HOWDY PARDNERS!

The Ottawa Valley Marauders (OVM) are single handedly bringing Cowboy Action Shooting to the EOHC and the Ottawa area. Since its introduction to the EOHC in May CAS has been steadily growing and becoming more popular. CAS is not just a shooting event but a colourful spectacle that brings you back to the turn of the century or can place you in the middle of your favourite Western movie. The OVM posse at the EOHC has seen the likes of such desperados as the OK Valley Kid, Long Tom Henry, Bear Child Potts and Renegade Ron. These colourful aliases foster an atmosphere of fun and good will during friendly competition carried out in a relaxed manner, safety being the prime concern. Read about how a CAS match is run and the safety procedures then dust off those six-shooters, lever guns and double barrels and come out to the next CAS shoot.

Anyone who enjoyed watching Western movies and TV shows such as Gunsmoke and Bonanza will enjoy CAS. CAS has opened up an entire new market for turn of the century firearms. Companies such as Colt, Winchester and Smith & Wesson have begun to reintroduce the firearms that made them famous during the turn of the century. Many firms such as Uberti and Pedersoli produce exact replicas of the old Colts and Winchesters that are more economically priced. This has made acquiring a CAS legal gun much easier for those who wish to get involved.

The Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) has been largely responsible for the rapid growth of CAS. With its headquarters in Yorba Linda, California, it assists SASS sponsored CAS clubs throughout the world. SASS has standardized the sport of CAS so that competitions can be organized at the club, regional and national level. SASS also produces an excellent Shooter's Handbook the gives an excellent guide to the game and its rules. Canada currently has a number of SASS affiliated clubs in Ontario, Alberta and BC. CAS shooting is similar to IPSC except the stands are based on a Western theme and multiple firearms can be used in a given stand. (e.g. A revolver and a lever gun can be used during a single timed event) Some stands are based upon scenes from your favorite western movies. The shooter must say "badges, we don' need no steeenkin' badges" before the timer sounds and he can draw and shoot, points will be deducted for forgetting your line or saying it incorrectly.

Don't let all the rules alarm you, the main focus of CAS is to have fun. All shooters are welcome regardless how good a shot you are. If you aren't the best shooter you can score points for being the best dressed. Costuming is also very important in CAS and many cowboy shooters spend a great deal of time and money perfecting their old west persona. In fact, looking the part is a very important aspect of CAS. This means no T-shirts, running shoes or baseball caps. Western style shirts or collared and buttoned shirts are the norm. If you don't have cowboy boots, dark colored shoes will do until you can acquire suitable western footwear. Jeans are fine and so are khaki's though they should look western (i.e. no cargo pants). No cowboy would be complete without his hat. Any cowboy style hat is OK. In fact you don't have to be a proper cowboy. Your persona can be based upon any historical or fictional character of the American or Canadian West at the turn of the century. This includes civil war soldiers, cavalry soldiers, gunfighters, marshals, preachers, sheriffs, turn of the century Mounties, trappers, villains, saloon girls and Native North Americans to name just a few. At organized CAS shoots there are prizes for best costume and best old west attitude. A good site to help you do some research is www.sassnet.com.

All in all, CAS combines costumes, firearms and shooting skills in a single sport that focuses, above all, on having fun. Here is a short list of what you need to get started. (If you don't have all of these guns, don't worry - someone will have the gun type you're missing and feel like sharing, at least until you beat them!)

• Any single action revolver - Colt clone, black powder revolver, Schofield break top revolver
• Gunbelt - western style gunbelt worn on hips, similar to those shown on Western movies and TV shows - check out the locally made rigs from Laroche Leather
• Lever Action Rifle - in a pistol calibre. (e.g. .357, 44-40 WIN, 44 Special, .45 Colt )

• Shotgun - turn of the century style. Can be double barrel with hidden or exposed hammers or Winchester 1897 pump action.
• Collared Shirt with Buttons / Western style shirt (no T-shirts)
• Jeans or cowboy style dress pants
• Cowboy boots or dark coloured shoes (no white tennis shoes or sneakers)
• Cowboy Hat (or civil war style kepi, blue or gray)

Y'all come on down now, y'hear. If you have any questions mosey on over to the posse's homestead at www.ovmcowboys.ca

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