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Volume 3, Issue No. 7 July, 2005
July was a scorcher, but 73 shooters protected the range
L-R: Rufus T. Sage & Owlhoot in a moment at the loading table. Owlhoot appears ready to take another slug of spring water, ‘cause it was sorta warm on the range. But it was better than rain.
The July shoot was H-O-T, but it didn’t rain. And 73 shooters found shade under the range sheds and blasted them bad guys / targets. We had several 1st time visitors, including a couple of junior shooters, Deadeye Diamond & Stud Muffler. Before the shoot, Cherokee Maddog awarded SASS Range Officer II pins to folks who recently completed the RO II training course. And just after lunch, the sound of raised voices drowned out the gunfire. No, it wasn’t a hold-up or a riot. Posse 2 was singing Happy Birthday to Colonel Allison. The Colonel is getting ready to celebrate his 82nd birthday, and he’s still shootin’ real good. He may be a little slower than some, but he’s an accurate shootin’ cowboy. And he still has patience and self control. He demonstrated that at the shoot. Even though that “singin’” wasn’t real appealing to the ears, he didn’t shoot a single 1 of them warblers.
On 1 stage, a shooter’s choice of firearms, Sundance defended the range with pistols and a shotgun. The shotgun was just in case he had to pick up a miss. Pictured L – R: Hombre Sin Nombre, Ocoee Red, Blayde Hollister & Sundance McNeyman.
Now, down to the shootin’ stuff. The Top Gun of the day was that varmint Pleasant, closely followed by Tabasco JOT and Marshal Too Tall. Roma Jane, once again, was the Top Cowgirl shooter. 10 cowboys shot no-miss matches: Pleasant, Ocoee Red, Tarantula Jack, Ricochet Richard, Moonshine Roberts, Hombre Sin Nombre, Rev. Adam Jones, Fast Harley, Vinegarroon, and Ruckus Roy. Marshal Too Tall won both categories of the Buffalo Shoot, and Festus D. Deputy placed 1st in Tabasco JOT’s pre shoot side match.
SHOOT RESULTS ……….. Top Gun – Pleasant
Buffalo Shoot: .22 cal … Marshal Too Tall Long Range … Marshal Too Tall
Classic
1. Lightning McCoy
2. Fast Harley
3. Gracious Gringo
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Traditional 1. Unpleasant 2. Curly Bill 3. Slater |
Cowgirl 1. Roma Jane 2. Last Kiss 3. Summer Dove |
Modern 1. Polecat Carl 2. Awful Close 3. Moonshine Roberts |
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Senior 1. Tabasco JOT 2. Tarantula Jack 3. Kentucky Cannon |
Gunfighter 1. Pleasant 2. Keystone 3. Widow Maker |
49er 1. Marshal Too Tall 2. Double Eagle 3. Festus D. Deputy |
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Black Powder 1. T-Bone Angus 2. Catoosa Kid |
Duelist 1. Horseshoe John 2. Ricochet Richard 3. Ranger Roger |
Outlaw 1. TN Tombstone 2. Badlands Beck 3. Cactus Red |
The Posse Leaders had a very difficult time selecting Wranglers at the July Shoot. Shucks, almost everyone deserved to be recognized as a Wrangler. An Ocoee Rangers Wrangler, for visitors not familiar with this, is someone who puts forth extra effort in helping his or her posse run efficiently and smoothly and helps do things without having to be told. So, the following folks were selected as July Wranglers: R.I.P. Overland, Hombre Sin Nombre, Cherokee Maddog, Moonshine Roberts, Rufus T. Sage, Judy Carter (score keeper and traveling pardner of the Dirttown Desparado), and Badlands Beck.
A big “Thanks, pardners” to the set-up gang for setting up the range before the shoot, to T-Bone Angus, who wrote the scenarios, and too all the cowboys and cowgirls who helped take down the targets and props and stuff and get them back to the storage shed. Teamwork … it’s the mark of friendly shoots.
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The Ocoee Ranger page 2 July 2005
THE REEL WEST, THE REAL WEST AND THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION
THE REEL WEST – Ann Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson was born in Sweden in 1941. But Sweden didn’t have cowgirls. So when she was 5 years old, she and her family saddled up, came to the US and settled in Illinois. Ann became an American girl, graduated from high school, and attended Northwestern for a year. But while in college, she was “discovered” by George Burns. After being “discovered”, Ann left school and journeyed out to California, where she became Ann Margret, an actress and a celebrity …. a very attractive celebrity.
Ann has appeared in plays, on TV, sang & danced at Las Vegas casinos, and has made more than 45 movies. Some of her movies are Westerns, those that really count. From her success, she’s received a lot of commendations: a Golden Globe award, 4 Emmy nominations, 2 Oscar nominations, and 3 times she was named “Female Star of the Year” by the United Motion Picture Association.
Ann Margret as Dallas in the remake of Stagecoach
But let’s get to the important stuff, her Western movies. Annie appeared in The Villain, with Kirk Douglas and Arnold Schwartznegger. It was a Western movie spoof and was a little like the Road Runner cartoons. She was the gorgeous gal, Kirk was dressed in black and was the villain, Cactus Jack. Arnold was dressed in white and was the hero, Handsome Stranger …… Honest, That was his character’s name. But Ann was also in some traditional Westerns. In 1964 or 65, she appeared in the remake of Stagecoach. She played Dallas, Ringo’s love interest. And she was good. Later, she appeared in The Train Robbers with John Wayne and Ben Johnson. Shucks, that would qualify her as a movie cowgirl, even if that had been the only Western she ever made.
Ann’s still amongst us. The posse in the sky will just have to keep ridin’ without her …. Hopefully, for a long time.
Ranger Roger
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION – Ranger Roger
Ranger Roger, believe it or not, is a real cowboy. It’s true. Originally from southern Missouri, he was raised on a ranch. And for about 12 years, he rode bulls and bareback horses in rodeo competition. He’s also been a bit of a rounder in the southwest, living in Texas, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico. Now, he’s an East Tennessee cowboy. Another way of putin’ it is that he’s finally a green grass cowboy.
Ol’ Ranger Roger has been cowboy shootin’ for 3 ½ – 4 years, and he’s a real cowboy shooter: he shoots .45’s. In his holsters, he packs 2 of the new Ruger Vaqueros, which he shoots Duelist style. When the bad guys are out there a bit, he nails them with his ’92 Winchester, also in .45. And if they charge him, or he charges them, he resorts to his double barrel 12 gauge shotgun.
We’ve considered how a lot of folks got their aliases, but this cowboy did something a little different. He and his buddies at work brainstormed and threw out possible names for consideration. Then, they voted on the names. As you probably guessed, Ranger Roger was the favorite.
In closing, Ranger Roger said that, in addition to cowboy shootin’, his other interest is horse training. He doesn’t try to make a living at it, but he does a lot of it and really enjoys it. …. Did I say that he shoots .45’s?
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Jim Younger – Spiffed up |
THE REAL WEST – JIM YOUNGER 1848 – 1902 Jim Younger was a member of the most famous outlaw gang in history. With his brothers Cole and Bob and pals Jesse and Frank James, he robbed banks and trains and generally lived the life of an old West outlaw. |
Jim Younger – After Northfield Capture |
Born in Missouri in 1848, Jim and Cole fought in the War of Northern Aggression on the Confederate side: some folks call it the Civil War but there wasn’t nothing civil about it. Well, sorta. You see, Jim and Cole fought with William C. Quantrill’s guerrillas. After the war, he spent time with family in Missouri, Texas and California. Then in about 1873, he saddled up with his outlaw brothers and the James boys and rode into history.
All things come to an end eventually, good and bad, and Jim’s luck ran out in 1876. He and the rest of the James – Younger gang rode north from Missouri to a little town called Northfield, Minnesota. They intended to make a real killing by robbing a real lucrative bank. There was a killing, but it was unexpected. The citizens of Northfield shot the gang to pieces. Some died in the street. Others fled. Some died along the way. Jim, Cole and Bob were all badly wounded and were captured. Jesse and Frank managed to get away.
The Youngers were treated for their wounds, tried, convicted for the Northfield incident, and were sentenced to prison. The adjustment to life in prison was difficult for Jim. He’d lost part of his lower jaw from the gunshot wounds he received in Northfield and could never again eat solid food. But in prison, he discovered books, worked at assigned jobs, and became civilized. Shucks, he even struck up a romance with a female writer. In 1901, Jim and Cole were paroled after serving 25 years: Bob had died in prison. Once outside the bars, Jim couldn’t adjust to the outside world. He couldn’t marry his gal, because it wasn’t legal for a parolee to wed. He couldn’t hold a job. Eventually, Jim, who had lived the life of a gunman, died from a gunshot wound …. a self inflected gunshot wound. Jim committed suicide on October 19, 1902.
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The Ocoee Ranger page 3 July 2005
SEASONAL TWINS SHOOT AT JULY MATCH
L – R: Deadeye Diamond & Stud Muffler
Deadeye Diamond and Stud Muffler shot their 1st Ocoee Ranger shoot in July. No, it wasn’t their 1st cowboy shoot. Deadeye has been shootin’ about 2 years and ol’ Stud has been shootin’ about a year & a half. They looked plum spiffy in their cowboy & cowgirl attire. And they told this word scratcher that they’re “Seasonal Twins”. But not being too smart, he didn’t know what that meant, ‘til they told him. It means that they were born in the same month, just a few days less than 1 year apart. So for a few days each year, Deadeye and ol’ Stud are the same age. At present, she’s 16 years old and he’s 15. How do they feel about cowboy shootin’? This picture probably tells the tale. She has a big smile, that probably means that she really likes dressing up and playing the game. He has a little almost smile. That probably means that he’s the strong, silent type of Western feller, and he ain’t displaying his emotions to just any critter with a camera. In any event, these young folks are welcome anytime at an Ocoee Rangers’ shoot. And speaking of shootin’ both did very well shootin’ lead down range.
THANKS TO
PIGEON MOUNTAIN INDUSTRIES, INC. — PMI
Hey cowboys & cowgirls! When you were shootin’ the knock down shotgun targets, did you wonder where the reset ropes came from. Of course not. You were concentrating on hittin’ the targets when you shot at them. Well, the friendly folks at Pigeon Mountain Industries, Inc. donated the ropes as their way of helping us conduct our shoots. To show them our appreciation, whenever you need rope, for your various activities, remember these friendly folks who have helped us and help them with your purchases. Their email address is info@pmirope.com and their phone numbers are 800-282-7673 or 706-764-1437. Pigeon Mountain Industries, Inc. can also be reached ad P.O. Box 803, LaFayette, GA 30728.
SCORE KEEPERS — THEY RECORD THE SHOOT RESULTS & SOME DON’T EVEN SHOOT
Mrs. Tucson Tuco kept score for Posse 3, lead by Tucson Tuco, at the July Shoot. In the background is Mesquite Millie, the scorekeeper for Posse 2, lead by Horseshoe John. Blayde Hollister appears to be trying to get a better score, but hard-nosed Millie ain’t havin’ no outside influence.
Linda Carter, traveling pardner of the Dirttown Desparado, kept score for Posse 4.
Have you ever kept score at a match? If yes, you know that it’s an important administrative job. Without scorekeepers, there are no results, because there would be no times and misses and stuff to use to calculate the standings. Good score keepers are not only accurate in writing down the results, but they write clearly so Mesquite Millie can read it when she does all the ‘rithmetic so it can be fed into a computer to calculate all the standings. Some of the scorekeepers don’t shoot: they accompany shooters and then help their posses conduct the match. Here are some of the scorekeepers who helped conduct the July Shoot.
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