C&B Revolvers and CAS

[AtlLaw]

Hey all you Cowboy Action Shooters.  Cuts said something in the "Tallow" thread about digging out his C&B revolvers to use again in CAS.  That got me to wondering... 

When do you load your C&B revolvers for shooting them in a CAS match?  Seems to me using a C&B would (a) be a major safety concern for some folk if they are loaded behind the line, or (b) slow down the match considerably if they are loaded at the firing point.   

I'd like to try CAS since we have a very active group at my gun club but I know very little about it.   

[Flint]

Loading cap & ball revolvers is not a safety hazard.  Shooters often load behind the line at the unloading table while checking guns of the other shooters as they finish.  Another option often used is to load on a cylinder loading stand/press attached to or on the shooting cart or the unloading table.  If you have spare cylinders, load several at the range, or at home the night before the match.

Cap & ball cylinders are not considered loaded until they are capped.  Capping MUST be done at the loading table only, or on the line if there is a reload required in the stage, as only 5 chambers are allowed to be capped, but one can be loaded.  It is also permitted to use a second staged uncapped revolver for a required reload on the firing line.  Capping also should NOT be done with the cylinder removed from the revolver, as convenient as it might appear, as a capped cylinder is a hazard if dropped.

Speed is not a problem with spare cylinders, and even with one cylinder, a loading stand like the "Tower of Power" is much faster than loading with the gun's own loading lever.  Actually, under a lot of use, the loading stand will save bending loading levers and rammer linkage.

Loading cylinders off the gun also allows black powder fouling to be wiped off between stages.

[Cuts Crooked]

I would charge the chambers at the unloading table, while overseeing other shooters. I didn't use a loading tool, jist the "onboard system", but I've been pretty impressed by the various devices I've seen for loading them out of the gun.

Another option I've seen is to have a bunch of spare cylinders, pre-charged. Nice for those who can afford it. One of the pards who used to post in the CAS forums here, Howdy Doody, hada enough cylinders to get him through an entire match, if I recall correctly.

It should be noted that the pards who shoot C&Bs in CAS are a pretty dedicated bunch, almost a breed apart so to speak. They'll go to great lengths to make their guns function through a match and they accept that they will probably never be Top Gun at End of Trail.......but they sure do have big smiles on their faces when they finish a stage!

[coyotejoe]

The only cowboy match I ever shot was with cap & ball, I finished pretty near the bottom overall, I did beat a couple of women and kids but a bunch of women and kids beat me.
 Anyhow, it made sense to me to load behind the line and just cap at the loading station but I got chewed out for that, the RO said he understood it wasn't dangerous but it "looked' dangerous and made people "nervous". I guess he'd wet his panties if he ever attended a black powder match where everyone loads behind the line.

[Graybeard]

I went to one CAS match. Oh they were great at preaching safety and made a great show of it with a loading and unloading table. But in reality they were the most unsafe group of folks I've ever shot with or around with the exception of a few true idiots on public ranges. I never went back to another after that first one.

I felt it an absolute miracle no one was shot at that event. I don't think anyone there had a clue of what firearms safety really is. Having a loading and unloading table ain't firearms safety. It's making damn sure you never point a loaded gun at something ya don't wanna shoot. I saw exactly that loaded guns pointed at fellow shooters at EVERY station I fired at and often saw them shooting at targets mere feet from folks setting up other targets. I came really close to stopping and just coming home early from that one but being aware of what was going on made sure I was way out of the line of fire of those dummies.

[AtlLaw]

I went to one CAS match.

Well Will'um, that's one more then I've been to!  I know several people who are really into it, although I've never really felt like playing cowboy... 

The HP shooters at my club rag the CAS people pretty bad, calling the high spot their ranges are on "Broke Back Mountain."   

It seems like a heck ofa good oportunity to do a lot of shooting though.  More then just punching holes in paper...  Now if I could just get my M97 back from the G'smith that has had it for the last 4 or 5 years...

[Cuts Crooked]

I went to one CAS match. Oh they were great at preaching safety and made a great show of it with a loading and unloading table. But in reality they were the most unsafe group of folks I've ever shot with or around with the exception of a few true idiots on public ranges. I never went back to another after that first one.

I felt it an absolute miracle no one was shot at that event. I don't think anyone there had a clue of what firearms safety really is. Having a loading and unloading table ain't firearms safety. It's making damn sure you never point a loaded gun at something ya don't wanna shoot. I saw exactly that loaded guns pointed at fellow shooters at EVERY station I fired at and often saw them shooting at targets mere feet from folks setting up other targets. I came really close to stopping and just coming home early from that one but being aware of what was going on made sure I was way out of the line of fire of those dummies.

Different clubs/different strokes I guess.

The CAS matches I've attended over the years have been the safest matches I've ever seen anywhere.

[Graybeard]

Yes I'm sure it likely was just the way that club was run. I'm certainly not trying to say any other clubs were like that or necessarily that other matches even there were run that way. It's just that the folks shooting in cycle near enough to me were quite dangerous and the folks in charge of safety and others as well just seemed oblivious to it. I called it to their attention once when a fellow started walking down range directly into the line of fire. He was called back but honestly they seemed pissed that I brought it up. I suspect he would have gotten shot otherwise however.

The game just quickly didn't do much for me. I love shooting metal silhouettes and used to compete in NRA competition so thought I'd like it but speed and single actions aren't my thing. I prefer precision shooting and like DA guns over SA so it really just wasn't me. Shooting targets at five yards larger than I was used to at 50 meters and seeing how fast ya could do it just isn't the kinda shooting I like.