If Cowboy Action Shooting was an Olympic Shooting Event

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I don't know why I wonder about things like this, but here goes.

If Cowboy Action Shooting was an event in the Olympics, what would it look like?  I have a feeling that the event would be rather simplified, and that the rules would mandate the following for Olympic style shooting...

 

1.  Everyone is shooting .38 Special with a very specific load.

2.  Everyone is shooting a Winchester 73 with a specific style of short stroke and barrel length, probably 20 inches.

3.  Everyone is shooting adjustable sight Rugers with 5.5 inch barrels.
4.  Everyone is shooting a specified make/model of hammerless SxS, 12 gauge, 20 in barrel.
And here's the kicker...
All stages, are "stand and deliver."   At most, 1 large target for pistols, another for the rifle, and 4 larger knock downs for the shotgun.  Movement will be minimal, if not non existent with all targets engageable from the same position, or at most 2 positions that are only 2 or 3 paces apart.

I base this on how most Olympic shooting is done these days with very specialized guns that have little no relation to ones used by everyday shooters,  And, I just don't see the Olympics allowing for the wide variety equipment that we see in our game.  Conformity will be imposed to "level the playing field," so that it's shooter skill and not the equipment.

The only thing I am unsure of is if one or two handed pistol shooting would be mandated.  I assume no cross draw, meaning the "off" hand will have to be drawn and moved to the other hand, or the shooter will have to learn to shoot both left and right handed.  I have seen some very fast shooters do the draw with one hand shoot with the other style and win a buckle so doing.  Most of them are two handed shooters, but some are one handed.
 

I know I'm giving this way too much thought, but might I be on to something?

[Badlands Bob #61228]

I want to write the story lines.  See how many political correctness rules I can violate.  

 

 

[Widder, SASS #59054]

I'm thinking they would allow sponsorship.   Then they (Olympics) could advertise for boots, cowboy hats, and maybe even guns.

 

..........Widder

 

[Texas Maverick]

are you any kin to Alpo? If so, that would explain it. LOL

 

TM

[August West, SASS #45079]

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

I base this on how most Olympic shooting is done these days with very specialized guns that have little no relation to ones used by everyday shooters,  And, I just don't see the Olympics allowing for the wide variety equipment that we see in our game.  Conformity will be imposed to "level the playing field," so that it's shooter skill and not the equipment.
 

 

The U.S. Olympic Skeet Team was at the range last week.  Their firearms looked just like my firearms.   My shooting, however, did NOT resemble their's.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

1 hour ago, August West, SASS #45079 said:

 

The U.S. Olympic Skeet Team was at the range last week.  Their firearms looked just like my firearms.   My shooting, however, did NOT resemble their's.

Well, yeah.   But that's a shotgun sport.   Shotguns have not been exoticasized by the Olympics the way rifles and pistols have.   And Trap and Skeet as games are done the same way.

[The Surgeon]

As someone who competed in Olympic style shooting before getting into cowboy (ISSF Smallbore and air rifle), there are multiple brands of guns and equipment and the rules mimic much of what we have in cowboy action. Sights, stocks, butt-plates, barrels, clothes, all are customizable but within set rules. The difference is all equipment is inspected prior to each high level competition to insure everyone is within the rules. I suspect if it would be an Olympic sport the only thing standardized would be the ammunition and the Target sizes/distance. as far as guns the same rules would apply but with inspections and all ammo would be chronographed.  movement would absolutely be a factor because its part of transitioning. 

[Sarge]

Pistol targets would be at 3 meters, Shotgun targets at 7 meters and rifle targets at 10 meters.

[Assassin]

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

I don't know why I wonder about things like this, but here goes.

If Cowboy Action Shooting was an event in the Olympics, what would it look like?  I have a feeling that the event would be rather simplified, and that the rules would mandate the following for Olympic style shooting...

 

1.  Everyone is shooting .38 Special with a very specific load.

2.  Everyone is shooting a Winchester 73 with a specific style of short stroke and barrel length, probably 20 inches.

3.  Everyone is shooting adjustable sight Rugers with 5.5 inch barrels.
4.  Everyone is shooting a specified make/model of hammerless SxS, 12 gauge, 20 in barrel.
And here's the kicker...
All stages, are "stand and deliver."   At most, 1 large target for pistols, another for the rifle, and 4 larger knock downs for the shotgun.  Movement will be minimal, if not non existent with all targets engageable from the same position, or at most 2 positions that are only 2 or 3 paces apart.

I base this on how most Olympic shooting is done these days with very specialized guns that have little no relation to ones used by everyday shooters,  And, I just don't see the Olympics allowing for the wide variety equipment that we see in our game.  Conformity will be imposed to "level the playing field," so that it's shooter skill and not the equipment.

The only thing I am unsure of is if one or two handed pistol shooting would be mandated.  I assume no cross draw, meaning the "off" hand will have to be drawn and moved to the other hand, or the shooter will have to learn to shoot both left and right handed.  I have seen some very fast shooters do the draw with one hand shoot with the other style and win a buckle so doing.  Most of them are two handed shooters, but some are one handed.
 

I know I'm giving this way too much thought, but might I be on to something?

You lost me at Stand and Deliver.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

1 minute ago, Assassin said:

You lost me at Stand and Deliver.

 

I don't mean to imply that I think that's how it SHOULD be, just that I find it plausible that this is how it would be.

[Assassin]

45 minutes ago, Sarge said:

Pistol targets would be at 3 meters, Shotgun targets at 7 meters and rifle targets at 10 meters.

Wow, why so far out? 🙂 I can barely take going to a match anymore due to the close targets, no movement, and multiple hit targets.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

What's a meter?

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

I did US Summer Biathlon back in the 90s. We pretty much all used these Marlin rifles. There were all kinds of regulations and you could get all kinds of other rifles, but these were built like tanks and could take a beating. All guns went through tech first day. You could be pulled for checks at any other time by a steward.

 

I don't remember a lot about the rule book. The thing I remember most was all the regulations on sights. Simple Dual aperture. You wouldn't think it was that complex. But there were a lot of bullets in that rule book all focused around sights.

For us, Ammo was all provided for the event. It was all 22lr. You wanted more practice ammo, you could buy that yourself. But event ammo was spec.

 

Fun times.

 

[watab kid]

this would remove the fun of it for me 

[Rye Miles #13621]

On 11/26/2025 at 7:24 AM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

I don't know why I wonder about things like this, but here goes.

If Cowboy Action Shooting was an event in the Olympics, what would it look like?  I have a feeling that the event would be rather simplified, and that the rules would mandate the following for Olympic style shooting...

 

1.  Everyone is shooting .38 Special with a very specific load.

2.  Everyone is shooting a Winchester 73 with a specific style of short stroke and barrel length, probably 20 inches.

3.  Everyone is shooting adjustable sight Rugers with 5.5 inch barrels.
4.  Everyone is shooting a specified make/model of hammerless SxS, 12 gauge, 20 in barrel.
And here's the kicker...
All stages, are "stand and deliver."   At most, 1 large target for pistols, another for the rifle, and 4 larger knock downs for the shotgun.  Movement will be minimal, if not non existent with all targets engageable from the same position, or at most 2 positions that are only 2 or 3 paces apart.

I base this on how most Olympic shooting is done these days with very specialized guns that have little no relation to ones used by everyday shooters,  And, I just don't see the Olympics allowing for the wide variety equipment that we see in our game.  Conformity will be imposed to "level the playing field," so that it's shooter skill and not the equipment.

The only thing I am unsure of is if one or two handed pistol shooting would be mandated.  I assume no cross draw, meaning the "off" hand will have to be drawn and moved to the other hand, or the shooter will have to learn to shoot both left and right handed.  I have seen some very fast shooters do the draw with one hand shoot with the other style and win a buckle so doing.  Most of them are two handed shooters, but some are one handed.
 

I know I'm giving this way too much thought, but might I be on to something?

Yea I agree, it has to be standard and simple. I would even suggest one pistol instead of two. 2️⃣ 

[Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L]

It wouldn't matter to me, I'd never even qualify to be Brass Boy!  

 

 

Edited November 27, 2025 by Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L
'Cause I Don't Spel Two Gud!

[Nichols Creek, SASS #77627]

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

What's a meter?

Nothings a meter.  What's a meter with you?  🤣

[Griff]

If Cowboy Action Shooting was an Olympic Shooting Event;  the vast majority of us wouldn't get selected to attend the National or International Championships.  There'd be FAR, FAR, far fewer categories... It'd take some mighty fancy politicin' to have more than 2 age categories... "Youth" and "Senior" and the division would be far below what we think of as Senior!  How'd you arrange qualifying from local, to State, to Regional, to National Championships...  Are we willing to give up the benevolent leadership of SASS in favor of the autocratic, seemingly impersonal, decision makers of the USOC or IOC?   Hmmm... I wonder how your blood pressure medicines, cholesterol medicines, et all, fare under OIC drug testing?  

[Captain Bill Burt]

On 11/26/2025 at 6:35 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

What's a meter?

I have one on the side of my house. I bet you do too! 

[9245]

You give the Olympic committee far too much credit, you forgot two key things:

 

1: They are international so they need to create rules at least marginally “accessible” to competitors from all countries.

2: Related to 1.  They are vehemently antigun.  They hate guns.  They hate shooting, and they hate the shooting sports.  And they especially hate shooters and people who like the shooting sports.  If licking communist boots could be considered a sport they would have it in the Olympics.  Just look at what they have done to the other shooting sports, most of the “guns” are nothing more than air rifles and laser guns, and the ones that still use cartridges use downloaded .22LR (or are they using short?) fired out of completely weird totally impractical single shot “weapons” that basically only exist in the Olympics.

 

If cowboy action somehow ended up in the Olympics, it would probably be an equestrian event crossed with a biathlon where the competitors rode around on horses over nice grass paths doing a bunch of fruity tricks and jumps before firing a single shot from a 6mm Flobert gallery gun.

 

Assuming it looked anything remotely like actual cowboy action shooting, it would look much as you described except they would be using either air guns or single shot .22s. Maybe even 6mm Floberts, assuming they didn’t just make them use generic Olympic laser guns.

 

Hell, you’d be lucky if they let them use finger guns and say “bang.”

 

Knowing the olympic committee and their lefty virtue signaling I also wouldn’t be surprised if they made the male players compete wearing high heels and dressed as saloon girls.  You really think they wouldn’t?

[Rye Miles #13621]

On 11/26/2025 at 6:35 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

What's a meter?

 

A meter is about:

 

• About 3.28 feet
• Roughly the width of a doorway
• A little longer than a yard

 

[Chantry]

Now I have the mental picture of all the cowboy shooters I know in those skin tight athletic outfits they wear in the Olympics.

 

Please send a 55 gallon container of mind bleach!

[Texas Jack Black]

I think we are in for a very, very long WINTER.😉

[watab kid]

14 hours ago, Texas Jack Black said:

I think we are in for a very, very long WINTER.😉

im tending to agree , first from this thread and second because the snow came before T-give and is still coming , not a good sign , we have 4-5 more months of this to deal with and im not happy .....but i married an anchor to this area of the country 

[Texas Jack Black]

 And we ALL have ALPO🤠

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

56 minutes ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 And we ALL have ALPO🤠

 

I don't get the references to dogfood...

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

On 11/26/2025 at 5:35 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

What's a meter?

Something you put coins in when parking your car. Lawyers also have them. 

[watab kid]

cab drivers too , i dont get livin where you dont have a car and depend on someone else to drive you where you need to go , just me - always living west of the mississippi even when i worked east of it - my office looked out on it and the arsenal island in rock island 

[Go West]

We did have a similar experience like this years ago, the Pan Pacific Masters shoot in California and gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded. We shot with Ol #4, Frederic Jackson Turner, and other well known folks. My wife, Aim Me West got the gold in her category and we had a great time.

[watab kid]

On 11/27/2025 at 7:19 AM, Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L said:

It wouldn't matter to me, I'd never even qualify to be Brass Boy!  

 

 

im with you here , i like this sport because we who are over the hill can still participate even if we dont compete - i do enjoy seeing the good shooters shoot and see how well they do , i just want to still be a part of it even tho im no longer able to be any good at it , im safe , im able [right now] and im interested rnough to spend the money so far , i do enjoy all the great folks i keep meeting