As your Rio Salado Club President and Territorial Governor, I am here to gather comments, criticisms, needs and your proposed rule changes and communicate them to SASS Headquarters. I will also keep the Club updated on rule changes from SASS. Your RSCASS staff will continue to encourage the growth of Cowboy Action Shooting and our great Club through monthly practices and New Shooter Orientations.
As members, you also represent SASS and our Club. So please encourage your shooting friends to give Cowboy Shooting a try. All the info required to start is on our website. I encourage every club member to read the new Shooters Handbook, which was updated in January 2020. It contains past rule changes and a new format which is easier to follow. You will find rule clarifications by the ROC at http://www.oowss.com/ROCornerIndex.htm.
If you have any questions on rules in the SASS Shooters Handbook, please ask me. If I don’t have the immediate answer, I can find it for you.
President & Territorial Governor Update:
Howdy Cowboys and Cowgirls.
I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather. It won’t be long before the summer heat is back so come on out to our matches on the first Saturday of the month and join us for some old west shooting fun.
A special thanks to Hoopsnake LaVache and Paca McMasters for stepping up bigtime to help with the club. They have been helping with Long Range at our monthly matches and with the expert guidance of Superstition Slim, they will soon be running the whole show out there. They both are also a regular fixture at match setup the Friday before our matches. Thanks!
We will be opening up Club Membership this month and thanks to the slick website work of Cpl Quayne, membership can be applied for online just like our match registration. Keep an eye out on the Rio homepage for the announcement.
The Rio Cowboys debuted our new John Wayne shooting category at our March match. I think the time has come to start thinking about ammo shortages and we are staying ahead of the problem by offering a way for our loyal shooters to attend the match and conserve ammo. It is better to see our cowboys and cowgirls every month at our matches than have them skip matches because of low ammo.
As your Territorial Governor, I would like to remind all shooters to pay extra attention to holstering and re-holstering your pistols. I’ve noticed a few instances by shooters that need to be addressed:
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When pulling pistols from the holster, do not cock the hammer until you are past the 45° angle and pointing downrange. A quick discharge coming out of the holsters can be very dangerous as well as a Disqualifying penalty.
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Do not point your pistols up to cock the hammer. Keep them level and pointed at the targets. A discharge over the berm will end your match day at Rio.
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For those with cross draw holsters, remember when drawing a revolver the user must twist their body (if necessary) to ensure the muzzle never breaks the 170° rule. When drawing a revolver, the muzzle may be oriented into the straight down (180°) as it clears leather, but must then go immediately into the downrange 170° degree (and vice versa on the return).
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If you cock your pistol at any time once the stage has started, you must point down range and pull the trigger. De-cocking once the stage has started is not allowed. I have seen many shooters lose count of their pistol rounds and pull back the hammer after firing 5 rounds. I have done it myself. Just remember: ALWAYS pull the trigger before attempting to holster, never de-cock.
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If the pistol is the first gun on a stage, you may de-cock if no rounds have gone downrange. In this instance, the stage has not begun yet. However, You must first ask permission from the TO before you actually de-cock the pistol. Do not do it on your own.
Happy St Patrick’s Day!
Be safe and shoot straight!