An Intro­duc­tion to Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing Clothing

Dress Right for the Part with a Low-Cost Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing Costume

If you’re just start­ing out in Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing, you’ll need a few more things apart from your shoot­ing irons and leather. While guns and leather are a pricey but essen­tial part of your col­lec­tion, look­ing the part by hav­ing the right wardrobe is just as impor­tant in any CAS event. If you’re still sav­ing (or have already spent) your money on firearms and leather, then you prob­a­bly want to spend a lit­tle less on your cos­tume, for the time being at least.

This cow­boy shoot­ing sport is a blend of his­tor­i­cal re-enactment and a Hol­ly­wood west­ern film set. Par­tic­i­pants may wear any style of cos­tume they pre­fer, as long as it is typ­i­cal of the late 1800’s, a cow­boy TV series, and a clas­sic B-western movie. Much empha­sis is given to the use of cos­tume as it adds to the unique­ness of the sport, and helps gen­er­ate a cor­dial and relaxed atmos­phere that rein­forces the inti­mate cama­raderie advo­cated among competitors.

All par­tic­i­pants must be in cos­tume and, if pos­si­ble, invited fam­ily and guests should also be in west­ern attires. Levi, Lee, and Wran­gler den­ims are allowed but mod­ern designer jeans with embroi­deries and col­ored pip­ing are not.

Assem­bling Your Basic Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing Wardrobe

You will also want to get a cow­boy hat, boots, and long-sleeved work shirt. If your bud­get allows, you can pur­chase a ban­danna and cut off the jeans’ belt loops and add sus­penders. For most clubs and in most cases, these are all you’ll need for your basic cos­tume and many mem­bers are sat­is­fied with that. How­ever, if you wish to take your Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing apparel above the basic, you can still do so with­out break­ing the bank.

You can search for western-style cot­ton work shirts with but­ton fronts and banded col­lar at the Sal­va­tion Army, Good­will, and other thrift stores. They are also sold at K-Mart, J.C. Pen­ney, Sears, and Wal-Mart stores. They sell any­where from $3 to $5. If banded col­lar shirts are not avail­able, then reg­u­lar dress shirts can be altered by cut­ting off its col­lar at the seam.

Sneak­ers and ten­nis shoes are not tol­er­ated. If you’re still sav­ing up for a pair of cow­boy boots, then leather work boots will work at the moment. Base­ball caps are like­wise not allowed.

Where to Get the Best Idea for a Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing Clothing

To know your cos­tume, you need to spend some time dig­ging cow­boy pho­tos and watch­ing west­ern movies. How­ever, to give you a clearer idea of how you must dress, you should visit a few matches. Most shoot­ers even­tu­ally come up with ter­rific period cos­tumes and you’ll see them at the shoot­ing events. As a new shooter, you’ll be allowed some time to assem­ble your wardrobe until you have shot for at least a cou­ple of months.

Watch­ing an actual CAS shoot­ing com­pe­ti­tion will give you a bet­ter idea of the rules of the sport and what you’ll need in order to par­tic­i­pate. Intro­duce your­self to the mem­bers and ask them what you need to know. You’ll find that cow­boy shoot­ing par­tic­i­pants are some of the most socia­ble peo­ple around and will be more than will­ing to give their advice.

The goal here is to have a clear pic­ture of what the right Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing cloth­ing should look like.