Troy Shantz
Once a month, a dusty posse of cowpokes meet at a firing range to affirm who’s the fastest gunslinger in the west.
Well, west Lambton, anyway.
Cowboy action shooting is a competitive game held at the Lambton Sportsmen’s Club. It’s a multi-gun match in which competitors are timed with pistols, rifles and shotguns as they attempt to hit targets on a wild west-themed course.
Just as important as the competition is the mandatory period regalia, complete with nicknames like “Stoney Creek,” “Wyatt” and “Wrangler Smith.”
Russ McPhee, the co-ordinator and a regular shooter, said he only knows some of the competitors by their cowboy handles. Ten-gallon hats, bandanas and ammo belts complete a gunslinger look the late John Wayne would approve of.
“In fact, when you go to any of the main matches … you must dress appropriate,” said Sarnia competitor Mike Scott, who has been a cowboy action shooter for 18 years.
“And the boots, of course, period correct for that time. End of the 1800s.”
Another unspoken rule: everyone is smiling and at home on the range.
“Every time I do this it’s a new adventure,” competitor Dave Gorman said of the game, which originated in southern California.
“It’s fun, and for the couple of minutes before you go up you’re just so nervous,” added Lyric Allin, a 19-year-old competitor from Corunna.
“You’re heart’s pounding and you’re kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, how am I going to do?’”
Many of the shooters at the Bickford Line club are local but some make their way here from Chatham, London, and even Ottawa.
Hugh Fraser, who rode in from Hamilton, has competed since 1990.
“You’d think I’d be better at it because I’ve been doing it for so long,” he said with a laugh.
“My motto is, ‘It’s never too late for a happy childhood.’”
