Dec. Shoot Held January 2nd – Annual Awards Presented Afterwards

We knew it was going to be a great day. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out. And looking toward Range 5, a multi-colored hot air balloon was suspended in the sky, drifting toward us in the direction of the Buffalo Shoot bay. As the colorful balloon passed overhead, a few cowboys waved at the pilot. He waved back. Then we heard his burner come on, and the balloon gained altitude. Consider this. We had lots of hot air on the range: a hot air balloon on 1 end, and Too Tall down at the Buffalo Shoot on the other end. Wow.

Only 38 shooters participated in what was technically our Dec. 2015 shoot. The little cowgirls below were 2 of the 38 participants. They both have smiles as radiant as the sun, which you can see behind them.

The December shoot is always a “Play Shoot.” That means that results don’t count in annual competition, which means that shooters can shoot in categories and ways that they usually don’t. We also had sort of a preview a little like Maverick shooting will provide beginning with the Jan. 23rd shoot. The extra targets for pistol shooting were a little farther away than they will be when Maverick shooting begins. A least 3 shooters shot Maverick – Kinda and 1 shot Maverick Duelist – Kinda.

Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving. Take a look at the photo above, and what do you see? Yep. LuLu McGoo is shooting her pistol. But does Barkeep Casey have his hand where it shouldn’t be? Nope. If you look close, he’s holding a timer. Also, Barkeep is smart. He knows that LuLu is a top Lady 49er shooter, and he knows her pistol is loaded. He also knows that Happy Pappy is standing behind him. But the most important thing is he’s too gallant to do anything not befitting an Ocoee Ranger.

When the smoke cleared, Double Nickle was the Top Gun and LuLu McGoo was the Top Lady Shooter. Here’s how the Top 10 Shooters lined up: (1) Double Nickle (2) Barkeep Casey (3) Hurricane Charly (4) Purly (5) Ocoee Red (6) Happy Pappy (7) Kid Ziggy (8) Keystone (9) Jackalope and (10) Pleasant.

Shoot Results

Lady Buckaroo: (1) Half Cocked Kaylee (2) Long Shot Layla        

Cowboy: (1) Hurricane Charly  …..   Wrangler: (1) Barkeep Casey (2) Purly

49er: (1) Double Nickle (2) Happy Pappy   …….   Lady 49er: (1) LuLu McGoo (2) Miss Kitty Kat

Senior: (1) Ocoee Red (2) Dirtwater Fox    ……   Lady Silver Senior: (1) Two Step Net

Elder Statesman: (1) Tin Pot (2) Lightning McCoy   ……   Cattle Baron: (1) Tabasco JOT

B-Western: (1) T-Bone Angus   ……   Maverick-Kinda: (1) Deadman (2) Limp Along Charlie (3) Sundance

Duelist: (1) Cullen Bohannon (2) Smokin’ Dave     …..     Senior Duelist: (1) Pop Dawson (2) Sudden Sam

Elder Statesman Duelist: (1) Horseshoe John (2) Shenandoah Will    ……    Frontier Cartridge Duelist: (1) El Paso Slim

Maverick Duelist – Kinda: (1) Ranger Roger

Gunfighter: (1) Pleasant (2) Tombstone    …..    Lady Gunfighter: (1) the Duchess

Senior Gunfighter: (1) Kid Ziggy (2) Keystone (3) Yankee Dutchman   …..   Front. Cart. Gunfighter: (1) Jackalope (2) Long Gulch

Outlaw: (1) Marshal Too Tall (2) Mongo (3) Fast Harley

Principal Awards Winners for 2015 Performance

Our most prestigious award is the ANNUAL SPIRIT OF THE GAME AWARD. Some past winners have been Last Kiss, Horseshoe John, Ocoee Red, and others. Double Eagle was responsible for leading the selection of the 2015 person to receive the award, and he did a bang-up job in selecting Purly. Purly was the Match Director for both the 2014 and 2015 Annual Leadmine Valley Shoot-Out! matches. He’s also a good ambassador for the Ocoee Rangers and for Cowboy & Cowgirl Shooting where ever he appears. He’s usually dressed pretty colorfully also.

Our Top Shooting Awards are the TOP GUN and TOP LADY SHOOTER awards. Hurricane Charly won the TOP GUN Annual Award. Hurricane said that he’d worked hard to win it because he wanted to be the best. Well, in 2015, he was. Dodge City Dixie was the TOP LADY SHOOTER for 2015. She concentrates as intently when she shoots as Hurricane Charly does. Both shoot from crouched positions, low to the ground, and both have full concentration on the targets and the guns in their hands. Watch them shoot, and you’ll see the similarity in form. Unfortunately, Dodge City Dixie could not be with us to accept her Award.

                                         For Those Interested, Maverick Shooting Begins At The Jan 23rd Shoot   …  For Those Not Interested, You Can Shoot As Usual

Maverick Pistol Targets …. 10 yards (30 feet) from the shooting line … unless the Texas Star, knockdown, or similar targets are set for regular shooters

 Maverick Rifle Targets …. 18 or 20 yards (54 feet or 60 feet) from the shooting line, if there’s that much space on the range ….. unless the Texas Star, knockdown, Flying Circle, or similar targets are set for regular shooters

 Shotgun Targets … Everyone shoots the same

 Maverick Shooting Is Not Shooting Very Small Targets At Long Distances

 Maverick Shooting Is Shooting Significant Sized Targets Farther than 3 or 4 yards (9 or 12 feet) with pistols and at least 18 yards (54 feet) with rifles, if there’s that much distance on the range bay

 Maverick Shooting won’t interest everyone, probably not even most shooters. But nobody will lose anything with the addition. Hopefully, everybody will be able to shoot in the way that rings his or her bell.

 Ocoee Rangers Information: Ocoee Red at 423-476-5303 or ocoeered@hotmail.com

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