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Posted by: DeputyFife

Published: April 28, 2008 12:18 am ShareThisPrintThis
Hunt club says howdy to 'cowboy action shooting'
By Mike Stucka
Staff Writer


MIDDLETON — The gunslinger in the black Stetson puts the second pistol away, takes a few steps toward a rifle, accurately but quickly hits targets 10 times, picks up a shotgun, fires twice, reloads, and fires twice more — all fast enough, it seems, to best her grandmother's score.
It's still not fast enough to satisfy the young cowboy visiting the Danvers Fish & Game Club site in Middleton on Saturday. "I shoot with accuracy but not speed," says Emily Stuchell, 13, of Waterford, Conn., who thinks it may just be a matter of time before her 9-year-old brother takes up cowboy action shooting.
Most families in the sport — a series of shooting contests with an Old West flavor — don't have three generations of participants, but it's hard to get a handle on just who straps on six-shooters most weekends.
Witness Joe Elliott of Salem, who competes as "Calvary Kid" on weekends. That's "calvary" as in the cross, not "cavalry" as in horseback soldiers riding to the rescue, Elliott points out. A construction worker by trade, Elliott helped pay for a church expansion through cowboy action shooting. People would pledge donations according to how many people he bested; someone pledging a dime each would have paid about $50, as he'd come in around 350th place out of 850 participants in his first world championship.
A gold cross adorns the front of his Stetson, which has been with him for many miles.
"I've actually traveled from Maine to California," he said. From gold fringe to intricate leather work, Elliott's outfit shows just how serious he takes cowboy action shooting. He even made his own holsters.
"I bought a side of leather and a couple of million dollars' worth of tools," he quipped.
"And saved 300 bucks," someone joined in. "And saved 300 bucks," Elliott agreed with a smile. The person joining in was Paul McNaughton of Swampscott, a lawyer who works as a semi-retired General Electric safety consultant.
That's the day job, of course. On weekends, he's often "Pittsburg Mac" of the Danvers Desperados.
McNaughton mulled over the question of how many people have tried cowboy action shooting without falling for the sport. "I don't think I've ever seen one," he said. "I think everybody that starts, stays."
McNaughton figured there were five or six lawyers at the Middleton event. But there were also doctors, dentist "Doc Silverfinger," a couple of janitors and some people between jobs. Most are men, but the female participants are every bit as competitive.
Emily Stuchell, who got a rifle for her 13th birthday, points out that her parents — "Appaloosa Annie" and "Quaker Hill Bill" — won state championships. It takes about $2,000 to $2,500 worth of equipment to truly get started, with most of that in a pair of six-shooters, a rifle and a shotgun, all based on designs earlier than 1897.
Competitions begin with a discussion of safety, and gunmen are monitored as they both load and unload their weapons on either side of a shooting match, called a stage. The pistols are carried with the hammer on an empty chamber, so a pair of six-shooters will actually only fire 10 rounds.
The cowboys are judged by speed and safety. Miss a target and you lose five seconds; make an error, even shooting targets out of order, and you lose 10 seconds. Jim McMahon of East Derry, N.H., is that state's champion. As "Jimmy Spurs," he competes nearly every weekend and spends his weekdays modifying other people's firearms so they work better and faster. Before competing, McMahon spread a lubricant over his holsters.
"Give yourself every advantage possible," he said. He quickly closed a case of supplies after a reporter saw a stick of deodorant: "I tend to shoot fast. You always have to be prepared."
At one stage, McMahon empties his pistols, moves smoothly to another window, and picks up his rifle. Shots are answered almost immediately by hits on the steel targets, which ring out like high-speed church bells. He fumbles for just a few moments, moves to the shotgun stage, fires two rounds, reloads and empties it again. In all, he fired 24 rounds in 32.67, which leaves him shaking his head. He was reloading his modified rifle so fast he emptied out an unfired bullet. "I was shooting so fast I didn't get the trigger and I flicked one out," he explained.
Still, he smiled as he said that. The state champion said it was better to spend the two seconds pulling a bullet from his belt line than take the five-second penalty of a miss. And then he was off to another stage of cowboy action shooting.

Fun with guns
For more information on cowboy action shooting, visit the Single Action Shooting Society's Web site at www.sassnet.com.

Joe "Calvary Kid" Elliott of Salem shoots at the target with his pistol at a cowboy action shooting event at the Danvers Fish & Game Club in Middleton. Cowboy action shooting is a competition where participants wear period clothing and shoot at steel targets with a variety of vintage-style guns.
Linsey Tait / Staff photo

Janet "Calico Jan" Stuchell, left , congratulates her granddaughter, Emily "Snazzy McGee" Stuchell, after she completed a round of shooting and didn't miss any targets. Cowboy action shooting is a family event for the Stuchells, who hail from Connecticut. Along with Janet and Emily, Janet's husband, Bill, and both of Emily's parents, Bill and Amy, participate.
Linsey Tait / Staff photo

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

Very nice!

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Posted by: USMCMP5811

So JAP, How'd you do in the compitition?

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