OLD WESTERN SCROUNGER MOVES TO WEST VIRGINIA

Old Western Scrounger (“OWS”) the leading distributor of obsolete ammunition and hard-to find shooting accessories, is moving from Carson City, Nev. to Martinsburg, W.Va.

After 25 years of running OWS, founder David Cumberland, aka Dangerous Dave, has announced his retirement and has sold the operation to Val Forgett, III, President of Forgett Militaria, LLC/Navy Arms. Val III will manage the daily operations while Dave will remain active at Trade Shows and other OWS-related events.

“I am very pleased to be able to work with Dave,” stated Val III. “Like my father, he is a legend in the firearms industry with a wealth of knowledge that is invaluable.”

OWS will continue to stock hard-to-find ammunition like .22 automatic and .32 rimfire, as well as the noisemakers and militaria OWS has become famous for.

For more information on OWS contact them at (304) 262-9870 or go to www.ows-ammo.com

REPLICA ARMS RIDES AGAIN!

Thirty years after acquiring the brand, Navy Arms is proud to announce the re-introduction of its Replica Arms line of entry-level firearms. “Replica Arms has a long history as a well-made, low-priced brand for shooters interested in starting out as a Civil War re-enactor or cowboy shooter”, stated Val Forgett, III, President of Forgett Militaria, LLC, owner of the Navy Arms and Replica Arms brands.

The Replica Arms line includes entry-level guns such as an 1873 single-action with an MSRP of $324.95, 1892 rifles and carbines starting at $399.95, Sharps rifles starting at $912.00 and, most impressive, the introduction of the “Seven Seas” Derringer line, starting at $89.00 each.

“We have found different vendors for Replica Arms products who are able to produce good quality guns at a low price”, Forgett continued. No Replica Arms guns are produced by Navy Arms vendors, they are separate vendors with separate production lines. Our goal is to provide new entrants to cowboy shooting well-made, low cost, no-frills guns to learn on. If they decide to step-up from Replica Arms single-actions and lever guns to Navy Arms gunfighters and Schofields, they already know that Navy Arms backs its products completely.”

All Replica Arms brand guns are backed by the same warranty enjoyed by Navy Arms customers on Navy Arms brand products. Replica Arms products are distributed by AcuSport, Ellett Brothers, RSR, and Zanders.

For more information on the Replica Arms line of products, contact Navy Arms at (304) 262-1651 or go to www.navyarms.com.

Jackson Hole Shootout Gang Celebrates its 50th Anniversary

Jackson Hole Shootout Gang Celebrates its 50th Anniversary Through the Years: The History of the Jackson Hole Shoot Out Gang

Jackson Hole, WY, 2006 - Clover the Killer was a hardened outlaw who rode into the dusty streets of Jackson like he owned the place, ready for a fight with anyone who stepped in his way. He was the meanest, ugliest, no-good, hoss-thief this side of Teton Pass. Clover the Killer was no match for the Cache Creek Posse, however. The good guys, the ones whom protected the women, children and citizens of Jackson. Every night throughout the summer, starting in June 1957, the Posse would drag Clover the Killer into Town Square in an attempt to hang him.

Undoubtedly, Clover never felt the noose tighten around his neck. Either his thieven' friends would come a ridin' with their six guns and steal Clover right out from underneath the Posse or the rope would break or somthin' would happen. This was the beginning of the Shootout Gang.

How it all started can be debated. We know that the purpose of the Shootout was to draw tourists to town. They started the shootout at 8 p.m. with a mission to attract visitors to stay in local hotels and motels, eat in the restaurants after the show and spend their money in the gifts shops. Whether it was a group of businessmen concocting the idea at the local Tavern or whether it was Clover Sturlin (aka Clover the Killer) coming up with the story all by himself, one thing is for certain. The Shootout was an immediate success, with crowds in the thousands and ten thousands each season, and it remained successful for the next 50 years. In fact, the Jackson Hole Shootout is reportedly the longest continually running gunfight in the United States.

The early years were filled with wild abandonment and very little structure. Many of the performers improvised and the crowd could not distinguish between real-life and make believe. In fact, it was these early years that led to the adoption of rules and safety regulations. Despite the crowd size and sheer number of guns, horses, characters on the rooftops, and falls on the street; very few people were injured.

That is except for the man that was actually hung, another that had a black powder gun blow up in his face and another with a broken leg. The occasional cast member might have a drink, maybe two or three, which proved to be a danger in its own right.

Although the original show evolved through the years, the basic premise of hanging Clover the Killer was used until the mid 1970s. By this time the original cast members had moved on and new members would create different characters and more elaborate scripts. Now it was Nolan, "Killer" Johnson and "Sheriff, Gentleman" Bill Towsend who led the performance of good guy versus bad guy. And in 1978, "Mean" Mike Meade joined the cast and became one of the first mangers of the Shootout Gang. It was during this era that the gang realized a need for fundraising to help pay for the costs of the performances. If it wasn't for the dedication of "Mean" Mike Meade, the Bar-J Chuck wagon fundraiser, local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and a lot of local support, the Shootout may have seen its last show. Costs were exceeding $14,000 per season for props, clothing and cast members.

At this time the show was running seven days a week and the time commitment had become too much for some of the members. As manager, Mike was able to rally the troops and keep the Shootout going strong into the next era. The Gang also accepted new rules and regulations such as no swearing or drinking.

The next era extends from the early '80s to the late '90s. Mayor Bill Westbrook was the manager for most of this era. Fundraising efforts continued to subsidize the growing need for new costumes, guns and cast members. By 1992, the budget had exceeded $20,000 per season and gang members were making $8 per show. Bill was passionate about the Old West and keeping the script fresh and exciting. He began to include tourists as part of the show, keeping the crowd interested and involved. Bill was also very versatile, playing as many as five characters in one season. They included Juan Peso- the name speaks for itself, Dead Eye Jack McGrew-the meanest villain that ever walked the streets, the honorable Judge and an inebriated jurist who amazingly was the only one left standing at the end of The Judge show. He provided both fantasy and reality when he got into costume and brought a higher lever of theatrical expertise. This was an era when the Shootout Gang began to gain some notoriety and longevity.

Today the Shootout Gang is going strong with a ten member cast, new bolder scripts, and continued support from local businesses. Corry Koski, (aka Doc) son of Nolan "The Killer" Johnson is the current Manager. Although a lot has changed since the days of wild abandonment, the Gang still puts on a truly spectacular show filled with the lore of the Old West, bringing characters to life in the streets of present-day Jackson. However, today's Gang assumes its social responsibility by explaining to one and all, young and old, the danger and care of firearms. They emphasize this by a demonstration at the beginning of every show and explain that shooting is done is jest for the skit. In addition, the rules have been extended to include consistent courtesy to tourists, no live ammunitions, no one handling the guns except for Gang members and no tips for photo opportunities. The Gang has made it a priority to keep this a fun, safe, family event that can be enjoyed by everyone. Today's act includes a free button for the little ones, souvenir posters that can be purchased at local gift shops, and a lifetime of memories to be passed down from generation to generation.

Jackson Hole Shootout Gang members are the lifeblood of the community and can be seen at fundraisers, fairs, rodeos and other shootouts in the West. It has become a tradition that lets Jackson Hole live up to its boast of being, "The Last and the Best of the Old West."

Contact: Lori Hogan, Public Relations Manager, Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, 307-733-3316 Ext. 16 or lori@jacksonholechamber.com.

Note: Information contained within this press release was provided, with permission, by Walt Farmer from his book titled, "Shootout on the Town Square - The Story of the Jackson Hole Shootout." Copies of this book may be obtained online at www.theastrocowboy.com

Editorial - Jan/Feb 2006 issue

I want to start out this year by telling you about our plans for 2006 as well as look at where we have been. We have now been in operation six and a half years and this is our 38th issue. In our second year we purchased Trail’s End and their assets and we acquired some new subscribers and advertisers through that process. Though sometimes it is a trial to get the magazine out on time while attending shoots or trying to proof our next book, it has always been exciting, challenging, and most of all rewarding. The people we have met, shot with, told stories with, received articles from, and who have provided guns and gear for us to test and write about is what makes this an effort of love. An important part of our effort is supporting the shooting sports, our Second Amendment, those in the Western-action shooting industry, and helping others. It is a rare day when I get up in the morning and think to myself, “I really don’t feel like going to work.” In fact, I can’t think of the last time that occurred. I hope, and believe, that most of my staff feels the same way. They all take a personal interest in the magazine and try their very best to make sure it is the greatest Western-action shooting publication there is. Without you, the reader, as well as our advertisers and supporters, and the excellent internal and external staff I have, the magazine would not be what it is today. I thank each and every one of you for making my work exciting and a joy.

This next year will see a number of changes or enhancements to what we provide our readership. First, we increased the page count to 120 pages total with the September/October 2005 issue and we plan to keep it that size in the future. This is more pages than the vast majority of gun and shooting magazines that are published today. We plan on continuing to maintain a minimum of 60 percent editorial content. I know that some people would like to see more but without advertising there would not be any magazine.

Our backlog of articles, as well as interesting subjects to write about, and book reviews to publish, continues to grow, so please be patient if it seems to take an extra long time before you see something you submitted in print. Sometimes we just do not have room to put an article in the magazine. This is unfortunate, especially if such an article is time sensitive. However, we are now including some of these articles in our Table of Contents in the magazine and then putting the article on our web-site. We hope this will allow us to provide more articles to our readership in a timelier manner. In some cases, especially shoots, we will put a much larger number of photos up on the web-site than what we can publish in the magazine.

Our article content and the categories listed in the table of contents will remain as they are for 2006. There are some areas we will definitely be enhancing and others that we would like to include more of, such as hunting with period firearms, which we are lacking material for. We will be expanding our genre slightly to include, in a very limited manner, companion bolt-action or semi-auto firearms to our existing Old West guns. This applies mostly when considering such combinations as a companion .22 rifle to a Single-Six .22 when out hunting, or the reverse, a companion .22 semi-auto when out hunting with a period correct rifle. Please don’t worry, these types of articles will run on an occasional basis, we are still dedicated to Western-action shooting and do not plan on changing this. We are also planning some more historical and gunsmithing pieces.

We will continue to provide one Getting Started article each issue. We have completed an extensive series on mounted shooting, a number on CAS, and plan others. Knowing that all items cannot be covered in detail, we are greatly expanding our Getting Started section on our web-site. This will have already occurred by the time you read this, yet we will continue to increase it during the year.

We plan on publishing at least one book in 2006 along with two Special Editions. The book is titled Old Guns and Whispering Ghosts and it is amazing (read the book review by John Taffin on page 57.) One of the Special Edition magazines is titled Junior Shooters and it will be all about juniors in a variety of shooting sports. The other is our usual edition about SASS’s World and National Championships. Another book is planned on Mounted Shooting but will probably not be available until early 2007. Our first calendar is planned to be available in the summer of 2006 for the year 2007 and it will include an events calendar at the end of the 12-month calendar so you will want to make sure we have your club event information up-to-date. Talking about events, our event listing has gotten so large that we have finally decided not to include it in the magazine itself. It will be listed under the Table of Contents with a note that the full listing is on the web-site. Please remember that it is up to the clubs to ensure that we receive updated information.

We also plan to continue ongoing surveys on our web-site in which we give out prizes. We are adding another readership survey that is on the web-site. Though prizes are not always offered when answering this one, it is a demographic survey and we would appreciate it greatly if you would fill it out for us. All of our surveys help us understand what you, the reader, are interested in (to fill it out online, please click here). We will also be continuing our Mernickle holster giveaway in which each issue a paid subscriber is randomly drawn to win one of these great gun rigs.

Our Cowboy Benefit raffle, which benefits a cowboy or cowgirl or their family in need (both medically and financially) will continue (see the article in the September/October 2005 issue Vol. 36 on page 78 or on our web-site). We have had a lot of support from many companies who donated prizes and we greatly appreciate their effort. The 2006 grand prize is a special sixgun called the High Plains Drifter in honor of Clint Eastwood, donated by Cimarron , and a custom gun rig by Gordon Davis. The concept was created by Dave Sample, aka Captain Eagle, who also completed a full action job on the sixgun. You can view these prizes on our web-site. The list for the winners for 2005 will be posted on the web-site in January 2006, and in the magazine in the March/April 2006 issue. We have not yet decided on the beneficiary or beneficiaries for the raffle for 2006, so if you know of someone in need, especially if they are suffering due to hurricanes Katrina or Rita, please send in your suggestion. All suggestions are reviewed and research conducted on the most promising. Please send your beneficiary recommendations, along with as much information on their story as possible, to editor@shootmagazine.com.

The SHOOT! Mercantile continues to see more products added. Please note that the selling of products on our mercantile is open to all manufacturers (except gun manufacturers – we will not sell cartridge firearms) after a review of the products and manufacturer to ensure they are applicable and meet our market, quality, operational, and processing requirements.

We now have our own SHOOT! Magazine online forum, an excellent site that has supported CAS shooters for many years. Our forum is hosted by CAS City . Smith n’ Jones, Penelope Jane, and I monitor this site on a regular basis and encourage all of you to use it. Don’t be surprised if some of your questions end up in our Letters to the Editor column in the magazine.

We look forward to another great year of Western-action shooting and providing you with the very best in our industry.