The Texas Star. Newsletter for the Texican Rangers. Words from the Judge. Officers. President Judge GeePee

Transcription

1 The Texas Star Newsletter for the Texican Rangers A Publication of the Texican Rangers An Authentic Cowboy Action Shooting Club That Treasures & Respects the Cowboy Tradition SASS Affiliated PO Box August, 2016 Kerrville Officers Words from the Judge President Judge GeePee judgegeepee@gvtc.com Vice President Sheriff Robert Love a_fite@sbcglobal.net Secretary Tombstone Mary maryn58@sbcglobal.net Treasurer Madam Ella Moon madamellamoon@live.com Range Master A.D. Texaz jn1897@me.com Communications Dutch Van Horn dutchvanhorn@satx.rr.com Hello the Camp: Here I am thinking about our annual shoot, Shindig, what a year it has been. Looking back to January, I cannot believe we are moving into September and October, where has the time gone. Remembering when I was young and could not wait to be to 18 and out on my own, boy was I in for a rude awakening. Well enough about an old codger reminiscing. Again I need to say Thank You to our cowboys and cowgirls who come out to get the range ready for the match and then come out and enjoy the fruits of their hard work. We have been working hard to minimize the splatter and make the targets easier to ring. If you have not noticed the targets are a little closer and with the new stands we purchased, splatter has been minimized. I base that assumption on the 19 clean shooters we had at the Saturday match out of 51 total shooters. Again Two Spurs was smoking, under 95 seconds for the 5 stages, great job on his first place finish. On Sunday Big Iron Patnode finished first out of 19 shooters with 3 clean shooters. Congratulations to all who shot our August matches.

2 As most of you know Shindig is our annual club picnic and match, members of the Texican Rangers shoot free, fun stages, we have a great lunch, Year End Awards, and prizes. Please make every effort to be at Shindig and bring plenty of pistol ammo. See you at Shindig. Judge GeePee Thank You From Agarita Annie and Nueces Slim We cannot tell you how surprised we were at EOT to be recognized as SASS Regulators. We are both truly humbled and honored by this recognition. Since we first joined SASS in 2010, it has been a whirlwind ride, a ride that neither of us would exchange for anything. We have met some fantastic folks along the way and the SASS slogan- Come for the Shooting, Stay for The People is so right. There are no finer folks than those involved in the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting. Again, we thank you for all your encouragement, understanding, patience and support. We hold our new badges in great admiration and look forward to all that the future has to offer to us and each of you. Happy Trails and THANKS Agarita Annie and Nueces Slim The Legendary Sharps Rifle By Dutch Van Horn In 1848, Christian Sharps designed a large-bore single-shot rifle that became the first in a series of rifles renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874 the rifle was available in a variety of calibers and had been adopted by the armies of a number of nations and was one of the few successful designs to transition to metallic cartridge use. It was the first rifle accurate enough to be a true sniper rifle. The American Indians had it right when they called the Sharps the Shoot Today, Kill Tomorrow or Shoots Far gun.

3 The military Sharps rifle, known as the Berdan Sharps rifle, was used during and after the American Civil War. It was the first true sniper rifle. It was a falling block rifle that used a standard percussion cap but it also featured a fairly unusual pellet primer feed. This was a device which held a stack of pelleted primers and flipped one over the nipple each time the trigger was pulled and the hammer fell, making it much easier to fire a Sharps from horseback than a gun employing individually loaded percussion caps. The Sharps Rifle was produced by the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut. It was used during the Civil Way by the U.S. Army Marksman, known as Berdan s Sharpshooters in honor of their leader Hiram Berdan. If fact today the best shots in the Army are still known as Sharpshooters. The Sharps made a superior sniper weapon of greater accuracy than the more commonly issued muzzle-loading rifled muskets. This was due mainly to the higher rate of fire of their breech loading mechanism and superior quality of manufacture. A skilled solider with a rifled musket could fire three rounds a minute. A Sharpshooter could shoot twice that. At this time officers were distrustful of breech-loading weapons on the grounds that they would encourage men to waste ammunition. In addition, the Sharps Rifle was expensive to manufacture (three times the cost of a muzzle-loading Springfield rifle) so only 11,000 of the Model 1859s were produced. The carbine version was very popular with the cavalry of both the Union and Confederate armies and was issued in much larger numbers than other carbines of the war and was top in production in front of the Spencer or Burnside carbine. The falling block action lent itself to conversion to the new metallic cartridges developed in the late 1860s, and many of these converted carbines in Government were used during the Indian Wars. Unlike the Sharps rifle, the carbine was very popular and almost 90,000 were produced. By 1863, it was the most common weapon carried by Union cavalry regiments, although in 1864 many were replaced by 7-shot Spencer carbines.

4 Sharps made sporting versions from the late 1840s until the late 1880s. After the American Civil War, converted Army surplus rifles were made into custom firearms, and the Sharps factory produced Models 1869 and 1874 in large numbers for commercial buffalo hunters and frontiersmen. These large-bore rifles were manufactured with some of the most powerful black powder cartridges ever made. Sharps also fabricated special long-range target versions for the then-popular Creedmoor style of 1,000-yard target shooting. From 1840 to 1881 the Sharps Rifle was legendary for its accuracy. It was used by the Army, by Texas Rangers, Buffalo Hunters and settlers. It was used by lawmen and outlaws alike. It was the favorite long gun of Bat Masterson. The most famous shot by a Sharps was done in 1874 when an Army Scout and Buffalo hunter, named William Cody Dixon, made the shot of the century. He was part of group of 28 that were pinned up by 700 to 1200 Indians at Adobe Walls. The Group had held the Indians off for three days. Cody Dixon, using a Sharps shot an Indian Chief off his horse at almost a mile away. After this the Indians left the settlement alone. Buffalo hunters favored the Sharps rifle above all others. Until the end of the hide-hunting years in the mid-1880s. I the hands of these expert shots, the Sharps rifle eared immortality in the history of the American West. Famous Quotes "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. Benjamin Franklin If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both. Native American Saying Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. Napoleon Bonaparte I m not afraid to die like a man fighting, but I would not like to be killed like a dog unarmed. Billy the Kid I never had a compass in my life, but I was never lost. Charles Goodnight Mean He's so mean he'd steal a fly from a blind spider. He was so mean, he'd fight a rattler and give him the first bite. He was mean enough to steal a coin off a dead man's eyes. He was mean enough to eat off the same plate with a snake. He was so mad he could bite himself. When I'm done with you, there won't be enough left of you to snore. He was mean enough to hunt bears with a hickory switch. Unknown

5 Jesse Lee (Leigh) Hall By Dutch Van Horn Jesse Lee Hall was born in Lexington, North Carolina on October 9, The original spelling of his name was "Leigh," but Hall changed it to Lee soon after moving to Texas in He first worked as a schoolteacher, but soon became a city marshal in Sherman, a deputy sheriff in Denison, and the sergeant of arms for the Texas Senate. In August 1876, Hall became the second in command of Leander McNelly's Special Force of Texas Rangers. Serving in the Goliad region, Hall soon broke up a gang of vigilantes and gained the goodwill of the community. In October 1876, Hall became the acting commander of the Ranger company. He moved the company to Cuero to suppress the Sutton-Taylor Feud. The company was reorganized at Victoria in January Hall was made 1st Lieutenant and company commander with John B. Armstrong serving as the 2nd Lieutenant. Hall used the company to help suppress cattle rustling, raids across the border fueled by the Diaz revolution in Mexico, and the raiding of John King Fisher and his men. In 1880 Hall retired from the Rangers, turning over command of the company to T. L. Oglesby. In the early 1880s Hall managed the Dull Ranch and worked to help stop the fence cutting activities in that area. He served briefly as agent to the Anadarko Indians before settling in San Antonio. With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Hall raised two companies for service in the First United States Volunteer Infantry regiment, the Rough Riders. The Rough Riders main weapon was the 1896 Krag-Jorgensen rifle. The Krag-Jorgensen Rifle had several advantages over the United States.45-70, which was the more predominant long arm used by the American forces in the Spanish American War. Most importantly, the "Krag" fired ammunition that contained smokeless powder. The smokeless powder would not betray the location of the shooter as readily as would the cloud of white smoke from the black powder ammunition used by the Also, the shooter did not have to wait for the smoke to clear to see his target. The reason why a magazine rifle was not adopted by the United States government sooner was that the United States had not yet discovered how to make "smokeless" powder, which magazine rifles required. Smokeless powder was developed by the French and had been a

6 closely regarded secret. Once the United States was able to produce smokeless powder, the way was cleared for the adoption of the rifle. After the release of the regiment from duty, Hall reentered the army and saw action as a leader of the Macabee Scouts in the Philippines. They were armed with the new 1892 Colt double-action revolver in.38 caliber. This was great gun with very little recoil. The problem was it had no knock down power. They were fighting the fierce and formidable Moro Warriors. The Moros were armed with a Marlay Kriss, a wavyedged sword in length somewhere between a long dagger and a saber. They would make suicide attacks against the American soldiers. The Americans would empty their 1892 Colt into an attacking warrior, killing him, but not before receiving a fatal wound from their blade. The American military was quick to take away the new Colt pistol and replace it with surplus 1873 Colt Single Action revolvers. All officers were issued the new 1897 Winchester shotgun. After this the suicide attacks were far less successful. He was discharged on October 6, Lee Hall died on March 17, 1911 and was buried in the National Cemetery at San Antonio. Former Adjutant General Wilburn H. King characterized Hall as "a man of daring and almost reckless physical courage, of fine physique and resistless energy."

7 Katie Elder (Big Nose Kate) By Dutch Van Horn Rising to fame through her association with Doc Holliday, the notorious soiled dove, Big Nose Kate, didn t start life as a prostitute. In fact, she was born Mary Catherine Haroney to a prominent family from Hungary. Her father was appointed personal physician to Mexico s Emperor, Maximillian, in The family left Hungary and settled in Mexico, however, when Maximillian s rule crumbled, the family fled Mexico and settled in Iowa. Kate experienced a great deal of loss early in life, which perhaps shaped her character in later years. Her parents died within months of each other when she was just 14 years old. She and her siblings were placed in foster homes. It s hard to say what might have happened to Kate during her stay with her foster father Otto Smith, but whatever it was, Kate fled aboard a steamship headed for St. Louis, Missouri. Once there, she entered convent school. A few years later she married, but lost both her husband and young child in the same year. By the year 1874, Kate was working for Nellie Bessie Earp, wife to James Earp, who ran a sporting house in Wichita, Kansas. Women alone rarely had a choice about becoming red light ladies. While some of the women in these entertainment halls, dance halls and saloons were part-time entertainers, hoping to strike it rich; most did it just for money enough to survive. There were few options open to women in those days to keep body and soul together. The more acceptable trades for women, such as seamstress, cook or laundress, paid only the lowest of wages. Without a man to take care of her, a woman s choice was limited often the choice was between scandal or suicide. Though considered by most to be sinful, these women chose survival and were proud, rugged, and independent. In fact, Kate had a reputation for being tough, stubborn and short-tempered. She always stated that she worked the business because she liked it, belonging to no man, nor to any house. Her favorite line was that she was a rip-roarin, hard-drinkin, gun-slingin prostitute. Some historians of the Old West believe she was Mrs. Doc Holliday, and some don't. Either way, she was quite a bit more than the "plainswoman" that revisionist history books call her. Katie's recorded background appears to have begun in a Fort Griffin, Texas saloon in the fall of 1877, where she met gunslinger Doc Holliday. An affair between them ensued, and she helped Doc escape from the law after he knifed a man in a barroom brawl, killing him on the spot. The man drew a pistol on Doc and ended up with his belly slashed open by Doc s knife. The fight was fair but vigilantes were going to lynch Doc and she helped him escape.

8 In Dodge City Kansas the following year, the pair registered in a rooming house as Dr. and Mrs. John H. Holliday. It is possible they were really married, but no one knows for certain. Proof of their marriage has not, to date, been uncovered. Doc and Katie later moved on to Tombstone, Arizona, where in July 1881, Katie got extremely drunk and, in that lamentable condition, was talked into signing a deposition saying Holliday was one of the outlaws who had held up a stagecoach. Holliday, understandably put out by this betrayal, dumped Katie the minute he was freed of the charge. After Doc Holliday died in 1887, Kate married Irish blacksmith George Cummings in Aspen, on March 2, After working several mining camps throughout Colorado, they moved to Bisbee, Arizona, where she briefly ran a bakery. They split up because he as an abusive drunk and she never remarried. How did Kate get the alias, Big Nose Kate? Were there two Kates in her house and her nose was larger? Well her nose was a little prominent but most historians think the nickname was really a euphemism given to someone that smelled bad. This is probably why her bakery didn t do well. Although she lived to be nearly 90, legend has her being slain with a stray bullet fired by a drunk in the Brewery Gulch saloon in Bisbee Arizona. This story was an outright lie but it is, after all, how myths are made. Kate died one month short of her 90th birthday and was buried, under the name "Mary K. Cummings" below a modest marker in the Arizona Pioneer Home Cemetery in Prescott, Arizona. When Rodeo Clowns face off!

9 Lincoln County Regulators (Billy the Kid s Breakout) By Shooting Iron Miller Our Host Gunsmoke Cowboy and Dirty Earl Sheriff Robert Love and I missed the August Texican Ranger monthly shoot because we opted to return the favor and visit our cowboy friends in Ruidoso. That s where The Lincoln County Regulators shoot the 2nd weekend of the month. They hosted their annual shoot Billy the Kid s Breakout August 12 14, I have to say that Gunsmoke Cowboy and Dirty Earl put on one unforgettable match! I was told that this was the best one yet. What s really unbelievable is Dirty Earl recently had quadruple bypass surgery and yet he was at the shoot and even shot the match! He looked great! Of the 72 shooters, we made sure that Texas was well represented. Ruidoso was really nice this time of year. We expected a lot of rain but to our amazement it only drizzled one day and it didn t last long, so we really lucked out. We experienced cooler mornings for a change, and the afternoons were quite tolerable. Ruidoso is the largest village in Lincoln County and one of New Mexico s fastest growing cities. It is nestled beneath Sierra Blanca Peak. This match was held at the Ruidoso Gun Club range in Ruidoso Downs. The club has developed a special Cowboy Action Shooting range, featuring the premier Cowboy Action Shooting town of Old Lincoln, a unique town that represents the historic town of Lincoln and even includes a replicate of the Lincoln County Courthouse. The town was basically rebuilt a few years ago from the ground up, and additions are made each year in hopes of making the shooter feel he is right there in the 1878 action. The targets are unique in that most of them are relatively small (especially the chili peppers and rabbits). In other words, you have to aim when you shoot. Imagine that! There was quite a bit of movement required by the shooter on the stages. The stages were definitely thought provoking and several stages had moving targets that had to be hit between stationary ones. There were no clean matches so I guess that tells you what we were all up against. So, we cowboy d up, went out there and had a really good time. Friday afternoon several side matches were set-up that included two Wild Bunch stages, Long Range Main Match Pistol and Rifle, Big Bore Long Range Single Shot & Lever, Pocket Pistol

10 and Derringer, Speed Pistol and Rifle, and.22 Pot Shot. The.22 side match was a hoot (especially since I won the pot)! We enjoyed it so much we took pictures of the set up and talked to Gunsmoke Cowboy about the specifications, thinking it might be an option for Comancheria Days next year. He was more than happy to share the idea with us. The winner wins the pot of money that is collected from everyone who shot it. Saturday night was the banquet at the Cree Meadows Country Club. There were many raffle prizes up for grabs during the course of the evening. They also raffled off a chainsaw and a Dillon 650. Guess who won the 650? None other than Sheriff Robert Love! He also won one of the 10 Henry.22 rifles that were given away. Bexar Bill Brocius won Best Dressed Male that evening (he looked really dapper) and Sheriff Robert Love and I won the Best Dressed Couple. We sat with our really good friends Bexar Bill Brocius, Brass Case and his wife Betty, and John Selman and Tillie Baldwin, who by the way recently made the permanent move from Lakeway, TX to Ruidoso, so they didn t have far to travel! We told a lot of folks that the Texican Rangers Comancheria Days would also be the SASS Texas State Championship next year and invited them to come join us. Sheriff and I would definitely recommend that everyone join Gunsmoke Cowboy and Dirty Earl for their shoot next year. You can visit their website Texas shooters did quite well over the weekend. Here is a list of the winners by category: Cattle Baron Brass Case 1 st Place Classic Cowboy Dragon Hill Dave 3 rd Place Cowboy Tascosa 2 nd Place Cowgirl Shooting Iron Miller 1 st Place Duelist Taos-O 1 st Place Elder Statesman John Selman 5 th Place Frontiersman Caprock Leatherneck 1 st Place Lady Senior Yankee Texan 1 st Place Lady Silver Senior Tillie Baldwin 3 rd Place Senior Duelist Bexar Bill Brocius 3 rd Place Silver Senior Sheriff Robert Love 3 rd Place Silver Senior Goatneck 2 nd Place Wrangler J.P. Kidder 1 st Place

11 RO Corner What s the Call? By Sheriff Robert Love Let s look at the following scenario, and then you make the call. Ammo: 10 Pistol holstered, 10 Rifle staged at the left window, 4+ Shotgun staged at the right window Starting Position: Standing at the left window with both hands touching the window frame. The scenario calls for a continuous Nevada sweep from either end with the rifle. Move to the second position and shoot the revolvers using the rifle instructions. Move to the third position and shoot the 4 shotgun targets in any order. First Case: The shooter started the stage and shot the rifle correctly. He moved to the second position and shot the first revolver P1-P2-P3-P4-P3. He then shot the second revolver, missed P2 and hit the overlapping P1 target, then hit P1-P2-P3-P4. He moved to the third position, shot S4-S3 reloaded and shot S2-S1. Pistol Target placement: What s the call? Clean and a P? One miss? No. The correct call is clean, no P. According to the Miss Flow Chart on page 28 in the RO1 Handbook Did the target placement give the shooter the opportunity for a clean miss to be scored without argument? The benefit always goes to the shooter. Overlapping targets are never a good idea and should be considered poor stage design. Second Case: The shooter started the stage and shot the rifle correctly. He moved to the second position and shot the first revolver P1-P2-P3-P4-P3. He then shot the second revolver, missed P2 and hit the rifle target behind it, then hit P1-P2-P3-P4. He moved to the third position, shot S4-S3 reloaded and shot S2-S1. What s the call? Clean and a P? One miss and a P? No. The correct call is 1 miss, no P. To assess a procedural penalty, the shooter would have to have intentionally shot the rifle target with the revolver. You cannot measure intent and a miss cannot cause a P. Third Case: The shooter started the stage at Texas surrender. He shot the rifle correctly, but did not shoot the last target, leaving one round on the carrier. He moved to the second position and shot the revolvers correctly. He moved to the third position and shot the 4 shotgun targets. What s the call? The Timer Operator should correct the shooter s starting position before starting the timer, but it is the shooter s responsibility to know the scenario. The shooter is assessed a procedural penalty. The TO and the spotters should immediately tell the shooter that there is one more round in the rifle before the next gun is fired. The shooter is assessed a Minor Safety Penalty for leaving a

12 live round on the carrier and a miss for the target not hit. The call is 1 Miss, 1 Procedural and 1 Minor Safety Penalty. Fourth Case: The shooter started the stage and shot the rifle correctly. He moved to the second position and shot the revolvers correctly. He moved to the third position and shot S4 and S3, missing S3. The shooter reloads and shoots S2 and S1. When S1 falls, S3 goes down with it. Is the shooter required to reload and Shoot where it was? What s the call? The shooter fired the required four rounds at the shotgun targets and all of the targets are down. He is not required to fire a 5th round. I d rather be lucky than good. No call. NEW CLARIFICATION OF EXISTING RULES FROM THE TG MEETING AT END OF TRAIL: Safety checks: Unloading table officers should check that they can see the follower to ensure there is no ammo in the magazine (rifle and shotguns). With rifles, work the lever, look at the chamber and the carrier, then turn the rifle over and look for rounds in the magazine. Have shooter work the action of a 97. You should be able to see the follower in the magazine in both the rifle and the shotgun. Standing upright: If shooter is to start with hands on hat or other stance, they must remain standing upright until after the beep, unless stage instructions indicate otherwise. Example: Just because the scenario states to point 1 hand downrange does not mean the shooter can have the other hand on the gun or bend down over the gun, unless stage instructions state otherwise. The other hand must be at SASS default, at side not touching guns and shooter must be standing upright. Feedback By Tombstone Mary, Secretary Next month is Shindig our annual shoot, free to members and guests pay $ We will be shooting 4 stages and 1 team event. When you sign up for the match you will be asked if you want to shoot the team event. Your name will be put in a pot and we will have a blind draw for teams. A D Texaz and Judge GeePee have planned a fun event for all. Please bring lots of pistol ammo you will need it for the team event. After the match and team event we will serve lunch, give out annual awards, prize drawing and home. Please try to sign up early it will be a busy morning. If you have any questions, please me at: Maryn58@sbcglobal.net

13 We are getting close to election time. No not the national election but next year s Texican Rangers. Running for Vice President Crazy Clyde SASS #54222, NRA # , TSRA #200592, CHL # Education: BS Forestry, CSU, BSN, UTHSCSA 1992, MSN, UTHSCSA 2004 Present Employment: Retired Family Nurse Practitioner. Marital Status: Spouse, Bama Sue #54223, retired Federal Attorney. Reasons I might make a good VP: 1.) I live close to the range-30-minute drive. 2.) I like the people in the club and enjoy their company. 3.) I believe the club is well run and I like and respect the present leaders and enjoy working with them. 4.) I have been Treasurer and President of the South Texas Pistolaros. 5.) With Beans Ahgin and Latigo Lee we started a successful company, San Antonio Western Shooting, a company that introduces tourists to Cowboy Shooting. We have been #1 on TripAdvisor for several years. I sold my 1/3 interest to another shooter several months ago because of the frequent traffic jams on IH10, causing problems with travel to A Place to Shoot, our place of business south of San Antonio. I still work for the company when requested-a day or two a month. 6.) I believe a responsible member of any organization should share leadership responsibility as needed, according to his/her ability and experience Colt Navy, a thing of beauty

14 Texican Rangers Regulators Tombstone Mary 2003 A.D. Texaz 2004 Dusty Lone Star 2008 Handlebar Bob 2010 Dusty Chambers 2010 Sheriff Robert Love 2012 Grouchy Spike 2013 Agarita Annie 2016 Nueces Slim 2016 Skinny 2016 August Birthdays Crooked Creek Sam 8/7 Moose McCoy 8/9 Lars Christopherson 8/9 Shootin Star 8/12 Roxinda Rhodes 8/12 Joe Darter 8/22 Texas McD 8/14 Scooter 8/24 Red Scott 8/29 Key Links

15 TEXICAN RANGERS 2016 March Monthly Match April 7-10 COMANCHERIA DAYS April 30 Wild Bunch Match May Monthly Match June Monthly Match July 9-10 Monthly Match August Monthly Match September 10 SHINDIG 2016 September 11 Monthly Match October 8 Final Match of 2016 November/December Range Closed CENTRAL TEXAS MONTHLY CLUB SHOOTING SCHEDULES 1st Saturday Plum Creek (Lockhart) 1st Saturday South Texas Pistaleros (San Antonio) 2nd Saturday Texas Riviera Pistoleros (George West) 2nd Saturday Darby Rough Regulators (West Point) 2nd Sunday Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (Pharr) 2nd Weekend Texican Rangers (Comfort) 3rd Saturday Tejas Caballeros (Dripping Springs) 4th Saturday (Cowboy) and 4th Sunday (Long Green Mountain Regulators (Marble Falls) Range) 2016 Jan 30 Feb Mar Mar April 7-9 April 7-10 May 5-8 May May TSRA Regional Match Winter Range (25th Anniversary) Bayou Blast Trailhead (25th Anniversary) Land Run Comancheria Days Battle of Plum Creek Jail Break Fall of the Fort (SASS TX State Championship) THSS Phoenix Lake Charles, LA THSS Oklahoma City Texican Ranger (Comfort) Plum Creek Oakwood Outlaws Ft. Parker Sep 10 Shindig Comfort

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