Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Cowboy Action Shooting Is Cowboy Action Dying?

Things change, competitive people go where the competition is, change the rules to make things easier, the result is the exact reverse of the desired effect.
When I started shooting Sporting Clays, I found quite a few World Speed, IPSC, Silhouette and Cowboy Action shooters on the weekly clays line. Clays may well be the most expensive shooting sport, but the expense does not deter the competitive spirit one bit.
Try this on for size, multiple types of guns in the 8-15k each range, A clays cart and clays cart vehicle trailer, several hundered cases of shells of each guage and shot size on hand, annual membership at a club, shoot 100 round sets three times a week with every station setup at a competition set. You need to shoot sub guage class in the mid 90s to even start to be competitive in the 12-16 guage class. Plus you need a half dozen ranges to go to, in order to stay tuned up. Mediocrity does not improve competition or participation, excellence in shooters improves participation, people come to shoot with or against the best.

It took a bit of time for me to get it also, so do not be shocked. It is pretty simple, mountain climbers do not walk up hills. Every single time the preposed answer is less, you get less.

I spent 40+ years as a match director, tried everything I could think of to improve participation, inclusing creating new shooting games. It never occoured to me that difficulty was the only driving force of competition.

Around here it is about dead. The shooters seem to have aged out.
The black rifle crowd now occupies the vast majority of nenches at the club range.

I think so.
I am in the center of Wyoming. Wyoming is called the "Cowboy State" and 20-25 years ago Cowboy Action Shooting was a big thing here.

But those involved were mostly of the age groups that grew up on Westerns both from TV and movies. The next generation had only the connection through the older generation and 3 gun "combat shooting"
So every one I know in Wyoming and also in Nevada and Montana that "used to" shoot CAS or even tried it have told me the same story;
Cowbow Action is over-regulated. "Safety" so strict it's impractical. We look at the "run and gun" shooters and the fact that their safety record is extremely good and then look at the Cowboy-Crowd and I understand the frustration. A lot of money needs to be spent on guns and then on costume, and once spent you are treated like a 4 year old child by a "range master" who will not let you start from the holster with a hand gun or from a combat ready position with a shotgun or rifle, and if you step out of a "box" you are disqualified. To those who can wear street clothing, and only invest in guns, ammo and shooting gear and learn some real skills to go to pre-kindergarten with "Cowboy Rules" is somewhat insulting to their abilities and even to their intelligence. (One thing I have heard objections to is the need to have a "name" to be in the competition I.E. Windy Bill, Prairie sally and so on)

None of these things are "bad' in themselves, but all are very poor policies if the older generations want to instill any interest in the next generation in that sport. Kids and grow up in shooting sports from a generation of constant wars on the news and movies and want to emulate a fight, (to learn the skills) are not impressed with such ridiculous rules, when buying a 9MM pistol, a pump shotgun and an AR15 rifle (Or any 1 of them to start with) give them a LOT of leeway to learn skills with and cost less. And in most cases their intelligence is not insulted in Combat Action shooting.

I am an old muzzleloader guy and I see the same decline in the sport of shooting flintlocks, but the Cowboy Action Crowd seemed to go way too far with their "safety" rules to a point it's not teaching safety at all, but only treating people like they were 4 year olds.

The shooting events looked like fun, but the ridiculous costumes were a turn off. Some even had fantasy names and did role playing. No wonder it's losing popularity. The focus should be on fun competition. They've lost focus.

It is typical of any competitive shooting discipline, to try and get an edge on another shooter to win. Rules got more complicated as people tried to make it more to their liking and modify the sport accordingly.

The first match I shot, was open to any western lever action or single action revolver, and shotguns with hammers. There was both a minimum and maximum power factor so that even a 30-30 or similar rifle would be appropriate when it was below the maximum power factor to be safe and not destroy targets. The minimum power factor made it harder for gamers, because the revolver was supposed to mimic what a real western revolver would have been and recoil was a big part of those guns.

The targets were steel and had to be knocked down to count as a hit, and all the light loaded 38’s and 32’s wouldn’t work so it did keep a more realistic aspect of the guns and what they traditionally were. Scenerios were designed around possible shooting situations and other activities were implemented to make it a fun stage and add to the reality. Before long, rules changed due to the gamer mentality and the gun became a modified tool and not so much of a real western gun.

Soon it became a match of big targets at close range so they could be hit easily and accuracy was not important. Then it morphed into dump targets and anything that facilitated fast shooting with little focus on aiming and shooting a gun like you might have in the 1880’s.

Reverse pawls, stroke kits and many other modifications became allowed and the traditional aspect of the shoot was lost to competitive advantages, so it began to appeal to more specialized shooters than history buffs that just liked guns of the old west.

2008 changed America, and the interest as well as affordability of the sport, saw a decline that hasn’t recovered. Age as well, has contributed to the decline. We still have shoots locally, but not as many and not that well attended anymore. I love the guns and shoot all original guns because I like the history and the role those guns played in the west and growing up watching western films.

It is easier to not go the older I get, but it is still fun for both my wife and myself to shoot. Winning was what changed the game, shooting is what kept it going…

Precisely, at first we had whole families participating. Husbands ,wives, sons, and daughters. Kids wore blue jeans, ball, caps, and tennis shoes. One set of firearms were used by the entire family. More rules, slowly, participation slowed down. First the kids went,then the wives. I quit when SAS ruled no blue jeans. Finally the died hards went to another club that had the strict rules. All the props are gone now. The old berms are used for recreational shooting. New berms/ranges have been dug for the modern 3 gun shoots. Same thing is happening there.

Not in the game, but I think inflation (cost of everything) and ammo availability might be a factor. Hell, Portland, Or is bragging about there being fewer shootings in recent months with all the credit being given to more social services. I think that decline too might be due to available ammo.

Guess it’s a good thing those perps don’t know how to reload.

DF

Yeah. I can't see drive by's coming back to pick up their brass.

Ha!

Nope, but I know some Loony's that may....

DF

Inflation is one thing, cost for the stuff is another, having the monotony of waiting in line with strict rules to shoot the same dang steels over and over only appeals to certain personality types.

From your statement I assume you have never shot a cowboy match and probably haven't even attended one to watch because everything you stated about waiting in line and shooting the same steels over and over is absolutely false. The rules are no more strict than any other competitive shooting discipline and are mostly for safety.

As for the original post about cowboy action dying, I am moving from one area of the country where cowboy action shooting is alive and thriving to another part of the country so I thought I would research and see if I would even have any opportunities to shoot. Turns out the area I am moving to has even MORE cowboy action shooting clubs and matches than the area where I currently live. I can shoot every weekend and several times a month during the week all within an hour drive of where I will be living. I have been watching the score sheets from the matches and it looks like every one has twenty plus shooters at each match. I think cowboy action shooting is more alive than people want to let on.

Priced themselves out of existence. Two pistols, level action rifle, shotgun, and all the leathers. I was in the middle of putting my setup together when I ran into some health issues. I still need to pick up another vaquero and a qualifying shotgun. Maybe a hat🤔

Yes, new guns or guns that have been worked on to go fast can be expensive but that doesn't mean you HAVE to have those guns to get started. The most heard advice for new shooters is to attend a match or two before you buy anything. Several reasons for this, the biggest being that there are lots of things that an unknowing person would think would work for cowboy action shooting because they look "cowboy" actually are not suited for this game. Another big reason that gets overlooked is there is almost always used gear and guns for sale at matches, specially at big ones. This game has been around for almost 40 years and there are lots of guys that have aged out and just can't do it anymore so they all have gear and guns for sale. There are bargains that can be had. Also almost all of us have extra guns and gear just for loaning to new shooters. We all know it is expensive to get started and try to make it as easy as possible to get new shooters involved. You do not need to have everything to get started. The contact info for every club is on the SASS website www.sassnet.com. Contact the club ahead of time, tell them you are a new shooter and want to come try it out. Tell them what guns you don't have or that you don't have any at all and they will arrange for someone to bring guns for you to use. Offer to pay the person for their ammo. This is another reason I really like Cowboy Action Shooting, the people are more helpful and friendly than any other bunch of shooters I have ever been around.

Thinking more about the subject.

It could be a combination of issues discussed here.

It also could be a generational thing. Older guys and gals who like this kinda shooting game are thinning out. They’re dying, getting too old to compete, etc.

The rage with the next generation seem more toward black rifles and tacticool stuff. They see CAS as way too “Fudd”, (looking for a description of how I think they see us.)

I have a warm feeling for Fudd’s. They not so much.
IPSC and similar action shooting sports seem to me more in line with tacticool than CAS.

Maybe we just a bunch of dinosaurs from a different time.

DF

^^^^^
this.

I think it's pretty active at our gun club, judging from the score lists. I'd rather shoot IDPA or USPSA, so that's what I do. We have monthly events in almost every rifle and pistol discipline and most seem well attended. If cowboy stuff were the only thing available, I'd probably get the guns I needed and do it, just because I like to get together with a group and shoot guns, but honestly, I'd rather just shoot one of the disciplines that only require one gun to participate. I like to keep my fun simple and uncomplicated.

I've never shot in the sport, but it's going at our club and they have a big shoot each year. I'm happy for the folks that enjoy it.

I just wish Fast draw competition would have grown. In the early days, Hollywood and Vegas would have shows with big crowds. People liked watching it. Of course I heard that in the 50's over 25 primetime TV shows were westerns.