Page 1
Volume 4, Issue No. 5 May, 2006
70 SHOOTERS PARTICIPATE IN MEMORIAL DAY SHOOT
We had a record crowd, 70 cowgirls and cowboys, for a Memorial Day Shoot. That ain’t bad, what with competition from the Mule Camp SASS Regional Shoot in GA, the Shoot Out at Rabbit Ridge / Mississippi State Championship Shoot , a long weekend for family travel, and oodles of high school graduation ceremonies. From past history, we expected about 50 shooters, but we were pleasantly surprised. Now that don’t mean that Pleasant had anything to do with it. He and his boys, Unpleasant and Pyro, were at Rabbit Ridge. And Barn Scoop and his Mrs., Emerald Isle, were at Mule Camp. Cherokee Maddog and Tabasco JOT were also there. 3 Junior Shooters participated in our match (Irish Jake, Lotta Faith and Last Hope), and Cactus Red’s little cowgirl plans to shoot in June. She was with ol’ dad, decked out in her nifty purple cowgirl hat.
Little Miss Cactus Red & Cactus Red
OUT ON THE SHOOTIN’ RANGE
Marshal Too Tall times Tennessee Mongo.
It was a good shoot. Diamondback Dennis, who’s been absent for some time, returned with a bang and placed 1st in the Traditional category and was the Top Gun of the day. Festus D. Deputy was the No. 2 Shooter, shooting a no-misses match in the process. In all, 7 shooters had no misses: Festus, Dustin Clays, Lightning McCoy, Owlhoot Hardin, Calibre .45, Hombre Sin Nombre and Deadman. The Top 10 shooters were: (1) Diamondback Dennis (2) Festus D. Deputy (3) Dustin Clays (4) Fiddleback (5) Marshal Too Tall (6) Polecat Carl (7) L. D. Pondscum (8) Slater (9) Double Eagle and (10) Wildcat Wilkey. Roma Jane was the Top Cowgirl Shooter of the day.
In the Buffalo Shoot Marshal Too Tall had tough rifle shootin’ competion. He won the 100 yd. Lever Action, 100 yd. Single Shot and 25 yd. .22 Cal. classes. But he had a shoot-off with Last Kiss to decide the Lever Action class and with Sundance McNeyman to determine the Single Shot class. Sundance won the 100 yd pistol class.
BEFORE THE SHOOT – FRIENDLY COMPETITORS The Gunfighter, the Outlaw & the Senior (Shooting Classes)
L-R: Widowmaker, Curly Bill and Linc. Deadeye Daisy in background between Widowmaker & Curly Bill.
SHOOT RESULTS: Top Gun – Diamondback Dennis
Buffalo Shoot:
§ Long Range Lever Action, Long Range Single Shot & 25 yard .22 Cal – Marshal Too Tall – § Long Range Pistol – Sundance McNeyman
|
Traditional 1. Diamondback Dennis 2. Dustin Clays 3. Fiddleback |
Cowgirl 1. Roma Jane 2. Last Kiss 3. Dagnabit Deb |
Senior 1. Wildcat Wilkey 2. Linc 3. Outrider |
|
Black Powder 1. L.D. Pondscum 2. Catoosa Kid 3. Hombre Sin Nombre |
49er 1. Festus D. Deputy 2. Marshal Too Tall 3. Double Eagle |
Duelist 1. Horseshoe John 2. Tucson Tuco 3. Ranger Roger |
|
Outlaw 1. TN. Tombstone 2. Badlands Beck 3. Loose Cinch |
Junior1. Irish Jake 2. Lotta Faith |
Gunfighter 1. Widowmaker Modern1. Polecat Carl |
NEXT SHOOT – JUNE 24 … BRING 2 BOXES OF SHOTGUN SHELLS
Page 2
The Ocoee Ranger page2 May, 2006
THE REEL WEST, THE REAL WEST AND THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION
THE REAL WEST – FRANK LESLIE 1842 – ?
“Buckskin” Frank Leslie
“Buckskin” Frank Leslie was a character in Tombstone, AZ in the days preceding and following the shoot-out near the OK Corral. Where he came from is sorta fuzzy. Ol’ Frank told more than 1 version about that, and he told several versions about what he had done before his arrival in Tombstone. 1 version was that he had been an army scout, but that can’t be confirmed either. Any way, that’s how he came to be called “Buckskin” Frank Leslie, because he supposedly wore a fringed buckskin shirt as a scout.
Arriving in Tombstone in 1880, he opened the Cosmopolitan Hotel. But he wasn’t a quite innkeeper. Not long after he arrived, he took up with a woman, who just happened to be married. Her husband apparently didn’t like the idea of sharing her with Frank, so in some sort of incident, Frank shot and killed the husband. The shooting was ruled self defense, but Frank married her 2 months later. His feelings of amour were fleeting, however, and sometime later, they were divorced. Remember Billy Claiborne, the cowboy who with Ike Clanton ran away from the shootout with the Earps and Doc Holiday? Well, Billy wasn’t so lucky with Frank. Following a confrontation, Frank dispatched Billy to the promised land, or somewhere not of this earth.
2 years after his divorce, Frank took up with a local career woman, who specialized in sporting pleasures. But the relationship didn’t last. After popping a few corks too many, Frank shot her dead. For that action, he earned a prize: 25 years at hard labor. But 7 years into his sentence, he was pardoned, largely due to actions of another woman. Released from prison, Frank married the woman, lived quietly for a while, drifted up to the Klondike gold rush, and eventually moved to San Francisco. His fortunes went sour, however, and he disappeared.
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION – FAST HARLEY
Fast Harley Fast Harley has been shootin’ cowboy a little more than 2 years, but he’s been a shooter for 40+ years. “I heard about End of Trail 25 years ago and wanted to get into cowboy shootin’ back then, but I didn’t have the money, at the time. About 6 years ago, I joined SASS, but I still didn’t have the money or the time. I’d started remodeling a 106 year old house, and that took a lot of time and money. “ Harley said that he started getting his SASS guns “about 25 years ago.”
In 2004, Fast Harley attended his first SASS shoot, the Shoot Out at Pigeon Forge. “I’d been shootin’ for a long time, and I didn’t think there’d be anything to it. I finished about 2nd or 3rd from the bottom. He sure doesn’t shoot there now. He’s become a very good cowboy shooter. “I sometimes shoot .38’s, but mostly I shoot .45’s. Real cowboys shoot .45’s. I’m a history buff and think that the Old West and Civil War periods are the most interesting times in our history and should be preserved. The Old West is the only truly unique part of our history, so I try to dress the part to help keep it alive.”
How did he come by his alias? “I’ve been a motorcycle rider for years and built my own bike. (A Harley Davidson) So, it seemed kinda natural. Steel horses and real horses go together. I’ve ridden both, but I don’t have horses anymore.”
Harley imparted a last comment, with a smile: “It’s a huge asset to have a spouse (Last Kiss) in the game. You don’t have to explain gun purchases.”
THE REEL WEST – WILLIAM BOYD 1895 – 1972
Bill “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd
William Boyd was born in Ohio and grew up in Oklahoma. In 1918, he showed up in Hollywood where he became a silent film leading man. But times changed and by the 1930’s, sound had arrived, and Bill’s hair had prematurely turned gray, which made him look like an old feller in an industry that marketed youth. Somehow, he teamed up with producer Harry Sherman and convinced Sherman to let him play Hopalong Cassidy in a series of low budget westerns, based upon a rougher character created by Clarence Mulford in his Cassidy novels. The rest, as they say, is history. Bill Boyd became Hopalong Cassidy, his version of Hoppy, not Mulford’s. Mulford’s character was red headed, crusty, shot to kill without hesitation and spoke fractured grammar. Bill’s Hoppy dressed in black, rode a white horse, packed 2 white handled six-shooters, was a dignified knight of the prairie, spoke properly, and was a perfect role model for all the big and little kids who went to see his movies. And they went to see his movies religiously, so much so that he became 1 of the top 5 cowboy stars for years.
During his career, Bill made 66 Hopalong Cassidy movies, some for other folks and some produced by his own company. Late in his movie career, he sold about everything he had and bought the rights to all his movies and to the Hopalong Cassidy name. Then he made a few Hoppy movies himself, but he recognized the big screen market for his movies was gone, following WWII and the change in movie audience tastes. So, he entered the age of television. He edited all but about 12 of his movies from their original length to 54 minutes; to fit 1 hour slots complete with commercials, and sold them to be shown on TV, mostly NBC. Then he edited the other 12 movies to a number of 30-minute slot versions, also for TV. Then, he made 42 new 30 minute slot Cassidy productions. And his TV appearance made Hopalong Cassidy a worldwide attraction, and made Bill a very wealthy man. Then he developed a Hopalong Cassidy radio program and marketed a lot of Hopalong Cassidy products, like Deadman’s first wrist watch: a genuine Hopalong Cassidy watch.
Bill Boyd and “Hopalong Cassidy” became synonymous. And they left a legacy of cowboy movies and a lot of little cowboys and cowgirls who grew up with values that were either learned from or supported by the white haired hero in black. One such little girl grew up to become Summer Dove. Hoppy was and still is her favorite cowboy.
Page 3
The Ocoee Ranger page 3 May 2006
MAY WRANGLERS
Wranglers are special cowfolk. They do a little more then their compadres (a lot more than some shooters) in helping their posses conduct monthly shoots. Sometimes, it’s hard to select Wranglers, because everyone works well. Wranglers are awarded Wrangler status as an honor recommended by their posse leaders and confirmed by match officials. 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. The award is not just given away frivolously. Here are the folks recognized as Wranglers at the May Shoot:
Tennessee Tombstone Badlands Beck Lightning McCoy
Long Gulch Tennessee Ted Keystone
Fiddleback Moab Mangus (no photo)
PROUD GRAND PAW AND HIS COWGIRLS
L-R: Last Hope, Coffee Joe & Lotta Faith …
Bermans all
OLD FARTS SHOOT 49ER
The bad makes it official. Old Farts Shoot 49er.
Did you know that Old Farts shoot 49er? Evidently, it’s true. At least it is if you ask Ocoee Red, Marshal Too Tall, Festus D. Deputy, Double Eagle and some of their shooting pals in the Smokey Mountain Shootists and the Hooten Cowboys. Somehow, these colorful cowboys have formed a fraternity of ……. Well, you fill in the blank. Ocoee Red is No. 1 and Marshal Too Tall is No. 1/2. And. So on.
How do you become an Old Fart? Well for starters, you have to be at least 49 years old. And you have to have shot 49er at least once. And you have to shoot 49er at least ever once in a while. If you’re interested in becoming an official Old Fart, see Ocoee Red, Marshal Too Tall or Festus D. Deputy.
Entries (RSS)