Cowboy Guns for CCW Use?

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

3 hours ago, Sawhorse Kid said:

One of my instructors idea of a tactical reload was ..... a second gun.

 

1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Can't beat it if you practice and can carry the load.

[Dapper Dave]

When it comes to a BUG, I like to say, "It isn't the odds, it's the stakes." I hope and pray I go to my grave without ever needing the first round in my sidearms, much less the LAST one. But I want to have options, if I need them. 

And if you think about it, so did our cowboy ancestors who we pay homage to every time we shoot, otherwise why would we carry TWO revolvers?  

[Rye Miles #13621]

6 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

When it comes to a BUG, I like to say, "It isn't the odds, it's the stakes." I hope and pray I go to my grave without ever needing the first round in my sidearms, much less the LAST one. But I want to have options, if I need them. 

And if you think about it, so did our cowboy ancestors who we pay homage to every time we shoot, otherwise why would we carry TWO revolvers?  

Very few of our cowboy ancestors carried two revolvers. The only reason we do is because SASS says so. SASS started out with one revolver. That’s what the folks back in the Old West did. I’m not saying I’m against carrying two guns but with a   semi auto an extra mag is just as fast if you practice.

Edited February 11 by Rye Miles #13621

[Alpo]

1 hour ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 

Is that TS' rig?

 

I seem to recall he carried a pair of 1911s small of back.

[watab kid]

21 hours ago, Creeker, SASS #43022 said:

The conventional wisdom says most shootouts are at less than three yards - with less than three shots fired.

 

Assuming you never miss AND your assailant(s) is/ are nice enough to go down quickly - being limited to five rounds may be fine 

 

But the issue with "most" shootouts is that it is not "all" - meaning there are "some" that required more ammo or happened further away.

 

I would hate to be in the "some" group if I am only prepared for "most".

 

Never heard of anyone who has ever been in an armed conflict; wishing they had carried less ammo.

 

Desert Scorpion carries a 15 round Smith & Wesson 9mm Equalizer.

Painted Lady carries a 15 round Sig 365 9mm

Creeker carries an 11 round pistol with two  extra magazines.

Tisas Stingray Bobtail 4" 1911 9mm

i know those stas , i appreciate that but ive too many friends that are way too close and involved that recomend more capacity and multiple mags to ignore that need , i have the guns and the mags , holsters and carriers , i just hate carrying all that weight , 

 

ive gone smaller and less cap over the years - im fully prepared for the 'most' condition but prepared for the 'some' when i go to any area that offers that problem , i just think thru where im going and what im doing any given day , i know i cant predict it so i try to anticipate the possibilities and plan for it but always hope never to need it 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

Is that TS' rig?

 

I seem to recall he carried a pair of 1911s small of back.

Nope. Just an image that google had.

[Stump Water]

12 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

Very few of our cowboy ancestors carried two revolvers.

 

Or one.  If so it was usually in the saddle bags.

 

Very few of our ancestors that settled the west had a revolver.

[El Chapo]

It's illegal in New Mexico to carry more than one concealed, so even if I thought that was a good idea, which I don't, I don't really have to even think about it.  There is no real policy reason for it other than the legislature used singular language when it passed CCW into law.

[Utah Bob #35998]

On 2/9/2026 at 6:30 PM, Alpo said:

Something people might want to consider before they decide to carry their cowboy guns for self-defense.

 

Load difference.

 

Let's say you play cowboy with a Ruger 357. Shooting 38 specials with 125 grain bullet at 610 ft per second.

 

You carry that same gun for self-defense, because "you're used to that gun!!" Except now it is loaded with 158 grain jacketed soft point 357 Magnums.

 

You better make your first shot count, because if all you're used to shooting is those mouse farts at cowboy matches, if you let a real one go you're going to stand there in shock. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!??? DO I STILL HAVE A HAND?? HOW COME I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING???

This is why you train with what you carry.

[Dapper Dave]

I was trying to interject some levity in the discussion...failed.

I carry what I want how I want and that's pretty much all there is to it. People would give me guff if I carried a snub 38 with no reloads, or two semi auto pistols with spare mags for each. Is OK, is all good, is my life and my family's lives I am worried about. 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 2/9/2026 at 7:36 PM, Alpo said:

Neither do I. But I would say at least 90% of cowboy shooters do.

 

I was at a match one time and when I came off the line this young man came up to me and offered the excellent advice that if I were to learn how to reload I could make lighter loads and then better my time.

 

I told him that I had been reloading longer than he had been alive.

Like back when his daddy was wearing three cornered pants?

 

I get some strange looks when I use that phrase.  Some people don't know what diapers used to be.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 2/10/2026 at 9:42 PM, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 

Interesting, but it looks clumsy as hell and really uncomfortable.

[Rye Miles #13621]

17 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

I was trying to interject some levity in the discussion...failed.

I carry what I want how I want and that's pretty much all there is to it. People would give me guff if I carried a snub 38 with no reloads, or two semi auto pistols with spare mags for each. Is OK, is all good, is my life and my family's lives I am worried about. 

 

You should know  better than to put something funny on here! This is a serious bunch!🤪🤪

( if you believe that, I have some ocean property for you in Ohio)😂😂😂😂

[watab kid]

On 2/11/2026 at 12:28 PM, El Chapo said:

It's illegal in New Mexico to carry more than one concealed, so even if I thought that was a good idea, which I don't, I don't really have to even think about it.  There is no real policy reason for it other than the legislature used singular language when it passed CCW into law.

interesting , ive never thought about a restriction on how many as we dont have that here , i know people that carry as many as five - ill admit i dont understand that but i never question ones need for self defense , life is good long as your free to live it without threats 

[Vail Vigilante]

On 2/9/2026 at 11:50 AM, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

I hope that things in Vail aren't really that bad, but I think that even a group of Goblins will think twice looking down the barrel of a .45, none of them wanting to be the first recipient of one of them. 

This is a very dangerous assumption to make. A mobbed up, adrenaline and dope fueled lunatic is unlikely to see the world this way.  No sane person attacks a AR15 equipped person with a skateboard. Yet it happened.

On 2/9/2026 at 11:50 AM, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

I hope that things in Vail aren't really that bad, but I think that even a group of Goblins will think twice looking down the barrel of a .45, none of them wanting to be the first recipient of one of them. 

This is a very dangerous assumption to make. A mobbed up, adrenaline and dope fueled lunatic is unlikely to see the world this way.  No sane person attacks a AR15 equipped person with a skateboard. Yet it happened.

[Dapper Dave]

Vail isn't quite as nice or remote as it used to be, and Pima County kind of encourages criminal aliens, being that it is and always has been a Democrat stronghold. 
@watab kid, when I was a manager for Armored Transport way back in the day, I had this guy show up for work once, as a joke, loaded. To the hilt.

9mm Glock on each hip, 9mm EAA Witness in a thigh holster, Smith and Wesson .357 mag under the left arm, and, I kid thee not, an AKM variant with 75 round drum and 37mm flare launcher under the right arm, all covered by a long black leather trench coat. This is also the guy who insisted on carrying a 38 SPl derringer in his back pocket, until the day he was stretching while getting out of the truck and shot himself in the butt. Seriously. I was there.

BTW that day I made him leave most of the hardware in the vault. We allowed BUGS, and personally owned rifles on display in the cab during Christmas season, but not quite THAT much bang...

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Vail Vigilante said:

This is a very dangerous assumption to make. A mobbed up, adrenaline and dope fueled lunatic is unlikely to see the world this way.  No sane person attacks a AR15 equipped person with a skateboard. Yet it happened.

Of course there is the possibility of that happening, but I'm NOT going to start carrying an AR as my EDC. It's a gamble, but so's life these days.

I was, of course, referring to a gang of thugs on the prowl for easy prey. They'll likely look elsewhere rather than at me and my .45. Not that there aren't serious threats around here, but none of them want to be the first one shot just to prove that they're the baddest bro on the block. 

A mobbed up, adrenaline and dope fueled lunatic, is a bit of a different story, but he too will likely fall to a .45 to the torso.  

I still try to practice Not Being There if trouble DOES start, and I'll just have to do my best if it comes my way.

[ShadowCatcher]

On 2/9/2026 at 2:37 PM, Stump Water said:

I know Ayoob started the wagon rolling and everyone has jumped on, but...

 

Has there EVER been a circumstance where "handloads" used in self defense have had any bearing on the outcome of the aftermath?

 

 

When I attended LFI back in '92 and listened to Mas about reloads in a self defense scenario, he listed a number of reasons for not doing it, including ammo reliability.  He also made a very large point of saying that if for any reason you should chose to do so, you want to make sure your defense attorney understands and can articulate that your rationale was that you wanted to use ammunition that you developed for your handgun because it gave you more consistent accuracy and better recoil control, as well as more affordable practice, thus making you a safer shooter.  An affirmative defense to preclude the super-duper killer bullets argument.  

 

He was not saying don't ever, he was saying that if you do, make sure you know how to defend against some lawyers in a civil suit.

 

HTH,

 

SC

 

Edited February 13 by ShadowCatcher

[Stump Water]

1 hour ago, ShadowCatcher said:

When I attended LFI back in '92 and listened to Mas about reloads in a self defense scenario, he listed a number of reasons for not doing it, including ammo reliability.  

 

I've had more FTF with factory ammo.  And I'm not just talking Winchester white box or CCI Blazer.

 

1 hour ago, ShadowCatcher said:

He also made a very large point of saying that if for any reason you should chose to do so, you want to make sure your defense attorney understands and can articulate that your rationale was that you wanted to use ammunition that you developed for your handgun because it gave you more consistent accuracy and better recoil control, as well as more affordable practice, thus making you a safer shooter. 

 

I get that.  I really do.  And I REALLY hope I never need a defense attorney.

 

1 hour ago, ShadowCatcher said:

An affirmative defense to preclude the super-duper killer bullets argument.  

 

Again, like super-duper FACTORY Hydra-Shoks or Black Talons?

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

53 minutes ago, Stump Water said:

Again, like super-duper FACTORY Hydra-Shoks or Black Talons?

Most "experts", self proclaimed and paid, will say to use a round that Police use. Many departments use Hydra-Shoks, so I think that you would be good there. As for Black Talons, the public perception of them looks bad from all the hype, and they've been shown to not be all that great anyway.

 

[Seldom Seen #16162]

I used the same pair of Ruger Vaquero 45 Colt first for many years in CAS then several more in Cowboy Mounted Shooting. It is a understatement to say I am very proficient with the safe handling and shooting them. However they are not my choice for self defense as they have light trigger pulls and Bisley style hammers for easier fast cocking.

 

What I DO have is a pair of Single Six S. S. 4 3/4" 32 Magnums in factory stock condition. The 32-20 is my favorite cartridge and the 32 Magnum is essentially the same cartridge only in the.easier to reload straight wall case. I have confidence in the 32 Magnum and can easily carry one.

 

I do have a itch for a small frame double action revolver on 32 Magnum but have come to like the S&W Shield 9mm I have been carrying since last Fall.

Edited February 15 by Seldom Seen #16162

[Vail Vigilante]

On 2/13/2026 at 4:46 PM, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Most "experts", self proclaimed and paid, will say to use a round that Police use. Many departments use Hydra-Shoks, so I think that you would be good there. As for Black Talons, the public perception of them looks bad from all the hype, and they've been shown to not be all that great anyway.

 

Speaking of Talons, Kentucky Ballistics did a very interesting recent video on them. Give it a watch. The upshot of the video, for me, was that they were class-leading in their day, but we have better stuff now, both factory and reloads.