Page 1
Volume 5, Issue No. 1 January, 2007
72 SHOOTERS START 2007 COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING WITH A BANG
Dustin Clays, in his Josey Wales hat, shoots & Horseshoe times
Howdy, pardners. And welcome to 2007on the Range, the shooting range. If you missed the January shoot, you missed a good one. The action was fast, the shootin’ was good, and the air was full of gun smoke. At least it was after Coffee Joe fired his black-powder-shootin’ shotgun. There was such a boom after one of his shots that Dustin Clays said that the noise alone would have knocked the target down, with or without shot in the shells.
The day started out chilly. Well, no that ain’t right. It started out cold. Then it warmed up as the sun came out. And it was a splendid day. Marshal Too Tall shot well enough to become the 1st Ocoee Rangers Top Gun at a 2007 Shoot. But other folks were close behind him. Last Kiss, shootin’ Lady Gunfighter, was the Top Gun of the Cowgirls, and we had 6 cowgirls shootin’ the match. The Top 10 shooters were as follows: (1) Marshal Too Tall (2) Rusty Spur Slim (3) Festus D. Deputy (4) Fiddleback (5) Pleasant (6) Dustin Clays (7) Unpleasant (8) Ocoee Red (9) Polecat Carl (10) Kenesaw. And in the midst of all that shootin’, 8 Cowboys shot no-miss matches. These straight shootin’ cowboys were Rusty Spur Slim, Fiddleback, Pleasant, Dustin Clays, Wildcat Wilkey, Rev. Adam Jones, Bad Eye Tom, Limp Along Charlie and Coffee Joe.
Cowfolk in earmuffs, L-R: Rev. Adam Jones, Outrider& Mesquite Millie. Out of respect for Deadeye Daisy, Sheriff Donald in his Daisy Duck earmuffs is not shown.
Sometime in the mid morning, while it was still a mite cool, the photographer happened upon the 3 cowfolk shown above, all wearing earmuffs, and asked: “What kind of cowboys would be wearing earmuffs?” The Rev. Adam Jones answered: “Cold ones.” But he evidently warmed up. He shot a perfect match: No misses. And Last Kiss’s secret was revealed. The secret: How has she become such a good shooter, even shooting Lady Gunfighter? Some folks thought it was practice. And some thought it’s them spiffy pistols that she’s shootin’. But that ain’t it. The secret to her success is the green rabbit’s foot hanging from her gun belt. Of course, it didn’t do much for the rabbit.
SHOOT RESULTS
TOP GUN – Marshal Too Tall … TOP GUN – COWGIRL – Last Kiss … BUFFALO SHOOT – Long Range Pistol – Calibre. 45 … Long Range Lever Action Rife – Marshall Too Tall … .22 Cal – Marshal Too Tall … Pre Shoot Side Match – Festus D. Deputy
Senior1. Kensaw 2. Wildcat Wilkey 3. Purly |
Gunfighter 1. Pleasant 2. Widowmaker 3. Keystone |
Traditional 1. Fiddleback 2. Dustin Clays 3. Unpleasant |
|
Black Powder Cartridge 1. Judge’m All Duncan 2. Catoosa Kid 3. Yuma Trueheart |
Modern 1. Polecat Carl 2. Limp Along Charlie 3. Sundance |
Classic 1. Cherokee Maddog 2. Lightning McCoy 3. Bittercreek Jack |
|
Outlaw 1. Tucson Tuco 2. TN Tombstone 3. Loose Cinch |
Cowgirl 1. Killin’ Time 2. Dagnabit Deb 3. Deadeye Daisy |
Duelist 1. Rusty Spur Slim 2. Horseshoe John 3. Awful Close |
Lady Gunfighter1. Last Kiss |
49er1. Marshal Too Tall 2. Festus D. Deputy 3. Ocoee Red |
|
NEXT SHOOT – FEBRUARY 24
The Buffalo Shoot begins 8:00 am. Registration 8:30 am – Posse Leader walk-through 9:15 am – Safety meeting 9:45 am – Shooting follows – All times are Eastern Time.
THERE WILL BE AN OCOEE RANGERS SHOOT IN FEBRURY
Page 2
The Ocoee Ranger page 2 January 2007
The Reel West, The Real West and the West of Our Imagination
THE REEL WEST – SUSAN CABOT (1927-1986)
Susan Cabot
Unless you’re an Audie Murphy movie fan, you probably won’t recognize Susan Cabot’s name. She was a petite, dark haired & dark eyed beauty who appeared in several of his Western movies. And there was a reason for that: she was good looking, could act, and most importantly, she was 1 of the few actresses shorter than Audie. Of course, she also appeared in other Westerns with other cowboys. But she didn’t start life as Susan Cabot. She was born Harriet Shapiro in Boston in 1927, and her on screen appearances showed that she was an actress: she was capable of portraying a spirited, happy character. But her real life didn’t match what she portrayed. Susan was raised in a number of foster homes. She went to New York when she was 17, and married right away, to escape from foster homes. But the marriage wasn’t a good one. She was very attractive, interested in dramatics, and became an actress appearing on TV and bit parts in films. Then in 1950 she was “discovered” and got a part in a forgettable movie. But that lead to a Hollywood contract with Universal, where she was frequently cast in good old Western movies. To see her in 1 of her best roles, appearing with Audie Murphy, take a look at GUNSMOKE. It’s a very good movie, and they work well together.
Susan, although she was very good in Westerns and in the other movies she appeared in, didn’t cotton to the roles she’d been playing. So, she got out of her contract and left Hollywood briefly to try stage acting. That, however, didn’t work out, and she returned to Hollywood. And then she left Hollywood again and returned to the theater. In 1964, she had a son, who suffered from dwarfism. Then in 1968, she married for the 2nd time. The marriage lasted 12 years and ended in divorce. Susan was suffering from mental illness. In 1986, Susan’s son killed her. She was 59 years old. Susan’s real life was sad and tragic. But when you see her on film, you see a very different person. That’s the 1 that counts, because that’s the 1 that will last, as long as folks like Shadrack Jones and others continue watching her Western movies.
THE WEST OF OUR IMAGINATION – LAST KISS
Last Kiss Last Kiss started cowgirl shooting in June 2004. Of course she’d been shooting before that: “I started shooting as a kid and love it. And I love the Old West and the guns.” In 2000, she joined SASS, and like all of us, she had to choose an alias. Here’s how she chose her alias. “I wanted it to be personal. I thought about being a schoolteacher, or a soiled dove. But lots of Westerns are romantic. They have a last kiss before riding away, or going to war, or before going to bed, or whatever you want to make of it. So, I chose Last Kiss.”
Since becoming Last Kiss, she’s shot Lady Traditional, Double Duelist, Gunfighter and Black Powder. And her shooting has improved as her experience has increased. During her cowgirl shooting career, she’s shot .45 pistols and .38’s, but usually .38’s. And she’s shot double barrel shotguns in 20 and 12 gauge, however she now shoots a Winchester ’97 12 ga. But she’s not just a shooter. She’s completed the SASS ROI course and is registered to take the ROII class with the Knoxville cowboys in early 2007. And on the range, she’s been a posse leader, spark of energy in her posse and a registration cowgirl. There’s more to this cowgirl than a hat and gunsmoke.
Who’s her favorite Western actor? “Maureen O’Hara. And I like her especially in a specific role, Mrs. McClintock.” And her favorite Western movie? “McClintock. It has John Wayne, and Maureen O’Hara, and fighting and shooting, and partying. It has everything.”
In 2006, the Ocoee Rangers presented Last Kiss the 2006 Annual “Spirit of the Game Award”.
THE REAL WEST – ELFEGO BACA (1865 – 1945)
Elfego Baca – Pistollero
Lawyer & Policitian
Elfego Baca was a man of many lives: Mexican American pistolero, self appointed Deputy Sheriff, elected Sheriff, U.S. Marshal, practicing lawyer, County Court Clerk, School Board Superintendent and local and state politician. Elfego was born in New Mexico in 1865, but not long thereafter, his family moved to Topeka, KS. However in 1880 following the death of his mother, 15-year old Elfego returned to New Mexico. 4 years later, his legend began.
In December 1884, cowboys emasculated a Mexican in front of a saloon in the town of Frisco, now known as Reserve, NM. This followed other rowdy behavior that was the normal way of things in the community. The Sheriff was located elsewhere and evidently found plenty to keep him busy elsewhere. So, Elfego found himself a badge and a pistol, appointed himself Deputy Sheriff and set out to bring justice to Frisco. In the process, a cowboy took a shot at Elfego, and he and his compadres cornered Elfego in a shack. During a period of about 36 hours, the cowboys fired a reported 4,000 shots into the house, trying to expunge (How ‘bout that word, Owlhoot?) the community of the pesky Mexican with the badge. Not a bit shy, Elfego returned their fire, and in the process, he killed 4 cowboys and wounded 8 others. He didn’t get a scratch.
Finally,the cowboys ran out of ammo and left town, and Elfego emerged unharmed. However the event wasn’t over. In May 1885, Elfego was tried for murdering 1 of the cowboys he shot. During the trial, the door to the house that he sought shelter in was produced as a defense exhibit: it had about 400 bullet holes in it – all heading inward. Elfego was acquitted.
Following the Frisco shoot-out and the aftermath, Elfego embarked upon his career of many opportunities and risks. And he remained controversial through his many careers. He had a fondness for politics, courtroom theatrics, pistols, drink and wild women. Throw in his time-to-time involvement as a lawman, and you have the natural ingredients for a movie. And in the late 1950’s, Walt Disney recognized that fact and brought Elfego Baca, the man with 9 lives, to television, after his other legendary character, Davy Crockett, had run his course. Elfego died in 1945.
Page 3
The Ocoee Ranger page 3 January 2007
POSSE 2 – JANUARY 2007 SHOOT
L-R Kneeling: Catoosa Kid, Tellico, Sledge, Sundance McNeyman, Standing: Rev Adam Jones, Outrider, Big Lighting McCoy, Dustin Clays, Coffee Joe, Ben Shot, Deadman, Horseshoe John. As usual, Pleasant & Unpleasant were too slow to get back from lunch in time to get in the picture.
CHANGES TO BE MADE IN THE 2007 CHRISTMAS EVENT
After talking with several folks about the 2006 Christmas Shoot and Event, the common feeling was – it was too long. So, we’re going to make a few changes for the 2007 Event. Why are we showing it here? Well, 2 reasons: (1) so you might come, if you see it won’t be so long, and (2) to get your help with arranging door prizes to give away. Here’s what we’re going to do in 2007:
The Pre-Shoot We’ll only read the safety rules, and do the prayer. Ocoee Red, or his designee, will walk around and give out the November certificates before the gathering. No announcements will be made and no Territorial Governor discussions will be held. That will wait until January. This will save about 30 minutes.
The Shoot We’ll still shoot 3 stages. But – there won’t be any movement other than right in front of the shooting covered sheds. There will be no down range movement, no reloading, other than the shot gun, no bonus point shooting and no complications. We’ll still shoot pistols, shotgun and rifle. Stages can be fun, but not lengthy. Targets will be managed so they are fun to shoot, but not so many – so it won’t take long to pick them up and put them in the storage shed. This will allow us to get to the restaurant sooner after the shooting is done.
The After Shoot Event We’ll eat and then present Annual Awards. This year, we’ll give awards for Top Category Winners for the Year.
q We will discontinue the gift swap. We’ve grown to such a number, that it takes too much time: several folks have left early in 2005 and 2006, even though they had gifts on the table.
q We’ll still give door/trail prizes. But if we’re lucky to have a big prize that everyone would want, we’ll give that 1st so everyone will have an equal chance to win. Then everyone else who wins a prize will get what he or she wins: no passing. If someone gets something they don’t want, they can trade with someone else, or give it away.
These changes will easily save 1 ½ hour.
Prizes At the January Shoot, you may have noticed a container on the registration table (although we got it out late) for folks to make donations to be used to buy prizes for the December 2007 Christmas Shoot and Family Event. The container will be at each shoot through September. All money received (however much or little) will be used to buy prizes to give away at the event.
We’ll still seek event sponsors (vendors) and gifts, but some things will be given but not in the drawing. Prizes not given in the drawing will be available on a 1st come basis to folks who want them.
Please help us by making a few contributions to the magic container as the shooting year progresses.
Conclusion We should be able to have a fun shoot, an enjoyable lunch, good prizes and a fun after shoot event, and not have all day tied up – like we did in 2005 and 2006.
KNOXVILLE COWBOYS / SMOKY MOUNTAIN SHOOTIST SOCIETY – TO HOLD ANNUAL SMOKY MOUNTAIN SHOOT-OUT MARCH 29, 30 & 31
Our Knoxville shooting pardners will hold their Smoky Mountain Shoot-Out March 29-31 (the 5th Saturday in March) at their regular club shooting range in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Side Matches will be held on Thursday, March 29. The Main Matches will be held on Friday March 30 and Saturday March 31. Fees are shown below:
Side Matches … $15 Main Match … $65 Spouse … $45 Jrs. & Buckaroos … Free Awards Dinner (Saturday Night) … $35 per ticket For more information, see the Smoky Mountain Shootist Society website (www.smsgazette.com) or contact Hombre Sin Nombre (865) 740-3801 or El Carrera (865) 579-9001.
Hombre Sin Nombre
El Carrera
Entries (RSS)