12 Aug Chron

hoenix, AZ – The awardsceremony for WinterRange 2011 ended about1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb-

ruary 20, 2011. By 2:00 p.m. therange was being taken down, andin a logistical miracle all of whathad been Winter Range 2011 wasremoved from the range andstored by 5:00 p.m. on Monday.The Arizona Territorial Companyof Rough Riders, the Rangers, andvolunteers sat on the tailgates oftheir trucks to relax and have

some cool beverages. They alsobegan what has become a tradi-tion after every Winter Range—immediately reading the shootercomment sheets, discussing whatwent well, what could be improvedor changed, and how to make Win-ter Range 2012 even better for theSHOOTERS. Winter Range 2011had sold out. Winter Range 2012was also sold out with a recordnumber of shooters and vendors.Maintaining a consistently high

Chronicle

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Vol. 25 No. 8 © Single Action Shooting Society, Inc. August 2012

The Cowboy Chronicle~

The Monthly Journal of the Single Action Shooting Society®

For Updates, Information and GREAT Offers on the fly-Text SASS to 772937!

50 Chiappa SpenCer-2by Tuolumne Lawman

57 SaSS Senior GameS

by T-Bone Dooley

58 GivhanS Ferryby Ranger Law

60 BuFFalo Stampede

by Capt. George Baylor

66 CopS & CowBoyS-ohby Col. Fletch O’Dubois III

68 Smoke in the woodS

by Col. Fletch O’Dubois III

Sign Up!

SASS OUTLAW

TRAIL

(See page 47)

Winter rangeThe SASS National Championship of

Action Shooting

WINTER RANGE

(SASS) the name is of particularsignificance. It is the name of thefounding fathers of SASS and theindividuals that provide the lead-ership of SASS—Judge Roy Bean,SASS #1; General U.S. Grant,SASS #2; Tex, SASS #4; and Hip-shot, SASS #7. It is the name ofthe infamous Hole-in-the-Wallgang from the end of what we callthe “Old West.” Who can forgetButch Cassidy and the SundanceKid? It is also the name of aniconic film by Sam Peckinpah. Itis hard to visualize any SASSmember that has not seen andbeen enthralled by The Wild

he Wild Bunch! Thename alone evokes ex-citement. For the SingleAction Shooting Society

This is where it all started! The movie, The Wild Bunch, provided the inspiration for both the name of the SASS Board of Directors AND the Wild Bunch Action Shooting™ discipline! 1911s, big bore rifles, and ‘97 shotguns were part of both the

Old West and the modern world before WWI. It’s not Cowboy Action with a 1911, but it’s fun none-the-less! The Thursday evening night shoot is always a blast!

Nobody cares about scores—it’s all about lighting up the nighttimesky with fire and brimstone belching from the muzzles of cowboy’s

firearms! When the .45-70 cuts loose, it’s awesome—and the burning of the downrange props is always a sight to behold!

2012 2012The SASS National Championship of

wild bunch™ Action Shooting

Winter range

By Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS Life #32933

By Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS Life #32933

T

WINTER RANGEThe SASS National Championship of

Cowboy Action Shooting™

P

(Continued on page 28)(Continued on page 25)

Cowboy Chronicle August 2012

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SASS® TrademarksSaSS®, Single action Shooting Society®,

end of trail®, eot®,

The Cowboy Chro nicletm,

Cowboy action Shootingtm,

CaStm, wild Bunchtm,

wild Bunch action Shootingtm,

the world Championship of

Cowboy action Shootingtm,

Bow-legged Cowboy design, and the

rocking horse design

are all trademarks of

the Single action Shooting Society, inc.

Any use or reproduction of these marks

without the express written permission

of SASS is strictly prohibited.

The CowboyChronicle

Editorial Staff

The Cowboy Chronicle is published by

The Wild Bunch, Board of Directors of

The Single Action Shooting Society.

For advertising information and rates, ad-

ministrative, and edi to rial offices contact:

Chronicle Administrator

215 Cowboy Way

Edgewood, NM 87015

(505) 843-1320

FAX (505) 843-1333

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DISCLAIMER - The Single Action Shooting

Society does not guarantee, warranty or en-

dorse any product or service advertised in

this newspaper. The publisher also does not

guarantee the safety or effectiveness of any

product or service illustrated. The distri -

bution of some products/services may be il-

legal in some areas, and we do not assume

responsibility thereof. State and local laws

must be investigated by the purchaser prior

to purchase or use or products/services.

WARNING: Neither the author nor TheCowboy Chronicle can accept any responsi-

bility for accidents or diffe ring results

obtained using reloading data. Variation

in handloading tech niques, compo nents,

and fire arms will make results vary. Have

a competent gunsmith check your

firearms before firing.

The Cowboy Chronicle (ISSN 15399877) is pub-

lished monthly by the Single Action Shooting

Society, 215 Cowboy Way, Edgewood, NM

87015. Periodicals Postage is Paid at Edge-

wood, NM and additional mailing offices

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dress changes to The Cowboy Chronicle, 215

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TexEditor-in-Chief

Cat BallouEditor

Miss TabithaAsst. Editor

Adobe IllustratorLayout & Design

Mac DaddyGraphic Design

ButtercupAdvertising Manager

(505)843-1320 • Fax: (877)[email protected]

Contributing Writers

Capt.George Baylor, Chilkoot, Col. Dan, Col. Fletch O'Dubois,

Col. Richard Dodge, Cree Vicar Dave, Doc Sweeney, Jersey Kid,

Joe Fasthorse, Kaniksu Kid, Larsen E. Pettifogger, Long Johns Wolf,

Maurice "Mo" Lasses, Nubbins Colt,Ozark Bob & Evening Star, Palaver Pete, Ranger Law,

Rio Drifter & Tennessee Tall, Sgt. Shuster, T Bone Dooley,

Tuolumne Lawman,White Smoke Steve,Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp

CONTENTSCONTENTS

6

7

8, 9

10-19

1420-4447

46, 48

50

54

5657-68

70-74

75-77

78-81

82-89

90

FROM THE EDITOR Wild BunchTM, The Game (Is It Here To Stay)? . . .

LETTERS Comments From SASS Members . . .

NEWS We Did It! (We Hit Our Target!!!) . . . North-South Skirmish Association . . .

ARTICLES The Hatfields & McCoys . . . Geronimo-Pt 3 . . . The Vaqueros . . .

CAT’S CORNER Winter Range 2012 (Costume Contests) . . .

GUNS & GEAR C&B Revolvers & Conversions . . . Five String Banjo . . .

SASS OUTLAW TRAIL Sign-Up Application . . .

HISTORY Little Known Famous People (Way Out West) . . . Reno Brothers Gang . .

REVIEWS PRODUCTS Chiappa / Armi-Sport Firearms (Pt.-2) . . .

REVIEWS BOOKS The Fringe of Hollywood (The Art of Making a Western) . . .

TRAIL MARKER Always To Be Remembered . . .

ON THE RANGE What’s Goin’ On In Your Town? . . .

CLUB REPORTS 2nd Annual McShoot For The Kids . . .

GENERAL STORE /CLASSIFIED

SASS MERCANTILE (Nice Collectables) . . .

SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS (MONTHLY, ANNUAL)

POLITICAL Ron Paul’s Objective . . .


After months of discussions the NRA and SASS finally came to an agreement fora permanent NRA Museum facility at END of TRAIL. The NRA established

the Museum for END of TRAIL 2012 and displayed numerous well-known movieguns and other movie paraphernalia. Here (l to r) Punxsutawney Phil, SASS #5208(Phil Scheier of the NRA) and Viper, SASS #20081, (Kayne Robinson, NRA Execu-tive Director General Operations) deliver a check for their building to the General,SASS #2, to finalize the deal. The NRA has an amazing collection of firearms forfuture END of TRAIL displays … be sure and pay them a visit!



Tex, SASS #4

s Wild Bunch™ Cow-boy Action with a1911? No.

Is it fun? Yes.Is it an excuse to buy more

guns? YES!Will it promote additional

membership in SASS? Hopefully.For those who may not have

been paying attention, WildBunch™ is a discipline withinSASS. It represents the time pe-riod between the Old West andthe modern era—early 1900suntil World War I. It is epito-mized by Sam Peckinpah’s movie,The Wild Bunch, set just prior toWW-I. It requires period cos-tumes (as do ALL SASS activi-ties) and SASS aliases arerespected. One’s SASS badgeworks just fine. (Within SASS wehave ONE badge, one set of SASSnumbers, and one SASS alias reg-istry—that’s true for ActionShooting, Mounted Shooting, andWild Bunch™.) Within SASSthere is one membership—SASSmembership—but there are anumber of different disciplines inwhich one can participate.

Wild Bunch™ is now a coupleof years old. Establishment of thediscipline was spearheaded by asmall group that quickly becomeknown as the Wild Bunch™ ROCommittee. They did an excellentjob of creating a comprehensiveWild Bunch™ Shooters Handbookthat formed the basis for thegame (copies are available on theSASS website). As with anyHandbook, it has evolved and willcontinue to do so as the game isfurther refined. Some of thephilosophies adopted by this ROCommittee include this was to bea “big bore” game with “honest”loads (rifle and pistol power fac-tors of at least 150). While not a‘bulls-eye” discipline, the targetswould be set out far enough

where the front sights were actu-ally a benefit on one’s firearms!And, some of the rules many feelto be “over protective” in CowboyAction were set-aside for WildBunch™. All the guns, includingthe ‘97 shotgun, were to be fullyloaded at the loading table, andstandardly, the shotgun targetsare not “comstock” (meaning oneshot only at each target!).

Today, SASS is seeing manyclubs and annual matches hold-ing Wild Bunch™ matches in con-junction with their regularCowboy Action shoots. It’s not arecommended practice to attemptto “integrate” the two disciplines,Cowboy Action and Wild Bunch™,but rather run each as separateevents when hosted, for example,at an annual match.

Cowboy Action Shooting™ isSASS’ core business. It’s wherewe started, and where we intendto stay. Nearly 100,000 folks havejoined SASS over the past 30years and found a life-long attrac-tion to this Old West game andthe folks who play it. New friend-ships have developed withinSASS over the years, Old West re-lated businesses have been estab-lished and flourished, and manyhave adopted a life-style wherethey travel the country partici-pating in match after match.Cowboy Action is “bread and but-ter” to SASS.

Having said that, however, ithas been entertaining to watchthe shooters participating in WildBunch™ competitions! One seesthe same friendly competition andcamaraderie one sees in CowboyAction, and one sees the kind ofjoyful enthusiasm I can rememberseeing in Cowboy Action when itfirst got started! The shooters arelearning a new game, learning

about a new piece of equipment(the 1911), and getting a re-educa-tion in ammo making (the .45ACP). There are many new fail-ure modes to be accommodatedwith the 1911 than we ever hadwith the Single Action Army, andin my opinion, learning how to ef-ficiently accommodate these fail-ure modes is NOT something onewants to become good at! (It’s farbetter to “fix” the 1911 so it’s100% reliable and ensure 100% ofyour .45 ACP ammo will operatecorrectly in your 1911!)

Many clubs here in the USAand overseas have objected to the“big bore” requirement—why can’twe use rifles in .38 Special … orwhy not let us use BroomhandleMausers or period correct doubleaction revolvers? Some do as anexpedient to give folks a taste ofthe discipline, but in the end onemust use the prescribed equip-ment in order to participate inmajor matches. The discipline, bycurrent rules, is attempting tostay true to the Wild Bunchmovie. And, yes, it becomes an ex-cuse to buy more guns!

Will Wild Bunch™ result inmore SASS memberships? Hope-fully, yes. There has always beenthe thought the discipline will at-tract shooters from IPSC andother similar disciplines to SASS.Becoming proficient with lever ac-tion rifles and old-style shotgunswould, of course, be a learning(and buying) experience … butthe biggest concern among manyof these folks is the requirementfor period costuming. (We’velearned over the years the impor-tance of costuming, so that re-quirement is not going away.) It’sinteresting, these Action Pistolfolks don’t think of their shortpants and khaki or camo clothes

I as “costumes” … but they aremore in “uniform” than our cow-boys have ever been!

Today, the number of WildBunch™ Action Shooters is rela-tively small, especially as com-pared to Cowboy Action … but thenumbers are growing as is evidentat Winter Range and END ofTRAIL. Many clubs are startingto set aside special match daysjust for Wild Bunch™—here in theAlbuquerque area we now havetwo clubs offering Wild Bunch™shooting days. We even saw a“special” prize pool set-aside justfor Wild Bunch™ competitors atthis year’s END of TRAIL. In fact,Wild Bunch™ has even causedSASS to introduce a new scoringsystem after 30 years! It’s a sys-tem based upon category-onlyscoring where competitors earnpoints based on how well they shotrelative to the stage winner fortheir category. So far, it seems tobe working well!

The Cowboy Chronicle has pub-lished a few articles over the pastcouple of years regarding WildBunch™ Action Shooting. TheRO Committee has indicated aninterest in submitting a monthlycolumn dealing exclusively withthe discipline. SASS welcomesthe editorial material!

From all appearances, SASSWild Bunch™ Actin Shooting ishere to stay. If you haven’t triedit, you should. It’s loads of fun,it’s different, and it’s an opportu-nity to try and learn somethingnew! If the past is any indicationof the future, Wild Bunch™ ActionShooters will be more than happyto lend equipment and a helpinghand to shooters new to the disci-pline—it’s the Cowboy Way!

WildBunchtm

�

By Tex, SASS #4

The GameIs It Here to Stay?. ,

!



After reading Col. Dan’s article regarding “inalienable” rights,I realized how subtle the changes are to unsuspecting citi-

zens. I thought it would be redundant to congratulate him on an-other fine essay, as he receives so many accolades. I apologize. Iwas remiss.

His latest article depicts a leader about whom I fantasize. Ifone with his qualities could possibly make it to the forefront inpolitics, he would be slammed by the news media, or have a mys-terious death!

As much as I don’t want to believe it, I feel there are notenough patriots to save our country. The sacrifices of our Found-ing Fathers, I fear, are not to be duplicated today.

M.B.

Another Great

Essay!

�



ell, we did it! No, notLong Jim Hancock andme. Not the rest of theCowboy Memorial

Chapel Committee, Palaver Pete,Cree Vicar Dave, and Singin’ Sue.WE did it. All the members ofSASS who supported the Chapelfund by sending in donations, heldfund raisers for the Chapel, do-nated goods for our raffles,dropped money in the offeringplate at Cowboy Chapel services,or just gave us a word of encour-agement. It truly was a worldwideeffort—winners of raffle prizeswere from all over the USA,Canada, Australia, and a few coun-tries in Europe!

Yes, as Palaver Pete will tellyou in another article, we reachedour goal of $75,000 to build theCowboy Memorial Chapel. But,the efforts are not done, and theCommittee is not resting after ourefforts to meet our goal have beenrealized, since there is still more todo! Pews, hymn books and hymnboards are needed, a pulpit needsto be obtained, we need to plantgrass and flowers and … ok, maybetrying to get grass to grow there isa bit of a stretch, but the buildingis just a barn without the thingsinside that make it functional as aChapel. At END of TRAIL’s non-denominational service, most peo-ple sat on hay bales. (Easy to spotwho had been to the Chapel servicelater by spotting who had strawsticking to their pants or skirts!)

In order to finish the Chapel,and more importantly, to makesure there is sufficient funds tomaintain it, paint it when needed,and do future improvements, weneed to raise more funds. We havediscussed having, for example, asmall Old West style cemetery out-side the Chapel with tombstonesfor John Wayne, Roy Rogers, GeneAutry, and the host of other west-ern stars that inspired us in ouryouth. It would certainly makethe Chapel look even more authen-tic and go with the theme of thetown. This is not included in the$75,000 target that was set for theconstruction of the building.

As you may remember, we hadraffles in the past for items do-nated by many of the vendors thatsupport the sport so generously.We have changed the way we arehandling these items this year. In-stead of a raffle, in which you couldwin anything from a buffalo robe toa frilly hand made hat, we aregoing to focus on using the SASSWire Saloon (http://sassnet.com/forums/index.php?showforum=16) asan auction site. We are anticipat-ing having the auctions run for aperiod of three months. This pagecan be accessed either by clickingon the SASS homepage CowboyChapel link under Charities andthen following the links from there,or going directly to the Saloon pageand looking for the pinned links.

Items up for auction will belisted at the top of the forum page.Clicking on the particular itemyou wish to bid on will get you to a

bidder at the end of the auctionwill be the winner and will have 10days to contact SASS about pay-ment. Once payment is received,shipping information will be ob-tained and the item shipped onceall information, permits, or FFL is-sues are finalized.

As this is being written, theCommittee is still getting dona-tions, so keep your eyes peeled forthe auctions going live onwww.sassnet.com.

You will not be disappointedwhen you see what we have to offer!

thread that looks like a normal Sa-loon thread (as if anything in theSaloon is normal!!). The top postwill have a complete description ofthe item, the suggested retail pricefrom the donor (or estimated valueif one of a kind), the minimumstarting bid, and the date the auc-tion will end.

You may then place a bid of atleast the opening bid on thethread, and each bid after thatmust be higher. We will requirethat bids be in whole dollars andin at least $5 increments. High

We Hit Our Target!!

Two services were held Sunday morning at END of TRAIL. Afterwards the hay bales were stacked in the middle of the room … this was officially a “barn” until SASS obtained the final inspection certificate from county officials! Caulking and paint are needed for

the outside, and all the “nice” trimmings are still needed for the interior.

$75,000we Did It!

Goal ByendoftrailMet!By Maurice ‘Mo’ Lasses, SASS Life/Regulator #65309

Cowboy Memorial Chapel Co-Chair

W

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special musket match.Both schools’ teams began fa-

miliarization and training withCivil War muskets during thespring. VMI is coached by Lt.Colonel Bill Bither (US Army) aidedby N-SSA advisor Tom Magno. Vir-ginia Tech is led by N-SSA advisors

the firearms technology of 150years ago,” said Magno. Stilesechoes that perspective: “It took meyears to make the progress thesecadets have made in only a fewmonths. I’m really impressed.”

The musket match is scheduledfor Friday, October 5, 2012 startingat noon during the N-SSA 126th Na-tional Competition. Each ten-mem-ber team will shoot at 32 clay pigeonsmounted on a cardboard backer. Thefirst team to break all their targetswill be the winner and receive spe-cial commemorative medals.

The N-SSA has 3,200 individu-als that make up its 200 memberunits. Each represents a Civil Warunit or regiment and proudly wearsthe uniform they wore over 150years ago.

The 126th National Competitionis scheduled for October 5-7, 2012at Fort Shenandoah, just north ofWinchester, Virginia. For more in-formation about the N-SSA, contactPublic Information Officer, BruceMiller, at (248) 258-9007 or [email protected] or visit ourweb site at www.n-ssa.org.

Ken Stiles and Rick Hinson.Magno, Stiles, and Hinson are expe-rienced N-SSA shooters and havedonated considerable time and ef-fort to the upcoming competition. “Iknew the VMI cadets were familiarwith firearms and am delighted athow quickly they have adapted to

Skirmish associationTo Stage UniqueMusket Match

hile the federal andmany state governmentshave chosen to ignorethe 150th anniversary of

America’s greatest conflict, CivilWar enthusiasts will play a majorrole in bringing the events of 1861-1865 to the country’s consciousness.One of these organizations is theNorth-South Skirmish Association(N-SSA), the oldest and largestCivil War shooting sports group inthe nation. Commemorative eventswill continue at all National Com-petitions during the four-year ob-servance. The unique eventplanned for October’s 126th Na-tional will be particularly special asCadets from The Virginia MilitaryInstitute (VMI) battle the RifleTeam from Virginia Tech (VT) in a

W

North - south

N-SSA instructor John Zebelean coaches Virginia Military Institute(VMI) cadet Ike Williamsonin the appropriate handlingof a Civil War musket. VMI will take on VirginiaTech in a special musketmatch at the N-SSA 126thNational Competition October 5-7, 2012 at the Association’s home range,Fort Shenandoah, near Winchester, Virginia. VMI photo by John Robertson

,

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History Channel mini-series presented overthe course of threenights, it takes its

place, in my opinion, as one of tele-vision’s top-notch western movies.

Just in case you missed it ormight be one of a very small num-ber of people who do not know anyof the details of this historical,decades long event, the followingInternet details with respect tothis mini-series will quickly bringyou up to date:

Synopsis

The Hatfield-McCoy saga cen-ters on “Devil” Anse Hatfield andRandall McCoy. Close friends andcomrades during the Civil War,they returned to their neighboringhomes — Hatfield in West Virginia,McCoy just across the Tug Riverborder in Kentucky — to increasingtensions, misunderstandings, andresentments that soon explodedinto all-out warfare between thefamilies. As hostilities grew,friends, neighbors, and outsideforces joined the fight, bringing the

two states to the brink of anotherCivil War.

I give the cast below becausethey were superb and many ofthem are well known, but not all,and they were all excellent:

Cast

Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton,Tom Berenger, Lindsay Pulsipher,Jena Malone, Matt Barr, RonanVibert, Andrew Howard, SarahParish, Mare Winningham, NoelFisher, Powers Boothe, Boyd Hol-brook, Max Deacon, Tom McKay,Greg Patmore, and Noah Taylor.

The credits for production are alittle lengthy for inclusion here.The Director was Kevin Reynolds.There were several writers and atleast nine varied producers, includ-ing Mr. Costner. The music is out-standing, and I plan on obtainingthe CD whether I obtain the DVDor not.

The film is identified as a“western” probably because that ishow the American movie critics andviewing public would almost al-ways describe a film dedicated togunplay and gun battles, and witha significant amount of horsebackriding. But it’s a western in muchthe same way a story about DanielBoone is a western, even if it occursa far piece east of the MississippiRiver, hard by the Allegheny Moun-tains (sadly, the movie was filmedin the mountains of Romania, butthat’s show biz!). Whether there re-ally was that much gunplay andhorseback riding in the West Vir-ginia-Kentucky hills in the latterpart of the 19th century is arguable,but there was surely enough towrite many a tale and spawn manya movie, and this famous feud hasdone just that. It should be noted,interestingly, that the Hatfield-McCoy feud was actually the mostnotorious of several feuds takingplace in eastern Kentucky andneighboring areas at the time.

You can rest assured the His-

tory Channel will re-run this moviemore than a few times as the yearsgo by and if you enjoy westerns (amI kidding – with this audi-ence?!?!?!), I cannot recommend itstrongly enough. The story is exag-gerated a little, but that is alwaysallowed in movie making. All of usenjoyed the movies “Tombstone”and “Wyatt Earp” (coincidentallyalso staring Kevin Costner) in the1990s, and we debate the finepoints of that story incessantly, andwe compare the movies with equalvigor. There is little doubt that nei-ther movie portrays a totally accu-rate history of the events inquestion, so we should not expectanything particularly differentfrom the History Channel’s depic-tion of the Hatfield-McCoy feud.On the other hand, I happen toknow a little, or maybe more thana little, about that epic slice ofAmericana, and I can assure youthis mini-series deals with it fairlyand as accurately as anyone canpossibly hope for in such a drama-tization of a true story. They call ita true story, and I would not gain-say The History Channel’s use ofthat term.

I was prepared to be bored andannoyed and, instead, I was en-thralled. The characterizations aredeep and well developed, the actorsportray these people well and ex-hibit their strengths and theirflaws in as natural a way as if you,the viewer, are almost a participantin the event. It is impossible totake sides once you see how theawful facts play out, but each side’svictories will sit you upright whileeach side’s defeats will sink you lowwith sadness. And, as you mightexpect, each of these victories anddefeats happen simultaneously—aheart-rending tale of misunder-standing and injustice you willnever forget.

© Nubbins Colt 2012

Nubbins Colt, SASS #7802

EasTErNAn Western~The Hatfields McCoys~&

By Nubbins Colt, SASS Life #7802

A

!�

ost of us have someknowledge of Geronimo.Leader of the Chiric-ahua Apaches, Geron-

imo led the fight against theexpansion into their tribal landsby the United States during theApache Wars. But you knew thatmuch from the movies. The great-est wrongs visited upon theApaches were from the UnitedStates government. But it allstarted in Mexico … and we con-tinue with the story.

Almost all the other Apacheswere satisfied after the battle ofArispe, feeling Kas-Ki-Yeh hadbeen avenged. But Geronimo stilldesired more revenge. For severalmonths the Apaches were busywith the chase and other peacefulpursuits. Finally, Geronimo suc-ceeded in persuading two otherwarriors, Ah-koch-ne and Ko-deh-ne, to go with him to invade theMexican countryside.

The three warriors left theirfamilies with the tribe and wenton the warpath. They were on footand carried three days’ rations.The Apaches entered Mexico onthe north line of Sonora and fol-lowed the Sierra de AntunezMountains to the south end of therange. Here the three decided toattack a small village. Historydoes not remember the name ofthe village because Geronimo him-self could not remember.

At daylight the Indians ap-proached from the mountains.Five horses were hitched outsideof a dwelling. The war party ad-vanced cautiously, but just beforethey reached the horses, the Mexi-cans opened fire from the houses.Geronimo’s two companions werekilled. Mexicans swarmed onevery side; some were mounted,some were on foot, and all seemedto be armed. Three times Geron-

M



geronimo

Adapted by Sgt. Shuster, SASS Regulator #60835 Sgt. Shuster, SASS #60835

“Two small forays and defense of the Homeland”

imo was surrounded, but he keptfighting, dodging, and hiding. Sev-eral times during the day, while inconcealment, Geronimo had achance to take deliberate aim atsome Mexicans, who, guns in hand,

were looking for him. Geronimo’saim was perfect each time.

With the gathering darkness,Geronimo found more time to re-treat toward Arizona. But the Mex-icans did not quit the chase.Several times the next day,mounted Mexicans tried to headGeronimo off. They fired at Geron-imo many times. But since Geron-imo had no more arrows and couldnot return the fight, he dependedupon running and hiding. Geron-imo, very tired, had not eaten sincethe chase began, nor had he dared

to stop for rest. During the secondnight, Geronimo got clear of hisMexican pursuers, but he neverslackened his pace until he reachedhis home in Arizona. Geronimocame into the camp without booty,without his companions, ex-hausted, but not discouraged.

The wives and children of histwo dead companionswere cared for by theirpeople. Some of theApaches blamed Geron-imo for the evil result ofthe expedition, but hesaid nothing. Havingfailed, it was onlyproper Geronimoshould remain silent.But his feelings towardthe Mexicans did notchange; he still hatedthem and longed for re-venge. Geronimo neverceased to plan for theirpunishment, but it washard to get the otherwarriors to listen to hisproposed raids.

Within a fewmonths after this lastadventure, Geronimopersuaded two otherwarriors to join him inraiding the Mexicanfrontier. On Geron-imo’s former raid, theyhad gone through theNedni Apaches’ range

into Sonora. This time the warparty of three went through thecountry of the Cho-kon-en and en-tered the Sierra Madre Mountains.The Apaches traveled south, se-cured more rations, and preparedto begin their raids.

Geronimo had selected a vil-lage near the mountains, whichthey intended to attack at day-light. That night, while the Indi-ans slept, Mexican scoutsdiscovered their camp and firedupon them, killing one warrior. Inthe morning the braves observed a

company of Mexican troops comingfrom the south. The Mexicanswere mounted and carried sup-plies for a long journey. TheApaches followed their trail untilthey were sure the Mexicans wereheaded for the Apache range inArizona. With this knowledge,Geronimo hurried past them, andin three days the two warriorsreached their own settlement.

The two Apache braves ar-rived at their village at noon, andat about three o’clock, those Mexi-can troops attacked the settle-ment. Their first volley killedthree small Indian boys. Many ofthe warriors of the tribe wereaway from home, but the few whowere in camp, under Geronimo’sleadership, were able to drive theMexican troops out of the moun-tains before nightfall. TheApaches killed eight Mexicans andlost five of their own—two war-riors and the three boys.

The Mexicans rode due southin full retreat. Four warriors weredetailed to follow them, and inthree days these trailers returned,saying the Mexican cavalry hadleft Arizona, going southward.Geronimo was quite sure the Mex-icans would not soon return toApacheria.

* * * * * * *SOURCES

Barrett, S.M., ed., Geronimo’sStory of His Life. New York:Duffield, 1906

Geronimo, Stephen Melvil Bar-rett, and Frederick W. Turner.Geronimo: his own story. NewYork: Penguin, 1996.

Sgt. Shuster, SASS Regulator#60835 is a social and cultural his-torian, founder of the Lincoln CountyRegulators in Ruidoso, New Mexico,and purveyor of the official SASScoffee: Cowboy Action Coffee.

Part Three

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ll SASS members andthose who have studiedthe American West areaware the Mexican va-

quero started it all by creating thetraditions and techniques thatguided the development of theAmerican cowboy and the cattle in-dustry. The story of the vaquero isan interesting one, and it revealsthe fascinating history of Califor-nia—and the American West.

Before Texas or California, evenbefore the American Revolution, theSpanish occupation of Mexico andthe American Southwest was basedon the cattle industry. Spain’sstronghold on the area lasted forsome 300 years before being threat-ened by the southward movementsof the Russian fur traders from thenorth. Fearing the intrusion intotheir New World Empire, theyneeded to establish a Spanish pres-ence in California, which they didby sending Franciscan missionariesto Christianize California’s NativeAmerican Indians and with a chainof missions and a source of tradebased on their own well-establishedcattle industry.

For centuries, California hadbeen believed to be an island of fab-ulous beauty and wealth—and theyweren’t too far wrong. Californiawas a virtual island, one of the mostremote places on Earth, separatedfrom the rest of the world by the al-most insurmountable barriers ofthe Pacific Ocean to the west,parched deserts and soaring moun-tain ranges to the east, and an im-possible trek from Mexico City tothe south.

The padres who made the ardu-ous journey to California were a re-markable group of men. Most weresecond and third-born sons of anaristocracy that deeded everything

to the oldest son, leaving followingsiblings to the mercy and generosityof the eldest. This left few optionsfor establishing one’s career andfortune, with the military or priest-hood being the most acceptable.Thus, many of those who enteredthe priesthood were highly edu-cated men. In addition to the studyof horsemanship, fencing, dancing,the arts, and all the other obligatorylessons of the aristocracy, as prieststhey learned languages, architec-ture, agriculture, and other skillsnecessary for surviving in the wildsto which they would be assigned.

So, California was to be settledwith various levels of force by menhighly educated, skilled in the artsand sciences, and filled with a de-termination born of righteous zeal.They established the beginnings ofthe American West in the form ofthe famous California missionsrunning from Baja California inpresent day Mexico some 500 milesnorth, to beyond San Franciscoalong “El Camino Real,” the“King’s Road.” Spaced a day’s rideapart, most of the missions havenow been restored, and they are in-deed outstanding, beautiful worksof art, designed by the padres and

built on the backs of the “Chris-tianized” Indians.

The missions were grantedhuge tracts of land far larger thanthe huge cattle ranches of Texas

several decades in the future, andcharged with raising cattle andsheep as a major product for Span-ish trade. The missions’ herdsquickly grew into thousands ofwild cattle roaming freely overhundreds of thousands of acres ofmission lands.

Vast herds of free-ranging cat-tle require a means to control them.Thus, the padres had to train theIndians in their charge with theskills needed to manage theherds—horsemanship, roping,branding, breeding, butchering, andso forth. Traditionally, the horsewas considered a weapon of war;only the landed aristocracy was al-lowed to ride, and death was a rou-tine punishment for a peasant whobroke the rule. But the padres hadno choice; they had to train the In-dians to work the herds, and thatmeant learning horsemanship. Thetime-honored equestrian skills ofOld Spain were thus transplantedinto California and within a coupleof generations, these California In-dians, who were naturally “in tune”with the behaviors and mind set ofthe horse, became splendid horse-men, some of the finest in the world.Sadly, for all their skill and pride intheir craft, the vaquero began andremained a simple peon at the bot-tom of the social scale, never consid-ered to be more than a lowlylaborer. And, he laid the foundationfor the American cowboy to followsome 40 years later.

Contact and trade with ships ofother nations was forbidden. Thisturned out to be a foolhardy and un-workable arrangement, consideringthe natural curiosity and hospital-ity of the priests and the aggressivebusiness practices of the Yankeetraders who immediately recog-nized the wealth to be had.

Following Mexico’s independ-ence from Spain in 1821, Mexico at-tempted to exercise control overCalifornia. Several groups of set-tlers were sent to establish colonies,and large land grants, hundreds ofthousands of acres each, wereawarded to almost any who re-

Vaqueros

The Vaquero lived n the saddle,rarely doing anything, except per-haps dancing, while afoot. As withthe cowboy, he possessed great pride

in his craft and station in life.

wCreators of the American West,

A

Training the horse was a much different proposition in old Californiathan techniques employed by “bronc busters” in the southwest.

A gentle confidence and trust-based approach often took as many as eight years to complete … but the results were (and are!) outstanding.

By Colonel Richard Dodge, SASS Life #1750

Col. Richard Dodge, SASS #1750



quested them. Indeed, many Amer-icans established homes and for-tunes for themselves by fulfillingthe requirements for Mexican citi-zenship at the time—learningSpanish, becoming Catholic, andmarrying into a Mexican-Californiofamily. Many of California’s impor-tant historical figures are amongthese families.

These settlers, the Californios,were subsequently almost aban-doned by Mexico, due in part to theunmanageable travel conditionsand by Mexico’s own internal prob-lems. Most of the administratorssent to Alta California were weak,corrupt, or incompetent—or allthree. Despised by the Californios,they were ineffectual in imposingMexico’s rule.

In the early 1830s, the missionswere secularized and sold as pri-vate property. Many were aban-doned and began a long period ofdecay as the Rancho Period devel-oped. Though it existed only fromabout 1825 until 1860, around 35years, fading away with the GoldRush and the arrival of the Ameri-cans, the Rancho Period is one ofthe most interesting and colorfulperiods in American history.

The Californios were free to de-velop their own culture and society,and they did. On close examina-tion, their life closely paralleledthat of the Old South, which existedat the same time, with wealthylandowners and a lower class of In-dian servants—and vaqueros.

The Californio horseman, ca-ballero and vaquero alike, existed ina unique environment that alloweda comfortable and thoughtful devel-opment of his craft. Beginning witha highly developed equestrian tra-dition, they literally lived in thesaddle and rarely walked any-where. The major tools the vaquerohad for his survival were hisrawhide reata and his knife. In thevast unfenced lands populated byvery wild cattle with vicious,hooked horns and very dangerousCalifornia grizzly bears, a man

afoot was as good as dead. With the time and traditions of

fine horsemanship, the vaquerosdeveloped a system of training theirhorses that was unhurried and re-markable in its results. Far differ-ent from the rough and tumble“bronc buster” of American cowboyfame, the vaquero normally tookseveral years to train his mountand didn’t consider it finished untilthe horse was about eight years old,after six to eight years of carefulwork. Beginning with the “bozell”or “hackamore,” the vaquero led theyoung horse gently and confidentlyinto a sure-footed, highly respon-sive, and trusting steed, introducingthe bit only after the horse wasready for it after two or three years.These training methods are stillpracticed in California today, espe-cially along the California coastfrom San Diego to Monterey. Thehorses are a sight to behold as theyperform splendid feats with perfec-tion under imperceptible cues fromtheir riders.

The vaquero’s horsemanshipwas his ultimate pride, and heproved it at every opportunity. Itwas basic technique for a man torope a cow and throw it without dis-mounting from his horse. It’s al-most magic to see a horse standingpatiently and seemingly uncon-cerned, then tuck his head andprick his ears at the slightest signalfrom its rider, ready to respond in-stantly to any command.

It was routine for a vaquero toride out and rope a grizzly bear anddrag it back to the rancho to bematched against a bull in an almostunimaginable fight to the death.More often, four or five vaqueroswould go after a bear and securethe beast with several reatas to pre-vent it from attacking any onehorseman. It must be rememberedthe California grizzly was thelargest of the grizzlies on the NorthAmerican continent; it’s the Califor-nia state symbol. These were notsmall animals—they were large,dangerous, and aggressive. This

practice is all the more remarkablein view of the horse’s natural fear ofbears. Any horse not so well-trained will panic and leave thecountry at first scent of a bear, withor without its rider.

As an added historical note, theterms “bull” and “bear” marketcome from this bloody spectacle.The bull’s attack on the bear wasan upward hook with its horns,while the bear moved to pull thebull downward. It is recorded thebear usually prevailed in thesematches, though he was often seri-ously injured and was killed any-way for his pelt.

The reata was braided fromstrips of rawhide cut in a continu-ous circle from the center of acowhide—a skilled leather crafts-

man could get a strip over 100 feetlong from one hide. The reata wasoften 60 to 100 feet long, and therider would throw a loop over eightfeet across, necessary for passingover the cattle’s long horns. Thefinished reata would stretch only sofar, and the rider had to exercisegreat care when controlling a thou-sand pound steer not to stretch ittoo abruptly and break.

Many different casts wereused, depending on the situation—backhand, over the top, backward,and so on. Often the bears werelassoed with the horse facing awayfrom the bear to facilitate escapingthe bear’s charge.

Braiding was a popular vaqueroart. Reins, quirts, headstalls, and

The reata was often between 60 and 100 feet long—made from a single circular cut of cowhide. The loop could be over eight feet in diameter, to clear a bull’s horns while roping.

Lassoing a California Grizzly was no child’s play, but was common practice. The Grizzlies were often drug back to the Rancho where

they were matched against a bull in a fight to the death.

(Continued on page 19)



ASS, the closest you canget to the Old West with-out a time machine. We’veall heard this mantra

many times. SASS is a fantasysport that tries to emulate the OldWest or the classic “B” WesternHollywood movies of the past. Weall shoot guns of the Old West, butthe guns are only half the game.One of the unique aspects of SASSis that we are one of, if not theonly, shooting sport where costum-ing is an integral part of the gamewe play. While baseball hats andtennis shoes might be more com-fortable, it sure ain’t Cowboy! Formany dedicated SASS memberswhen people ask about their “cos-tumes” they respond, “what do youmean ‘costume,’ these are myeveryday clothes.” SASS for manyhas become almost a way of life.They strive for authentic cos-tumes, and the pride and effort re-ally shows, especially at the bigshoots and the SASS Conventionwhere cowboy and cowgirl shoo-tists suddenly change into theheight of 19th Century society afterthe sun goes down.

During the day the costumejudges wander the firing line look-ing at the working costumes; theones people shoot in. Wanderingthe shooting line and the vendorstreets during the day you are aptto see cowboys fresh from a cattledrive, Vaqueros, bandits, lawmen,Indian braves and maidens, cow-girls, and shady ladies. When theweather is hot, you might seegents in their union suits andbelles wearing 1890s swimminggear. Hop Sing has even beenseen wandering about on occasion.

At night the mood changes.People put on their Sunday go-to-meeting clothes. There are gentle-men in suits, ladies in their finestball gowns, soldiers, sailors, a

President or two, and everyone’sfavorites – the saloon girls andsoiled doves. At night contestantswearing their finest outfits go be-fore the judges. The quality is al-ways exquisite; many of thecostumes are handmade. The ac-couterments are often originals—period jewelry and heirlooms onthe ladies with the gents showingoff their antique pocket watchesand handcrafted antique watchchains, fobs, and other items.Those wearing military uniformsare accurate down to the last but-ton. It is a tough job for the judgespicking the winners. Here are thewinners for Winter Range 2012.

Cat Ballou, SASS #55

WINTER RANGEBy Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS Life #32933

S

Working Lady—Pinto Annie, SASS #27966

WinnersShooting CostumesMan Rev Barry M Deep, SASS #38104 CAWoman Pinto Annie, SASS #27966 WABoy Damascus Jon, SASS #87751 AZGirl Miss Mean Jean, SASS #89774 CAGun Cart Tequila Sunshine, SASS #3984 NHEvening CostumesJunior Ranger Ty, SASS #47518 AZJunior Girl Ivy Hills, SASS #90928 WA & Holly Hills, SASS #90929 WA

Couple UK Dane , SASS #19478 CA & Cruzan Confusion, SASS #39081 CAGentleman Wild Horse John, SASS #85994 WYLady Schoolmarm Hudson, SASS #88921 AZLady B-Western Lily Orleans Mason, SASS #46755 NMB-Western Slick McClade, SASS #69490 LAMilitary Captain Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 AZSaloon Girl Ms. Clancy, SASS #46433 AUS

2012

Costume Contests. ,

Working Boy—Damascus Jon, SASS #87751

Working Girl—Miss Mean Jean, SASS #89774

Best Guncart — Tequila Sunshine,

SASS #3984

Working Man—Rev Barry M Deep,

SASS #38104

workingCostumes

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Best Dressed Junior—Ranger Ty, SASS #47518

Best Dressed Saloon Girl—Ms. Clancy, SASS #46433

Best Dressed Couple—UK Dane,SASS #19478, & Cruzan Confusion, SASS #39081

Best Dressed Junior Girls—Ivy Hills, SASS #90928, & Holly Hills, SASS #90929

Best Dressed Gentleman—Wild Horse John, SASS #85994

Best Dressed B-Western—

Slick McClade, SASS #69490

Best Dressed Military—Captain Dan Blodgett,

SASS #75655

Best Dressed Lady B-Western—

Lily Orleans Mason, SASS #46755

Best Dressed Lady—Schoolmarm Hudson,

SASS #88921

Evening Costumes

/



n Idaho, moose huntingis by special permit is-sued to winners of adrawing, with the sea-

son lasting two weeks. The draw-ing is a once-in-a-lifetimesituation and, after 34 years oftrying, I finally drew a permit forthe 2008 season. While I was es-sentially hunting in my “back-yard, the Panhandle NationalForest, my hunt was unique. As apassionate Cowboy ActionShooter, I shoot Frontiersman andam enthusiastic about blackpow-der, so for my hunt I used mylong-range cowboy rifle, a Model1873 Springfield Trapdoor .45-70manufactured in 1882 with stan-dard iron sights.

My hunt was the first twoweeks of November 2008, and con-sidering I had waited more thanthree decades to land this covetedtag, I was really worried abouthaving only a two-week window toland my bull. I hunted the firstSaturday and Sunday withoutseeing a thing. On Monday Icame across a smaller bull andmissed, leading to a lot of ribbingfrom my brothers, Waddie Bill,SASS #24722, and Mr. Shorty,SASS #23771, both of whom hadtaken moose previously.

Tuesday morning (ElectionDay), I came up over a hill andspotted a bull standing on a ridgewith a cow nearby. I asked myselfif he would let me get closer. He

must have been more interestedin the cow because he ignored me.I got to about 80 yards and de-cided not to push my luck any fur-ther, and shot from there. Thecartridge was a 535-grain leadcast bullet loaded with 60 grains

of 2F blackpowder. It was a oneshot kill. When I found the bullet,it had gone completely throughthe moose and a rib bone. Itweighed out at 438 grains.

The bull went down andstarted sliding off the ridge into a

Moose the coWBoy Way

The 127-year-old Trapdoor was inadvertently left behind and covered with fresh snow. After a thorough strip-down

and cleaning, it was as good as new!

IBy Kaniksu Kid, SASS #26415




creek bed, which made thingsmuch more difficult. I taught gov-ernment and economics at Sand-point High School in Sandpoint,Idaho, for 30 years and was theschool’s head wrestling coach for17 years. There are many formerstudent athletes in the area andas luck would have it, one who isa logger came by. Using logchains and choker cables, we wereable to hook on and drag the ani-mal to a more convenient spot.

As my brothers and I begandressing out the animal, it startedsnowing rather steadily. In ourspeed to beat the weather thingsbecame somewhat hectic. Once itwas dressed out, I had to get themeat to the processing plant,which is owned by one of my for-mer students and wrestlers. ThenI had to deliver the cape I hadpromised to the taxidermist, whois also a former student andwrestler. In all the activity, I had-n’t noticed I had left my rifle lyingon the hillside, and it became cov-ered with snow. It wasn’t until Iunloaded the rig that evening Irealized the rifle was missing.

The next morning I went backup the mountain to the area of thekill. With the help of a pole mag-net and a little reconnoitering, Ifound the rifle under severalinches of snow, not too muchworse for the wear. A thoroughstrip down and cleaning and itwas as good as any 127-year-oldrifle. As I look back, I am stillamazed with all the modernfirearms and optics, I trusted aonce-in-a-lifetime two-week op-portunity to 19th century technol-ogy. This cowboy stuff really getsin your blood!

The .45-70 535 gr. bullet went allthe way through the bull andsubsequently weighed out at 438 grs.

!

!

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very conceivable aspect ofcowboy life and doin’s hasbeen examined over andover again by a myriad of

articles and periodicals, but I can’tfor the life of me recall even onemention of a practice so widespreadand so offensive to genteel folk as tocause it to have been a fineable mis-demeanor. I refer to the launchingof a lugee or the propelling of to-bacco tinged spittle into free flight.Being a young lad in the late 1940sand living in a rural area, I was for-

tunate to have observed the lastgasps of some prodigious spitters,before the practice began its declinebrought on by societal disdain andthe onset of the pre-rolled cigarette.Although chewers and dippersweren’t always smokers, cigaretteswere an acceptable alternative, andmuch easier to dispose of when thetime came.

Harry Shore, a local farmer,was a sort of local hero amongst theboys at the firehouse. It wasclaimed Harry could hit the spit-

toon at 12 feet every time and noone was in danger from a ricochet.During my 20 years in the AirForce, I came in contact with manysuch artists. Smoking on the flightline was discouraged, for obviousreasons, near aircraft. One of thebest was Sgt. Lincoln Smith fromTennessee, who could hit the yellowtip of the top blade on a standingpropeller of a B-29, a distance of atleast 12 feet! Twelve feet seems tohave been the physical limitationfor this endeavor.

No more digression. Movies, es-pecially westerns, provide plenty ofexamples of expectorant launchesin memorable scenes of our favoriteshows. Following are a few:Strother Martin as the mine ownerin Butch Cassidy and the SundanceKid, the “hiring scene.” Strother al-ways followed his shot with the dec-laration, “Bingo!” and a lip-dryingsleeve. The Man with No Name dis-played no spectacular launches inall of his so-called spaghetti west-erns, but you just knew what wascoming after the shot, which

seemed to be a leftover fragment ofcigarillo rather than a build up ofsaliva cum Mail Pouch. For mymoney, in this trilogy, the best wasin Fistful of Dollars. One of the fourgunsels who insulted No Name’smule gives a full face frontal launchof a voluminous symmetrical wad ofsuch beauty and realism one has to,instinctively, dry one’s lip! Now,Josey Wales, on the other hand,nailed a dog between the eyes, dittoa beetle, ditto an expired outlaw,and then, coached by Chief DanGeorge, spits before pulling hissmoke wagon on the Comancheros.Tuco’s volley in The Good, The Bad,and The Ugly, aimed at The Manwith No Name’s face, earned EliWallach a right smart slap in his!

There are so many examplesit’s hard to recount them all. Iknow I’ve probably forgotten yourfavorite Lugee Launch, and I thinkyou’ll agree this aspect of the cow-boy’s daily life is long neglected, butwith so much raw material avail-able, maybe someone will write anarticle about the subject!

great expectorantations

other leather tack were braidedwith thin strips of leather into stun-ning works of art. The Californioreins were braided and joined at aloop where they were held by therider’s hand. From this loop dan-gled a three-foot long braided fall,ending in a wide, flat strip ofleather like found on a quirt. Thevaquero’s horse didn’t need to be“ground-tied” as was the practicewith the American cow pony; itwould remain where it was whenthe rider dismounted, leaving thereins looped over the saddle horn.

Their saddle was developedfrom the military saddle of the con-quistadors, adding a wide, flat hornfor roping and wide skirts to protecthorse and rider from the brush. TheAmerican cowboy’s saddle evolvedfrom this vaquero saddle with vari-ous regional differences, again tosuit the tastes and needs of each re-gion. The horn became smaller andtaller, the skirts became smaller, thecantle lower or higher, the pommelwider or narrower—true treasures

of American folk art.“Vaquero” became “buckaroo” in

American lingo; “la reata” became“lariat,” only two of many words as-similated into our language fromthe Californio vaquero. The rodeo,(“ro day o” in Spanish), came fromthe vaquero tradition of competingand displaying their riding expert-ise. The Californios loved racingtheir prized steeds and wagedfrightening sums on the outcomesof even impromptu races. Snatch-ing up a handkerchief or a chickenburied to its neck in the sand whileriding at full gallop was a very pop-ular game—at which almost everyvaquero was competitive.

The vaqueros—as did all Cali-fornios—loved to dance; it was oneof the few things they would do dis-mounted. Fandangos were held ina three-sided enclosure called a “ra-mada” (another familiar word); themounted vaqueros would gather atthe open end of the ramada towatch. When the time came for theman to join in a dance, he woulddismount, remove his spurs andhang them on his saddle horn, jointhe dance, then remount to wait

The Vaqueros . . .

until the next dance.The American cowboy shared this

love of dance, and stories have beentold of young men riding amazing dis-tances to take a girl to a dance and re-turn her home. The American cowboyinherited the vaquero’s immensepride in his craft and in his station inlife. Though he was at the bottom ofthe social order in the Old West, thecowboy envisioned himself as nothingless than nobility and the equal of anyman. And he was right. Alas, the va-quero was never romanticized as wasthe American cowboy.

The next time you “cowboy up,”

it might be worth a thought back tothe proud vaquero who was a productof the California missions and theranchos, and who was the creator ofthe history and traditions we all loveand share.

References:Clayton, Lawrence; Hoy, James F;

Underwood, Jerald (2001). Vaqueros,cowboys, and buckaroos: The Genesisand Life of the Mounted North Amer-ican Herders. Austin, TX: Universityof Texas Press.

Freedman, Russell; In the Days ofthe Vaqueros; Clarion Books; NewYork; 2001

i

iBy Chilkoot, SASS #58803

E

�

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(Continued from page 13)

he title plays on a prior“More Is Less” how-toarticle about legal low-power loads for the .45

Long Colt cartridge. This articleoriginated as a checklist for a com-plete makeover of the Ruger Va-quero that involves removal of thelawyer-proof transfer bar (as shownby Figure 1) and lightening Ruger’slawyer-proof frame-mounted firingpin rebound spring such that theheavy factory hammer spring couldalso be substantially lightened.Taking this article to its conclusionresults in the re-creation of a Colt-like Ruger revolver that is SAFEONLY WITH 5-ROUNDS—none ofthem being under the hammer.

The project could be performedleaving the transfer bar in-place asshown below.

Now that lawyers are involved,

this article is written for informa-tional purposes by presenting mypersonal experiences in this matter.Despite referenced to “gun-smithing,” I am not a professionalgunsmith and do not do gun-smithing for others. Accordinglythose publishing this material,those offering parts and suppliesnoted herein, and the author as-sume zero liability for any actions,or consequences thereof, that maybe undertaken by readers of thispublication whether or not the per-ceived instructions are followed.Ruger revolvers utilize springsunder considerable tension and theuse of safety glasses is requiredwhen removing them. For safety, afull-face shield is suggested whenengaging in any sort of grindingwork. Any mention of equipmentfrom other sources is for the read-



ers’ convenience and does not con-stitute any sort of endorsement orrecommendation. Furthermore anyperceived criticism of others’ prod-ucts or services in this article mustbe tempered by performance expec-tations versus the cost of thoseproducts or services. With respectto shooting recommendations,please keep in mind my scoresrange among the lower half at mostSASS matches. However, my stagetimes are coming down due to help-ful instruction from kind possemembers, watching instructionalvideos, and considerable work onmy 1873 Uberti and now myRugers

With respect to safety, mynamesake is reported to have expe-rienced an accidental discharge onSunday January 9, 1876 while play-ing cards at the Custom House Sa-loon in Wichita, Kansas. Hisrevolver slipped from its holsterand in falling to the floor the ham-mer, which was resting on a car-

tridge, is supposed to have causedthe discharge. “The ball passedthrough his coat, struck the Northwall, and passed out through theceiling … The event caused a livelystampede from the room.” Onewonders if such an occurrence on aSunday in a saloon could be con-strued as an act of God.

In the sport of Single Action Re-volver Shooting under the auspicesof the Single Action Shooting Soci-ety, “gaming” can have a somewhatnegative connotation and is men-tioned in the title for fun and allit-erative purposes. However, pleaseremember that the gunfight, asportrayed in the media, with theman in the white hat waiting forthe man in the black hat to makehis move is an illusion. Of course,there were gunfights between thoseseeking to right an insult to honoror property (frequently under theinfluence of liquor); however, abonafide gunfighter would rarelylet himself be drawn into this type

Do-It-Yourself Gamer Gunsmithing Of

Figure 2. “Gunsmithed” Ruger New Vaquero With Transfer Bar and Original Factory Parts

rugerVaquerow

“Less Is More”

And Related Shooting Techniques~Part 1 ~

By Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp, SASS #76992

T

Figure 1. “Gunsmithed” Ruger New Vaquero Without Transfer Bar and With GrandMaster/PowerCustom Competition Hammer.



of trouble and drew his firearmonly when the odds were on hisside. The gunfighter relied on thecold-blooded science of “getting thedrop” on an opponent. My name-sake, in his law enforcement duties,relied on quick action to “buffalo”the objects of his wrath by hittingthem over the head with his gunrather than shooting them. Gun-smithing efforts, such as thoseherein, are just an extension of anhistorical tradition. Some, readingthis article, might say I am “gam-ing” my responsibilities by not in-cluding full instructions for basicdisassembly and reassembly. How-ever, the supplemental notes anddirections clearly identify such re-sources and in the case of Kuhn-hausen’s superb book, the exactpages therein. Although Kuhn-hausen provides incredibly detaileddirections for keeping the revolverswithin factory specifications, hedoes not address how to make therevolvers operate best for CowboyAction Shooting™ BY SERIOUSCOMPETITORS WHO UNDER-STAND THEIR FIREARMS ANDHOW TO HANDLE AND SAFELYSHOOT THEM UNDER TIMEPRESSURE.

Continuing on the premise ofthe prior article, my cartridge igni-tion expectations for a New Small-Frame Vaquero are based upon:• The generally-reputed rela-tively soft characteristics ofFederal brand primers in con-trast to others.

• Replacement of the Ruger fac-tory 17-pound spring with a 14-pound after market Wolffspring.

• Replacement of Ruger partswith either the:* Standard GrandMasters/PowerCustom Hammer, Trig-ger, Transfer bar, and FreeSpin Pawl, or

* New registered GrandMas-ters/PowerCustom Competi-tion Hammer available“in-the-white,” Free SpinPawl, and no Transfer Bar

• I would prefer to be able towork the hammer by “slipthumbing”, i.e., holding thetrigger back after the hammeris cocked and then just usingmy thumb to operate and re-lease the hammer. My goal isfor a light hammer pull thatwould allow it to be easilycocked by just bending the jointin middle of my thumb as itwould appear that Evil Roy isdoing in his instructionalvideos. Heretofore, with a 14-pound spring, to cock the ham-mer I had to rotate my wrist orthe joint at the base of mythumb—both of which tend tomove the gun off-target ratherthan the straight-back motion

associated with flexing the mid-dle joint of the thumb.My concerns commenced with

noticing that:• The sides of the hammer werebeing scratched by contact withthe frame (slightly reducing theeffectiveness of the hammerspring), which could be ex-pected since I had technicallypaid a firm only for installationof the products and no gun-smithing. From having been ahappy customer of LongHunter Shooting Supply(www.long hunt.com) in othertransactions, I know that thisfirm narrows the hammersslightly to prevent such contactissues.

• The 14-pound hammer springprovided reliable ignition, butthe firing pin was not beingfully driven out of the frame byclose observation of the un-loaded revolver from the sidewhile the action was cycled.

• Having purchased an Evil Roymodel of the Cimarron/UbertiColt-clone, with the alleged old-fashioned leaf mainspring in-stead of the modern coil springsused by Ruger, I was chagrinedto find the hammer tension wasless than what I was able toachieve with the Rugerequipped with a 14-pound re-duced-power Wolff hammerspring. Attempts to cut coils offthe Wolff spring resulted in ig-nition problems.

• Working the loading table atmy local club’s SASS matches, Ihave noticed that competitors’Ruger hammers did not havethe cut-out for the transfer bar.After innumerable attempts at

refinishing the hammer, removingburrs from the recess into which thehammer fell, with the revolver as-sembled, and lubrication withspace-age fluorocarbon grease andmiracle oils, I resorted to actuallyreading Jerry Kuhnhausen’s superbshop manual I had bought (alongwith the takedown guides noted inthe TOOLS AND SUPPLIES sec-tion) for the purpose of understand-ing how to replace the factoryhammer and trigger springs. A fulllist of all referenced tools and mate-rials may also be found at the endof this series of articles.

In detail-reading the formidableKuhnhausen book, and in talkingwith characteristically helpful gun-smiths when I inquired about doingthe work and with folks at mySASS-affiliated club, the MemphisGunslingers (at the Memphis SportShooting Association), I graduallycame to the conclusion that everymajor spring in the revolver acts inopposition to the hammer spring:• The “ping” heard after starting


ounders Ranch, NewMexico, May 2012 –First, what is “Cops vs.Cowboys,” and why are

they fighting? Let’s see, historicallythe gunfight near the OK Corralwas cops, okay, three cops, and onecivilian, and cowboys all using re-ally terrible tactics. Not good to bea cowboy that day. More recentlyCops vs. Cowboys are matches be-tween SASS clubs and policemen,each using their favorite firearms.

Cowboys, of course, use state-of-the art 19th century six-shooters,lever-action rifles, and double bar-rel or ‘87 or ‘97 shotguns. Cops usetheir duty side-arms, such as



Greg Rackle shot on the cops side.

Amber Ale wowed the cops with her shooting, beating all but one of them. The white targets were for the cops

shooting 5.56 in their ARs. The black onesnext to them were for the cowboy rifles.

F

Captain Baylor modeling the Mernickle Evil Roy Slim Jim rigwith matching shotgun belt.

(Photo by Lorrie Lott, Mr. Quigley Photography)

Glocks or 1911s, their duty rifle,usually something that started lifeas an AR-15 clone that has beentaken over by the Borg, and a shot-gun that might be duty or might bean IPSC competition gun, such as a10-shot Benelli semi-auto. Well, gee,that sounds even less fair than theOK Corral, doesn’t it? 21st centuryvs. 19th century?

This is where, unlike real gun-fights where there are no actual

rules, we make rules to “level theplaying field.” Yeah, that’s theticket. Let’s start with requiringfive rounds in the magazines of thecops’ duty pistols. Most of themcarry at least 10 rounds in their pis-tols, so they’d have a bit of an ad-vantage not having to switchpistols. Mag changes are roughlyequivalent to switching pistols asfar as time goes.

Then we make them start withtheir rifles hammer down on anempty chamber, loaded magazine,just like our rifles. And since someof those semi-auto shotguns can re-ally fly when they’re loaded, we’lluse cowboy rules on shotguns,meaning you load them on the clock.

Hmm, sounds like the cowboysare getting all of the advantages.Well, not quite. Since we can’tshoot at fairly close steel plateswith 5.56 mm NATO rounds, weput up paper targets for the cops’ ri-fles. To make it even, put one of thecowboy targets on top of each coptarget and use it as a stencil topaint the non-scoring part of thetarget a contrasting color. Or, ifyou’re lazy or short on paint, justput up a big ol’ IPSC target. Afterall, the cops are the good guys, sothey need all the help they can get.

Well. Yes and no. They’re goodguys, but they don’t need muchhelp. There have been Cops Vs.Cowboys with stages written by thecops, and it wasn’t pretty. Theyhave neat electronic optics on theirARs, and 100-yard targets are a loteasier to hit than with a ‘73 with abig Grabber or Speed Sight frontsight. On the other hand, I’ve neverseen a ‘73 with dead batteries!

For three years Buffalo RangeRiders, who shoot monthly atFounders Ranch, New Mexico, haveput on a charity Cops Vs. Cowboysevent. This year the charity was

By Captain George Baylor, SASS Life #24287

dispatches from

campBaylor

Cops vscoWBoys

Cowboy Action Shooter Boggus Deal shot funny looking guns for a cowboy, buttypical of the cops. He also dressed funny.




the Carrie Tingley Hospital Foun-dation. The foundation providesvaluable resources for familiesstruggling with the cost of caringfor a child with a life-changing ill-ness or medical condition.

This year’s event had a five-stage cowboy match and a five-stand shotgun match addedbecause Founders Ranch now has aneat Five-stand Shotgun range.

I have to warn you. The copstended to dress funny for this event.They nearly all wore baseball caps,and they wore short-sleeved t-shirtsand polo shirts, some with, horrors,advertising all over them. And, ofcourse, most were wearing tennisshoes or combat boots. But they letthem shoot anyway.

Loading table rules were appro-priately modified. Cops carry theirduty pistols with a round in thechamber, and, if the pistol has one,safety on. Some double action pis-tols don’t have thumb safeties, andthe Glock has the safety on the trig-ger. Nobody wants to mess withtheir muscle memory and make thecops start with an empty chamber,a la Wild Bunch. So at the loadingtable they loaded their pistols witha magazine with five rounds in itand chambered a round and madesafe, then re-holstered. Rifles wereessentially in the same condition asours, a designated number ofrounds in the magazine, and anempty chamber. So they had tochamber a round just as we do.Shotguns started empty.

Pistols could either be re-hol-stered when empty or grounded,empty, slide locked back, theshooter’s choice. Re-holstering re-quired dropping the slide and ap-plying the safety, if there was one.Generally I thought grounding wasfaster, and safer, but possibly a badhabit to develop for someone usingthe gun in real gunfights. It shouldbe noted that 3-Gun, like WildBunch, requires grounding the gun,empty with the slide locked back.

Some of the ARs could really fly.Others malfunctioned, resulting ina lot of authentic cop gibberish (Grated, of course). Rifle malfunc-tions seemed to be the biggest prob-lem, but there were a few pistol andshotgun malfunctions on our posse.

The cops weren’t used to load-

ing their shotguns on the clock.Several carried competition ammu-nition carries that helped a lot.One cop had no planned method ofcarrying shotgun ammunition andstaged rounds or stuck them in hisbelt. At least once he missed andhad no makeup ammunition.

Sadly, one of the people dress-ing funny and shooting Borg-likeguns was a cowboy who turned trai-tor on his pards, Boggus Deal. Hewas wearing a shirt with ErgoGrips all over it (his employer). Hispistol was a wide-bodied 1911 thatwould hold about 300 rounds. Therifle was an AR with more battery-powered components than a 10 yearold’s Christmas. The shotgun wasa semi-auto Benelli with a maga-zine extension that would probablyhave stuck out past a 30” barrel.He loaded it a lot like a ‘97, throw-ing a round in the ejection port.Firing it left the chamber open, soit went fast. Some of the others putthe rounds in the mag tube, whichtook a little time. But then whenthey fired, the 4-5 rounds were gonein a split second. Shotgun targetsranged from two to five on a stage.

Cowboys, of course, shot thematch the way they usually do. Icheated and used two hands andsmokeless ammunition. It didn’thelp. I kept firing one round andwondering why there was nosmoke.

Our posse had one Buckaroo. Ididn’t see any buckaroo cops,though. I don’t know why.

Amber Ale captivated all thecops on our posse by generally wax-ing them, finishing 3rd overall.One left muttering about wishinghe could shoot like a girl. Most ofus are used to getting beaten byAmber Ale, so the cowboys didn’tthink much about it.

And yes, despite the semi-autoweapons and the huge rifle targets,a cowboy was first overall, MicaMcGuire. LEO Ferlin Ortega wasFirst LEO and 2nd Overall. Top tenhad five cops, five cowboys.

At the end cowboys were lettingcops shoot their guns, and a cop ortwo promised to come to some of thelocal matches. Additionally photog-raphers from a couple of local pa-pers were there to cover it. Thepublicity can’t hurt.

If your club wants to do a Copsand Cowboys match, you will needeverything you would need for agood SASS match plus the ability tocoordinate with local police depart-ments (local being defined as any-body you can expect to come to thematch. It might be a 50-mile radiusor 200 miles. At this match thecops’ entry fees were sponsored byFalcon Industries, which probablymade it easier to recruit cops.

You will need to add to yournormal safety briefing enough

items to cover shooters shooting“different” guns than we shoot anddifferent disciplines. Cops don’tconsider it a cardinal sin to put ashotgun down with an empty roundin it, or, for that matter, to walk tothe unloading table with it in it.Things you take for granted need tobe explained to them. On the otherhand, common sense firearms andrange safety is ingrained into them,and they can all shoot quite well.

We have beginners all the time whowere not shooters until they cameto SASS. This is not a problem withcops. It’s refreshing that they callunloading table monitors “Sir.”

Workers included Singin’ Sueand Shanley Shooter, Wild Shot,Garrison Joe, Vaquero Luna, CrazyClara Belle, Mrs. Slick Shot, LesPhalanges, and Shirley Shooter.

$1800+ was raised for the Car-rie Tingley Hospital Foundation.

Top Guns on the 5 Stand – Cowboy Mica McQuire and

Cop Jim Lambert

Greg Rackle shot on the cops side.

Amber Ale wowed the cops with her shooting, beating all but one of them. The white targets were for the cops

shooting 5.56 in their ARs. The black onesnext to them were for the cowboy rifles.

Cowboy Action Shooter Boggus Deal shot funny looking guns for a cowboy, buttypical of the cops. He also dressed funny.

Sandiko Kid, a Buckaroo, shot on the cowboy’s side. Sadly there were no buckaroo cops.

�

Cowboy Chronicle


August 2012

Bunch. It is also the name of thenew and fast growing sport ofWild Bunch Action Shooting™.Begun as a SASS Cowboy ActionShooting™ side match, WildBunch Action Shooting™ hasgrown into its own sport with itsown rules.

In Cowboy Action Shooting™,we try to recreate the Old West,the period from the end of theCivil War through the 1890s. Theguns, the clothing and the per-sonas used (except for B-Western)are all from this time period. TheOld West was considered overafter 1900. However, in the re-mote regions of the West, particu-

larly along the border withMexico, the Old West lingered on.A few years into the 20th Centurycowboys and lawmen could still beseen riding their horses andshooting their blackpowder hand-guns, rifles, and double barrelshotguns. Mixed in, however,were those new fangled horselesscartridges, smokeless powder,

semi-automatic firearms,and pump shotguns. Theclothing was a hodge-podge of 19th centurywestern wear, militaryuniforms, and new stylesfrom the more populatedareas of the country. Itwas that time periodfrom the turn of the 20th

Century up to the FirstWorld War. Instead ofWyatt Earp and Billy theKid, in Wild Bunch Ac-tion Shooting™ theshooters are more apt toemulate Blackjack Persh-ing and Pancho Villa!

In Cowboy ActionShooting™ the Territo-

rial Governors help determine therules and set policy. For this gamethe Wild Bunch has established aWild Bunch Action Shooting™Committee to draft rules andoversee the evolution of the sport.(In either sport, THE Wild Bunchhas the final say for all rule andpolicy decisions.) The Wild BunchAction Shooting™ Committee

consists of four dedicatedindividuals: Evil Roy,Pecos Clyde, Happy Jack,and Texas Jack Morales.

Early in the develop-ment of Wild Bunch, thedecision was made thisshould be a major caliberand major power factorsport. It was also deter-mined there should be noequipment race. Thus,there is only one handgunallowed—the Colt 1911 in.45 ACP and its clonesand one shotgun—theWinchester 1897. Thereis a little flexibility withthe rifle. Any Cowboy Ac-

tion Shooting™ main match rifleis allowed as long as it is at least.40 caliber. The minimum powerfactor for both the pistol AND rifleis 150. (This compares to a mini-mum power factor in Cowboy Ac-tion Shooting™ of 60.) The onlydeviation from these initialfirearm requirements is the IAC1893/97 is now allowed in WildBunch. In Cowboy Action Shoot-ing™ the shotgun is alwaysstaged open and empty. The1893/97 is not allowed in CowboyAction Shooting™ becausethere is a perception theenlarged loading portmight be a competitive ad-vantage. In Wild Bunch,however, the shotgun isstaged fully loaded, ham-mer down on an emptychamber. Shotgun missescannot be made up in WildBunch, so there are few ifany reloads. Thus, it wasfelt the 1893/97 offered noadvantage in Wild Bunch.In addition, the trenchgun version of the ‘97 isalso allowed in WildBunch Action Shooting™.

The rallying call at aWild Bunch safety meet-ing is the admonition thatWild Bunch is NOT Cowboy Ac-tion Shooting™ using a 1911!What are some of these differ-ences? First and foremost is thatthis is a major caliber match. Aspreviously noted, ammunition forthe handgun and the rifle mustboth meet a power factor of atleast 150 and the lightest bulletthat can be used is 180 grains.Because of the higher power fac-tor, Wild Bunch targets are fre-quently knockdowns, duelingtrees, and other types of reactivetargets. Wild Bunch is notbulls-eye shooting. How-ever, a Wild Bunch matchfeatures more complexstages than typicallyfound at most Cowboy Ac-tion Shooting™ matchesand requires speed, move-ment, and accuracy.

The higher power am-munition also allows moreflexibility in stage designas, for example, the riflecan be shot last. In WildBunch only the shootermay touch their firearms.At the end of a stage, theshooter is the only onethat can move his/her

firearms to the unloading table.The same goes for handling mal-functions. Only the shooter mayclear a malfunction. If the shootercannot clear the firearm, it cannotbe handed off, it must be safelystaged with the muzzle downrange. After shooting the 1911, itis NOT reholstered at the end ofthe shooting string. It must becleared prior to leaving the firingline. Once cleared, it may then beholstered and is not removed from

Winterrange 2012 (wIlD buNCh)Winners

Over All Man Evil Roy, SASS #2883 COLady Texas Tiger, SASS #74829 NMCategoriesModern Evil Roy COL Modern Half-A-Hand Henri, SASS #9727 NMTraditional Long Hunter SASS #20389 TXL Traditional Texas Tiger NM

Madame Ginger from Norway

Modern

Lady Modern

Lady Traditional Traditional





the holster at the unloading table.Dropped ammunition and maga-zines may be retrieved. (In Cow-boy Action Shooting™ droppedammunition is dead.)

And, perhaps, the biggest dif-ference is that Wild Bunch hasonly four categories—Traditional,Lady Traditional, Modern, andLady Modern. For a more detailedlook at the rules and to have anyquestions about Wild Bunch an-swered, visit the Wild Bunch Ac-tion Shooting™ website. Go to theSASS homepage, scroll down, andclick on the large WILD BUNCHACTION SHOOTING banner.

The Wild Bunch committee ac-knowledges there is a learningcurve in any new sport and thatchange can only come through ex-perience. And, they are learningFAST! Last year’s Winter RangeNational Championship was thelargest Wild Bunch match everheld. What was learned and howdid it affect the 2012 NationalChampionship? First, to putthings in perspective, the typical

Cowboy Action Shooting™ stageis the familiar 10-10-4 (ten re-volver, ten rifle, and four shotgun).A Wild Bunch stage is more likelyto be something like 25-10-6.(Twenty-five pistol, ten rifle, andsix shotgun). The stages are alsomore complex and the targetsmore of a challenge to hit, and yousee few, if any, sub-20 secondstages by even the fastest WildBunch competitors. There arealso very few clean matches.There were, in fact, no clean WildBunch competitors this year!

At Winter Range 2011 therewere 12 stages shot over two days.This made for very long days andexhausted shooters. There werealso a lot of misses and the chrono-graphing of the shooters’ pistol andrifle ammunition took considerabletime. (Remember, the minimumpower factor is 150, and if ashooter’s ammunition does notmake power factor, it is a matchDQ.) The 2011 match was run onTuesday and Wednesday, so thatmeant the Wild Bunch shooterscould not participate in the Cow-boy Action Shooting™ warm-upsor side matches. For 2012, thenumber of stages was reduced toten and the maximum number ofshooters allowed to sign-up for theWild Bunch match reduced. Thetargets were placed to be challeng-ing, but still hittable by the aver-age shooter. The chronographingprocedure was changed to try andspeed up the process. And, thematch began on Monday to allowthe Wild Bunch competitors towind down, shoot a practice match,and get in some side matches onWednesday in preparation for thestart of the Cowboy Action Shoot-ing™ match on Thursday.

These changes made a greatevent even better. A few shootersthought the targets were too close.A few thought they were too far.But, the VAST majority thoughtthe target placement was justright. Virtually everyone alsoliked the reduced number of stagesand the expedited chronographingprocedure. Many shooters com-mented the match was not easy,nor was it hard. It was challeng-ing, and that is what a Wild Bunchmatch is supposed to be. Othersnoted with the different targetplacement in this year’s match thetime difference between averageshooters and the better shooterswas closer (mainly because offewer misses), and this made for a

much more satisfying match.Although in many countries it

is more difficult to get access tosemi-automatic pistols than it ishere in the United States, WildBunch is also taking root in Europe.

Several shooters from other coun-tries shot the Wild Bunch matchand did quite well. One young ladyfrom Norway, Madame Ginger, hadnever seen a Wild Bunch matchand had no idea what a Wild Bunchcostume should look like. Never-theless, she made her own, and itcame out fantastic! It is gratifyingto see SASS has brought so manypeople together from so manyplaces, and EVERYONE has agreat time. One interesting anec-dote about this year’s match is theWild Bunch trophies were a littletoo realistic! One of the Europeanshooters had his trophy confiscatedat the airport by the TSA! (WinterRange will be buying him anothertrophy and mailing it to him.)

What will we see for the Win-ter Range Wild Bunch NationalChampionship in 2013? Therewere several requests to start thematch at 9:00 am instead of 7:30am. Given how smoothly and ontime this year’s match went, thelater starting time will definitelyhappen. It was also suggested byseveral shooters the prohibitionagainst touching other shooters’guns be slightly modified to allowexpediters to move guns to the un-loading table to help reduce thetime between shooters. The WildBunch Committee will certainlyreview this and other commentsmade in the shooter feedbackforms and gather more feedback atthe Wild Bunch World Champi-onship at END of TRAIL 2012.

The Wild Bunch Action Shoot-ing™ match sold out early for Win-

Winter range 2012

Overall Winners—Evil Roy and Texas Tiger

Congratulations!

TSA Now Has One of These!!!




ter Range 2011 and was sold outagain this year. If you want toshoot Wild Bunch at next year’sWinter Range, be sure to start prac-ticing with your 1911, chronographyour ammunition, and make yourplans early. Then get ready for aneven bigger and better WinterRange Wild Bunch Action ShootingNational Championship in 2013!!!Photos byQuigley PhotographyDeadeye AlLarsen E. Pettifogger

The SASS National Championship of wild bunch™ Action Shooting

b�



level of excellence and striving toconstantly make Winter Range bet-ter for the shooters is a labor of lovefor the Rough Riders. Here is howthey do it.Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

About two weeks after WinterRange 2011 (after everyone hashad a chance to wind down andrest) a General Board meeting isheld. Winter Range is a not-for-profit corporation whose sole mis-sion is to put on Winter Range. Ithas a General Board of up to 25dedicated individuals that volun-teer hundreds of hours of their timeevery year. Within the GeneralBoard is a five person ExecutiveBoard that handles the day-to-dayoperations of Winter Range such asmaintaining the corporate records,taking care of legal issues and in-surance, paying bills and maintain-ing Winter Range’s financialrecords. At this wrap-up meetingrepresentatives from the Ben AveryShooting Range, the MaricopaCounty Sheriff’s Office, and othersare present to give an assessmentof any problem areas they identi-fied. By the time this meeting isheld, all of the shooter commentshave been put into a computer ma-trix, and shooter likes and dislikesidentified and discussed. There isa report from each Rough Rider ontheir area of responsibility, e.g.,vendor coordination, facilities, com-munications, range operations, sidematch coordinators, entertainment,media coordination, scoring,awards, shooter door prizes, etc.Items are discussed, suggestions

made, and solutions proposed.Once the majority of bills have

been paid, a financial statement ispresented to the Executive Board.A certain amount of money is setaside for new targets, props, andother items that will beneeded for the nextyear’s Winter Range.Suggestions are soughtfrom the General Boardand charities identifiedfor contributions. Eachyear Winter Range con-tributes thousands ofdollars to charitiessuch as the WoundedWarriors, the SASSScholarship Fund,Happy Trails, and nu-merous other nationaland local charities.After this meeting,Winter Range 2011 isclosed out. About amonth later, another meeting isheld to begin the detailed planningfor Winter Range 2012. Whatshould be the theme? For WinterRange 2012 that was easy as 2012is the 100th Anniversary of Arizonabecoming a State. The stageswould celebrate famous events inArizona history. (The gunfight atthe OK Corral, etc.) Ideas for newstage fronts are discussed. Whatshould be on the Friday and Satur-day night dinner menu? Whoshould be invited or hired for enter-tainment? What can be changed tomake the Winter Range experienceeven better for the shooters, etc.,etc., etc.? After that meeting, itgets HOT in Arizona. Planningcontinues throughout the summer,

vendor and shooter packets aremailed out, but a lot of the heavyoutside work waits until the fall.It Must be Fall, There’s a Work Party ScheduledOnce the temperatures have

gotten down out of the100s into the 90s, it’stime to start the out-door work. The con-tents of the containersare inspected to seehow they fared in thesummer heat, frontsremoved and exam-ined, targets in-spected, and checklistsmade to make sureevery item is repairedand repainted. Photo2. New front designsare laid out and con-struction begun.Photo 3. WinterRange has for the pastseveral years used

soda can launchers for aerial tar-gets. They are much better thanclay birds or charcoal, as they donot break on launch and fly at aconsistent height and speed. Whenthey are hit by one BB there is no

wINTEr raNGEwINTEr raNGE 2012

WinnersOverallMan Cobra Cat, SASS #19275 COLady Addie Rose, SASS #24062 AZTop 16 WinnersTop Cowboy Robyn DaVault, SASS #87360 AZTop Cowgirl Hey You, SASS #64946 TXCategoriesF Cartridge Lead Ringer, SASS #87957 ORL F Cartridge Honey B. Quick, SASS #47009 OHF C Duelist Billy Boots, SASS #20282 TXL F C Duelist Painted Filly, SASS #86383 COFrontiersman Split Rail, SASS #24707 OH

B-Western Slick McClade, SASS #69490 LAL B-Western Whirlwind Wendy, SASS #79889 CAC Cowboy T-Bone Dooley, SASS #36388 TXC Cowgirl Half-A-Hand Henri, SASS #9727 NMDuelist Grazer, SASS #38845 MAL Duelist Dixie Bell, SASS #5366 UTS Duelist Ruff Cobb, SASS #7548 COGunfighter Lightning Cat, SASS #19274 COL Gunfighter Granny Annie, SASS #37063 IASenior Hells Comin, SASS #56436 AZL Senior Etta Mae, SASS #12478 AZ

49’er Long Hunter, SASS #20389 TXL 49’er Addie Rose AZS Senior Evil Roy, SASS #2883 COL S Senior Two Sons, SASS #12636 INCowboy Cobra Cat COCowgirl Hey You TXWrangler Red River Ray, SASS #33254 NCL Wrangler Texas Tiger, SASS #74829 NMBuckaroo Rattlesnake Wrangler, SASS #54580 TXBuckarette SASS Kicker, SASS #91899 AZJunior Campo Kid, SASS #82432 KYL Junior Sugar Cookie, SASS #71327 AZ

E Statesman Wilkes, SASS #28702 ORGrand Dame Running Bare, SASS #2323 CASide Match Winners,Long Range RifleSingle Shot Colt Colton, SASS #9738 CAOptical Equalizer Bill, SASS #35614 NMBucky O’Neill Military RifleBolt Action Judah Macabee, SASS #64095 AZRifle Caliber Sand Dab Sam, SASS #69632 CABuffalo Rifle Lunger, SASS #78045 WAQuigley Rick O’Shea Maxwell, SASS #84975 MN

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doubt it has been hit, as there is astream of liquid flying through theair. If more than one BB hits them,they explode. No arguments abouthits and misses!

For 2012 it was decided to adda little excitement to the aerial tar-get launcher by having a bowlingball trip the launcher. Detailedplans were drawn (any device usedat Winter Range has to be heavyduty to make sure it will stand upto 750+ shooters) and a local steelfabrication facility contracted tobuild the bowling ball ramp. Photo4. These work parties take place onseveral weekends throughout thelate summer and fall.

Winter Range tries to replaceroughly 1/3 of its targets each year.Over the past couple of years themain match plates have gone from16" to 18" and now most are 20".Each target is inspected and any-thing that looks suspect is re-welded or replaced. For 2011 and2012 with the introduction of theSASS National Wild Bunch ActionShooting Championship, many newknockdown targets and other types

of reactive targets were acquired tomeet the demands of the WildBunch shooting scenarios.

Each year Winter Range triesto have at least two new fronts con-structed to keep a fresh face for re-turning shooters. Old fronts arerepainted and repaired or re-designed to give a different appear-ance from the year before. Again,the goal is to keep everything excit-ing for both new and returningshooters. Throughout the late sum-mer and fall, board meetings areheld to get progress reports fromeach Rough Rider on how they areprogressing with their work assign-ments. The really intense work be-

gins in September ofeach year.

In September Win-ter Range holds its cor-porate annual meeting.That is when old boardmembers retire and newones are elected. Boardmembers are nominatedbased on what they dofor local clubs, experi-ence as a Winter RangeRanger, and other con-tributions to SASS andthe shooting community.

If they accept the nomination, theyappear at the annual meeting andgive a presentation, explaining whothey are, their shooting and organi-zational experience, what they havedone for SASS, and what they thinkthey can do for Winter Range. Bal-lots are passed out, and if elected,the new board member serves twoyears. Board members that serve atleast six years get Winter Range“trustee” status when they retire

from the board. All board actionsfor the previous year are reviewedand ratified and the minutes of themeeting filed with the Arizona Cor-poration Commission.

A General Board meeting thenfollows the annual meeting and eachboard member discusses their areaof responsibility, how they are pro-gressing, and whether they need ad-ditional help or funds to completetheir projects. Every year costs goup, so the budgets for different proj-ects are discussed in detail. For ex-ample, Winter Range takes pride inputting on a world class Champi-onship and in giving awards befit-ting a world-class event. First placeis a Remington bronze statue.These statues weigh between 22 and40 pounds depending on whichstatue is selected each year. Thecost has risen and the statues mustbe ordered from a foundry severalmonths in advance of Winter Range.When received, they are mounted ona two inch thick piece of solid wal-nut. The 2nd through 5th place shoot-ers receive Garmin statues. Bronzebuckles are awarded for 1st through10th places. For 2012, the buckles for

the 1st place shooters were also sil-ver and gold plated. Each year thecosts of these awards have risen andare a significant budget item.

Winter Range is held at theBen Avery Shooting Facility inNorth Phoenix. Winter Range issimply one user group with asigned user agreement with BenAvery. There are 143 other usergroups that also have signed useragreements with Ben Avery, not tomention the thousands of individ-ual shooters that use the range ona daily basis. After negotiatingwith some of these other usergroups, Winter Range has builtthree permanent buildings at BenAvery. However, EVERYTHINGelse used at Winter Range has to bebuilt, purchased or rented, andthen brought to the site for the an-nual Winter Range event. Thisyear, the match started two daysearlier than in the past to accom-modate the SASS National Cham-pionship of Wild Bunch ActionShooting. This presented evenmore challenges for setting up Win-ter Range. Ben Avery is a busy

THE SASS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OF COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING™

Bucky O’Neill Military RifleSingle Shot Hey Granpa, SASS #60902 ORPistol Caliber Shootin Straight, SASS #82888 WALong Range Pistol H. F. McCawley, SASS #92869 AZPlainsman Lefty Eastman, SASS #20645caCowboy ShotgunBlackpowderTrap Elliott James, SASS #2804 AZSkeet R C Hammer, SASS #42253 AZSporting Clays Big Iron Buster, SASS #9361 WASmokelessTrap Territorial Ryder, SASS #31939 ORSkeet Solomon Star, SASS #208 CA

Sporting Clays Arizona Redneck, SASS #49989 AZSpeed EventsSpeed ShotgunCowboy Hells Comin, AZCowgirl Hey You TXSpeed RifleCowboy Deuce Stevens, SASS #55996 MICowgirl Raven Moon, SASS #82325 CASpeed PistolCowboy Rattlesnake Wrangler, SASS #54580 TXCowgirl Two Sons INPocket PistolCowboy Territorial Ryder ORCowgirl Dixie Bell UTDerringerCowboy Waterloo Bill, SASS #82340 CACowgirl Hey You TX

Testing the Bowling Ball Launcher

4




range and the shooting facilitiesare reserved up to a year in ad-vance. In some cases there arematches taking place in baysthat will be used by WinterRange right up to a day or twobefore Winter Range begins. So,these matches must be workedaround during set-up. The lo-gistics for accommodating 800Cowboy Action Shooting™ com-petitors, 125 Wild Bunch com-petitors, 100 Moun ted Shooters,and several thousand visitorshas become a major enterprise.So much so the Winter Rangeboard was expanded from 20 to25 members. Check lists are fi-nalized, and the off-site workcontinues until February.

The Transformation BeginsWinter Range 2012 was sched-

uled to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Mon-day, February 20. Approximatelytwo weeks before that date a trans-formation of the desert landscapebegins. First, in the parking lotwhere vendors’ row and the maintent will be, all the concrete park-ing bumpers have to be moved.Then the main tent goes up closelyfollowed by the vendor tents. Dur-ing this time final meetings withthe Maricopa County Sheriff’s Of-fice take place to finalize trafficflow, shooter parking, and day andnighttime security. The EmergencyMedical Teams are re-contactedand their schedules finalized. Fireinspections are scheduled and haveto take place before the main tentcan be used. Health inspectionshave to take place, etc., etc. The listseems endless and gets longerevery year. Finally, the heavy lift-ing begins.

On Wednesday, February 15,the shooting bays are marked withspray paint to show the firing line,major prop locations, and targetplacement. Construction hand-books that are color coded to match

the markings on the ground arehanded out to the teams that willbuild each stage. Photo 5. First tobe moved are the targets. (Sincethe stage fronts will make goingdownrange with trailers difficultonce they are erected.) Trailers areloaded with the targets needed foreach stage and taken to their bays.Photo 6. Several bays have twosets of targets, as many of the WildBunch targets are different fromthe Cowboy Action Shooting™ tar-gets. As each bay is filled with tar-gets, other trailers begin haulingthe stage fronts and props to their

respective bays. Photo 7.As the fronts are unloaded,various construction teamswill assemble the stagefronts. Photo 8. The lastitems to come out of theircontainers and be deliv-ered to the range are thehundreds of decorationsthat provide ambiance anda more enjoyable environ-ment for the shooters.Photos 9, 10, and 11.Often times these detailitems aren’t “noticed” by the shoot-ers, but the range would look bar-ren and unappealing without them,and their absence would be noticed.Hay bales are then brought in toprovide seating, splatter control,and crowd control. Posts have to behammered into the rock hardground and ropes strung to keepvisitors a safe distance from the fir-ing line. Then comes the reallyhard part. Meeting the scrutiny of

the Beautification Committee!!!Winter Range isn’t ready to

be declared finished until theBeautification Com mittee haslooked at every stage front andevery decoration on the rangeand given them a thumb’s up.Any scratches or damage fromputting up the fronts or the dec-orations is touched up and re-paired. Photo 12. If a stagefront support is showing andisn’t painted, it has to bepainted. If a window would lookbetter with curtains or a flower-

pot, they are installed. If an area ofthe range looks a little naked, deco-rations are brought in to fill thespace. If the colors on a prop don’tmatch, they are repainted. Whenthe ladies are done with their in-spection and everything is up toWinter Range standards, the rangeis ready to greet the shooters andvisitors.

The MatchBright and early Monday morn-

ing, February 20, Winter Range isofficially open and the Wild BunchChampionship begins. (For a lookat the Wild Bunch match, see theseparate article on the Wild BunchAction Shooting National Champi-onship.) After the Wild Bunchmatch is concluded, the targets aremoved and replaced with the Cow-boy Action Shooting™ match tar-gets and everything staked andmade ready for the Cowboy ActionShooting™ main match.

Wednesday is side match day


As Easy as Painting by the Numbers

The Props Delivered

The Targets are Set

5

7

6

9


10

8

Set Up and Almost Done

11



and the most labor-intensive day ofthe match. In addition to the 20members of the Arizona TerritorialCompany of Rough Riders, there arealso 45 Rangers. The Rangers are aspecial breed of people that volun-teer anywhere from a week to twoweeks to work full time for WinterRange. They are amazingly dedi-

cated and are the backbone of theset-up and takedown effort. Theyalso make sure everything is work-ing during the match and are on-call to repair any fronts or targetsthat might break during the match.(Fortunately, there have been noequipment failures at Winter Rangefor several years.)

Next there are 100 volunteers,mostly shooters that have extended ahelping hand. Ben Avery is over1,650 acres and is the largest publicrange in the country. Thus, the sidematches spread out for over a milefrom the clay bird side matches onthe west to the long range sidematches on the east with everythingelse in between—speed rifle, speedpistol, speed shotgun, derringer,pocket pistol, Plainsman … it’s allthere for the shooters to enjoy.Photo 13. It takes almost 150 peopleto man the side matches on Wednes-day, and there is so much to do ashooter must look at the schedulecarefully and plan their day wisely!

Thursday morning is the open-ing ceremony and the shooter safetymeeting for the first shooting wave.Winter Range has a tradition of

making a comical safety video eachyear that is intended to be enter-taining, but also informative. Thisyear due to an actors’ strike, all ofthe performers in the video werepuppets. Hopefully, everyone got akick out of them. After the safetymeeting, the shooters go to the line,and it is the moment of truth. Willthe shooters enjoy the stages, willthere be any equipment malfunc-tions, has anything been forgotten?

But first everyone paused for amoment to remember all our friendsthat have passed in the last year. Asquadron of military trainer aircraftflew over the range in the MissingMan formation and one planepeeled off right over stage one.Photo 14. It was an awesome sightand they have been invited back for

Winter Range 2013. As the day wears on and each

wave goes to the line, the feedback ispositive and the Rough Riders breatha collective sign of relief. The entireyear is spent planning and workingfor only one thing—to put on the bestshoot possible for the shooters.

Thursday is a long day. Themain match goes on all day. In theafternoon there is a swap meet inthe main tent, and that night thereis the blackpowder night shoot. Inkeeping with the Arizona Historytheme, the night shoot is a battlebetween Geronimo and the soldiersat Fort Apache. For the finale, thereis a Gatling gun shooting .45-70blackpowder rounds and both sideslose as the fort and Indian camp


It Ain’t Done ‘Til the Beautification Committee

Says So!

It’s a Long Walk on Side Match Day

12 13




both burn to the ground. Photos15 and 16.

Late Thursday night one of Ari-zona’s famous windstorms blewthrough Ben Avery and two frontswere severely damaged. TheRough Riders and Rangers were upat the crack of dawn repairing thedamaged structures. By the timethe first wave of shooters arrivedon Friday morning, the damagehad been repaired and the rangewas ready for action.

Winter Range is the NationalChampionship and takes place in awinter resort city. As a conse-

quence, shooters range from the topcompetitors in the world to shoot-ers whose main interest is the goodweather and meeting old friends.The stages are, therefore, varied toprovide a challenge to the topshooters and fun for all shooters.Many shooters commented thatWinter Range was a true champi-onship match. It was challengingfor the champions; yet, the targetswere hittable and fun for begin-ners. The temperatures for thematch were in the mid-80s withvery low humidity, and everyonehad to remember to drink plenty ofwater. Shooters from the north andnortheast liked their warm winterbreak. Others commented theyhad shot the match several timesbefore, but each year everything

looked fresh and there were differ-ent props every year.

Saturday dawned and the ac-tion continued. Out on the range,among other things, was a train, afull-size riverboat, an actual saloon,Fort Sinclair, and Coosie’s GeneralStore. Photos 17, 18, 19 and 20.There was also a jail with a longhallway to run down and shoot outof the doors and windows. At thesaloon, there was a rolling ore car.At the General Store was therolling bowling ball and soda canaerial target. A couple of stageshad falling plates. The variedstages kept everyone entertained

and presented as many differentshooting scenarios as possible. Sat-urday ended and everyone, theRough Riders and the shooters,breathed a sign of relief. The matchwas over, but the fun continued.There’s Gonna be a Hot Timein the Old Town TonightIn a multi-day event the shoot-

ers are only shooting part of the day.Filling the rest of the day is as im-portant to a great shooter experi-ence as the actual shooting. That’swhere the vendors and entertain-ment come in. Sponsors and ven-dors turn a shoot into an event.Their support helps make largeshoots possible. They provide prizesand provide something to do for theshooters and their families in theoff-hours. This year there were 100


Missing Man Formation

It was a Draw!

14

15

16

17

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vendors at Winter Range provid-ing everything a Cowboy ActionShooter could want. There werefirearms from a number of im-porters. There were clothes ga-lore, ammunition, laserengraving, regular engraving, re-loading ac ces sories, and prettymuch everything else a shootercould want all located in oneplace. Photos 21 through 23.

And then there was theFOOD! There were hot dogs,turkey legs, barbeque, ribs, burg-ers, burritos, kettle corn, icecream, and pretty much some-thing to meet everyone’s tastes.Photo 24. Once again WinterRange’s main match sponsor wasWild West Mercantile and themajor sponsors were Phil Doornbas,F.LLI Pietta, and CimarronFirearms Company.

The entertainment was spreadthroughout the day to keep shoot-ers, their families, and the thou-sands of visitors occupied. Therewas the Rhinestone Roper and hisWild West show, an authentic 1890sbrass band for the evening events,

strolling guitar players, prestidigi-tators, and you could even meetWyatt Earp roaming through thestreets of vendor row. Wyatt is hisreal name, and he is the great-grandnephew of the original WyattEarp. Word has it next year DocHoliday may make an appearance!

Winter Range has a full size sa-loon with a bar, mirror behind thebar, and a piano. It was built as ashooting façade. However, after theshooting ended on Saturday, it spon-


One of Four Vendor Rows

19 20

21


http://www.sassnet.com/P-Scoring-001A.php



taneously turned into a real saloon,and there was celebration far intothe night. Sunday morning dawned(blurry eyed for many) with onemore big event before the awardsceremony. The Top Gun Shoot off!

And the Winners Are!!!On Sunday morning the

bleachers are filled with spectatorsand the best of the best meet toshoot it out. A course with knock-downs, falling plates, shotgun tar-gets, and a final stop plate is laidout to test shooter speed and tothrill the audience. Shoot, miss, re-load; move from gun to gun down

the firing line until you get to thefinal stop plate. Shooters are look-ing out the corner of their eyes, “myopponent just finished his shotguntargets, and I’m still on my rifle!”“He missed a target and is reload-ing, now I have him!” “Shucks, Ijust missed!” On it goes until thefinal two—Robyn DeVault for themen and Hey You for the women.They start, and it’s neck and neck.Robyn pulls slightly ahead, gets tothe stop plate first, and then makesa fatal error. He misses his targetand knocks down Hey You’s stopplate. (At least that’s his story, andhe’s sticking to it!) Once again, the

ladies come out as Top Shot. Asmuch fun as the shoot-off is, thefact is everyone that shoots WinterRange is a winner. The friends, so-cializing, and shooting are reward-ing for everyone from seasonedcompetitor to beginners. Fromyoung to old, there were smiles oneveryone’s face.After the shoot-offis completed, everyone moves asquickly as possible to the big tentfor the awards ceremony.

At the front of the tent are ta-bles covered with a sea of bronzetrophies for the 1st place winners,Garmin statues for 2nd throughfifth place, and bronze buckles

down to tenth place. No largematch can take place withoutsponsors and without volunteersand thanking these people is es-sential. It is also time consumingand the audience’s eyes glaze overas each person of note’s name isread and applause received. Afternumerous comments over thelength of the awards ceremony onthe shooter comments form, Win-ter Range has tried to streamlinethe awards ceremony. The namesof those who have volunteeredand the sponsors and vendors areprinted in a pamphlet and passedout to the audience. An apprecia-

wINTEr raNGEwINTEr raNGE 2012(Continued from page 33)

storage areas. The targets are moved,then the hundreds of decorationsstored. Finally, the hay bales are re-moved and the range cleaned for thenext user. In a logistical miracle all ofWinter Range is taken down andstored by five o’clock on Monday, Feb-ruary 27.

The Rough Riders, Rangers, andvolunteers sit on the tailgates of theirtrucks having a cool beverage, theshooter comments are read, and Win-ter Range 2013 begins. A few diehards

wander out into the nowempty bays and thinkaloud, “I wonder if wecould build …?”

Thanks to all andsee you at Winter Range2013, February 18 – 24,2013!!!* * * * *Photos byDeadeye AlQuigley PhotographyLarsen E. Pettifogger

ERS that attended Winter Range2012!!! And Winter Range 2012 isover. Or is it?

The Big TakedownWithin minutes of the end of

the awards ceremony the RoughRiders and Rangers are changinginto their work clothes and beginto remove EVERTHING from therange. There is another matchthat has reserved the range start-ing on the Tuesday following Win-ter Range. Take down is done asefficiently as setup. Teams are un-bolting the stage fronts and thepanels are stacked in each bay. An-other team pulls in with trailers,and the panels are moved to their



tion dinner is held for the Rangersa few days after Winter Range.

With only a few names andrecognitions read, the ceremonymoves as fast as it can move withhundreds of trophies and bucklesbeing awarded. Photo 25. To fur-ther speed things up, there weremultiple presenters that make

sure each shooter gets the correctaward quickly. The final awardsgo to Cobra Cat and Addie Rose asthe Top Overall man and ladycompetitors. Photo 26. Theawards ceremony is over in abouttwo hours and then comes themost important thank you.THANKS TO ALL THE SHOOT-

Overall National ChampionsAddie Rose and Cobra Cat

U.S. Grant, SASS #2, Opening the Awards Ceremony

Taking a Lunch Break

2223

2425

26

b�

the wedge is pushed in the barrel lug.Since the chamber diameters are ad-justed to the rifling groove diameterthe inherent accuracy of this revolveris excellent. Its shallow rifling sup-ports an optimal energy transfer.These Belgians were made of hardersteel than other replicas.

Comments on CentaureFROCS Special #114X7: Despitethe short barrel and the high ten-sion of the original mainspring, thisBelly Gun can be cocked withoutproblems. Easy handling, very reli-able shooter. This gun hits whatyou are aiming at!

After the very promising shoot-



owboy Action Shooting™in Europe is growing at arapid pace. Due to thenature of gun laws there,

Cap and Ball revolvers are often thepistols of choice for new cowboys andcowgirls. Some FROCS (FRiends Ofthe Centaure Society) decided thetime was right to test the herd ofC&B revolvers to see how theystand up to the rigors of Cowboy Ac-tion competition shooting. The re-sults may be useful to pards andpardettes on this side of the pondalso. Part 1 of this series coveredbackground and methodology.

Almost all revolvers evaluatedfunctioned if the shooter did his job.Good lubrication was the key. Jamsfrom cap fragments occurred, but wecannot relate this to specific modelsor manufacturers. What we discov-ered, however, was which revolversfunctioned more reliably than othersand why, pinpointed specific advan-tages of open frame over solid framerevolvers, were angered by qualityissues of some makers, and found afew tuning measures that improvedoverall reliability.

Badly finished, rough contactareas like the barrel side of cylindersand the breech side of the barrel orcone get you in trouble with black-powder fouling quickly. In our teststhis was found mostly in guns of ArmiSan Paolo or Euroarms. Revolvers ofthese two makers also had the poor-est fit of wooden grips to steel frames.On the other hand, the highly pol-ished, deeply blued barrels and cylin-ders combined with their traditionalcase color hardened frames and ham-mers and perfectly fitted grips of the2nd and 3rd generation Colts were eyecandy for the testers.

Historical correctness—the wayto go? Regarding rifling groove di-ameter, groove profile, and diameterof the chambers—the Italian replicamanufacturers take the Period Cor-rect route to the disadvantage of theshooter. Colt and Remington duringthe 19th century made C&B revolverchambers of a significantly smaller

diameter than the rifling groove di-ameter. But today’s shooters arepaying the price for this historicalcorrectness in terms of suboptimalinherent accuracy and also gas leak-age. The loss in accuracy we candisregard at Cowboy Action Shoot-ing™ distances, but the suboptimalenergy transfer from gas leakagecan be a nuisance when knockdowntargets like pepper poppers or TexasStars are to be engaged. It will costextra seconds when a target topplesover only after the 2nd or 3rd hit!

Belgian and Spanish makerstook a different approach: Centaureand Santa Barbara New Model1863 Army were developed likemodern target revolvers for optimalbuilt-in accuracy. Hence, chamberand bore groove diameters are ad-justed accordingly. In this respect,these revolvers are not true copiesof the originals, but this feature isappreciated by our modern Cow-boys and Cowgirls. In addition,these two makers fitted barrelswith shallow rifling to their C&Brevolvers. The combination of thesetwo features means reduced gasleakage and improved energy trans-fer compared to Italian replicas.

Remingtons for small handsonly? These revolvers were designedto suit our 19th century forefathers,who were much smaller than today’s21st century adults. Shooters withmidsize hands or larger often cannotgrip their Remmies comfortably andwhere to place the pinkie? Also, dur-ing recoil the middle finger gets anice, regular smacking from the trig-ger guard, which is too close to thegrip for comfort.

Nipple exchange? Problems toignite caps, cap fragments in the ac-tion, and so forth can often betraced to the factory installed nip-ples. That’s why experienced com-petition shooters exchange thefactory nipples immediately forcompetition grade nipples likeTreso as soon as they liberate a newpercussion revolver.

Mainspring exchange? Westrongly advise against playingaround with the strong tension ofthe main spring, or to consider the

exchange for a lighter one from acartridge pistol of similar design.Hammer tension needs to be highenough to prevent possible affectionof accuracy, but more important, youneed it for reliable ignition and toseal the nipples when a shot is fired.

Clones of the Colt Army 1860

Belgian maker – Fabriques d’Armes Unies de Liège (FAUL)The grand-grand-grandfather

of the Hanquets, the owners ofFAUL, was a member of the consor-tium of seven Liège gunsmiths andgunmakers who in 1853 obtained alicence from Sam Colt for the pro-duction of his percussion revolvers,which they first did during the 19th

and again during the 20th century.Unfortunately, FAUL does not existany more.

Only some 16,000 of their famousre-issues of Colt’s venerable 1860Army called Centaure were made be-tween 1959 and 1973. The factory in-stalled arbors of correct length intothese Centaures. Hence the cylindergap, but more important, the POI isalways the same no matter how deep

Black Art and Percussion Revolvers

By Long Johns Wolf, SASS #81095, Panhandle Paden, SASS #68806,

Bumble Bee, BDS #2589, Socks, SASS #69087,and Magic Joe, SASS #92431

CPart 2

C b& reVolVers conVersions

PuT To ThE TEsT&

A day’s test program …

1972 made Regular New Model Army #114X7 transformed into a FROCS Special: neat job by master gunsmith Karl Nedbal from Austria.

FROCS Special: “Fully tuned dream of a

Cowboy Action Shooting™ revolver for the Frontiersman Category!”



ing session with the collector’s piecethe 4" barrel of the FROCS Specialwas mated to the fully tuned frameand cylinder assembly of Centaure#139X3, and another three stringswere fired. The conclusion of MagicJoe: “… fully tuned dream of a Cow-boy Action Shooting™ revolver forthe Frontiersman Category!“

Comments on Centaure RNMA1st variation, 2nd sub-variation#139X3: A completely tuned matchrevolver, crisp trigger pull, you hitwhat your aim for. A jam was notedearly in the first string from capfragments in the action that was re-solved at the firing line. One deadcap during the 6th string needed tobe replaced.

Comments on Centaure RNMA6th variation, 2nd sub-variation#142X9: Like the previous revolver,this one is completely tuned, too.No jams, hits POA. Cap frag-ments in the action resulted insome hammer drag during the 3rd

string, but all remaining capswere positively ignited.

Italian makers – Euroarms and Armi San Paolo

Euroarms has been makingC&B revolvers since 1970, whereasArmi San Paolo started in 1969.Since 2002 these two companieswere merged together as EuroarmsItalia S.r.l.

POA can be disregarded at CowboyAction Shooting™ distances. Hercustom checkered panels providefor a very positive grip.

Comments on Uberti Colt Army1860 #143X8: We liked this reliableand accurate match pistol. Due tothe new higher front sight, she hitswhat you are aiming at. Her cus-tom checkered panels provide for avery positive grip.

Comments on Uberti Colt Army1860 #731X6: This cab and ballerhad rested in the owner’s safe sinceits purchase in the 1970s. Inother words, this test was herfirst workout! Typical for theUbertis is her slippery varnishedgrip. This one had a heavy butcrisp trigger pull. Function wassatisfactory, but we cannot offeran explanation for the 4" spreadof the hits during both accuracystrings. POI was at one o’clockdue to the PC front sight. At thebeginning of the 5th string onecap was rubbing against the re-

tests on the two pair of 8"ersbelow, #134X9 and 143X8, and5.5"ers, #665X1 and 1106X0, re-spectively with their fluted cylin-ders was executed by “longdistance tester” Full Load Hildi(FLH). FLH is the ruling Germanchampion in the 1870/Frontiers-man Category for eight years now.These four Ubertis are his matchpistols. Except for some polishing ofthe actions, fitting of higher frontssights, and checkering of the grippanels on three of them, these are“out of the box” replicas. Please, noteFLH did not correct the lengths ofthe arbors, but has their respectivewedges marked for the proper depthof insertion into the barrel lug!

Colt Army 1860: 8" barrel variants

Comments on Uberti Colt Army1860 #134X9: The testers liked thisreliable and accurate match pistol.The marginal deviation of POI from

Comments on Eu-roarms Colt Army1860 #26X9: One previ-ous owner had partlysanded off the varnishfrom the grip. This op-eration improved thegrip, but not her looks.She performed excep-tionally well. We liked

the crisp trigger and the tightpattern connecting only 2" highdue to the PC front sight. Whenshe was to be disassembled at theloading table for the loading opera-tion with the external loadingpress, we noted the tight sittingwedge. This could only be removedwith a brass punch. Since thearbor was .08" (!) too short, thecylinder gap was adjusted with afeeler gauge after loading.

You cannot hope for any stylepoints for this 1860 clone. Her fitmetal to wood leaves a lot to be de-sired, but she was one of the most re-liable of the Italian Colts in our test.

Comments on Armi San PaoloColt Army 1860 #8346: The too shortarbor resulted in POIs differing fromstring to string. On average the re-volver’s POI is 4" high. The hammerdrags. From the 2nd string on, thecylinder had to be turned manuallydue to blackpowder fouling. Duringthe 3rd string the hammer hung inthe loading position. Early in the 6th

string one cap would not ignite.Later cap fragments completely dis-abled the action.

Italian Maker – UbertiAldo Uberti has the most expe-

rience in the making of replicas ofAmerican percussion revolvers. Hefabricated the first Colt Navy clonesas early as 1958/59 for US NavyArms, together with his partner,Gregorelli. In 1963 however, hefounded his own factory, Uberti SpA.

The data collection and practical

Uberti Colt Army 1860 #134X9

Two Centaure Regular New Model Armies,RNMA 1st variation #139X3 (top) and

RNMA 6th variation #142X9 (bottom): pairof fully tuned match pistols for Cowboy Action Shooting™.

Euroarms Colt Army 1860 #26X9: picture makes her look better than real life …

although she was one of the better performing revolvers!

Armi San Paolo Colt Army 1860 #83X6.




Comments on Uberti Colt Army1860 #665X1: She performed reli-able during the whole six strings.We were impressed by her tightgroups connecting only slightlybelow POA. Loosening of the wedgewas noted after the 5th string. Thiswas easily corrected. Her customcheckered panels provide for a verypositive grip.

Comments on Uberti Colt Army1860 #1106X0: Very reliable and ac-curate, POA equals POI. Her fac-tory checkered panels provide for avery positive grip.

US maker – Colt FirearmsBetween 1971 and 1982 most

models of the open top type Coltpercussion revolvers were availableagain as 2nd generations. Thesewere made from rough parts sup-plied by Uberti in Italy. Finishingand assembly took place at Colt’s,there enhanced with the deep Coltblue and high quality traditionalcharcoal case hardening. Only re-volvers meeting the high standardsof the Colt quality control were re-leased for sale.

The only 2nd generation 1860 in

coil shield. This might have beenthe shooter’s mistake at the loadingtable. Later during the string a capfragment in the action affectedcocking the hammer.

Uberti Colt Army 1860: 5.5" barrel variants

Clones Remington NewModel 1863 Army

Italian Maker – Euroarms

Comments on Euroarms Rem-ington New Model 1863 Army#06X0: The creeping trigger pullwithout slack might irritate begin-ners, but POA was identical with

POI. This Remington func-tioned during all six

strings with-out missing

a beat. The hammercould be pulled back

beyond the cocking position, whichis annoying to some shooters. Wenoted timing issues when using

the integrated loading press.Comments on Euroarms Rem-

ington New Model 1863 Army#027X1: This revolver also func-tioned over the whole distancewithout a stutter. The trigger wasalmost crisp, but cocking was achore due to the high tension ofthe mainspring. We produced verytight groups in the two accuracystrings, but the POI is 3" high atone o’clock. The shooters were notamused by powder residue flash-ing back through the nipples intheir faces after each shot fired.This could be traced to the burnedout nipples.

our test is of the fully fluted variantmade between 1980 and 1981.These newly made Colt revolvers

are sought after for theirexcellent fit and finish.

Comments on Colt 1860 Army#2075X4: Despite her NIB condi-tion, the owner was talked intomaking her available for the tor-

ture test like the other contestants.As anticipated, her timing wastops, the arbor had the correctlength, and function was flawless.Unfortunately, the Italians tookPCness too serious because the dif-ference between rifling groove andchamber mouth diameter is just toomuch for a reasonable pattern ofthe hits and the low muzzle veloc-ity. POI was somewhat high due tothe PC low front sight. Commentedone tester: “Too beautiful for seri-ous shooting, put her back in thedisplay cabinet.”



C & B Revolvers & Conversions . . .



Three Full Load Hildi’s Uberti 1860 Cowboy Action Shooting™ match revolvers—#66X1, #143X8, und #1106X0: he likes fluted cylinders!

2nd Gen Colt 1860 0Army #2075X4

Euroarms Remington NewModel 1863 Army #06X0

Euroarms Remington New Model 1863 Army #027X1


loading press was used. We expectedsome restrictions of the cylinderturns due to the very narrowcylinder gap, but are pleased toreport this pistol functioned over thewhole distance of the testwithout cleaning.

Spanish maker – E.N. Santa Barbara

According to the research ofJim Davis of RPRCA, Replica Per-

cussion Revolver Collec-tor’s Association, theSpaniards produced theirRemington clones between1971 and 1977 only. Lessthan 10,000 were made.Contrary to Italian replicasthis one was designed with

target shooters in mind if you con-sider the rifling groove and cham-ber mouth diameter adjusted foraccuracy and the front sight dove-tailed into the barrel. Rumour hasit the steel used in their making isharder than the Italian alloy. Theirmore sizeable grip provides for apositive hold for shooters with

larger hands.

Comments on E.N.Santa Barbara Rem-ington New Model1863 Army #027X3:This Spanish Rem-

mie did a pretty reliable job over allsix strings. We noted, however ashift in the POI and the size of thegroups. Hits were centered aroundPOA during the 1st string with aspread of 4". This moved 2 up to-wards 2 o’clock with a somewhatshrinking spread. After the 3rd and6th string the loading lever screwhad to be tightened, no big deal.

Comments on E.N. Santa Bar-bara Remington New Model 1863Army #092X0: The “almost” center

Italian Maker – UbertiComments on Uberti Reming-

ton New Model 1863 Army #140X0:We can live well with a POI con-necting 2" high at one o’clock. Thetrigger creeps, but that is more thanoffset by the reliability of this NMA.

Comments on Uberti Reming-ton New Model 1863 Army #421X8:A POI between 2" and 3" high at 12or 1 o’clock is OK for us in thissport. The creeping trigger pull wastolerable because the pistol per-formed satisfactory until the 5th

string. During the 6th string, badblackpowder fouling seriously af-fected cocking the hammer andturning the cylinder. After the 3rd

and 6th string, the loading leverscrew had to be tightened.

Comments on Uberti RemingtonNew Model 1863 Army #A556X9:This stainless variant had a veryhigh tension mainspring installed.Her grip is thicker than the one ofher above companions from 1970.Hence, shooters with larger handsmight be able to handle her some-what more comfortably. POI wasslightly to the right of POA, nothingto be worried about, but timing is-sues were noted when the integrated



POI pleased the testers, the triggerhas a reasonable, somewhat spongyrelease, the varnished did not pro-vide a firm grip. Except for theloading lever, which dropped fromthe barrel stud during recoil nowand then, there are no jams to bereported. Compared to the otherSanta Barbara #096X6, this onewas harder to cock due to the hightension of the mainspring … whichas Remington aficionados know canbe easily altered in Remington NewModel Armies and Navies withtheir main spring screw. Whenloaded with the integrated loadingpress the cylinder is over-rotating.

Comments on E.N. Santa Bar-bara Remington New Model 1863Army #096X6: This “Plain Jane”version appeared to be better fin-ished than her factory engraved sis-ter, #092X0. The trigger pull iscrisp, the timing alright, even if theintegrated loading press is used toload the gun. The oiled grip pro-vides for a solid grip. POI is mar-ginally higher than the POA, which

is nothing to com-plaint about atCowboy Action

Shooting™ distances. No impair-ment of the functioning from black-powder over the whole six stringsoccurred. During the 6th string,one cap would ignite only after asecond cocking of the hammer.Magic Joe has large hands. Hecomplained about the smack to hismiddle finger from the recoil de-

Uberti Remington NewModel 1863 Army #421X8

Uberti Remington New Model 1863 Army#A556X9: stainless steel

E.N. Santa Barbara Remington New Model1863 Army #027X3

E.N. Santa Barbara Remington New Model 1863 Army #096X6 (top)and #092X0 (bottom): better steel

than Italo-clones?

Santa Barbara Remington #096X6: almost ready for action


Uberti Remington New Model 1863 Army

#140X0: factory engraved.

spite the light loads used. Thissame shooter did not suffer asmacking when firing the otherSanta Barbara.

Other .44 Caliber C&B Revolvers

Comments on Colt Blackpow-der Arms Colt 1847 Walker #62X4:Thanks to an arbor of almost cor-rect length, the testers could easilygo along with the POI connectingonly marginally high. However, theWalker presented itself with timingissues. Despite the heavy loads,functioning during the whole courseof strings was flawless, no droppingloading lever, which is the usual ail-ment of Walkers!

This is a heavy weight, fun gunfor the athletic fraction among cow-boys and cowgirls!

Comments on Colt BlackpowderArms Colt Whitneyville HartfordDragoon #126XA: Un for tu natelythis is another specimen of Colt re-pros with too short an arbor! Thisresulted in a POI 5r above POA at

cylinder movement, which in turnimpedes single handed cocking ofthe gun. Shooters with smallhands and short thumbs cannotreach the spur of the hammer. Theangle is awkward for sufficientleverage during fast cocking. Fur-thermore to cock, the grip on theR&S has to be changed—which im-pacts on speed. The narrow rearsight and the uniform chambermouth diameter are perfect forbulls-eye shoots. But, the samenarrow rear sight makes sightalignment for quick target acquisi-tion in Cowboy Action Shooting™

difficult. The height of thefront sight is adjusted for25 meter. To hit the centerof the steel target, I have toaim low, below the target!

Another R&S fromFeinwerkbau was not en-tered into the test, but weobserved her high sensitiv-ity to blackpowder foulingduring static shooting likewe found in this Armi SanPaolo race gun tuned-up forbulls-eye competition.

* * * * * * *© Wolf D. Niederastroth/

2012March 4, 2012

our “long distance tester” Archan -gel, cowboy from North rhine West-falia: “…had to start in the gamewith this R&S and a Centaure atthe 2011 German Championship …because I have to wait a few monthsmore before I can legally purchasemy second Centaure …”: Even thematch version with Lothar-Waltherbarrel can only be second or betterthird choice in Cowboy Action. It isprone to blackpowder fouling due tothe tight fit of hammer to frame.This collects crud and progressivelydelays the hammer drop time.Fouling and cap fragments restrict

out Cowboy ActionShooting™ distance.At least once perstring the barrel studlet the loading levergo, possibly as a resultof the rifling groove di-ameter being actuallysmaller than thechamber mouth diam-eter. Go figure.

Function was notaffected by blackpow-der fouling.

Comments onArmi San Paolo Ro -gers & Spencer 1865#200X6 from one of



C & B Revolvers & Conversions . . .

Colt Blackpowder Arms 3rd gen Colt 1847Walker #62X4 (top) and Whitneyville Hartford Dragoon #126XA (bottom):

heavy weight pistols will guarantee stylepoints and tons of shooting fun!

Armi San Paolo Rogers & Spencer 1865 match version #200X6:

excellent accuracy in bull’s-eye competition.

Socks launches roundballs by 55 gr CH2 from the Walker: notable recoil, lots of smoke, and pretty sparks!

!


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to cock the hammer is causedby the hammer plunger (acti-vated by the hammer plungerspring) hitting one end of thecylinder latch and momentarilyrotating it out of engagement toallow the cylinder to rotate. Todo this, the other end of thecylinder latch must depressand overcome the tension ex-erted by the cylinder latchspring plunger and its spring.

• After the hammer is released,the faint “ping” heard just be-fore it contacts the transfer barresults from the hammerplunger and its spring being de-pressed by passing over the in-place cylinder latch.

• Just before firing, the hammermust depress the transfer barthat is held away from the fir-ing pin by the spring-activatedplunger at the end of the basepin (a.k.a., the rod upon whichthe cylinder rotates).

• Then the hammer must over-come the tension of the frame-mounted firing pin reboundspring. See for yourself in an un-loaded Ruger Vaquero or Black-hawk by cocking the hammerand (with your finger off the trig-ger) use any implement (otherthan your finger) to depress thetransfer bar down and exposethe firing pin. Depressing!As shown by pages 119-121 and

196 of the Kuhnhausen book, re-moving the recoil plate that housesthe firing pin and the perceived of-fending firing pin rebound springappears to be an intimidating anddifficult job requiring special equip-ment/fixtures and serious gun-smithing skills. My quest startedwith efforts to locate a gunsmithwho would do the work. I contactedCoyote Cap (http://coyotecap.com)who indicated he might be able todo the work at a very reasonablecost, but he was somewhat busy atthe time. Efforts to find other“name brand” gunsmiths were un-successful due to work commit-ments, liability concerns and

difficulties in shipping since regu-lations require guns shipped out ofstate can only go to FFL holders. Inany event, the costs to airship 2-pairs of guns (as required by overlyconservative FedEx and UPS regu-lations) in two shipments (so that Iwould always have revolvers in-hand to shoot) were prohibitive.

Back to square one. After ayear of looking and reading and abotched effort to install the Grand-Masters/PowerCustom free spinpawl, that resulted in sending theguns to them to complete theprocess, I contacted Mr. Joe Perkins(888-520-6799) who indicated hewould be interested in the work,but in a moment straight out of theOld West in the SPIRIT OF THEGAME, asked me if I was a klutz.Hesitatingly I said, “No, I don’tthink so—other than for makingthis request for work.” He thenasked if I had some mechanicalability and patience—to which I as-serted a modest positive response.He then said, “You could do thisyourself.” The issue was cinchedwith having two old large-frame Va-queros I could use as guinea pigs. Idecided to take the bull by thehorns and see what could be done.If matters went South, I could shipa “bag gun” to a shop to hopefullyhave it put back to rights. Over thenext several months to conservemoney and due to difficulties infinding the equipment, I locatedand purchased the requisite tools.

This article covers a wide audi-ence—from semi-klutzes like me toprofessional gunsmiths, but thepoint is you can easily do somework on your guns to add anotherelement of interest to this wonder-ful and safe hobby.

My first task (as I would sug-gest for other amateur gunsmithsgetting comfortable with takingapart their guns), involved in-stalling a Wolff spring kit using:• A new gunsmith screwdriverset.

• Trembling hands.• Two spiral-bound takedownmanuals and enlarged copies of

Kuhnhausen’s pages #70 (basicaction function), #73 (RugerSingle Action Parts andNomenclature), #87 (VaqueroModel Parts Diagram), #104-5(Disassembly), #178 (Assem-bly) spread out all over thekitchen table. Because lawyersare present, I made single en-larged copies of the pages formy own use only because theKuhnhausen book’s bindingprevents it from staying open.

• The services of JosephineSarah Marcus Earp, SASS#91145 (a.k.a., my wife), as akeen scout and wrangler of elu-sive springs and small partsthat strayed from the corral of

the kitchen table onto the wideprairie of the kitchen floor. Your next efforts may address

installing the Grandmasters/Pow-erCustom standard hammer, trig-ger, transfer bar, and free-spinpawl. I will admit the minute pawlfiling clearly illustrated by the in-structions is somewhat daunting,but is made much easier by doingthe trial fitting and rotation checksbefore assembling the barrel por-tion of the frame with the grip por-tion—something I did not realize atfirst; see, I told you I’m an amateur!You may wish to see if cutting two-coils off the pawl spring, as noted inthe following article, will allow thecylinder to free-spin as if the after-market pawl had been installed.To be continued …

Do-It-Yourself Gamer Gunsmithing Of The Ruger Vaquero (Pt. 1) . . .

Buttercup at [email protected]

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Hannibal we had not heard of it be-fore, and it burst upon us as a gladand stunning surprise.”

Sweeney and his homemadebanjos became very popular. He iscredited with adding a 5th string tothe banjo, but as far as can be seenit was what is now the 4th (LowestPitched) string, as the top dronestring that goes some half way upthe neck was put in place long be-fore by the Black banjo players.After I read and digested several ar-ticles on the history of the banjo, itbrought to mind what Joseph saidto his brothers in Egypt many yearsafter they had sold him into slavery.They were afraid Joseph would re-taliate for what they had done tohim. But Joseph simply said, “Butas for you, ye thought evil againstme; but God meant it unto good”

(Genesis 50:20a KJV). In otherwords, God can bring forth some-thing good out of even the worst cir-cumstances we may find ourselvesto be in. So one good thing thatcame out of slavery was theBANJO; an instrument inventedand improved upon by the Blackmusicians in the South.

By the mid 1800’s, banjos wereso popular there were banjo compe-titions going on in major cities.Music companies started buildingbanjos and banjo teachers were indemand. Steel strings becameavailable that were cheaper andlonger lasting than the horsehairones. Frets were added to the banjo

neck around 1878. By the late1800’s, as many as 10,000 banjoswere being played in Boston alone.

The banjo accompanied the mi-gration west. Banjo makers and in-structors set up shop acrossAmerica. Musical troupes sportingbanjos and fiddles entertained themasses, playing their tunes in citytheaters, saloons, and miningtowns. These musical groups weresometimes hired by cattle compa-nies to sing on cattle drives, butprobably not as you might think. Itwas thought the cattle would be lesslikely to stampede if they were ser-enaded at night. I can almost hearthem singing “Oh Susanna,” “Homeon the Range,” and the like fromdusk to dawn to a herd of jitteryLonghorns. There is record of aminstrel troupe joining a cattle

he history of the fivestring banjo of todaystretches back acrosssome 150-plus years in

America, making it a “uniquelyAmerican” instrument. Lutes,harps, lyres, and such have beenused to play music for thousands ofyears around the world. The drumhas also been around a very longtime. So it is obvious at some pointin the past a very industrious stu-dent of music connected strings to adrum to establish the predecessor ofthe banjo. This banjo forerunner istraced back to the early 1600’s to re-gions of Mali, Guinea, and the IvoryCoast. It was constructed by plac-ing an animal skin over a large tur-tle shell or gourd with the top cutoff. Then some type of wooden stickwas affixed and animal hair, hemp,or some type of twine was used asstrings. This kind of instrumentwas called a bonza, banjar, banjer,bonjer, bongoe, banshaw, or some-thing similar, depending on whatpart of the world in which it wasplayed. There are written accountsof these instruments in West Africaas early as 1620 and in the

Caribbean in the 1680’s.This stringed instrument that

made its way to the AmericanColonies is mentioned as a bonjer ina Maryland newspaper in 1754. Theslaves were not allowed to playdrums, so the banjer became verypopular in the South. There was asignificant change, though, in theBlack American’s style of banjer. In-stead of having a stick for a neck,there was a guitar-type fret boardneck. Two or three strings made ofhorsehair, hemp, gut, or the like wereinstalled over the animal skin head.Thomas Jefferson is quoted as sayingabout it, “The instrument proper tothem (the slaves) is a Banjar, whichthey brought hither from Africa.”

By the early 1800’s, the fiddle,bones, tambourine, and “banjo”were used almost exclusively by theBlack community in the South. Inthe early 1830’s, Joel Sweeneylearned to play and build banjosfrom the slaves who lived near him.Sweeney copied the Southern Blackstyle of music. He formed a musicalgroup not unlike those in the Southcalled Old Joe’s Minstrels. Untilthis time, it seems only Blacksplayed this type of music.Sweeney’s band toured Virginia, be-coming very successful. They wenton the road across America and toother countries. Many of these mu-sical troupes that went on tour in-corporated a fiddle, one or morebanjos, bones, and a tambourine.Mark Twain is quoted, referring tominstrel music, “In our village of

fiVe string

Cree Vicar Dave,SASS Life, #49907

baNjoBy Cree Vicar Dave, SASS Life #49907

T Cree Vicar Dave and Norma Foor getten’ ready ta start pickin’ at Church. Norma inspired me ta dust off my old banjo and start playin’ it again.

Cree Vicar now plays his 5 string banjo in a local Bluegrass band once a week.

www.caboots.com


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drive in 1882. It seems a KansasCity cattle company hired on such agroup for a drive originating ineastern Oregon.

Psalms 150:4b NIV says topraise the LORD “….with thestrings and flute.” Old SouthernGospel music and hymns are stillvery popular, and today the banjocan be found in almost every type ofmusical genre from Blue Grass, toCountry, to Gospel, to Jazz, to Clas-sical, and more.

Around a year ago the pianoplayer at our church, Norma Foor,mentioned she was going to learnhow to play the 5-string banjo. Ithought to myself, “If she can learnhow to play the banjo, so can I,” re-membering I had a banjo up in theattic at home, purchased some 35years ago, more or less. I hadstrummed it a little, and then put itaway for three plus decades. Well, Igot it down, blew the dust off thecase, and took a look at it along withthe “How to Play” instructions.”This time I read the book instead ofjust looking at the pictures. WhenThe Vicar’s Wife and I went southfor the cold season last year the

banjo was packed along with thecowboy guns. I practiced one to twohours most days in between loadingshells, shooting, and attendingchurch on the weekends.

I am just now getting comfort-able in rolling with a little pickin’mixed in. Rick Allen, at Mid Michi-gan Music Store in Midland, Michi-gan, has been a big help. He invitedme to play in a little Blue Grassband that meets once a week in acoffee shop nearby. It really helpsto improve your playing abilitywhen you join a band and are forcedto keep in time. I’m now starting tolook to upgrade with a mid rangebanjo. It’s kind of like Cowboy Ac-tion, there is always a model thatworks a little better and looks a lit-tle nicer.

A body has to have someamount of talent to play an instru-ment, but the most positive resultsare recognized by following thesame three disciplines used in Cow-boy Action Shooting™, and theyare: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, andPRACTICE. Usually the only thingholding us back is our lack of confi-dence. My Mom, bless her soul, al-

ways encouraged me as a boy bysaying, “David, if someone else canlearn to do something, so can you.”My thanks to Mom and Norma forinspiring me to play the banjo.

My next challenge is learninghow to play the Dobro. I just pickedup a Dobro Hound Dog SquareNeck Deluxe from Rick for a starterinstrument. I’ll be playing it in notime, LORD willing.

[email protected]:www.drhorsehair.comwww.bluegrassbanjo.orgwww.wikipedia.orgwww.worldmusic.about.comwww.dummies.comwww.folkmusic.about.com* * * * * * *Photos by: The Vicar’s Wife.

Rick Allen (holding an antique banjo) and Cree Vicar Dave. Rick is an established banjo and Dobro player.

He is the proprietor of Mid Michigan Music in Midland, Michigan.



buckle only on The outside

Not So Fastearly 1900s didnt have a big spurshelf like modern riding boots, andriders tended to wear their spurshigher in their boot heel. Most ofthe straps were single-ply, so hope-fully they would break or the spurwould slide off the boot heel if therider was in a wreck and got his foothung up in the stirrup.

I’ve been riding for 55 years andhave worn my spurs buckled insideand outside and have never felt anypressure from a buckle, and there isno way the horse would feel thebuckle since the stirrup would be be-tween the horse and the rider’s foot.I also make spurs and use them ona regular basis, and I’m rough onthem, so my opinion is based on his-tory and real life experiences.

There are many great referencebooks on spurs that show old spurs,the original straps, and the riderswho used them, as well as reprintsof old saddlery catalogs that showthe real gear what old time riderswere using.

Ride hard and shoot straight Fuegen Handforged Knives,

Bits, and Spurs www.larryfuegen.com

By Doc Sweeney, SASS Life #2242

don’t want to kick dirt onanyone’s boots, but afterreading the last two arti-cles about how to buckle

your spur straps, I really thinkthere is some misinformation on thesubject. I got involved with SASSbecause I enjoyed shooting old gunsand the history of the OLD WEST.

I grew up on a ranch in SouthDakota where the old Texas cow-boys left a lasting impression in thearea on how to work cattle and howto use your gear. We all had simplespurs and plain straps withoutmuch fancy work on them, and wealways buckled them on the outsideof our boots. If you traveled westinto buckaroo country, you wouldfind fancy leather straps with bigsilver Conchos and buckles on the

inside of the boot. These were twodistinct regional ways of wearingyour spurs based on traditions thatwent back many generations.

To see how riders wore theirspurs, you only have to look at a fewphotos from the 1870s to the early1900s, and you will find TexasRangers and Texas cowboys withtheir straps buckled on the outside,and you will also find Charlie Rus-sell, the “real cowboy artist,” withhis California style spurs with bigConchos and buckles on the inside;he bought them from Main andWinchester in about 1903.

So to say the “the buckle is al-ways on the outside” ignores thereal facts of the Old West and thetraditions the riders followed. Also,the old riding boots of the 1800s and

I

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DAVID MONTICELLO “BUD” BALLEW was a feared gunfighterand lawman in the early 1900’s. Bud was born in 1877 and left hisfamily for the Oklahoma Indian Territory in 1890. By 1910 he had

a ranch, a wife, and two sons. In 1914 Sheriff Buck Garrett offered him thejob of Deputy Sheriff, and the next year Bud made headlines when he brokeup a holdup, killing the robber Pete Bynum in a stand up fight. Ballew wasthen sent to arrest an outlaw named Steve Talkington. Talkington resistedarrest. Ballew killed him. Then he went to retrieve the reward from JimHighnote, the City Marshal. Highnote refused to give Bud the reward, soBallew killed him, too. As he was taking a prisoner named James Pearl toprison, the prisoner tried to escape. Bud fired and Pearl died. When ArchCampbell challenged Bud, Arch lost his life. In a firefight with a highway-man named Miller, Bud shot first and straight and Miller fell dead.

His most noted gunfight happened in 1919 between Bud and formerU.S. Deputy Marshal Dow Braziel. When Bud entered the California Cafe,Dow fired two shots at him and missed. Ballew returned the fire, hitting

Braziel six times. In 1922 Bud vis-ited Wichita Falls,Texas. Police ChiefJ.W. McCormickgot word thatBallew was intown drinking,armed, and raisinghell. The Chief ap-proached Bud andadvised him he wasunder arrest for dis-turbing the peace.Bud said, “You’re outof luck” and reachedfor his pistol. Mc-Cormick fired fiveshots, and Ballewwas dead when hehit the floor. Exami-nation of the bodyshowed all five shotsin the back and onebullet from a differentcaliber pistol than Mc-Cormick’s. Sheriff Buck Garrettclaimed “Bud Ballew was mur-dered—five shots, and all in theback. He didn’t have a chance.” Noone was ever prosecuted.

Joe Fasthorse, SASS #48769

LITTLE KNOWNFAMOUS PEOPLE

Way Out West –By Joe “Fasthorse” Harrill, SASS #48769

Bud Ballew

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http://www.sassnet.com/P-winnersbeltbuckle.php

he image of a daringhold-up of a train has be-come such a staple of ourOld West mythology, it’s

easy to forget there had to be a firsttime such a robbery was committed.Historians generally believe the“first time” was on the night of Octo-ber 6, 1866, when John and SimeonReno, along with a man namedFrank Sparks, committed America’sfirst peace-time train robbery.

There had been a train robberyin the dying days of the Civil Warwhen twenty men robbed a train out-side Cincinnati, Ohio. At the time, itwas generally believed to have beena military raid by Confederate guer-rillas. And, of course, there had beenan 1855 English robbery in whichthree sealed boxes of gold were lootedwhile being transported by trainfrom London. But the Reno brotherswere generally thought to be “origi-

T



nal thinkers” in the crime business. Sparks and the two Reno broth-

ers boarded an Ohio & Mississippitrain at the Seymour, Indiana, depotthe night of October 6, 1866, and asthe train rolled through the dark-ness of southern Indiana, the threemen donned masks and made theirway to the express car where theyheld a gun on the express car agent,stealing twelve thousand dollars.Then they pulled the bell rope to sig-nal the engineer to stop the train,and the three men jumped off thetrain as it slowed.

In spite of the popular depictionof a mounted band of outlaws leap-ing onto a train from gallopinghorses, there’s no evidence any trainrobber ever did such a thing. Usu-ally, bandits would buy a ticket andthen launch their robbery from thecomfort of their train seat. It was ap-parently more convenient and muchsafer than leaping from a gallopinghorse onto the side of a moving train.

The Reno Gang, one of the firstbands of outlaws in the UnitedStates, had a nucleus of brothers—Frank, John, Simeon, and WilliamReno, all of whom came from thesmall rural community of Rockfordjust north of Seymour in the denselywooded hills of southern Indiana.The four brothers reportedly beganto cheat unsuspecting passers-bywith crooked card games in the late1840s. The four then progressed tosmall burglaries and horse thefts.By 1851, the four were generally be-lieved to be responsible for fires thathit several area businesses.

When the Civil War began,Frank and John Reno becamebounty jumpers. They repeatedlysigned up for military service, col-lected the cash bounty the Army of-fered enlistees, and then deserted.When the Union offered draftees theability to hire a substitute, Frankand John would make themselvesavailable as substitutes, collect apayment, report to the Army as re-quired, and then desert shortlythereafter.

In 1864, Frank and John re-turned to their southern Indianahometown and formed a gang thatincluded brothers Simeon andWilliam and the various thieves,cheats, and criminals Frank andJohn had met in their travels. Inlate 1864, the gang robbed a post of-fice and general store in nearby

Jonesville, Indiana. This act was fol-lowed by several business burglariesand post office robberies in the area.Later, the Reno gang relocated theirbase of operations to Seymour, Indi-ana’s Radar House hotel and beganto prey on unfortunate travelerswhile they reportedly orchestrated anumber of robberies across the Mid-west and ran a counterfeiting ring.

Shortly after the history-making1866 train robbery, the company thathad insured the contents of the safehired the Pinkerton DetectiveAgency to track down and capturethe gang. A year later, John Renowas identified in the robbery of acounty courthouse in Gallatin, Mis-souri, arrested by Pinkerton agents,and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In March of 1868, the residentsof Seymour formed a vigilante groupwith the aim of killing the membersof the gang. The Reno brothers andtheir compatriots fled to Iowa wherethey robbed two county courthouses.Pinkerton detectives quickly locatedthe men and arrested them at Coun-cil Bluffs, Iowa, but the Reno broth-ers escaped from jail and returned toIndiana.

Twelve members of the gangrobbed a Jeffersonville, Madison, andIndianapolis Railroad train a monthlater, overpowered the engineer, un-coupled the passenger cars, brokeinto the express car, and tossed theexpress car messenger from the car,inflicting injuries that killed theman. The gang broke open the safeand made off with an estimatedninety-six thousand dollars.

Pinkerton detectives ambushedthe gang as it attempted anothertrain robbery in early July. Threegang members were arrested, butwere grabbed by vigilantes andhanged before they could be jailed.Three other gang members were cap-tured shortly thereafter in Illinois,but also fell into the hands of vigi-lantes and were hanged from thesame southern Indiana tree.

Two weeks later, the Pinkertondetectives captured William andSimeon Reno in Indianapolis. FrankReno and gang member Charlie An-derson were arrested in Windsor,Canada, in October. In December,sixty-five vigilantes stormed thesouthern Indiana jail where the fourwere held, overpowered the sheriff,took the four from their jail cells andhanged each of them.

reno Brothers gangw By White Smoke Steve, SASS #91779

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.56-50 Armi-Sport round next to an original .56-50 round

Spencer with .44-40 round singlefed into top of receiver

Tuolumne Lawman, SASS Life #6127

Tammy and Sue at Taylor’sFirearms were the ones thathad the vision to work with

Armi-Sport (part of the Chiappa

Group) to develop and release their1865 Spencer replicas. Spencershooters owe them a debt of grati-tude for their efforts. Initially, Tay-lor’s re-created Spencer carbines in.44 Russian and .45 Schofield. Tay-lor’s later released the 1865

only offers the Carbine in .44-40, .45Colt, and .56-50. Dixie Gun Worksalso has carbines only in .45Schofield, .44 Russian (now out ofproduction), and .56-50. Dixie pricesare about the same as Fall Creek’s.Cimarron Firearms carries thewidest selection; however, they also

Spencer in a re-loadable center-fireversion of the .56-50 (the 1865Spencer’s original caliber). Taylor’scollaborated on the .56-50 projectwith Ken at Ten-X ammunition,Starline Brass, and Lyman dies todevelop the modern .56-50 round. Afew years later they offered theSpencer in .44-40 Winchester, andmore recently in .45 Colt.

Initially Taylor’s had an exclu-sive sales agreement with Armi-Sport for the 1865 Spencers in the

United States, but Chiappa eventu-ally decided to have open sales toother dealers, as well. Chiappa USAnow catalogues a 30" barreled In-fantry Rifle version in .56-50, .44-40,and .45 Colt. They also list 20" Cav-alry Carbine models in .56-50, .45Schofield, .45 Colt, and .44-40. Tay-lor’s Firearms currently carries the.56-50 Rifle and Carbine, and the.45 Colt version of the carbine. Buf-falo Arms lists only .56-50 Carbinesand .56-50 Infantry rifles. FallCreek Sutlery (the lowest list prices)

chiappa /armi-sport firearms1865 SPENCER .44-40 CARBINE

Part Two:

The armi-sport .44-40 and Cowboy action shooting TM

By Tuolumne Lawman, SASS #6127

. ,

Spencer’s tubular seven-shot magazine in the butt stock

hammer in the down position) Tochamber another round, cock thehammer, and open the action again,which extracts and ejects the spentcase. Lift the lever to chamber an-other round and repeat the process.

The .44-40 version uses thespring-loaded Lane Patent extrac-tor in the center of the carrier block.This is much superior to the sidemounted blades of the earlier pistolcaliber versions, and the original1860 Models. The Lane extractorpulls the round from the chamberand up over the cartridge keeperlever holding the next live round inthe receiver, and out of the top ejec-tion port. Ejection is very positiveand smooth. The action is thenclosed again, chambering anotherlive round. The Lane extractor sys-tem also affords effortless single

stock all the way, rotating it back tothe upright position to lock in.

To fire, first you need to cockthe hammer to either half cock orfull cock. Then, you open the actionby pulling down the triggerguard/action lever. This actionpulls the breechblock straight downuntil it clears the frame, then allow-ing the block and carrier mecha-nism to rotate downward on aforward pivot. This allows a liveround to enter the receiver from themagazine. Close the action by lift-ing the lever. This forces the liveround into the chamber, which al-lows the breechblock to snap upinto the full battery position; then,you aim and fire. (Because the fir-ing pin is NOT an inertial type andprotrudes from the breech facewhen the hammer is down, the ac-tion CAN NOT be operated with the



rect fixed blade on a square base,like Sharps and Springfield car-bines. The rear sight has a flip upladder military sight identical tothe original design. It is graduated100 to 900 yards. Folded down, thebase becomes a rear notch “battlesight.” My only complaint with theChiappa Spencers is that this bat-tle sight notch is almost non-exis-tent. I took a small cut-off wheel ona Dremel tool and made a deeper,“U” notch, then touched it up withcold blue solution. This modified“battle sight” works great, and isthe one I used for testing and Cow-boy Action Shooting™.

The 1865 Spencer Carbine ver-sion has a carbine sling ring andslide bar on the left side of the re-ceiver, just as the originals did. Thisslide and ring was used with theArmy issued carbine sling. Thissling was a three-inch wide leatherstrap that was worn over the leftshoulder and across the chest, witha large nickel-plated snap ring thathooks into the ring on the carbine.This allows cavalry troopers to re-lease the weapon while on horse-back, without losing it. Thesecarbine slings were issued through-out the Civil War and Indian Warperiod. It might be noted Chiappa’srifle version of the Spencer was ini-tially manufactured with the slingring and bar of the Cavalry Carbine.After much pressure from Civil Warre-enactors, the current productionhas deleted the sling ring and bar tomake it a true rifle configuration.

The Spencer almost looks like aSharps carbine with a receiver thathas been squashed flat. There is atubular magazine in the butt stock,reminiscent of early Browning .22LR autoloaders. The trigger guardacts as the loading lever, and theSharps-like hammer must be cockedmanually for each shot. This two-stage cocking action is significantlyslower than with a traditional Win-chester or Marlin lever gun.

Loading and firing is simple.First, open the action by pullingdown the lever. Inspect the cham-ber to ensure it is empty. Close theaction. With the rifle pointing muz-zle down at a slight angle in a safedirection, rotate the top of the mag-azine tube base that is inset into thebutt stock 90 degrees clockwise.Withdraw the magazine tube. Thiscontains the follower and magazinespring, which is totally captured inthe tube. Insert the seven rounds,nose first, into the open butt stock.Like any tubular magazine rifle,make sure you use flat nose bullets.Allow the rounds to slide down thetube gently (DO NOT HOLD THERIFLE PERPENDICULAR TOTHE GROUIND AND DROPROUNDS STRAIGHT DOWN!). In-sert the magazine tube into the butt

have the highest list prices. Theycatalog .56-50, .44-40, .45 Schofield,and .45 Colt carbines and the .56-50rifle version. Sadly, the .44 Russianversion is no longer offered by Chi-appa in the United States.

The 1865 Spencer is SASS ap-proved as a main match rifle in allcalibers, including .56-50. The Chi-appa/Armi-Sport 1865 Spencercaters to the Cowboy Action Shoot-ers who, like me, have an early Westpersona, and care more about shoot-ing with style and having fun thanshooting fast times. The 1865Spencer in the .44-40 version is alsoexcellent for Civil War re-enactors,since inexpensive blanks can be hadfor .44-40 caliber varieties. N-SSAshooters can use the .56-50 carbineversion in skirmish competition.Until now, if they wanted to competewith a Spencer, they had to rely onfinding a serviceable original to con-vert to center-fire, or buying an ex-pensive custom made Romano RifleCo. Spencer .56-50 model.

About eight years ago, I evalu-ated the .44 Russian and .45Schofield pistol caliber models, aswell as the .56-50 model. In this ar-ticle I am concentrating on the .44-40 1865 Spencer carbine. My .44-40Spencer sample is actually one I ob-tained from Tammy Loy at Taylor’sin about 2006.

In my opinion, the Armi-Sport’s1865 Spencer is one of the mostbeautifully done Cowboy ActionShooting rifles! The fit and finishare flawless, and the machining isexceptional. While it also has fea-tures of the 1860 and 1867 Spencermodels, it is a reasonable copy of theoriginal. They have spared no painsin reproducing this fine, historicarm. The length of the Armi-SportSpencer carbine is 37 inches. De-spite it’s short length, it tips mypostal scales at 8.8 pounds. Theoiled walnut butt and fore stock aresolid and nicely figured. The colorcase hardening of the receiver, cres-cent butt plate, hammer, and lever,while subdued and subtle, are posi-tively gorgeous. The highly polishedblue of the 20-inch barrel is deep andlustrous, reminding me of the excel-lent Colt bluing in the 1960s. It isan aesthetically pleasing firearm.

The front sight is a period cor-

Pistol calibers available for Chiappa Spencer: .45 Colt,

.45 Schofield, .44-40, .44 Russian Rear sight on Spencer with Battle Sight notch deepened





bine, which is probably the modernday equivalent of the 1865 SpencerCarbine. Off-hand standing shotswith the .44-40 Spencer, I bouncedpop cans at 25 to 35 yards withevery shot.

In my experience, the .44-40Spencer’s action is smoother andslicker than the .44 and .45 S&Wversions, probably largely due tothe use of the Lane extractor, andthe .44-40 cartridge’s length beingcloser to the original .56-50 roundthan the .44 Russian or .45Schofield. The short .44 Russianand .45 Schofield rounds, and .45Colt cartridge with its small rim,were never intended to be used inrifles or carbines. With the correctloads, the .56-50 version also feedswell, but is much more expensive toreload than the .44-40 round due tocost of its expensive proprietarybrass and cost of its large, heavy350 grain lead bullets!

My .44-40 Spencer examplefeeds and functions flawlessly. Ihave fired over 250 rounds fromthis .44-40 carbine, and it neverfailed me. With that said, theSpencer is not for the short strokekit crowd. Wild Bill Briscoe oncetold me at a match where I wasshooting an 1865 Spencer as a mainmatch rifle, “T.L., I could time youwith a sundial!”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: An earlyproduction .44-40 Spencer sample Itried in 2004, had a cartridge guidespring that was too tight, not allow-ing the last round in the magazineto advance quite far enough fromthe magazine. Clipping one coilcured the “last round feed problem”it had. The current example doesnot have this problem.

Conclusion:I believe the 1865 Spencer Car-

bine’s most attractive feature is theSpencer repeaters’ involvement inthe Civil War and the opening of theOld West. It was, after all, the firstsuccessful and widely used repeat-ing rifle. If you are doing an earlyWest persona, especially using per-cussion revolvers, the Spencer’sonly historical correct competitionwould be an 1860 Henry or 1866

Winchester. Having used all threeof these firearms as main match ri-fles, the Spencer is the hands-downwinner for “style points.” To me itsays, “I don’t care about speed, I justwant to have fun and shoot withhistorical style!”

The .44-40 round is a greatchoice for the 1865 Spencer Carbineused in Cowboy Action Shooting™.Despite what uninformed sourcessay, the .44-40 is relatively easy andinexpensive to reload and is a goodmatch for those who shoot a pair of.44-40 revolvers like I do. It is legalas a main match rifle, and is a greatrifle for Classic Cowboy, FrontierCartridge, or Frontiersman cate-gories. I think the .44-40 cartridgeis also the best choice for thoseshooting the “Holy Black” powder inCowboy Action Shooting™ matches.The thin case mouth of the .44-40does a wonderful job of expandingand sealing the chamber againstblackpowder blow-back and fouling.Winchester designed the thin casemouth on the brass .44 WCF car-tridge specifically for this purpose,since switching to brass from cop-per for cartridge cases caused a lossof the chamber sealing capabilitiesof copper cases.

The .44-40 1865 Spencer is anatural for Civil War re-enactors,too. Using 5 in 1 blank brass fromStarline offers an easy alternativeto painstakingly fabricating expen-sive blanks for the .56-50 version.Veteran Civil War re-enactor TerrySchultz has an article on the webabout fabricating cheap SpencerBlanks for the .44-40 made fromused .410 shot shells. I have some,and they work great. Repeating

loading from the top. There is no“timing issue” as there is with theoriginal side blade type extractorson the early originals.

Another nice feature of thisstock mounted tubular magazine isthat it can be quickly, easily, andsafely unloaded. It is not necessaryto cycle live rounds through the ac-tion to empty the magazine likeMarlins and Winchesters. You sim-ply rotate the magazine base 90 de-grees, withdraw the tube from thebutt stock, and tip the muzzle up toempty the magazine of live rounds.The action should be cleared afterthis to ensure there are no liverounds in the chamber or under thecartridge keeper lever. The onlyother Cowboy Action rifle that can beemptied this easily is the Henry rifle.

As with the originals, there isno safety other than a hammer halfcock. This is appropriate for Cow-boy Action Shooting™. How manyother firearms manufacturers haveadded obnoxious and unnecessarysafeties to make the lawyers andlitigators happy?

Disassembly for cleaning is verysimple. First, ensure it is unloaded.Second, remove the lever screw lo-cated in the lower left side of the re-ceiver. The breechblock and leverassemblies just come right out thebottom of the receiver. This leavesthe receiver empty and open for easycleaning. The breechblock, block car-rier, and lever units are also easilycleaned while out of the rifle. Breakdown, cleaning, and re-assembly wasaccomplished in mere minutes, evenafter shooting blackpowder or Py-rodex loads. This is a real plus for usblackpowder shooters!

HOW DOES IT SHOOT?Loads Used:

• Bear Creek 200 grain, .428" moly-coated bullet, 15.00 grains of Al-liant 2400, Starline brass, CCIMagnum Large Pistol Primer(about 1,250 fps)

• Black Hills .44-40 ammunition,

200-grain bullet (about 1,200 fps)I set up at 25 yards, as my eyes

are not what they used to be as Icross the big “60” mark. The firstgroups were uniformly to the left, soI adjusted the rear sight for windage,drifting the rear sight to the rightslightly. After I got the Spencer di-aled in, I shot for group size.

The Black Hills Ammo was ex-ceptionally tame in the Spencer.The two best groups I got withBlack Hills were large cloverleaves,just under an inch, dead on point of

aim at 25 yards. My Alliant 2400reloads were actually better. Thebest reload ammo groups were evensmaller three-shot cloverleafgroups. The other reload groupswere three shots just under 1” cen-ter to center, about an inch abovepoint of aim. These Alliant 2400 re-loads were also surprisingly tame,probably because of the weight ofthe Spencer. Considering the trig-ger pull is heavy at about 7 lbs, thisis pretty darn good!

I have to say I have never en-joyed shooting any rifle more thanthe Armi-Sport 1865 Spencer! It isan absolute hoot to shoot. Despiteits hefty weight, it throws up to theshoulder naturally, and seems topoint at the target all by itself. TheSpencer Carbine is one of the mostnaturally pointing rifles I have everhad the pleasure to shoot. It is cer-tainly tied in this aspect with thequick pointability of my other per-sonal favorite, the USGI M1 Car-

Chiappa / Armi-Sport Firearms . . .

Cavalry Sling Ring and Bar on 1865 SpencerSpencer with breech open

Armi-Sport .44-40 Carbine paired with .44-40 EMF Hartfords for SASS





ne of the noticeablechanges I have realizedsince becoming a SASSmember and research-

ing not only my character, but theperiod in which we “play,’ is that Inow pay very close attention tothe westerns I watch to make surethe props, guns, leather, clothes,and hats are appropriate for theera depicted. I have known PeterSherayko, SASS Life #5760,Colonel Texas Jack) for a longtime now and he not only sharesmy passion for authenticity, butalso owns one of the most com-plete production companies for thefilm industry specializing in West-erns from The Civil War to the1920’s. But just to further distin-guish Peter’s expertise - he wrotethe book that is now the standard

for making an authentic western!Most SASS shooters would

recognize Peter from his role asTexas Jack Vermillion in the veryauthentic and extremely enjoyablewestern “Tombstone,” but I am notsure everyone realizes Peter wasresponsible, through his companyCaravan West Productions, for allof the leather, guns, and costumeswhich contributed to the recogni-tion of “Tombstone” as the mostauthentic western ever made.Peter has had an acting careerthat now spans four decades start-ing with his role in the daytimesoap opera “All My Children” thathe landed after a stint in the U.S.Air Force serving with the distin-guished Flying Tigers.

Adding to the list of talentsPeter possesses is that of an au-thor. You may be familiar withPeter’s book, “Tombstone: TheGuns and Gear,” but he has alsowritten and published “The Trav-els of Oso and Neo,” a loving storyof his favorite horse and dog (hav-ing ridden Oso quite a bit andhung out with Neo, I understandand respect his admiration).Peter’s current book, “The Fringeof Hollywood – The Art of Makinga Western” is a result of his pas-sion for making an authentic filmand his frustration that many ofhis peers just do not care enoughto do it right. The book is notwritten as a “How To,” but it israther written in a very enjoyable

fringe of hollyWoodw The Art of Making a WesternA Review by The Jersey Kid, SASS Life/Regulator #287

O

Peter Sherayko (l)and The Jersey Kid



style that held my attention morelike a story than a research book.In the book Peter discusses theproper way to respect and portrayour history. I chose to quote thisparagraph from the first chapteras I think it captures the spiritand the tone of the book:

“The most important parts ofany western are the story the char-acters and the director. It’s thewriter’s responsibility to create aninteresting segment of AmericaHistory, to build stories filled with

vey the vision of the director as hetransforms the beauty and vast-ness of the West to the screen. Thedirector is the artist combining allthe elements at his disposal. Thebrushes are the players, the paintsconsist of the entire support crew,and the canvas comes from themagnificent beautiful West. Thisbook is dedicated to those whopaint history and who, in myhumble opinion, have an obliga-tion to do it right.”

Two of the chapters I reallyliked were the sections on the gunbelts and the hats that were gen-erously enhanced with photosfrom Peter’s collection; a greatguide for us in SASS. I thor-oughly enjoyed the book andwould recommend it to any SASSmember, as I already know youhave a predisposed interest. Iplan on using this book as a guidewhen I write my next movie.

Thank you Peter, this book iswell written, well researched andlong overdue! The book is availablethrough amazon.com or with a per-sonal inscription by Peter at cara-vanwest.com or at (661) 268-8300.

beauty, excitement, courage, hopeand obstacles. It is the actor’s jobto breathe life into those variedcharacters and to create a sense ofoneness with the audience. Thecinematographer’s duty is to con- �



Tom Fox, oldest son of western filmlegends, Roy Rogers and Dale

Evans, passed peacefully on May 16,2012, due to complications related tocongestive heart failure. He was 84. Aretired schoolteacher, Tom served asmusic minister at Arcade Church andother subsequent churches in theSacramento area for over 20 years be-fore moving to Santa Clarita, CA, to becloser to his family. He is survived byhis wife of 46 years, Barbara, and theirthree grown daughters, Mindy Pe-tersen, Candie Halberg, and Julie Po-milia and their families.

A memorial service for Tom washeld on June 16, 2012 at ArcadeChurch, Sacramento, CA. Happy trails,dear Tom, until we meet again.

Tom Fox

ee

Received the call today that Ihad been dreading. Though

he had been ill for a while, we hadall hoped it would go the otherway. Triple ‘T’, aka Tom Elling-ton, lost his battle with multiplehealth problems. The passing ofour friend is a tremendous loss forhis family, the Malone posse (hewas Malone badge #14), and thecowboy community as a whole.

“T” was one of the most gen-erous individuals I have evermet. The space left vacant in ourhearts can never be filled. Wewill all remember him for the restof our days, be it his sense ofhumor, his intelligence, his devo-tion to Cowboy Action, or his pur-ple long johns (they weren’tpurple, they were aubergine!).He has left behind his lovely wife,Kay, a grieving family, and a lot ofvery sad cowboys. I can’t help butthink of the lyrics from that song,My Heroes Have Always BeenCowboys, “Cowboys are special.”Special would certainly be one ofthe words I would use to describehim along with intelligent, tal-ented, kind, and really funny.

‘T’ spent his time in the realworld as a Mechanical Engineerholding several patents for vari-ous military weapons systems. Itwas important to him his patentsbe used to enhance our military

effectiveness. He alsoworked in leather andmade these wonder-

ful shell holdersI had alwaysmeant to get

a couple, but I guess I waited toolong. It is so hard to imagine himnot being there when we gatherat the different matches, camp-fires, and watering holes.

The outpouring on the Inter-net and the SASS wire was reallymoving. I think one of the re-sponses that sums it all up thebest came from another friendand posse member, Alamo Kid,SASS #8100, who wrote: “TTTwas my Smarter other Brother. Iwill miss him, but will see himeveryday in the pictures aroundthe ranch and the thoughts of allour adventures together. I oncetold him I see all my Cowboyfriends more than I see my ownfamily … He told me, that’s causewe don’t ask ya for money! Trulya Cowboy to ride the river with.He’s up in Heaven, saving us alla place at the Bar.”

So “T”, you got to be laid awayin your cowboy duds and lookingsharp. I don’t know if you canhear us all, but we miss you.Vaya Con Dios, Mi Amigo.

Triple ‘T’, sass #43562~ 1948 – 2012 ~

By Juaquin Malone, SASS Life #44677

. ,By Dutch, SASS #455

�

�



nglish, TX – NEWSFLASH! It finally hap-pened—a shoot tailoredto Seniors and where

Seniors rule! If you were one of thelucky ones who drove, flew, or rode ahorse across the border of Texas, youwould have found yourself pullingoff the main road and into the gatesof the Bar 3 Ranch. While enteringthe ranch, you might ask yourselfhow long has this been a shootingrange, or how long does it take tomow the grass?! While you settle inand start to unpack, Dog Dooley is

there to meet you with a warmgreeting. Nuttin’ Graceful, SASS#39117, and T-Bone Dooley are notfar away with friendly handshakesand big ol’ smiles as they sit onhorseback watching things unfold.

The Senior Games beganThursday with the shooters un-packing their gun carts and hittingthe range early just in time for sidematches. But wait! It’s only 9 a.m.and we had to get a round of Bar 3Extreme Range Golf in. A group ofcowboys and cowgirls picked outtheir favorite golf club along withthree golf balls and headed out toStage One—no, no, no—it was holeone! The classic competitors weredressed to fit the part, and what asight it was! Was it a par 5 on 5, ordid the chip shot over Paul’s Pondsteal their last golf ball? I figurethere are over 200 little white ballsin the pond now!

Next I took off to the DooleyBarn to see what was left in the

Cowboy Yard Sale. I could hear theBig Guns going off from a distanceas Bent Barrel Betty, SASS #33237,and Ringo Fire, SASS #46037, werefinishing up with the Long RangeRifle contest. Man, was that a hoot!Side matches were over in a flashjust as Boozy Creek, SASS #82771,had planned. Everyone finished justin time to gather in the Dooley Barnto talk about times past while theyplayed a game of checkers. Ten-nessee Tall, SASS #49245, couldn’tbe beat at a game of checkers. Shewas a force to be reckoned with!

Friday morning came early forthe ranch hands as the bell rang outloud and clear and we all gatheredand commenced shooting the firstSenior Games. Things were a littledifferent. We instituted SeniorShotgun Rules—you only had toshoot as many shot shells as neededto knock down the targets. Somestages were set up with the knock-down targets set very close together,so you might get lucky and shootfour knockdowns with one shot.After a great lunch, it was back outto the line for shotgun bowling andthe return of the IntercontinentalHorseshoe Championship of theWorld in the Courtyard of the Bar 3.

Friday night was the big ban-quet in the Dooley Barn. We ateItalian food catered by The ItalianBistro from Clarksville, Texas. Aswith any fine Italian dining, weneeded wine, so let the games beginagain! Diners gathered for the“Ring Toss for Winos” to win a bottle

of wine to enjoy with their eveningmeal. After dinner, everyone settledback to enjoy a dinner show featur-ing Velvet Glove, SASS #50276, andYukon Gold from Arkansas, DocCooper, SASS #43629, fromLouisiana, Pawnee Brown fromTexas, and The Tonic Kid, SASS#70340, from the great State ofOklahoma. Oh, what a night! Younever know how much talent thereis just standing around ‘til you hearthem live on the big stage.

Now, let’s fast forward to thenext day and start with the horse-shoe competition. Competitorslined up and there were spectatorsby the hundreds waiting to see whowould be the new Intercontinental

Horseshoe Champion of the World.As the last shoes rang steel, wecrowned Tennessee Tall the LadiesChampion and Bluegrass Bob,SASS #77505, the Men’s Champion.

As the awards were nearing andthe day ending, the SASS SeniorGames hosted 99 shooters, agesranging from 50 to 87. You couldhear cowboys and cowgirls talking oftheir treasures from the past. One ofthem said, “The treasure I’m speak-ing of is my youth of yesterday!”

P.S. With all the fun we had, weforgot to tell you who won theshootin’ match! Jubal Early, SASS#24642 was Overall for the men andKow Katcher, SASS #53134, wonOverall for the ladies.

sass SENIOR GAMESMay 17 – 19, 2012

By T-Bone Dooley, SASS #36388E

The Thursday Side matches started with a game of Bar 3 Extreme Range Golf—yes, golf!

The par 5 chip shot over Paul’s Pond was rumored to be T-bone’s secret plan to get next season’s golf balls on the cheap!

Thursday evening featureda chance to see who was

best at checkers. Tennessee Tall, SASS

#49245, couldn’t be beat! She was a force with which

to be reckoned!

�



Annual

Sunshine Marcie, SASS #64900,was the Ladies’

Top Shoot-off winner.

Winners

SE Regional ChampionsMan Red River Ray, SASS #33254Lady Kill-em-All Kate, SASS #45804Categories

49’er Ozark Azz, SASS #18273B-Western Knot Hardly Dunn, SASS #43113Buckaroo Willie the Kid, SASS #52397Cowboy Roughneck Rod, SASS #81741C Cowboy Persuader, SASS #74492Cowgirl Velvet Sheath, SASS #21327C Cowgirl Wicked Wanda, SASS #28122Duelist J. M. Brown, SASS #27309E Statesman Rocky River Jeb, SASS #47279Frontiersman Buffalo Brady, SASS #24830F Cartridge Doc Perry, SASS #42552F C Duelist Yank Machain, SASS #82577Grand Dame Green Eyed Indian, SASS #51116

Gunfighter Buck D. Law, SASS #62183L Young Gun Ornery Ellen, SASS #68696L 49’er Sixgun Sallie, SASS #38989L B-Western Shamrock Sadie, SASS #78511L Duelist Mt. Zion Gypsie, SASS #44075L F Cartridge Vaquera, SASS #90835L Gunfighter Katelyn Rose, SASS #48142L Senior Kid Nama, SASS #55944L S Duelist Sassy Teton Lady, SASS #47525L S Senior Ms. Jewel, SASS #62556L Wrangler Kill-em-all Kate, SASS #45804Senior Rubicon Ryder, SASS #69415S Duelist Amaduelist, SASS #28092S Gunfighter Cypress Sam, SASS #10915S Senior River Rat Randy, SASS #52574Wrangler Red River Ray, SASS #33254Young Guns Dominator, SASS #62912

gunfight at

giVhan’s ferry2ndidgeville, SC – As Iheard the Piper beganplaying “AnchorsAweigh,” I realized the

second annual Gunfight at Givhan’sFerry was coming to a close. TheSASS Southeast Regional was heldon the weekend of Veteran’s Day,honoring all of America’s finest thatare serving or have served in ourArmed Forces. John Weed of thecity of Charleston Police Pipe andDrums was standing in Bay Eight,behind the assembly of shootersseated under the tent. As he played

each of the anthems of the fivebranches of the service, those menand women who had served in thatbranch stood and were recognized.As the final soulful notes of the lastsong, “The Marine’s Hymn,” echoedacross the range, a 21-gun salutebegan in Bay One. The shooter’sbadges of all Veterans were markedas such. A full 30% of the 274 par-ticipants were Veterans, and wethank you all!

Match Director Doc Kemm,

sass southeast regional. ,By Ranger Law, SASS #12801

R

Doc Kemm, Match Director for thisyear’s Gunfight at Givhan’s Ferry.



SASS #52557, organized a shootthat included participants from 16states and Canada. The theme ofthis year’s Regional shoot wasWomen of the Wild West. ShamrockSadie, SASS #78511, wrote biogra-phies of ten infamous women, albeitsome fictional, that delighted eachshooter as they once again preparedto be Cowboy Action Shooters!

Throughout the weekend, hun-dreds of visitors from the surround-ing area were amazed at thegathering of these competitors.Some comments were: “Wow, look atthe clothes they are wearing;” and“Those women can really shoot!”For four beautiful days, the vendorswere kept busy as we all looked forthat one more item we needed tocomplete our ensemble, whether itbe a rifle, revolver, or maybe a vestor a pair of yellow boots.

When the main match was fin-ished, Kill’em All Kate, SASS#458045, and Red River Ray, SASS#33254, proved to be the top femaleand male shooters and will repre-

sent the SoutheastRegional at the grand-daddy shoot of themall, “END of TRAIL.”After the final awardspresentation on Sun-day morning, the finalone-on-one, all knock-down shoot-off began.When the last shot-gun target haddropped, North Car-olina’s J. M. Brown,SASS #27309, was thevictor of all the maleparticipants. Thisfine cowboy had beenoverseeing the safety and continu-ity of the match as the Range Mas-ter for the last four days, and it wasgood to see him win the last trophyof the match. Sunshine Marcie,SASS #64900, was the Women’sShoot-off Winner. In an informalshoot-off ‘tween the two winners,Sunshine Marcie emerged victori-ous. Way to go Ms. Marcie!

A pair of SASS Ruger Vaquerosdonated by SASS were raffled andthe SASS Scholarship fund will re-ceive nearly $1400. MisterBullwacker, SASS #5684, was thewinner of the revolvers and will usethem proudly as they complementhis fancy attire. Mr. Bullwackerwas also honored as he was pre-sented the second annual Isom DartAward. This trophy is given to theCowboy that throughout the yearexhibits the same love of the sportas that of our friend, Isom Dart,SASS #8096. Isom Dart is wellknown throughout the Southeast asa tenacious competitor in the black-powder category. His smile and de-meanor are contagious as hisshotgun rounds reverberate acrossthe land.

We thank all that were in atten-dance of the Second Annual Gun-fight at Givhan’s Ferry! You haveonce again shown what a wonderfulsport we have come to love, and whywe do what we do.

Always a great competitor, J. M. Brown took home Duelist honors from the

Gunfight at Givhan’s Ferry.

Red River Ray, SASS #33254, and Kill-em-All Kate,SASS #45804, were the Southeast Regional Champions from Gunfight at Givhan’s Ferry.

Congratulations!

�

better half, who onlyshoots to repel board-ers, has not objected tothe fact that since2008, we’ve been thereon our anniversary.This year it was our30th. Yet she allowedus to be there.

The event startedwith Long Hunter’sSASS University class,a one-day class withabout a week’s worthof tips for shootingSASS competition.

It was cold andwindy while that wasgoing on, but fair. Pre-vious events have hadwind, rain, sleet, snow, blowingsnow, and dust devils, and that wasjust Thursday. But this year theweather gods smiled on SASS, andthe weather was beautiful. It got alittle warmer each day. We startedwith coats on in the morning. Butit became comfortable in shirt-sleeves by mid-morning.

A four stage Wild Bunch WarmUp started the shooting festivitieson Tuesday, followed by two days,



12 stages, of Wild Bunch shooting onWednesday and Thursday.

This year six bays were dedicatedto the Wild Bunch match, with twostages per bay, and six other bays werededicated to Cowboy Action Shoot-ing™. This meant the Wild Bunchstages didn’t have to be designedaround the Cowboy Action Shooting™stages, and no target had to be movedbetween matches. Note the 17 bayshave been renumbered 1-17, no C1,

such as Buffalo Stampede, the FourCorners Regional. This means youcan park your RV down at the town,making the walk to the Belle Unionjust a few steps, and it gives a “cozy”atmosphere for the activities there.This makes it a fun place to be inApril. It’s such a nice place to bethat The Redhead, my (definitely)

ounders Ranch, NewMexico, April 16-22,2012 – Founders Ranchis the largest facility

dedicated to and designed for Cow-boy Action Shooting™ in the world.Since it was designed for a hugeevent, END of TRAIL, it has “sur-plus” room for the “smaller” events

Buffalo Stampede

Winners

Action MatchOverall & Four Corners Regional ChampsMan J. T. Wild,

SASS #20399 UTLady Etta Mae,

SASS #12478 AZCategoriesL Junior Fazzt Taz,

SASS #90980 NMJunior Sandoval Kid,

SASS #86892 NML 49’er Half-a-Hand Henri,

SASS #9727 NM49’er J. T. Wild UTSenior Johnny Meadows,

SASS #28485 AZGrand Dame Ramblin’ Rose,

SASS #2811 COE Statesman Cerveza Slim,

SASS #9724 COL Senior Etta Mae AZS Duelist Mr. Peabody,

SASS #86365 NMGunfighter Vaquero Luna,

SASS #70518

S Gunfighter Tex, SASS #4 NMDuelist Willy Hitum,

SASS #64179 WAFrontiersman Big Dave,

SASS #55632 COF Cartridge More Or Les,

SASS #5529 NML F Cartridge Singin’ Sue,

SASS #71615 NML F C Duelist Painted Filly,

SASS #86383 COC Cowboy Doc Baker,

SASS #50032 NMB-Western Brushy Bill,

SASS #44261 NML B-Western Ez Gz,

SASS #83885 NMCowgirl Amber Ale,

SASS #66175 NMCowboy Mica McGuire,

SASS #18526 NML Wrangler Starlite Rose,

SASS #86084 CAWrangler Crazy Kurt,

SASS #55520 NMS Senior Evil Roy,

SASS #2883 COL S Senior Claudia Feather,

SASS #2816 AZ

Wild BunchOverallMan Evil Roy COLady Half-a-Hand Henri

NMCategoriesTraditional Fast Hammer,

SASS #60707 NMModern Evil Roy COL Traditional Texas Tiger,

SASS #74829 NML Modern Half-a-Hand Henri

NMPlainsmanOverall Big Dave COCategoriesModern Capt. George Baylor,

SASS #24287 NMTraditional Big Dave COMounted Overall &Four Corners Regional ChampsMan Buckskin doc,

SASS #44596 NMLady Fire Fox,

SASS #80377 NMDivisionsDiv 1 El What,

SASS #93967 NM

DivisionsDiv 2 Half Cocked Cayuse,

SASS #80376 NMDiv 3 Chili Cowboy,

SASS #59663 NMDiv 5 Buckskin Doc NML Div 1 Wild Kat Karson,

SASS #90430 NML Div 3 Aneeda Huginkiss,

SASS #23798 COL Div 4 Fire Fox NML S Div 2 Sassy Susie Q,

SASS #59662 NML S Div 3 Cinnamon Lucy,

SASS #14014 NMS Div 4 Yankee Duke,

SASS #64387 NMBuckaroo T. R. Twister,

SASS #86853 NMExtreme StageTeam 10 Chili Cowboy NM

Stuttering Wayne,SASS #71602 NM

~ Clean Match Shooters ~A clean match is about the only thing a shooter has control of, unless the

Match Director takes it away from them with exceptionally difficult targets.Clean matches are good!

Wild Bunch Traditional Winners. Lady TraditionalWild Bunch winner, Texas Tiger, joined the guys forthe photo—you just can’t keep a good girl down!

2012

By Captain George Baylor SASS Life #24287

,

F

/



round magazine and holstered. Anylong gun will be staged safely insidethe building.

“At the beep expend a minimumof 25 rounds on the 17 targets. Allknockdowns must be engaged first.They may be reengaged at any timeand must be down to count. All sta-tionary targets must be hit at leasttwice, but cannot be triple tapped.At the conclusion of the stage allammunition loaded in the pistolmust have been expended by engag-ing a target on the clock. On sta-tionary targets a miss is a miss.”

Hmm, twelve knockdown tar-gets, six at pistol range, six at riflerange. That left five targets be-tween pistol and rifle range to behit twice each. That only totals 22rounds. You must shoot 25. Oneway to do it was to take the closeknockdowns with the shotgun,that’s six, then the distant sixknockdowns and double tap the twodistant stationary targets with therifle. That’s a total of 16 rounds.That leaves 9 rounds for the pistol.The last three stationary targetsneed to be hit twice each, say, 2-2-1,

curve since 2008 when BuffaloStampede was one of the firstevents using the international WildBunch rules. Back then I quippedthat if you passed the power factor,kept the 1911 and the ’97 running,and didn’t get a stage DQ for mov-ing with the slide forward on your1911, you could probably win some-thing. Now you can do all of that,hit a lot of targets fairly quickly, andstill never hear your name called atawards time. The level of competi-tion has gone up dramatically.

One stage stood out as unusual,Stage 4 on Bay 2, “Dang I’m fast!”

“From inside the bank, theshooter starts standing inside thedoor facing up range.

“Pistol is loaded with a five-

C2, etc. It won’t be confusing after afew events. I should have it down byEND of TRAIL—2020. There was nooverlap except the Warm Up matchfor Cowboy Action Shooting™ oc-curred on Thursday, the second dayof Wild Bunch. So you shot WildBunch, spent Thursday afternoonswitching out your guns and gearand shot Cowboy Friday and Satur-day. If you didn’t shoot Wild Bunch,you could shoot a Cowboy Warm Upmatch Thursday.

As the Wild Bunch Board keepstelling us, “Wild Bunch is not Cow-boy Action Shooting™ with 1911s.”The matches are considerably more“challenging” than a good CowboyAction Shooting™ match. Targetsare more distant and smaller thanwhat would be tolerated by mostCowboy Action Shooting™ fields.Then there’s the power factor. Thisis the first Wild Bunch match I’veattended that didn’t have any matchdisqualifications for failing to makepower factor. The overall level ofcompetition has gone up in a steep

When the Villistas begin pouring overthe back berm, even the Captain is motivated to “get a move on!”

Buttercup was just one of the SASS staff available to ensureeverything ran smoothly and

according to plan. The eveningactivities masterminded by

Misty Moonshine were new and innovative … and enjoyed by all.

Fazzt Taz is from Farmington, NMand shoots with her Grandpa,Largo Casey, SASS #19191. She’s a joy to watch, and her shooting techniques are easy to identify—she handles her

shotgun exactly like Holy Terror!

The Wild Bunch and Action Shooting stages were separated this year, so each could be set appropriately and not frantically changed from onediscipline to the other. The Wild Bunch stages featured many targets, and often many SMALL targets! While all were definitely “hittable,” one did have to use that small “bumpy” thing on the end of the barrel!


!

Plainsman

It’s gratifying seeing new faces participate in the Plainsmanevent. Tex even pulled out his old Rolling Block to shoot

“traditional.” Slow doesn’t come close to describing his performance!

All of the targets were relativelylarge. There were a few knockdowntargets for rifle and a few for pistol.For some reason this scares the heckout of a certain percentage of Cow-boy Action Shooting™ shooters.Some handle the problem by loadinghotter rounds for the knockdowns.Others don’t need to. These knock-downs were checked often and keptin calibration. Sometimes you hit aknockdown, and it stays up. This istrue in real gunfights, too.

The stage with the most pistolknockdowns was stage 5, at the bayformerly known as Bay 9, where usu-ally a running buffalo roams (but notthis match). There were three bigstationary buffalo across the tracks,a horse on the left side, then a box acouple of yards to the right, then awagon with the tailgate open, thenanother box a few yards to the right

Having watched other solutionsfail, most of us shot 26 rounds.

But whether the stages werehard or easy, the same people win.Most of the winners were “the usualsuspects.” Texas Tiger won LadiesTraditional. At every Wild Bunchmatch she’s attended that I reportedon, I could start the “winners” para-graph with that line. That is domi-nation. Half-a-Hand-Henri wonLadies Modern. Fast Hammer wonTraditional, and Evil Roy won mod-ern. You can expect to hear all ofthose names at awards time, too.

No one shot clean. This wasn’ta surprise, as none of us could re-member anyone shooting clean ex-cept J. T. Wild at one major WildBunch match. As noted, “WildBunch is not …” you know the rest.

The Cowboy Action Shooting™match was different, and not just be-cause it was on different bays. Thescenarios were simple, and the pistoltargets were the close ones. Therewere no 6" circles to shoot at, either.



wild bunch Modern winners

Happy Jack has proposed a new scoring system for Wild Bunch, combining the best of Rank Point Scoring and Total Time scoring.

The new system was implemented for END of TRAIL.

Chili Cook-off Winners—Perennial winner for red chili,Wicked Felina, and Estancia Kid

for the green.

Four Corners Regional Champs—Etta Mae and J. T. Wild. GreatShooting and Congratulations!

Buffalo Stampede 2012 . . .

In addition to the “regular” side matches, Buffalo Stampede is famous for its not so well knownside matches, including horse shoes

and the buffalo chip toss. Half-a-Hand Henri and Tijeras Petewhere in championship form as theydefended their titles from last year.

1-2-2 meaning one extra round thatneeded to be shot on a stationary.That seemed like a waste of time, sosome shooters downloaded theirrifle or a pistol magazine so the pis-tol was empty when all the targetshad been hit the appropriate num-ber of times. Some shot all of thetargets with the pistol. Some usedrifle and pistol.

And a lot of people who tried toavoid having to shoot more than 25rounds wound up shooting less than25 rounds. Our posse had a spotterwho did nothing but count rounds.It became obvious that shooting, say,22 rounds and clearing your pistolbefore you hear and understand thespotter yelling at you to shoot threemore rounds was not conducive to astage winning time. It happened.


out ejectors now, which would gointo Traditional), and a High-Wallwith the ejector working. You canswitch the ejector off, which wouldenable you to shoot Traditional. Ri-fles without ejectors get you intoTraditional. The goal is to growPlainsman by convincing shootersto bring their Trapdoor Spring-fields, Rolling Blocks, and Sharps,all generally thought to be slowerthan Handi-Rifles with ejectors.

Now that there’s a FoundersRanch Shotgun Sports Club with a5-Stand, there is a Buffalo Stam-pede 5-Stand Championship, shotFriday and Saturday afternoon.

away than 21 feet, and all targets ex-ceed SASS recommended sizes, sellsout in eight days and has a waitinglist of 20,000 or so.) Buffalo Stam-pede had very simple scenarios witha lot of movement, some ambidex-trous. About 7% shot it clean.

Side MatchesThe Side Matches at Buffalo

Stampede are a mixture of “normal”and “unique.” The Long RangeRifle side match occurred Wednes-day at the Long Range Kiosk, whichallowed targets out to 300 yards.Plainsman was divided into Tradi-tional and Modern. Since this is afairly new concept, an explanationis appropriate. Any SASS legal sin-gle shot rifle with an ejector getsyou into Modern. That pretty muchmeans a Handi-Rifle with a work-ing ejector (they make them with-

the box, engage the three big buffalothree times each. Make the riflesafe. With your shotgun, from thebox (at least one foot behind the box)next to the wagon, engage the fourshotgun targets in any order.”

That was about as complicatedas it got, no Tax Code sweeps or other“P” traps. (A Tax Code sweep, likeour Tax Code, is one so complicatedno one could possibly get it right, soyou just give everyone a penalty.)Some of the targets could have beencloser, but they were about on parwith most SASS matches. (This iswhere I insert my annual note tomatch directors who want largerfields of paying customers: Border-town, the Arizona State Champi-onship, where no target is further

of that. In front of the horse werefive “tombstone” pistol knockdownsand five stationary ore cart pistoltargets. To the right of the wagonwere four shotgun knockdowns.

Starting position was yourchoice of behind the horse or behindthe wagon, hands folded across yourchest. Even left-handers like mestarted on the left behind the horse.It saved several steps. The rifle,loaded with nine rounds, is on thebox, and the shotgun is staged inthe wagon.

“At the beep, depending onwhere you would like to start, youwill engage the targets in the follow-ing procedure. With your revolvers,from the horse, engage all ten re-volver targets. With your rifle, from



action

The Action stages werestraightforward with no “mind games” or procedural traps. Versions of the

better stages will likely find their way into thisyear’s END of TRAIL.

Big Dave shoots TraditionalPlainsman. That’s the “slow” category. He opened a lot

of eyes when he won PlainsmanOverall … when asked how he didit, his response was predictable—

PRACTICE!

Long Range means out to 300 yards at Founders Ranch. An enthusiastic group assembled under Prairie Mary’s watchful eye

to prove they could actually hit targets at that distance!

Founders Ranch Wild Bunch disci-pline chairman, Tijeras Pete, loads‘um up heavy and center-punchesthe targets! Pete hosts monthlypractice matches at Founders,

which provides an excellent oppor-tunity for the local New MexicanWild Bunch competitors to gain

valuable range time.


The other matches got a little“unusual.” In town on Saturday af-ternoon was a Horse Shoes match.Also in town was a Buffalo ChipToss. Back on the range, Card Cut-ting and Bullet Splittin’ matcheshappened Saturday afternoon. Youdon’t see those just everywhere.Extra Curricular ActivitiesThe 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off

was Thursday night. It was also apotluck dinner. You brought a dishthat would go well with chili thatvaried from mild to “removes paintat ten yards.” So bringing some-thing soothing was probably wise.Once more Wicked Felina won thered chili category. Estancia Kid wonthe green chili category with chilimade from peppers he and his wife,Sunshine Belle, grow on their ownland. Copper Queen was the judgeand could still talk and breatheafter sampling all of the entries.

Friday night was anotherpotluck night that included a grillfor your steaks with a fajita buffetcatered by El Comedor for thosewho didn’t want to bring something.Misty Moonshine and Buttercuphosted a game of “ Let’s Make ADeal.” They gave away several

END of TRAIL entries among otherprizes. Numerous items, includinga couple of guns, were auctioned ina “silent (but deadly)” auction.

The Saturday night awardspresentation featured chicken friedsteaks from El Comedor. Those ofus who are sometimes miffed at thefact that you have to buy raffle tick-ets for every desirable prize lovedthe fact that several guns, includinga matched pair of SASS Ruger Va-queros, a Dillon XL650, and othervaluable prizes were given out bydrawing from the names of contest-ants, no extra charge.

Again, Misty Moonshine andButtercup did a fantastic job of em-ceeing the ceremonies. No time waswasted, we didn’t get bored, andevery winner got his/her due. Mysuggestion is to hire them to do thesame at your match.

It should be remembered thatBuffalo Stampede is the END ofTRAIL preview, and some of thestages will appear at END of TRAIL.Hipshot used up most of the Territo-rial Governors meeting soliciting cri-tiques and suggestions. This bodeswell for END of TRAIL. There’s anew attitude at Founders Ranch.You really should get there.



firearms blank cartridges for CivilWar re-enacting doesn’t get anycheaper than that!

While Armi-Sport’s 1865 is ex-pensive at $1225 to $1750 sug-gested retail (depending on caliberand vendor), it is more than worthit. Consider when you buy a Mer-cedes Benz or BMW, you pay signif-icantly more than you do for aChevy or Ford. For that extramoney, you get something unique,and also get far more quality andengineering, too! That’s the casewith the Armi-Sport 1865 Spencer:you get what you pay for, and it isWELL WORTH IT!At a Match, Some GeneralSpencer Experiences

At the 2005 High Sierra ShootOut annual match at Railroad Flat,California, I took first place with anArmi-Sport .56-50 Spencer in along-range side match. It was inthe lever action rifle, blackpowder,rifle caliber match! I had not paidattention to the scores of the other

shooters and assumed I had notplaced. I was packing up my campduring the awards ceremony, whenBad Lands Bud (much youngerthen), ran up to my camp shouting“Hey Tuolumne, you won a sidematch!” The Armi-Sport .56-50,even with its heavy trigger pull, hadkicked butt. The course was eightshots, timed, at a 6" disk at 50yards. Using a 6 o’clock hold. Inailed 7 of the 8 shots dead centeron the plate in something like 35seconds. This included a single loadfor the last round from a Civil Warcavalry carbine ammo pouch! Forthis match, I was shooting my 350-grain, 37 grains (volume) Triple 7FFG, loads.

I also used the Spencer in singleshot mode for the Plainsmen event,shooting the match clean. I singleloaded each shot from the top, al-la1870s cavalry style. I also used the.56-50 Taylor’s as a main matchrifle on several stages, also shootingclean. It was a great weekend foran Armi-Sport .56-50 Spencer!

Chiappa / Armi-Sport Firearms . . .

Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch Action Match featured lots of lead downrange—fast! Everything starts loaded. It’s great

seeing so many Wild Bunch military outfits as well—as with Cowboy Action, it’s the costumes that set

this game apart.

Gunfighter

There were many Gunfighters at this year’s championship. They’re always fun to watch but a chore to RO for—one never knows where they’re planning to shoot next!

Buffalo Stampede 2012 . . .

FACTOIDDuring the Victorian era, the dead were either laid out in their parlors, or,

as the Southerners preferred, in their bedrooms. There was no such thing

as a funeral home; death was a part of life, and the dead remained in the

house up until they were buried. The tradition of flowers around the coffin

comes from the Victorians trying to hide the scent of the deceased.

!

�

�





posse with everyone taking turnsspotting, keeping score, watchingthe loading/unloading tables andhelping out as needed. The scenar-ios were challenging and gave thecompetitors lots of options on howto shoot the seven stages.

All age groups were repre-sented, from Elder StatesmanDarby who finished at 182.20 toBuckaroo, Possum Slayer who fin-ished in a time of 377.96. RugerRay, shooting Frontier Cartridge,

the “cops” would shoot their dutyweapons, AR-15 style with .22 LRadaptor or upper, their duty .40S&W Glock loaded with frangibleammunition, and their duty pumpshotgun. The “cowboys” wouldshoot their preferred SASS cate-gory with appropriate firearms andammunition. It would take placeover one day and be comprised ofseven stages. The cops would shootin their normal training mode, buthad to follow the stage scenarios.They could load the same numberof shotgun shells into the magazineas the stage required at the load-ing bench. Any additional shotgunshells required for missed targetshad to come from the body or couldbe pre-staged on the stage table.Glock magazines could be loadedwith five rounds each and the AR-15 rifles could have the chambersempty and one magazine loadedwith 10 rounds inserted after thegun was safe.

Twenty-six shooters in over adozen categories showed up tomeet the challenge. DeadwoodStan, President of The Big Irons,welcomed all the shooters. Las-siter gave the safety briefing andrange instructions and the compe-tition began. We shot as a single

What started out as a challenge byOfficer Chad Knight, aka OrneryOaf, of the Dayton Ohio Police De-partment was quickly accepted bythe Big Irons board back in thedead of winter. The “official” invi-tation was made to the Dayton,Ohio Police Department to do ahead-to-head competition, with allthe money raised to go to a note-worthy charity.

The rules were pretty simple:

iddletown, OH –Everthought you’d hear theclink and clank ofan AR-15 and a Glock

.40 S&W at a Cowboy match? Wellpards, if you were in Middletown,Ohio, on the 20th of May, you wouldhave heard and seen them in ac-tion! This was the first InauguralCops and Cowboys charity matchto be held on the grounds of theMiddletown Sportsmen’s Club.

Cops andcoWBoys

Lassiter RO’s one of the Dayton Ohio police officers through the stage.

Top Cowboy, Lassiter, shooting Gunfighter.

First Inaugural Charity Match, May 20, 2012

Big Irons Rangers, Dayton Police Departmentand the Middletown Sportsmen’s Club

By Col. Fletch O’Dubois III, SASS #14224

M

,



boy was Lassiter shooting SeniorGunfighter at 134.73. Everyonehad a great time, and at the end ofthe day the category and team win-ners were identified.

At the awards ceremony, it wasunanimously decided the fundsraised through the competition—$450—would be donated to theWounded Warrior Project. Thisnoteworthy program was foundedin 2003, to raise awareness and en-list the public’s aid for the needs ofinjured service members, to helpinjured service members aid andassist each other, and to provideunique, direct programs and serv-ices to meet their needs.

We discussed having a fallshoot under the same rules and en-couraged the “cops” to bring abuddy, bring a friend, whether ac-tive duty or retired and to expandthe invite to all local, state, andfederal police and correction offi-cers. Hope everyone can pop thetrunk and bring those dutyweapons. Kinda strange to hearthem say “I’ll be a Daisy if you do”and hear the “POP-POP-POP” ofthose AR-15s!

The next major match comingup is the Guns of August competi-tion comprised of twelve stagesfired over two days. CowboyMounted Shooting will be on theagenda as well. Please check outall the details in the Guns of Au-gust announcement. For furtherinformation on The Guns of August2012, Cops and Cowboys or thehost sponsors, The Big Irons, con-tact Deadwood Stan at 513-422-5112 or Lassiter at 937-687-1039.It’s best to check out the Big Ironsand SASS websites for up to theminute information.

Twenty-six shooters participated in the 1st annual Cops and Cowboysmatch held at the Middletown Sportsmen’s Club and hosted by the

Big Irons Rangers.

Buckaroo Possum Slayer, SASS #70839,enjoyed the competition.

Winners

Cowboy Lassiter, SASS #2080Cowgirl Clementine Valentine,

SASS #66179Cop Aaron FraleyTop TeamsCowboys

LassiterTwo Bit Drifter, SASS #32899Black Jack Beeson, SASS #11523Shakee Southpaw, SASS #50547Wild Wyatt Wolf, SASS #80574

Law EnforcementAaron FraleyPhil HubbardJorge DelrioDoug HallChad Jones

had the smoke from his blackpow-der billowing all over the place.Top Cop was Aaron Fraley at197.62. Top Lady shooter wasClementine Valentine shootingGunfighter at 191.63 and Top Cow-

�



iddletown, OH – Whata day—and what a mem-orable match! Typicalfor early spring in Ohio,

the weather forecast called for windand a “chance” of rain on Saturday.Well, that “chance” of rain became adeluge that quickly turned theground to mud. Just what a “real”cowboy shooting blackpowder reallyloves. But not to be deterred, com-petitors from all over the countrymade their own billowing clouds ofthat blackpowder smoke at the Mid-dletown Sportsmen’s Club in Mid-dletown, Ohio. Along with themany experienced blackpowdershooters who have been shooting“The Dark Side” for years, therewere some novice shooters giving ita try for the first time.

The inaugural Smoke In TheWoods Indiana-Ohio State Champi-onship developed into an annualTerritorial shoot several years ago.This “smoke up” continues a longhistory of top-notch events for SASSshooters. The number of blackpow-der shooters has grown nationallyas well as internationally. Forty-four cowboys and cowgirls assem-bled on the hill near stage eight forSaturday’s traditional opening cer-emonies. Deadwood Stan, Presi-dent of The Big Irons and recentinductee into the SASS Cowboy Ac-tion Shooting™ Hall of Fame, wel-comed all the shooters. Lassiter(more on him later) gave the safetybriefing and range instructions, andthe competition began.

Seven Mile Tom did an out-standing job in developing the shoot-ers’ handbook for this twelve-stageevent. Each stage was designed formaximum fun. For example, atstage eight, the Big Irons Corral,there are four tables—two outsideentryways to the corral and two in-side the entryway. Here the shotgunwas staged on either of the outsidetables and the rifle on either of theinside tables. The shooter was be-hind an empty outside table with re-volver/revolvers in hand. The call toaction was … “You’ve got a black

heart!” At the beep, the shooter en-gaged the first revolver target once,second target twice, third targetthree times, and the fourth targetfour times. Next came a swift moveto the rifle with a repeat of the se-quence—one shot on target one, twoon two, etc. The shooter then had tomove to the shotgun and engage twoshotgun targets from any each oftwo positions. Yes, this was a roundcount, but every once in a while wecould forget the count. It was quick,fun, and gave the shooter some op-tions on how they preferred to com-plete the stage.

It was quick all right—Lassiter,shooting Gunfighter, managed toshoot this one in 22.82 seconds!Lassiter was also the fastest shooteron eight of the twelve stages withTwo Bit Drifter, Mean Gun Mark,Dirty Dale, and Black Jack Beesonrounding out the other four.

The fastest stage was stageeleven, which has a box in the mid-dle with a horse mock up on eitherside of it. There were three rifle tar-gets, four revolver targets, and fourshotgun targets. Here the shooterstaged the shotgun on either of thehorses and stood behind the boxwith revolvers holstered and therifle in hand aimed at the target.The call to action was, “You’ve got a

black eye!” At the beep, the shooterengaged R1 and R3 twice and R2six times in any order, then got theshotgun and engaged the four shot-gun targets in any order. Finally,with the revolver, the shooter en-gaged P1 and P3 twice each and P2six times in any order. Shots werewhizzing and banging. Lassiter gotthis one under his belt in 17.91 sec-onds! Two Bit Drifter in 18.02! Thefastest lady was Clementine Valen-tine shooting Ladies Gunfighter at22.90. And our Young Gun, Horri-

Smoke in the Woods

WinnersOverallMan Lassiter,

SASS #2080Lady Honey B. Quick,

SASS #47009Category49’er Two Bit Drifter,

SASS #32899Cowboy Ole Saddlebags,

SASS #80963C Cowboy Loco Leadslinger,

SASS #66868E Statesman Darby, SASS #41290Frontiersman Split Rail,

SASS #24707F C Duelist Jackson Rose,

SASS #45478F Cartridge Dirty Dale,

SASS #61545Gunfighter Lassiter,

SASS #2080

L F Cartridge Honey B. Quick, SASS #47009

L F C Duelist Gemstone Janet, SASS #47009

L Gunfighter Clementine Valentine, SASS #66179

Pale Rider Stone Creek Drifter, SASS #58853

PR Gunfighter Black Jack Beeson, SASS #11523

Senior Life-R, SASS #44051S Duelist Smokin’ Iron,

SASS #22149S Gunfighter Cripple Creek Kid,

SASS #10614Wrangler Mean Gun Mark,

SASS #78668Young Gun Horrible Hogan,

SASS #66275

SASS Midwest Territorial Blackpowder Championship

APRIL 14 – 15, 2012

,

By Col. Fletch O’Dubois III, SASS #14224

M

Despite the wind, rain,and mud, seven shooters,Dirty Dale, Honey B. Quick,Jackson Rose, Longshot Ace,Loquacious Loner, Ole Rat-tlesnake, and Three GunJake, were actually able toshoot the match clean!

It was great to see Horri-ble Hogan (Young Gun) join inthe fun this year. I was fortu-nate to shoot on a posse withhim at the Guns of August awhile back, and this young

guy can shoot! His timeof 22.84 on stage ten puta lot of “Ol’ Timers” toshame. It was great tosee our younger shooterhaving so much fun. Ihope more parents andgrandparents will gettheir youngsters in-volved in our sport.

What a shoot! To aperson, all agreed it wasagain the hospitality ofthe Middletown Sports-men’s Club, the BigIrons staff, and theSmoke in the Woodsstage designs that madethis a very memorableevent. Participants

plan to spread the word aboutshooting with the “dark-siders”and have even more of theirfriends and neighbors come nextyear. The Middletown Sportsman’sClub is the ideal shooting venue forCowboy Action Shooting™, partic-ularly for those who love to shootblackpowder. Although it was heldearly in the month, the Middle-town staff had everything undercontrol. The campground wasready for those coming in and set-ting up motor homes, trailers, andcampers. Campers were housedclose to the clubhouse with fullbathrooms and showers.

You can find the completematch results posted at the BigIrons (www.Bigirons.com) andSASS websites. Please be sure tocircle this event on your calendarsand start planning to join in thefun next year.

Another event that can’t bemissed is the annual Guns of Au-gust, which is conducted the secondweek of August, and is also held onthe grounds of the MiddletownSportsmen’s Club. This year willbe the fifteenth anniversary of theevent, and it promises to be biggerand better than any before. It con-tinues to be a premier event be-cause of its reputation for fun,friendliness, beautiful setting, andcentral location. The Guns of Au-gust competition will be twelvestages fired over two days. Ex-panded Cowboy Mounted Shootingwill be on the venue as well. Pleasecheck out all the details in the



ble Hogan, in 24.22! Spotters could-n’t blink, or they might have missedthe whole thing!

This year continued the tradi-tion of shooting seven stages on thefirst day. This afforded competitorsand their families the opportunityto be finished shooting early in theday. The remaining five stageswere held on day two, so it was eas-ier to attend the awards ceremonyand still have time to get home at arelatively decent hour. Hospitalityabounded, with the folks at Middle-town providing tasty grub for theSaturday evening dinner. Cindymade a mean meal of roast beef,real mashed potatoes and home-made gravy, long cut green beanswith ham, garden salad, rolls, andcarrot cake for dessert. Yum! Aftersloshing around in wet boots allday, this was a welcome respite. Tosay a full stomach makes thewicked weather a distant memoryis an understatement!

Sunday made up for Saturdaywith warmer temperatures and alight breeze. The rain had movedoff, thank goodness. Miss Bonniehad the previous day’s scores postedat the entrance to the stages foreveryone to peruse. After two fun-filled and action-packed days of com-petition, the winners emerged. Thelow score of 265.84 (just shy of the258.6 of last year) was posted byLassiter shooting Gunfighter, andhot on his heels was Dirty Daleshooting 49’er with a score of 299.58.Top Lady was Honey B. Quick shoot-ing Ladies Frontier Cartridge.

Guns of August announcement.The Middletown Sportsman’s

Club can now boast two majorSASS events at its wonderfulshooting complex. Middletown iseasy to get to from anywhere in thecountry, having two major airportsin the vicinity—Dayton andCincinnati. It is also a great areafor a vacation with numerousplaces to go and things to seewithin an hour’s drive.

The club’s address is 6943Michael Rd, Middletown, Ohio45402. Telephone: (513) 422-5112;Fax (513) 422-6113. For further in-formation on Smoke in the Woods2013, The Guns of August 2012, orthe host sponsors, The Big Irons,contact Deadwood Stan at 513-422-5112 or Lassiter at 937-687-1039.It’s best to check out the Big Ironsand SASS websites for up-to-theminute information.�



ark City, KY – After theSASS Senior Games,Ellie Gant, SASS #94488,and T-Bone Dooley, SASS

#36388, were gracious enough to putup with us Sunday, so Monday we hitHighway 82 East toward ReelfootLake. Reelfoot Lake, located in thenorthwest corner of Tennessee, wasformed in December 1811 throughJanuary 1812 by a violent earth-quake. Reelfoot, the largest lake in

Rio Drifter, SASS #49244 andTennesse Tall, SASS #49245

P

shootin’across the

The rockcastle rangersand “The james Gang

rides again”usaPhotos by Sugah, SASS #80446

horseback and hiking trails, hunting,and fishing. There is canoe rental, aplanetarium, nature centers, back-country campsites, and developedcampsites with full hookups andshowers. We stopped to view theBison herd, sat in our campsite atJones Creek, and watched eagles fishfor supper, wild turkey foraging, andloads of shore birds.

As seniors with a tendency towander, we did just that on our wayto the Rockcastle Rangers annualshoot at Park City, Kentucky. ByWednesday we were at Park Mam-moth Resort with Shaddai Vaquero,SASS #69779, and Vaquero Jake,SASS #69781, ready for their 2nd an-nual “James Gang Rides Again 2012.”

Park Mammoth Resort at thePark City Exit 48 off I-65 is about anhour from Nashville, Tennessee, andan hour south of Louisville, Ken-tucky. Park Mammoth Resort has100 guest rooms, an on-site winery,18-hole golf course, two restaurants,and the Rockcastle Shooting Center.Rockcastle Shooting Center boastssporting clays, pistol and rifleranges, USPA, IPSC, IDP IPA, andIBO clubs and is home to the Rock-castle Rangers.

The Rockcastle Rangers club hasten well-built stages. Territorial Gov-ernor Shaddai Vaquero and the mem-bers of Rockcastle Rangers havedeveloped those stages in cooperationwith a number of local businessesthat sponsor individual stages. Ourthanks go to Tractor Supply, M&BPawn, Gamaliel Shooting Supply,CPC Farm & Feed Store, Barren Out-doors, and Life Fellowship Church.Good to see the locals investing inthis club. The Rockcastle Rangersshoot on the fourth Saturday.

Mammoth Cave National Parkis a ten-minute drive from the Rock-castle Rangers range. MammothCave has 392 miles of cave passage-ways, the world’s longest cave. Thetours are designed to accommodatemost everyone with emphasis on his-

tory, geology, cultural, and naturalfeatures. Information is available atwww.nps.gov/maca or by calling 270-758-2180. A group of us enjoyed thehistoric tour, an easy two mile, two-hour tour, since we were saving ourenergy for shootin’!

The James Gang Rides Again2012 was held May 25th -May 27th

hosting 119 shooters from Kentucky,

Friends — Buck D. Law and Barkeep Casey

Kid Ziggy driving Amorous Ali

Tennessee, is surrounded by massiveBald Cypress trees and home tobass, bluegill, and crappie—a fisher-man’s dream. Bird watching is game#2 due to an impressive residentpopulation of Bald Eagles, GoldenEagles, and songbirds, in addition tothe migratory birds using the area.We enjoyed a lakeside campsite witha sunset to remember.

We left Reelfoot Lake enroute toLand Between the Lakes NationalRecreation Area. Land Between theLakes is 170,000 acres located inWest Tennessee and Kentucky withKentucky Lake (Tennessee River) onthe West side and Lake Barkley(Cumberland River) on the Eastside. The United States Departmentof Agriculture, the US Forest Serv-ice, manages 300 miles of undevel-oped shoreline, off road vehicle trails,

By Rio Drifter, SASS #49244 and Tennessee Tall, SASS #49245



Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, Michigan,Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois,Florida, Mississippi, and Wisconsin.That is darn good for an annualshoot! There was dry camping avail-able at the range, all activities wereheld on site, and Shaddai brokered aheck of a deal on golf carts at $20 forthe whole match. Match Directorsare coming up with awesome ideasfor entertainment in addition toshooting matches. This annualhooked us with a gumbo wars cookoff won by the Knob Creek Drover,SASS #29843. Knob Creek Droverwon, but we all ate! Karaoke has be-come a standard, and we had T-Boneand a ragged bunch of cowboys lov-ing life and livening up ours! Milk-bone was Saturday nightentertainment. We’ve discovered

Blackwater Desperado, SASS#53393, is a much-loved singer, avendor, a blackpowder shooter, andthe latest—a fabulous dessertmaker. His chocolate raspberry andchocolate blackberry desserts wereway too good!

First time for seeing Coqueta Va-quera providing massages, andJess’s providing hair care. Each ofthe ladies donated $5 for each mas-sage or hairdo to the SASS Scholar-ship Fund. Love my haircut, andthose of us lucky enough to get amassage loved the relief, all for agood cause. Don’t know who thoughtthat one up, but good thinking!

If it seems you are hearing moreabout side trips and extras at theshoots, that may be true. Lots to do,and matches are improving not justin shooting, but in providing thingsfor the whole family to enjoy to-gether. Perfecto Vaquera, SASS#69780,Vaquero Jake, Shaddai Va-quero, and all the members of theRockcastle Rangers are to be ap-plauded for providing many extras.They should also be applauded forproviding a safe, squared away an-nual match while making 119 shoot-ers happy! Ain’t easy.

Serious business being discussed!

Rockin J.P. Tanner and Hawkeye Tanner.

Smilin’ faces headin’ for the stages.

Slick’s Sharp Shooter’s Family from Georgia.

�

altimore, MD – Blueskies and pleasant tem-peratures were in storefor the 66 shooters who

registered for the ThurmontRangers Spring Charity/FunMatch. This year was the 2nd an-nual “McShoot for the Kids” withall proceeds going to support theRonald McDonald House in Balti-more, Maryland.

The match included six stageswhere the shooters went head tohead with the “Hamburgler” andhis sidekick “McKnothead,” beinginvolved in a shootout at the “ridethrough,” dealing with the theft of

B



tablished the match fee at $10.An “Honorary 1st Place” was $100,an “Honorary Clean Match” was$50. A “buy a miss” was $5 and a

unsaddle their horse “McNag.”Remembering that this was a

fundraiser for the ThurmontRangers favorite charity, we es-

their cappuccino, seeking revengeon the prairie dogs that were eat-ing all the Idaho potatoes, andbeing ambushed while trying to

MCshooT For ThE KIDs

Annual

2nd By Ozark Bob, SASS #40028 and Evening Star, SASS #47408

http://starlinebrass.com/



Happy Meal for lunch!! A bigYEEEHAW to Stan and Connie!!

The 2nd annual “McShoot forthe Kids” in actuality had 66 win-ners. Sixty-six cowboys and cow-girls came out and donated theirhard earned dollars and throughtheir generosity the ThurmontRangers were able to write acheck for $2,250 to the RonaldMcDonald House of Baltimore.

They are ALL “pards to ridethe river with.”

“buy a procedural” was $10 (as aside note, due to target type, size,and placement, there were NO ac-tual clean matches).

For an added extra, there wasa “Team Match” to determine (asit turned out) the “Fastest MenAlive.”

A catered lunch was provided,courtesy of Stanley Neal, owner,and Connie Rickard, manager, ofMcDonalds #13648 in Emmits-burg, Maryland. Everyone got a �

FACTOIDAfter the Battle of Gettysburg, the discarded rifles were collected and sent to

Washington to be inspected and reissued. Of the 37,574 rifles recovered, ap-

proximately 24,000 were still loaded; 6,000 had one round in the barrel; 12,000

had two rounds in the barrel; 6,000 had three to ten rounds in the barrel. One

rifle, the most remarkable of all, had been stuffed to the top with twenty-three

rounds in the barrel!

hed, OR – The Sport and Game of Cowboy ActionShooting™ has probably brought more marriedcouples together to enjoy the same game thanany other sport I can think of. When you have so

many dedicated couples shooting Cowboy Action it becomesvery difficult to distinguish one from the other, however, thetask becomes less difficult if one concentrates on a particu-lar region as opposed to the entire International communityof SASS. Accordingly in this profile article we are lookingat a couple of Pacific Northwest shooters whose Cowboyhandles have become synonymous with winning and goodsportsmanship. They are regarded not only as championswithin our sport, but champions within their SASS club andcommunity as well. Okay, so if you haven’t guessed by now,let me remove the blinds and reveal the names. I’m talking,of course, about Patrick and Michelle Reagan, better knownas Mid Valley Drifter, SASS Regulator #35724, and Buck-shot Shell-E, SASS Regulator #37335. For brevity purposes, I will referto Mid Valley Drifter as Drifter, and Buckshot Shell-E as Shell-E.

match, and tied at 236.16 secondseach! An incredible feat, and onewe may never see again. Drifterwon the Northwest RegionalChampionship outright in 2009.Shell-E was not to be ignored, andwon the Oregon State Champi-onship five years in a row (2006 to2010)—now that’s another featthat will be hard to match.

When queried about shootingtitles, both Drifter and Shell-Ewere quick to point out winning isnot about trophies, belt buckles,and awards, it’s about maintaininga winning attitude even if you per-form poorly. As I heard them saythis, I thought of all the champi-onship shooters I have interviewed,and without exception, they all saythe same thing—maintain thatwinning attitude and ‘spirit of thegame’ regardless of how youshoot—it’s the Cowboy Way!

Both Drifter and Shell-E wereborn and raised in Klamath Falls,Oregon (known as K Falls to Ore-gonians). They attended the samehigh school and were later mar-ried in K Falls in 1988. They havetwo shooting children: Son Cody,aka Darn Tootin, SASS #42854,and Daughter Kayla, aka RipSnortin, SASS #42855. The Rea-gan family resides in Lebanon,Oregon. Both Drifter and Shell-Ehold various college degrees:Drifter in Engineering; Heatingand Air Conditioning, and Shell-Ein Accounting and Bookkeeping.

Let’s answer the obviousquestion first: Patrick Reagan isno relative to that other Reaganknown as the “Gipper.” He wouldlike to be, but fate would not hearof it, so instead fate appointedhim as Match Director and Web-master of the Oregon Old WestShooting Society located at:www.oowss.com, and also placedhim in charge of Badman Bullets,which he and Shell-E purchasedin 2008. Both Drifter and Shell-Ehave added a few trade secretsand loving care to their bulletcompany and are very proud ofthe fact less leading and more ac-curacy are the results. To see foryourself, you are invited to take alook at their inventory and offer-ings at:www.badmanbullets.com

Drifter started shooting com-petitively in 2001, and afterwatching all the fun he was hav-ing, Shell-E decided to join him in2002. Like all championshipshooters, they practiced CowboyAction Shooting™ daily, and itwasn’t long before they both wontitles as Oregon State and North-west Regional Champions.Drifter won the Oregon StateChampionship outright in 2007,and in a memorable 2010 StateChampionship Shoot was pro-claimed Co-Champion with Buf-falo Wings Bryan, SASS #58658.In an amazing finish, both shoot-ers shot 12 stages, total time



Buckshot shell-eSTOPS HERE AT

Mid Valley Drifter and Shell-E face-off during END of TRAIL 2007 Top Gun Shoot-off.

wBy Palaver Pete, SASS Life/Regulator #4375

S

Mid-Valley!,



Together, as mentioned above,they own Badman Bullets. In ad-dition to his Webmaster role,Drifter, as mentioned above,served as Match Director for Ore-gon’s oldest SASS affiliated club,the Oregon Old West Shooting So-ciety. Drifter served in this posi-tion during the years 2004 to2010, while Shell-E served asClub Scorekeeper during thesame period.

One of the highlights of theirCowboy careers was to be nomi-nated by their club for the presti-gious title of Regulator, and havingreceived their Badges together atEND of TRAIL in 2006. I person-ally have had the honor of shoot-ing with Drifter and Shell-E, andtheir attitude and spirit are conta-gious. They have a very positiveeffect on the entire posse, and thatjust happens to make everyone’sday. They are the epitome of cou-ples who mutually enjoy a sport to-gether—they are the symbols ofhappy times; good sportsmanship,and the Cowboy Code.

Well Pards, if you have a han-kerin’ to shoot with Drifter and

Shell-E, and you just happen to bein the vicinity of Albany or Shed,Oregon where the Oregon OldWest Shooting Society shootsevery 3rd Sunday and 4th Satur-

day, be sure to drop by. For moreinformation about shooting sched-ules and contacts, go to website:www.oowss.com and get the scoop.When you arrive there, say hi to

Drifter and Shell-E, and tell ‘emPalaver Pete sent you—you’re aDaisy if ya do.

!

A handsome couple indeed! Mid Valley Drifter and Buckshot Shell-E at a recent NW Regional Shoot.

Cowboy Action Shooting™ has brought many couples together to enjoy the same sport. Let’s hope we see even more in the future.

�

,



/



“ NEw lowEr PrICEs ”



http://www.sassnet.com/Merc-Main-001A.php

alaska 49er’s 1st Sat & tripod 907-373-0140 Birchwood

3rd Sun

Golden heart Shootist 2nd Sat & wind drifter 907-457-2113 Fairbanks

Society last Sun

Juneau Gold miners posse 3rd Sun Five Card tanna 907-789-7498 Juneau

north alabama regulators 1st Sun drake robey 256-313-0421 woodville

russell County regulators 1th Sat will killigan 706-568-0869 phenix City

alabama rangers 2nd Sun dead horse phil 205-531-7055 Brierfield

vulcan long rifles 3rd Sat parson henry 205-871-4237 hoover

Brown

Cahaba Cowboys 3rd Sun duke Slade 205-854-0843 Birmingham

Gallant Gunfighters 3rd Sun Buck d. law 256-504-4366 hoover

old york Shootists 4th Sun derringer di 205-647-6925 hoover

white river Gang 1st Sat arkansas tom 870-656-8431 mountain

home

Critter Creek Citizens 1st Sun evil Bob 903-701-3970 Fourke

vigilance

mountain valley vigilantes 1st wkd Christmas kid 501-625-3554 hot Springs

outlaw Camp 2nd & 5th ozark outlaw 501-362-2963 heber

Sat Springs

arkansas lead Slingers 2nd Sat & dirty dan 479-633-2107 Garfield

4th Sun paladin

South Fork river regulators 3rd Sat arkansas harper 870-994-7227 Salem

Judge parker’s marshals 3rd Sat & naildriver 479-651-2475 Fort Smith

Sun

true Grit SaSS 4th Sun Sister Sundance 479-970-7042 Belleville

white mountain old west 1st & 3rd mustang lady 928-243-3457 Snowflake

Shootists Sat Sue

Cowtown wild Bunch 1st Sat wild Bodie 602-721-3175 Carefree

Shooters tom

rio Salado Cowboy action 1st Sat a. J. Bob 480-982-7336 mesa

Shooting Society

old pueblo Shootist 1st Sun Gilly Boy 520-249-2831 tombstone

association

Cowtown Cowboy Shooters 1st Sun & Barbwire 480-773-2753 phoenix

3rd Sat

arizona Cowboy Shooters 2nd Sat deputy Curly 602-487-9728 phoenix

association

whiskey row Gunslingers 2nd Sun turquoise Bill 928-925-7323 prescott

Colorado river regulators 2nd Sun & Crowheart 928-505-2200 lake havasu

4th Sat

lake powell Gunslingers 3rd Sat Bare Fist Jack 928-660-2104 page

los vaqueros 3rd Sat Buckeye pete 520-548-8298 tucson

tonto rim marauders 3rd Sun Silverado Cid 928-595-1230 payson

mohave marshalls 3rd Sun & d B Chester 928-231-9013 kingman

5th Sat

altar valley pistoleros 3rd Sun & mean raylean 520-235-0394 tucson

5th Sun

arizona yavapai rangers 4th Sat whisperin 928-567-9227 Camp verde

meadows

dusty Bunch old western 4th Sat Squibber 520-568-2852 Casa Grande

Shooters

tombstone Buscaderos 4th Sat diamond pak 520-780-4852 tombstone

Colorado river Shootists 4th Sun Boston 928-502-1298 yuma

anniebelle

Sunnyvale regulators 1st & 3rd Shaniko Jack 650-464-3764 Cupertino

mon night

west end outlaws 1st & 3rd Chickamauga 951-549-9304 lytle Creek

Sat Charlie

Silver Queen mine 1st & 3rd t. e. kidd 562-598-7771 azusa

regulators Sun

escondido Bandidos 1st Sat devil Jack 760-741-3229 escondido

the outlaws 1st Sat terrell Sackett 916-363-1648 Sacramento

lassen regulators 1st Sat Chief wages 530-257-3402 Susanville

two rivers posse 1st Sat & dragon 209-836-4042 manteca

4th Sun

river City regulators 1st Sun point of orgin 530-304-5616 davis

mother lode Shootist Society 1st Sun Sioux City kid 209-795-4175 Jamestown

hole in the wall Gang 1st Sun Frito Bandito 661-406-6001 piru

5 dogs Creek 1st wkd mad trapper of 661-589-7472 Bakersfield

rat river

Cajon Cowboys 2nd & 4th pasture patti 760-956-8852 devore

Sat

Chorro valley regulators 2nd & 5th mad dog mcCoy 805-440-7847 San luis

Sun obispo

Shasta regulators of 2nd Sat Cayenne pepper 530-275-3158 Burney

hat Creek


Coyote valley Cowboys 2nd Sat Bad eye Bobolu 408-722-0583 morgan hill

Guns in the Sun 2nd Sat Johnny 2moons 760-346-0972 palm Springs

Buffalo runners 2nd Sat Grizzly peak Jake 530-676-2997 rescue

dulzura desperados 2nd Sat hashknife willie 619-271-1481 San diego

California rangers 2nd Sat paniolo lady 916-483-9198 Sloughhouse

double r Bar regulators 2nd Sun Five Jacks 760-949-3198 lucerne valley

high Sierra drifters 2nd Sun Grizzly peak Jake 530-676-2997 railroad Flat

richmond roughriders 2nd Sun Buffy 650-994-9412 richmond

over the hill Gang (the) 2nd Sun kooskia kid 818-566-7900 Sylmar

Bridgeport vigilantes 3rd Sat Bee Blest 760-932-1139 Bridgeport

Burro Canyon Gunslingers 3rd Sat don trader 714-827-7360 meyers

Canyon

nevada City peacemakers 3rd Sat marlin Schofield 530-265-9213 nevada City

north County Shootist assoc. 3rd Sat Graybeard 760-727-9160 pala

Shasta regulators 3rd Sat modoc 530-365-1839 redding

robbers roost vigilantes 3rd Sat nasty newt 760-375-7618 ridgecrest

Gold Country wild Bunch 3rd Sat Sutter lawman 530-713-4194 Sloughouse

high desert Cowboys 3rd Sun doc Silverhawks 661-948-2543 acton

kings river regulators 3rd Sun Slick rock rooster 559-299-8669 Clovis

panorama northfield raiders 3rd Sun Gun hawk 818-761-0512 north

hollywood

South Coast rangers 3rd Sun Swifty Schofield 805-886-3360 Santa Barbara

murieta posse 3rd Sun Grizzly peak Jake 530-676-2997 Sloughhouse

ukiah Gun Club 3rd Sun will Bonner 707-462-1466 ukiah

hawkinsville Claim Jumpers 4th & 5th lethal les 530-842-4506 yreka

Sat l’amour

mad river rangers 4th Sat kid kneestone 707-445-1981 Blue lake

Coyote valley Sharpshooters 4th Sat wif 408-448-3256 San Jose

pozo river vigilance 4th Sat dirty Sally 805-438-4817 Santa

Committee margarita

California Shady ladies 4th Sat lady Gambler 916-447-2040 Sloughhouse

Faultline Shootist Society 4th Sun Querida 831-635-9147 Gonzales

the range 4th Sun Grass v.Federally 530-273-4440 Grass valley

the Cowboys 4th Sun Captain Jake 714-318-6948 norco

deadwood drifters 4th Sun lusty lil 661-775-3802 piru

Sloughhouse irregulators 5th Sat & Badlands Bud 530-677-0368 Sloughhouse

Sun

Colorado Cowboys 1st Sat el Gato Gordo 719-683-6713 lake George

Colorado Shaketails 1st Sun midnite Slim 719-660-2742 Fontain

San Juan rangers 1st Sun kodiak kid 970-252-1841 montrose

windygap regulators 1st wkd piedra kidd 970-799-1133 Cortez

vigilantes 2nd Sat Grizz Bear 719-545-9463 pueblo

Four Corners rifle and 2nd Sun Capt. w. k. 970-565-3840 Cortez

pistol Club kelso

montrose marshals 2nd Sun Big hat 970-249-7701 montrose

Ben lomond high plains 2nd Sun Sand river Slim 303-771-1920 ramah

drifters

Castle peak wildshots 2nd wkd old Squinteye 970-524-9348 Gypsum

pawnee Station 3rd Sat red Creek dick 303-857-0520 nunn

martin

rockvale Bunch 3rd Sat mister 719-784-1342 rockvale

Four Corners Gunslingers 3rd Sun Cereza Slim 970-247-0745 durango

thunder mountain 3rd wkd pinto Being 970-464-7118 Grand

Shootists Junction

Briggsdale County Shootist 4th Sat kid Bucklin 970-493-1813 Briggsdale

northwest Colorado rangers 4th Sat Sagebrush Burns 970-824-8407 Craig

Sand Creek raiders 4th Sun Sweet water Bill 303-366-8827 Byers

Black Canyon Ghost riders 4th Sun double Bit 970-874-8745 hotchkiss

ledyard Sidewinders 1st Sat yosemite Gene 860-536-0887 ledyard

Ct valley Bushwackers 2nd Sun milo Sierra 860-508-2686 east Granby

padens posse 3rd Sun hazel pepper 302-422-6534 Bridgeville

Gold Coast Gunslingers 1st Sat George washington 786-256-9542 Fort

mclintock lauderdale

Ghost town Gunslingers 1st Sat Copenhagen 904-808-8559 St. augustine

hernando County 1st Sun Shady Brady 352-686-1055 Brooksville

regulators

miakka misfits 1st Sun deadlee headlee 941-650-8920 myakka City

Fort white Cowboy Cavalry 2nd Sat deadly Sharpshoot 352-317-6284 Fort white

okeechobee marshals 2nd Sat & kid Celero 561-312-9075 okeechobee

4th Sun

tater hill Gunfighters 2nd Sun Judge Jd Justice 941-629-4440 arcadia

weewahootee vigilance 2nd Sun Conway kid 407-273-9763 orlando

Committee

panhandle Cowboys 2nd Sun high Card 850-492-5162 pensacola

Southwest Florida Gunslingers 3rd Sat Jed lewis 239-455-4788 punta Gorda

Big Bend Bushwhackers 3rd Sat Sixpence kid 850-459-1107 tallahassee

lake County pistoleros 3rd wkd arcadia outlaw 352-208-2788 tavares

SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS MONTHLY SHOOTING SCHEDULEClub Name Sched. Contact Phone City Club Name Sched. Contact Phone City

AK CA (continued)


To update your SASS Affiliated Club Listing or Annual Match please contact Slipnoose at the SASS Office ph: (877) 411-7277 or [email protected]

AL

AR

AZ

CO

CT

DE

FL

CA

pleasant valley renegades 2nd Sat nomore Slim 812-839-3052 Canaan

Schuster’s rangers 2nd Sun Coal Car kid 219-759-3498 Chesterton

pine ridge regulators 3rd Sat riverboat Gambler 765-832-7253 Brazil

wolff’s rowdy rangers 3rd Sat Justice d. Spencer 574-264-2012 Bristol

Circle r Cowboys 3rd Sat mustang Bill 219-279-2781 Brookston

wabash rangers 4th Sat henry remington 217-267-2820 Cayuga

Starke County desert 4th Sat whip mccord 219-942-5859 knox

Big rock SaSS 4th Sat Southpaw too 812-866-2406 lexington

red Brush raiders 4th Sat doc Goodluck 812-721-1188 newburgh

deer Creek regulators 4th Sun doc molar 765-506-0344 Jonesboro

wildwood wranglers 4th Sun voodooman 219-872-2721 michigan City

westside renegades as Sch Johnny Banjo 812-430-6421 evansville

indiana Black powder Guild as Sch C. C. top 574-354-7186 etna Green

Butterfield Gulch Gang 1st Sun kanasa Flatlander 785-493-5682 Chapman

powder Creek Cowboys 2nd & 4th Sat el dorado wayne 913-686-5314 lenexa

& 4th wed

mill Brook wranglers 2nd Sun Grandpa Buckten 785-421-2537 hill City

millbrook

Free State rangers 3rd & Buffalo phil 913-904-8733 parker

5th Sun

Sandhill regulators 3rd Sat moundridge 620-345-3151 hutchinson

Goat roper

Capital City Cowboys 4th Sun top 785-313-0894 topeka

Chisholm trail rowdies 4th Sun Cody wyatt 316-204-1784 wichita

kentucky regulators 1st Sat derby 270-489-2089 Boaz

hooten old town regulators 1st Sat double eagle dave 423-309-4146 mckee

knob Creek Gunfighters Guild 1st Sun Buck Shot Jock 502-543-8439 west point

Green river Gunslingers 2nd Sat yak 270-792-9001 Bowling

Green

ponderosa pines posse 3rd Sat Copperhead Joe 606-599-5263 manchester

ohio river rangers 3rd Sat George rogers 270-554-1501 paducah

Breathitt Bandits 4th Sat Slowly But Surely 606-666-4663 Jackson

rockcastle rangers 4th Sat perfecto vaquera 406-231-2359 park City

levisa Fork lead Slingers 4th Sun escopeta Jake 606-631-4613 pikeville

Fox Bend peacemakers 4th Sun tocala Sam 859-552-9000 wilmore

deadwood marshals 1st & 3rd doc Spudley 504-467-6062 Sorrento

Sat

up the Creek Gang 2nd & 4th hardly able 337-474-5058 lake Charles

Sat

Cypress Creek Cowboys 2nd Sat Smokey Shane 318-381-4840 downsville

Guns of Sabine pass 3rd Sat hobbel-a-long 337-463-5690 hineston

Grand ecore vigilantes 3rd Sat ouachita kid 318-932-6637 natchitoches

Jackson hole regulators 4th Sat Slick mcClade 318-395-2224 Quitman

Cape Cod Cowboys 4th Sat Curly Jay Brooks 508-477-9771 mashpee

Shawsheen river rangers as Sch yukon willie 978-663-3342 Bedford

harvard Ghost riders as Sch double r Bar kid 978-771-9190 harvard

danvers desperados as Sch Cyrus Cy klopps 781-667-2857 middleton

Gunnysackers Sat nantucket dawn 781-749-6951 Scituate

eas’dern Shore renegades 1st Sat teton tracy 302-378-7854 Sudlersville

thurmont rangers 1st Sun Cash Caldwell 240-285-7673 thurmont

monocacy irregulars 2nd Sat Church key 304-229-8266 Frederick

damascus wildlife rangers 4th Sat Chuckaroo 301-831-9666 damascus

Big pine Bounty hunters as Sch ripley Scrounger 207-876-4928 willmantic

Capitol City vigilance as Sch mark lake 207-622-9400 augusta

Committee

Beaver Creek desperados as Sch Jimmy reb 207-698-4436 Berwick

hurricane valley rangers as Sch leo 207-829-3092 Falmouth

rockford regulators 1st Sat no Cattle 616-363-2827 rockford

Blue water Gunslingers 1st Sun Buggyman 810-434-9597 kimball

river Bend rangers 2nd Sat pitmaster 574-276-8805 niles

double Barrel Gang 2nd Sat. dakota Fats 269-721-8190 hastings

Butcher Butte Bunch 2nd Sun Grubby hardrock 810-750-0655 Fenton

Sucker Creek Saddle & 3rd Sat kid al Fred 989-832-8426 Breckenridge

Gun Club

Chippewa regulators 3rd Sat no name Justice 906-632-1254 Sault Ste.

marie

hidden valley Cowboys 3rd Sun Saulk valley 269-651-5197 Sturgis

Stubby

rocky river regulators 3rd Sun terrebonne Bud 248-709-5254 utica

eagleville Cowboys 4th Sat one Son of a Gun 231-676-0922 Central lake

Johnson Creek regulators 4th Sat rainmaker ray 313-618-2577 plymouth

mason County marshals 4th Sat two Gun troll 231-343-2580 Scottsville

wolverine rangers as Sch r.J. law 248-828-0440 port huron

Saginaw Field & as Sch Bad river 989-585-3292 Saginaw

Stream Club marty

Cowford regulators 4th Sat General lee 904-803-2930 Jacksonville

Smokey

indian river regulators 4th Sat Belligerent orney 321-403-2940 palm Bay

Bob

panhandle Cattle Company 4th Sat desperado dale 850-832-2837 port St. Joe

ok Corral outlaws 4th Sun kokomo kid 863-357-2226 okeechobee

Five County regulators 4th Sun Jed lewis 239-455-4788 punta Gorda

doodle hill regulators 4th Sun dave Smith 813-645-3828 ruskin

antelope Junction rangers Fri nite & mayeye rider 727-736-3977 pineallas park

2nd Sat

river Bend rough riders 1st Sat done Gone 770-361-6966 dawsonville

american old west Cowboys 1st Sat Josey Buckhorn 423-236-5281 Flintstone

valdosta vigilance Committee 1st Sat Big Boyd 229-244-3161 valdosta

lonesome valley regulators 1st Sun wishbone 478-922-9384 warner

hooper robins

providence Springs rangers 2nd Sat Buckshot Bob 229-924-0997 anderson

piedmont regulators 2nd Sat Chase randall 864-637-8873 eastanollee

doc holliday’s immortals 2nd Sat easy rider 770-954-9696 Griffin

Camden County Cowboys 2nd Sat Christian 912-227-5683 kingsland

mortician

South river Shootists 3rd Sat man From little 678-428-4240 Covington

river

tennessee mountain 3rd Sat trail Bones 423-842-6116 ringgold

marauders

Cherokee Cowboys 4th Sat Bad lands Bob 706-654-0828 Gainesville

maui marshals 1st & 3rd Bad Burt 808-875-9085 maui

Sat

Big island paniolos 3rd Sat paniolo annie 808-640-3949 ocean view

Single action Shootist of 4th Sun Brandebuck 808-351-9260 honolulu

hawaii

turkeyfoot Cowboys 1st Sat ranger mathias 319-234-1550 elk run

Fischels heights

Fort des moines rangers 1st Sun pit mule 515-205-0557 indianola

Zen Shootists 2nd Sat renegade Slim 515-987-0721 nevada

outlaw’s run 2nd Sun Capt. Jim midnight 712-623-5726 red oak

Gunslingers of Flaming 1st Sat Jughandle Jack 208-634-3121 Council

heart ranch

Squaw Butte regulators 1st Sun acequia kidd 208-365-4551 emmett

Border marauders 1st Sun & mud marine 208-627-8377 east port

4th Sat

el Buscaderos 2nd & 4th oddman 208-437-0496 Spirit lake

Sun

northwest Shadow riders 2nd Sat Silverado Belle 208-743-5765 lewiston

Southern idaho rangers 2nd Sat Gordo perro 208-234-7121 pocatello

oregon trail rough riders 2nd Sun & John Bear 208-562-1914 Boise

3rd Sat

hells Canyon Ghost riders 3rd Sat J.p. Sloe 208-798-0826 moscow

twin Butte Bunch 3rd Sat idaho packer 208-589-5941 rexburg

panhandle regulators 3rd Sun halfcocked otis 509-991-5842 otis orchards

Snake river western Shooting 4th Sat white eyes 208-734-8440 Jerome

Society

Shady Creek Shootists 1st & 4th dapper dan 309-734-2324 little york

Sun porter

lakewood marshal’s 1st Sat pine ridge Jack 618-838-9410 Cisne

rangeless riders 1st Sat the inspector 618-345-5048 highland

kishwaukee valley regulators 1st Sun Snakes morgan 815-751-3716 Sycamore

Free Grazers 2nd Sat Fossil Creeek Bob 217-821-3134 effingham

tri County Cowboys 2nd Sat Sierra hombre 815-967-6333 hazelhurst

kaskaskia Cowboys 2nd Sat Beaucoup Joe 618-521-3619 Sparta

illinois river City regulators 2nd Sun Granville Stuart 309-243-7236 Chillicothe

vermilion river long riders 2nd Sun lead poison lar 815-875-3674 leonore

nason mining Company 3rd & 5th diggins dave 618-927-0594 Benton

regulators Sat

mclean County peacemakers 3rd Sat marshall rd 309-379-4331 Bloomington

litchfield Sportsman’s Club 3rd Sat ross haney 618-667-9819 litchfield

illowa irregulars 3rd Sun Shamrock Sis 309-798-2635 milan

Fort Beggs defenders 3rd Sun torandado 815-302-8305 plainfield

long nine Cowboys 4th & 5th lemon drop kid 217-787-4877 loami

Sun

Good Guys posse 4th Sun dangerous 815-245-7264 rockford

denny

Salt river renegades as Sch lily mae 217-985-4915 Barry

daleville desperados 1st Sat Flat water Bob 765-284-0405 daleville

Cutter’s raiders 1st Sat midnite desperado 574-893-7214 warsaw

atlanta Cattle Company 2nd Sat Bear Creek 765-652-1525 atlanta

reverend


SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS MONTHLY SHOOTING SCHEDULEClub Name Sched. Contact Phone City Club Name Sched. Contact Phone City

FL (continued) IN (continued)



GA

KS

KY

LA

MA

MD

ME

MI

HI

IA

ID

IL

IN

thumbusters 2nd Sun ol’ Sea dog 732-892-7272 monmouth

Jackson hole Gang 4th Sun papa Grey 732-961-6834 Jackson

magdalena trail drivers 1st & 3rd Grizzly adams 575-854-2488 magdalena

Sat

rio rancho regulators 1st & 4th Sam Brannan 505-400-2468 rio rancho

Sat

otero practical Shooting 1st Sat Saguaro Sam 505-437-3663 la luz

association

Buffalo range riders 1st Sun Shanley Shooter 505-252-0589 Founders

ranch

Chisum Cowboy Gun Club 1st Sun two Bit tammy 575-626-9201 roswell

Bighorn vigilantes 2nd Sat lawdog Bob 505-883-8829 edgewood

high desert drifters 2nd Sat Shakey Shooter 505-294-3233 edgewood

lincoln County regulators 2nd Sat Frank Coe 575-808-1329 ruidoso

Buffalo range riders wild 2nd Sun tijeras pete 505-227-1449 Founders

Bunch ranch

rio Grande renegades 2nd wed, mica mcGuire 505-263-1181 albuquerque

3rd Sat, 4th Sun,

5th Sat & Sun

Gila rangers 2nd wkd Chico Cheech 575-388-2531 Silver City

monticello range riders 3rd & 5th J. w. Brockey 575-744-4484 elephant

Sun Butte

Seven rivers regulators 3rd Sat Stink Creek Jones 575-885-9879 Carlsbad

monument Springs 4th Sat val darrant 575-396-5303 hobbs

Bushwhackers

picacho posse 4th Sat Fast hammer 575-647-3434 las Cruces

tres rios Bandidos 4th Sun largo Casey 505-330-2489 Farmington

rio vaqueros 4th Sun anna Sassin 575-744-5793 truth or

Consequences

Fort halleck volunteers 1st & 3rd Green Springs 775-753-8203 elko

Sat thomsen

high plains drifters 1st Sun irish ike 775-424-2336 Fernley

eldorado Cowboys 1st wkd Charming 702-565-3736 Boulder City

lone wolf Shooters 2nd & 5th penny 775-727-4600 pahrump

Sun pepperbox

nevada rangers Cowboy 2nd Sun mt Fargo 702-460-6393 las vegas

action Shooting Society

roop County Cowboy 2nd Sun russ t. 775-747-1426 Sparks

Shooters assn. Chambers

Silver State Shootists 3rd Sun Shotgun marshall 775-265-0267 Carson City

desert desperados 3rd Sun Buffalo Sam 702-459-6454 las vegas

alabama Gunslingers 1st Sat Bum thumb 585-343-3906 alabama

tioga County Cowboys 1st Sat dusty drifter 607-659-3819 owego

Boot hill regulators 1st Sun Judge Zaney Grey 845-352-7921 Chester

pathfinder pistoleros 1st Sun Sonny 315-695-7032 Fulton

Crumhorn mountain 1st Sun lefty Cooper 607-287-9261 maryland

Cowboys

Salt port vigilance 2nd Sat twelve Bore 585-613-8046 holley

Committee

Bar-20 inc. 2nd Sat Badlands Buck 315-637-3492 west eaton

Border rangers 2nd Sun dammit dick 607-724-6216 Greene

hole in the wall Gang 3rd Sat el Fusilero 631-864-1035 Calverton

diamond Four 3rd Sat kayutah kid 607-796-0573 odessa

Circle k regulators 3rd Sun Smokehouse 518-885-3758 Ballston Spa

dan

Sackets harbor vigilantes 4th Sun ranger Clayton 315-465-6543 Sackets

Conagher harbor

the long riders 4th Sun loco poco lobo 585-467-4429 Shortsville

d Bar d wranglers 4th Sun Captain m.a.F 845-226-8611 wappingers

Fall

mythical rough riders 5th Sun rev dave Clayton 716-838-4286 hamburg

the Shadow riders as Sch dusty levis 646-284-4010 westhampton

Beach

east end regulators last Sun diamond rio 631-585-1936 westhampton

Big irons 1st Sat deadwood Stan 513-894-3500 middletown

middletown Sportsmens Club 1st Sat deadwood Stan 513-894-3500 middletown

tusco long riders 1st Sat Split rail 330-364-6185 midvale

Greene County Cowboys 1st Sun ruger ray 937-352-6420 Xenia

Granger hill regulators 1st Sun Barbwire pete 740-450-8650 Zanesville

Firelands peacemakers 1st wed, 3rd Sat angry angus 440-647-5909 rochester

& 5th Sun

Sandusky County regulators 2nd Sat Curtice Clay 419-836-8760 Gibsonburg

Shenango river rats 2nd Sat & Shenango Joe 330-782-0958 yankee lake

last thurs

miami valley Cowboys 2nd Sun Buckshot Jones 937-418-7816 piqua

Scioto territory desperados 3rd & 5th pickaway 740-477-1881 Chillicothe

Sun tracker

wilmington rough riders 3rd Sat paragon pete 740-626-7667 wilmington

lapeer County Sportsmans Sun Flat water 314-378-5689 attica

Club wranglers Johnny

Cedar valley vigilantes 1st & 3rd d m yankee 612-701-9719 morristown

Sat

Crow river rangers 1st Sun Cantankerous Jeb 763-682-3710 howard lake

Granite City Gunslingers 2nd & 5th amen Straight 612-723-2313 Saint Cloud

Sat

lone rock rangers 2nd Sat red dutchman 651-402-0368 Farmington

lookout mountain Gunsmoke 2nd Sat wagonmaster 218-744-4694 virginia

Society

Fort Belmont regulators 2nd Sun mule town Jack 507-840-0883 Jackson

east Grand Forks rod & 3rd Sun BB Gunner 218-779-8555 east Grand

Gun Club Forks

ike’s Clantons 4th Sun dawgnapper 320-275-2052 new ulm

ozark posse (the) 1st Sat tightwad Swede 417-846-5142 Cassville

west plaines waddies 2nd & 5th Buckshot Baby 417-284-1432 tecumseh

Sat

moniteau Creek river 2nd Sun doolin riggs 573-687-3103 Fayette

raiders

Gateway Shootist Society 3rd Sun Bounty Seeker 314-740-4665 St. louis

Central ozarks western 3rd Sun X. S. Chance 573-765-5483 St. robert

Shooters

Butterfield trail Cowboys 4th wkd Smokie 417-759-9114 walnut Shade

Southern missouri rangers 4th wkd pecos Steve 417-770-7516 willard

natchez Sixgunners 1st Sat winchester 601-445-5223 natchez

mississippi peacemakers 3rd Sat woodie B. western 601-214-4009 mendenhall

mississippi river rangers 4th & 5th easy lee 901-413-5615 Byhalia

Sat

honorable road agents 1st Sat diamond red 406-685-3618 ennis

Shooting Society

Gallatin valley regulators 1st Sat Gooch hill drifter 406-763-4268 logan

Sun river rangers Shooting 1st Sun & montana lil’ 406-761-0896 Simms

Society 4th Sat Skeeter

rocky mountain rangers 2nd wkd Jocko 406-847-0745 noxon

Bigfork Buscaderos 3rd Sat Bodie Camp 406-883-6797 Bigfork

last Chance handgunners 3rd Sat Bocephus Bandito 406-439-4476 Boulder

Custer County Stranglers 3rd Sat hartshot 406-232-0727 miles City

montana territory 4th Sat Backstrap Bill 406-652-6158 Billings

peacemakers

lincoln County regulators 4th Sat lady Belle 406-889-3658 eureka

neuse river regulators 1st & 3rd paddi macGarrett 910-938-3682 new Bern

Sat

old hickory regulators 1st Sat wendover kid 252-908-0098 rocky mount

walnut Grove rangers 1st Sat hiem 828-245-5563 rutherfordton

old north State posse 1st Sat tracker mike 336-595-8853 Salisbury

Carolina rough riders 1st Sun pecos pete 704-394-1859 Charlotte

Carolina Single action 2nd & 5th Carolina’s 919-383-7567 eden

Shooting Society Sun longarm

high Country Cowboys 2nd Sat wild otter 828-423-7796 asheville

Carolina Cattlemen’s Shooting 2nd Sat wicked wanda 919-266-1678 Creedmore

and Social Society

Buccaneer range regulators 2nd Sat Jefro 910-327-2197 wilmington

Bostic vigilantes 2th Sat Bostic kid 704-434-2174 Bostic

Gunpowder Creek regulators 3rd Sat Fannie kikinshoot 828-754-1884 lenoir

Cross Creek Cowboys 3rd Sat huckleberry mike 910-980-0572 wagram

piedmont Gunslingers 3rd Sun a. r. Stoner 336-922-1900 Churchland

Flat Branch ranch 4th Sat twelve mile Bluff 910-480-9609 Fayetteville

iredell regulators 4th Sat Charlotte 704-902-1796 Statesville

trestle valley rangers 2nd Sat doc hell 701-852-1697 minot

Badlands Bandits 3rd Sat roughrider ray 701-260-0347 Belfield

dakota rough riders as Sch Blake Stone 701-250-0673 moffit

Sheyenne valley last Sat wild river 701-588-4331 kindred

peacekeepers rose

platte valley Gunslingers 1st Sun Firewater 308-226-2255 Grand island

alliance Cowboy Club 2nd Sun panhandle Slim 308-760-0568 alliance

miles

eastern nebraska Gun Club 2nd Sun Flint valdez 712-323-8996 louisville

Flat water Shootists of the 3rd Sun Fortyfour 308-383-4605 Grand island

Grand island rifle Club maggie

the dalton Gang Shooting 3rd wkd littleton S. 603-444-6876 dalton

Club of nh dalton

white mountain regulators as Sch dead head 603-772-2358 Candia

merrimack valley as Sch Sheriff r. p. 603-345-6876 pelham

marauders Bucket


SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS MONTHLY SHOOTING SCHEDULE (Cont.)Club Name Sched. Contact Phone City Club Name Sched. Contact Phone City



NJMI (continued)

MN NM

NV

NY

OH

MO

MS

MT

NC

ND

NE

NH

auGlaize rough riders 3rd Sun deputy diamond 419-722-6345 defiance

desperado

ohio valley vigilantes 4th Sat ole Saddlebags 614-323-4500 mt. vernon

Central ohio Cowboys 4th Sun Stagecoach 614-868-9821 Circleville

hannah

Big irons mounted rangers as Sch Stoneburner 513-829-4099 middletown

Stonelick regulators as Sch Carson 513-753-6462 milford

Cherokee Strip Shootists 1st Sat paladenton 405-547-2533 Stillwater

Shortgrass rangers 1st Sat & Captain allyn 580-357-5870 Grandfield

3rd Sun Capron

tulsey town Cattlemens 2nd & 4th Sat Curly thom 918-376-4376 tulsa

association 3rd Sun mabry

indian territory Single action 2nd & 5th Sun, Burly Bill 918-830-2936 Sand Springs

Shooting Society 3rd Sat, 4th wed

rattlesnake mountain 2nd Sat & Black river 918-908-0016 Checotah

rangers 1st Sun Jack

oklahoma City Gun Club - 2nd Sat & Flat top okie 405-373-1472 oklahoma

territorial marshals 4th Sun City

tater hill regulators 3rd Sun taos willie 918-355-2849 tulsa

horse ridge pistoleros 1st & 3rd Big Casino 541-389-2342 Bend

Sun

molalla river rangers 1st Sat Gold dust Bill 503-705-1211 Canby

merlin marauders 1st Sat molly B. dam 541-479-2928 merlin

dry Gulch desperados 1st Sat runamuck 509-520-3241 milton

Freewater

Siuslaw river rangers 1st Sun Johnny Jingos 541-997-6313 Florence

table rock rangers 1st Sun & Jed i. knight 541-944-2281 white City

2nd Sat

pine mountain posse 2nd Sat & Juniper Butch 541-416-0361 Bend

Sun Cassidy

klamath Cowboys 2nd Sun & Jasper wayne 541-884-2611 keno

4th Sat

Jefferson State regulators 3rd Sat Jed i. knight 541-944-2281 ashland

oregon trail regulators 3rd Sat willie killem 541-443-6591 la Grande

orygun Cowboys 3rd Sat kansan 503-539-6335 Sherwood

oregon old west Shooting 3rd Sun & deaf eagle 541-990-7816 albany

Society 4th Sat

umpqua regulators 4th Sun oregun Gustaf 541-430-1021 roseburg

lewis river rangers as Sch Johnny Colt 503-289-1280 St. helens

Columbia County Cowboys as Sch kitty Colt 503-642-4120 St. helens

perry County regulators 1st Sat tuscarora Slim 717-789-3004 ickesburg

dry Gulch rangers 1st Sat pep C. holic 724-263-1461 midway

Factoryville Freebooters 1st Sun tad Sloe 570-489-0652 Factoryville

Chimney rocks regulators 1st Sun hattie hubbs 814-696-5669 hollidaysburg

Conestoga wagoneers 1st Sun no Change 215-431-2302 Southampton

Boot hill Gang of topton 1st Sun lester moore 610-704-6792 topton

whispering pines Cowboy 1st Sun Buck Johnson 814-945-6922 wellsboro

Committee

logans Ferry regulators 2nd Sat mariah kid 412-607-5313 plum Borough

heidelberg lost dutchmen 2nd Sat ivory rose 717-627-0694 Schaeffers-

town

westshore posse 2nd Sun hud mcCoy 717-683-2632 new

Cumberland

dakota Badlanders (the) 2nd Sun timberland 610-434-1923 orefield

renegade

Jefferson outlaws 3rd Sat oracle Jones 410-239-6795 Jefferson

Blue mountain rangers 3rd Sun Cathy Fisher 610-488-0619 hamburg

matamoras mavericks 3rd Sun hammerin 570-296-5853 milford

Steel

Silver lake Bounty 3rd Sun marshal t. J. 570-663-3045 montrose

hunters Buckshot

purgatory regulators 3rd wkd dry Gulch 814-827-2120 titusville

Geezer

elstonville hombres 4th Sun trusty Sidekick 610-939-9947 manheim

el posse Grande 4th Sun Black hills Barb 570-538-9163 muncy valley

Stewart’s regulators 4th Sun Sodbuster Burt 724-479-8838 Shelocta

lincoln County lawmen 4th Sun wyoming Blink 401-385-9907 Foster

palmetto posse 1st Sat dun Gamblin 803-422-5587 Columbia

hurricane riders 3rd Sat Saloon keeper 843-361-2277 aynor

Savannah river rangers 3rd Sun Surly dave 803-892-2812 Gaston

Geechee Gunfighters 4th Sat doc kemm 843-737-3501 ridgeville

Greenville Gunfighters 4th Sun Cowboy Junky 864-414-5578 Greenville

Cottonwood Cowboy 2nd Sun dakota 605-520-5212 Clark

association nailbender

Black hills Shootist 3rd Sun hawkbill Smith 605-342-8946 pringle

association

Bald mountain renegades as Sch Cottonwood 605-280-1413 Faulkton

Cooter

Bitter Creek rangers 1st 2nd & John B. “kid” 931-456-4897 Crossville

3rd Sun latham

Greene County regulators 1st Sat mort dooley 423-335-0847 rogersville

wartrace regulators 1st Sat & will reily 615-948-4143 wartrace

3rd Sat

memphis Gunslingers 2nd Sat dooly Sworn 901-351-6195 arlington

orSa Cowboys 2nd Sat hombre Sin 865-257-7747 oak ridge

nombre

tennessee mountain 3rd Sat double Barrel 423-593-3767 Chattanooga

marauders

north west tennessee 3rd Sat Can’t Shoot 731-885-8102 union City

longriders dillion

highland regulators 3rd wkd iron maiden 423-628-2715 winfield

ocoee rangers 4th Sat ocoee red 423-476-5303 Cleveland

Smoky mountain Shootist as Sch Jim mayo 865-300-4666 lenoir City

Society

Smokey mountain Shootist as Sch tennessee 865-986-5054 varies

Society tombstone

texas tumbleweeds 1st Sat Cayenne 806-355-7158 amarillo

texas troublemakers 1st Sat lefty tex larue 903-539-7234 Brownsboro

plum Creek Carriage Cowboy 1st Sat long Juan 512-750-3923 lockhart

Shooting Society

alamo area moderators 1st Sat tombstone mary 210-493-9320 San antonio

South texas pistolaros 1st Sat Cibolo Sam 210-213-7746 San antonio

texas peacemakers 1st Sat deadeye Greg 903-593-8215 tyler

orange County regulators 1st Sat & texas Gator 409-243-3477 orange

3rd Sun

Buck Creek Bandoleros 1st Sat & hoofprint prine 254-897-7328 nemo

3rd wkd

Comanche trail Shootists 1st Sat & dee horne 432-557-6598 midland

5th Sat

el vaqueros 1st Sun tom Burden 254-559-7240 Breckenridge

thunder river renegades 1st wkd two Spurs 936-273-1851 magnolia

Concho valley Shooters 2nd Sat roamin Shields 325-656-1281 San angelo

texas riviera pistoleros 2nd Sat longstar 361-334-1978 George west

Bounty hunters 2nd Sat Cable lockhart 806-299-1192 levelland

travis County regulators 2nd Sat Cherokee Granny 979-561-6202 Smithville

texas tenhorns Shooting 2nd Sat & mustang Sherry 903-815-8162 Greenville

Club last Full wkd

lone Star Frontier Shooting 2nd wkd long range 817-980-7206 Cleburne

Club rick

texican rangers 2nd wkd red Scott 210-316-0199 Fredericksburg

oakwood outlaws 2nd wkd texas alline 903-545-2252 oakwood

Canadian river regulators 2nd, 3rd & adobe walls 806-679-5824 Clarendon

5th Sat Shooter

old Fort parker patriots 3rd wkd Colt Faro 832-472-3278 Groesbeck

Big thicket outlaws 3rd Sat Shynee Graves 409-860-5526 Beaumont

tejas Caballeros 3rd Sat Judge menday 512-964-9955 dripping

Coming Springs

Gruesome Gulch Gang 3rd Sat eli Blue 806-293-2909 plainview

San antonio rough riders 3rd Sat tombstone mary 210-493-9320 San antonio

Cottonwood Creek 3rd Sat pecos Cahill 325-575-5039 Snyder

Cowboys

willow hole Cowboys 3rd Sat & Baba looey 979-571-5614 north Zulch

Sun

texas historical Shootist 3rd Sun Charles 281-342-1210 Columbus

Society Goodnight

trinity valley regulators 3rd Sun Grumpy 972-206-2624 mansfield

Grandpa

red river regulators 3rd Sun el rio rojo ray 903-838-0964 texarkana

Badlands Bar 3 3rd wkd t-Bone dooley 903-272-9283 Clarksville

Butterfield trail regulators 4th Sat texas Slim 325-668-4884 anson

huaco rangers 4th Sat Blueeyed Bear 254-715-0746 China Spring

Green mountain regulators 4th Sat Singin’ Zeke 830-693-4215 marble Falls

purgatory ridge rough 4th Sat armed to the 806-777-6182 Slaton

riders teeth

tejas pistoleros 4th Sat & texas paladin 713-690-5313 eagle lake

Sun

tin Star texans 4th Sat mickey 830-685-3464 Fredericks-

burg

magnolia misfits 4th Sun attoyac kid 281-448-8127 magnolia

Comanche valley vigilantes 4th wkd Billy Bob evans 972-393-2882 Cleburne

three peaks rangers 1st & 3rd Curly Jim 435-590-9873 Cedar City

Sat whiskus

Big hollow Bandits 1st Sat Cinch 435-724-2575 heber

north rim regulators 1st Sat autum rose 435-644-5053 kanab

Copenhagen valley regulators 1st Sat m.t. pockets 801-920-4047 mantua





OH (continued) SD (continued)

OK

TN

TX

OR

PA

RI

UT

SC

SD

Gold Coast Gamblers 1st & 3rd dagger Jack 61 75 537 5857 Gold Coast

Sat

adelaide pistol & Shooting Club 1st Sat & lobo malo 61 08 284 8459 korunye

3rd Sun

Flint hill prospectors 2nd Sat Judge ruger 61 41 838 3299 Glenlogie

westgate marauders 2nd Sun Stampede pete 61 393 695 939 port melbourne

little river raiders 3rd Sun lazy dave 61 40 377 7926 little river

SaSa little river raiders 3rd Sun tiresome 61 25 978 0190 melbourne

Single action Club

Cowboy action Shooters of

australia 3rd wkd i.d. 61 29 975 7983 teralba

Fort Bridger Shooting Club 4th Sun duke york 61 418 632 366 drouin

SaSa Single action Shooting Sat/Sun virgil earp 61 74 695 2050 millmerran

australia

trail Blazers Gun Club 1st Sun ernie Southpaw 64 37 557 654 mill town

Bullet Spittin Sons o’ thunder 2nd Sat Billy deadwood 64 63 564 720 palmerston n.

wairarapa pistol and Shooting 2nd Sun doc hayes 64 63 796 692 Gladstone

Club

Frontier & western Shooting 2nd Sun doc hayes 64 63 796 692 Gladstone

Sports association

tararua rangers 3rd Sun J.e.B. Stuart 64 63 796 436 Carterton

western renegades 4th Sat Black Bart Bolton 64 27 249 6270 wanganui

SASS Pistol New Zealand as Sch tuscon the terrible 64 32 042 089 varies

Sweetwater Gunslingers austria as Sch Fra diabolo 43 664 490 8032 vienna

association of western Shooters as Sch thunderman 42 060 322 2400 prelouc

danish Blackpowder Federation as Sch Slim dane 45 20 655 887 Copenhagen

association of danish western as Sch mrs. Stowaway 45 602 013 65 Greve

Shooters

SaSS Finland as Sch woodbury kane 35 850 517 4659 various

Classic old western Society as Sch woodbury kane 35 850 517 4659 loppi

of Finland

SaSS France Golden triggers 1st Sun Cheyenne little 33 67 570 3678 villefrache

of Freetown Colibris de rouergue

l’arquebuse d’antony 2nd Sun Jeppesen 33 1 4661 1798 antony

SaSS France Greenwood Creek 4th Sat handy hook 33 68 809 1360 Bormes les

mimosas

association mazauguaise de tir as Sch redneck mike 33 494 280 145 mazaugues

SaSS France alba Serena as Sch marshall 09 62 53 83 32 poggio

tir Club tombstone mezzana

AUSTRALIA

DOWN UNDER

International

NEW ZEALAND

CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK

FINLAND

FRANCE

utah territory Gunslingers 1st Sat lefty pete 801-554-9436 Salt lake City

Crow Seeps Cattle 1st. Sat Buffalo Juan 435-528-7432 mayfield

Company

dixie desperados 2nd & 4th the alaskan 435-635-3134 St. George

Sat

rio verde rangers 2nd Sat doc nelson 435-564-8210 Green river

desert historical Shootist 2nd Sat pronghorn pete 801-498-7654 kaysville

Society

hobble Creek wranglers 2nd Sat hobble Creek 801-489-7681 Springville

marshall

Cache valley vaqueros 2nd Sat. logan law 435-787-8131 logan

wasatch Summit regulators 2nd Sun old Fashioned 435-224-2321 park City

utah war 3rd & 5th Jubal o. Sackett 801-944-3444 Sandy

Sat

mesa marauders Gun Club 3rd Sat Copper Queen 435-979-4665 lake powell

diamond mountain 3rd Sat Cinch 435-724-2575 vernal

rustlers

wahsatch desperados 4th Sat highland drifter 801-860-9504 Fruit heights

Castle Gate posse 4th Sat rowdy hand 435-637-8209 price

pungo posse Cowboy action 1st Sat missouri 757-471-3396 waverly

Club marshal

liberty long riders 1st Sun thunder Colt 540-296-0772 Bedford

Cavalier Cowboys 1st Sun kuba kid 804-270-9054 hanover

County

virginia City marshals 1st tues humphrey hook 703-801-3507 Fairfax

Blue ridge regulators 2nd Sun Bad Company 540-886-3374 lexington

k.C.’s Corral 3rd Sat virginia 804-550-2242 mechanics-

rifleman ville

mattaponi Sundowners 3rd Sun & Flatboat Bob 804-785-2575 west point

4th Sat

pepper mill Creek Gang 4th Sun Slip hammer Spiv 540-775-4561 king George

Bend of trail 4th Sun rowe - a - noc 540-890-6375 roanoke

rivanna ranger Company as Sch virginia ranger 434-973-8759 Charlottes-

ville

Stovall Creek regulators as Sch Brizco-Z 434-929-1063 lynchburg

verdant mountain vigilantes 2nd Sun doc mcCoy 802-363-7162 St. Johnsbury

northeast washington 1st wkd Crazy knife al 509-684-8057 Colville

regulators

mica peak marshals 1st & 3rd tensleep kid 509-284-2461 mica

Sat

panhandle regulators 1st & 3rd halfcocked otis 509-991-5842 otis orchards

Sun

renton united Cowboy 1st wkd Jess ducky 425-271-9286 renton

action Shooters

windy plains drifters 2nd & 4th hopalong hoot 509-220-9611 medical lake

Sat

wolverton mountain peace 2nd Sat hellfire 360-513-9081 ariel

keepers

pataha rustlers 2nd Sat pinto annie 509-520-2789 dayton

mima marauders 2nd Sat okie Sawbones 360-705-3601 olympia

Smokey point desperados 2nd Sun mudflat mike 425-335-5176 arlington

Colville Guns and roses 2nd Sun Cheyence Sadie 509-684-3632 Colville

apple valley marshals 3rd Sat Silent Sam 509-884-3875 east

wenatchee

olympic peninsula Strait 3rd Sun doc neeley 360-417-0230 port angeles

Shooters

Black river regulators 4th Sat wil Sackett 360-786-0199 littlerock

Custer renegades 4th Sun Joe Cannuck 360-676-2587 Custer

poulsbo pistoleros 4th Sun Sourdough George 360-830-0100 poulsbo

Beazley Gulch rangers last Sun an e. di 509-787-1782 Quincy

rock river regulators 1st & 3rd Stoney mike 608-868-5167 Beloit

Sat

western wisconsin wild 2nd Sat Sierra Jack 608-792-1494 holmen

Bunch Cassidy

Bristol plains pistoleros 2nd Sun huckleberry 815-675-2566 Bristol

Crystal river Gunslingers 2nd Sun James rosewood 920-722-4105 waupaca

wisconsin old west Shootist, 2nd Sun & Blackjack 715-949-1621 Boyceville

inc 4th Sat martin

liberty prairie regulators 3rd Sat dirty deeds 920-229-5833 ripon

hodag County Cowboys 3rd Sun hodag Bob 715-550-8337 rhinelander

oconomowoc Cattlemen’s 4th Sat marvin the 414-254-5592 Concord

association moyle

dawn Ghost riders 1st Sun Coffee Bean 304-327-9884 hinton

Frontier regulators 2nd Sat Captain tay 304-265-5748 thorton

the railtown rowdys 2nd Sun miss print 304-589-6162 Bluefield

rocky holler regulators 3rd Sun Jessee earp 304-425-2023 princeton

kanawha valley regulators 3rd wkd eddie rebel 304-397-6188 eleanor

Cowboy action Shooting 4th Sun Jackson 540-678-0735 largent

Sports

peacemaker national as Sch Cole mcCulloch 703-789-3346 Gerrardstown

Cheyenne regulators 1st Sat deputy Cuny 307-634-2449 Cheyenne

Colter’s hell Justice 1st Sat yakima red 307-254-2090 various

Committee wSaS

Bessemer vigilance 1st Sun & Smokewagon 307-472-1926 Casper

Committee 3rd Sat Bill

high lonesome drifters 2nd Sat kari lynn 307-587-2946 Cody

Sybille Creek Shooters 2nd Sat wyoming roy 307-322-3515 wheatland

Southfork vigilance 2nd wkd wennoff 507-332-5035 lander

Committee wSaS halfcock

powder river Justice 3rd Sun doc Fehr 307-683-3320 Buffalo

Committee wSaS

Great divide outlaws 4th Sat Slingn lead 307-324-6955 rawlins

donkey Creek Shootists 4th Sun poker Jim 307-660-0221 Gillette

Snake river rowdies as Sch Sheriff J. r. 307-733-4559 Jackson

Quigley





UT (continued) WI (continued)

AUSTRIA

EUROPE

VA

WV

WY

VT

WA

WI

SASS Lebanon - El Rancho as Sch packin Jesse 96 1138 5982 varies

Sporting Club

Quebec mounted Shooting as Sch dirty owl Bert 819-424-7842 Joliette

association

old pards Shooting Society as Sch Charles allan 33 1 4661 1798 versailler

Jeppesen laSalle anthony

Club de tir Beaujolais as Sch woodrow the wild 33 047 838 0374 villefranche

Frenchie sur Saone

old west French Shooters as Sch Curly red ryder 33 3 8582 0203 Caromb

BeraC as Sch delano l. 33 3 8020 3551 premeaux

oakley prissey

Club de tir Brennou as Sch French Bob 33 2 4767 5888 varies

reverend oakley’s Cowboy klan as Sch delano l. 33 3 8020 3551 varies

oakley

les tireurs de l’uzege dimanche lictevoet Jean- 33 04 66 759 529 uzes

Claude

Black rivers last Sun kid of neckwhite 33 3 8526 3029 roanne

Club de tir de Bernay Sat Chriswood 33 2 3245 5900 Bernay

SaSS France yellow rock Sat little Shooting 336 7555 8063 eCot

missie

Societe de tir Bedoin ventoux Sat-Sun Sheriff Ch. 33 490 351 973 Bedoin

Southpaw

tir olympique lyonnais Sun Barth 33 6 1324 6128 lyon

Club de tri de nuits Saint as Sch delano l. 33 38 020 3551 nuits Saint

Georges oakley Georges

Club de tir Sportif de as Sch major John brisset37@ tours

touraine lawson hotmail.fr

CaS/SaSS France as Sch John peacemaker 33 4 4273 9157 varies

Germany territory regulators as Sch westphalian phil 49 29 216 71814 varies

CaS europe Fri hurricane irmi 49 28 23 5807 Bocholt

Cowboy action Shooting last Sat marshal heck 49 345 120 0581 edderitz

Germany

SaSS europe mon niers river kid 49-282-39-8080 wegberg

Jail Bird’s Company mon orlando a Brick 49 21 317 42 30 wegberg

Bond 65

SaSS Germany wed rhine river Joe 49 28 235 807 Spork

westwood rebels as Sch el heckito 362 0460 1739 Galgamacsa

old Gunners Shooting Club as Sch renato anese 33 51 24 5391 toppo di

western Shootist posse travesio

Green hearts regulator 1st Sun marshal Steven 39 338 920 7989 trevi

Gardiner

Fratelli della Costa onlus 3rd Sat oversize 35 05 642 4677 livorno

lassiter Fan Shooting Club 3rd Sun ivan Bandito 39 34 7043 0400 mazzano

maremma Bad land’s riders as Sch alameda Slim alamedaslim@ Siena

owss.it

old west Shooting Society italy as Sch alchimista 39 33 420 68337 varies

Canne roventi last Sun valdez 39 07 1286 1395 Filottrano

honky tonk rebels last Sun kaboom andy 39 33 5737 8551 vigevano

wild west rebels Sun Bill masterson alberto@fronti- malegno-BS

srl.it

SaSS luxembourg as Sch Smiley miles 35 26 2128 0606 varies

SaSS netherlands as Sch lightning anja 31 51 759 2120 leeuwarden

kells County regulators 1st Sat independence 28 93 368 004 varies

Carroll

Black rivers as Sch Charles Quantrill 47 9325 9669 loten

Quantrill raiders Sun Charles Quantrill 47 9325 9669 loten

Schedsmoe County rough riders thurs Jailbird 47 63 994 279 lillestrom

SaSS polish western Shooting as Sch trigger trigger-hawkeye lodz

association hawkeye @hot.pl

union of western Shooters of as Sch hombre des 63 721 6934 humska

Serbia nudos

SaSS Sweden northern as Sch northern S. t 46 72 206 7005 varies

rangers ranger

old west Shooting Society as Sch hondo Janssen 44 271 9947 Zurich

Switzerland

aurora desperados 1st Fri destry 905-551-0703 aurora on

robbers roost hamilton 1st Sat Bear Butte 905-891-8627 ancaster on

South mountain regulators 1st Sat dutch Charlie 902-538-9797 Berwick nS

red mountain renegades 1st Sun preacher Flynn 604-820-1564 mission BC

t. locke

Barrie Gun Club 2nd & 4th northern Crow 705-435-2807 Barrie on

Sat

Beau Bassin range riders 2nd Sat Frenchy Cannuck 506-312-0455 riverview nB

lambton Sportsman’s Club 2nd Sat Clay Creek 519-542-4644 St. Clair on

wentworth Shooting Sports 2nd Sun Stoney Creek 905-664-3217 hamilton on

Club

victoria Frontier Shootists 2nd Sun Black ashley 250-744-4705 victoria BC

valley regulators 3rd Sat kananaskis kid 250-923-6358 Courtenay BC

prairie dog rebels 3rd Sat valley Boy 519-673-5648 london on

valley regulators 3rd Sat & high Country 250-334-3479 Courtenay BC

Sun amigo

otter valley rod & Gun 4th Sun Colt mcCloud 519-685-9439 Strafford- on

ville

robbers roost wild Bunch as Sch legendary 905-393-4299 ancaster on

lawman

islington Sportmen’s Club as Sch hawk Feathers 905-936-2129 Caledon on

Blueridge Sportsmen’s Club as Sch rebel dale 519-599-2558 Clarksburg on

waterloo County revolver as Sch ranger pappy 519-536-9184 kitchener on

association Cooper

mundy’s Bay regulators as Sch indiana 705-534-2814 penetan- on

magnum guishene

nova Scotia Cowboy action as Sch wounded Belly 902-890-2310 truro nS

Shooting Club

palmer’s Gulch Cowboys as Sch Caribou lefty 250-372-0416 heffley BC

Creek

ottawa valley marauders as Sch Button 514-792-0063 ottawa QC

alberta Frontier Shootists as Sch powder paw 403-318-4463 rocky mtn aB

Society house

long harbour lead Slingers tues preacher man 250-537-0083 Salt Spring BC

John island

western Shooters of 3rd Sat richmond p. 27 21 797 5054 Cape town

South africa hobson


SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS MONTHLY SHOOTING SCHEDULE (Cont.)



CANADA (continued)

Club Name Sched. Contact Phone City Club Name Sched. Contact Phone City

FRANCE (continued)

INTERNATIONALCANADA

SOUTH AFRICA

GERMANY

HUNGARY

ITALY

LUXEMBOURG

NETHERLANDS

NORTHERN IRELAND

NORWAY

POLAND

SERBIA

SWITZERLAND

SWEDEN

tombstone Ghost riders 2nd Sun dan nabbit 520-456-0423 tombstonemounted Club

California range riders as Sch old Buckaroo 408-710-1616 varies

revengers of montezuma 1st Sun aneeda huginkiss 970-565-8479 Cortez

Connecticut renegades as Sch Cowboy Cobbler 860-558-7484 Granby

Bay area Bandits 3rd Sat Slow poke’s darlin 813-924-0156 tampa

Border marauders mounted as Sch Bad Buffalo Bob 208-610-8229 eastport

heartland peacemakers as Sch rawhidenlace 765-561-2521 Fountaintown

maine Cowboy mounted Shooters as Sch Cowboy Bill 207-282-2821 Biddeford

Buffalo range riders mounted 3rd Sat icelady 505-263-5619 Founders ranch

island long riders as Sch mecate kid 516-610-8166 Farmingdaleupstate new york Smokin’ Guns as ash renegade roper 518-883-5981 Galway

renegade rangers as Sch ace montana 920-960-1714 ripon

Monthly Mounted USA

AZ

CA

CO

CT

FL

ID

IN

ME

NM

NY

WI

Monthly Mounted International

LEBANON

CANADA

Badger mountain range war 03 - 05 el Gato Gordo 719-683-6713 lake George Co

Stand on the eagle river 03 - 05 Battle mountain 970-390-1369 Gypsum Co

Bandit

ambush on the prairie 03 - 05 ranger mathias 319-234-1550 elk run ia

Fischels heights

SASS Washington State 03 - 05 elder kate 253-946-1438 renton wa

Championship

Westmatch XX

SASS Idaho State 08 - 12 John Bear 208-562-1914 Boise id

Championship

Reckoning at Black’s Creek

Chorro valley Shoot out 09 - 12 Sinful 805-286-1188 San luis Ca

obispo

SASS MIDWEST REGIONAL 09 - 12 deadwood Stan 513-894-3500 middletown oh

Guns of August

mayhem at the mounds 10 - 12 okie Sawbones 360-705-3601 olympia wa

western legends roundup 16 - 18 autum rose 435-644-5053 kanab ut

Shootout at pawnee Station 17 - 19 red Creek dick 303-857-0520 nunn Co

martin

Squinty eye western Shoot 17 - 19 wagonmaster 218-744-4694 virginia mn

First annual Guns of ojo 17 - 19 J. w. Brockey 575-744-4484 elephant nm

Caliente Butte

last Blast of Summer 18 - 18 yankee 781-383-9799 Scituate ma

SASS Maryland State 19 - 19 Cash Caldwell 240-285-7673 thurmont md

Blackpowder Championship

SASS Hawaii State 24 - 26 Bad Burt 808-875-9085 lahaima hi

Championship

Great Pineapple Shoot

Fire in the hills 24 - 26 Captain Cook 715-248-3727 Boyceville wi

SASS Kentucky State 25 - 26 double eagle 423-309-4146 mckee ky

Championship dave

Hooten Holler Round-Up

SASS NORTHWEST 30 - 31 Big Casino 541-389-2342 Bend or

REGIONAL

Championship Labor Day Weekend

SASS Arkansas State 31 - 02 Bulldog 501-337-9368 hot Springs ar

Championship mcGraw

Shoot’n in the Shade

SASS Southeast Territorial 31 - 02 man From 678-428-4240 Covington Ga

Blackpowder Championship little river

Smoke Out at South River

true Grit 31 - 02 dapper dan 309-734-2324 little york il

porter

SASS Michigan State 31 - 02 r. J. law 248-828-0440 port huron mi

Championship –

Wolverine Rangers Range War

SASS Nebraska State 31 - 02 Firewater 308-226-2255 Grand island ne

Championship

Midwest Roundup

Shoot out at high lonesome 31 - 02 two Bit tammy 575-626-9201 roswell nm

labor day underwear Shootout 31 - 02 Jasper wayne 541-884-2611 keno or

Bad Girls and Boys

SASS Virginia State 31 - 02 trapper dan 540-890-5162 roanoke va

Championship

Star City Shootout

third annual Great Basin long 01 - 03 Cascades annie 541-318-8199 Bend or

range Shootout

SASS US Open 04 - 09 mose Spencer 270-349-4392 Sparta il

SASS Maine State 07 - 09 rhino Jacks 207-324-3117 Berwick me

Championship –

Thunder over Beaver Creek

Shootout at Stoney Bottom 07 - 09 Curtice Clay 419-836-8760 Gibsonbong oh

Standoff at Smokey point 07 - 09 mudflat mike 425-335-5176 arlington wa

Coyote valley Cowboys welcome 08 - 08 Bad eye 408-722-0583 morgan hill Ca

the Boy Scouts of america Bobolu

northwest territorial Shootout 08 - 09 white eyes 208-734-8440 Jerome id

third almost an annual Shooter 09 - 09 Sixty-nine 970-339-3650 Briggsdale Co

appreciation Chuckwagon Cent wizard

Feed and Swap

SASS Minnesota State 13 - 15 Bronco kate 507-269-2230 morristown mn

Championship – Gunsmoke

Six Gun Justice 14 - 15 teton County Jr. 208-709-1708 rexburg id

SASS Indiana State 14 - 16 thorny rose 574-893-7214 warsaw in

Championship

Hoosier Ambush

Gateway to the west 14 - 15 Bounty Seeker 314-740-4665 St. louis mo

Shoot out at old magdalena 14 - 15 Slippery Steve 575-835-8664 magdalena nm

SASS New York State 14 - 16 homer Suggs 518-274-8505 Ballston Spa ny

Championship

Heluva Rukus

purgatory rush 14 - 17 dry Gulch Geezer 814-827-2120 titusville pa

tennesse State Blackpowder 14 - 16 Cherokee Sargent 901-674-8220 arlington tn

Championship

a Gunfight in dixie

ambush at indian Creek Xiv 15 - 16 Chuckwagon Sam 724-626-6836 donegal pa

SASS Texas State Wild Bunch 15 - 16 Billy Bob evans 972-393-2882 Cleburne tX

Championship

Wild Bunch on the Brazos

the whoopin’ 15 - 15 Judge menday 512-964-9955 dripping tX

Coming Springs

Cheyenne autumn 15 - 15 eli Blue 806-293-2909 kress tX

SASS Oklahoma State 20 - 23 rock Creek 918-224-4743 Sand ok

Championship rustler Springs

Ruckus in the Nations

adobe walls 21 - 23 Querida 831-635-9147 Gonzales Ca

hell Fire 21 - 23 Slick mcClade 318-278-9071 Quitman la

SASS West Virginia State 21 - 23 last word 304-289-6098 Burlington wv

Championship

Appalachian Showdown

SASS Oregon State Black 22 - 23 whisperin’ 541-318-8199 Bend or

Powder Championship wade

Smoke in the Badlands

do-over Shootout 22 - 23 trusty Sidekick 610-939-9947 manheim pa

rampage 22 - 22 highland drifter 801-860-9504 Fruit heights ut

SASS Maine State Black Powder 23 - 23 ripley 207-876-4928 willimantic me

Championship Willimantic Smoke Scrounger

SASS Outlaw Trail 26 - 30 SaSS office 505-843-1320 Founders nm

ranch

rattlesnake Gulch roundup 28 - 30 ricochet robbie 509-628-0889 Benton City wa

SASS Florida State Wild Bunch 29 - 30 deadwood 352-357-3065 taveres Fl

Revolt at Swampland woody

SASS NORTHEAST 04 - 07 evening Star 240-367-0034 thurmont md

REGIONAL

Mason Dixon Stampede

SASS Nevada State 04 - 07 Charming 702-565-3736 Boulder City nv

Championship – Eldorado

SASS Alabama State 05 - 07 drake robey 256-313-0421 Cavern Cove al

Championship

Ambush At Cavern Cove

high noon at tusco 05 - 07 Split rail 330-364-6185 midvale oh

huntsmans world Senior Games 08 - 12 mokaac kid 435-668-4613 St. George ut

SASS Tennessee State 10 - 12 whiskey hayes 931-684-2709 wartrace tn

Championship

Regulators Reckoning

SASS WESTERN REGIONAL 11 - 14 Five Jacks 760-949-3198 lucerne Ca

Last Stand at Chimney Rock valley

SASS Arkansas State 12 - 13 ozark outlaw 501-362-2963 heber ar

Blackpowder Springs

Mayhem On the Mountain

SASS Arizona State Wild Bunch 12 - 14 pecos Clyde 480-266-1096 tucson aZ

Championship

wild west extravaganza Shootout 12 - 13 penny 775-727-4600 pahrump nv

pepperbox

SASS Wisconsin State 12 - 14 Flyen doc 608-790-3260 holmen wi

Championship koyote

Mississippi Fandango

the Shootout on the Santa Fe 13 - 13 deadly 352-332-6212 Fort white Fl

Sharpshooter

peacefuls end of track at 18 - 21 Grizzly peak 530-676-2997 railroad Flat Ca

high Sierra Jake

SASS Kentucky State Black 19 - 21 Copperhead Joe 606-599-5263 manchester ky

Powder Championship

Smokeout in the Hills

SASS New Jersey State 19 - 21 peacemaker reb 908-359-8794 Jackson nJ

Championship

Purgatory in The Pines

the last hurrah 19 - 21 First Chance 509-667-9377 east wa

wenatchee

SASS Florida State Blackpowder 20 - 20 kid Celero 561-312-9075 okeechobee Fl

Championship

Code of the west end 20 - 20 Johnny Banjo 812-430-6421 evansville in

SASS Kansas State 20 - 21 Buffalo phil 913-898-4911 parker kS

Championship

Border Wars

diamond Four roundup 20 - 21 trail Boss 607-796-0573 Cayuta ny

SASS West Virginia State 20 - 21 eddie rebel 304-397-6188 eleanor wv

Wild Bunch Championship

hanging tree Shootout 21 - 21 X. S. Chance 573-765-5483 St. robert mo

SASS Arizona State 24 - 28 mean rayleen 520-235-0394 tucson aZ

Championship

Bordertown

the Gunfight Behind 25 - 28 Captain Jake 714-318-6948 norco Ca

the Jersey lilly




Match Dates Contact Phone City State Match Dates Contact Phone City State

USA 2012

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER (continued)

SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS ANNUAL MATCHES (Cont.)

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

SASS Missouri State 25 - 28 longshot John 417-461-0033 marshfield mo

Championship

The Show-Me Shootout

Comin thru the rye Gunnin’ 26 - 28 derringer di 205-647-6925 hoover al

Fer a Showdown

Sussex County range war 26 - 28 missouri marshal 757-471-3396 waverly va

Guns of autumn 27 - 27 Bad lands Bob 706-654-0828 Gainesville Ga

SASS SOUTHWEST 01 - 03 honey B. 903-272-9283 english tX

REGIONAL Graceful

Comin’ At Cha

SASS Utah State Wild Bunch 02 - 03 alaskan 435-635-9134 St. George ut

Championship

Dixie Desperados Go Wild

vengeance trail 04 - 04 Shady Brady 352-686-1055 Brooksville Fl

SASS SOUTHEAST 08 - 11 doc kemm 843-737-3501 ridgeville SC

REGIONAL

Gunfight at Givhans Ferry

SASS Southwest Regional 09 - 11 rattlesnake 985-796-9698 amite la

Blackpowder Championship Blake

Hangin’ at Coyote Creek

dulzura duststorm 10 - 10 reuben J. 619-997-2755 dulzura Ca

Cogburn

the Great northfield raid 16 - 18 Gun hawk 818-761-0512 north Ca

twentieth anniversary hollywood

Cowboy Christmas Ball 08 - 08 an e. di 509-787-1782 Quincy wa

yuma territorial prison Breakout 18 - 20 Boston 928-502-1298 yuma aZ

anniebelle

ambush at Butterfield trail 26 - 27 Fast hammer 575-647-3434 las Cruces nm

Butterfield range war law 23 - 23 Fast hammer 575-647-3434 las Cruces nm

enforcement vs Cowboys more

Fun less run

Comancheria days 04 - 07 red Scott 210-316-0199 Fredericks- tX

burg

SASS Texas State 02 - 02 long Juan 512-750-3923 lockhart tX

Championship

Ride with Pancho Villa

danish western aug 25 - 25 Slim dane 45 20 655 887 Copenhagen

Championship

HUNGARY

days of truth aug 08 - 11 el heckito 362 0460 1739 dabas

SASS Central Canadian Jul 20 - 22 northern Crow 705-435-2807 Barrie on

Championship

Battle at the Bar E Ranch

Showdown in the valley Jul 21 - 22 high Country 250-334-3479 Courtenay BC

amigo

Shootout at the double B aug 11 - 12 Frenchy 506-312-0455 riverview nB

ranch Cannuck

headquarters – the pig aug 24 - 26 Grey Fox 250-474-3244 victoria BC

war at Salmonella Gulch

SASS Canadian National aug 30 - 02 kananaskis 250-923-6358 Courtenay BC

Championship kid

Bust-up at Boomtown

wild Bunch rendezvous Sep 14 - 16 legendary 905-393-4299 ancaster on

lawman

robbers roost rendezvous Sep 15 - 15 Bear Butte 905-891-8627 ancaster on

SASS AUSTRALIAN Sep 24 - 30 virgil earp 61 74 695 2050 millmerran

REGIONAL

CHAMPIONSHIP

Chisholm Trail

Gunfight at the ok Corral oct 27 - 28 duke york 61 418 632 366 drouin

SASS European Sep 06 - 08 thunder man 42 060 322 2400 tabor

END of TRAIL

Hell’s Coming With Me

the Fight to way mountain Sep 01 - 01 hurricane irmi 49 28 233 4426 wegberg

texas ranger Cup dec 01 - 02 rhine river Joe 49-2823-3426 wegberg

Shoot-off Championship dec 08 - 09 rhine river Joe 49 2823 3426 wegberg

end of year Shoot-off dec 15 - 15 richmond p. 27 21 797 5054 Cape town

hobson



Go to the Website for more complete listings

Match Dates Contact Phone City State Match Dates Contact Phone City State

SASS AFFILIATED CLUBS ANNUAL MATCHES (Cont.)

USA 2012

OCTOBER (continued)

Annual International Matches

CANADA

CZECH REPUBLIC

DENMARK

GERMANY

AUSTRALIA

SOUTH AFRICA

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY 2013

MARCH 2013

APRIL 2013

MAY 2013

revenge of montezuma 15 - 17 aneeda 970-565-8479 Co

huginkiss

SASS Midwest Regional 10 - 12 rawhidenlace 765-561-2521 middletown oh

Mounted Championship –

Guns of August

SASS New Mexico & Texas 30 - 02 SaSS office 505-843-1320 edgewood nm

State Mounted Championship

Outlaw Trail

Shootout with the Spooks 05 - 07 rawhidenlace 756-561-2521 reelsville in

Fall match 13 - 13 Slow poke’s 813-924-0156 dover Fl

darlin

Mounted Annual Matches

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

http://www.sassnet.com/CacheItandStashIt.php

’m about to undertake anunusual editorial risk bytackling a topic that couldbe either completely obvi-ous or totaling wrong by

the time this column hits the street.As of this writing, 30 May 2012,Romney has won the GOP nomina-tion. Conversely Ron Paul, havingnever won a single primary, sus-pended his active campaigning inremaining primaries and althoughnever having a realistic shot at thenomination “stayed in the race.”What’s his objective? What followsis the course I believe he may becharting … and is pure speculationon my part! In order to attemptthis, I must view the world as hedoes and make clear to you, myreaders, that I’m no hardcore Paulor Romney fan … and certainly nofan of Obama. I’m also certain somewill hold different views on theminor details of Paul’s vision, but fornow let’s not concern ourselves withthe mice in the attic, but concen-trate on the elephants jumping upand down in America’s living room.

For decades, Paul has repeatedlyand consistently expressed concernover how very far America hasstrayed from our Constitution andhow expansive, wasteful, and power-ful our federal government has be-come. He’s boldly described his viewof what the Founders intended, con-trasting that with the role we’ve al-lowed/demanded of our government.In so doing, we’ve stretched Amer-ica’s resources and treasure so thinas to endanger the existence of ourrepublic. We’ve incurred genera-tional debt through unconstitutionalspending that should have nevereven been proposed; we’ve allowedWashington to control our lives inways over which the Founders couldonly weep were they alive. If ourFounders saw the power of today’sgovernment, they’d be asking ushow long their Constitution lasted

before it died, when did America fall,and why didn’t the people revolt longbefore it reached this point? Lovehim or hate him, Paul articulates theFounders constitutional views rela-tively better than most modernpoliticians. Is he naïve in terms ofthe threat posed by a nuclear Iran?I believe so, but that’s just the viewfrom my saddle. For now, let’s con-centrate on the bigger picture con-cerning Paul’s objective, given hishistory, views, and current situation.

Ron Paul is no dummy nor is hepolitically green. He’s seen Wash-ington politics up close for years.He knew he wouldn’t be getting thenomination, but he also knows hehas a significant, very dedicated,and highly enthusiastic voting blockthat could help Romney tremen-dously were they so inclined. Justas importantly, Romney also knowsthis. Considering Paul’s staunchadherence to constitutional princi-ples, were I he I’d use whateverpower and leverage I had to pres-sure American politics toward somesemblance of the course charteredby our Founding Fathers. We mustcut the strangling tentacles of gov-ernment that continue controllingour lives in more ways than wecould have envisioned just a fewgenerations ago. If we fail in this,we will spend ourselves into unsus-tainable/irremediable debt andstretch our resources to the break-ing point worldwide. In short, wecould become modern day Greecedomestically and the ancientRoman Empire internationally—both failed societies due in part toan insatiable desire for largess andan ever expanding reach for world-wide influence that exceeds ourgrasp. A return to that inspiredConstitution and a respect formoral values is the only way we canhope to survive. As John Adamswarned in a 1798 speech, “We haveno government armed with powercapable of contending with humanpassions unbridled by morality andreligion … Our Constitution wasmade only for a moral and religious

people. It is wholly inadequate tothe government of any other.”

What resources does Ron Paulhave that can further those goals—dedicated supporters. It’s those firedup voters in their current numbersthat I’d certainly use to advance myinfluence, power, and objective. I’dseek to string my campaign out aslong as I could, staying highly visibleand publicly involved to the very endgarnering as many delegates and asmuch grassroots support as possible.The bigger the numbers the biggerthe stick he can wield at the conven-tion and beyond. Romney will needevery possible advantage to over-come not only Obama, but the lap-dog media and those willing to go toany lengths, legal or otherwise, toimpose their candidates and statistphilosophy on America. In otherwords, they’ll do whatever it takes toadvance that “fundamental transfor-mation” Obama promised in 2008.I’d ensure that I entered the conven-tion with as much political clout as Icould muster, then use it as leverageto shape the party platform, pushthe GOP as much as possible towardbeing an authentic constitutionalconservative party for a change, andperhaps play an influential role in aRomney administration … if not himspecifically, his son, Rand, heir ap-parent to the struggle. Is this aquixotic quest—probably, but oneworth pursuing.

Now the path Ron Paul shouldnot consider is throwing his supportor taking his candidacy to somethird party. Such a siphoning of con-servative votes would simply helpgive Obama and his statists fourmore years during which they’d beunconstrained by re-election con-cerns. For any disgruntled voterwho is apprehensive about Amer-ica’s future, to either stay home be-cause their preferred candidatedidn’t get the nomination or votethird party in protest is to lend yourhand directly to those whose goal isto “transform” America. It’s just thatclear in 2012. There’s far too muchat stake this time around to open


RonPaul’sobjECTIVE

Colonel Dan, SASS Life #24025

I

By Colonel Dan, SASS Life/Regulator #24025any doors that lead to such a night-mare. I’m so convinced of this that Ifear for America’s survival as we’veknown it if we don’t turn out thoseintent on destroying the system thattook us to heights unmatched by anycivilization in history. Were I Paul,I’d plan on strongly backing Romney,as should every former GOP candi-date, even if I didn’t agree with allhis positions, and I’d encourage mysupporters to do likewise. I knowsome heads will explode at the meremention of backing Romney, but theindisputable fact remains, Romneyis now the ONLY candidate that canrealistically unseat Obama, which iswhat we MUST do for America’ssake. Compared to Barack Obama,Mitt Romney is a pillar of constitu-tional conservatism—“Romneycare”notwithstanding! At the same time,I’d try to leverage my power to en-courage our Founder’s vision becamepart of a Romney presidency … notjust part of convention rhetoric.Aside from holding the Presidencyhimself, it’s the only viable course forPaul or any of us to now consider ifwe’re truly concerned about Amer-ica’s future as a free republic.

I’ve always advocated votingyour conscience regardless of partyand still do. By advocating unifica-tion behind the only nominee thatcan now defeat the dangerousObama, I’m listening to a consciencethat is driven by a deeply held con-cern for my country. Having ex-pressed that apprehension, I remainoptimistic and confident Americanpatriots can and will once again riseup to save our republic. I’m just ascertain the Obama supporters amongus will blast me for this column—sobe it. The inevitable negative emailis both utterly in con sequential andabsolutely irrelevant when weighedagainst my concern for our futureand what I see hanging in the bal-ance. Soldier on boldly my friends;constitutionalists still outnumberstatists by a large margin in Amer-ica—harbor no doubts! Contact Colonel Dan: [email protected] Archives: http://mddall.com/sbss/SBSShome.htm


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