Holster cert required for single action revolvers?
- Thread starter Power Pill
- Start date
- Location
- Nova Scotia
What the heck is holster certified??
stormbringer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S.W. Ontario
That would of course indicate that an individual has been through a course of study that indicates they are proficient in the use of a holster in conjunction with a firearm and the practical inplications of same.
I thought that would be self evident.
In answer to the OP the answer is yes and no.
In playing cowboy often the guns are benched.
Some clubs require a couse for holsters and they are "in house" for the most part.
I know that some organizations are working towards a unified course but I have yet to see it in action.
That said...........I have also seen people get their IPSC BB or IDPA certifications to prove profinciency.
Farlsincharge
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
That would be more range specific, would it not?
SASS doesn't have a requirement for holster certification. Although the clubs running the shoot may require it. But if they do you'll be run through some unloaded practice by one of the CAS RO's and guided.
Drawing a SA gun in cowboy shooting isn't really the same as with an IPSC or IDPA or other semi auto holster draw. For starters you're drawing the gun with the hammer down on an empty chamber. It needs to be cocked before it becomes a risk. And by the time you do that the gun is well clear of the shooter and pointed more or less downrange.
Drawing a SA gun in cowboy shooting isn't really the same as with an IPSC or IDPA or other semi auto holster draw. For starters you're drawing the gun with the hammer down on an empty chamber. It needs to be cocked before it becomes a risk. And by the time you do that the gun is well clear of the shooter and pointed more or less downrange.
Range or sport specific, I guess. No such nonsense required at our range.
Yes, I know. SASS is the governing body of Cowboy Action throughout the world. If your club or match you wish to attend is a SASS affiliate holding a SASS match you will be holster certified at the beginning of the match just like every other shooter whether you've shot 100 matches or 5, everyone must go through the same process at the beginning of every match. If a club wishes to be SASS affiliate this is how it is. Some clubs are not affiliated, but call themselves cowboy, they may require you to get one from PPC or IDPA. They don't recommend the IPSC one since you never move with a loaded gun in your hand in cowboy anyway. That being said, I hear it is a great shooting course and may open doors to other shooting sports for you.
If you are brand new to shooting, you will stage your handguns on the table until you have a level of engrained safety, which comes with practice and time. We take this very seriously, since any violation of our sport puts at risk the sport at all the clubs in all the disciplines. So... if you have to ask if you need certification, that means that you will likely need some practice time to gain a good level of safety intuitively.
As a SASS member, you are expected to read and understand all the things in your membership manual. This includes all aspects of holster safety, and gun handling requirements in general as well. But like I say, all the important things are gone over in the safety meeting that happens before every match.
If you want to come out to a match, you and your Dad, PM me. I am a SASS RO and can answer all your questions and get you taken care of. If your Dad is serious, he should log on to sassnet and join.
Stormy is quite correct for the most part. a) A "newbie" would stage handguns on a table. long guns are always staged on a table, rack, or stage specific prop. There are many checks and balances that I won't go through here, PM if you want, but a loaded gun is never on a person or on a table. By that I mean a round in the chamber under a hammer.
b) This would be like having Cat's dating Dog's with a minage with a bunny. The only one that I know of are the ones like the shooting edge does for its members. It's like a 2 or 3 hour one to make sure you don't have your finger on the trigger when you holster the gun. I remember when the CSSA was having a coronary with the IDPA course, them not wanting to accept it for CDP even though it was the same course exactly. I would just like to see the opportunity for people to give some disciplines a try first before they have to run out and take a bunch of courses. I would hate to take a course only to discover after all that, that I don't like the game.
c) a lot of people do take the PPC one (rarer now) or the IDPA one (have to join IDPA to take it even if you don't want to shoot it, same with the BB).
What ever you need, I can get you and your Dad into Cowboy shooting safely and so you will have fun and want to grow with the discipline.
In so far as if the range is SASS affiliated or not. They don't give up their governing status. If the range insists that someone have the IDPA course for example, I don't believe SASS will allow them to affiliate because this puts a constraint on competitors. Every SASS member must be free to compete in any SASS event worldwide. I technically, once I got all the paperwork, could show up in New Zealand out of the blue for a SASS match.
Cariboo Lefty
CGN Regular
- Location
- Kamloops BC
There are no current SASS regulations regarding holster certification. SASS ROs are trained to assist competitors safely through the course of fire and competitors are expected to be safe and competent before they shoot a match (the personal responsibility thing). Many of our members have never shot a competitive discipline before getting into CAS, and they are closely monitored by our Match officials. Some Clubs may require holster certification, SASS explicitly states that more stringent safety rules at local clubs apply. I believe that Tuco Pike is refering to the safety briefing when he says you are qualified before the match, I don't really think that a safety briefing would qualify as holster certification. I have never seen a newbie required to stage their firearms on a table, unless that was the way the stage was written, and everyone was also required to do this. In fact the SASS stage conventions state that revolvers are always returned to the holster at the end of a shooting string unless the stage directions specifically state otherwise.
One of the good things about CAS and SASS is that our ROs are trained to do everything in their power to help you get safely and efficiently through a course of fire( the SASS RO mantra is that coaching is not only allowed it is encouraged). Most SASS affiliated clubs offer a RO1 course that is very helpfull for newer CAS competitors, some clubs even require it. If you message me I will try to put you in contact with an Instructor. However if your club offers a holster certification course I would take it, anything that makes you more competent and safe is a plus, especially if you have never competed in a gun game. Such a course would make you much more confident and comfortable in a course of fire.
Hope this helps.
Cariboo Lefty SASS 5391LTG Canadian Regional SASS CRO
One of the good things about CAS and SASS is that our ROs are trained to do everything in their power to help you get safely and efficiently through a course of fire( the SASS RO mantra is that coaching is not only allowed it is encouraged). Most SASS affiliated clubs offer a RO1 course that is very helpfull for newer CAS competitors, some clubs even require it. If you message me I will try to put you in contact with an Instructor. However if your club offers a holster certification course I would take it, anything that makes you more competent and safe is a plus, especially if you have never competed in a gun game. Such a course would make you much more confident and comfortable in a course of fire.
Hope this helps.
Cariboo Lefty SASS 5391LTG Canadian Regional SASS CRO
AFAIK....holster certifications are purely a club requirement. I do not believe there is any CFO requirement for this, even in Ontario.
Various sports will sometimes require them too....eg, BB is required for lvl 2 IPSC matches and above. IDPA has no holster cert requirement, although courses are offered (moreso in Canada).
I'm not really a fan of holster certs unless a shooter desires to have one. You can usually tell within 1 minute whether or not someone is safe and proficient with a firearm.
Various sports will sometimes require them too....eg, BB is required for lvl 2 IPSC matches and above. IDPA has no holster cert requirement, although courses are offered (moreso in Canada).
I'm not really a fan of holster certs unless a shooter desires to have one. You can usually tell within 1 minute whether or not someone is safe and proficient with a firearm.
In Ontario, not sure about Canada, you need the BB to participate in any form of IPSC as far as I know. The rule book says different as you point out, but the in practice way it is done is quite different. IDPA in Canada does have a holster certification, as I believe every IDPA, ODPA, etc., match flyer says "must be holster certified".
I too do not like the term holster certified. But, when you speak out against it, you get flamed. I believe it should be up to the "rule of the game". If IPSC USA says you need a BB for Level two matches then so be it, and one should be able to practice IPSC and do level 1 matches without the BB, I don't know, I am not in IPSC. If CPCA, the Canadian Police Combat Association, the governing body of PPC in Canada says you don't need a course then there's your answer.
I must disagree with my colleague on here who said he doesn't think the safety meeting counts as a holster certification. For SASS, it is exactly that. We go over the rules and tell you what to do to be safe and what not to do. A holster course is about how to operate your firearm using a holster, it is not specific to a game so it takes 10 minutes. The BB is an IPSC competitor course, the IDPA NSO course is an IDPA competitor course, so is the PPC one whenever you can find one but that was mostly by the CSSA when they were messing around with the disciplines. I know from experience that the IDPA course is mostly about the types of reloads, and how to shoot while advancing and retreating, and the types of target engagement, shooting from cover. PPC is similar in that it teaches one to shoot from different positions and using off hand. The BB is much more in depth on target engagement etc..
