moving from item to item over 20 years but eventually i got here to where im totally happy with what i have , 

 

because of this path , i would recommend anyone that starts cheap to stay there till you know exactly what you want , then save and invest once into your 'perfect setup' it will allow you to spend on a lot of other needs and wants , but dont overspend oon anything till you know exactly what you want , 

[Kid Rich]

9 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

I will check when I can. I don't live anywhere close and I don't know anyone yet beyond alias's given the three times I've been around, one match I watched, my orientation, and the one match I've actually shot.  I'm sure there is an avenue to follow, thank you very much indeed 

PM sent

kR

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

I was somewhat lucky in the fact that I'd been reloading for 40 years before I started CAS in 2014 so I didn't have that expense. My first set of cowboy clothes came from Goodwill for $9.50. I bought a pair of pin stripped dress pants, removed the belt loops and sewed on buttons for suspenders. Bought a red dress shirt and removed the collar and extra sleeve buttons. Hat came from Amazon for $20, and my son gave me some cowboy boots he couldn't wear. I bought Triple K holsters and hlster belt from Cabela's for about $120 total. Purchased a Stoeger SxS for $350, and a Rossi '92 for $480. My Uberti Cattleman pistols were $760 for the pair but I traded in a pair of Pietta 1860 cap and ball revolvers so my out of pocket for pistols was around $500. So I had around $1500 out of pocket to get started. Of course I have added more clothes and guns since. You'd have just as much money in equipment for trap, sporting clays, 3 gun tacticle if you want to be competative as you have in CAS. Nothing is cheap anymore.

[Rafe Conager SASS #56958]

Check goodwill for a folding baby stroller.  I picked 1 up for $25. Did a little  cowboy ingenuity added some ATV rifle holders got around $75 total and it has now replaced my cartzilla gun cart that the wife had made for me by a local urn maker. Wonder if she was trying to tell me something? 

Rafe

[Dapper Dave]

9 hours ago, Griff said:

The dead nuts cheapest way to get started is to already own the needed guns.  When I started, one only needed 3 guns... I'd already owned my Colt SAA & shotgun for a little over 11 years, and if I'd started a year before, I could've used an already owned rifle.  As it was, that was the only gun I had to buy... A Rossi '92 in .357 for $239.  

I thought I had some good guns, but I was kind of wrong, still need one. I agree with High Spade in that I'm lucky having been casting and loading for 20 years prior to this, so that's no big deal. I am FAR luckier in that Wild West Mercantile is a hope, skip and jump from both the range my club uses AND my gunsmith buddy...I have spent far too much money there already, but they are such NICE people! Boots...I cheated. My work changed uniform policy removing my tan boot option, so I went the other way and bought black cowboy boots, authorized alternatives...now I get some good use out of them there and at the range! Rifle is a loaner from my gunsmith buddy until I can buy my own. Stoeger shotgun just acquired and finally completely slicked up. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. 

[Blackwater 53393]

20 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

There's a lot of talk about how expensive it is to get started in Cowboy Action Shooting and it can be very expensive if you start with the best of everything. Not everyone can afford to buy once and cry once. Not everyone has their sights set on winning the World Championship. Years ago I started on the cheap and after buying one of the new Stoegers recently I decided to see if it was still possible. 

 

First find a club in your area and talk to everyone you can about what you need and see if anyone has anything you can buy cheap!. When I started I bought a box of holsters and belts for $75 from a Cowboy getting out of the sport. They were cheap but they got me started and I was able to trade 2 of the holsters for a old guncart to a Cowboy who had upgraded. 

 

I have no affiliation with Bud's Guns but I searched their website for a Rossi '92 and found this. $523

 

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/122638/rossi+r92+.357+magnum+24+blued+octagon+barrel+hardwood+stock+12+1

 

I searched Sportsman's Warehouse and found the Stoeger SxS  $299

 

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/shotguns/stoeger-coach-12-gauge-3in-matte-black-side-by-side-shotgun-20in/p/1906621

 

A friend had a new Pietta Revolver last Saturday, he said it was a little stiff but shot well $397 ea.

 

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/723020133/pietta+1873+limited+edition+.357+magnum+4+3+4

 

This will get all 4 needed guns for $1616 + tax and transfers if needed.

 

For another $400 you can get a SASS Mernickle Starter Rig.

 

https://mernickleholsters.com/products/official-sass™-starter-kit

 

All of the guns could use some smoothing up and much of it can be done if you are fairly handy.

 

Someone could get all the guns and rig to get started for less than the price of a tricked out and race ready SKB.

You might eventually upgrade all the guns, but you can never have too many guns!

 

I'm sure many will dispute this Idea but it would get someone started fairly inexpensively.

 

Randy

 

 

 

 

That rifle was $465.99 this morning on bud’s website.

 

If you’re patient and diligent, you can get into the game for about $1,800.00 with all new guns, minimal clothes and a straw hat. That includes a used gun cart if you look real hard.

 

If you hang out in the SASS classifieds, you might do it for less than that!

[Jackrabbit Joe #414]

20 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

There's a lot of talk about how expensive it is to get started in Cowboy Action Shooting and it can be very expensive if you start with the best of everything. Not everyone can afford to buy once and cry once. Not everyone has their sights set on winning the World Championship. Years ago I started on the cheap and after buying one of the new Stoegers recently I decided to see if it was still possible. 

 

First find a club in your area and talk to everyone you can about what you need and see if anyone has anything you can buy cheap!. When I started I bought a box of holsters and belts for $75 from a Cowboy getting out of the sport. They were cheap but they got me started and I was able to trade 2 of the holsters for a old guncart to a Cowboy who had upgraded. 

 

I have no affiliation with Bud's Guns but I searched their website for a Rossi '92 and found this. $523

 

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/122638/rossi+r92+.357+magnum+24+blued+octagon+barrel+hardwood+stock+12+1

 

I searched Sportsman's Warehouse and found the Stoeger SxS  $299

 

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/shotguns/stoeger-coach-12-gauge-3in-matte-black-side-by-side-shotgun-20in/p/1906621

 

A friend had a new Pietta Revolver last Saturday, he said it was a little stiff but shot well $397 ea.

 

https://www.budsgunshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/723020133/pietta+1873+limited+edition+.357+magnum+4+3+4

 

This will get all 4 needed guns for $1616 + tax and transfers if needed.

 

For another $400 you can get a SASS Mernickle Starter Rig.

 

https://mernickleholsters.com/products/official-sass™-starter-kit

 

All of the guns could use some smoothing up and much of it can be done if you are fairly handy.

 

Someone could get all the guns and rig to get started for less than the price of a tricked out and race ready SKB.

You might eventually upgrade all the guns, but you can never have too many guns!

 

I'm sure many will dispute this Idea but it would get someone started fairly inexpensively.

 

Randy

 

 

 

 

Thats fantastic Randy Saint Eagle. How yah doing my friend.

Merry Christmas Randy and God bless pilgrim. Hope to see yah at EOT 2025.

Keep in touch.

 

Jackrabbit Joe

[Kid Rich]

3 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

I thought I had some good guns, but I was kind of wrong, still need one. I agree with High Spade in that I'm lucky having been casting and loading for 20 years prior to this, so that's no big deal. I am FAR luckier in that Wild West Mercantile is a hope, skip and jump from both the range my club uses AND my gunsmith buddy...I have spent far too much money there already, but they are such NICE people! Boots...I cheated. My work changed uniform policy removing my tan boot option, so I went the other way and bought black cowboy boots, authorized alternatives...now I get some good use out of them there and at the range! Rifle is a loaner from my gunsmith buddy until I can buy my own. Stoeger shotgun just acquired and finally completely slicked up. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. 

Dug it + leather out ready to go.

kR

[Hells Comin]

19 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

The Stoeger is working VERY well for this broke Cowboy. I have one pistol, need one more and that Mernickle Starg Rig is one I am drooling over, when finances agree. The GUN cart is one expense I haven't figured out yet, gotta get to the Goodwill and Salvation Army stores and see if there is a golf bag cart out there cheap. 

 

 

We were setting up stages for tomorrow and a gentleman came looking to sell his gun cart for$50

Ben Avery shooting range in Arizona if your interested he is coming back tomorrow at 8am let me know. 

[Blackwater 53393]

2 minutes ago, Hells Comin said:

We were setting up stages for tomorrow and a gentleman came looking to sell his gun cart for$50

Ben Avery shooting range in Arizona if your interested he is coming back tomorrow at 8am let me know. 

THERE YA’ GO!!

 

Definitely worth the money!!

[Eyesa Horg]

5 minutes ago, Hells Comin said:

We were setting up stages for tomorrow and a gentleman came looking to sell his gun cart for$50

Ben Avery shooting range in Arizona if your interested he is coming back tomorrow at 8am let me know. 

Can't buy the materials for that price. That looks perfect for the task, jump on it!

[Dr. Zook]

37 minutes ago, Hells Comin said:

We were setting up stages for tomorrow and a gentleman came looking to sell his gun cart for$50

Ben Avery shooting range in Arizona if your interested he is coming back tomorrow at 8am let me know. 

 

I would definitely be interested in buying that cart but I will defer to Dapper Dave for his right of first refusal and ask if I could be in line behind him for 2nd's.

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

1 hour ago, Hells Comin said:

We were setting up stages for tomorrow and a gentleman came looking to sell his gun cart for$50

Ben Avery shooting range in Arizona if your interested he is coming back tomorrow at 8am let me know. 

Great looking cart for the money!

 

Randy

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

my girls figured out the cheapest way 

 

let Dad fund it , they get the good stuff 

 

I mess with the dregs 

 

  CB 

[Dapper Dave]

Well, see, this other thing happened while you guys were posting that one...

[Blackwater 53393]

13 minutes ago, Dapper Dave said:

Well, see, this other thing happened while you guys were posting that one...

SO!  You and Doc Zook both make out like bandits!!

 

OUTSTANDING!!

[Dapper Dave]

I think this has been a most excellent day.

[Blackwater 53393]

1 minute ago, Dapper Dave said:

I think this has been a most excellent day.

Not too bad for a Friday the thirteenth!!  😜

[MizPete]

Pecos Pete says that, overall, this is the cheapest hobby he's ever had because he's not tearing anything up - previous endeavors: racing toy airplanes and racing go-karts (enduro).  During the go-kart phase we were on a first-name basis with the EMTs at several tracks.  And one bad landing will set your stick-built airplane back a bit. 

I don't remember where the guns came from except I know the pistols were Rugers (since bequeathed to Grandson #1) and the shotgun was my grandfather's L C Smith sxs (stolen in Florida). He built his first gun cart out of a couple of ax handles and some wood he found in a dumpster in my office complex.  Clothing: I sew and have made shirts (almost cost-prohibitive these days) but if you can find shirts with a neckband in thrift stores you can remove the collar.  Everywhere I go I look for clothing that can be cowboy.  One of my favorites (hard to find now at a reasonable price) is a long-sleeved nightgown - put a skirt over it & you got a blouse and an petticoat.  OK, that won't help most of you, but if you have a woman....

Where you'll spend the money is on the RV you eventually WILL buy.

Edited December 14, 2024 by MizPete

[Will Kane]

5 hours ago, Hells Comin said:

We were setting up stages for tomorrow and a gentleman came looking to sell his gun cart for$50

Ben Avery shooting range in Arizona if your interested he is coming back tomorrow at 8am let me know. 

That’s a Cal-Graf cart that looks in great shape. Both boxes use dovetail joinery. Six or seven years ago, a Cal-Graf cart sold for close to $500.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

19 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

Well, see, this other thing happened while you guys were posting that one...

 

This is a nice find.  I would add some hooks to hang bags on (like a spent brass bag) and perhaps some holsters to place your revolvers.  A narrow grill cover would make a serviceable rain cover.

[Eyesa Horg]

Lawn mower covers work well too!

[El Sobrante Kid]

Back on topic, IMO there is no "inexpensive" way to start CAS, only less expensive. Two revolvers, a rifle, a shotgun, ammo, a basic outfit, and a place to put it all... will never be inexpensive, and (again imo) is likely an impediment to getting more new shooters.