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What is Cowboy Action?

1K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Qwiks draw 
#1 ·
I was looking over some of the rifles on the Taurus website and I noticed they mention "cowboy action". Now I was raised around guns all my life so I know some of the basics but in the last year or two I've really just now started paying attention.

I thought "cowboy action" meant lever action, but these are pump rifles. The idea of a pump rifle is a bit odd to me in general. I'm sort of used to lever action or bolt action for things like deer hunting. I always thought "cowboy action" was another name for lever action but since these are pumps I'm a bit stumped.

Does anyone else think a pump action rifle is a bit out of the norm? Pros? Cons? Opinions?

Can someone define exactly what Cowboy Action means? Is the hat mandatory? I have a huge head and have to special order hats :)
 
#2 ·
In general "Cowboy Action" refers to the Shooting Matches held by the SASS (Single Action Shooters Society), where paticipants show up in Old Time Western Cowboy Costume with the associated Firearms, and hold a timed shooting Target Match.
 
#4 ·
merddyn2002 said:
so it has absolutely nothing to do with the "action" of the gun?

how confusing.
It's a competition. I think rules allow any firearm or clone produced before 1898, so some old DA guns like a Colt Lightening would be legal, but mostly they use single actions. 1897 Winchesters and clones are popular for the shotgun, a pump, but any double barrel is legal regardless of when it was designed, so they allow hammerless doubles. The Rossi M92 lever carbine is popular for rifles along with other lever guns. And, they allow such as the Ruger Vaquero even though it's a modern design, it's still a single action of traditional pattern.

They shoot shotgun, revolver, and rifle in the matches, might be from a fake horse, across a card table, all sorts of old west scenarios. I never got into it, didn't seem all that practical. I prefer more modern action games, IDPA, that sort of thing. My favorite competitions are those involving one on one between shooters on pepper poppers. I've had a blast doing pepper poppers. Was into pins for a while, but I just can't get into calling myself "Black Bart", dressing in a western costume, and walkin' around like Billy the Kid. ROFL! I guess it just ain't me. I prefer more practical shooting competitions with modern guns. I'm sure it's a lot of fun, though. I've yet to shoot ANYthing that wasn't fun, even IHMSA ....yawn.... had its fun factor. Buddy got me into that, like plinking long range. Drive 150 miles to fire 40 rounds and sit around and BS. Nah....LOL.

The "action" in "cowboy action shooting" refers to the fact that it's done for speed against the clock. There are other action games like IDPA, IPSC, etc. Cowboy action is done with cowboy era guns and cowboy scenarios.
 
#5 ·
Try www.sassnet.com and this should bring you up to speed on Cowboy shooting. Actually the above hombres already took care of most if not all of it, but thought this might be worth a gander. This has the whole schmeer of what you are asking.

Gotta go put the feed bag on the old nag. ;D
 
#7 ·
Well. If a wanted hombre needed a disguise, that may be the only one left for them. The Adams apple would give them away. ;D Women in the old West were not always the pretty kind. Life being rough on the frontier and all.

Gives new meaning to the phrase," what ever blows up your skirt". :)
 
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