The Fastest Way to Get Better at Cowboy Action Shooting: Essential Drill and Grit Secrets

There is a specific kind of magic that happens when the sun begins to dip below the horizon, casting long, jagged shadows across the desert floor. You can almost hear the faint echo of spurs jingling against a wooden boardwalk and the smell of woodsmoke drifting from a distant campfire. For those of us who live and breathe Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS), this isn't just a hobby; it’s a portal to the rugged days of the American frontier. We aren't just pulling triggers; we are honoring the legends of the Wild West.

But let’s be honest: while we all love the smell of black powder and the weight of a heavy leather holster, we also want to hear that satisfying clink of lead hitting steel: and we want to hear it fast. You want to be the one the crowd cheers for as you clear a stage with the grace of a ghost and the speed of a prairie fire.

How do you get there? How do you move from a casual enthusiast to a top-tier competitor? The answer isn't just in the gear (though a fine Uberti or Taylor's & Co certainly helps). The secret lies in a mixture of disciplined drills and old-fashioned grit.

The Golden Rule: Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

It’s the oldest trap in the book. A new shooter steps up to the line, pulse pounding, and tries to channel their inner Doc Holliday by moving their hands faster than their brain can track. The result? Fumbled reloads, missed targets, and a whole lot of frustration.

The fastest way to improve is, counterintuitively, to slow down. World-class shooters like Jim "Long Hunter" Finch will tell you that speed is a byproduct of efficiency. If you have wasted movement, speed will only amplify your errors.

The Point Practice Method: Before you ever burn a grain of powder at the range, you should be doing "Points." This means performing your draw, your transitions, and your holstering at a painfully slow pace: we’re talking half-speed.

• Why? It builds deep muscle memory.
• The Goal? Perfecting the path your hand takes from the holster to the grip.
• The Result? When the buzzer goes off, your hand knows exactly where to go without you having to think about it.

The Pyramid of Proficiency

If you want to climb to the top of the leaderboards, you need a structured way to practice. You can’t just head out to the scrub and start blasting. I recommend a "Pyramid" structure for every practice session:

1. Sight Picture Work: Start with small targets. Focus purely on the alignment of your sights. Whether you're rocking a classic Single Action Army or a modern replica, your eye needs to find that front sight instantly.
2. Match Speed: Increase your pace until you are shooting at the speed you typically maintain during a sanctioned match.
3. Race Speed: This is where you push the envelope. Operate your lever guns and scatterguns as fast as humanly possible. You might miss a few, but you’re teaching your nervous system what "fast" feels like.
4. The Cool Down: Always end back at Match Speed. You want to leave the range with the feeling of a clean, controlled run, not a chaotic one.

Practice What You Hate (The 80/20 Grit Rule)

It’s human nature to practice what we’re already good at. If you love the rhythmic clack-clack of your lever-action rifle, you’ll probably spend all day running rounds through it. But if your shotgun reloads feel like you’re trying to juggle greased pigs, that’s exactly where you need to spend 80% of your time.

In the CAS world, matches aren't won or lost on the targets you hit; they are won in the "dead time" between guns.

✔ The Transition Drill: Set up a dry-fire stage. Practice the exact movement of dropping your revolvers, moving to the long gun, and bringing it to your shoulder. ✔ The Shotgun Shuck: The scattergun is often the "make or break" firearm. Practice your reloads until you can do them with your eyes closed. ✔ Weak Side Focus: If you're a righty, spend extra time drawing and firing your left-hand revolver. The frontier didn't care which hand was your favorite, and neither does a CAS stage.

The Modern Tools of the Old West

We might be playing a game of historical nostalgia, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use modern technology to get an edge.

• The Shot Timer: This is your most honest critic. It doesn't care about your stories or your "almost" runs. Use a timer to track your split times (the time between shots) and your transition times. If you see your transition from rifle to shotgun is taking four seconds, you’ve found exactly where to shave off time.
• Video Feedback: Prop your phone up and record your runs. You might think you look like John Wayne, but the video might show you slouching, taking unnecessary steps, or fumbling with your holster.
• Dry Fire is King: You don't need to spend a fortune on specialty ammunition to get better. 15 minutes of dry fire in your living room every night is worth more than a monthly trip to the range where you’re just making noise.

Fueling the Fire: The Right Lead and Powder

Your skill is the engine, but the ammo is the fuel. In the heat of a match, you need rounds that are consistent and reliable. We see a lot of folks running Buffalo Bore or Federal Syntech because they offer the low-recoil, high-consistency performance required for rapid-fire steel transitions.

When you're practicing those high-speed drills, you want to know that when you pull the trigger, the gun is going to go bang every single time without excessive kick that throws off your next sight picture. Choosing the right caliber and load is a science in itself. If you're curious about the technical side, check out our deep dive on the science behind cowboy shooting accuracy.

The Grit Factor: Mental Toughness

Cowboy Action Shooting is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. You will have days where your lever gun jams, your shotgun shells stick, or you just flat-out miss a target the size of a barn door.

The "Grit Secret" is how you handle the "miss." In the Old West, a moment of hesitation or frustration could be the difference between life and death. In a match, it’s the difference between a podium finish and a mid-pack result.

The Cold Start Drill: Once a week, walk onto the range, set up a stage, and shoot it once: cold. No warm-ups, no practice draws. This simulates the pressure of the first stage of a match. It builds the mental fortitude to perform when it counts, not just when you're "in the zone."

Saddle Up and Get to Work

The dust of the old ghost towns may have settled over a century ago, but the spirit of the frontier is alive and well every time we step onto the range. Becoming a better shooter isn't about buying a trophy; it's about the hours of quiet practice, the calloused thumbs from loading revolvers, and the unwavering desire to be just a little bit faster than you were yesterday.

Are you ready to stop "just shooting" and start mastering the craft? Here’s your checklist for the next week:

• 15 minutes of dry fire "Points" every evening.
• Record one video of your transitions and look for wasted movement.
• Spend 20 minutes specifically on your weakest firearm.

If you need to gear up for your next adventure or want to chat about the best lever-action rifles currently in stock, swing by and see us at the Western Gun Store. We’re more than just a shop; we’re a community of folks who believe the West is never truly lost as long as someone is still willing to pull a lever and chase the sun.

The trail is waiting. We’ll see you at the range.

- JASON MARSH Owner, Western Gun Store

Want to learn more about the gear that helped win the West? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Modern Replica Cowboy Guns or Contact Us if you have questions about getting started in the sport.