HSM Cowboy Action Ammunition

It started when I read my first Louis L’Amour novel, The Man Called Noon. As a gangly teenager looking for an identity, the heroes of his stories were what I strove to be. That gave birth to my love of the Colt Single Action Army and cowboy action shooting.

When I tell people I compete in cowboy action shooting, they usually think I mean fast draw or trick shooting. While I do try to draw as fast as I can, and it’s a trick to achieve a clean match, it’s neither of these. In a nutshell, it’s a cowboy tactical approach. The Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) is the most prominent cowboy action organization. In a SASS match, a shooter must hit a series of metal targets in a prescribed sequence using two single-action pistols, a lever-action rifle, and a shotgun. In most cases, the targets are big and close, and speed is key to ranking well. Sounds simple, right? It is, right up to the point the start buzzer goes off, and then all strategy and planning go out the window, but the moments of ringing steel with Old West guns are an addiction.

The most essential components of competitive shooting are quality equipment, quality ammunition, and quality practice. Of the three, the component that causes the most problems is ammunition. There are no second chances when it comes to ammunition failure in a match.

I had a high primer lock up my revolver and knock me out of the game. Most top shooters are within mere seconds of each other at the end of a match, and ammunition failure can mean the difference between getting a coveted belt buckle or driving home fuming about what could have been. A low powder charge can knock a shooter out of “the zone.” An overcharge can cause a shooter to lose focus or even cause damage to the gun or the shooter. A squib load can ruin a stage and possibly the gun. In short, bad ammunition results in poor performance.

HSM Cowboy Action Lineup

To support cowboy action shooting, HSM produces its Cowboy Action line. Many people mistakenly assume that cowboy action loads are reduced-recoil or reduced-pressure loads. SASS requires all main match loads to have a velocity not to exceed 1,000 fps in pistols, use soft lead bullets, and meet or exceed a power factor of 60, which is determined by multiplying the velocity by the bullet weight in grains and then dividing by 1,000. I have found HSM loads to be anything but powder-puff loads!

To be clear, match guns, pistols, and rifles must be of pistol caliber. However, many larger state and regional matches include long-range rifle events. HSM has them covered with loads for the .30-30 Winchester, .38-55 Winchester, and the .45-70 Government.

The Main Event

The biggest cowboy action shooting match occurs each winter at the Ben Avery Range, just north of Phoenix, Arizona. Appropriately named “End of Trail,” the games are the world championships of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), drawing shooters from around the world. To show their support, HSM is one of the sponsors of the 2026 championships, as well as sponsoring one of the top shooters and a great ambassador of the sport, Shamrock Sadie (we all go by our alias). In a sport dominated by men, Shamrock Sadie is a nine-time world champion, and it is a rare occasion that she isn’t in the winner’s circle at lesser matches. Her love of the sport is contagious, and she shares her passion in seminars around the country to help other female shooters excel at cowboy action shooting.

Sadie’s Secrets

It took no prodding to get Shamrock Sadie to share her secrets about being a champion. The biggest takeaways were dry fire practice, working on transitions between guns, and mastering their shotgun.

Many competitors hang a series of paper targets inside a garage and practice drawing, aiming, and dry-firing their guns repeatedly until it becomes one fluid motion. Of more importance is eliminating wasted motion during the transition from gun to gun. If possible, the hands should always be doing something. For example, one hand should be putting the empty gun down while the other hand is reaching for the next gun. As one hand is opening the shotgun, the other hand should have already pulled shotgun shells from the belt and have them headed to the open shotgun. The shooter needs to instill economy of motion while learning muscle memory. This is especially true with the shotgun. Matches are won and lost with the shotgun.

HSM Performance

Many plinkers, hunters, and cowboy shooters rely on the reliability of HSM factory ammunition. The reasons are simple; no surprises and no excuses. The principles of excellent ammunition are accuracy and reliability, box after box.

In my testing, I used two handguns, a Thompson Center Contender and A Ruger New Vaquero, both in .45 Colt. The loads provided by HSM were 200-grain RNFP with a box velocity of 750 fps. I found them to be a little hotter, but I do live at a mile high, so there is less resistance. In my testing, I clocked the rounds fired from the Contender at an average of 1,078 fps with a Standard Deviation (SD) of 7.6. The Contender is going to shoot like a rifle as the barrel is longer with no cylinder gap. The loads shot with the Ruger Vaquero averaged 916 fps with an SD of 20.6.

The Vaquero worked very well with the HSM Cowboy Action ammunition, so I aimed at a hillside boulder over a hundred yards away. Once I had the elevation, I giggled like a schoolboy at how well I could hit at 100 yards with fixed sights! So, if an afternoon of plinking, hunting farmyard varmints, or ringing steel targets dressed as a cowboy appeals to you, HSM is ready. Just look for the box with the cowboy!

Visit their website at HSMAmmunition.com.