Cowboy mounted shooting. SAA replica suggestions

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nseverett

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Hi I am new to restricted firearms. I am looking to try Cowboy MOUNTED Shooting. The rules say I have to use a .45 SAA revolver. The sport involves galloping a horse around a pattern and shooting balloon targets with black powder BLANK rounds. I say again BLANK rounds. I know that there are many regulations but we have procedures through the mounted shooting association to deal with that.

My question is what would you guys recommend for SAA revolver. I am looking for a replica of an 1873 Colt Army. I would like to be able to do more with the gun than shoot blanks at balloons.

Obviously accuracy is not priority one for Cowboy Mounted Shooting but speed certainly is. Looking for a gun that can handle the black powder, has a nice smooth reliable action and could be used for some hobby target shooting with live rounds.

Thoughts??

Nick
 
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In no particular order,Pietta,Uberti,Beretta Stampede and Ruger Vaquero all make 1873 SAA Clones in .45 Colt. You may need to get the gun tuned up by a specialist to suit your purposes.
Welcome to CGN...a good way to start the year.
 
And all of the guns named above are designed to shoot actual bullet loads and not only blanks. They are all proper handguns first and foremost. It's you mounted shooters that stick blanks into perfectly good handguns :D

Keep in mind that you need TWO guns I believe. AND the cowboy clothing that this event insists you wear. Once you're that far into it you may as well buy a rifle and shotgun and join the fun of shooting in cowboy action events as well.

Oh how easy I make that sound.... :D

BTW, it's SAA, not SSA. It stands for Single Action Army. I'm not sure if the name was given to the gun by Colt or the Army. But when folks say SAA it means the same as a Colt 1873 model.
 
Guys
Thanks for the replies.
First let me say I dress like a cowboy everyday and YES I will be riding a real horse. :) The reason for not shooting a real Colt is I am not sure if I want to invest in TWO $1800.00?? guns to get started in the sport. Believe me I would love to have a couple of "real" cowboy guns.

I understand that the guns used for cowboy mounted shooting are all made for firing live rounds. I just wanted to be sure you guys understood that the events use blanks because I didn't want to start a debate on the safety and regulatory nightmares that would be involved in firing live rounds at a spectator event. I guess maybe that was common sense now that I see it in writing. Live rounds and crowds is probably not something that you guys need explanation on :)

Anyway on to the guns: Thanks for the correction on SAA instead of SSA. Newbie mistake

BCrider is correct we need two guns for this event. Complete with holsters.

The reason I mentioned Black Powder is I was not sure if one finish is better at handling black powder residue than an other. I was guessing SS would be the best.

It sounds to me like any of the listed replica's will do what I am looking for. Time to start shopping.

Here is a question for you guys: Can I fire BLANK rounds outside of the range? Specifically on my own farm? I would not be violating any of the proximity laws for discharge but the law says you cannot discharge i handgun anywhere. Thoughts on that?


Already liking CGN

Nick
 
nseverett said:
Next question: What barrel length should I be looking at?? Told you guys I was newbie.
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Short as possible/legal. Easier to draw and shoot, it would be mostly instinctive shooting anyway.
My Pietta is 5 1/2 inch only because they didnt have one shorter in stock.
 
The standard lengths for SAA Revolvers you can buy in Canada, restricted but not prohibited, are 4.75" (some 4.625"), 5.5" and 7.5" barrels.
What you would like would be the 4.75" length barrel.
 
My friends that do Mounted Shooting tell me that the shooting is the easy part. It's the riding that is the better part, the teamwork of horse and rider. Also getting the horse accustomed to the noise and the scare factor of the balloons. Horses are fitted with form earplugs if needed.

To promote the sport, the movers and shakers recruited lady barrel racers and taught them how to shoot. Busting balloons with blanks isn't much of a challenge compared to live CAS.
 
Sharps '63 said:
My friends that do Mounted Shooting tell me that the shooting is the easy part. It's the riding that is the better part, the teamwork of horse and rider. Also getting the horse accustomed to the noise and the scare factor of the balloons. Horses are fitted with form earplugs if needed.

To promote the sport, the movers and shakers recruited lady barrel racers and taught them how to shoot. Busting balloons with blanks isn't much of a challenge compared to live CAS.
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Been working on the horse thing for years now. We are going to start training for CMS this spring. Know lots about horses. Need info about guns.
I am open to cowboy action shooting but I am really looking for fun things to do with my horse
 
nseverett said:
Here is a question for you guys: Can I fire BLANK rounds outside of the range? Specifically on my own farm? I would not be violating any of the proximity laws for discharge but the law says you cannot discharge i handgun anywhere. Thoughts on that?

Nick
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it is not even legal to take your handguns frame out on your farm even if you leave the entire cylinder in the house, let alone shoot blanks or live ammo........but if a tree falls in the forest....

technically you can not transport a restricted firearm anywhere but to a legal range or a gunsmith so unless the arena you go to is a government inspected range then the whole thing start to finish is illegal plain and simple. New Brunswick is the most restrictive province in Canada for transporting firearms. they even bother people for NON restricted transport.

If anyone tells you its legal ask them what part of the firearms act makes it legal for you to do so. Dont accept any kind of policy from "association this or that" because that does not mean a thing as far as the law goes if you get hassled by the police. find out about the laws. not just in Canada but also your provinces specific regulations on both transport and discharge.

I am not saying any of this because I disapprove , in fact i think its very cool and know a person who does mounted CAS, you asked the question so I thought I would answer
 
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I'd be looking for the short 4 5/8 to 4 3/4 inch barrels as well just for the holster clearing reasons already mentioned.

The good news is that black powder residue is by far the easiest to clean fouling of all the options. And since you're going to be mostly shooting blanks you won't even have the crusty buildup around the ends of the cylinder throats.

The bad news is that with black powder residue being hyroscopic and also a corrosive salt when wet you MUST clean your guns within a few hours of shooting them. Shoot in the morning and clean in the evening is fine. Just don't leave it for more than that. And if it's a damp or humid day I'd suggest that a spritz with Windex followed by a spritz of "moose milk" until you can clean the guns is not a bad idea.

Moose milk is a mix of Ballistol and water in the ratio of 1:3 Ballistol:water. You'll want to get some Ballistol for use with black powder since it's one of the few options that does not turn into tarry gum when it mixes with black powder residue. Most common gun oils and other petroleum oils will do so and should not be used in your guns as long as you're using them with black powder.

Another oil that works exceedingly well with black powder is good old cooking Canola oil. A few drops during the day on the cylinder pin really keeps the gun indexing well as it melts the BP fouling. I even use it as the main lube and protectant if I know I'll be using the guns again within a month. Just don't use Canola for longer storage periods as it can become gummy from contact with air. But up to around 4 to 6 weeks in a cool dark place is fine. For longer term storage stick with the Ballistol oil.

There are some matt finished models from both Pietta and Uberti that are cheaper to buy. I'm not a fan of the look but they would save you money. One factor though is just how well they would clean up since the matt finish would likely tend to hold the powder residue more firmly and require additional effort to clean.

It's likely that since CMS is held in places other than designated and approved ranges that you would need to obtain short term permits to get your guns to the various events. But the folks that actually shoot their guns at these things can tell you more about that procedure.
 
BCRider said:
It's likely that since CMS is held in places other than designated and approved ranges that you would need to obtain short term permits to get your guns to the various events. But the folks that actually shoot their guns at these things can tell you more about that procedure.
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a Short term authorization to transport would cover you legally as far as transporting restricted firearms to and from any place the CFO designates but that is just transport and discharge of a firearm would still be illegal

I realize it happens at fairly major events like agribition exc. and i doubt very much they would condone anything illegal i am just curious how it is done. they must be getting approval of a temporary range. I am interested in this to see if it can be used for other things like IDPA out on our farm


if they are getting approval of a temporary range then nobody would need to get a STATT because it would then fall under a ATT because it is a legal range.
 
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sask farmboy said:
it is not even legal to take your handguns frame out on your farm even if you leave the entire cylinder in the house, let alone shoot blanks or live ammo........but if a tree falls in the forest....

technically you can not transport a restricted firearm anywhere but to a legal range or a gunsmith so unless the arena you go to is a government inspected range then the whole thing start to finish is illegal plain and simple. New Brunswick is the most restrictive province in Canada for transporting firearms. they even bother people for NON restricted transport.

If anyone tells you its legal ask them what part of the firearms act makes it legal for you to do so. Dont accept any kind of policy from "association this or that" because that does not mean a thing as far as the law goes if you get hassled by the police. find out about the laws. not just in Canada but also your provinces specific regulations on both transport and discharge.

I am not saying any of this because I disapprove , in fact i think its very cool and know a person who does mounted CAS, you asked the question so I thought I would answer
Click to expand...

Wow thanks for that reply. You have answered the question and left me with no doubts. Thanks
 
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