EOT, back in the day.

[Snakebite]

Vendor's row at early EOT. You couldn't see everything in one day.  

[Diego Kid #4631]

Good Times!!!!

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

And Concho on her peddle sewing machine.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

1 hour ago, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:

And Concho on her peddle sewing machine.

Remember her well! 

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

2 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Remember her well! 

My late wife, Miss Ann, helped her often.  We knew her and Andy from before cowboy.  In fact, he may have been first guy to hand me a  CAS revolver and show me what a cowboy stage was really like.  It was at a OWSA shoot (Raton, NM).  1999 I believe.

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L]

Talk about the good old days...

[Griff]

Not so early... Raahauge's... CAS was already over 10 years old.  

[Snakebite]

On 4/3/2026 at 6:40 AM, Griff said:

Not so early... Raahauge's... CAS was already over 10 years old.  

I attended EOT in 93 or 94 at Raahauge's. It was awesome. 

 

 

Edited April 4 by Snakebite

[Snakebite]

On 4/2/2026 at 8:41 PM, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:

My late wife, Miss Ann, helped her often.  We knew her and Andy from before cowboy.  In fact, he may have been first guy to hand me a  CAS revolver and show me what a cowboy stage was really like.  It was at a OWSA shoot (Raton, NM).  1999 I believe.

English Andy... I called Cactus at home once to check on a suit she was making me. Andy answered and said that she couldn't come to the phone because she was putting a new roof on the house and was up on top of the house. She was a great gal, gone too soon. 

[Snakebite]

On 4/3/2026 at 6:40 AM, Griff said:

Not so early... Raahauge's... CAS was already over 10 years old.  

Hey Griff, isn't your SASS number the same as your age?😂

[Griff]

12 minutes ago, Snakebite said:

Hey Griff, isn't your SASS number the same as your age?😂

I should be so lucky!  I do hope to still be playing... 

[Rattler]

I miss those times at Raahauge's, a lot of great memories!

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

I'll bet the rule book was 1/2 as thick as it is now!

[Snakebite]

30 minutes ago, irish ike, SASS #43615 said:

I'll bet the rule book was 1/2 as thick as it is now!

The rule book wasn't even close to half as thick. It would fit into your shirt pocket behind a pack a Lucys with room to spare. 

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

 

45 minutes ago, irish ike, SASS #43615 said:

I'll bet the rule book was 1/2 as thick as it is now!

15 minutes ago, Snakebite said:

The rule book wasn't even close to half as thick. It would fit into your shirt pocket behind a pack a Lucys with room to spare. 

Here are mine from 2002, 2004 and 2006 with ruler to show the size.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

And the Chronicle was twice the size in length and width and four times as thick.

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

2 hours ago, Snakebite said:

English Andy... I called Cactus at home once to check on a suit she was making me. Andy answered and said that she couldn't come to the phone because she was putting a new roof on the house and was up on top of the house. She was a great gal, gone too soon. 

Yes she was a awesome lady.  Miss Ann and I went to their home while in Vegas one year for dinner.  It was cooked outdoors by dutch oven, even desert.  My friendship with them came from Andy and my "association" in music business.  Quite a story. 

Heck Doug, bet we both still wear things CC made us.   

[Dusty Chaps, SASS #5925]

Cactus Concho was a sweetie. I still have a pair of custom pants she made me. RIP  cowgirl

[T-Square]

So where did all the festival go?  Why did the rule book get so cumbersome?  Can we bring back the fun and the people?

[El Sobrante Kid]

Just a guess, but as the game became better known the number of participants went up, as the number of participants went up the manufacturers and distributors saw an opportunity to sell merchandise, and so the snowball started rolling. Here we are decades later and the snowball has pretty much slowed to a crawl. The flood of new shooters looking for all their gear has slowed to a steady trickle, and much of that need is likely filled by used equipment. The number of suppliers has probably consolidated.

 

And as with any new venture that strikes the public's fancy, in the early days there is a huge amount of energy, excitement, and personal effort to join in the merriment and contribute in some way (think of all the small vendors making and providing all the little bits of gear that everyone had to have). Being able to be a part of the growing "Team" and the camaraderie was a part of the fun of it all.

Add to that the slow but inevitable process of all the additional rules. For every loophole that could be found there was someone to push the limits of Good Sportsmanship under the guise of "Show me the rule that says I can't...). And when something became an issue new rules were passed to "make things better" until we are where we are today. We are now a (fairly) well regulated Sport. The days of CAS being a fun dress-up game with guns is long gone.

 

Many of the enjoyable aspects of CAS are still there, but more as bits and pieces of what has been, and certainly to a much smaller degree than in the past.

[The Surgeon]

10 minutes ago, El Sobrante Kid said:

The days of CAS being a fun dress-up game with guns is long gone.

Seems all the shoots i attend everyone is dressed up with guns and having a ton of fun still.... 

[Griff]

31 minutes ago, El Sobrante Kid said:

The days of CAS being a fun dress-up game with guns is long gone.

20 minutes ago, The Surgeon said:

Seems all the shoots i attend everyone is dressed up with guns and having a ton of fun still.... 

Ditto!

 

[Joe LaFives #5481]

Andy and Concho were regulars on the OLd Cas City wire which predated the SASS wire by four or five years.  Sadly I would guess that 95% of the folks on that wire have passed.

[SnakeM]

Still wearing her Pants and shirts.RIP 

[Dusty Chaps, SASS #5925]

On 4/8/2026 at 4:11 PM, Joe LaFives #5481 said:

Andy and Concho were regulars on the OLd Cas City wire which predated the SASS wire by four or five years.  Sadly I would guess that 95% of the folks on that wire have passed.

Hey, I'm still here and have my CAS-L Badge to prove it!  LOL

[Texas Jack Black]

On 4/7/2026 at 9:05 AM, T-Square said:

So where did all the festival go?  Why did the rule book get so cumbersome?  Can we bring back the fun and the people?

 HUMANS sell their souls and this sometimes happens. 

[Marauder SASS #13056]

On 4/7/2026 at 9:05 AM, T-Square said:

So where did all the festival go?  Why did the rule book get so cumbersome?  Can we bring back the fun and the people?

Because people believed we needed "a specific rule for that. " 

[El Sobrante Kid]

2 hours ago, Marauder SASS #13056 said:

Because people believed we needed "a specific rule for that. " 

 

It seems that 90% of the rules are meant to restrict the 10% of the people that willingly ignore the spirit of "Good Sportsmanship", in pursuit of "Win, Whatever it Takes".

[Joe LaFives #5481]

22 minutes ago, El Sobrante Kid said:

 

It seems that 90% of the rules are meant to restrict the 10% of the people that willingly ignore the spirit of "Good Sportsmanship", in pursuit of "Win, Whatever it Takes".

Rules and Laws have ALWAYS been designed to control OTHER people.

[Texas Jack Black]

9 minutes ago, Joe LaFives #5481 said:

Rules and Laws have ALWAYS been designed to control OTHER people.

 Quite true and that is why many games die off. Called death by 1000 cuts. Sound familar?