My first exposure to CAS was watching the TV show "American Shooter", they had a couple of specials on End Of Trail and they really talked it up as something really neat and I thought it would be something to see. I had just started shooting for the first time since I was a kid out plinking around with my dad and didn't have too many places locally to go shoot (they've since closed the only range we had in my town). So one day Judge mentions Cowboy Shooting and how we should get the guns/gear and start shooting cowboy since we'd conversed about getting out and doing some shooting of some sort (IPDA, IPSC, etc). I suppose I should mention that Judge and I are pretty good friends, I consider him my best friend and its much easier to start something like this if you have a buddy to share the experience (or share the guns!).

Now I'll admit, I've never really had a great love of all things cowboy, I never read cowboy novels or sat transfixed by Western movies or TV shows, in fact I avoided Bonanza and Gunsmoke as a kid. So why now? Why go through all the trouble to buy four different guns, gunleather, clothing that makes you stick out like a sore thumb and do silly things like build a wooden cart to hold your guns? I suppose the answer for me is a few things, Comraderie, love of firearms and gettin' out of dang house once in a while and getting some much needed sun and a little exercise (also much needed). My job requires me to sit in an office in front of a computer with cell phone, radio, PDA, laptop and other communications gadgets and technology surrounding me. One unanticipated side benefit to CAS is I don't worry about any of that when I'm on the range, nobody whips out the cell to take a call, no PDA's or laptops, nothing. Just shooting.

That in a nutshell is it and its why I love Cowboy Action Shooting, while easy to do, its darn frustrating to get very good so its a challenge. Most of the people I have met through CAS have been a great group of folks. And did I mention the guns, yeah, that's sweet too.