Western shooting

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A gunpowder shooter in action, Timer-RO

The Western Shooting is a dynamic shooting sports discipline is shot in the historical arms of the Wild West or their replicas after a set expiration on steel targets. Depending on the size of the competition, there are usually 4 to 10 different courses, so-called "stages". The time required for this is measured, and any penalty times for missed shots or rule violations are added. Participants must wear clothing appropriate to the topic.

Internationally the umbrella organization is the "Single Action Shooting Society" ( SASS ) with more than 100,000 members, in Germany the western shooters are organized in the Bund Deutscher Sportschützen 1975 eV (BDS) and its regional associations. Every year there is a German championship, a European championship and a world championship in the USA with sometimes many hundreds of participants, as well as a large number of national championships and smaller competitions.

To participate in competitions, the shooter must pass a safety and rules test (SuRT), similar to the shooting of the International Practical Shooting Confederation .

The current rules are published on the BDS website.

Disciplines

Western Shooting (CAS)

Selection of long guns for western shooting
Selection of handguns for western shooting

This is the main discipline and gives its name to the BDS western shooting rules. Internationally, the discipline is referred to as "Cowboy Action Shooting" (CAS). A total of four weapons are used for shooting:

The exact type of weapon depends on the rating category in which the shooter starts. These depict the rapidly advancing development of handgun technology at the time , and separate the starting field accordingly:

1870

All weapons, including the shotgun, may only be loaded with black powder.

The rest of the shooter's equipment must also be reasonably historically correct. Only high holsters are allowed, like those used in the Wild West era. The loops of the shot belt may only hold one cartridge at a time. There are strict regulations for clothing. Modern accessories such as wristwatches, cell phones or jeans are not permitted.

1880

  • Single-action revolver up to model year 1890, there is a minimum caliber for ammunition. 40, and the cartridge must be a handgun cartridge introduced before 1890. Technically modified modern replicas are not permitted.
  • Forearm or lever action rifle up to model year 1884, the same rules apply to ammunition as to revolvers.
  • Cross-shotgun with double trigger and taps, or repeating shotgun up to model year 1887, minimum caliber 16ga.

The class 1880 is usually divided into two sub-classes, so that shooters shooting with black powder and with modern nitro powder are scored separately.

The dress code is similar to the 1870 class.

1890

This rating class gives the shooter the greatest freedom, both in the choice of weapons and their technology, as well as in the equipment. Therefore, most beginners as well as the fastest shooters can be found in this class.

  • Single-action revolver with factory rigid sights. Minimum caliber. 38spl, only handgun cartridges permitted.
  • Forend or lever action rifle, the same rules apply to ammunition as to revolvers.
  • Cross-shotgun or bolt-action shotgun up to model year 1897. Minimum caliber 20ga, for bolt-action shotguns 16ga.

In-depth tuning is also allowed for all weapons; the installation of weaker springs and a "short-stroke" system for lever action rifles, which sometimes drastically shorten the opening path of the lever, are particularly popular.

The rest of the equipment does not have to be historically correct either, deep-seated “Hollywood” holsters are allowed. When it comes to clothing, at least a hat, jeans, checked shirt and boots without a profile are required. Modern accessories such as wristwatches, cell phones or short-sleeved shirts are also excluded here.

Due to the large number of participants, this rating class is usually divided into age groups and genders. There are also a large number of sub-classes that affect the permitted types of attack or clothing. The current sports manual explains more about this.

Young Guns

To enable young shooters to participate, there is also the "Young Guns" rating class. This is reserved for participants between the ages of 14 and 17. Due to the German Weapons Act, young people are prohibited from shooting with the above calibers, so they must use the .22 lr caliber for the revolver and rifle . Otherwise this class corresponds to the rating class 1890.

97-11 (WildBunch)

The discipline was invented in Germany as "97-11", but is meanwhile also used by the SASS in international competitions. There it is called "Wild Bunch", after the film of the same name. The amendment to the sports regulations applied for in 2006 was approved by the Federal Office of Administration in summer 2015, so that this discipline can now also be regularly advertised in Germany. Until then, it was only allowed as a side match. The name is made up of the number 97, which stands for the Winchester Mod. 1897 forearm repeater, and 11, for the Colt M1911 self-loading pistol. These are also the two weapons that are prescribed in the regulations. The caliber is 12ga or .45Auto. Furthermore, the "main match rifle", i.e. the bolt action rifle from the western shooting discipline, can be prescribed as the third weapon. Since there is a ban on forearm repeater shotguns for civilians in some European countries, lever action rifles, Mod. 1887, are usually approved as an alternative at major competitions. The discipline is divided into two categories:

Traditional

Only 1911 and 1911A1 pistols or their replicas with rigid sights are permitted. The pistol must be shot with one hand.

Modern

The pistol may have adjustable sights and may be fired with both hands.

Structure of the stage

Exemplary stage structure

On each stage there is a course with goals, partitions, obstacles and decorations, in which the specified process must be completed. Furthermore, there is a mandatory loading table , only there the shooters are allowed to load their weapons under supervision immediately before their passage. After passing through, they go to the unloading table , where it is checked whether their weapons are empty before they can move freely again. If there are participants in the 1870 rating class, a precharge zone for percussion revolvers must also be set up, where the revolver drums are filled with powder and bullets, but no primer is yet attached. This only happens at the loading table. There is also a safety zone where weapons can be cleaned and repaired; ammunition and objects similar to ammunition (snap cartridges etc.) are strictly prohibited here.

procedure

After the participants have registered, there will be a briefing that is binding for all participants. The organizer once again points out that all safety rules must be adhered to and divides the shooters into groups, so-called “posses”, and introduces the respective supervisors ( posse leaders , PL). Then the posses go with their PLs on the first stage assigned to them. After completing a stage there is a change according to a previously agreed scheme until all posses have shot all stages.

There are some tasks to be performed on the stage. Since only one shooter is allowed to shoot at a time, these tasks are usually carried out by the other participants, whereby one should alternate fairly. On every stage there are the following functions that must be filled:

  • Timer RO

He takes over the time measurement with the electronic timer. This task is usually taken over by the PL and his deputy alternately. The first duty of the Timer-RO, however, is to accompany the shooter safely through the stage. To this end, he is allowed to give the shooter assistance, information and instructions. Should the process be disturbed or interrupted by the timer RO, he can offer the shooter a re-shoot, i.e. a repetition of the stage. The Timer-RO always has his eyes on the shooter and his weapons and should be able to count whether a weapon has been empty before it is put down or holstered. He does not check the targets for hits.

The term "Range Officer" (RO) here and in the following functions should not be confused with the "Posse Leader", who until mid-2015 was also referred to as the "Range Officer" according to the sports manual. By renaming the supervisor, this risk of confusion has been eliminated.

  • Spotter

The Timer-RO is always supported by three spotters who observe the goals and the course of the stage. After the last shot, you inform the Timer-RO of the number of missed shots and any procedural errors. This relieves the timer RO and can concentrate on the safe process.

  • Loading RO

At the loading table, he watches the riflemen who are preparing for the passage and loading their weapons. He ensures that all shooters have loaded their weapons with the prescribed number of cartridges and that there are no cartridges in the chamber.

  • Discharge RO

After the shooting, the shooters go to the unloading table. There the unloading RO checks that all weapons are completely empty and that there are no more cartridges or empty casings in them.

  • Clerk

Notes the measured times, missed shots and possible penalty times for rule and safety violations.

  • Sleeve picker

Since there are many empty cases in dynamic shooting, these are repeatedly removed between the shooters in order to avoid slipping. In addition, most western shooters are reloaders and need their empty cases again. The tube picker therefore brings them to the unloading table for protection.

Important rules

safety

Is capitalized in western shooting. The shooter moves freely with several loaded weapons, so that no compromises can be made and violations are punished severely.

Spirit of the Game

The most important rule in western shooting is safety, and violations are punished with a 30-second time penalty. In the case of repetition, a shooter can also be disqualified. For example, taking on tasks during the competition is one of the duties of a participant, whoever shirked this could receive this penalty.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bund Deutscher Sportschützen 1975 eV Accessed on May 26, 2019 .
  2. ^ Bund Deutscher Sportschützen 1975 eV Accessed on May 26, 2019 .