Cas City Forum Hall & CAS-L
CAS TOPICS => NCOWS => Topic started by: Jake Book on March 06, 2017, 01:28:16 PM
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Hello again!
I had a question about the various shooting classes offered by NCOWS and was having a little trouble finding information about it.
I've now been informed about the originals class and I'm interested in that.
Now comes a little bit of a confession. Most of the shooting events on some of the NCOWS youtube videos I have seen really just don't interest me that much. Shooting out of a moving mining car, or shooting out of a false front that say OK Corral on it just doesn't appeal to me on the level of authentic shooting. I also can really only afford a gun or two and the ammo that goes with them.
I would be more interested in loading out of my gun belt or pocket for that matter and shooting off hand, or prone.
What are my options?
(Attached photo is Tom Gray at a Buffalo shoot, probably around 1996. This is the kind of shooting I would be most interested in.)
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There are some clubs that do not have stage fronts, and really require you to know your firearms as far as where they hit. Kansas Vigilance Committee comes to mind. Smallish targets set a bit farther out. Their big spring shoot, The Jerry Barnes 2-Gun Regional, is coming up beginning of May. (And as the name implies, they don't cotton to the notion that everyone ran around with two revolvers, a rifle and a shotgun back then.)
People travel from Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, etc. to make this one. Good times and period correct people. They also do stages that are a modified "woods walk" that bedevil the older, less limber set. ::) It's like that box of chocolates, you'll never know if you'll be shooting prone sometimes over the carcass of your horse, out of a wagon box, with a wounded arm . . . Plus, they hold the NCOWS National Double Action shoot on Sunday. Lots of double actions in people's gun safes that need to be given an outing.
Grand Army of the Frontier has really challenging "woods walk" stages, and you can load off your body, and is offhand. They have a category that basically allows cowboy guns. Primitive camping, good food prepared period correct. The Grand Muster is coming up in June at Sergeant, NE. Go down to The Barracks forum and read the stickied post. Again, lots of people travel, even some distinguished gents from Canada, to attend this. Great people and definitely something out of the ordinary as far as shooting pleasure. And there are many NCOWS folks who hold dual membership in both organizations. (And best of all, the GAF membership does not cost a single greenback!)
As far as NCOWS categories, visit the NCOWS website and read over the info there. You can basically pick a category to suit your firearms, choice of powder, gender and preferred hold (duelist or shootist).
Those videos of the mine cart were taken at West Side range in Evanston, Il. They have been kind enough to host our National for the past 8+ yrs. Great range and wonderful people. They put a lot of work into making that range work, and they also have a SASS club within their membership. Their range is set up for how they like to play the game. Other NCOWS clubs have different ideas, so the style of shooting you like might be hiding at another club's range. If you can, get around to visit and shoot at as many different NCOWS clubs as you can to see all the different ways it is done.
RCJ
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Well said RCJ! Are you acquainted with any of the "older, less limber set"?
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Jake, just my two cents worth, but NCOWS at least for me and a few of my pards is more about the camaraderie with like-minded individuals than it is about the shooting. While I love to shoot the cowboy guns, the truth is that the friends you make playing this game will give you far more pleasure than anything else.
Quick Fire
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I could not agree more Quick Fire!
Bushwhacker
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Jake...
when Quick Fire said "
...NCOWS at least for me and a few of my pards is more about the camaraderie with like-minded individuals than it is about the shooting."
he summed up major point ....
Look at the photos, from your Dad, those guys were visionaries...
NCOWS is about the Journey, the research, the approach in manor, method and Styles...Shooting is the catalyst.
As a sport, with NCOWS like-minded individuals focus on all of the experience , not just the aspect of speed.
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That brings up a point I've also wanted to ask about.
If a person starts a posse, how much autonomy does that posse have in setting its own standards for authenticity and shooting events?
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using the Tally Book as your guide & observing the Approved VS Did Approved list....
Pretty much carte blanche
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Jake -
Blackjack Charlie and I shoot with the Johnson County Rangers out of Boston, KY, and are on good terms with the Scarlett Mask Vigilance Society up near Indy. Both good clubs with interesting targets - and getting more so. Come out and join us sometime if you're in the neighborhood. We also do impromptu shoots at the family farm near Seymour, IN, with moving targets, seeking cover to return fire, etc, and I'm rigging up an "enemy combatant" to cause us mischief while reloading. I'm currently putting together my "originals" kit and documentation, with a date of either '76 or '78 (TBD). Any ideas you care to swap, let 'em fly. Good luck!
Keep your powder dry,
Wild Ben
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Jake Book,
the answer is it depends on how exclusive a club you want it to be. If you make your authenticity requirements far stricter than the minimum set forth by NCOWS, well, you'll be a small handful with difficulty attracting new members.
If you're going to build a club then appeal to as many members as you can get interested in joining. Numbers will make work days on the range, planned expenses, and potential for sustainability all the greater.
Then slowly build your posse as a niche posse for ultra-Originals. Indoctrinate new members s-l-o-w-l-y by being a shining example. Make history and it's study as important as gun talk. Plan social outings or events to museums with your posse to foster that mindset.
My experience is most people just want to shoot and enjoy the camaraderie, without going beyond the basic authenticity required in NCOWS. These folks are going to be your bread and butter.
Yes, on the local level you have more freedom to shimmy and sway, - Gee and Haw.
RCJ
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Well said again RCJ!