town tamers

[Marshal Davis]

We were interested a while back when the suggestion came up to include a new class of shooting within NCOWS for those who would like to alter their shooting experience by shooting a shotgun and revolver during a match like the working cowboy class does with rifle and revolver. There were numerous suggestions for a name for this class and I believe sodbuster was one that kind of stuck. If it has been adopted as an official class yet I have not heard. We in the Covered Bridge Shootists in Alabama kind of preferred the name Town Tamer to the shotgun toting pistol fighter. It just seemed more authentically in keeping with history and recognizing the fact that most "sodbusters" of the era probably didn't even own a revolver much less carry one on anything like a regular basis. Also since it does not really matter a whole lot we thought town tamer kind of catchy because it is two words just like working cowboy. Anyway it has become an enormously popular class and our entire club now shoots as either working cowboy or town tamer with more or less an even split between those two groups each month. We've also realized some SASS rules currently in place by SASS are not there for safety reasons as much as facilitating some degree of fairness between competitors. Case in point is the rule that requires shotguns to always be staged empty and loaded on the clock. While there really is no reason why a magazine fed shotgun could not be staged with a loaded magazine but hammer down on an empty chamber same as the rifle, the problem arises because many shooters prefer a double barrel gun which of course cannot be staged loaded because there would be live rounds under the hammer. So to keep things more or less equal the shotgun is staged empty and loaded on the clock.  With NCOWS however having a category where only two guns are used the class of shotgun shooters often start their scenario by shooting the shotgun first. In the case of a shooter shooting only a magazine fed shotgun I see no reason why a magazine fed shotgun cannot be staged same as a magazine fed rifle. The shooter usually starts his stage with shotgun in hand at the ready and after saying his line to begin shooting engages targets as prescribed for the scenario. When the shotgun is empty it is set down action open same as rifle toters, the revolver is then drawn and shot as prescribed.  Lest this seem inadvertently unfair to double barrel users we let them stand at the ready on stage insert two rounds in the breech and then with breech still open they say their lines to start shooting and then snap the breech closed and engage targets with the shotgun reloading as needed and then setting the shotgun down breech open to switch to the pistol. This works very well and is quite popular among shooters and those with repeating shotguns can now use them as they were designed and intended. I notice too that in SASS Wild Bunch rules it is permissible to load the model 97 with the required rounds and then stage the gun with hammer down on an empty chamber.  Let me say what we have done is try to give our shooters the experience of shooting a combat style course of fire where guns are used as intended and designed requiring skill in use and marksmanship as well as speed. When hunting afield a double barrel gun is typically carried breech open with two rounds in the chamber. This is taught in hunter safety courses so I see no reason why this method of use cannot be incorporated into NCOWS shooting in the town tamer or sodbuster class so long as the shotgun is the first gun in use on that stage. This in itself would be a more realistic and authentic use of a shotgun for what gunfighter would pull his pistol and begin shooting while his other hand held a shotgun hanging unused by his side? Of course written stages can vary from one to another and any stage could be written so that the shotgun starts out empty and has to be loaded on the clock. This is fine but when a scenario is a faceoff in the street with the lone lawman facing an angry mob then it only seems reasonable as well as authentic that the shotgun start as the weapon of choice and loaded. I'm wondering if there are other clubs out there practising these techniques or is everyone stuck in the SASS match shotgun rules? 

[Major 2]

I proposed the class (shotgun & 1 Pistol) at the 33rd Convention..
it was met with mixed reactions....

My proposal " called the class "Sodbuster" (settler & pioneer were also batted about)
Town tamer is not bad ....
some discussion about the class, and finally it was tabled for a look see..
several Posse' have imbraced it and I hope it will be voted a class at the 34th. Congress.


Cracker Cow Cavalry, offers it as 'Sodbuster' and we also have a class for two pistols & a Shotgun.
this we call Town lawman or just lawman.

[Tjackstephens]

Marshal Davis, I'll have to say, I like it. Tj

[joec]

Another name could be coach guard but town tamer would also work. I not sure how many sod busters might of owned a pistol. At any rate I would love to see a shotgun/pistol class as the classes that allow a shotgun seem to require 2 pistols from time to time. Though I have that covered 3 gun sets can take a while longer with groups of 20+ people at an event.

[Cole Bluesteele]

So do you treat it like Working Cowboy with no distinction for powder or pistol grip? 

[Major 2]

My idea was to allow it both to stand alone ....

as WC shoots it aloted targets (pistol & rifle) ..SB would shoot the pistol & Shotgun targets...

I also suggested, a team  WC & SB .... 3 teams to make class

WC shoots his..and SB shoots the others... standard 4 gun set up
combine the times and the fastest team wins

[Tjackstephens]

Don't like the team ideal. Think it would work best as a single class. Each shooting against some one in working cowboy or town tamer. Tj

[Marshal Davis]

Sodbusters and Lawman are both good titles along with town tamer. Whatever is chosen as an approved class I'm surewill be quite popular with the shooters. I noticed our shoot went much quicker than normal this month with everyone of the town tamers ready to step and shoot when their time came. Also of interest the slowest time in town tamers was faster than the fastest time recorded for the working cowboys. This was a great idea to include as a class in NCOWS and continues to move the organization away from standard SASS style shoots and more toward the real authentic old west we all love so much. SASS has their shooting style which they openly admit is a fantasy version of old west shooting which has its emphasis on speed. I am very glad NCOWS has offered the opportunity to have a shooting experience rooted more in history combined with accurate precision shooting with speed being secondary. We shoot town tamer as a separate class but in the past we have also had what we call a sidekick match. This is a match where two people are shooting at the same time on the same stage. They shoot in the same class, two working cowboys or two town tamers. While one engages the rifle targets the other engages the pistol targets. Then as soon as all targets have been engaged they switch guns and the one that first shot pistol is now shooting a rifle and the one that started with rifle is now shooting pistol. Time and penalties for misses are same as usual and combined for a team or sidekick score. The shortest times are the two winning sidekicks for the match. Its best to draw lots to pair up sidekicks so that you don't have issues of the two fastest guns in the posse pairing up all the time. It is fun when a fast shooter gets a shooter as his sidekick that is not as fast. You can bet the slower guy will do his best not to let his pard down. Old west spirit and camaraderie is still alive.     

[Dynamite Bill]

         itz also fun ta see them smokeless shooters shootin AT tha targets that their sidekike blackpowder pard has obskurd! it is a hoot. i still aint larnt to use this thing yet'

[Cliff Fendley]

I kinda like the idea of shooting teams for times when there are enough shooters that want to participate.

[Tjackstephens]

I won't ever shoot it as a team. When you do that does it do away with the single working cowboy class or a single town tamer class? Tj 

[Major 2]

No Sir, not as I envisioned it.... it took 3 teams , (2 persons ea. man or woman) to include the team class at a meet , and they shot the 4 gun course of fire.

I saw 'Sodbuster' as a entry level class (just a WC was first envisioned)
Many times I have met, someone who....somehow aquired a C&B pistol some where along the way. He often showed some extra
interest in it... an it led him to hearing about WAS .
But the aspect, of needing 2 pistols , a rifle & a Shotgun * usually backed him off.
(* commonly they are drawn to SASS info , as NCOWS is somewhat unknown   )

On occasion I met a person, with that C&B, and had an SXS ( maybe his Dads or a old Fox or Ithica )

As I saw it, a class  for NCOWS , not to uncommon for a Sodbuster/Settler to own a foraging SXS and after the CW ( our time period ) a surplus revolver was a $1, or often just taken home after mustering out.

This was my thought.... a fellow could get into NCOWS 'Sodbuster' class ( using a C&B & an SXS )
even if he went out and bought his guns to start with, he be in & shooting on a budget.

A C&B Remington or Colt can be had around $200 and a Used SXS ( be it Stoeger or a Fox ) even a NIB Century SXS coach Gun
is about $300.

At the Convention, the idea got somewhat deluted .... from an entry/ budget level ( as WC started ) ...
to what about the Pump actions ? or the lever actions shotguns ?
My vision did not include them (just SXS)...
the team Idea saw interest, even some real appeal.
The concensus was to table the Sodbuster class, allow Posse's to develop it and look at it again in the future (?)

I believe if we offer it ....they will come !

So we at CCC , offer the class as stand alone class (for now) , we have 3 shooters embracing it, all three shooting it because of their budgets.
And all three, are new to WAS and NCOWS just because of the class.  

MT Chambers ...shoots a C&B conversion Remington (Kirst drop in) and a new Century SXS
Monty .... shoots a Uberti cattleman and his new Century SXS
Kellie.... will shoot my R&M Navy & my TTN ( she's my daughter   )

[Tascosa Joe]

TJ:
We shot the team match of WC/SB or Town Tamer as a side match at the SW Regionals.  Everyone had a great time doing it.  Deadeye Dave had stated he was against the team concept until he saw how it worked.  He changed his mind.  Cole needs to chime in as I did not shoot the side matches.  The heat got my old fat self on Thursday and I was not recovered until Saturday.

T-Joe

[Tjackstephens]

TJ, Sure wish I could have been there. We changec our Stephens Breeders event to the last week end of Sept. for next year, so maybe next year. Tj

[Pancho Peacemaker]

TJ:
We shot the team match of WC/SB or Town Tamer as a side match at the SW Regionals.  Everyone had a great time doing it.  Deadeye Dave had stated he was against the team concept until he saw how it worked.  He changed his mind.  Cole needs to chime in as I did not shoot the side matches.  The heat got my old fat self on Thursday and I was not recovered until Saturday.

T-Joe

Here's video of Capt. Mack and myself running one of the "Open Range" WC/SB team stages:

FYI:  I do support the shotgun/pistol class.  I don't think "town tamer" is a good name for it.  Sounds a little fruity to me.

[Cash Creek]

I like the name Sodbuster.. I agree with Pancho, town tamer just is not right.. I think a sodbuster would have had a shotgun for hunting and protection..and maybe a handgun also.. CC

[Major 2]

+ 3 on Sodbuster......

[Tascosa Joe]

I am in favor of Sodbuster as well.  If I shoot the class it will with a LC Smith double and SW pocket pistol.

I also like the title of Settler, but prefer Sodbuster.

[Marshal Davis]

Well in case anyone is interested we did some research.  Reading history where we could find the topic and also studying old photos in books. The few photos we could find of "sodbusters" and often their families included if there was a gun in evidence at all in the photo it was always a long barreled double hammer gun. In some of them you could tell it was a muzzleloader. but no revolvers seen. Yes, surplus revolvers were cheap and in someareas plentiful but as we all know that is only half the story. If you have a revolver then you will likely also need a belt and holster and ammo for it. More expense. I'll wager the average sodbuster of the era did well to keep his shotgun supplied with fodder. All other monies went toward feeding and clothing his family and seeds for his crops and tools and animal care. Not much room for much else. A sodbuster would never have had a short barreled sawed off looking shotgun like most of us already have. If we are to stick closely to history then accurately a sodbuster should be shooting a long barreled double gun either percussion or hammer double cartridge gun. This would rule out all the rest whose main shotgun is what would have been carried by a lawman, a coachguard, or a town tamer which is really just another name for a lawman, and that is a short barreled quick handling shotgun.  While we are on the topic of a new class of shooter let me say I don't propose this to be an entry level class for new shooters any more than I do WC as an entry level class. Rather they both are far more realistic classes for our time period of shooting. In the percussion era it was common for many men to carry two revolvers on them but still mostly used them one at a time. By the time cartridge revolvers were in wide usage this practice was dropped.  One good example is at the culmination of the Johnson County war when the army took into custody the large posse of gunmen hired by the cattle barons there were 50 men taken into custody and there were 55 revolvers and pistols confiscated from them. This number included pocket pistols and derringers. So as you can see out of 50 men only 10% of them carried more than one handgun and it was likely a derringer or pocket pistol as secondary. One last item I would like to mention is has anyone thought of approaching the NSSA and inviting their members to an NCOWS match. Heck, they already have the guns and the clothes. All they would have todo is show up and shoot. Many of them besides having percussion revolvers also have spencer and or Henry repeaters. WC class already. Others all have single shot cartridge loading percussion cap fired breechloading carbines also common after the War of Northern Aggression. They could be entered as a Veteran's Class. It would be a different shooting experience for them as a lot of their competitions are team sports and we would offer an individual competition. Many of their clubs shoot only quarterly and we can offer monthly shoots. Just a suggestion but I hate to think there are folks out there that could be having more fun shooting if they just knew where to go. Especially when they don't even need to buy a bunch of stuff first.         

[Books OToole]

My great-great grandfather was a farmer.  When he was mustered out of the 11th Kansas in the summer of 1865, he kept his Smith carbine ($9.00) and did not retain his revolver.  Like stated above, most farmers did not have much use for a pistol.

Therefore I like the Town Tamer name better.  It seems more appropriate for the armament of a pistol & a shotgun.


As to the team or not to team question:

A couple of years ago, the KVC held a detective shoot where the shooters were divided into two person teams.  One team member carried a pistol & rifle and the other a pistol & shotgun.

I like the idea of shooting in your individual catagory (WC) and then pairing up with a partner in the other catagory (TT).  By adding together their individual scores you determine the "team score."

So you could win your catagory and co-win the team catagory. (Or finshish 5th and co-win the team catagory.)

I think this a great idea.

Books