Whether you’re a firearms enthusiast or simply interested in Old West history and culture, END of TRAIL, The World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting and Wild West Jubilee, is for you.

Held by the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), which was founded by Judge Roy Bean in 1987 and is dedicated to preserving Cowboy Action Shooting, the Championship takes place June 21 to 27 in Founders Ranch, NM. Spectators are invited to attend this weekend's events

Cowboy Action Shooting is the fastest growing shooting sport in the world, combining old-style shooting techniques and costumes with modern firearms fun. Participants adopt a historical “alias” representing an Old West character—and dress accordingly—all while staying true to “the spirit of the game.” Deputy Executive Director of NRA General Operations Andrea Cerwinske, pictured at right, competes under the alias Little Sacajawea.

According to the Single Action Shooting Society’s Shooter’s Handbook, “Cowboy Action Shooting™ is a combination of historical reenactment and Saturday morning at the matinee.”

SASS believes that the costume and alias aspect of their competitions “adds so much to the uniqueness of our game and helps create a festive, informal atmosphere that supports the friendly, fraternal feeling we encourage in our competitors.”

END of TRAIL's Main Match takes place Thursday, June 24 through Saturday, June 26. It’s a four gun event, meaning competitors are required to use two six-guns, a shotgun, and a rifle in each match. This weekend, spectators are invited to attend.

Judge Roy Bean, known to folks outside the world of Cowboy Action Shooting as Harper Creigh, took a minute to sit down with NRAblog during SHOT Show 2009. He is pictured above with NRA Executive Director Kayne Robinson. 

We asked him what it meant to him to be considered the father of Cowboy Action Shooting, commonly referred to as the fastest growing shooting sport in the world. "To me it's not the amount of people, it's the quality of people," he started. "Shooters are the best people in the world, and we have the best of the best."

Today marks the first day of the three-day SASS Convention at the Riviera Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas. The Single Action Shooting Society means business – they're throwing a ball, hosting a classic cowboy dance, and presenting an aray of cowboy seminars to celebrate what they call "Wild West Christmas."

NRA President Ron Schmeits is even on hand to kick off the start of the event this morning.

Of course, NRA National Firearms Museum's resident cowboy, Phil Schreier, is also in the middle of the action. Schreier is in Vegas representing the Museum and showcasing Real Guns of Reel Heroes. "I'm setting up the Museum's booth now," Phil told us Wednesday afternoon. "And I'll be sure to send you some photos of Ron's speech."

Read more about the event here, and stay tuned for Phil's updates from the field!

Thanks to Senior Curator Phil Schreier of the NRA National Firearms Museum for the following:

NRA museum staff will participate in the Single Action Shooting Society “Convention and Wild West Christmas” in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The Eighth annual SASS Convention and Wild West Christmas take place at the Riviera Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, December 3-6, 2009. The annual event is designed to bring together all that is Cowboy Action Shooting in a non-shooting arena presented to showcase everything imaginable pertaining to the fastest growing shooting sport in the world.

The National Firearms Museum will have a selection of items from the Guns West! exhibit featuring the firearms that made cinematic history in such films as Quigley Down Under, Stagecoach and the Outlaw Josey Wales. Find more info here.

Stay tuned! Correspondent Schreier will undoubtedly return with an exciting report from Vegas.

The Gene Pearcey family visited the National Firearms Museum on Friday and enjoyed a tour led by Phil Schreier. Pearcey, known in the cowboy action world as "Evil Roy," visited the Museum for the first time along with 12 family members. The group met with fellow cowboy action enthusiasts, General Operations' Executive Director Kayne Robinson and Deputy Executive Director Andrea Cerwinske.

Several of Pearcey's firearms and heirlooms are on display in the Ruger Gallery. The current Ruger exhibit – Guns West! the West the way it is, the way it was, and the way it could have been – is a popular one, echoing the growth of the cowboy action shooting community. "Over 100,000 new shooters came to this hobby in a matter of 15 years," Schreier said. Pearcey, a top cowboy competitor, runs Evil Roy Shooting School out of Durango, Colorado, with his wife Karen, also known as "Wicked Felina."

Pearcey took a few minutes to talk to NRAblog about his role in cowboy action shooting:

“I started shooting in 1993," Pearcey told NRAblog. After taking two of his grandchildren to a cowboy action match in Durango, Colorado, he was hooked. "We started (competing) the next year, and we're going into our 16th year of competition, traveling all over the United States and Finland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, and a lot of different places."

What started out as  a simple trip to Washington DC to tour the White House bloomed into several additional tours, including the NRA Museum and Arlington National Cemetery. Pearcey said 10 of his 15 grandchildren made the trip. "It's been a nice chance for us to get together." One family homeschools their children, and Pearcey said the emphasis on American history fit nicely into their lesson plans.

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There's no doubt Cowboy Action Shooting is gaining popularity. ContraCostaTimes.com recently profiled Gilbert Guerra, champion of the recent cowboy fast draw world championship. Guerra and wife Jennifer make firearms a family activity – "Safety first," he said. "Fun comes second, and competition third."

Cowboy fast draw world championship

… At the competition in Nevada earlier this month, it took three days of elimination contests before Gilbert Guerra earned top billing. Guerra has made his comeback with aplomb. In addition to winning the title, Guerra was featured in the television show "Impossible Shots," which was aired on the Outdoor Channel.

Then there's YouTube, where viewers can watch Guerra, labeled "fastest gun in the west," shoot five targets under one second.

The Guerras hope their return to the sport will encourage others, including families, to pick up the sport. Children as young as 10 compete in shooting contests and Jennifer Guerra believes that when you teach weapons safety early, it's a safe sport.

"They learn at a very early age about gun safety," Jennifer Guerra said. "As scary as some may think … kids shooting guns … it's quite the contrary."

Gilbert Guerra Jr. said there's a motto that all competitors go by. "Safety first," he said. "Fun comes second, and competition third."

Read the entire article here.

NRAblog readers might remember reading our exclusive interview of Judge Roy Bean, the founder of Cowboy Action Shooting. We also featured live coverage of End Of Trail, in which Kayne Robinson and Andrea Cerwinske competed. Stay tuned for more on this growing sport!

Australian David McCarthy became the first international competitor to win the title at this year’s Cowboy Action Championship in Raton, New Mexico. McCarthy is pictured above with Australian teammates Mick Hutton and Robert Tobler.

McCarthy received his first rifle, a Daisy BB lever action, when he was just two years old. He became a member of the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia by age eleven and competed in his first Lever Action National Championships in 1994. Just 13 years old, he won all five junior events.

Over the next 15 years, McCarthy shot in many competitions, including the Muzzleloading National Championships, Lever Action National Championships, Field Rifle & 3-Positional Championships, and the U.S. National Matches at Camp Perry. Winning many medals and setting national records along the way, McCarthy has also won the Lever Action Nationals numerous times, and became the first person to win back-to-back championships.

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The staff of the NRA National Firearms Museum will be at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia, on July 24, 25, and 26, 2009. Stop by their table--it's usually in the corner near the cafe--to see the following Smith & Wesson revolvers:

• Theodore Roosevelt's engraved .38 New Model No. 3
• Annie Oakley’s engraved No.1 .22
  
• Dirty Harry’s famed .44 Magnum Model 29
  
• and more!

We thank Doug Wicklund for the following overview:

What do Dirty Harry, President Theodore Roosevelt, Jesse James, Annie Oakley, Herb Parsons, and Steve McQueen all have in common? Each of these famous people owned Smith & Wesson revolvers and their intriguing guns will be part of a special National Firearms Museum temporary exhibition, “Six Special Smith & Wessons” at the next National Capitol EXPO Center gunshow on July 24, 25, and 26, 2009.

If you’ve ever asked yourself if you feel lucky, just seeing Dirty Harry’s famed .44 Magnum Model 29 in person will answer that question. This is the actual revolver used by Clint Eastwood onscreen in his Dirty Harry and Magnum Force films. More...

NRA's Silhouette Coordinator Jonathan Leighton experienced a small miracle Wednesday. Currently in rural Raton, New Mexico, with the Cowboy Rifle Competition, Leighton experienced a rare level of reception on his cell phone.

NRAblog is flattered he chose to call us. "I think this would make a great story," he began. "We just finished shooting the first of three matches that comprise the Cowboy Lever Action Competition, and an Australian competitor won."

That competitor, David McCarthy, is the first international competitor to win a title in Cowboy Rifle. More...

NRAblog just received some exciting news: the seventh season of COWBOYS begins tonight on the Outdoor Channel. The entire season focuses on Cowboy Action Shooting.

Our Museum staff, Director Jim Supica and Senior Curator Phil Schreier, will appear throughout the season to talk about some of the Museum's most prized exhibits: guns of the Old West.

Tune into the Outdoor Channel on Wednesday Nights at 4:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. for the show. Look here for a sneak peek up upcoming shows.

Little Sacagewea first reported earlier today from End of Trail.

Above, she is joined by NRA Executive Director of General Operations Kayne Robinson. Below, SASS President Boyd Davis--also known as General U.S. Grant--spoke Wednesday evening. "I say End of Trail is like a family reunion," he said. "But at this reunion, you like everyone."

Continue below the fold for a complete slideshow of activities.  

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Our very own Cowboy Action Shooter, NRA Deputy Executive Director Andrea Cerwinske, shot this video just moments ago at Founders Ranch in New Mexico as part of the Single Action Shooting Society's annual End of Trail competition.

Click the image above. You'll be directed to the Picasa album, where the video begins automatically.

“Little Sacagewea,” also known as NRA Deputy Executive Director Andrea Cerwinske, took a break from the action in New Mexico to check in with NRAblog. She and NRA Executive Director of General Operations Kayne Robinson are at End of Trail, the oldest and largest Cowboy Action Shooting competition in the world.

Both Cerwinske and Robinson are life members of the Single Action Shooting Society, or SASS, the event’s sponsoring organization.

More than 1,000 competitors are expected to attend the four-day event, held at Founders Ranch in New Mexico. Each is authentically dressed as a character of his or her choosing. In addition to the United States, participants have been coming in from New Zealand, France, Italy, and Australia. “It's incredible to see the widespread interest in Cowboy Action Shooting,” Cerwinske (pictured above) told NRAblog.

Cowboy Action Shooting is a western U.S. tradition committed to preserving the history of the Old West. In addition to the competitive firearms component, End of Trail serves as a celebration of the Old West “cowboy” lifestyle and offers activities and entertianment for shooters and non-shooters alike.

Check back soon for more photos and information from “Little Sacagewea.”

"Gil T. Azell” had some words to say about a recent Dusty Bunch Old Western Shooters banquet, held in Maricopa, AZ. The Dusty Bunch is an NRA-affiliated shooting club based in Arizona. The following article appeared in the March 2009 edition of the Cowboy Chronicle and is reprinted with permission.

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Judge Roy Bean, known to folks outside the world of cowboy shooting as Harper Creigh, took a minute to sit down with NRAblog.com during SHOT Show 2009. He is pictured above with NRA Executive Director Kayne Robinson. He insisted he be photographed holding his trademark cigar. "No photograph of me without a cigar exists," the Judge said.

What does it mean to him to be the father of Cowboy Action Shooting? "To me it's not the amount of people, it's the quality of people," he started. "Shooters are the best people in the world, and we have the best of the best.&auot;

"As for what it means, it’s the greatest feeling in the world – like winning the lottery and having your kid elected president all in the same day."

In the winter of 1980, the Judge was joined by six other cowboy action shooters for the very first match. The idea was quick to catch on. The Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) was founded by the Judge in 1987 as an international organization dedicated to the preservation of Cowboy Action Shooting. "We always hoped we could get at least 10,000 members, and here we are 20 years later with over 80,000 members worldwide." More...