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Volume 4, Issue No. 4 April 2006
BLUE SKIES AFTER THE RAIN, AND 57 SHOOTERS HAD A GREAT DAY SHOOTIN’
It started wet. And when the Rev. Adam Jones arrived, someone said, “You’re fallin’ down on the job. You’re in charge of weather.” Then the Rev. smiled and said, “I am, and it’ll be sunny by 10:00 or 10:30.” And it was. It was a beautiful day, and to emphasize the colors of spring, Emerald Isle was decked out in a nifty red bonnet, with flowers and feathers, but she was still wearing her trademark, a green tie.
During the pre-shoot meeting and presentation of certificates, Fiddleback made an announcement: he and Donsie Darlin’ are going to be married in November. That’s plum nifty.
Donsie Darlin’ (L) & Fiddleback (R) to be married in November
Loose Cinch observes Emerald Isle unload.
14 shooters shot no-miss matches: Marshal Too Tall, Pleasant, Festus D. Deputy, Tarantula Jack, Moab Mangus, Horseshoe John, Wildcat Wilkey, Sundance McNeyman, Grey Rider, Owlhoot Hardin, Tar Heel, Deadman and Tennessee Jake. Last Kiss shot as a Gunfighter and was the top cowgirl shooter. And Deadfoot showed what a classy cowboy he is. On his 2nd stage, 1 of his pistols fell from its holster, and he received a match DQ. But he stayed with his posse and worked to help his pardners shoot the rest of the match, demonstrating “the Spirit of the Game.”
Marshal Too Tall was the Top Gun of the day, finishing 1st in 4 of the 5 stages shot. And T-Bone Angus put together 5 fun stages to shoot. Once again, Owlhoot Hardin placed 1st in the Duelist category and shot a clean match while doing it. In all, 57 cowgirl and cowboy shooters participated in the April shoot. The Top 10 Shooters were: (1) Marshal Too Tall, (2) Ocoee Red (3) Double Eagle (4) Unpleasant (5) Pleasant (6) Festus D. Deputy (7) Polecat Carl (8) Fiddleback (9) Tarantula Jack and (10) Widowmaker.
The Catoosa Kid and his Bisley Ruger smoke up the range shootin’
steel cowboys.
SHOOT RESULTS:
§ Top Gun – Marshal Too Tall
§ Buffalo Shoot: .22 cal – Outrider
§ Buffalo Shoot Long Range Lever Action & Long Range Single Shot – Marshal Too Tall § Long Range Pistol – Sundance McNeyman
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Traditional 1. Unpleasant 2. Fiddleback 3. Slater |
Cowgirl 1. Last Kiss 2. Dagnabit Deb |
Senior 1. Tarantula Jack 2. Outrider 3. Tin Pot |
|
Black Powder 1. Barn Scoop 2. Catoosa Kid 3. T-Bone Angus |
Gunfighter 1. Pleasant 2. Widowmaker 3. Pyro |
49er 1. Marshal Too Tall 2. Ocoee Red 3. Double Eagle |
|
Duelist 1. Owlhoot Hardin 2. Horseshoe John 3. Bittercreek Jack |
Modern 1. Polecat Carl 2. Sundance McNeyman |
Outlaw 1. TN. Tombstone 2. Curly Bill 3. Cactus Red |
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The Ocoee Ranger page 2 April 2006
The Reel West, The Real West and the West of Our Imagination
THE REEL WEST – Ray Whitley 1901 – 1979
Ray Whitley
Ray Whitley. Have you ever heard that name? Probably not, but Ray made a lasting impact on the Western movie business, in country western music, and in the musical instrument business. That ain’t bad for a boy born in Atlanta, GA and raised on a farm in Alabama. After Ray left the farm, he worked at various jobs, served in the Navy, did other jobs, and then picked up a guitar and became a professional singer and songwriter. Eventually, Ray went to California and played Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick in Hopalong Cassidy Returns. During his movie career, he would play supporting parts, usually singing, after all this was the singing cowboy era. He made movies with Bill “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd, George O’Brien, Tim Holt, Rod Cameron and others and, with his cowboy band, he made 18 musical shorts for RKO. He was even in a Big Budget Film once: he played the ranch manager in Giant, the Liz Taylor – James Dean film.
As a songwriter, Ray wrote a lot of songs that he recorded and songs that became successes for other singers. Good Bye Old Paint is 1 of Ray’s songs. Probably his best-known song is Back In The Saddle Again. He wrote the original song real quick. At 5:00 am one morning, the studio he was working for called and told him they needed a western song for the movie he was in, Border G-Men. So, he sat on the side of the bed and wrote “Back In The Saddle Again”, then sang it in the movie. Gene Autry heard the song, liked it, and contacted Ray. Gene made a few changes in the song, used it in 2 of his movies, and it became his theme song for the remainder of his career. In 2004, National Public Radio put together a list of the 100 most important songs of all time. Ray and Gene’s version of Back In The Saddle Again was in that 100-song group.
Oh yeah, 1 other little tidbit. Ray designed the SJ-200 guitar series for the Gibson Guitar Co., and that model became the standard instrument for many years for country western performers.
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION – the CATOOSA KID
The Catoosa Kid
The Catoosa Kid is one of our core-group of shooters who began cowboy shooting at Guns & Stuff, in Whitwell, TN. That was back in 1998. When Catoosa started, he shot against Deadfoot and TN Jake and Tellico and T-Bone and Deadman. And then Horseshoe John rode into camp, and then …. You get the picture. Catoosa’s SASS No. is 18,541. SASS is giving away numbers in the 70 thousands today.
Every cowboy shooter gets involved some how. Deadfoot got Catoosa to go with him and try it out. He did. And they’ve both been cowboy shooters ever since. Of course Catoosa shoots better today then he did way back then. All of them early shooters do, except for Deadman and Deadfoot. That’s probably why they’re Dead-something.
What does Catoosa shoot? . 44 Mags. He started out shootin’ Traditional, “but T-Bone talked me into shooting Black Powder.” That’s what he shoots now. How’d he select his alias? Here’s what he said. “Well, I live in Catoosa County, GA. So, I became the Catoosa Kid. But for a while there was another one. We both showed up to shoot, and both of us had Catoosa Kid as an alias. T-Bone asked if either of us was in SASS. I was, so the other fella had to use a different name.” If you know Catoosa, you know that he doesn’t talk much. This was a long story for him.
When he’s not cowboy shootin’, Catoosa has another hobby: he flies his own airplane. And he recently bought another plane. He said, “It looks liked a small P-51 mustang. It needs some work done on it. It’s in my basement now.”
Who’s his favorite silver screen cowboy? John Wayne of course. Shootin’ .44’s and watching John Wayne means the Catoosa Kid is a real cowboy.
THE REAL WEST – Edward Zane Carroll Judson 1823 – 1886
Edward Z. C. Judson
Edward Zane Carroll Judson was many things in his lifetime: sailor, sergeant, womanizer, husband shooter, shady-dealer, writer, playwright, actor and creator of legends. Although born in Stamford, NY, Ed is remembered for his contribution to creating the myth and legend that became the “historical” Wild West. As a boy, Ed ran away from home and went to sea. After getting into trouble, he left to pursue other activities, such as giving temperance lectures, between periods of drunkenness. He also married many times, sometimes to more than 1 gal at a time. Of course marriage wasn’t required; he fooled around with married women too. Shucks, he had to shoot 1 gal’s husband as he beat a retreat: Ed was good at running. He started a magazine, but that didn’t last long. Somewhere in all his various lives, he served in the Union Army as a sergeant, for a while. Then he was busted to private. But that title didn’t fit his image. So, he promoted himself to “Colonel”, and that’s how he became know in later years.
Eventually, Ed went west and met a 23 year old scout named Bill Cody. Bill was full of hot air and tall tales, and Ed was the same. So, they swapped yarns. Then Ed went back east and wrote a story called Buffalo Bill: King of the Border Men. And then he wrote other stories about Bill. It didn’t matter to either of them that the stuff written was fiction. Ed had created an honest to gosh legendary figure. Then he wrote a play called Scouts of the Plains, in 4 whole hours. The Chicago audiences loved it, although the plot was the pits and the acting was wooden and awful. Shucks, they got to see the real Buffalo Bill Cody, and Texas Jack Omohundro, and Ed, appearing as a fictional scout. And the rest is history. Myth replaced truth. Legend replaced fact, and together Bill and Ed created the Western Myth of the Wild West and supported that image for years.
Oh yeah, you probably don’t know Ed by his real name. You know him as Ned Buntline, author of dime novels.
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The Ocoee Ranger page 3 April 2006
DOUBLE EAGLE FINISHES 1ST IN TN MODERN CLASS AT THE KENTUCKY – TENNESSEE STATE BLACKPOWDER CHAMPIONSHIP
Double Eagle
Double Eagle ventured up to Possum Trot on the Tennessee Kentucky border and shot in the Blackpowder championship, placing 1st in the Tennessee Modern Class. When asked about his feat, he said, “You know, that was the 1st time I ever shot blackpowder. I didn’t know what class I was going to shoot in. But I had 7 sets of guns, so I just decided to shoot Modern.” Standing near by, Ocoee Red laughed and said, “He hung around and picked the class he thought he could win somethin’ in.”
However he decided what to shoot, he shot good. And that’s what counts.
WIDOWMAKER HOLDS WORLD GUNFIGHTER RECORD
Widowmaker
Did you know that Widowmaker is a World Record Holder? It’s true. He holds the record for, from a standing position with his hands touching his pistols, drawing and firing 10 shots gunfighter style and hitting a steel target. He did that in 1.99 seconds.
How’d he prove it? Well, to be considered for a record position, a shooter has to perform the action, complying with the rules, on video with each shot clearly shown and with a timer clearly shown in the picture. Then, the videotape has to be sent to Lead Dispenser and Doc Shapiro for evaluation. So, Widowmaker did his thing, sent in the evidence, and now it’s official. At the April shoot, he gave a demonstration of his fast shooting ability. He can shoot 10 shots faster than this word scratcher can even think about doing it.
COWGIRLS ON THE RANGE
L – R: Mesquite Millie (Scorekeeper & Asst. Newsletter Editor), Last Kiss (lady gunfighter and Posse Leader) and Santa Fe (Score keeper and better half of Loose Cinch)
PHOTOGENIC COWBOYS
Have you ever noticed how some cowboys seem more photogenic than others? Do you know 1 of the reasons? No, it ain’t necessarily because they’re prettier. It’s color: a colored shirt or vest or simply wearing a colorful bandana with a white shirt. White shirts and white hats don’t show well.
Coffee Joe Demonstrates color
APRIL WRANGLERS
Being awarded Wrangler status for a monthly shoot is an honor bestowed on cowgirls and cowboys who work a bit beyond the norm to help their posse to conduct a match. A Wrangler can be a shooter or a non-shooter, as long as she/he is dressed Western and earns the distinction of the award. Here are the folks recognized as Wranglers at the April Shoot:
Tennessee Tombstone Fast Harley
Tennessee Jake Double Eagle
Deadfoot
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