Welcome Friends, We are happy that you were able to make it to today s match. We hope that you will enjoy yourselves as much as we will because we always appreciate your camaraderie. Yorkshire Bob, Match Director Wages Here are some average weekly wages for a 60 hour week in 1860. Blacksmith, $10.68 Carpenter, $10.92 Machinist, $9.48 Laborer, $5.88 Call me Doc... Somewhere around the early 1850 s, states began requiring credentials to practice medicine, and not long after that, diploma mills began popping up. If you could pay the fee, you could receive a diploma titled in your name, stating you were capable to practice medicine. No training. No lectures. No tests. Just pay the cash, and here s your diploma. Learning a Trade There were no trade schools in early America. Boys learned to be blacksmiths by working with an experienced smith. Boys learning a trade were called apprentices. Some apprentices had formal contracts with their masters, while others simply learned by working with their father. Traditionally an apprentice lived with the master and became a part of his family, trading his labor for food, clothing, shelter, and an education. This system was breaking down by the 1830s, however, as some masters no longer took apprentices into their homes, but instead paid them a small wage. The length of an apprenticeship was not regulated, although they ended when a boy reached his majority at the age of 21.
Manifest Destiny and the movement West In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. This set in motion a trend that would continue throughout the century - westward expansion. Throughout much of the century, Manifest Destiny was a prevailing view. What is Manifest Destiny? It was the belief that the United States was destined to expand its territory from coast to coast. Some believed this was destined by God, while others believed it was destined by nature. Either way, it was a nationalistic sentiment that fueled American settlement of the West. Settlement of the West picked up after the Civil War, thanks in part to the railroad industry. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act which gave away 160 acres of free land to each settler or family who promised to develop the land for a period of at least five years. Not a bad deal, right? Working for a living in the Old West More westerners worked for wages, often at a firm owned back East or in Europe as most capital intensive employers were, with far more working mines and sawmills than herding cattle or sheep. Cowboys were comparatively rare, poorly paid, often in poor health either from a lifetime of bad nutrition on a slave plantation or Irish tenant farm, it was for most a job held for a few years rather than a lifetime career. Miners usually made about 300% of the local average wage both for how hard and dangerous the work was and how specialized the skills and knowledge a miner had. Women were extremely scarce, often a 10:1 ratio, and greatly appreciated but many worked to death in the harsh environment. The accurate observation was that the West was heaven for men and dogs but hell for women and horses. Women often stayed numb for years with the equivalent of anti-depressants (alcohol and opium) while others went mad from the isolation and worry, while others found it very liberating to ride horses, wear pants, live alone, work at men s work.
Match Safety & Procedures All firearms are to be handled ONLY in the following designated areas: Safety area, loading and unloading tables or at the firing line with the RO present. Dry firing your guns at the load and unload tables is prohibited. If you need to work on an EMPTY gun, do it in a safety area only. Note that no ammunition is permitted in a safety area. All SASS rules apply to this match. The shooter is responsible for the staging of their guns. A staged gun that falls is a dropped gun and is subject to a penalty. A loaded gun which is dropped anywhere results in an automatic Match DQ. A round fired over the berm results in an automatic Match DQ. All long guns must be carried with the muzzles up. Pay careful attention to your muzzle direction at all times as the 170 rule is always in effect. Do not pick up a dropped live round. Someone will retrieve it for you. Knockdown targets must fall and swinger targets must swing to count. Do not chamber a round until the gun is pointed safely down range. Once a pistol is cocked it must be emptied at the line, unless instructed otherwise by the RO. Unless otherwise specified in procedures, pistols are always returned to holsters except when declared as malfunctioning. A firearm which malfunctions must be safely staged on a table, prop or handed off in order to continue a procedure, it is the shooter's responsibility to declare the gun "DEAD" to avoid a penalty. Unless otherwise specified in procedures, long guns are to be re-staged in their original start positions and in an open and empty condition. Unless otherwise specified, holstering and drawing (but not cocking) pistols may be done while moving. This is a no alibi' match. Once you chamber your first round, or cock a pistol, you are committed to completing the stage.
Match Etiquette Everyone should get involved in the flow of the match, be a spotter, pick-up brass, monitor a table or keep score. Make sure to get to the loading table before your turn. Next 3 in line only. At Cowboy Action Shooting matches we do not shoot and scoot. Please stay after the match to help, in any way you can, with putting away the targets and props. The range area must be cleaned up. We take pride in being good range users. Remember that safety is always our first priority. We are all safety officers.
Stage 1 The Lawman Cowtowns quickly established a reputation for violence and for attracting the seedier elements of society. Saloons, dance houses, and brothels appeared in numbers unmatched by other frontier communities. It was the peace officers' job to keep order in these towns. Although many were honorable and heroic individuals, some found themselves on both sides of the law at different times in their lives. 10 Rifle 10 Pistol 4 Shotgun Rifle and Shotgun staged on the table Start Position Standing at the table, both hands holding your neck Start Line The judge will decide your fate, and then we ll hang you. Procedure At the beep of the timer With your rifle engage the targets with a Round em Up Sweep, single-tap the pumpkin then double-tap R1, single-tap the pumpkin then double-tap R2, single-tap the pumpkin then double-tap R3, single-tap the pumpkin. P - 11 - P - 22 - P - 33 - P With your pistols, repeat the rifle sweep on the pistol targets. P - 11 - P - 22 - P - 33 - P With your shotgun, alternate the 2 S targets for 4 shots and starting on either. Take your guns to the unloading table.
STAGE 1
Stage 2 The Dance Hall Girl The job of the saloon or dance-hall girl in the old west was to brighten the evenings of lonely men starved for female companionship. Contrary to what many might think, the saloon girl was very rarely a woman of ill repute this tended to occur only in the very shabbiest class of saloons. Though the "respectable ladies considered the saloon girls "fallen, most of the girls wouldn t be caught dead associating with an actual woman of ill repute. Their job was to entertain the guests, sing for them, dance with them, talk to them and perhaps flirt with them a bit inducing them to buy drinks and patronize the games. 10 Rifle 10 Pistol 4 Shotgun Rifle staged on the left table and Shotgun staged on the right table Start Position Standing at the table, hands crossed behind your back Start Line How about a dance Miss Pearl? Procedure At the beep of the timer With your rifle, engage the rifle targets with a Tap Dance Sweep 111 22 11 222 ( Do you hear it? tippy tippy tippy tap tap - tippy tippy tap tap tap ) With your pistols, engage the pistol targets with the same Tap Dance Sweep. 111 22 11 222 Move to the right table. With your shotgun, put 1 shot on each outside S target and then 1 shot on each inside S target, and all from either direction. Take your guns to the unloading table.
STAGE 2
Stage 3 The Sod Buster People that went to the west were call homesteaders because in 1862 the US Congress passed the Homestead Act. This act allowed any 21-year old citizen or immigrant wanting to become a citizen to claim 160 acres of land known as the Great American Prairie. After paying a filing fee, farming the land, and living on it for five years, the ownership of the land passed to the citizen. Some homesteaders thrived, but some struggled mightily. The land was very cheap and plentiful. Getting the land was the easy part, maintaining a successful life was the hard part. There was less water and fewer trees in the plains which made it harder for crops and life there. 10 Rifle 10 Pistol 4 Shotgun Rifle staged on the right table and Shotgun staged on the left table Start Position Standing at the right table, arms extended like Turkey Wings Start Line We ll have Turkey for dinner, if I can hit one! Procedure At the beep of the timer With your rifle, engage the Turkey targets with a Crop Circle Sweep. 1 2 3 4-1 2 3-1 2-1 With your pistols, repeat the same Crop Circle Sweep. 1 2 3 4-1 2 3-1 2-1 Move to the left table. With your shotgun, shoot each S target once in any order. Take your guns to the unloading table.
STAGE 3
Stage 4 The Banker Wells Fargo began when prosperous New York businessmen, Henry Wells and William Fargo saw great opportunity in the west after gold was discovered. The pair, who had helped to found American Express in 1850, officially created Wells Fargo & Co. on March 18, 1852 with two primary objectives transportation and banking. In California, where no railroads yet existed, the Wells, Fargo & Co Express, planned to provide "express" services to the many miners flooding to the area, as well as freight services to businesses. Its banking division, Wells, Fargo & Co Bank advertised both financial services and a general forwarding business for mail, valuable deliveries and freight. 10+1 Pistol 10 Rifle 4 Shotgun Rifle and Shotgun staged on the table Start Position Standing at the table, hands in a Texas surrender Start Line A free whiskey with each new account! Procedure At the beep of the timer With your pistols engage the targets in a Cash Drawer Sweep from the left 11-22 - 33-1 - 2-3 - 1. Load 1 round from your body in a pistol and hit the pumpkin for a 5 second bonus OR hit the R2 target for a 10 second bonus. With your rifle, repeat the pistol sweep on the rifle targets. 11-22 - 33-1 - 2-3 - 1. With your shotgun, alternate the 2 S targets for 4 shots and starting on either. Take your guns to the unloading table.
STAGE 4
Stage 5 The Doctor During the latter half of the 1800 s, many of the doctors who served on the western American frontier gained their skills during the Civil War. The doctor who settled there was an adventurous person who may have also been attracted to the region for potential mining opportunities. To be sure, the frontier presented more than enough challenges considering the gunshot wounds, epidemics and other injuries that were a common part of life there. The very way people had to live on the frontier, especially during the earlier years, bred a lot of sickness. 10 Rifle 10 Pistol 4 Shotgun Rifle staged on the right table and Shotgun staged on the left table Start Position Standing at the right table, hands pointing at your toes Start Line That s a busted toe alright, that leg will have to come off. Procedure At the beep of the timer With any combination of rifle and pistols, shoot a Drop Yer Drawers Sweep from the left. (the shot count is 2+4+6+8=20) 11 2222 333333 44444444 Move to the left table. With your shotgun, shoot each S target once in any order. Take your guns to the unloading table.
STAGE 5
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