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 294713 January, 2016 Kerrville 78029-4713 Officers President Judge GeePee Gary Powell (210) 378 6966 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 AD Texas jn1897@me.com Communications Dutch Van Horn dutchvanhorn@satx.rr.com (210) 823-6058 Words from the Judge Hello the Camp: First and foremost, thanks to all the folks that braved the gale weather we had on the first match day. It was cold and windy, with each of us looking for a warm place to stand. As I spoke with the shooters I found that since we could not find a warm place we just endured and went on to have a good time. Sunday dawned clear and 29 degrees. When I reached the ranch it was very cold. We shot the first three stages being miserable, but warmed up on the last two. Still, anytime we can enjoy our sport and smell gunpowder makes for a great day. Match winners are announced in an email to you as well as on our website, so please use these two media sources to keep up with happenings in our club. I want to thank all the people that came to the workday, it made setup so much easier. For the people that are not able to make the workdays we understand. When I was still working I could not be there either, so don t feel badly. We can probably find something for you to do on match day to help setup each stage, so just ask. Comancheria Days is fast approaching. If you have already registered, thanks, if not please do so as soon as possible. Early registration helps to know the number of awards needed as well as what we can spend on shooter, raffle and Friday night prizes. Our Match Director, Shooting Iron Miller has a stellar schedule of events planned for your pleasure. The new officers are open to suggestions to make our club better; we all realize that without our members we have nothing. Do not hesitate to offer your suggestions, remember silence is considered consent. I won t tell you we will always do what you suggest, but I can tell you that we will always listen and consider them. Please put them in written form, as I am very forgetful.
Your president is not a great article writer. English composition in college was not my strong suit. As I progressed in the business world I found that a good administrative assistant really made me look good. Unfortunately I will not have one in this capacity, so our members will have to bear with me as I try to write articles. Judge GeePee 1. You get to shoot the guns of the old west. 2. You get to get your cowboy (or cowgirl) on. (You get to dress in cowboy clothes.) 3. You get to shoot steel fast. If you re not into that then shoot for accuracy. 4. You get to challenge yourself. 5. Everyone gets a cowboy nickname. 10 Reasons you should try Cowboy Action shooting Famous Quotes Many a good man has been found under shabby hat. Old Vaquero Saying Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand. Kurt Vonnegut, American author 6. You get to buy more guns. 7. There are side matches to suit every taste. 8. You get to embrace the Spirit of the Game. 9. You get to deal with weird and wonderful props. 10. You get to shoot with whippersnappers and old coots alike. Always drink upstream from the herd. Will Rogers Don't interfere with something that ain't bothering' you none. Judge Roy Bean "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learnt something from yesterday." Inscription on John Wayne s Headstone Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction. Unknown Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. Unknown
The Texican Rangers is a cowboy action shooting club in the Texas Hill Country. The second weekend of every month you get a chance to step back in time and spend a few hours in the old west. You will come for the shooting but stay for the people. Come out and join us and see for yourself. Our next shoot will be on the 13 th and 14 th of February. It will be a sweet heart of a shoot so join us and bring your favorite valentine. Our name, Texican Rangers is of course based on the real Texas Rangers, the oldest law enforcement organization in North America. Steven Austin organized small, informal armed groups whose duties required them to range over the countryside, and who thus came to be known as "rangers". We are going to celebrate the Texas Rangers with stories in our newsletter and they will be the theme of Comancheria Days 2016. Here is our first Texas Ranger article. John Coffee Hays Devil Jack By Dutch Van Horn The most feared Indian fighter in Texas stood 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighed in about 140 pounds soaking wet and by all accounts was considered mild mannered and even tempered. However, his comrades also described him as absolutely fearless in battle and a brilliant tactician. His name was John Coffee Hays. His men called him Captain Jack but to the frontier Indians and bandits he was know as Devil Jack. John Coffee Hays was born in Tennessee in 1817. His Father fought with Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston in the War of 1812. Hays immigrated to Texas in 1836. He planned to get work as a surveyor. Instead he took part in the Texas Revolution. Joining up with other volunteers he served under another famous Texan, Erastus Deaf Smith. Hays distinguished himself in his military service. After Texas independence, the Texas Army was disbanded and it went back to the Rangers to defend it s people from Indians, bandits, and other attacks by the Mexican military. Hays joined the Texas Rangers out of patriotism and a desire to defend Texas. When Hays moved to Texas the Comanche Nation numbered around 60,000 and they completely controlled an area from Kansas all the way down to what is now Austin.
The Comanche were the best light Calvary in the world at that time, fighting on horse back with lance, shield, and bow and arrow. The early Texas settlers fought Dragoon style. They would ride to a fight get off their horses and fight on foot. They would leave a few men guarding the horses and the rest would advance on the mounted Comanche warriors. The Comanche would ride at a full gallop past the ground forces. They used their horses as shields and fired arrows or threw lances from this protected position. At the end of the line of settlers the warrior would whirl around switch sides of their horse and ride back down the line and do it again. For every one shot of a single shot pistol or rifle, an Indian could launch six arrows from a quiver. The early Texas settlers had no idea how to fight against tactics like that. If the Comanche were not able to overrun the settlers in their defensive position, they would simply ride around them, kill the guards holding the horses and ride off leaving the ground forces stranded on the prairie. It got to the point when the settlers would leave half their numbers guarding the horses and the other half to attack the mounted warriors. Between the Comanche and bandits, the advancement of civilization was brought to a standstill. Along came Captain Jack and all that changed. He was appointed Captain of a Ranger Company in San Antonio and was responsible for patrolling the entire southern part of Texas. He formed his unit with a combination of Anglo colonists, Hispanic settlers and friendly Indians. He recognized that the old methods of fighting the Comanche didn t work so he thought outside of the box to develop tactics that would. So how did John Hays and the Texas Rangers step up to the challenge? He basically copied the Comanche, used Indian scouts, developed new tactics, had extreme courage, and most importantly, he embraced new technologies. He developed the Rangers horsemanship skills, and tried to copy the Comanche style. They would hang off a saddle, and shoot their pistols from under the neck of the horse all while it was moving! The Rangers would train to shoot their rifle at one target, and then switch to their pistol for another, all while on horseback. He would use old school transition drills to develop these skills. In one of his drills he would have his rangers ride by at a gallop while he would throw silver dollars on the ground. The ranger could keep what he could pick up with out demounting or slowing. They also did the same things to the Comanche as the Comanche did to others. One tactic was to stampede the enemy s horses so they would be without mounts. Another was to target leadership. If you could kill the opposing chief the battle was over. In a truly historical move, Captain Hays arranged for each one of his Rangers to replace their heavy single shot horse pistols with two five shot; yet to be field-tested, Colt Patterson Revolvers. These weapons fired five rounds each, before they needed to be reloaded. While paused at Walker s Creek on June 8, 1844 one of Hays Rangers climbing a tree after some honey, suddenly shouted, Captain! Yonder comes a thousand Indians. The number was closer to 80 and Captain Jack formed a plan instantly, realizing that the Comanche were charging to trigger a volley. The Comanche expected the Texans to be armed with their single-shot weapons so the Comanche planned to charge through that volley then overwhelm and kill every Texan before they could reload. Captain Hays was always calm and deadly in combat and through selection, training and example he had molded the 15 Rangers in his troop into his own image. Hays mounted them in formation and gave them their orders. We re going to charge them. Hays explained that the Rangers were not to fire until they were among the Comanche. During the advance he shouted, Crowd them! Powder-burn them boys! The disciplined Rangers charged into the surprised Comanche, and opened a deadly fire. One of the Comanche survivors later said each Ranger, Had a shot for every finger on the hand. Historians surmise the Rangers had practiced to quickly exchange unloaded cylinders with pre-loaded extra cylinders while on horseback. As the shocked Comanche turned to flee the Rangers pursued them and continued to thin their ranks. In desperation Chief Yellow Wolf tried to rally his band for a counter-attack, but Hays keen eye spotted the leader and shouted, Any man with a load left, Kill that Chief! Instantly, Ranger Robert Gillespie road forward, took aim, fired and Yellow Wolf fell from his pony with a gunshot wound to the head.
In spite of being outnumbered four to one the Rangers decimated these skilled warriors. The Colt revolver became The Great Equalizer. His reputation perhaps took no greater leap than during his involvement at the Battle of Enchanted Rock. Hays and his Rangers were assigned to protect a survey company near present day Fredericksburg, Texas. Unexpectedly attacked by Comanche s and cut off from his command, Hays took cover in a small depression atop Enchanted Rock. Enchanted Rock was a place that held mystery and reverence to the Comanche. Some thought it was a haunted place to be avoided. Others thought it was a spiritual and mystical location. Whatever it was to the Comanche, it soon became nothing more than a source of frustration. Try as they might, they could not dislodge Hays from his perch. Each time they crept closer, Hays, a crack shot, scattered them with gunfire. For more than three hours the war party attempted to capture or kill Hays but he and his rifle refused to cooperate. Finally, his Ranger Company managed to regroup and drive off the Comanche war party. From that moment, most of the Indian tribes in Texas assumed that Hays was protected by mystical powers. That reputation served him well in his further dealings with area tribal leaders. It also contributed to his legend among the men of the Texas Rangers who served under him. His chief scout was an Apache Chief named Flacco. The Chief taught Hays about differences in Indian fighting tactics and Hays would have numerous opportunities to use this knowledge against the fierce Comanche warriors. In one of their last Indian engagements the Indians had learned to not fight Hays Rangers on the open prairie on horseback. The Rangers had gotten too good at that style of fighting. The Indians found a defensive position on foot in a creek bed. Hays decided he was going to draw them out. He and Flacco charged the Indian s position with guns a blazing. His plan was to charge in and then reverse direction and draw the Indians out. That was his plan but with all the smoke and noise, his horse refused to turn, and he and Flacco rode through the Indian position. The Comanche were so surprised they stopped firing. Afterward Flacco was reported to say, Me and Red Wing aren't afraid to go to hell together. Captain Jack, he's too brave. He's not afraid to go to hell all by himself." During the Mexican-American War Colonel Jack Hays commanded the legendary First Regiment, Texas Mounted Rifleman, which served with General Zachary Taylor. Hays 250 men scouted for Taylor and were heavily engaged in effective combat throughout the war. By that time the Hays men were armed with the massive Walker Colt. At war s end Hays and his Texas Rangers were legends nation-wide. In 1850 Hays moved to San Francisco to become the first elected Sheriff in this lawless town. Sheriff Hays found that citizens felt the criminal element was so out of control in the city that a Committee of Vigilance had formed, and was taking part in extra-judicial hangings. In December of 1852 in front of a large crowd, Sheriff Hays stood on a scaffold he helped build and personally swung the ax, which cut the rope, which released the hatch, that dropped 32 year old convicted murdered Jose Fomer into eternity. Fomer was hanged after a legal arrest, conviction, and sentencing. It was the first legal hanging in San Francisco. With the rule of law established in San Francisco Hays, took a job as a surveyor, a skill he was trained in before he felt compelled to help bring peace to the West. After serving his term he went into Real Estate and became one of the principal founders of Oakland, California. In 1860, he took up arms once again after Paiutes killed a Colonel Ormsby and many of his men at the First Battle of Pyramid Lake. Colonel Jack Hays took command of a troop that went into pursuit of warring Paiutes and in a second pitched battle at Pyramid Lake he defeated them. At the start of the Civil War, Hays was offered commands by both the North and the South. As someone who had sworn loyalty to the United States Government, he chose not to bear arms while the nation tore itself apart. He declined both offers and instead chose to stay in California to help give birth to a new state for the second time in his life.
After Pyramid Lake, Hays neither wore a star, nor fired a gun in combat again. The rest of the battles in life were all political or business. After a life of adventure in 1883, at age 66, he died peacefully in his estate in Oakland Hills. He succeeded in many things in life, but history shall forever remember him as Captain John Jack Coffee Hays, Texas Ranger. Top 11 Western Classics Because 10 just ain t enough By Dutch Van Horn Winston Churchill said that History is written by the victors, and while that may be true of war, the history of firearms is written by those who used them, lived and died by them and made them legendary beyond their own time. Remington Model 1875 It took Remington until 1875 to introduce an all new single-action revolver to compete with Colt and S&W, but Remington would never quite capture the market, even though its 1875 and later Models 1888 and 1890 would be carried by famous lawmen and notorious outlaws. The lines of the 1875 resembled the traditional Remington percussion style, while the later Remington 1890 more closely followed the Colt SAA design. Unfortunately, before the end of the century Remington would abandon the revolver market with its last models produced in 1894. Nevertheless, the Remington cartridge guns carved a niche in Western history, most famously with Jesse
and Frank James. Jesse carried numerous guns Colts, S&Ws, even a Merwin & Hulbert but he also holstered a Remington Model 1875, the gun favored by his brother Frank, who carried a pair chambered in.45 Colt. When Frank James surrendered after the murder of Jesse, he handed over one of his 1875 Remingtons. The other had been given to a doctor in return for patching him up. Frank James lived until 1915 and appeared in Wild West shows before he died at the age of 72. Spencer Repeater Despite its fame today, during the Civil War the Henry was eclipsed by the most successful repeating rifle of the 1860s, the Spencer, which was carried by thousands of Union troops and cavalrymen. It was designed by Christopher Spencer and patented in 1860. Like all of Spencer s designs, his seven-shot repeating rifle was over-engineered, almost to a fault. Simple in its operation, it was built to withstand heavy use; the 1860 Spencer was, pardon the pun, bulletproof. The heart of the repeating rifle was a rotating block that could feed a cartridge into the breech each time the lever was operated. The rounds were drawn from a tubular magazine inserted through the buttstock, so that each time a cartridge was fired and the action worked, the spent casing was extracted from the chamber and a fresh one carried into the breech by closing the lever. All that remained was to fully cock the hammer, take aim and fire. While not as fast as the Henry lever action, which automatically cocked the hammer on the backstroke of the bolt, the Spencer was neither as delicate nor as prone to jamming. Granted, the Henry packed more than twice as many cartridges, but the Spencer s booming.56-56 rimfire rounds were nearly as powerful as a.56 caliber musket ball or conical lead bullet loaded in a rifled musket. Spencer also designed a number of variations: rifles, carbines, and sporting models in different calibers. Of the 144,500 produced, the Union Army acquired 107,372. The Spencer s reputation and ready availability after the war made it indispensable on the western frontier. Henry Lever Action The Civil War made a great many guns famous, but a few, like the 1851 Navy, retained their popularity after Appomattox and among them were two rifles that have become synonymous not only with the war but also the American West: the Henry lever action rifle and Christopher M. Spencer s repeating rifles and carbines. The Henry is the most famous today, particularly with the ongoing Civil War Sesquicentennial Celebration. Inventor Benjamin Tyler Henry created the rifle bearing his name in 1860 for Oliver Winchester s New Haven Arms Co. and received his first patent on the repeating lever action rifle that October. The start of the Civil War immediately placed high demand on the 16-shot.44 Henry rimfire repeater. Carried by Union troops (often at their own expense or that of regimental commanders), Confederates on the receiving end of Henry repeaters began calling it that damned Yankee rifle you can load on Sunday and shoot all week. During the War Between the States, soldiers armed with Henry lever action rifles decided many a skirmish.
Smith & Wesson Schofield While Colt was finalizing its benchmark 1873 Single Action, the celebrated Peacemaker, Smith & Wesson was introducing its first large-caliber revolver, the Model 3 American First Model topbreak, in 1870. By 1873, S&W had the Model 3 American Second Model available, and the First and Second Model Russian variations. By 1875, the now-legendary First Model Schofield was introduced, and S&W was vying with Colt for government contracts. A variation of the S&W Model No. 3,the gun took its name from Major George W. Schofield of the 10th Cavalry. He modified the No. 3 s design to better meet the needs of the cavalry and allow easier opening of the mechanism for loading and reloading in the saddle. In 1875, Smith & Wesson incorporated these refinements into a new model bearing his name. Colt 1851 Navy In the early years of the Western frontier, there were many handguns and rifles in common use, but by the 1850s one handgun had risen to the top as the most popular, Samuel Colt s Model 1851 Navy revolver. The.36 caliber revolver was to be the second most successful percussion handgun ever manufactured by Colt, exceeded only by the1849 Pocket Model. The Navy, however, had a life that extended well beyond its production from 1850 to 1873, with more than of 255,000 being built. More soldiers carried the 1851 Navy during the Civil War than any other, as it had been the standard-issue sidearm prior to the Southern secession in 1860 and 1861, and in the hands of former Union soldiers who sided with the Confederacy. The 1851 Navy survived the War Between the States to also become one of the most frequently carried revolvers during the postwar Western Expansion. It was also one of the most common revolvers converted from cap-and-ball ammunition to metallic cartridges by Colt in the early 1870s. Thus it has an important place among our list of classic Western guns. Colt Single Action Army When 1873 rolled around, Colt had already unveiled its William Mason-designed New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol, and the U.S. military was chomping at the bit. In fact, Ordnance Department orders were so high that civilians rarely saw an 1873 Colt SAA until late in 1874. Mason, Colt s armory superintendent, received his first patent on September 19, 1871. A second was issued on July 2, 1872, essentially for the gun put into production that December as the Model 1873, and a third for improvements issued on January 19, 1875. Mason s 1872 design also made use of the best features from previous Colts, including the grip size and angle of the popular 1851 Navy, a 7½-inch barrel length and Colt s proven lockwork. With only a brief period between World War II and 1955, when the Peacemaker was temporarily discontinued, it has been built by Colt longer than any other revolver manufactured anywhere in the world, and it s become the quintessential handgun of the American cowboy.
Remington New Model Army Outside of the Colt 1851 Navy and 1860 Army, the next most commonly carried sidearms of Union soldiers were the Remington Army Models of 1858 and 1861 and the New Model of 1863 in.44 caliber. Production exceeded 122,000 for the New Model Army, and Remington continued to manufacture the guns until 1875, when it introduced its first all-new cartridge revolver (this is in addition to earlier percussion models converted by Remington to fire metallic cartridges beginning in 1869). The Remington was another Civil War gun that found its way West in the holsters of ex-union and Confederate soldiers searching for a new life in the 1870s. The Remington was a more modern design than Colt models, and it used a solid frame and topstrap and a threaded barrel. It was also much faster to change cylinders for reloading. Soldiers often carried preloaded cylinders, which allowed for faster handling. This could also be done with a Colt, but changing cylinders required removing the barrel, whereas the Remington allowed the cylinder to be easily rolled out of the frame by dropping the loading lever and pulling the cylinder arbor forward. A reload took less than 30 seconds. Winchester Model 1873 The gun that won the West has often been used to glorify the Winchester Model 1873, and there is certainly a great deal of merit in that assertion, as Winchester certainly left an indelible mark on the American West. After parting ways with Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1865, Oliver Winchester started the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., and his first new rifle was the Model 1866 designed by Nelson King. King s improvements to the Henry lever action included a loading chamber in the right side of the receiver and an enclosed cartridge magazine running under the barrel. He even managed to increase the cartridge capacity from the Henry s 16 to an impressive 17 rounds! Oliver Winchester had a runaway success, but even while the brassframed Yellow Boy models were selling as fast as they could be built, Winchester s engineers were at work on further improvements leading to the now-legendary Model 1873. As with its sales, the variations seemed endless: Model 1873s were available in calibers from.22 rimfire to.32-20,.38-40 and the most popular.44-40, with round or octagonal barrels in 20-, 24- or 30-inch lengths. ` The original Model 1873 was produced until 1919, with 720,610 manufactured. Did it win the West? If sales are any indication, the Winchester 73 won something! Sharps Rifles Sometimes one shot was enough. At least it was for Christian Sharps and thousands of men who used his rifles in the War Between the States and carried them westward in the 1870s. If there is one gun that truly
defines America s Western Expansion in the 1870s, it is not the Colt or Winchester repeater, but the single-shot Sharps rifle. Sharps wanted to make loading and charging a rifle faster; his idea was to do it all from the breech end. A March 9, 1850, article in Scientific American praised the advantages of the Sharps breechloader, stating that a man with no previous weapons experience could fire it up to nine times in a minute and place every bullet within a 6-inch circle 40 yards away. In 1859, Sharps had made his last change in the percussion rifle s design with a new straight breech and three standard versions: carbine, military rifle and sporting rifle. The U.S. military was the single largest purchaser of Sharps rifles, and during the Civil War the Army and Navy procured more than 100,000. It is said that a sharpshooter armed with a 30-inch-barreled Sharps rifle could knock an officer off his horse at 1,000 yards. When the Civil War ended, three rifles emerged as the most successful the Spencer, the Henry and the Sharps but the Sharps didn t use metallic cartridges. Not about to let his popularity wane, Sharps retrofitted earlier percussion models to accept metallic cartridges, and more than 32,000 were converted to.52-70 rimfire and.50-70 centerfire. In 1860, Sharps introduced his first all-new cartridge model chambered in.50-70 and.44-77. These were produced until he brought out what was to become the most geographically significant rifle of the 19th century, the Model 1874. There were many variations, with barrel lengths from 22 to 36 inches, various calibers, and military, target and long-range models. The largest standard calibers were.50-70 and.45-70 Government, the latter becoming the predominant cartridge for the predominant rifle used by a generation of frontiersmen who came to be known as buffalo hunters. Between 1868 and the last decade of the 19th century, the Sharps rifle in the hands of skilled hunters changed the face of the American West. Winchester Model 1876 The Winchester Repeating Arms Co. continued to improve its designs even while the 1873 was the topselling rifle in America. The one big complaint had always been the limitations of the design in terms of more powerful cartridges. Working with John M. Browning, Winchester combined the power of a large-caliber single-shot rifle with the styling of the 1873 to develop the 1876 Centennial model. Looking nearly identical to the 1873, the frame of the Centennial was a full 1½ inch greater in length, had more heft, and when compared to the.44-40 models, was clearly larger. An early Winchester factory advertisement for the Model 1876 noted, The constant calls from many sources, and particularly from the regions in which the grizzly bear and other large game are found, as well as the plains where absence of cover and shyness of game require the hunter to make his shots at long range made it desirable to build a still more powerful gun than the Model 1873. The 1876 was originally offered in the new.45-75 WCF. In 1879, two new cartridges were added:.45-60 and.50-95 Express. In 1884, Winchester added the.40-60 cartridge, which was popular with coyote and wolf hunters. This was the rifle that Geronimo was carrying when he surrendered to the Army. The 1876 was a true sportsman s rifle, and by the late 1870s its popularity had spread worldwide, with none other than Theodore Roosevelt owning at least three, a carbine and rifle in.40-60 caliber, and his favorite, a rifle in.45-75.
Winchester Model 1886 Winchester finally developed a.45-70 model to meet government cartridge standards in 1886. This is the last of the legendary Winchester models to be among the top 12 guns. With the introduction of the even more powerful Model 1886 chambered for the.45-70 Government cartridge, Winchester added another legendary rifle to its history. The Model 1886 was produced until 1935, and approximately 160,000 were built in the greatest variety of calibers of any Winchester lever action up to that point. In addition to the longanticipated.45-70 Government cartridge, the 1886 was offered in.33 WCF,.38-56 WCF,.38-70 WCF,.40-65 WCF,.40-70 WCF,.40-82 WCF,.45-90,.50-100 Express, and.50-100-450. The 1886 was produced in four standard versions: the 1886 Rifle, the Carbine with a shotgun-style buttplate, the Musket with an extendedlength forearm, and the Extra Light Weight Rifle. Barrel lengths varied from 26 inches for Rifles, 22 inches for the Extra Light Weight Rifle and Carbine (full stock and takedown versions), and 30 inches for the Musket. This was the weapon of choice during the Johnson County War. Tales of the Texas Rangers Our theme for Comancheria Days 2016 By Shooting Iron Miller Shortly after we chose our theme, I heard that there used to be a western adventure, old-time radio and television drama with this same title. I thought it might have been just a little before my time since it didn t ring a bell. After I did a little research on the subject I found that the radio show premiered on July 8, 1950, on the US NBC radio network, and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. It later aired on CBS Television from 1955 to 1958. Well, that would definitely explain why I wasn t familiar with it! Film star Joel McCrea voiced the radio version as the fictitious Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify criminals. His faithful horse, Charcoal (or "Charky"), helped Pearson to track down the culprits. The radio shows, some of which are available on the Internet, are reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. Pretty interesting stuff I might say. The television series ran over 3 seasons with 52 episodes. The radio series used contemporary cases and modern detective methods to solve crimes; it was a procedural drama, in many ways Jack Webb's Dragnet with a western flavor. The television version had some episodes set in the 1950s, comparable in some ways to Rod Cameron's syndicated series, State Trooper. Other episodes were set in the 19th century in a traditional western genre. In each case, Parker and Lauter were involved with chases and shoot-outs. The weaponry varied greatly between the modern and older stories. Some of you may remember that during the opening and closing credits of the television series, the actors would march toward the camera as an off-screen men's chorus sings the theme song, "These Are Tales of Texas Rangers," to the tune of "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad. We plan to have some fun with this theme during our event this year. Even though we won t be celebrating a special anniversary as we have the past two years, we are still planning a great shoot for you. We know you won t go away disappointed. If you join us, you ll have an opportunity to have a great time shooting all the stages, visiting with friends, and participating in the activities we have planned. Culebra Blaze, the Assistant Match Director, and myself, have been working with our event committee to have good stages, side matches
(including Bolt Action Military) a delicious authentic chuck wagon dinner Friday night hosted by El Patron, and entertainment by Sixwire. I ll continue to update you with specifics, as we get closer to Comancheria Days. I ask that you encourage your fellow shooters to join us. We d love to see our friends that continue to participate each year, as well as brand new shooters. Everyone is welcome! Please be sure to reach out to me (a_fite@sbcglobal.net) or Culebra Blaze (wilebiker@yahoo.com) if you have any questions about, or suggestions for our upcoming event. We are here to serve! Until we meet again, try singing the lyrics below! Theme Song Lyrics of These are Tales of Texas Rangers (Sung to the tune of The Eyes of Texas are Upon You ) Hail the stalwart man of Texas Jayce Pearson is his name His partner Clay is right beside him Each day has proved their fame They're Ranger's sworn to duty Their work is never through They fight and fight for justice To enforce the law for you. Words from Mary By Tombstone Mary I wanted to say thank you to everyone for being so patient at our first shoot of 2016. Registration took a little longer with dues and waivers needing to be updated. If you have not turned in a waiver or paid your dues for 2016 you can find the form on line. Please consider completing the form and mailing it along with your check to our post office box. Please remember that the posse sign up is first come first serve. You will need to arrive early if you want to make sure you get signed up on your posse of choice. We will do our best to accommodate everyone but sometimes it just does not work. We were all very lucky to have Agarita Annie doing the scoring during the match. I am a shooter and the scores will have to wait until I have completed the match for the day. I will get them sent out as soon as I can and posted to the website. Dutch Van Horn will be taking over the newsletter and emporium. If you have an item you would like to sell please email him at dutchvanhorn@satx.rr.com Agarita Annie has served the Texican Rangers for many years giving hours of her time volunteering for multiple jobs and duties. She has made the transition very easy for me thanks to her organizational skills with the registration office and the computer. Please take a moment to thank her for all her hard work. January Birthdays Preacherman Lee 1/3 Chasen Aces 1/5 Blacky Vela 1/7 Smoke Jensen 1/9 Hawkeye 1/12 Skyhawk Hans 1/12 Block Creek Kid 1/21 Big John Mesquite 1/23 Leather Lung 1/27
Key Links www.sassnet.com www.texicanrangers.org www.greenmountainregulators.org www.pccss.org www.stxpistolaros.com www.tejascaballeros.org www.traviscountyregulators.com www.trpistoleros.com www.texasjacks.com www.cimarron-firearms.com www.tsra.com www.wildwestmercantile.com TEXICAN RANGERS 2016 January 30 Wild Bunch January 31 Long Range/BAM February 13-14 Monthly Match March 12-13 Monthly Match April 7-10 COMANCHERIA DAYS May 14-15 Monthly Match June 11-12 Monthly Match July 9-10 Monthly Match August 13-14 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 Travis County Regulators (Smithville) 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 22-28 Mar 11-13 Mar 17-20 April 7-9 May 5-8 May 13-15 May 19-22 TSRA Regional Match Winter Range (25th Anniversary) Bayou Blast Trailhead (25th Anniversary) Land Run Battle of Plum Creek Jail Break Fall of the Fort (SASS TX State Championship) THSS Phoenix Lake Charles, LA THSS Oklahoma City Plum Creek Oakwood Outlaws Ft. Parker
Comancheria Days 2016 Schedule of Events Wednesday, April 6 9:00 12:30 RO1 class (5/class minimum) 12:30 1:30 Break for lunch 1:30 4:00 RO2 class Thursday, April 7 9:00 5:00 Registration 10:00 Wild Bunch Match (3 stages) 10:00 4:30 Long Range Competition **BBQ Lunch Available for Sale** 1:00 4:30 Side Match Competitions Friday, April 8 **Breakfast Tacos Available for Sale** 7:15 8:30 Registration 8:45 Mandatory Shooters Meeting 9:00 Main Match Competition (5 stages) Best Ladies /Men s Costume Judging during Match Posse Shoot for posses 1-5 (next to Jersey Lily) **BBQ Lunch Available for Sale** 1:00 4:30 Shooting Gallery (Gallows) 1911 Blazing Saddles 5:30 Authentic Chuck Wagon Meal (furnished by Texican Rangers) Desserts Welcome Side Match Awards, Costume Awards & Shooter Prizes (held at picnic tables), Entertainment Saturday, April 9 **Breakfast Tacos Available for Sale** 8:45 Mandatory Shooters Meeting 9:00 Main Match Competition (5 stages) Posse Shoot for posses 6-10 (next to Jersey Lilly) **BBQ Lunch Available for Sale** 5:30 Doors Open for Banquet 6:30 Banquet, Costume Contest & Awards Ceremony at Gillespie County Farm Bureau, Fredericksburg, TX (BYOB beer will not be provided) Sunday, April 10 8:45 9:00 Cowboy Church 9:00 Mandatory Shooters Meeting 9:30 Master Gunfighter This Space Reserved for Van Horn Mercantile If you have personal items for sale, email me and I will send it out to membership in emails and the newsletter.