SASS probably contributed as much to the demise as anything. Somehow, feeling empowered to regulate, SASS became the organization that set standards that they thought were best and many people followed.
When Cowboy Action first started, they had power factors that had a maximum and minimum rating to make things safe, yet keep with the tradition of old west guns. The minimum made the gun, whether rifle or pistol, shoot a powerful enough round to knock over a target, not just ring it. The maximum was so that a guy with a 30-30 or similar cartridge, could still shoot, but with cast bullets at a reduced load to keep it safe.
There was also a part of the game that required good shooting. They wanted you to dress in the traditional style of the 1880’s and look the part.
SASS steps in and makes it more about dressing up than the importance of the old west guns. They dropped power factors, allowed modifications to firearms to make them slick and quick, and then it started to attract “gamers” and speed shooting large targets at close distances.
It’s too bad that any competitive sport morphs into what CAS has, but it is the same in any shooting discipline, as someone has to get an advantage, then someone else has to regulate it and the original intent is lost to modifications…
Precisely what happened around here. Initially we had the entire family shooting, but it got to expensive to outfit all of them.
