The Price Of Guns Is Making This A Richmans Only Sport

[smoke maker]

It seems i have steped on some toes. when it comes to the cost of guns and gear its a lot of money  for me. Guns alone $6oo.oo for a pair of used  pistols. Rifle another 350.00 used if you can find one. Shotgun 250.00. Thats 1200.00 on the cheap Now i no all of you paid far less or saw this deal for a better price but here in New Mexico theses are cheap prices.  Speaking for just me thats a lot of cash to lay out on hobby.   

[Mad River Frank]

Staying with two BP revolvers, and hammer double shotgun and a Mod 1866 will still cost quite a bit of money.  And, guns do break with extended usage--usually springs and such.  But the big expense is the ammo.  You reload or you don't.  If you reload, you can save a bundle.  If you don't, it'll cost.  Hunting has also become a rich man's sport--unless one lives very near public hunting lands.  I quit hunting decades ago when the few deer lingering in the county became the Ia Drang Valley again.  Well, I'm straying far afield from the original message.  One can go cheaply via EMF for one's long guns and BP revolvers.  Leather is available via Cabela's for under $150 for two holsters and a belt.  Add another belt and you've spent $200.  Costuming costs, but a little work with a seam splitter and needle and thread can convert a pair of jeans into a sort of 19th century pair of trousers.  One can also get a Henley T-shirt in white, natural or red (as a 19th century undershirt), a cheap vest at a thrift store, and a good pair of moccasins in lieu of boots.  Not all gunfighters of the old west wore boots.  "Liver Eatin'" Johnson preferred moccasins to boots every day of the week, and he was the marshal of Red Lodge, Montana for several years before he moved to California in 1900.  CAS can cost a bundle, or you can get by with the rig I've suggested.  However, expect to pay several thousand dollars for firearms.  My rig consists of a Kirst converted Pietta 1858 Remington in .45LC, a Cimarron Richards-Mason 1860 Army conversion in .45LC, a Cimarron 1860 Henry in .45LC, and an EMF hammered double coach gun in 12 guage.  The most expensive item was the Henry.  The other three guns set me back about $500 each with tax and dealer fees.  My jeans are "converted" Levi's, my shirt is one I bought from Crazy Crow Trading post worn outside my jeans, and a great pair of Minnetonka "Apache" boots.  My leather is by Oklahoma Leather purchased from Cabela's along with the "shotgun" belt I bought from them.  Altogether, my rig set me back (over the span of two years as I'd borrrow guns from posse members who weren't shooting the same time as me) just under $4000.  I don't reload, so that is my major expense.  But I shoot Frontier Cartridge class, so I buy my GOEX BP ammo from Track of the Wolf more cheaply than some other online ammo sellers.  There are additional expenses like a cart to haul your arsenal around.  Darn, I just made the case for your argument

[delmar]

It seems i have steped on some toes. when it comes to the cost of guns and gear its a lot of money  for me. Guns alone $6oo.oo for a pair of used  pistols. Rifle another 350.00 used if you can find one. Shotgun 250.00. Thats 1200.00 on the cheap Now i no all of you paid far less or saw this deal for a better price but here in New Mexico theses are cheap prices.  Speaking for just me thats a lot of cash to lay out on hobby.   

Not to worry friend, I doubt if anyone's toes are feeling too smashed. Truth is everyone here knows that CAS is somewhere between a bit expensive and "oh my gosh" expensive. The point I believe most of us are trying to make is that, if you enjoy it enough to make it worth your while,  you can probably find ways to make it work, that don't involve selling a kidney, or taking a second mortgage on your house. So if you decide that CAS is too expensive for you, I, for one, am not going to hold it against you.

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[Anvil Al]

Hobbys cost.
That is just a fact.
Could buy all my guns and the wifes for what the Motorcycle cost.
Or just one of the horses. Let along the up keep on the horses. One good saddle cost as much as the guns.
And if money is tight. Those guns don't have to eat when sitting in the safe.
Hate to think whay my Sister paid for her Golf Clubs. Let alone what she pays every week to go play.

If fact. Once you get your stuff bought. SASS gets pretty cheap. And you are more likly to get most your money
back on Guns. No so with alot of other things.

Spending time shooting with SASS Pards?  Price Less.

[Major 2]

You want costly.... I was a CW cavalry reenactor (also TexMex, Seminole War and some Rev War & 1812 events too.)

Horses, Feed, Farrier work, vet bills...hmmm... Featherlight Gooseneck dressing room horse Trailer, Ford super duty tow truck
and that was 99-03

before that ... well another Featherlight Bumper pull two horse rig, Oh! and a Used Motorhome..

Let see ....over 30 years in the hobby ..6 Horse trailers , 6  tow vehicles + the above moterhome  .... can I count the ranchett I bought for my horses ? course I live there too...
or just the Boarding fees before the ranchette.

Fuel , oil and mantaince for 6 Trucks + the MH to events as far as Texas, and Penn. and Ill. and most states in between.
for 30 years of eventing 8 t0 10 events a year plus the In state of Florida events.


Then there is the gear.... CW (both impressions)  TexMex...Rev & War of 1812...

Heck CAS is bargain  

[smoke maker]

Never mind might as well delete this post. Just wanted to no why a 22 class could not be made. 22 were made and used in the time frame.

[panhead pete]

Hey There Smoke Maker,

I feel your pain amigo.  Most of us probably have no kids or grown kids, so not knowing your financial situation, I can not say one way or another how far out of reach CAS is for you.  Like some of the folks have mentioned, Cap & Ball would be a great way to break into the sport.  No cartridges or reloading to worry about and the guns are a bunch cheaper. 

The 22 round is not used because of its low recoil and power factor.  They are used in many side matches but only for kids in main match.  IF THEY DID allow 22, all the gamer / fast guys would switch in a heart beat!   

Good luck,

Panhead Pete, who hath no young uns.....
   

[delmar]

Never mind might as well delete this post. Just wanted to no why a 22 class could not be made. 22 were made and used in the time frame.

They could be. Start your own club! I would join!

[Dr. Bob]

Smoke Maker,

2 revolvers @ $350, Rifle @ $750 & shotgun @ $350.  Ya got off easy!!

Revolvers - Beretta Stampede  1 Used

Rifle - 1873 Winchester - Uberti   Used

Shotgun - R. Richards antique 12 ga.  Shoot BP in it!  Used

[Major 2]

Never mind might as well delete this post. Just wanted to no why a 22 class could not be made. 22 were made and used in the time frame.

Wasn't my intent to flame...I was just "tongue in cheek"........

[St. George]

Actually, the .22 of the time frame was a 'Gallery Rifle' and came about for use in shooting galleries.

It was never a serious choice for a man, and during the era there were relatively few weapons chambered for it.

Take a page from NCOWS' methods to build a low-cost outfit by starting first in a Public Library to figure out what you wish to portray - then at the Thrift Stores to start assembling it.

A review of the Time-Life series 'The Old West' is a good beginning place to start.

Armed with some practical knowledge of what you're looking for, you'll spend far less than you'd think, and won't be sidetracked by stuff you really don't need.

As to weapons - there are Pawn Shops and Gun Shows that deal primarily with 'Black Guns' and view older weapons as a drag on the market.

Places/dealers like those 'will' want to move product and there are bargains to be had.

Use your version of the 'Thrifty Nickel' weekly to see who's selling what - a helluva lot of reloading equipment gets sold that way and at Garage Sales.

'Oklahoma Leather' is low-cost - a good example of what was actually available at a Dry Goods store or mail-order catalog of the times - and used gear can often be found at a shoot.

Either will do until you want to upgrade.

The 'Shooting Sports' have always been somewhat expensive - ask any Trap Shooter - but C&WAS doesn't have to be as expensive as you might imagine.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[PABLO DEL NORTE]

  USED GUNS ARE THERE; IT'S JUST A MATTER OF LOOKIN' ENUF. YA GOTTA BE A "GUN STORE RAT"
AND JUS' KEEP LOOKIN' & ASKIN'.
I'M IN THE SAME BOAT, NEW GUNS ARE OUT OF MY RANGE UNLESS THERE IS A GOOD SALE. ALL OF MINE ARE USED FROM A 12 GA. STOEGER TO .38 COLT/SPL., ALL OF'EM OFF OF LAYAWAY.DON'T GIVE UP

[Drayton Calhoun]

I got into Buckskinning about twenty years ago, I do all my own leather, most other clothing, wear mocs I made, several of my guns were built from kits and many others were bought through pawn shops and through the classifieds. Believe me, it's not as expensive as it seems. LOL, I got a brand new ASM Walker Colt in El Cajon, CA for 125.00 in '85, now I wish I had gotten one each of the others they had on sale, sigh.

[TomBullweed]

How expensive is it to sit at home on a nice Saturday and miss out on our sport, our friends and being more active than upholstery?
In the 1880's, a Colt's SAA cost a month's wages to a cowboy at $15-$20.  A Colt 1878 shotgun sold for around $80 which equaled three to four months of salary for a wrangler.  Compare that with what we earn today and the greatly improved quality of our guns.  I like that fact that only someone dedicated to really wanting to be in our sport can play and that the costs are high enough to make me want to make the best of my efforts at improving and having a good time.  I can't imagine what the sport would look like if the costs were 20-25% of what they actually are.

[Stillwater]

Actually, the .22 of the time frame was a 'Gallery Rifle' and came about for use in shooting galleries.

It was never a serious choice for a man, and during the era there were relatively few weapons chambered for it.

<snip>

I know that the various Pump, or slide action rifles, were primarily thought of, as "Gallery Rifles."

I'm kind of snooty about .22 rifles. I have some good ones. I have an unfired Winchester 62A. I also have a Rossi replica of the Winchester 62, one of their first iterations, that is a surprisingly good quality rifle. This particular rifle is built to higher standards than the current rifles of that type are being built to.

I have a Winchester/Miroku High Grade Low Wall in .22 Long Rifle and a Winchester model 52 sporter, along with several other bolt action .22 rifles. I have a Winchester/Miroku 63 standard grade rifle, and another Winchester/Miroku 63 that is a High Grade. I also have some of the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22 rifles.

When, or what era, did the Stevens and other small .22 caliber rifles start being extensively used? That is an interesting question to me. I know about the .22 cartridge, in it's various iteratiions, being a development from the original Flobert Parlor guns.

I never really thought about when the .22 rifle started becoming one of the mainstays, of country life.

I entered this realm in 1936 and the .22 rifle, like the shotgun, was always around the ranch in those days. I now have three Stevens Favorites, One Savage 72, a Favorite copy, and a high quality Varner replica, of the Stevens Favorite.

From the amount of Stevens Favorite's and Crackshot rifles, I used to see being used on farms and ranches in Montana, where I am from, I have the impression that the .22 rifle was a useful tool to have around the homestead from before the turn of the 1900's...!

My grand father (1850-1950) had a .22 rifle around, from before the turn of the 1900's. He did serious work with it from slaughtering cattle to small game hunting and small predator, (Coyote, Bob Cat, Lynx Cat and Badger) control.

Bill

[Shotgun Franklin]

In a review of the the new clone of the Clolt rifle it was pointed out that this gun can never be a serious gun for the top shooters because it can not be short stroked. SASS is turning intio a gimmick gun sport just like IPSC. NCOWS looks better every day.