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Home > Archive > Apr 5, 2007

Old West Comes to Life with a Ruckus
By Susi Lafaele

The noise ricochets off the red rock walls. It’s the sound of the most popular rifle, the Winchester Model 1873, also known as the “gun that won the West.” For many, the noise may be too loud; but for members of the Dixie Desperados, that blast is music to their ears.
The Dixie Desperados is a cowboy action-shooting club directly associated with the Single Action Shooting Society or SASS, created to preserve and promote cowboy action shooting. Each member is required to adopt a shooting alias and a costume from the West prior to the 1900s. Whether it’s a name like Kate Goodbody, Ben A. Contender, or Sasparilla Slim, the shooting alias has to be representative of a character or profession from the Old West. Even the guns have to be a pre-1900 design, but of course, of new manufacture. With bandannas, boots, leather and chaps, each member is outfitted with a silver sheriff star designating them to be a member of SASS. 
Created in 1981, SASS has now become the fastest growing outdoor shooting sport, with more than 75,000 worldwide members in 500 affiliated clubs. Bill Christensen, aka William Waddy, of the Dixie Desperados, said that “most people just love the westerns;” hence the popularity of cowboy action shooting. 
Sandy Franks, aka Nitty Gritty Sandy, president of the Dixie Desperados, said that since the launch of the club in 2000, there are currently 90 or so members. Nitty Gritty Sandy said that members are “young and old alike,” the youngest being 12, the oldest nearing 80. Members come from a range of professions: retired dentists, professors, lawmen and much more.
William Waddy said the two main concerns of the Dixie Desperados are safety and fun. All posse members wear protective eyewear and earplugs, and anytime any loading or unloading of firearms occurs, the guns are pointed toward the mountain and another Desperado clears them. And with grins all around, William Waddy calls cowboy action shooting a “fantasy sport,” with plenty of skill and humor combined.
On April 12-14, nearly 150 shooters from around the region (Utah, Arizona and Nevada) will gather together for the “Ruckus at Red Rock.” Contestants square off against each other using the firearms of the Old West to see who can shoot their rifle, pistol, or shotgun the fastest. Matches include derringer, speed rifle and pistol, pocket pistol, and plainsman. Each event is timed, and shooters test their skill against steel targets.
This is the ultimate “fantasy sport,” William Waddy said.
Carol Poulton, whose alias is Lil’ Bit Younger, retired five years ago and, with her husband, became interested in cowboy action shooting. At first, she thought that she would just “come along for the ride,” but now she’s a member and the secretary of the Dixie Desperados “because I like it now,” she said. 
For many SASS members, they share a common interest in preserving the history of the Old West and come together for something that is “more than a hobby, but a lifestyle.”
William Waddy invites all to come out to the “Ruckus at Red Rock.” If you’re unable to attend the event but would still like to see what the Dixie Desperados are all about, log on to their Web site at www.dixiedesperados.com.

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