Folks,
While I was at EOT, I had the opportunity to pitch to Tex, the idea of a Military Catagory for SASS Shooters. His reactions were positive, but he was unable to promise anything, understandably. Anyway, he asked me to send him an email on the subject with some thoughts. So, I did and here are some of the things that I outlined:
1. Shooters must shoot the Main Match as a one-handed or duelist style. (This is due to the fact that in the late 1800’s the saber was considered a primary weapon wielded with the strong hand and the pistol a secondary weapon, drawn and fired from the week hand.)
2. All SASS Main Match rifles and shotguns would be allowed in the category. All SASS authorized revolvers with a barrel length of 5.5 inches to 8 inches would be authorized for use with in the category. (The thought behind this is that most military issue revolvers were of the 7.5 inch variety. During the Spanish American War, the Government reissued the Colt Single Action Army cut down to 5.5 inches for Artillery Troops and Volunteers, notably the Rough Riders. During the Civil War, the 1860 Army and 1861 Navy had 8 inch barrels.) This category is open to all SASS authorize calibers and gauges.
3. The shooter must compete with flapped holsters. It is the shooter’s option to use either pistol but forward or pistol but to the rear. All SASS safety rules concerning the 170 degree apply here.
4. The shooter must have at least 1 cartridge box secured to their pistol belt. The belt buckle must have an emblem or symbol of the persona in which they are creating i.e. the 1851 US Eagle Belt Buckle or CSA, etc.
The Shotgun Belt must be of canvas web construction and hold no more than one shot-shell per loop hole. (This is based of the prairie belt that was worn by members of the military on the frontier and during the Spanish American War. During this time in history, the only likely military member that would have access to a shotgun was the Company Cook.)
5. The shooter must be dressed in uniform throughout the entire event. In the case of a major event such as End of Trail, the participant must be in uniform for the side matches, main match, banquet (if applicable), and awards ceremony.
The participants shooting uniform must contain elements of the follow:
A hat with appropriate branch or rank emblems or cords and piping. Palm style plantation style hats would be allowed in hot weather (they were used widely in the southwest by the frontier military and during the summer in the Civil War.)
Rank that is consistent with the persona that the shooter is creating i.e. stars for a general, etc. (Rank can also be defined by the size of the stripe on the trousers, collar pinned rank, shoulder boards or hat cords. In the case of somebody shooting as a Private, none of these would apply.)
Boots shall be of either the squared toe cavalry style boots, Civil War style Brogans or some variation of, or the 1895 Combat Shoe. No modern style combat boots will be allowed. If the shooter does not wear cavalry style boots, the shooter must wear leggings. Cavalry Style boots must be accompanied by spurs.
Now, if y'all want to see this grow, I would urge that you contact your local clubs and ask that the catagory be offered at a monthly level match. If the catagory get's participation, maybe we can see the catagory offered at annual matches and then regionals....etc. Now, keep in mind that IF we are successful, it will be a few years before we see adoption, so if we are going to gain approval, it will be a marathon, not a sprint.
Thank you,
Major Matt Lewis