Sixguns Of Cowboy Action Shooting

American Handgunner, Annual, 2000 by John Taffin

These guns of the 1800s still tame the West in modern competition.

The first cartridge-firing, big-bore sixgun blazed onto the scene in 1869 as the .44 caliber Smith & Wesson Single Action American Model #3. With Rollin White's patent for bored-through cylinders, Smith & Wesson had an exclusive until 1872. Then Colt brought forth their Open Top which was quickly succeeded in 1873 by the now legendary Peacemaker, the Colt Single Action Army. During this time, Remington also turned to cartridge-firing sixguns with their Model 1875 single-action revolver.

By the late 1870s, the first double-action cartridge guns appeared, but they were not the first double actions. Trigger-cocking sixguns were available in cap-n-ball form during the Civil War. As the 20th century dawned, the double action was perfected by Colt and Smith & Wesson and the new self-loading, self-cocking or semi-automatic pistols began to appear. This modern design was perfected by Colt with the 1911.

The single action was dead! Remington's version never saw the turn of the century and Smith & Wesson dropped their line in 1912. Colt held on until 1941 when war-time requirements shut down Single Action Army production permanently. Or so they thought.

Miracles Do Happen

By all logic, at least to many shooters, the single action should have stayed buried. But several miracles brought it back. First there was Bill Ruger and his .22 Single-Six in 1953. Ruger modernized the old action with coil springs and produced a gun that everyone could afford to purchase and shoot.

Then fast-draw competitions became popular, along with a vast array of westerns on the relatively new medium of television. The stage was set for the return of the single action. First came the Great Western, a near-copy of the Colt Single Action in 1954 followed by the Ruger .357 Blackhawk in 1955 and the return of the Colt Single Action to production in 1956. The single action was back!

Then the pendulum swung back the other way and the Great Western disappeared. Colt dropped production again, while the Ruger stayed strong--the Blackhawk proving to be a great outdoorsman's sixgun. Then another miracle occured. Cowboy Action Shooting, Western Action Shooting, Cowboy Shooting--call it what you will--it has been a major force in bringing back the single-action sixgun. There are now more different models of single actions then at any time in history.

Cowboy Competitions

Cowboy action shooting came out of Southern California with the Wild Bunch, a group of single-action shooters who got together for informal competition. It has spread to the entire country and beyond. The Wild Bunch formed the Single Action Shooting Society, the main governing body for this great sport. Simply put, cowboy action shooting attempts to capture the "Spirit of the Old West." Shooters dress in frontier period clothes, use frontier period single-action sixguns, leverguns and double-barreled shotguns in a fast-paced competition. It's proven to be great fun and a major force in attracting new shooters.

To compete, a cowboy shooter needs two single-action sixguns, a levergun and a period double-barrel or pump shotgun. "Period" means prior to 1899. Shooters must use original guns of the time or replicas.

Cowboy Sixguns

The sixguns of cowboy action shooting have three major classifications: the originals, such as the Colt Single Action Army; the thoroughly modern coil-spring operated Ruger Single Actions; and the replicas, both cartridge firing and cap-n-ball versions. There are also several offerings that do not fit in any of the major categories.

Most cowboy shooting clubs offer two main classes of competition: "Traditional" and "Modern". These are based on the use of fixed-sighted sixguns for the former and adjustable sighted versions for the latter. In addition, the Traditional class is separated into smokeless and black powder loads. A typical club--such as the Oregon Trail Rough Riders--allow for three classes, Modern, Traditional and Black Powder. I normally compete in both Traditional and Black Powder, using the same sixguns with both smokeless and black powder loads.

In addition to competing with black powder cartridge loads, a shooter can choose to use cap-n-ball sixguns for this most interesting and authentic classification.

The Traditional Shooter

It's still possible to find single actions from the frontier period, the Colt Single Action Army, the Smith & Wesson Russian, Schofield, and New Model #3, the Remington Single Action Model 1875 and even the Merwin-Hulbert Single Action. However, they are usually quite expensive and all designed for use only with black powder loads in their original form.

The Colt Single Action Army is the easiest to come by in shooting shape and older models can be fitted with smokeless powder barrels and cylinders. This permits them to be used in the cowboy shooting category with smokeless loads, featuring muzzle velocities in the 750 to 900 fps range.

If one of "The Originals" is in good shooting shape and offered at reasonable price, don't pass it up. One can load black powder ammunition specifically tailored for these old sixguns. Factory black powder loads are also available. Cor-Bon offers .45 Colt, .38 Special, and .44-40 cartridges loaded with Clean Shot powder, which is a black powder substitute.