CAS in Tombstone draws 300 plus

The most frequent comment heard from Cowboy Action Shooters last week at the Tombstone Livery Stable was “Bordertown is back.” With more than 300 competitors in 30 categories, the Single Action Shooting Society Arizona State Championship captured the spirit of the original match. The 10th Anniversary Bordertown match had “big targets, up close and fast and making all the stages where they’ll be fun,” Mick Thames, alias Swift Water and president of Bordertown board, said.

Swift Water, along with the other eight members of the board tried to make it reflect the spirit of the original Bordertown, held in 2000, he said. “I was there in the early years, so I tried to make it that way.”

There were a lot of events, each designed to bring shooters joy, Swift Water said. “Everyone has a different idea of what they enjoyed the most. I think the stages, the way they were written and they got to run on them. In Bordertown, the targets are so big and so close that people got to run on them �- people come to Bordertown and can shoot faster than they normally do.”

Overall winners, with the fastest times regardless of category, were Hells Comin, with a time of 180.75 for the 12 stages for men, and Echo Meadows, with a time of 247.54 for the 12 stages for lady shooters. Hells Comin shot three stages in the 13-second bracket and had an incredible 10.39 on Stage 12, which included a two-second bonus for pistol and rifle knock-down targets. Only Arizona residents can win a state championship buckle, but other shooters can win first in the individual classes. Shooters came from California to the Carolinas. There were also shooters from England and Germany, some of whom are repeat contestants.

Most stages required 10 rounds of pistol, five in each single-action revolver, 10 rounds of rifle and four rounds of shotgun, loaded no more than two at a time. Stage 12 had three pistol targets and a knockdown, three rifle targets and a knockdown and four shotgun targets. Each pistol and rifle target had to be engaged with three rounds, then the knockdown. The four shotgun targets were knockdowns, which may be re-engaged if missed. Only shotgun targets may be re-engaged.

All shooters were winners, at the door. The board secured enough door prizes to give everyone something at the door. Additionally, there were drawings for a shotgun, knife, set of holsters, reloading press and a jacket that belonged to Ol’ Dead Eye, founder of Los Vaqueros, the first Cowboy Action Shooting club in Arizona. Ol’ Dead Eye passed away this year, and proceeds from the raffle of his jacket went to fight cancer. Los Vaqueros home range is the Tombstone Livery where Bordertown is held.

The board worked continuously getting sponsors and vendors, Swift Water said. “You have to have people out there all the time after other people �“ we’ll do this for you if you do this for us. Our main match sponsor (Wild West Mercantile) helped us more than anything. We were a little down on door prizes. I went to them and told them about it and they said ‘We’ll send you more stuff.’”

Events began with Range Officer classes on Wednesday. The first side matches �“ Long Range, Wild Bunch and Plainsman �“ were held Thursday. Friday and Saturday’s main match included 12 stages on six bays. A stage is a series of targets shot with revolver, rifle and shotgun by a group of shooters, called a Posse. Each Posse would shoot two stages on a shooting bay, then move to another bay. Main match shooters shot 12 stages, six on Friday and six on Saturday.

In addition to the shooting, a Cowboy Music and Poetry Gathering was held Thursday night, a Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Night Friday and a banquet and dancing on Saturday. Awards were presented on Sunday.

Range Officers take care of rules and safety and Posse Marshalls are in charge of getting the Posse through each stage. Everyone in the Posse can, and does, help out. A timer times each shooter, and three spotters count the hits and misses. One shooter monitors the loading table, where firearms area loaded, and the unloading table, where spent cartridges are removed and firearms made safe.

The Range Officers and Posse Marshals are experienced people, Swift Water said. “I went through the list of shooters. I’ve been doing this game a long time. It was easy for me to pick people who had experience. I knew how they would handle this situation, so it worked out well.”

This year’s Bordertown included several side matches, including Wild Bunch, Plainsman, long range shooting, speed events using only revolver, rifle or shotgun, man vs. man and a couples match.

The Plainsman is shot with two .36 caliber percussion (cap and ball) revolvers, shot duelist style, rifle using rifle or pistol cartridge and side-by-side shotgun.

The Wild Bunch match uses the 1911 style automatic pistol in .45 ACP and Winchester Model 97 pump shotgun along with a SASS legal rifle.

The match is designed to follow firearm and costuming in the movie “The Wild Bunch.” It is the only match where the 1897 shotgun may have rounds in the magazine at the start of the match. In regular SASS categories, the pump shotgun must be loaded one or two at a time, like a double-barrel shotgun.

The comments about Bordertown being back referred to the spirit of the original Bordertown, Swift Water said. It was mainly due to the way the board worked together. “I’ve been on the board of Bordertown �“ this is my sixth time. It’s probably one of the better boards that worked together. When we bring up an issue, we have our disagreements and we discuss them. If there’s one or two who disagree, they accept it. They don’t hold a grudge and we go on with it. It worked very well. I think we’re the best match in the country.”

Gil T. Azell (Dave Stutenroth) finished first in the “B” Western category. He is a long-time shooter, and a member of the board. Guilty, as he is known to fellow shooters, said hundreds of shooters told him Bordertown is back. “Bordertown has had a couple of hard years where it kind of evolved into something nobody recognized. I spoke to one of the founders of it and he concurs. He says Bordertown is back.”

Up close and personal targets make Bordertown what it is, Guilty said. “Up close and fast and the spirit that comes with that. You get a shooter who goes anywhere else and they shoot a 30-second stage. They come here, they pound it out in 22, and they feel like they’re on top of the world. That adrenalin rush, from running faster than they ever have before, is what keeps people coming back to Bordertown.”

While Guilty enjoyed shooting Bordertown 2008, this year meant more to him. “Last year I shot the match of my life. I was clean and fast for 11 of the 12 stages. I had one miss and finished fourth of 320 shooters. I was on top of the world.

“This year, the satisfaction did not come from the shooting, but from the working on it. Putting things together, publishing the book, laying out the stages �- doing all the things that make up a match like this,” he said.

In addition to the board, who worked the entire year to make Bordertown a success, there were many volunteers who helped out. “When you’ve got a good reputation, it’s not hard to get volunteers,” Sweet Water said.

Board members, volunteers and vendors showed up as early as Monday to set up shooting bays, tents and the equipment for Bordertown. Some had worked on storefronts and props for the bays throughout the year.

“We did have a lot of volunteers,” Guilty said. “People kind of got the sense �“ even before they shot it �“ that the board realized what was wrong �“ what had happened to Bordertown; that it had gotten off track. They sensed that it was back on track. That brought the volunteer spirit out of people. Once we got here, there were people lined up to help us �“ dozens of them �“ which was fantastic. Everything moved smoothly. Everything worked very well.”