Lefty Lipscomb, Lucky LeTish, The Enforcer, Hold-em Hanna, Loose Cannon Katie, Trigger Happy, Cardoza Kid, Wicked Kate, Tennessee Tornado, The C21 Peacemaker, Silvery Star, Bandita .... can you guess what they have in common?    All women!  Ha!  We hear that other clubs are predominately men, maybe a third women, here in LB, it's the reverse, actually less than a third of us are men.  We have Big John Skinner, The Undertaker, our honorary members that introduced us to this fabulous sport, Tawodi, Papa Grande, Sundowner, The Omaha Outlaw, and well we have added a few more men lately, Wild Turkey, California Drifter, Johnny Blade, both Boss Hogg and Possum will be joining soon.

None of us can really explain what happened . . . how this cowboy fast draw thing got a hold of so many of us at nearly the same time.  We're all VERY different people and it's captivated us.

So far, we've a bunch of Gunslingers shooting outlaw style (we're trying to buy some club guns - we want two Ruger Vaqueros, in case you, the reader, come across any gun dealers who can sell us .45 caliber six shooters).  We're practicing for the Lefty Manzanedo Memorial Celebrity Shootout at the Henry Miller Wild West Weekend.   Actually, there are several of us who also want to enter the California State Championships at the Henry Miller Wild West Weekend.

    To the left are the KeNevA Corral targets.

The black line in the foreground is the 10' mark (for first timers), behind that (not in photo) is the 15' Gunslinger mark, beyond that is the 18' Gunfighter mark... and just at the edge of the carpet is 21'; the distance for a Master Gunfighter, and the distance at which State, National and World Championships are held.  

That's not a cement wall behind the targets, it's actually carpet nailed to our fence, which helps prevent ricochets.  

In the center of each target is a 2" light, activated by the electronic timer.  You stand on the line, await the command "Shooters on the line ..... Shooters set".  Yep, you should be set in your gunslinger/gunfighter stance, not moving at that point, just concentrating on the light.  

The timer says "Shooters set" and activates the electronic timer; somewhere between two and five seconds later, the center light comes on...if you're shooting outlaw like Lefty Lipscomb and Wicked Kate (gun held at side, no holster) you raise your hand from your side and shoot the target as fast as possible.....all you need to do is hit the target to stop the timer. 

If you're shooting lawman (gun in holster) like the Tennessee Tornado and Big John Skinner you draw and shoot the target as fast as possible, to stop the timer.   It's so awesome that in this sport, physical size does NOT matter. It's your reflexes and hand eye coordination that matter here.

A hit anywhere on the 24" target is as good as anywhere else, in other words, bulls eyes are only of value while trash talking amongst Gunslingers and Gunfighters. In every sport there are those who are legends in their own minds...know what I mean?

I don't know . . . there's just something about that gun ... and it's not just that you're holding a real gun. Plenty of us have guns, it's the western six shooter thing and the old westerns most of us grew up with.  

Pulling back the hammer ...ooooohhh yeah!  Even better than cocking the hammer is after you've shot and  must show the line judge that your gun is truly empty before you're allowed to turn around or move from the shooting line... the part where you spin the cylinder. I can hear it now; instantly you're a kid watching your favorite western heros fight the bad guys (not enough sheros though)

I know it's not just me, look at Hold-em Hanna here, what a smile.  I think she just out shot someone. Her husband was very surprised she instantly loved cowboy fast draw. 

Here's a couple of our honorary members who were practicing for the Nevada State Championships hosted by the Old Time Gunfighters Association, these two came home with a first in the Gunslinger Division and a 2nd in the Gunfighter Division.

That's Gary (The Omaha Outlaw) on the left and the original Sundowner, George on the right.  Gary's been in the sport a  little over six months.  He won a cool belt buckle, some cash, braggin' rights and 1st place in the Gunslinger division  at the Old Time Gunfighter Association's Nevada State Championships in April, 2007!  George won some cash, a trophy and 2nd in the Gunfighter division.

That's Will, "Tawodi" there on the right.  He and Gary and neighbors .... yep, you guessed it.  "Hey Good Buddy, favorite neighbor of mine .... check this out!"  (Will introduced Gary to Cowboy Fast Draw.)

Will also introduced us to the sport.  Big John went to Will's garage sale; saw targets and old shooter photos on the wall and wanted to know what it was all about. John asked will if his club (The Sundowners Single Action Shooting Club) would do a demonstration at our Chamber's BBQ Challenge.  Will agreed, and then called Big John weeks later to ask if our Chamber of Commerce would be interested in hosting the California State Championships.  Big John is our Chamber Prez , The C21 Peacemaker is 2nd Vice President and was Chair of the BBQ Challenge.  March 3, 2007 we met with Will, George and Greg to discuss the possibilities.  The Undertaker and I (The C21 Peacemaker) had planned to join our oldest daughter after the meeting to celebrate her birthday......and then we learned about cowboy fast draw and had our first opportunity to shoot.  It was obvious I was instantly hooked; I had these lovely professionally manicured nails .... and my trigger finger nail kept catching on the trigger, arrgh!  I asked for nail clippers, clipped that rascal down, then Sweet Susie brought me a nail file and I was set.  The next day I trimmed all my nails down and discontinued manicures, they are not shooter friendly!  Big John tells me if i put the $ I'd of spent on manicures in a jar, I'd have enough for a gun in a very short time:)

Anyway, that's a bit about our club and how we began.  It's a super good time, and we're going to do very well at the Henry Miller Wild West Weekend.  Our club will be hosting the Gunslinger Alley (a charity event) that allows the public to try cowboy fast draw.  It cost $5.00 for ten shots, outlaw style. 

Read up on the Henry Miller Wild West Weekend, plan on being there, and if you're interested in giving cowboy fast draw a try email The Undertaker.  We want more members.

Yee Haww!!!

Below is a short video from from the 2007 Cowboy Fast Draw National Championships.