KUNA, Idaho — Shooters from all over Idaho traveled to Kuna for the Cowboy Action Shooting Idaho State Championship "Renegade Shootout" at Black's Creek Shooting Range. Competitors are rated on a "total time" scoring system that includes the time it takes them to complete a scenario, plus time penalties for missing targets or shooting targets out of order.
- Competitors shoot with a combination of pistols, shotguns and lever-action rifles.
- The Oregon Trail Rough Riders meet at Black's Creek Shooting Range every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month.
- If you would like to learn more about the club or Cowboy Action Shooting, you can find their website here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“The single action shooting society is all about entertainment. That’s all this is about, this is an escape from reality,” says John Thompson, who goes by the alias ‘Johnny Patriot’ on the range.
He is the President of the Oregon Trail Rough Riders and tells me that Cowboy Action Shooting attracts a wide variety of people.
“We have shooters from 8 to 80 and actually 80+, we have a lot of veterans, a whole cross-section of people,” added Thompson.
“When you get old like me, this is all you can do,” says ‘Grandpa Gary’ , a 77 year-old member of the club.
He shoots with black powder and tells me that the people and the environment are what keep him coming back.
“I’ve shot different things all my life, but when I got into cowboy action, I kind of quit the other shooting and stuck with this,” says ‘Grandpa Gary’.
“Right now I’m actually the top contender for the buckaroo belt buckle which is really cool,” says ‘Sidekick Ben’, one of the club’s younger members at 11 years old.
He's gunning for the buckaroo belt buckle.
“You just have to be the best buckaroo in Idaho and that’s what I’m doing,” added ‘Sidekick Ben’.
“Outfits are the other fun part of this,” ‘Hurdy Gurdy Shirl’ explained.
She tells me she loves wearing fancy hats when she shoots. Shooters like her often wear costumes and outfits that pay homage to the wild west.
“You can be simple, you can be fancy, you got to be comfortable,” says ‘Hurdy Gurdy Shirl’.
“It’s kind of an aging sport. A lot of the people who are top shooters are getting older and older and there’s not a lot of new people doing it, so the more we get new people, that’s gonna continue the sport,” says the ‘Idaho Calliope Kid’.
“This is a sport, family related, that involves playing with firearms, real firearms in a real safe way.”... “and of course we’re celebrating that period of American history that involves the single action firearms,” says ‘Johnny Patriot’.
