How to Get Started in Cowboy Action Shooting (An Overview)

Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing Cos­tumes and Alias

 

Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing (CAS), which also goes by the names of Sin­gle Action Shoot­ing and West­ern Action Shoot­ing, is one of the fastest grow­ing divi­sions of the shoot­ing sports as it con­tin­ues to attract new mem­bers after it’s been around for over 30 years. It started in the 1970’s when a group of Cal­i­for­nia shoot­ers, inspired by the clas­sic west­ern film The Wild Bunch, started to engage in reg­u­lar cowboy-style shoot­ing competitions.

 

 

The idea of an Old West com­pet­i­tive shoot­ing sport spread and led to the cre­ation of the Sin­gle Action Shoot­ing Soci­ety (SASS) in 1981. The SASS is the largest Cow­boy Shoot­ing orga­ni­za­tion today with more than 75,000 mem­bers worldwide.

Why Being a Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing Mem­ber is Cool

If you’re inter­ested in this type of shoot­ing sport, be sure to attend one of the events that may be held near your local­ity. Start by say­ing “Howdy” to the folks there so you can find out more about the sport. You can also visit one of the SASS-affiliated orga­ni­za­tions in your area to really get a feel of the cow­boy action shoot­ing sport.

You don’t need to be a mem­ber of SASS when you start out in Cow­boy Shoot­ing, but mem­ber­ship offers a lot of ben­e­fits. Your entry fee will get you a year’s mem­ber­ship, a mem­ber­ship ID card, a badge, the SASS Shooter’s Hand­book, a decal, and one-year’s sub­scrip­tion to the Cow­boy Chron­i­cle. You’ll be glad you signed up.

 

Dress for the Part

 

Unlike other shoot­ing sports, Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing is the only one with a dress code. It requires you to dress up for the part which, in fact, makes this sport fun and unique. The efforts put into the cos­tumes by mem­bers are truly excep­tional. You don’t have to break the bank on cloth­ing to get started. You can if you can afford to, though.

You can visit a lot of tai­lor­ing shops that spe­cial­ize in period attire. You can also cre­ate your own cos­tume if you pre­fer. Remove the belt loops from an old button-fly jeans. Then, sew on some but­tons if you want to use old-time sus­penders. Now you have your­self a pair of cow­boy pants. You can buy the rest of your apparel such as work shirts or ban­dan­nas from a used cloth­ing store or Sears. Get a cow­boy hat, gun belt, hol­sters and a fine pair of cow­boy boots and you’re ready to gal­lop into the sunset.

Over time, you’ll be able to cre­ate or buy other cos­tumes. Be care­ful, how­ever, as you may spend more than you needed and buy stuff you never imag­ined you would. And totally enjoy it. You can base your char­ac­ter and cos­tumes on:

 

• A real Old West fig­ure from the 1800’s

• A fic­tional 1800’s fig­ure from your favorite cow­boy novel, film, or TV show

• A com­pletely made-up char­ac­ter out of the 1800’s, com­plete with an alias like Shaky “Lefty” McGurn or Dead-Eye Mary (for women)

Name Your Character

See those funny-sounding names up there? Their aliases, and you’re required to have one for your own in this shoot­ing sport. Your alias can be based gen­er­ally on the char­ac­ter you choose, and mak­ing up a unique name is one of the really fun parts of this sport.

• What is your character’s pro­fes­sion? A doc­tor, bounty hunter, a sher­iff, a dance hall girl?

• What is their most out­stand­ing phys­i­cal fea­ture? Shorty, Shifty, Lefty, One-Eyed, Three-fingers – you get the idea.

• Aliases can also be based on your character’s gen­eral dis­po­si­tion. You can start with some­thing like Gen­tle­man Roy, Mad Dog Sam, or Trig­ger Happy Mama.

The more orig­i­nal and unique your name is, the bet­ter. Don’t use an obscene or offensive-sounding name. Choose a Cow­boy Action Shoot­ing alias that’s gen­er­ally print­able for dif­fer­ent audi­ences and make sure that no one else is cur­rently own­ing it.