Single Action Shooting - just what is the attraction?

Old West firearms, ammunition and reloading, leather and Western gear, costuming and history all play a very real part in the appeal of Single Action Shooting to a very diverse group of people both young and old across the globe.

Is this what first attracted me some 12 or so years ago to become involved in what was then a fledgling shooting sport here in Australia? Well, not exactly. I first became aware of Single Action Shooting after reading an article in the Shooters Journal. We need to look back a little further, however, to determine why a former hunter and rifle and pistol discipline shooter would be interested in such concepts as dressing in period clothing and mastering the skills of firearms handling as would have been the case more than 100 years ago.

Since my youth, I have had an interest in Old West history and have spent many hours researching the myths and truths of the famous and infamous, and the history of the firearms and events of the period. What better opportunity to bring the era back to life than by getting involved in this new and exciting sport.

Having made the decision to become involved, I set about acquiring the necessary hardware to get started. I already owned both a Winchester Trapper in .45 Long Colt and a 12-gauge shotgun with external hammers, but what about the revolver? I had learned that Ruger had released a new model single-action revolver known as a Vaquero. The Vaquero was built on the Ruger Blackhawk frame so it was obviously a sturdy handgun that would provide both reliability and serviceability for many years. I tracked down one of the first Vaqueros in .45 Long Colt calibre imported into Australia and duly procured it.

Now that I owned the necessary firearms, and yes in those early days only one revolver was required to participate in a match, next, I needed some good-looking, hard-wearing gun leather if I was going to do justice to my new Vaquero. Mike Husby, proprietor of Savannah Leather in North Queensland, obliged by making me my first single-action holster and gun belt. Mike had already manufactured gun leather for many IPSC shooters and was well known for his quality and finish. I am sure that he indulged me and thought I was quite strange when I told him what I wanted and why. He did, however, make a fine gun rig. Interestingly, Mike later became a keen Single Action shooter himself, and to this day, he makes truly authentic gun leather for Single Action shooters.

By now I was well set up with the necessary hardware and gear, and I had procured some suitable clothing, so all that was left was to learn how to shoot this match.

With nominations completed and everything packed we headed out on the four-day drive from far north Queensland to South Australia for our first Single Action Shooting competition. ‘We’ you say? Did I forget to mention that I had roped my better half into this project as well? After all, it is a family participation sport and she is also a shooter.

What an experience that first ‘round-up’ was. Being a national championship event and the fact that I placed somewhere at the tail end of the field didn’t daunt my enthusiasm one iota. I can remember thinking that I had entered a time warp where people like Doctor Skins and his Indian Lodge resided alongside such personalities as Jesse and Zerelda James - born perhaps in the wrong time period - and Captain Starlight who just happened to be related to the real infamous Captain Starlight, cattle rustler extraordinaire of Australia’s colonial past. In hindsight, I was looking at living history but probably didn’t realise it at the time.

The shooting competition itself provided that adrenalin rush familiar to all sportspeople. The encouragement and advice freely provided by the seasoned competitors was something that I had not experienced before and little did I realise that this was, and still is, a fundamental aspect of the sport. I was hooked and so was my better half.

Well, that was more than a decade ago and since then Single Action Shooting has developed and matured into the fastest-growing shooting sport in the world today.

My partner has earned the title of National Ladies Champion for the past six successive years so you know why I refer to her as my ‘better half’, and I am still as passionate about Single Action Shooting as I was in the beginning. Many folks have an interest in the period clothing, others in the history in all of its various aspects and others are primarily interested in the shooting competition itself. Whatever the sphere of interest in the Old West, it certainly exists within the context of Single Action Shooting.

If I were to be asked why I am attracted to Single Action Shooting I would have to say it is the people, their various characters and their personalities. The one common denominator is that each is a dedicated sportsperson who understands and practises good sportsmanship. Within the fraternity of Single Action shooters this is known as ‘The Spirit of The Game’.

Would I recommend this shooting sport to anyone else? Absolutely! Anyone with an interest in keen competition involving revolvers, lever-action rifles and shotguns, and an interest in Old West history would fit right in and be a part of bringing history back to life.

by SSAA SAS National Discipline Chairman Damion Faith