What do you need to carry your gear when you start of in Cowboy Action Shooting?
Cowboy Action Shooters carry a lot of stuff. Even the light loaders dream from time to time about a gun cart. So I’m sure that sooner or later, if you get involved in cowboy action shooting, you’re going to think about building a gun cart.
Some don’t ever have a cart. Some use both hands to carry their long guns, one rifle and one shotgun, and they carry a bag or bucket. The real authentic types carry saddlebags. This is not always cheap way to go, even cheap saddlebags cost around $100. And these stalwart souls end up needing the friendship of those shooters that pull or push a big wagon when a long walk is looming ahead of them.
So make yourself a cheap cart, for starters. Use a handcart, you might even own one. Get a wooden box or an old nightstand and attach it to the cart. You can use simple bungee cords or U-bolts. Probably three feet wide will do this cart just fine. You’ll want some kind of bracket on the end, just to hold the long guns from side to side. These can be just simple things; you don’t need to be a cabinetmaker. Another board across the top at about 3 –4 feet high will hold the tops of your long guns. You might want to use a little padding on the board. Make sure that your guns can be stored with the actions OPEN when they are in your cart. For rifles or pump shotguns, this is easy enough, but if you’re using a pump, then you might want to make a little measurement or put a small block. You can also use a piece of leather to put in the break to keep the shotgun from closing. Elastic cords, leather thongs or even rope will hold your guns in place. There are many ways to secure your guns, limited only by your imagination. Take a look at Abilene’s cart. I think it is one of the most creative, versatile and cheap ones around.
A quick note on gun handling. CAS is rough on guns. Some of us who grew up handling guns with soft hands and oiled rags took a while to get used to the wear that is quickly shown by our guns. This is completely normal. In fact, it really put me in touch with my grandparents and other forebears; these guns are treated like tools not toys.
This is just the beginning. You can get big flat 4-wheel carts from Harbor Freight or build from scratch. You can build it fancy or simple, heavy or light. But you will build it. Trust me.
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This article is from the Tejas Caballeros 2nd quarter newsletter for 2003. It is protected by copyright.
Adios amigos,
