I am still learning. It still is fun as I started with realistic expectations.
Some buddies try to cut ammo cost. They chose to reload .38 Special which is a very poor choice in Germany. They use the cheapest components they can get (and still don´t beat the price per round of factory ammo). The result is a failure to fire rate at about 3% due to the quality of the primers. That´s no fun as they are guaranteed to have at least one shot not go off in every match or practice session.

Technically that is reusing. That is even better than recycling.
I give away my 9mm brass to shooting buddies. I do not shoot it much and some factory ammo is cheaper than .22lr. I prefer revolvers because they do not distribute the brass on the entire range floor.

You are lucky with that. For me it had negative side effects. With more practice time the impact tends to be closer to the center of the target. So I do not only shoot more for actually more money. I also have expenses for travelling to matches I would not have shot before. That is made worse by the fact that I decided to get a license for black powder as well when I took the class for reloading (in Germany you need to take a class and have a license). I had to buy a percussion cap rifle and flintlock rifle and attend some extra matches.
On the other hand it´s great to find your name on the upper part of the score lists.
And yes, starting CAS was partly inspired by this too.

Do you have a shooting alias for CAS like clubs in the US do?
What kind of character to you portray?

One of my friends is a High Planes Drifter IE blackpowder, one revolver with percussion caps, balls and spare cylinder etc. Wait for the smoke to clear.

Our Boy Scout troop make money for their camping trips by picking up the brass
for the more elderly shooters.

Odd about the 38 special primers. That is one of the more accurate rounds here.

We have shooting aliases in Germany. I haven´t picked one yet. A fellow shooter already called me Magic Max for my skilled hands. It was not for my gun handling though. I am an amateur illusionist a can do some tricks with a deck of cards. So the character might go the direction of a gambler.




I like black powder too. However I mostly shoot it with a rifle.



It´s not as odd as it may seem. The .38 special is a popular accurate round. It may even be the most popular big bore round here. You can get an abundant, reliable and cheap supply in literally every gun store. That is why it is a poor choice for cost oriented reloading. Buying low price and low quality (small pistol) primers with bigger tolerances in height and diameter can result in unreliable ammo. The also use a multistation press and cheap brass. This may cause light primer strikes due to tolerance stacking and primers moving in the pocket.
I use decent brass and decent primers and I ream my primer pockets. That is slightly more expensive but after a couple of thousand round I still have not had a FTF with my reloads.

Although I still keep my 9mm brass, I don't reload it at this time. Or .223. I'm set up to, and have reloaded these in the past, but not anymore. Because you can buy commercial in these calibers for about the same price you can reload it. OK, I *do* reload small amounts of .223 for my target rifle, but I don't reload for the AR15 anymore since that's mostly a plinking gun for me and I shoot basic/cheap range fodder for that. I reload lots of .45colt and .45auto, .40s&w, and .38spl. Occasionally .380auto, but I don't shoot that much.

I still have my Uberti revolvers and I am very satisfied with their performance. They fit either hand well.
However the rifle developed problems with extraction fairly quickly. They failed to fix it at the gun shop and after a few attempts I decided to trade the rifle for a Winchester 1873 short rifle (they are actually made by Miroku). It has a great trigger, a smooth action and really good iron sights. Only the spring for the safety is a little stiff. For me the fit of the stock is perfect. It is just point and shoot. In hindsight I should have opted for the Winchester in the first place.
People who where allowed to handle it said that it was really slick out of the box. By now more than a thousand rounds went through it without any problem.
I may be a little biased as the equippment (and a bit of practice ) allowed me to place second at my last match.

Do you have a handle for your character yet?

Do you have the shotgun shoots as part of the sport there? The local ones have a flying pop can that releases after you hit a spring releasing target and then you try to shoot the can out of the air with the second shot. The shotguns have to be either exposed hammer pump or break action.

Also they have some side competitions with derringers.

Some of the Canadians had some spectacular outfits and guns.
The laws in Canada were not as restrictive as I thought for owning or transporting various firearms. In some cases (short barreled rifles) they can be less so than the US.

As I picked up the habbit of playing clawhammer banjo I decided to go with "Banjo man" for now.
We do have to shoot shotguns here. They can be side by side, pump action with exposed hammer or lever action with exposed hammer. I use a Sauer & Sohn 12 ga. side by side. As gunfighter I can use a shotgun with internal hammers.
We usually shoot indoors. That does not allow for flying targets. To many shots go into the ceiling already.
Derringers are not allowed. Sport shooters do not get permits for them. Our side matches often involve shooting Sharps rifles on the clock.
Some people around here also have spectacular outfits, knives and guns.
Some try to cheat with their loads. It´s a real nuisance to spot for a shooter when the .38 has less of an impact than a buckaroo´s .22.