Gettin' SASSy
I was very into Cowboy Action Shooting for 6 or 7 years, but haven't shot a match in about 2 years. My wonderful wife even gave me a Dillon 550 (without a doubt, one of the finest reloading presses out there) a while back and I've loaded thousands of rounds of .44 and .38 special on it. But, I haven't used it since I last shot a SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) match. I moved it out to the shop from the guest room about a year ago.
I finally got around to going to a match again today. To prepare, I went out to the press yesterday to load up some ammo. Skills deteriorate when they go unused. It took me a while to get back into the rythm and techniques of loading. Turns out that equipment also deteriorates when it is unused. After I got about 50 rounds done, it stopped feeding primers. The primers dropped out of the tube far enough that the lifting cup wouldn't go underneath them and it was blocked from picking up the next primer. I took it apart and switched out to a spare "thingee" at the bottom of the tube. It still wouldn't work.
It doesn't make sense, but the only thing I can think is that the "thingees" made of plastic have deteriorated over the years. Luckily, Dillon is reputed to have amazing customer service, and a "no BS" lifetime warranty. I'll call them Monday and see what they have to say, but my guess is it will be up and running 100% by the end of the week. I'll give you a report.
On the shooting match, I got my cowboy getup on this morning, and went on out to the range to watch and help score the match. Over the years, alot of folks have left, but new folks have taken their places. They had about 30 shooters, and I knew a little more than half of them. It was good to get back over there and I'll be shooting the July match for sure.
I'm sure I'll be much slower than I used to be, but I think it will come back to me pretty quick. Some doubt the idea of Cowboy Action Shooting as a viable SHTF training regimine, but I don't. You have to shoot, transition weapons, identify targets and do it all on the move. And, you get to have a ton of fun doing it.
Any readers out there involved in SASS? My handle is Cousin Wilfred.
Sounds like a good time. The same principle works for just about anything. You remember how to do it but the muscle memory is gone. Hope you do well in the July match. Remember it is just like riding a bike, it will all come back with a little time.
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