Rifle or carbine?

[watab kid]

On 12/14/2024 at 10:26 AM, G W Wade said:

My story.  Rifles are 24 in.    Used one in the old days of SASS where we hard targets 30 to 50 yds.    Short rifle 20 or shorter    Great handling and esay to shoot.   Carbines are 19 in and shorter round barrel.   Good handling and shooting but to me too light when vigorously levering in attempting to go fast.     Just my opinion but it is mine.      Just find something you enjoy shooting         GW

my thinking as well , ive got mostly rifles that i shoot - only really long one tho is the 1860 - that extension for the mag tube is a full handful longer as well as the hop being a bit of a bugger , i always recommend the 73 or the 66 to those that ask , i have both but shoot my 66  mostly 

[Griff]

5 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

They're called "Spotters".

 

Missed calls...having three different "miss" callouts, will happen on heavy loads as well since often times the Spotters will be squinting in anticipation of the loud report...wondering how much more of it they can take before they need to go back to the audiologist to be fitted for new hearing aids.

 

Also, as I'm sure you're aware of, there is a minimum PF that should be enforced. If you think the rounds are not meeting the PF, call it. I'll also add that since we are shooting steel and not bad guys of the "old west", that heavy man killer loads only kills the hearing of the other competitors...bad guys don't really exist down range...

 

Cheers!

Phantom

This ↑↑↑.  Plus, depending on the quality of steel the targets are made from, heavy loads shorten their useful life.

[Hud McCoy]

20 to 22 inch octagon barrel is my go to. I was never one for 18 inch barrels. My shooting pards like buying a 24 inch and having them cut down to 22 inch and crowned. Just a matter of what you like or don't like.

[Nickle]

13 hours ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

They're called "Spotters".

 

Missed calls...having three different "miss" callouts, will happen on heavy loads as well since often times the Spotters will be squinting in anticipation of the loud report...wondering how much more of it they can take before they need to go back to the audiologist to be fitted for new hearing aids.

 

Also, as I'm sure you're aware of, there is a minimum PF that should be enforced. If you think the rounds are not meeting the PF, call it. I'll also add that since we are shooting steel and not bad guys of the "old west", that heavy man killer loads only kills the hearing of the other competitors...bad guys don't really exist down range...

 

Cheers!

Phantom

I'm new and don't want to make any mad.

Whole point of getting into sport is to socialize and make friends, etc.

I've been into shooting light cast bullet loads for 40 years now but from what I saw these  cowboy loads looked like they are shooting rimfires. 

I actually enjoy shooting a gun with bite to it. I don't enjoy 22s.

With arthritis and I want my old guns and components to last so I'm not into hot loads either. 

But the light loads these guys appear to be shooting it's a wonder they can get any accuracy out of the smokeless rounds but targets are all extremely close so I guess it doesn't have to be accurate. 

[Phantom, SASS #54973]

22 minutes ago, Nickle said:

I'm new and don't want to make any mad.

Whole point of getting into sport is to socialize and make friends, etc.

I've been into shooting light cast bullet loads for 40 years now but from what I saw these  cowboy loads looked like they are shooting rimfires. 

I actually enjoy shooting a gun with bite to it. I don't enjoy 22s.

With arthritis and I want my old guns and components to last so I'm not into hot loads either. 

But the light loads these guys appear to be shooting it's a wonder they can get any accuracy out of the smokeless rounds but targets are all extremely close so I guess it doesn't have to be accurate. 

I don't think you're making anyone mad...on the "spotter" thing I was just clarifying.

 

We have a PF of 60. It's low relative to other shooting sports but SASS/CAS caters to a group that is generally much older and recoil is a concern for many of them.

 

Shoot what you enjoy as long as it's within the rules. But please understand that He-Man heavy loads while being legal, do have an effect on others. We shoot steel and at a close distance...but if you think accuracy isn't important...yer just kidding yourself.

 

Phantom

PS: You are probably the first person that I've ever heard say that they don't enjoy shooting 22's...most of the actual friends I have enjoy shooting 22's above all else.

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

On 12/13/2024 at 8:49 PM, Nickle said:

I'm looking at buying a 73. Would like one in 45 colt.I would like to eventually get into cowboy action.  I'm in Canada so we need a government change to end handgun freeze. 

I currently have  rifle and carbine versions of 1894 winchesters and I can shoot more accurately with the  rifle version but  I see most of you shooting carbines. 

A local gun shop has a uberti competition 73. Short stroke,heavy 20 " barrel.  There is also  a miruko 24" rifle version. The competition model probably has light springs.  Components like pistol primers are hard to buy here. I'm not sure if competition model could shoot large rifle primers? 

I would love to get into the cowboy action shooting. It may never happen.  I might just get the 24" rifle. 

Probably as a newcomer to the sport either rifle would work. Thoughts?

Greetings from SE Alberta! I started using a Uberti M73 Short Rifle in both ,357 & .45 Colt in 2013 the worked great until I had the chance to buy 2 Uberti M73 Carbines with the 19" round barrel about 5 years ago. The Carbine is far easier to get on target as it is lighter. What is your location because many of our shooters bring spare handguns, and with the departure of that idiot Canada called a Prime Minister we should get handgun privileges back after the next election.

[Sgt. Hochbauer, SASS #64409]

My main match rifle is a 66 with a 24" barrel in 44wcf which is a Uberti....that said I also have a Miroku and a Uberti 73 in .38 spcl with a 20" barrel. I am used to the extra weight of my 66. Truth be told I can miss equally well with any of them.

But if you can try before you buy

 

 

Hochbauer 

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

3 hours east of you in the Hat.

 

Edited January 11 by Dapper Dynamite Dick

[Captain Bill Burt]

I suggest you consider why you’re interested in joining SASS. 
 

If you’re ’in it to win it’ then following what top shooters are doing, modified for your circumstances, is probably the way to go.

 

If you’re ’just having fun’ (I hate that phrase as hopefully everyone is in it to have fun) and don’t really care where you place, then pick whatever piques your interest and is SASS legal.

 

This may have already been mentioned, but there are some categories that have equipment and/or caliber requirements. If you’re interested in those categories that will have an impact on what you need to acquire.

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

On 12/14/2024 at 9:26 AM, Nickle said:

So are the competition uberti 73s with lighter springs fussy about brand of large pistol  primers  because right now in Alberta the only ones I could  buy and I was glad to get them come from Bosnia. 

I have been using the Bosnian Primers both small and large in .38 special, .38 super, .44 mag, .45 Colt and .45 acp with no problems on highly tuned guns for the last year. By the way the Outdoors store in Fort MacLeod just south of you has primers in bulk from Bosnia. Once and a while I come across some brass that doesn't work as easily as others, but generally no problems.

[Griff]

I didn't answer your original question... so... my first match I was loaned an 1892 Winchester, nearly 40 years ago and I've long lost the memory of what ammo went into it, probably .38, and I shortly, like the next week, bought a Rossi 20" carbine in .357/38Spl and proceeded to slick it up.  I used it until early 1987 when I purchased a 2nd hand newly imported Uberti 1873 in 45 Colt.  A 24" Sporting rifle.  Not necessarily because it was best for the game, but because it "fit" better with my persona, an over-the-hill army guide that carried an .36 caliber 1851.  and dressed in buckskins.  It wasn't "bad" for the game, but it wasn't ideal.  Took more time to move around props and truthfully, wholly unnecessary, except in team matches where I could load it up with 12 rounds.  My next rifle was purchased when offered a deal to buy the one of the last Uberti rifles imported in 45 Colt by EMF... as that 1873 was one of the first 45 Colt Uberti's imported into the States.  It was a steel framed 1860 Henry with the 24-¼" barrel.  It is probably even less suited to speed shooting than the 1873 Sporting Rifle, but "fit" even better to my persona.  Then Wild Bunch began and I wanted a rifle more suited to that game.  I had an 1892 Rossi Short Rifle in 45 Colt for hog hunting, but it wasn't just quite as quick and handy with it's heavy octagon bbl.  So, I purchased a 2nd 1973 Uberti Short Rifle, but, this time I bought one with a ½ octagon/round 18-½" bbl.  And with WB only using about 5 or 6 rifle shots per rifle string it was perfect.  And although only 18-½" long it holds 10 rounds of 45 Colt and is VERY useful and more than adequate for the cowboy game with it's short stroke and lightened springs.  So much so that a lot of cowboys/girls use similarly configured rifles.  

[Nickle]

On 1/11/2025 at 8:06 AM, Dapper Dynamite Dick said:

3 hours east of you in the Hat.

 

What is the purpose of the leather wrap around rear sight? 

With the leather on the buttplate is it just for grip or does it extend the length of pull?

[Nickle]

On 1/11/2025 at 9:08 AM, Captain Bill Burt said:

I suggest you consider why you’re interested in joining SASS. 
 

If you’re ’in it to win it’ then following what top shooters are doing, modified for your circumstances, is probably the way to go.

 

If you’re ’just having fun’ (I hate that phrase as hopefully everyone is in it to have fun) and don’t really care where you place, then pick whatever piques your interest and is SASS legal.

 

This may have already been mentioned, but there are some categories that have equipment and/or caliber requirements. If you’re interested in those categories that will have an impact on what you need to acquire.

With health reasons I have more time on my hands.  In common with you guys I have a love for 19th firearms.  Coming from a hunting, target shooting background I've never been into fast shooting so this is something new for me . It's a new skill and it's fun to learn.  Most importantly for me is the social part of this. I'm on a farm.  If it was just about shooting I could do this at home. It's like posting on this forum.  I'm really trying to make friends. 

[Captain Bill Burt]

46 minutes ago, Nickle said:

With health reasons I have more time on my hands.  In common with you guys I have a love for 19th firearms.  Coming from a hunting, target shooting background I've never been into fast shooting so this is something new for me . It's a new skill and it's fun to learn.  Most importantly for me is the social part of this. I'm on a farm.  If it was just about shooting I could do this at home. It's like posting on this forum.  I'm really trying to make friends. 

You’ve come to the right place. 

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

59 minutes ago, Nickle said:

What is the purpose of the leather wrap around rear sight? 
no idea, never seen that. 
 

With the leather on the buttplate is it just for grip or does it extend the length of pull?

it helps keep the butt from slipping around on your shoulder (for me), looks nice (some are really decorative) and some versions convert the “crescent” of the butt into a flat shotgun style which some prefer.

as far as length of pull it probably does extend it a little bit but not much.

Regards 

    
Gateway Kid

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

4 hours ago, Nickle said:

What is the purpose of the leather wrap around rear sight? 

With the leather on the buttplate is it just for grip or does it extend the length of pull?

The leather on the rear sight is SASS legal as it is in place to hold the elevator in place nothing else. With that style of rear sight in the past in order to hold a zero, I have used a leather thong as it is possible to "rip off" the rear sight if stored incorrectly or sloppily. I use the buttplate cover for grip against some of my nylon type shirts and never noticed a change in length of pull.

[Nickle]

On 1/11/2025 at 8:06 AM, Dapper Dynamite Dick said:

3 hours east of you in the Hat.

 

In your picture it looks like the lifter is hanging low. Is this normal? Is the timing right on the lifter? Does the cartridge drag because of timing when working the action? 

[Dapper Dynamite Dick]

that is normal and with the short stroke kit fitted there is no drag.

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

One thing to consider when looking at a Carbine, Short Rifle or Rifle is the length of pull.  The carbine having the shortest, the Short Rifle and Rifle being approx 3/4 inch longer LOP than the carbine, can make a big difference working the lever especially for non gorilla 5 and a half foot old fat cowboys

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

rifle front sights are dovetailed in and easy to replace with aftermarket sights with whatever size gold/white bead you want.   The carbine front sight is on a barrel band and not prone to easily changing.  New barrel bands with a bead sight can be bought, but note that the securing screw often breaks.  I modified my own carbine sights by notching and then JB-Welding on a brass bead, so you have some options, just easier with the rifle.