“Right, your turn to pick a card,” his voice broke the silence. I had been enjoying the sun because the day was just starting to warm up, but I took a deep breath and turned over the top card. Red! Diamonds!
“Do you understand what to do?” There came his voice again, interrupting my thoughts. “Yes,” I replied, “shoot each red one twice and the black ones once each.” I stared at the scene in front of me, trying to fix the sequence in my mind’s-eye.
Yes, Cowboy Action Shooting is a highly competitive sport that is growing strongly around the world. Western Shooters of South Africa is accredited by SAPS as a Sport Shooting organization, which is very handy since there are a large number of different firearms you can get endorsed if you want to compete in all the different categories of the sport.
We shoot at steel plates at reasonably close range, but don’t let anyone tell you that it’s easy to hit a 50 by 50 centimetre steel plate at ten paces, especially when using a single action revolver without any sights except a blade at the end of the muzzle. Of course, the fact that there’s a timer counting the seconds adds to the pressure.
At the end Canvas Pete took top honours with an overall time of 69.22 seconds with Jack Anvil next with a score of 77.62 seconds. In the Ladies division Calamity Jane was first with an overall time of 66.65 seconds, beating her man by almost three seconds. Lady Derringer placed as second lady with a time of 99.82 seconds. Actually, Canvas Pete’s raw time was 54.22 but he had a 15-second penalty.
Starting with our next match in October we intend to add a Wild Bunch scenario into the competition. In this category you need a Colt 1911 in 0.45 ACP and a pump-action shotgun, in addition to the lever-action rifle, so this should be even more fun.
We are always happy to greet newcomers and let them experience the thrill of playing cowboy and smelling the smoke of a 45. Come and join the fun.
We shoot at the On Target Range outside George on the first Saturday of the month, starting around 8:30, weather permitting. Best you give Kevin a call on +27 82 877 0792 before saddlin’ up your pony.
