Behind the Times

Cowboy Action Shooting

Posted on June 8, 2007 by kraus2686
Filed Under Elsewhere, Noah's posts |

I sauntered on over to Harvard to the Harvard Sportsmen’s Association last weekend for the Cowboy Action Shooting Championships for Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. What is Cowboy Action Shooting you ask? Well, remember when you were a kid and you liked to play cowboy — don the hat and trusty Colt revolver? Well, apparently, you don’t have to stop when you grow up. Nearly 150 shooters from around Southern New England showed up decked out in cowboy gear and ready to face off for the title of top gun. I have to admit, I was a little envious and I’m not a gun owner.

No, they don’t actually shoot at each other. There’s no High Noon standoff here — at least not with someone firing back. Instead they compete in timed shooting events using pre-1899 era weapons to shoot targets. But it’s more than that. Each station they rotate to is based on some Western film — You’re Will Kane and you’re all alone against three bad guys (targets spread out in a Western town setting firing range. If you’ve ever been a fan of the Old West, this was a must-see. Check out the video we posted on our Harvard paper site: click here.