What do I need to join or watch?
Have you had any accidents?
I have (fill in the blank)
physical problem/disability -- can I still participate?
Why aren't the Officers' e-mail
addresses hotlinked on the Officers & Contact Info page?
Why do I get a "Teply
Graphic Arts & Publishing" when I call your phone number?
I have only one (or two) gun(s),
but I want to shoot/join your group. What can I do?
Do I have to wear authentic
1880s "Cowboy" Outfits?
Balanced Rock Regulators' Membership
cards
Can my kids shoot Cowboy Action
in your group?
 What do I need to join or watch...
A pair of $2 ear plugs and some eye protection
-- but we can also loan you some. When I came to my first shoot, everyone
was nice and welcoming. After some questions, I was "assigned"
to Dingoman who shared many things in common with me -- including some of
my physical limitations since my car accident. He explained how scenarios
worked and went through what I called "Weaponry and Safety 101"
with me.
Everyone was quick to loan me their weapons
and explain their history and workings and in one day I tried several dozen
gun types and calibers. I quickly discovered what I did like and more importantly
-- did NOT like and did NOT feel comfortable with. Over the next year and
a half, as I saved money I bought the weapons that I did like and as per
the "Cowboy Way" people continued to loan me their weapons until
I had a full set. I could tell you the specifics of what I currently use
-- but you can see them on the Range or in action at any museum event.
In short, you do not need to buy the
outfits nor the guns before you start out in Cowboy Action Shooting.
In fact, I recommend that you find out what you like before you put the
money out -- it's a lot easier than trying to sell a gun that you dislike
and then buy something you do like! You do not need to buy ammo before attending
-- we can loan you some SASS approved ammo. As most of us reload our own
ammo, it is relatively cheap. Note: SASS does NOT allow; high power, high
power rifle, military, jacketed, steel ammo or high based shotgun ammo --
just "soft" lead.
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Have you had any accidents...
Nope. In the long history (almost two
decades) of the group (in its various incarnations) we are very proud that
we have NOT had an accident during our monthly or regional shoots. We are
sticklers for safety -- and we do have medical kits ready. We have a lot
of rules -- but you can't argue with our results. Here are some of them;
1) Loaded weapons only in the bay at the loading and unloading tables and
the shooting line. 2) Don't break the 170 degree rule. 3) Shoot only approved
ammo. 4) Shoot weapons that you are comfortable with. 5) Put the right ammo
in the right weapon. 6) Don't shoot over the berms. 7) Don't shoot under
the influence of drugs or alcohol. Basic safety stuff.
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I have (fill in the blank) physical
problem/disability -- can I still participate...
YES! Unlike the guys in medieval armor
who are out there with rattan swords, this is one of the great things about
the various forms of Cowboy Action Shooting -- some of us have physical
limitations and most can be worked around so that people can still shoot
and have fun. Without naming names, we have members who have everything
from rebuilt knees and backs to Parkinsons, being blind in one eye and recovering
from cancer.
As an example, I have a screwed up back,
neck and left hand due to a car accident that wasn't my fault -- my 16 years
in the SCA (medieval armor and archery) were effectively ended in less than
16 seconds. SASS allows and works around those limitations. I pretty much
spent a year and some hiding in a basement 22/7 before I was introduced
to SASS. I quickly found out that "full power" shotgun loads hurt
my back and put me in a cold sweat -- so I was introduced to a lighter load
(dubbed the "Ernie Load") that made AA Featherlights look military
powerful. I also found out that the recoil from some pistol/rifle calibers
were also not pleasant to deal with -- enter the "Ernie Load"
again. There are some SASS members in other groups who are on motorized
scooter chairs (and yes we do help them maneuver through the gravel).
When you attend, please let us know if
you have any limitations so we don't hand you a full power shotgun load.
However, for safety's sake we do require that you have your medications
regulated before attending.
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Why aren't the Officers' e-mail addresses
hotlinked on the Officers
& Contact Info page...
This is a method of cutting down on spam.
Most Spambots are programmed to look for hotlinked e-mail addys -- if they
are not hotlinked, 85% of 'bots pass by and ignore the info. We're not interested
in having our e-mail boxes filled with bogus snake oils, lotions, potions
or adult toys! You'll have to *gasp* manually type in the officer's e-mail
address -- after all, this is a group that celebrates the Old West!
Web 101 -- "Hotlinked" means
that you can click on the addy and your e-mail program opens up with the
address already entered. The "thewire@balancedrockregulators.com"
that appears in the boilerplate below is an example. "Spambots"
and "Addy Harvesters" are programs that are meant to scavenge
e-mail addresses from web sites -- by the way, isn't also interesting that
we now treat lines of computer code as a form of a living entity? Get the
ammo because Cylons, SkyNet and George Orwell's future here we come!
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Why do I get a "Teply Graphic
Arts & Publishing" when I call your phone number...
This is the main phone number for the
vice president and the secretary. Contrary to popular belief, we don't wear
the outfits and shoot guns all the time. We do have lives outside of Cowboy
Action Shooting and the Balanced Rock Regulators.
When calling, be brave... ask for Bobcat
or Kitty, or say you're interested in SASS, or Cowboy Action Shooting. Heck,
there are people out there who only know us as "Bobcat" or "Kitty"
and couldn't tell you our real names if you tortured them... a lot. Anyone
who answers a phone at Teply Graphic Arts & Publishing knows what's
going on... and will have an answer... or be able to direct you to someone
who does!
The Teply Graphic Arts & Publishing
phones are answered in the evening and mornings too. However, don't be surprised
that if I do answer the phone at 3AM we are less than coherent and mildly
irritated and expecting a good reason -- "just getting off work"
does NOT qualify -- and all lines do have Caller ID. -- Answered by Bobcat
Tepes.
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I have only one (or two) gun(s), but
I want to shoot/join your group. What can I do?
The Balanced Rock Regulators are not
a rabid competition group. That's where the "Camaraderie & Spirit
of the Game" part comes in on our mission statement. We want to
see you out at the range and at our events. We have NEVER said "come
back later."
As per the "Cowboy Way", we
always let people borrow gun leather and weapons and ammo at Balanced Rock
Regulators events/shoots so that they can join in the fun. Personally, I
borrowed various weapons for a year and a half until I found what I liked,
and I recommend that all new shooters do that too.
Just recently, we had a new member join
who wasn't comfortable with bigger and heavier weapons. Currently, she shoots
as her six-guns, a Ruger .22 single six with low velocity long rifle rounds
and is temporarily using her .38 police service revolver (in SA mode) as
her other pistol. At our shoots, she is borrowing a double barrel shotgun
and a lever action rifle, using low velocity cowboy ammo.
Another new member is basing his "SASS
persona" on his grandfather who was an immigrant farmer who kept stepping
in briefly as his little town's law and order. For cowboy shoots, he is
using the actual revolver and 1908 single barreled 12 gauge shotgun that
his grandfather used. At shoots, he borrows another revolver and a lever
action rifle -- since his grandfather's .30-30 is too powerful for cowboy
steel target shooting. He understands that he has to do extra reloading
of the single barreled shotgun during competitions (which effects his speed/time)
-- which is just fine with him, as he is getting to use his grandfather's
weapons.
For a while, I used our family's old
Model 31 pump shotgun until I decided that for competition and re-enactments
I preferred double barreled mule earred shotguns instead of anything that
might be in the 1897 pump shotgun family.
We are willing to help and accomodate.
Please remember, we are roughly 1850s - 1900 revolvers, shotguns and carbines.
The major things that we object to are "semi-auto" or "full
auto" or "military" or "high brassed/copper" in
either guns or ammo. Under NO stretch of the imagination is a M16 or a .45
Desert Eagle or Armor Piercing/Incendary Rounds "cowboy", nor
are they "safe" on small bays using steel targets.
Please also read our other FAQ that applies
to this question, What do I
need to join or watch...
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Do I have to wear authentic
1880s "Cowboy" outfits?...
The outfits and personnas are part of
the "game." Actually, SASS national has "costume contests"
that range from authentic to "fantasy." We do not require you
to go 100% authentic. But we do ask that you participate in the "Spirit
of the Game."
While some members go "authentic"
including "Bordello Dresses" and the "Funny Trousers,"
other go "minimal." The minimum costume is blue jeans, a long
sleeved shirt, cowboy boots or other leather footwear (non-tennis shoes)
and a cowboy hat. Costume requirements are waived for first time shooters.
Most of the stuff can be found in either
your closet or modified through your local department store. We have members
who ransack their closets, others who go to Wal-Mart or Burlington, to others
who buy authentic outfits on-line. And others who either make or have a
seamstress make their authentic outfits. Stores that sell "authentic"
outfits can be found in our links
page.
Obviously take any physical limitations
that you have into your personna (which can also be reflected in your shooting
style).
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Balanced Rock Regulators' Membership
Cards...
Yes. It's true. We are the first SASS
chapter in the Intermountain West Region to provide its members with professional
membership cards. After years in SASS, Bobcat suggested that we do this
when forming a new group for many reasons. The most obvious being; to identify
current members, make memberships fair and equitable and for our own record
keeping. Never will Balanced Rock Regulator members have to face the dreaded
"I joined in November and in January I'm being hit up for the full
membership cost again" syndrome or have their memberships dropped mid-year
due to record keeping FUBARs. The Balanced Rock Regulator membership card
proves your alias, name, number, title, membership expiration date and Saftey/Match
Director status (if any).
The membership cards have since become
a symbol of Regulator pride and more surprisingly, a second form of "acceptable"
I.D. Ironically, grocery stores, banks and the government have accepted
them as "official" I.D. (To Bobcat, there's high comedy value
in cashing an EE Bond with your Drivers' License number and your Balanced
Rock Regulator number.)
Bobcat started referring to them as the
Regulators' "Trading Cards." Some members have opted for their
pictures to be simply standing against the wall at the North Springs Shooting
Range, while others have done more creative photos. One member has posed
with her two Golden Retrievers (so there's three in one photo), others have
posed with their guns or favorite props, another had a "stoic 1880s
profile portrait", one had their photo done in 1930s silver screen
sepia. Either we can take your photo (or Bobcat and Kitty can help you do
something digitally creative in PhotoShop) or you can provide your own photo.
In short, your photo can be whatever you want -- because you're the one
who has to carry and show the card for a year.
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Can my kids shoot Cowboy Action in
your group?...
We don't know. Can your kids hit the
steel targets?
Okay, seriously. Yes, WITH PARENTAL SUPERVISION.
The Single Action Shooting Society is a family sport -- so spend time with
your kids or grandkids. SASS does allow kids to shoot in their own category
-- starting with the "Buckaroo" category (depending on their age)
and working up from there. However, we will require a responsible legal
guardian to be present with their child/teens. We will not allow children
to be dropped off at shoots as a sort of "daycare."
Actually, several world champion shooters
(such as "Holy Terror" and "Lead Dispencer") started
off as child shooters. In the past, our group has had child shooters (with
their gun savvy parents or grandparents present) using .22s or low velocity
.38s and .410 shotguns. However, we must stress -- Saftey, Ability, Safety,
Follow the Rules, Safety, Fun, and Safety!
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