Reverend 

I must agree we are on basically the same page.  Almost.  The "Go Fast" '87 guys and gals, whom have invested in the appropriate action work and the fabled "Drop Two" mod are able to demonstrate some real speed.  Doesn't change the fact, an '87 just ain't a Hammer Double.  SO:

I am a firm believer, it matters NOT how well or fast you shoot, so long as you look REALLY REALLY good doing it.  It's a GAME and STYLE matters you betcha!!

Where I shoot, we can load 87's to the max the way they were supposed to be shot. The same with 97's. No penalty for not shooting a SxS.

Howdy Popcorn,
Nice range.  I keep forgetting that y'all have to shut down for the winter.  I guess that's a good time to get a year's worth of reloading done!

Your "Open Range" category is called Sharpshooter around these parts.  Several clubs offer it, with the rifle targets ranging from around 15-20 yards at a club with a rear berm to 50-ish yards or more at the clubs that use those targets for Cody Dixon (including Plum Creek where you shot recently).  It is a nice alternative for folks that want a little more accuracy challenge.

As we announced on March 19th, we are incorporating a long-range option into our regular cowboy May match.  Our regular cowboy shooters will shoot the 6-stage match at our standard target distance of about 12’ for pistols and 30’ for rifles.  However, for those wanting the extra challenge of shooting a longer-range match, we’ve added a third set of targets which will allow them to shoot pistols at targets set at about 30’ and Rifle targets set to about 60’ or so. 
We’ve even created a new cowboy category for those that want to shoot the distant targets – We’re calling this category Open Range.  We set up a simple 3 target stage a few days ago for a test run,
5 shooters participated in the test run.  Each shot the same stage twice – once using our standard target distances and then again at our longer-range distances.  This is what we saw.

Go a bit further back and guerillas, I do not really remember reading much about carbines with them.  I read shotguns, then pistols, lots and lots of pistols.   

The Army went to a scabbard for a couple of reasons.  The old carbine sling and socket did absolutely nothing to protect the piece, and it also pretty much ensured the carbine stock would be broken and the trooper injured if he was thrown while wearing it.  Personally, me being on a horse, especially if I tried to fire a firearm while there, would be extremely bad for both me and the horse!