July 9, 2005

HIS WAS A SPECIAL DAY, since it was the very first match for my lovely and talented wife Pixelwiz as a shooter. She didn't plan on shooting the match, but due to the kindness and generosity of our friends at the Carolina Cattlemen's Shooting & Social Society, 'Wiz was able to play.

Pixelwiz came along with me intending to watch, talk to a bunch of folks we hadn't seen in far too long, and maybe get the chance to try out a few different guns after the match. Since the kids are old enough to stay with their grandparents, 'Wiz wants to start shooting the occasional Cowboy match with me — and, of course, I'm thrilled about it!

B.B. Gunn workin' the lever on an old Winchester '73 built in 1889.

I was happy to have the chance to talk to my buddy Carolina Leadfoot, who I hadn't seen for a long time. He blames me for taking him down the path to shooting .44-40 instead of the .45 Colt in his rifles. Now he has two .44 WCF rifles, poor guy. It's his fault that I'm shooting black powder cartridges at all, though, so Turnabout is Fair Play. He loved my vintage Model 1873 rifle, but unfortunately we weren't on the same posse for the match, so we couldn't make smoke together. We were sad that Royal Barnes wasn't at the match — both 'Wiz and I had been looking forward to seeing him again, too.

I brought along a couple boxes of smokeless ammo for the original Winchester 1892 saddle-ring carbine she has, figuring she might want to fire a few rounds through it, as well as a box of 12ga shotgun shells in case she wanted to try out shotguns. She hasn't decided between a Winchester 1897 pump gun or the nickel-plated Stoeger double with the black stocks, and I knew she'd be able to see and handle a few different shotguns while we were there. Pistol-wise, 'Wiz has said she wanted a pair of stainless Ruger Single-sixes in .32 H&R just like Wicked Wanda uses. Since Wanda shoots in Creedmoor, I called her up and asked if she'd bring those .32s along so Pixelwiz could try 'em out. She has small hands, and my own full-size revolvers are too big for her to use comfortably and safely.

One of Wicked Wanda's nice shiny Ruger .32s riding on Pixelwiz's hip

Wanda not only brought the pistols, but holsters and ammo — and asked Pixelwiz if she wanted to shoot the match! We had 'Wiz's rifle along, but needed a loaner shotgun, since mine is too big — Wanda had an extra hammered double that was cut down, that 'Wiz could use if she wanted. The last thing we had to rustle up was a gunbelt, which was kindly provided by Captain James Burns.

This was all rather sudden and unexpected for Pixelwiz — she was expecting to watch and help with scoring or what-not, and now she said she felt "sick" — butterflies in the tummy, for sure. It had been 3 years since she'd dropped the hammer on any gun, and 5 years since she'd shot anything more than a few rounds at a time. But Wanda showed her how to draw and reholster safely and how to use her left thumb to cock the revolver and let 'Wiz practice dry-firing in an unused shooting bay prior to the start of the match. Pixelwiz was still nervous, but agreed to give it a try. Her biggest concern seemed to be that she's slow everybody down! But Wicked Wanda, J.M. Brown and others all said she shouldn't worry about that — just take it slow and easy and keep the muzzles pointed downrange and she'd be fine.

One of the things that helped a lot was the fact that we knew so many of the fine folks that usually shoot at the Creedmoor match. This was the first club I ever shot with as a SASS greenhorn, and 'Wiz came along with me many times, so she was comfortable with the setting and people. We were on the same posse with Wicked Wanda, and I shot towards the front of the list with 'Wiz in a slot almost at the end. That allowed her to watch and get the stage procedure down, as well as giving us the space needed to swap some gear (she needed my shotgun belt) and get the guns and ammo ready for each of us.

In the interest of speed and ease of set-up and take-down, there were only two berms set up, so we shot three stages on each one. We began on the first berm with Stage One. I didn't take notes, there was too much going on — and I wanted to thoroughly enjoy my wife's first match.

'Wiz with a Winchester Click to see the movie! (562kb)

Any help that Pixelwiz needed, she got. Wicked Wanda coached her through the stages; she had assistance at the loading and unloading tables; she was loaned a couple of different shotguns to try; Red Cent talked to her about the '97 shotguns; Ms. Jewel showed her the little Cimarron Model P Jr, which could be an alternative to the Rugers; Cowboy Action Shooters are a really great bunch of folks!

I shot the first stage cleanly, and although it actually didn't surprise me too much, so did Pixelwiz. She took a while to complete her run, but hit everything she aimed at. There were a couple shotgun targets she had to make up, but considering she was using borrowed pistols and a loaner doublebarrel (with hammers!) that's still great shooting! Back when 'Wiz was shooting fairly regularly with her .45 auto Glock 36, she was a good shot — so it's just a matter of her getting comfortable with the guns and some practice, and she'll likely be beating me like a drum at this Cowboy game.

B.B. Gunn, shootin' up a saloon

On Stage Two, I missed a pistol target and missed another pair on Stage Three, but 'Wiz shot 'em both clean. Posse members were beginning to comment on the "new" shooter who didn't miss.

Stage Four was a clean one for me — and Pixelwiz shot it clean, too. Stage Five rolled around, and I missed a rifle shot and two revolver targets. 'Wiz tried a different shotgun on this stage — it was a little large for her and at one point she didn't get it mounted to her shoulder well. The resulting two shots gave her a really impressive bruise on her upper arm. She shot the stage clean, though.

At the start of the Sixth and final stage, I sidled up to Wicked Wanda and said "You know Pixelwiz is clean for the match so far, right?" Wanda said she noticed that, too. I hadn't mentioned it to 'Wiz, and wasn't sure if she was aware of it herself, but I didn't want to put any undue pressure on her by saying something. I shot the stage clean, but my overall match result was a pretty poor one by my standards. It didn't matter though — I had too much fun having my wife shooting with me!

Pixelwiz blazes away with borrowed pistols — thanks, Wanda!

The "Hollywood ending" didn't happen for Pixelwiz, though — the heat and the extended period of shooting finally took its toll on her. Sadly, she lost focus on the final stage and missed four targets. She let out a yell when she missed the first one — with her beloved Winchester carbine — she'd known that she had a clean match until then.

Ah, well — shooting the first five stages clean in your first ever Cowboy match is mighty impressive in anybody's book, and 'Wiz got a special "First Time Shooter Almost Clean Match" certificate at the end of the day.

Pixelwiz and I want to say "Thank you very much!" to all the great cowboys and cowgirls at Creedmoor who welcomed and helped a brand new shooter have a wonderful time.

Here are the results of our shooting -- not the finest ever turned in, but we both had just a wonderful time!