How to establish a club

[pinto bean]

probably the wrong place,but as i am computer challenged-please bear with me.i live abt 10 miles south of denton,tx. ther apparently is not a cas club within 100 miles. how difficult would it be to form a club? i'm sure that there are interested shooters in the dfw area.

also,there's cas,sass ,etc. what do you need to belong to in order to go shoot in a match?

thanks,
trail boss

[Doc Neeley]

Howdy Trail Boss. All you need to go to a match is guns and ammo and a cowboy hat. People welcome new shooters.
Regarding starting a club, the hardest part is getting the range. To be a SASS affiliated club, you should contact them with questions, but basically you will need insurance (as low as $750 per year) and, if SASS affiliated, name them on the policy. Again call SASS.
Go to shoots and meet folks. They will be more than helpful. My closest place to shoot is 75 miles and I just carpool with another shooter.
Good luck.

[Russ T Chambers]

Trail Boss
The first thing you need is insurance.  Then a range that will allow CAS style shooting.  Then you need targets,  Steel just doesn’t grow on trees. 
What got Roop County Cowboy Shooters Association going was a small group of likeminded people that were willing to commit to getting the club going.  We did it with a group we call the “Founding Fathers”.  They came up with the funds to get everything we needed ,
Put flyers out at local gun stores asking if there is an interest in forming a club, and the go from there.

[Tensleep]

Trail Boss, there is a good club about 60 miles from you in Greenville Texas.

http://www.texastenhorns.com/

All of the Texas SASS clubs are listed here,

http://sassnet.com/AClubs-TX-001A.php

Most any of these folks would be glad to help start a club if you want to.

[Texas Lawdog]

Trail Boss there used to be one in Cleburne and one in Glen Rose.

[Camille Eonich]

Trail Boss
The first thing you need is insurance.  Then a range that will allow CAS style shooting.  Then you need targets,  Steel just doesn’t grow on trees. 
What got Roop County Cowboy Shooters Association going was a small group of likeminded people that were willing to commit to getting the club going.  We did it with a group we call the “Founding Fathers”.  They came up with the funds to get everything we needed ,
Put flyers out at local gun stores asking if there is an interest in forming a club, and the go from there.

I would change this just a bit and say that before putting out money for insurance that you need to find a range.  Even before the range though it would be helpful to get some experience in the game so you know what people expect.

[Col. Riddles]

Before I started Comanche Trail Shootists I had shot in exactly one CAS (acronymn for Cowboy Action Shooting) match. The first thing I did was joined SASS. The next thing was to contact SASS and get their club start up kit. I then made up some posters & lots of brochures about CAS. Next I went to every place in the area that sold guns and asked if I could leave some brochures and a poster and a sign up sheet with them. I asked people who might be interested in starting a club to sign up for a meeting. About 3 months later I called everyone who had signed up and notified them of a meeting to be held in my home. At the meeting I explained CAS to them and showed them a SASS video. Afterwards we voted to form a club and elected officers. I'll give you 3 guesses as to who was elected Trail Boss (president) and the 1st 2 don't count.

All the members at the initial meeting (11) kicked in $200 each to give us some operating capital and we opened a bank account. We also voted that anyone who signed up by a certain date  and kicked in $200 (more operating capital ) could be a charter member for which they would get a numbered engraved sterling silver badge. Regular club member badges would be plain unnumbered nickel.

We then set about getting incorporated with the state comptroller. This is very important. In case of an accident, if the club is unicorporated (under the laws of Texas) every club member could be sued for everything they have. But if the club is incorporated with the state only the club can be sued for it's assets. Our assets consists of a few thousand dollars in the bank,  targets and props, a storage/office building, a computer, two BBQ grills and several picnic tables & benches, & $3,000,000 in liability insurance. Our range is leased land on a private ranch. Although the members were anxious to hold our 1st match, I wouldn't allow it until I had that insurance policy in my hands.

Our club was formed 6-28-95 and our 1st match was held 10-7-95. It was one stage and we had 28 shooters present. The categories were all the SASS categories at the time, modern, traditional & seniors. Oh for the good ol days! I invited the media and the local NBC affiliate showed up and did a piece on us at 6 & 10. (anything for publicity). The club bought several briskets that I smoked on my smoker and everybody brought pot luck and sure had a good time & stuffed ourselves.

You can't have too many CAS clubs, specially with the cost of gas these days. Good luck in getting one started in your area. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

[Howdy Doody]

Sometimes you can tie into an existing club too. You know, you form a club that shoots on a different weekend, share the same range and steel targets. Most of the members of the existing club will shoot the new clubs matches, because they live close by. They might also appreciate the extra money for target purchases and range maintenance and the new club might be able to hook up with the same insurance too.
I used to shoot a range that has 5 clubs that use it. I still do shoot a place that has 3 clubs on it. It is another possibility to check out.

[R.U. Snickering]

Hey Pard, Looks like we are in the same boat! I live between Fort Worth and Denton and would love to have a nearby club to join. If your starting a new club. Count me in.
Craig Sickles
2213 Horseback Trail
Fort Worth, TX 76177


R_U_Snickering@yahoo.com

[Dr. Bob]

RUS,

          http://www.texastenhorns.com/Calendar.htm

This group has both NCOWS & SASS shoots and are near you.

Good shooting!