Celebrating the 'Wild West' with cowboy action shooting

Mar. 7—Not long after the "closing of the western frontier" in the 1890s, the era of the "Wild West" was almost immediately mythologized in dime novels, live Wild West shows, and the earliest silent films.

Since then, the allure of the Wild West as a setting for fiction has truly stood the test of time — as evidenced by the number of people who enjoy quoting Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday in "Tombstone" as well as those who spend many sleep-deprived nights playing the "Red Dead Redemption" series of video games.

With westerns being such a longstanding influence on American culture, it's no surprise that there are fans of all ages who enjoy taking their appreciation to a higher level of immersion. An example of this is "cowboy action shooting," a sport in which people shoot mid-to-late 19th century-style firearms and wear clothing appropriate to the era.

Just north of Hunt County, the city of Leonard is home to one such group — the Texas Ten Horns.

Since 1996, the Ten Horns has been affiliated with the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS). The group got its name from the term "tinhorn" (which often describes a cheating gambler), and the fact that the group began with only 10 members. Now, the Ten Horns have about 80 active members and meet the first weekend of every month for a two-day long shooting match.

"We have members from all over the area, including Cleburne and Sulphur Springs, but a majority of our people drive here from the (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex," said Texas Ten Horns President Duane "Hairtrigger" Hayes. "We've rebounded splendidly since COVID and now have a lot of newer members, some of whom are younger, in their 20s and 30s, which is exciting for us."

In SASS-sanctioned matches, participants take turns shooting at targets set up to depict various wild west-flavored scenarios — referred to as "stages." Each stage typically requires the participant to fire five rounds from each of their two revolvers (for a total of 10), nine or 10 rounds from a lever action rifle, and two to eight rounds from a double-barrel shotgun.

Although the basic format of shooting through stages in cowboy action shooting is similar, the sport is divided into several categories.

Some of the categories refer to revolver shooting style; such as "classic" (using both hands to hold one revolver at a time), "duelist" (firing revolvers one-handed, but still one at a time), and "gunfighter" (firing both revolvers with one in each hand). Other categories are age-based, from "buckaroo/buckarette" for those aged 13 or younger to "el rey/la reina (the king/the queen)" for those who are 85 or older. There are also costume categories, such as "classic cowboy" and "B western," which have stricter equipment and clothing requirements than other categories.

On top of everything, being a shooting sport, cowboy action shooting also has a lot of safety rules, which include regulations on holsters, strict penalties for "sweeping" (when a shooter briefly points a gun at someone else or themselves as they draw, holster or handle the gun), and wearing eye protection.

Despite all the different procedures and categories, as well as the expense of buying the necessary weapons, equipment and costume elements, Hayes assures that the Texas Ten Horns are always eager but patient when it comes to getting "greenhorns" started in the sport.

"The main thing is that we are the most friendly, generous shooting discipline, in that we're really new shooter-friendly, because we're generous in sharing our expertise with others," Hayes said.

"In fact, one thing that we always do with new people is we will actually beg them not to go out and spend a lot of money on all the things they think they'll need only to later find out that they don't need them," Hayes added. "Instead of that, we would much rather lend them guns to try out until they figure out what works best for them, so they can be competitive. I speak from experience, because when I started out in 2011, I was one of those people who bought a bunch of guns right away, and I don't use a single one of them anymore."

In addition to their monthly matches on their range in Leonard, the Texas Ten Horns have several state, national and world champions in their ranks, such as 2022 World Champion Gunfighter Rusty Remington and Frontier Cartridge (black powder) Duelist Champion Billy Boots.

"My wife (Susan "One Chance Fancy" Hayes) and I also have multiple championships," Hayes said. "But, even though we're competitive, we're generous with our expertise to help anyone become a champion."

The Texas Ten Horns have their monthly matches on the first Saturday and Sunday of the month, starting at 9:30 a.m. at 519 Private Road 462 in Leonard. Currently, the group is also preparing for the annual championship match that it hosts, "The Great Spaghetti Western," which will be Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4 this year.

Those interested in learning more about SASS in general can review the organization's shooters handbook at https://bit.ly/3Zh8mWm. There are also several videos of people shooting through stages on YouTube.

Hayes, of the Texas Ten Horns, is also eager to talk to those interested in the sport. He can be contacted at 972-658-4347 or by email at duane.hayes@sbcglobal.net.