COWBOY SHOOTING

SEE SHOOTING SPORTS SECTION ABOUT THE SPORT

SAFETY

The most important factor in any sport is safety. Competition sometimes brings shortcuts and half way attempts at common sense. This is a no shortcut competition for several reasons. Cheap solutions usually result in cheap results.

First and most critical is the weaponry. These single actions guns are different in their action, trigger pulls, movement of the shooter and grips. Some will never be comfortable with a western style grip and thats when the Bisley grip came into being. More vertical in style, it has helped some.

IDIOTS

Then there is the tendency to show off which I witnessed at a range years ago. Fanning or using the hammer for fast shooting sent an errant round over the berm of a range south of here. It landed in an empty school bus used by migrant workers in the fields. Almost got the range closed down.

OLD GUNS, NEW RIGORS

But the most important change is when a rifle or shotgun over 100 years old is being modified to be used in action shooting with the rigors of competition. All of these firearms should be, make that absolutely checked out by a competent experienced gunsmith like Bob.

The 97 Winchester is a very popular model for this game. Think, some of these authentic and clone models have 90-100 parts and metals wear with age, parts break and someone who knows the 97 well will tell you that. A good gunsmith with experience in '97s is a requirement if you're going to use it extensively and extensively is what the Cowboy action shooting is about.

Be careful with some Chinese imports. Brings new meaning to the phrase finding more than lead in your paint. They have many names and importers. Early Norinco's were bad, no parts basically a hammered gum. They were improved mightily after Coyote Cap made several trips to China to get the production down right. There are places on the web that list these Chinese clones that are useless. Non repairable and weak assembly with weak parts. Cimarron's are Polytechs, TTN has other branded clones, EAA, and Bounty HUNTER, made by Baikal. Lots of choices, and rule one is let a competent gunsmith look at it.

The Doubles gun or side by side is another are where one has to be cautious as these have been made all over the world. Turkey, China, Russia, and the Balkans to name a few. These are more complex than they appear and most need a tune and fitting right out of the box if you intend to shoot SASS. Otherwise you will be standing on the line unable to continue wondering why the gun won't open to eject.

Stoeger was bought out by Beretta but Beretta will not work on pre-deal Stoegers or any Stoeger that has been modified. Most Stoegers could use two crucial upgrades for the game recommended by the Coyote.
a. Flex hone the chambers to facilitate rounds falling out.
b. Polished the mating surfaces of the opening-closing/locking mechanism so it will pop open easily.

All of these types and styles reflect the diversity of this particular event, it's big and the winners are big in the eyes of those who participate. The firearms are a crucial part of the equation and even more demanding as the age and the condition enter into the mix.