Welcome John!
Glad you dropped by,
Don't worry if you're short a pistol--show up and the club will have bunches of cowpokes that will offer you guns, ammo, leather, you name it. We all started out not having everything at the start. Don't hold off just because you're short some gear.
On to your questions:
You want to look for ammo that is
not loaded to the max. Ligher is better. All you have to do is hit the steel not punch a hole in it :grin: If there is data for the ammo try to stay well away from the 1000 fps. It's legal but potent. If you check out the
Cowboy Chronicle you will find several ammo makers that cater to CAS shooters.
Got one here so let's look:
Ten-X Ammo:
www.ten-x.comPowder, Inc.:
www.powderinc.omPMC Ammo:
? (maybe Google it (when did goggle become a verb?))
Ammo Direct:
www.ammodirect.comUltra Max: (605) 342-4141 (got this from Shoot! magazine)
Marlin is a great choice. Watch the overall (OA) length of your cartridges. Lever actions can be a bit finicky about that; Marlins, Henrys, 66's and 73's--they all can
suffer from this. FYI--My brother has a 66 that throws the spent cases right on top of his hat; getting that weathered look really quickly. I like the side ejection of my Marlins.
Winchester makes Featherlites and I think I heard that there is an Ultra Fleatherlite, too. Ask at Academy or your local outdoors store. If they don't have it they'll get it for you.
Also check with your local CAS club
www.sassnet.com They can steer you to local suppliers. We have a number of club members who reload for fellow cowboys. Nothing formal, just one pard helping out another.
As to a second pistol: remember you have to shoot both pretty much each stage so you will be altering your grip from pistol to pistol; can be done, though. Rugers are built like a tank and will hold up to CAS stresses. Not the pressure of the cartridges, rather the vast number of shots fired throughout the year. Ruger has come out with the Ruger New Vaquero (RNV), built along the lines and size of a Colt. It's just out and the 38's are due till mid Jan or Feb but that's an option. Figure prices will be prime for awhile :oops: Since many of us (myself included) need to have the newest, best whatever there will some old RV's being dropped for good prices. I have used both
www.gunbroker.com and
www.auctionarms.com plus my local gunshop. The SASS classifieds are also a place to look for gun buys
http://www.sassnet.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=4as is the classified section right here at Graybeards.
Here's a link to a test of the RNV (in 38, I might add):
http://www.sassnet.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=100076A good site for general cowboy info is also from Capt George:
http://www.curtrich.com/cowboyphotos.html The good Capt and I misspent part of our youth in RVN so his evaluations are good (for me and many others at least). The SASS wire is worth a look-see; just ignore the idiots that post from time to time.
http://www.sassnet.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=2'Course I biased, but this here is a darn good site, too
Keep those questions coming'
ÇR
