Oh where to start... but it probably doesn't matter, I see this thread was started over 2 years ago.
Let me begin by saying that I'm sorry some of seem to have judged SASS (& NCOWS), by a one-time visit or by the actions and attitudes of a few individuals.
I have a perspective of TIME in SASS, having first began cowboy action shooting back in 1985, before there was a "SASS" or "NCOWS". In fact, I'd read about this big Annual cowboy match in CA called the "End of Trail" where they used lever action rifles, single action revolvers and side by side shotguns in 1982... but the article didn't mention where it was held or how to get in touch with the organizers. And the writer of said article turns out to be a egotistical snob of very high order, (after I met him in person and conversed... but, I digress).
So... one day at a local range I run into a fellar with a t-shirt that sez EOT on the back... I talked to him and found out the where when and what-all I needed. And learned that they also held monthly matches at the same venue... also local. So I showed up with my .30-30 (with downloaded lead bullets as per the rules), my 45Colt SAA, & and old coach gun.
1st thing I learned was that they'd outlawed the .30-30 as too many guys couldn't get the concept of "downloading." Let alone using cast boolits! But, my new friend had a spare 1892 Rossi in .38... so I was in.
I was also informed that snap cowboy shirts were not introduced until the 19-teens or some such... well after the 1899 cut-off. (There was no B-Western at the monthlies)... and that my Wranglers were ok for a monthly, but since they weren't introduced until 1947, clearly I understood why they were frowned on... Even modern Levis weren't really very "cowboy" as they define the period, having no belt loops until 1920. Think the 19th century cattle drives.
Mind you the learning and lecturing about all this took place over several months... during which time I was welcome to participate and made to feel a "part of the group." But, then again, I'm sorta forward, and if a topic of conversation is something I know a little about, I'll contribute... otherwise, I'm content to keep my yap shut and learn... like my daddy taught me. And what I didn't have told me at a shoot, I went to the library, bought some historical references and studied the gear, accoutrements and clothing of the 19th century cowboy... now his 20th century counterpart, of which I was personally familiar, having worked as one on two big CA ranches.
Meanwhile I got a Rossi '92 of my own, then a '73, and another shotgun and found about more clubs that were shooting nearby (well, relatively close; they weren't all the way over in AZ)!
I've met clothing Nazi's, gun Nazi's and what have you... I've seen them come, and I've also seen them go. Mainly, on the whole, SASS people are gregarious, fun-loving and welcoming type folks. Many of them are fanatical history buffs... some of them are serious competitors, but the vast majority are probably somewhere between those extremes. (I know I am... I only get to compete a couple times a year, due to work... but my enjoyment of the game is totally predicated on my attitude... others have little influence on whether I have a good time. The only person I shoot against is myself, and if I goof off and kid around, and you don't like it, tough! If you don't like the fact that I try to take exactly 60 seconds to shoot every stage, tough... if you don't like that I'm wearin' a pair of Levi's, boots, a Henley shirt and hat... tough... show me in the rule book where it's not allowed, and I'll change. (I do have the period correct stuff, but I tend to save 'em for annual or other big matches where folks from other clubs are around...) sometimes, they're not appropriate for the weather... Texas summers can get a tad warmish for such.
I founded the club I mainly shoot with in 1991, and helped run it until 1995, then took a hiatus from "pedestrian" shooting and concentrated on mounted shooting until around 2001. When I went back, my club had moved locations (I still got the newsletter and followed along with the parties involved), but not one of club officers had been participating when I took my absence... When I signed up they questioned my SASS #, even my club membership claim (Life)... The six of us that started the club voted that our first meeting! However, there were a couple of shooters there that had at least HEARD of the founding 6, and one shooter that remembered me.
Very few shooters in any competition stick with that single form of competition for extended periods... Many of those that were there in 2001 are no longer competing in SASS. One couple has moved to starting a venue dedicated to 3-Gun... others have moved to Cowboy Lever Silhouette, etc.
One reason you probably won't find many dedicated CAS shooters here-bouts, is that the '92 is not a vey good competition gun... practical and sustaining as it may be, it doesn't take well to being re-engineered into a fast acting "race-gun". Not that it really needs any re-engineering... it's a remarkable piece on its own.
However, "back-in-the-day", before the short-stroked '73 took over the "fast action" title, several world championships were won with both Rossi and original mdl '92s. It held its own against the slightly faster 1894 Marlin, mainly because of the dreaded "Marlin Jam."
Yes, I still shoot cowboy, mainly in the Frontiersman category with a pair of 1851s, an 1860 Henry and 1878 Colt coach gun, I also 3-gun, shoot Wild Bunch (1911, '97 pump and for me, a custom Marlin shooting a ACP length 45Colt), and have dabbled in Lever action Silhouette.
I've shot PPC and the old American Standard Course pistol competitions... tried Steel Challenge and most of the shotgun sports... sorta a shooting version of the "jack of all trades, master of none!"
Every game has its set of rules... I haven't yet found one that I haven't found a rule that I dislike. However, few that are so serious that I won't participate. People, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter. But, even as I'm generally fun-loving and count myself as one that gets along with anyone... I can be a contrarian... look down your nose at my costuming, I'll kick your kiester in... well, if not the shooting competiton, then at having fun! And if that's at your expense, oh, so much the better!
Really, if you like the guns, enjoy challenging yourself (at
whatever level), the costuming
REQUIREMENTS are so minimal, IMNSHO that using that as an excuse not to participate is totally on you!
Griff, SASS#93
CMSA#93
GUSA#93
NRA Life
(btw, those are Levi 501s under those chaps... not "cowboy" enough? Tough!)