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Starting Cowboy Action Guns

knightrider
I wanted to know what would be the best guns for a person starting in Cowboy Action Shooting. I could go with two percussion cap revolvers, a rifle, and a shotgun or two Colt 1873 look-a-likes. What I need to know is the cheapest and the most reliable way to go with the revolvers and a rifle. I am looking at a .44 cal for percussion cap revolvers, .357/.38 for the colt look-a-likes, and .357/.38 for the rifle. Ruger and Marlin are two that come to mind but what is you take on the route I should take?

Knightrider
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    Check with EMF Corporation in Santa Ana, California....They have a WEB SITE......They handle all types of Guns for the CASS shooter....and quite reasonable to boot.....I hear that they take in Trade-Ins and sell them at a really decent Price....

    Captain Kirk, Tech Staff
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  • forthhorseman
    Uberti of Italy makes a fine line of clones at very reasonable prices. They make Colt and Remington clones, both cartridge and cap & ball as well as fine reproduction Colt cartridge conversions and a fine Smith & Wesson Schofield clone. They also make great Winchester rifle clones. They are excellent quality and very reasonably priced and their "old model" frame Colt SAA revolvers are the most like the real thing I've ever seen for the money. They can be had from Stoeger, Navy Arms, Cimarron of Texas and EMF and some others as well. I think even Cabellas carries some of the Uberti models. I'd say the ones from Cimarron are probably the best in terms of finish and correctness to period. The ones from Stoeger are probably the most reasonably priced and readily available right now. Stoeger also has one of the best side by side coach guns for CAS.

    http://www.stoegerindustries.com/

    http://www.uberti.com/

    http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/Default.htm

    http://www.emf-company.com/404.html

    http://www.navyarms.com/

    Of course as far as Colt SAA type revolvers go, you can't go wrong with a Ruger Vaquero either. Or if you want to go cap & ball, Ruger also makes their Old Army black powder/cap & ball revolver.

    Realize too that if you decide to go with a Marlin or a real Winchester 94 style rifle, it has to be in a hand gun caliber like the Win 94 Legacy 24" in .45Colt or .357Mag. or even .44Mag. Except for certain long range rifle competitions, no rifle only calibers are allowed in standard CAS rules. I hear the Marlin Lever Action Cowboy rifles in handgun calibers are great. I don't think the Ruger lever actions qualify because they don't use a tube magazine.

    As for myself, I love the Uberti of Italy guns. I have two Uberti Colt SAA clones, an Uberti S&W Schofield, an Uberti 1851 Colt Navy Richards-Mason cartridge conversion and an Uberti 1871-72 Colt Opentop, an Uberti 73 Winchester .44-40, and a Charles Daly Liberty II 12ga outside hammer coach gun.
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  • richbug
    I have 2 SA 44's ending on auction in about a day. One is a ruger, the other a colt clone. The way the auction is going they are gonna go for about $300 for the pair. Search for seller "richbug" As for a rifle, buy a marlin, the guys with the winchesters seem to have nothing but trouble with them. For a shotgun, any SXS in 12 or 20 ga will do.

    here is a link to the revolvers, http://gunbroker.com/Auction/SellerAuctions.asp?User=251684
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  • gskyhawk
    knightrider if you would be interest in them I have a Ruger Old army fixed sight that is NIB and a Rossi Puma rifle in 357mag , that is in good shape that i could list here on GB
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  • rsnyder55
    I got my lever action Marlin and SXS Norinco shotgun from Big 5. They usually have them on sale every couple of weeks or so. Only problem w/ Big 5 is that they only stock the 357 and 44 mag's. No more 45LC.
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  • Throckmorton
    Have you gone to the main SASS page and read the Shooters' Handbook? The type of firearms you purchase will determine to some extent the catagory or catagories that you can shoot in.
    Of course the simple solution is to just go clean out the gun store.:)
    www.sassnet.com


    Throckmorton SASS #23149
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  • chuck
    Get ready to spend a lot of money, Takes about $3000.00 to get started if you have to buy gun's and leather and your out fit. And dont forget to make or buy a Cart to haul all your stuff around, And last but not least AMMO.[:0]
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  • knightrider
    I have been to SASS's web site and bought some books on the subject. The one plus side that I should have mentioned is I have a reproduction .44 cal 1858 Remington and a double barreled 12ga shotgun. The only problem is the shotgun has a Damascus barrel. I know that these are a red flag when it comes to shooting however I have been shooting low grade smokeless bird shot for years with no problems yet. I have quit using the gun as of late due to warning from friends but, I am willing to use black powder if it means that I can use it. With the Remington I do not like it as much as a Colt 1860 that I used to have but, it is a little bit more stable than the colts. The Remington is built for someone with bigger hands than mine or a longer thumb. I guess my real question should be do I get another black powder or get a cartridge gun?
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  • forthhorseman
    I'd get cartridge guns. You'll need 2 revolvers, a lever action (or pump action like a Colt Lightning) tube magazine rifle in a handgun caliber and you'll need a shot gun. The shot gun can be either a side by side or a pump but if it's a pump it has to have an outside hammer like the Winchester 97. Get a rifle in the same caliber as your revolvers. This will make your whole ammo issue, loading, etc., much easier on you.

    There are classes in CAS that allow black powder cartridge, so if you love the smell and the smoke of BP but also want the convenience of cartridge, you can shoot in the class that allows BP cartridge.

    The guns you choose pretty much all depends on what class you choose to shoot. So the best thing to do is to read the SASS manual and decide which class sounds like the best fit for you, then go buy the guns that will work in that class.

    As far as that old 12ga you mention, I wouldn't use it. I'd get a new (or good used) coach gun.
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  • modoc
    I M H O you should go watch what goes on in several matches and THEN determine what way to go.The main way to get proficiant in any sport is PRACTICE,PRACTICE, again and again..I for one would tire very fast of having to load those dern stuffers so many times to get good enough to compete..only you can decide how much work you are willing to do.I agree that the old cap-balls are a kick to use occasionally, but for cas,cartridge guns are more reasonable.If you really need the SMOKE,load them with the Black subsitute powder,much easier to cleanup.modoc

    BILL
    KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY.BUT NOT HOT.....single action S&Ws are keepers
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