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Volume 3, Issue No. 5 May, 2005
Mule camp & rabbit ridge shoots, threatening rain & Long weekend – only 43 shooters!
Well, there were only 43 shooters at the May Ocoee Ranger shoot. But that wasn’t surprising. There was a lot of competition for people’s attention. Several cowboys and cowgirls went to the Shoot Out at Mule Camp, south of Atlanta. And Pleasant and his young’uns, Pyro & Unpleasant, went to shoot at Rabbit Ridge in Mississippi. T-Bone and others used the long weekend for trips, and it was raining before and up to shoot time. Then the Rev. Adam Jones arrived, used his influence, and it stopped raining and the sun came out. The sun and temperature cooperated and it was a very pleasant day.
Cactus Red (L) & Rawhide Rex (R) Shot in the “Outlaw” Class
Whiskey River Nelson had a great day. He finished as the Top Gun, shooting a no-miss match in the process. Roma Jane took the honors as the Top Cowgirl shooter. In addition to Whiskey River, Horseshoe John and Limp Along Charlie also shot no-miss matches. Then, rugged Cactus Red challenged the shy and ever quiet Rawhide Rex to a shoot-out in the “Outlaw” category. (See page 4 for information about the “Outlaw” class.) When all the smoke cleared away, Rawhide Rex won.
There were a few interesting tid-bits that occurred. On stage 5, the shooter had to shoot through an open drum at 2 metal cowboys. Dead Beat stepped up, aimed his pistol, fired his 1st black powder round, filled the barrel with smoke, and couldn’t see a thing. He guessed where the targets were after that. And 1 posse leader had to tour the range searching for his timer. Couldn’t find that critter anywhere. It was plumb embarrassing. Then someone rescued him. The timer was clipped to his belt … in front of him. I promised Tucson Tuco that I wouldn’t reveal his name, but Marshal Too Tall laughed and said that he didn’t make no such promise.
There was a lot of help running posses at this shoot. Keystone said that everyone in his posse worked so much that he couldn’t pick a Wrangler: they were all equally deserving. Others named as Ocoee Ranger Wranglers were as follows: Grey Rider, R.I.P. Overland, Cactus Red and Ben Shot. Dee Harrod, John Daniel’s daughter, was named an Honorary Wrangler. While not dressed Western, she did an outstanding job wrangling brass and helping her dad’s posse function.
SHOOT RESULTS ……….. Buffalo Shoot: .22 cal … Marshal Too Tall Long Range … Yukon Hootch
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Traditional 1. Whiskey River Nelson 2. Slater 3. Tarheel |
Cowgirl 1. Roma Jane |
Modern 1. Limp Along Charlie 2. Awful Close |
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Senior 1. Linc 2. Tin Pot 3. Rev Adam Jones |
Gunfighter 1. Keystone 2. R.I.P. Overland |
49er 1. Marshal Too Tall 2. Ocoee Red 3. Festus D. Deputy |
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Black Powder 1. Catoosa Kid 2. Dead Foot |
Duelist 1. Horseshoe John 2. Owlhoot Hardin 3. Purly |
Classic 1. Fast Harley Outlaw 1. Rawhide Rex |
Out on the Range – Both Ends Of The Gun
Left: Targets Shot Through the Drum. Dead Beat’s favorite Stage. Right: Keystone shooting, Gunfighter style.
NEXT OCOEE RANGER SHOOT – 25 June
The Buffalo Shoot begins 8:00 am. Registration 8:30 am – Tabasco JOT’s Side Match 8:30 am – Posse Leader walk-through 9:15 am – Safety meeting 9:45 am – Shooting follows ! All times are Eastern Time.
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The Ocoee Ranger Page 2 May 2005
THE REEL WEST, THE REAL WEST & THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION
THE REEL WEST – Slim Pickens
His mom named him Louis Bert Lindley, Jr. But he lived it down. During his lifetime, he was a cowboy and an actor, usually a cowboy actor. He made lots of movies, and most of them were Westerns.
Born in Kingsbury, California, Louis learned to ride when he was 4. And when he was 12, he quit school to go rodeoing. Folks told him that rodeoing would be “slim pickings”, and he remembered that. Later, when he selected his professional name, he became Slim Pickens. Eventually, ol’ Slim became 1 of the best rodeo clowns in the business. Now for you uninitiated folks, rodeo clowns are also called bullfighters. That’s because they put themselves in front of bulls to draw their attention away from riders on the ground. It takes nerve to be a rodeo clown / bullfighter. And skill to be a live, walkin’ around rodeo clown/bull fighter.
Slim Pickens
But what the heck, we know Slim as a Western movie cowboy. Sometimes he was a villain, and sometimes he was a comic villain, like in BLAZING SADDLES. Sometimes he was a comic character, like when he played Buck, the stage driver in the Ann Margaret & Alex Cord remake of STAGECOACH. But he played some straight parts too. In Sam Peckinpah‘s PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, he played an aging lawman that was killed by the Kid (Kris Kristofferson). He handled that part very well. But shucks, he handled them all well. Slim had the look and the voice to make you like him or hate him, depending upon the role he was playing. Slim joined the cowboy posse in the sky in 1983. He was 64.
Did you know that Slim’s brother was also a cowboy actor? He was known as Easy Pickens. Sounds a little like Pleasant and Unpleasant, doesn’t it?
Hombre Sin Nombre
THE WEST Of OUR IMAGINATION – Hombre Sin Nombre
Hombre Sin Nombre has been cowboy shooting “for a little longer than 2 ½ years, but less than 3 years.” That’s also how long he’s been shooting.
If you’ve shot with, or talked with, Hombre, you’ve probably concluded that he ain’t a typical Tennessee Hillbilly or Georgia Cracker. And you’d be right. As a little tadpole, he grew up in South Africa. Then in 1968, he came to the US to attend graduate school and work at Iowa State. But he saw the light and moved on. For the last 27 years, he’s been part of the University of Tennessee organization in Knoxville.
How did a feller from South Africa get interested in cowboy shooting? Here’s how Hombre tells it. “As a boy, I read a lot of Zane Grey books. And I saw a lot of cowboy movies, Tom Mix and a lot of others. Then a few years ago, I was at a bookstore, and I bought GUNS OF THE OLD WEST and read it. That got me interested in guns, so, I went out and bought a revolver.”
Who’s his favorite Western movie actor? Hombre says that he was a John Wayne fan, and then Clint Eastwood came along. How well does he like Eastwood’s Westerns? Well, Hombre Sin Nombre, his alias, means Man With No Name. For you forgetful cowfolks, that’s the character Eastwood played in his 3 classic spaghetti Westerns.
Oh yeah, Hombre shoots .38’s and 45’s. But he says that he plans to return to shooting .45’s. He recently bought a pair of real, live Colt revolvers … .45’s of course.
THE REAL WEST– Thomas E. Ketchum 1863 – 1901
“Black Jack” Ketchum – His Final Performance
Tom Ketchum was born in San Saba County, Texas, the youngest of 8 kids, in 1863. His father died when he was 5 years old, and 5 years later, his mother died. Like many young fellers in the west, Tom drifted away and worked as a cowboy on ranches in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. But that ain’t what he’s known for, and most folks wouldn’t recognize the name Tom Ketchum. But like SASS cowboys & cowgirls of today, he had an alias that folks remember: “Black Jack” Ketchum. And that Ketchum didn’t make his living shooing cows. Nope. He was a sure ‘nough outlaw.
Tom and his compadres robbed stores, and trains, and shot fellers, and rode off with lots of money. In their business enterprise, they occasionally had to deal with posses, and many of the posse members concluded their careers in shoot outs when they “caught” the “Black Jack” Ketchum gang. But most outlaws didn’t last long, and Tom’s compadres were either shot or drifted away. So in August 1899, Tom attempted to rob a train single-handed. He got it stopped. But he had a shoot out with the conductor. Tom was armed with a pistol and the conductor had a double barrel shotgun. Tom lost … the shoot out and one of his arms. It was shot so bad that when he was captured the following day and taken to a hospital, the arm had to be amputated.
Losing an arm would be tough. But that ain’t all he lost. Tom was tried and convicted for “felonious assault upon a railway train” and was sentenced to hang. Well, Tom’s luck had been running pretty bad … and it didn’t get any better. The folks in Clayton, NM had never hung anyone before and didn’t know much about rigging a gallows. When Tom dropped through the trap door, the rope wasn’t adjusted right, and his head was amputated. A doctor pronounced him dead, sewed his head back on, and they carted him up to boot hill and buried him. So ended Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum. Sorta. In the 1930’s, Clayton built a new cemetery, and they moved ol’ Tom into the new doings. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep a good or a bad man down.
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The Ocoee Ranger, Page 3 May 2005
SASS END OF TRAIL SHOOT & EVENT 2005 … By Double Eagle
Double Eagle
End of Trail … or was it just the beginning?
I knew someday I wanted to go to End of Trail (EOT), so I could say, “Been there, done that.” Was I ever surprised? It all started when some pards at Hooten Old Town called and said they were going to EOT and asked if I wanted to go. I didn’t even think about it. I said, “Yep!” I told myself things like, I can’t shoot with the big boys, and this is going to be so disorganized because it’s the first EOT at Founders Ranch. I was right. I can’t shoot with the big boys, and it was their first EOT. But it was well organized.
I was surprised see all the motor homes and the tent city. I even found Sunshine Billy’s home away from home. This is already a 1st class shooting facility, and it will only get better.
Outlaw Annie, many times World Champion Lady Mounted Shooter, and Buck Taylor, western movie actor, cowboy shooter & artist. Photo by Double Eagle
We went out for the practice day and visited vendors. I should’ve listened to Deadman and left my wallet at home. There were all kinds of vendors. I got to dry fire the new Ruger, spent a lot of time with Colt and their pistols, played with Cimarron and Stoeger. I even found a Marlin I liked. I came home with only 3 more guns than I left with. Enough of the guns. Then I saw vendors with hand made custom knives. Yeah, I had to have one of them too. Then I saw a hat that had my name on it. Of course it was the 3rd or 4th hat vendor before I saw it. Did I resist or what? Then I had to get some new pants and shirts. I restrained and didn’t buy any boots. Instead, I got some moccasins that feel great on my feet. The wind was whipping so hard that I had to either get my pards to hold the hat on my head or get some stampede strings. They suggested I get the strings. Then there was everything leather. Lots of holsters and shotgun belts, but I’ve got Curly Bill leather. So I’m good to go. I would’ve got a saddle, but then I would’ve needed to get a horse. So, I just got a leather-covered canteen. Custom earplugs, everyone’s got to have a pair of those. I better quit telling on myself.
Oh, did I tell you I went to a cowboy shoot? I was in posse 27 with Hipshot and Blue Eyes. I found out Hipshot and I have something in common: both our SASS numbers end with a 7. His SASS number is 7 and mine is 47,357. He and his wife are just two of the wonderful people I met. The shooting was fun. There was movement (limited movement T-Bone) on every stage. Targets were big, just not big enough for me. I still don’t see how I missed those targets. We shot 4 stages a day for 3 days. I didn’t get to set up a single stage. Horseshoe would still be adjusting the targets if I had set up 12 stages. The shooting was fun, but it was 3rd or 4th on the list of the best things at EOT.
I met so many wonderful people. They thought I talked funny, until they met the folks from down under. Now they talk funny. You had plenty of time, with how the posses were staggered, to talk with some of the top shooters in the country. I got to meet Evil Roy, Holy Terror, China Camp, Handle Bar Doc, Lassiter and so many people who like myself were just wandering around in awe. I know those folks are all talking about getting to meet Double Eagle. I know I’ve been beat by the best, but it came down to the wire. I was only 2,948 rank points away from being the World Champion. I can’t think as fast as Badlands Bud shoots. Just wait until he gets his license. Then he’ll be able to drive to a shoot or the practice range. I bet he gets better.
Oh, did I tell you there was constant western entertainment, shootouts (with blanks) and food? Be careful of those chuck wagon cooks, enough spices in the pot and you have no idea what you are eating.
The cowgirls and cowboys get the top billing for the best thing at EOT. At our hotel, no one shut their room door until they were ready to go to bed. A couple shooters from Texas put signs on all the doors with our alias and the State we were from.
There were lots and lots of and different types of vendors. The food and the entertainment were very good. The shoot was well organized and fun. If you want to go to EOT, go to EOT. I don’t think with the 800 plus shooters there that you’ll finish last. Just make sure not to drop a loaded gun on the first stage, or you could prove me wrong. It was a wonderful experience. The only thing I’ll do different next time is stay longer to have time to see and do more. Oh, I would use new brass next time. I could’ve been in the top 25% instead of 30% had it not been for a split case (maybe). My pards from Kentucky are already starting to talk about going back next year. I’ll go back, and it won’t be long.
Keep the lead going down range.
(Dead Beat shot at End of Trail and in the New Mexico State Shoot, just before EOT. Sunshine Billy placed 5th in the EOT B-Western category, becoming a Buckle winner. Cherokee Maddog was also at EOT. He worked as a Waddie, helping conduct the event.)
RANGE OFFICER II TRAINING CLASS – MAY 15
On May 15, Cherokee Maddog, assisted by Pleasant and Dusty Diamond Justice, a Bittercreek Ranger cowboy, conducted an ROII training course at the Cleveland Range. Attending were the following cowboys: Linc, Fiddleback, Sundance McNeyman, Polecat Carl, Tabasco JOT, Bittercreek Jack, Wildcat Wilkey, Moonshine Roberts, Festus D. Deputy, Owlhoot Hardin, John Daniel, Tucson Tuco, and Sunset Evans.
OCOEE RANGERS CONTACTS
Ocoee Red … (423) 476-5303 ocoeered@charter.net Pleasant .. (423) 476-6865 pleasant2@charter.net Horseshoe John .. (706) 866-5372 Tri .. (423) 479-4450 adkissonjc@yahoo.com Sundance .. (423) 479-8465 jneyman8465@charter.net Deadman & Mesquite Millie .. (770) 889-0934 jedalton@mindspring.com
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