The Different Styles Of Cowboy Shooting Games

If you start talking about cowboy shooting games you could be talking about any number of varieties of the sport, but most likely you’re talking about one of the three main flavors. For those interested in, or just getting involved in cowboy shooting, let’s take a look at what most people are doing.

Cowboy Fast Draw – This is probably what most people think of when they envision cowboy shooting games. On the large and small screen, how many times have we seen two men meet in the middle of the street while the onlookers duck for cover? In the movies the scene usually ends with someone lying in the dust while smoke drifts from the barrel of the winner’s gun.

Fortunately for the competitors, cowboy fast draw is still concerned with drawing and firing faster than the other guy (or gal), but now you’re shooting at a target instead of each other.

When the shooters are ready, a light on the targets comes on after a random number of seconds. The fastest to fire and hit the target is the winner of that round.

Cowboy Action Shooting – In this activity the participants are set up on a stage that appears to be part of an Old West town. You might see a saloon, a bank, or a livery stable. The competitors take turns shooting a series of targets, sometimes going from the window of the bank, to the doorway of the stable, etc. They’re required to shoot pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

Each cowboy or cowgirl is timed from start to finish and extra time is added to their score for each target that is missed.

There are some variations in cowboy action shooting — some people shoot their pistols gunfighter style, one in each hand, and some people shoot duelist style, the pistol always fired from the same hand.

Mounted Shooting – A lot of people have seen barrel racing with horses, either at the rodeo or on TV, and mounted shooting can be described as barrel racing with guns.

Balloons are attached to posts in the arena and as the horse and rider go through the course, the rider fires at and pops the balloons. The fastest ride missing the fewest balloons is the winner.

Cowboy mounted shooting is the only one of these three varieties where blank ammunition is used. Even with blanks there’s enough material coming from the barrel of the gun that it will pop a balloon at several feet. (Most people think blanks are harmless, but they can be deadly.)

One thing all of these cowboy shooting games have in common is the costuming. The participants are dressed in period clothing, typical of what you might have seen in the late 1800s. The firearms are all replicas (or actual antiques) of firearms found in the Old West during that time frame.

Plus, all of the participants have their own cowboy “alias” and many have created extensive stories about “their life in the old west.”

Spectators are always welcome (safety is of top concern at these events) and when you show up for the first time you’re going to think you stumbled into a time machine and came out in the Old West!

About the Author

Learning the cowboy fast draw is easier with a timer — the Fast Draw Timer for the iPhone means you can practice almost anywhere. See http://CowboyShootingSoftware.com for the shooting timer.

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