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Volume 5, Issue No. 10                                                                            October, 2007

Colorful Leaves and Characters Punctuate Ocoee Rangers October Shoot

The day started like any other: folks were shootin’ the Buffalo Shoot. Outrider won the .22 cal. competition and the Lever Action Rifle shoot. Sundance McNeyman showed he could handle Long Range Pistol shootin’ by winning that event. And Marshal Too Tall, after goin’ toe to toe with Outrider in a shoot-off, won the Long Range Single Shot Rifle shoot. And while they were busy, folks started driftin’ in to register. Attendance was down because of special event competition at a couple of other area shoots.  Hootin’ Old Town was hosting a 2-day Black Powder State Championship Shoot, and there was some sorta big whing-ding shoot in the Atlanta area. So, lots of cowboys and cowgirls shot elsewhere. All totaled, we had 49 shooters, plus Sundance shootin’ in the Buffalo Shoot: he was moving and had to leave.

L-R: Front – Mesquite Millie, Tellico, Calico Nicole. Middle – Ben Shot, Mr. Pistol, Horseshoe John, Unpleasant, Purly. Back – Tennessee Jake, Squire Shooter Josey Buckhorn, Tenn Smoke, Bad Eye Tom, Sledge.

Festus D. Deputy had a memorable day. We shot black bats / plates off the Texas Star rotating target, leaving white bats / plates in place. That is all of us except Festus left the white plates in place. While the Star was spinning with the white targets in place, Festus grabbed his rifle and began blazing away at the rifle targets – and he managed to hit 1 of the white bats on the Star. That means he missed his rifle target (rats?#!?) – and he also was the only shooter in the entire match who hit 1 of the good, white bats.

Roy Orbison used to sing a song called ONLY THE LONELY.  This lonely bullet mark, the only 1 on any of the white bats / plates in the Texas Star rotating target frame, was put there by good ol’ Festus D. Deputy.  Of course he was shootin’ at something else, namely 1 of the round targets you can see way in the background.

Bad Eye Tom had his granddaughter, Calico Nicole, with him.  She plans to shoot the November match: she’s a real live SASS member. And Tin Pot had his gang with him: son Outlaw Tracker and his grandsons.

LR :Outlaw Tracker, Tin Pot , grandsons

The TOP GUN for the day was S.A. Pondwater The Top 10 Shooters were(1) S.A. Pondwater (2) Marshal Too Tall (3) Unpleasant  (4) Festus D Deputy (5) Ocoee Red (6) Widowmaker (7) Pleasant (8) Mr. Pistol (9) T–Bone Angus (10) Tabasco JOT.  8 cowboys had no miss matches: Widowmaker, Mr. Pistol, Pleasant, Cool Waters, TN Jake, Deadman, Sledge and Josey Buckhorn.

Someone (not Deadman) suggested we try an experiment to see how shooting results among folks shooting Big Guns would look. Big Guns would be folks shooting pistols in.44 cal. with 200 gr. bullets or above and medium loads or above and .45 cal. with 230 gr. bullets or above and medium loads or above. Here’s the top 10 Big Gun Shooters: (1) Limp Along Charlie (2) Horseshoe John (3) Hey Duke (4) Deadman (5) Tellico (6) Bad Eye Tom (7) Makers Mark (8) Tenn Smoke (9) Coffee Joe (10) Tio Don.

Mr. Pistol Draws A Bead With His ’73 Win.

Classic

1. Lightning McCoy

Here are the category winners:

49er

1. Marshal Too Tall

2. Festus D. Deputy

3. Ocoee Red

Silver Senior

1. Mr. Pistol

2. Tabasco JOT

3. Outrider

Modern

1. S.A. Pondwater

Duelist

1. Horseshoe John

2. Ziggy the Kid

3. Awful Close

Gunfighter

1. Widowmaker

2. Pleasant

3. Keystone

Black Powder

1. Coffee Joe

Senior

1. T-Bone Angus

2. Purly

3. Tin Pot

Traditional

1. Unpleasant

2. Slater

3. Yankee Dutchman

B-Western

1. Dusty Camino

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The Ocoee Ranger page 2                                                                      October 2007

The Reel West, The Real West & The West of Our Imagination

Martha Hyer

The Reel West – Martha Hyer

Well, it’s time to look at a movie cowgirl: that means a Hollywood gal who made Western movies.  So, let’s take a gander at Martha Hyer.  And she was worth the view.  Martha was born in Texas, in 1924.  That makes her a legitimate Western gal. During high school she studied drama, and after she matriculated (how’s that for a professor Owlhoot Hardin word?), she hit the trail to Pasadena, CA. She did some summer playhouse stuff. And then she got into the movies. Her dream had come true.

During her career, which lasted from the ‘40’s until she retired in the late ‘60’s, she was in lots of movies.  And while she didn’t become a big name actress, she was very busy. Shucks, she even got an Oscar nomination.  But let’s get to the important stuff. Among the movies she made were some Westerns. Ta-ta.  Some of her first horse operas were with Tim Holt (Too Tall’s saying, “Who?”) and Rocky Lane, and Charles “the Durango Kid” Starrett, and other cowboys.  But she also appeared with the big boys.   She was the gal with John Wayne and Dean Martin in THE SONS OF KATY ELDER. And she was Clint Walker’s wife in THE NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY. I told you she appeared with the big boys: both Wayne and Walker were 6 Ft. 4-6 in. tall, depending on who’s telling the tale. And then she was with Ben Johnson in WILD STALLION, and so on, and so on.

Martha retired in the late ‘60s. She was still busy, but she retired to spend time with her other half.  How ‘bout that? 

The West of Our Imagination – Killin’ Time

How well does she shoot? Killin’ Time won this buckle in 2003. How many Ocoee Rangers have won 1 of these?

Killin’ Time – Lady Duelist

Killin’ Time has been cowgirl shootin’ since Nov. 2001.  As she said, “My gosh, that’s 6 years. Jerry (Rusty Spur Slim) found it on the internet and said that it looked like fun. So, I said, ‘Let’s go. I’ll take pictures.’ After a while, he said, ‘Why don’t you shoot?’ And I said, ‘I might as well. I’m just killin’ time. That’s how I got my alias.

 “I shoot .32 cal. Rugers and a .357 mag. Marlin rifle.  When I first started, I called it a .36 cal. rifle.  That’s how much I knew when I started. That’s how far I’ve come. I used to be afraid of guns. Now, I’m not. I think education = gun control.”

What category does she shoot in? “I shoot Lady Duelist. I started in Traditional, but I started shootin’ Duelist. I like that better.  And I shoot my rifle with my thumb. There are 4 of us who shoot our rifles with our thumbs: Yazoo City Gal, Last Kiss, Dagnabit Deb, and me.”

Who’s her favorite movie cowboy?  “Robert Duval, as Gus McCrea.” That’s the word from a Lady Duelist.

The Real West – Jack McCall (1850 -1877)

Jack McCall – Assassin

Jack (John) McCall was born about 1850 in Jefferson Co., KY, but he drifted west as a young man. In 1876, he showed up in Deadwood, South Dakota. About a month after he arrived, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok arrived in Deadwood. At that time, Deadwood was experiencing a gold rush and an avalanche of thieves, prostitutes, and general land pirates.

McCall did little, except consume great quantities of alcohol. (How ‘bout that phrasing, Owlhoot?) Then on the afternoon of August 2, he wandered into the No. 10 Saloon.  Bill Hickok was playing poker with several other players, and uncharacteristically, he was not sitting with his back to the wall.  Mc Call walked up behind Hickok, pointed a pistol at Hickok’s head and shot him dead, saying, “Take that.” Then he ran out the door and down the street. A short time later, he was apprehended, without incident.

On August 3, a miners’ court was convened, a judge, prosecutor, and defender were elected and a jury was selected. McCall pled not guilty, although as he’d run through the street of Deadwood before he was caught, he’d yelled that he’d shot Wild Bill Hickok. Witnesses testified that they’d seen him shoot Hickok, and the jury listened to all the evidence, and they found him not guilty.  (Their ancestors probably were on OJ’s jury.) So, McCall was released.  He hung around town for a few days. Then 1 of Hickok’s friends showed up and wasn’t pleased with the verdict. McCall quickly left town.

On August 29, McCall was arrested for Hickok’s murder by a Deputy US Marshal in Laramie, WY. Deadwood wasn’t officially a town and wasn’t officially civilian US territory, so the miners’ trial wasn’t legal. McCall was indicted for Hickok’s murder on October 18, in Yankton. He tried to turn states evidence against Deadwood resident John Varnes: McCall said Varnes hired him to kill Hickok.  But Varnes had vanished. On Dec 4, McCall’s trial began. On Dec 6, the jury found him guilty of murder. On January 3, 1877, he was sentenced to hang, and on March 1, he was hung.  His last words, as he fell through the floor of the scaffold were, “Oh god.” Jack McCall was 26 years old.

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The Ocoee Ranger page 3                                                                         October 2007

Ocoee Rangers Annual Christmas Shoot & Family Event – December 15

Double Eagle – Designated Shopper

On Dec. 15, we’ll have our Ocoee Rangers Annual Christmas Shoot & Family Event.  We’ll start the day with an abbreviated shoot (3 stages). Then after we take down and store the targets & stuff, we’ll adjourn to a local restaurant and have a Dutch treat lunch. Then, we’ll award the Annual Spirit of the Game Award and Annual Shooting Awards: Top Gun, and Top 3 places in each Shooting Category, etc.   Then, we’ll award prizes by random drawing. (There won’t be a gift swap this year.)

During this shooting year, we’ve had a collections jar on the registration table at each shoot through September.  And during this year, we’ve collected $681.41 to use to buy prizes to give away in the drawing. A Great Big Thank You to All the Cowboys & Cowgirls Who Contributed. So far, we have 5 packages of 100 rounds of .45 cal. Starline Brass (we bought), and 6 gift certificates with music CD provided by Starline Brass: certificates are good for $50 toward the purchase of Starline Brass. Other than Starline Brass, and maybe a few local sponsors, we will be awarding only prizes that good Ol’ Double Eagle, our designated shopper, will buy to be awarded. To be eligible to win a prize, one must have shot at least 1 match with us in 2007, including the December shoot.

What will Double Eagle purchase with shopping money? Whatever strikes his fancy.  If you have suggestions, tell him. But do it fast, ‘cause he’ll be out shopping early. His email address is doubleeagle3@hotmail.com

This year, the after shoot event should not take nearly as long as it has in the past, and it should be better than ever. So, plan on attending.  And bring your better half or significant other and the youngsters with you to meet your shootin’ pals.

A NEW WESTERN MOVIE IN THE THEATERS

Russell Crowe as Outlaw Ben Wade

Have you seen the new version of 3:10 TO YUMA? If not, it’s worth a look.  Shucks, there aren’t many Westerns made anymore. And when a good one comes along, it’s worth seeing … for 2 reasons (1) ‘cause it’s a Western and (2) so the movie producers will fork up the loot to make more. Granted Russell Crowe doesn’t have the smooth charm that Glenn Ford had in the original flick. But Mesquite Millie thinks he did very well.  And there are a couple of scenarios that if cut you wouldn’t miss at all.  1 involves an Apache ambush and the other Chinese railroad workers: gotta get them politically correct coverages in. But all in all, it’s a pretty good Western. Some of the dialogue was right from the original movie. But every producer and director have to put in their own tid-bits.  So, it’s a little different.

Now before you say, “How can I take Russell Crowe seriously as a Western outlaw?” Remember that in THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, the Sharon Stone version, he was a pretty convincing gunslinger turned preacher turned gunslinger turned Marshal. And he’s been in at least 1 other Western.

What was the single most regretted missing element? It was Frankie Lane’s 3:10 To Yuma ballad from the original movie: not the thing he recorded on a record of his supposed Western movie songs – it had nothing to do with the movie or a Western theme. Give the 3:10 TO YUMA a look. It’s worth the time and cash, if you like Western movies.  If you don’t, shame on you.

WHAT MAKES A COWGIRL SHOOTER?

Deadeye Daisy Sportin’ Her Stylish Cowgirl Hat At The October Shoot

What makes a cowgirl shooter? A pair of pistols? Yep, that goes with the game. How ‘bout a slick as, well, a slick handling rifle? Yep, that helps too.  What about a shotgun that’s easy to break the action and reload without having to wham it over one’s knee? Yep, that sounds very reasonable. But the single most essential ingredient is a spiffy looking cowgirl hat.

Last Kiss & Yazoo City Gal Sportin’ Gunfighter Hats

September 2007 Shoot Results

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Volume 5, Issue No. 9                                            September, 2007

Ocoee Rangers Celebrate Gene Autry’s 100th Birthday

100 years ago this month, Gene Autry, America’s Favorite Singing Cowboy, was hatched. And while he may not now be the icon that John Wayne became, in his day he was bigger than John Wayne. Yep. And he was 1 of America’s top movie stars in popularity for many years.  In September, we honored Gene’s memory by including him in our stage designs. Nope, none of us will give him a run for the money in the singing department, especially not Widowmaker, but in the shootin’ department … well, that’s a different story.

Gene Autry & Champion

Widowmaker on the Range, ready to sing or shoot. He shoots better

We started the day with 69 shooters, but Tinker Chapley’s health has been challenging him since he had a stroke, back in May, and he had to leave after the 2nd stage.  But ole Tinker said he’ll be back next month.  Rawhide Rex had to call it quits after 3 stages.  His scores are shown because he shot more than half the match:  but his misses show that he wasn’t too perky even before he quit shooting. And Horseshoe John couldn’t shoot, although he dropped by for a few minutes.  Horseshoe’s a farrier: that means he shoes horses. A couple of months ago, a dog spooked a horse he was shoeing, and it trampled him – twice.  He ain’t been normal since that time.  Well, he hasn’t been healthy: he wasn’t normal even before the incident. Hopefully all our ailing cowboys will get better and be back with us in October.

L-R: Bourne Sassy, Yazoo City Gal, Killin’ Time and Last Kiss

But the day wasn’t all somber.  Before the shoot, the Ocoee Ranger Gals, Yazoo City Gal, Bourne Sassy, Killin’ Time, and Last Kiss, earned $43 for Double Eagle to use to buy prizes for our Christmas Event. How?  They sold “huggins” and “dippins” and “droppins”. I know what a huggin is, but I don’t have a clue what a dipin is, and “droppin’s” – well, I thought folks stepped around them in the barn yard.  Anyway, these lady shootists contributed to our pot for Christmas event prizes.  So did Sheriff Donald and Deadeye Daisy.  They contributed several leather ammo bags, that ol’ Donald made, to be given to folks who contributed $10 or more to the Christmas Event Prizes fund. And they all went fast. This was the last shoot during which contributions to buy prizes will be taken.  Throughout the year, we raised $681, and $241 of it was raised at the Gene Autry – September Shoot. All the money raised will be used to buy prizes to be awarded by drawing at the Ocoee Rangers Annual Christmas Event after lunch and the awarding of Annual Shooting Awards. More info about that later.

Keystone Times as Tucson Tuco Shoots Steel Cowboys

The day started with the Buffalo Shoot, as usual.  And Tin Pot and Fast Harley had a face-off.  No, they didn’t shoot at each other.  But after 1 shot in the 100 yard pistol competition, they were tied at 1 hit each.  So they each fired a 2nd shot, and both missed. Being game to the bone, they each fired a 3rd shot, and they missed again. So, they solved the problem like gentlemen cowboys: they flipped a coin, and Fast Harley won.

The TOP GUN for the day was Unpleasant. The Top 10 Shooters were(1) Unpleasant (2) Marshal Too Tall (3) Festus D. Deputy (4) Ocoee Red (5) Rusty Spur Slim (6) Widowmaker (7) Cherokee Maddog (8) Tucson Tuco (9) Pleasant (10) Tabasco JOT

3 cowboys shot perfect matches with no misses: Rusty Spur Slim, TN Hoss and Owlhoot Hardin.

(Continued on page 3)

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The Ocoee Ranger page 2                                        September 2007

THE REEL WEST – GENE  AUTRY

(1907 – 1998)

Gene Autry & his horse, the original Champion

Gene Autry would have been 100 years old in September. And while his influence isn’t seen a lot in Cowboy Action Shooting, he was 1 of the pioneers of the popular Western movie.  I know there were silent movie cowboys.  And Tom Mix made the transition easily from silent flicks to sound movies. And neither Gene’s movies nor Tom’s were very realistic. But Gene Autry really put Western movies in the limelight and kept it there for many years. Even in the Great Depression, audiences flocked to see his movies.

Gene was born in Tioga Texas in 1907, but he didn’t learn to ride a horse until he got into the movies. And he didn’t start out to be a Western movie actor. Nope.  He was a telegrapher, who strummed his guitar and sang a bit to entertain himself, when he wasn’t sending and receiving messages. Will Rogers happened by, heard him sing, and suggested that he try his hand as a radio singer.  And Gene did.  And he became a hit. Eventually, he had his own radio show, Melody Ranch. And it stayed on the air until the mid “50’s. But that ain’t all he did.  Not by a long shot.  He wrote songs, and had lots of hit records as a singer, and then he got into the Movies and became America’s Singing Cowboy on the silver screen.

During his career, Gene appeared in 93 feature films and made 635 record recordings, more than 300 of which he wrote or co-wrote. Look at his movies and you’ll notice that they showcased his records that were popular at the time. In effect, he was the first music video person.  Unlike the movies of the other singing cowboys who came after him, his movies had good songs in them, not just music to have music. But his movies also had action, and horses, and shooting, and the public flocked to see them. Back In The Saddle was 1 of his movies, and it introduced the song that became his theme song on his radio program and elsewhere.  Gene recorded 13 versions of that song on his records, and a few years ago, National Public Radio listed Gene’s version of Back In The Saddle as 1 of the 100 most significant songs of all time. (It was written by Ray Whitley for 1 of Gene’s movies, and later modified by Gene for his records.)

In WWII, the big one, Gene volunteered for duty in the Army Air Corps and became 1 of the Flying Sergeants, Non Commissioned Officers who flew airplanes.  Gene flew transports over the hump in the Indo China Theater.  His military experience taught him that when he was released from active duty, he wanted to be able to make a living without having to work himself. He said in 1 interview that the year before he went in the Army he made more than $60,000. And when he was an NCO in the army, he made about $600 a year.

In the 1950’s, Gene saw the potential of TV and jumped in as a producer and an actor.  He produced and appeared in the Gene Autry Show.  He also produced Annie Oakley (Gail Davis), The Range Rider (Jock Mahoney), Buffalo Bill Jr. (Dick West), and The Adventures Of Champion (his horse Champion, 1 of them).

This Statue of Gene Autry and his horse Champion stands in front of the Autry Museum

Gene’s song Silver Haired Daddy was the 1st record that ever went gold. And he had many others. He wrote and recorded Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Peter Cottontail, and they both went platinum.  And he wrote and recorded Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, and it’s still 1 of the most recorded singles of all time. It eventually went double platinum.

Gene became fabulously wealthy as a businessman. He has 5 stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame: (1) radio (2) films (3) live performances (4) TV and (5) records. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Nashville Song Writers’ Hall of Fame, The National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and lots of other stuff. Gene also left his mark on Western history. In 1988, he established the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western Heritage) in Los Angeles. It’s a terrific museum.  If you’re ever in the Los Angeles area, it’s well worth a visit, but plan several hours to see it.

Gene joined the posse in the Sky in 1998. Riding with that crowd, he’s Back in the Saddle Again.

The West of Our Imagination – Yazoo City Gal

Yazoo City Gal has been a cowgirl shooter for about 18 months. She was dating Judge’m All Duncan and went with him to a Cowboy Shoot with the River Bend Rough Riders. “After watching him shoot, I knew I had to shoot. I’ve been shooting ever since then.” She wasn’t a shooter nor familiar with firearms handling before she started shooting with Judge’m All.  But he was a good teacher, and she was a good student. “He reloads, and he helped me pick my guns. I started out shooting Traditional, and then I shot Duelist.  But my goal was to shoot Gunfighter.  That’s what I shoot now.” And she does it well, shootin’ her .32 Cal. pistols.

How’d she get her alias? “I was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi. That makes a great alias.” Yep.  It does.

What does she think about Cowboy Action Shooting?  “I’ve always been competitive. I played softball and went to the nationals in 1976.  I like the competition. But the people come first.  I’ve made a lot of new friends.  And I like dressing up, especially in the winter, more than the summer.” Yazoo’s a good cowgirl.  Just ask anyone in the Outlaw posse.

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The Ocoee Ranger page 3                                             September 2007

SHOOT RESULTS  (Continued from page 1)

TOP GUN – Unpleasant …

BUFFALO SHOOT – Long Range Pistol – Fast Harley … Long Range Single Shot Rifle … Colonel Mortimer … Long Range Lever Action Rifle – Last Kiss

Badlands Beck times Bourne Sassy, shooting Lady Duelist

L-R: Kenesaw & Cactus Red, Modern Range Riders

August Shoot Results – Overall Rank