Keepin' Costs Down.........

Cowboy Fast Draw Match Report

The last time we tried to put on a Cowboy Fast Draw match at the Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club all of the publicity for the match got fouled up and the wrong date was sent out. So, just about no one showed up. We still had fun, but it was a small crowd, for sure! This time, things went much better publicity-wise, and I would call it our first true match, with the previous one being sort of a "Testing Out" match to get the scoring and so forth all figured out.Even though there was a steel match not too far away that attracted some of our shooters, we still had ten hardy folks show up to give the new sport a try.

Two Point and Taliban Dan in an early round.

We've got the full setup, with targets with the "Start" light in the center, sound sensors on the targets to record the hits, and an electronic fast draw timer to record the times to the 1,000th of a second.

The Other Half beats Taliban out of the Holster.

We ran the match as a 3X format match. Each round you would shoot five draws against another shooter, with the best of five winning the round, and the loser getting an "X". Once you get 3 X's, you are out of the match. If it's a tie, then we would shoot one more draw as Sudden Death, to determine the winner of that round.

Taliban Dan gets the shot off first.

We had a number of Sudden Death tie breakers, and the competition was amazingly close. Not only was it a fun match to shoot, it was also a lot of fun to watch, with the closeness of the times. Everyone assumed an "Alias" name for the match, which also added to the fun!

After a bunch of really close matches, we finally narrowed it down to "Dozer" and "Taliban Dan". The final couldn't have been any closer. Taliban Dan won the first round, Dozer won the second, Taliban Dan won the third, and Dozer won the fourth.  It all came down to the final round, with each shooter having won two rounds. "Shooters on the line -- Shooters set...", a few seconds of random delay, and the start lights came on. Both shooters drew and fired, but it sounded like only one shot had been fired. Yet, the timer showed that both shooters had fired and hit their targets. The time separating Dozer and Taliban Dan was only three hundredths of a second ! WOW, what a final!! Dozer was the winner, but only by a blink of an eye.

We have scheduled another Cowboy Fast Draw Match in late June, and I suspect Taliban Dan is going to be back for a little revenge! I hope so, as it sure was a fun final to watch!

Cowboy Style Fast Draw Match This Sunday

Along with all my other projects currently underway, one of my favorites is coming to the top of the pile this Sunday at the Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club here on the South end of Whidbey Island. The match starts at 9am., but getting there a little early for signup is a good idea. Everything is provided for your use, including guns, and ammo. We do suggest that you bring your own eye protection. It's not required, but definitely recommended.


The entry fee is only $5.00, and you will definitely get a number of chances to see how you match up against other shooters in the head to head competition.

Don't worry if you have never tried Cowboy Fast Draw before, as just about everyone there will be also new at it. There will be instruction before the match, and a chance to practice a bit too. To quote the Cowboy Fast Draw Association's slogan, it's "Safety first, fun second, and competition third." This match is not a CFDA sanctioned match, but we will be basically following the CFDA rules and using CFDA approved targets and timer.

So how does the match work? It's what's called a Three X Elimination, which means you will shoot against another shooter, side by side, in a best of five shots format. If you win, you move to the next round. If you lose, you get one "X" on your score card. If you get three X's, you are through for the day, and you become a spectator, so to speak! It will finally boil down to two shooters, man-on-man, for the final match of the day to decide the match winner. If we have at least three ladies, we they will also get to have their own "Ladies Only" match to decide who's the fastest lady. Of course, the ladies will get to shoot the main match too, so when it gets down to the Ladies Only match, the ladies are going to be dialed in, so it should be really close competition.

How about the equipment? The guns are Colt single action replicas, normally called the Colt Peacemaker, also called the 1873 Single Action Army. They are in 45 Colt caliber, and we use a special wax bullet, propelled by a shotgun primer, in specially modified 45 Colt brass. The guns are basically stock, although you are allowed to smooth up the action a bit. Although it's a wax bullet and a very light load, at close range it will go through 1/4" plywood, so all gun handling and safety rules will be followed. The holsters are all leather, and very similar to what a cowboy in the old West might have used. The only difference is that there is a small steel deflector at the bottom of the holster to deflect a bullet, should a round be fired while the gun is still in the holster.

How should I dress? As "Cowboy" and "Cowgirl" as possible, of course! Hats, boots, Western shirts, whatever you've got along those lines! Cowboy dress is not required, but it kinda adds to the fun!

After the match you can join us in the Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun club's restaurant and bar for a little nourishment, refreshment, and re-hashing all the "Woulda-Shoulda-Coulda's" from the match.

Just like in Cowboy Action Shooting, shooters will not be using their own names. Instead,  at signup you will choose your "alias" for the day. Me? "Mr. Completely", of course! You can pick whatever alias you like, maybe something from a favorite Western movie or TV show, then maybe change it a little to make it your own. KeeWee becomes "KeeWee Belle". Watch the video and you'll get a pretty good idea about aliases.

At the match on Sunday we  will be using targets and a timer that times the shots to the 1/1000 of a second, just like in the video above.


For more information about Cowboy Fast Draw, check out the Cowboy Fast Draw Association's website.

Come on out and give Cowboy Fast Draw a try. It's a whole lot of fun!!

Gun Blogger Rendezvous Registration Now Open

I now have the registration form available for this September's Gun Blogger Rendezvous. It's a PDF file, so download it, print it out, and send it in. All the instructions are on the form. I think this year's Rendezvous will be the biggest yet, and Reno's weather in September is usually quite nice for spending some time out at the different ranges.

If you've been wanting to get to the Rendezvous, then make this year you finally come to Reno and join in on all the fun!

It's a blast!

Busy Weekend on a tight budget!

I've been putting in a lot of hours lately, and now it's time for a short break before getting back to work on Monday. I've got a lot of matches on the horizon, including the European Steel Challenge Championships, The Man of Steel, The West Coast Steel Championships, and the Washington State Steel Championships. With all of the hours I've been putting in working, I haven't been getting in anywhere near the amount of range time I really need, and my shooting shows it.

This afternoon, after Keewee gets back from work, we're taking the Land Yacht across the State to Ephrata, WA. for a steel match. There is a Walmart conveniently located about a mile or so from the range, so that's where we're staying tonight. After the match, (and some of Grant's hot dogs and chili) we're back on the road, re-crossing the state to Puyallup, WA. Again, there's a Walmart just up the road from the Paul Bunyan range, so that's where we'll be staying on Saturday night. On Sunday we'll shoot the match, then back home on Sunday
 night.

It's going to be a lot of road miles, but the matches should be fun, and I sure do need the practice!

See you at the range, or back here on Monday!

Vroom - Vroom..................

e-Postal Match Results

I have to admit I am a bit disappointed with the e-Postal match just concluded. Only three people sent in entries. Part of the reason, I suspect, is the almost total lack of publicity from the other gun bloggers. I don't think too many folks even knew there was a match underway. I really appreciate the publicity we did get, however, from the few that chose to help promote the matches. Perhaps since the first match was kinda early in the season, that may have contributed too.

Anyhow, thanks to Danno, True Blue Sam and Mrs. TBS, and also Engineering Johnson for helping both to promote the match, and to send in entries. Everyone shot well, and I hope they had some fun with the match, as a lot of thought and creativity usually goes into the match design.

Everyone who entered will get a bottle of Mr. C's Super Sekrit Gun Oil.

This month's match is already underway over at Jimmyb's. Danno is hosting the May match,  and if the number of entries is still very low, I think it's time to consider discontinuing the series. If no one wants to enter, then why put them on...............

This Month's e-Postal Match is Underway at JimmyB's

Head on over to JimmyB's place, The Conservative UAW Guy, read the rules, download the target, and head out to the range for some fun brass-emptying! JimmyB has kinda retired from blogging for a while, which is sad, as he's an extremely entertaining writer, but he comes out of retirement once a year to host an e-Postal match for us all.

There were a total of only four entries for the e-Postal match just ended, so we need to see a lot more of you get out to the range and perforate some e-Postal targets. As usual there are classes for just about anything you want to shoot, and even if there isn't a class, go ahead and shoot the match with what you have and send it in anyway!

Here's the link to the match, so go show JimmyB we appreciate his efforts, and have some fun at the range too!