Gunfighters from The Gunslingers, The Thunderbirds, The Okotoks Fast Draw Club, The Shawnee Bandits, The Buckeye Rangers, The Yankee Raiders, The Thundering Guns, The Golden State Gunslingers and The San Miguel Sheriff's Posse joined me at Gunfighter Gulch to celebrate Fast Draw and attempt to dethrone the reigning Top Gun of the Internet, Doc Hric.  When the dust settled and the smoke cleared 16 year old Garrett Harmon of the Yankee Raiders stood alone earning his place in the GunFighter Gulch Wanted Poster Gallery.  Not only that, he never missed a shot, he had the fastest shot average and he pulled off the fastest shot of the day.  Members of the Fast Draw community are not surprised. Garrett was born with Fast Draw in his blood.  He is the grandson of Ron and Sue Zimmerman.  Ron and Sue have won more Fast Draw trophies than they can probably count.  Fantastic job Garrett!

     I apologize for the delay in posting the results of the Winternet Shoot. I was unexpectedly drawn into two stories this week.

     The first was a modern day Fast Draw story that took all week to play out.  When people find out I am a Fast Draw Gunfighter the first thing they usually say is they have never heard of Fast Draw.  I tell them Fast Draw has over 60 years of history and it is the oldest organized cowboy action shooting sport in existence.  It is enjoyed in the United States, Canada, Scotland, England, Japan and other countries around the World to this day.  I tell them stories about celebrities, movie stars and gunfighters of the New West that cast a positive light on the sport.  The story I was part of this week reflected a dark side of Fast Draw.  Different perceptions creating different realities, accusations of dishonorable acts, lost respect, friendships destroyed, hidden agendas and beating dead horses.  Stories like this are easy to find in any competitive sport and Fast Draw is no exception. These stories are often dismissed as just part of the game but stories like this have been the easiest for me to find as I continue to research the history of the sport.  Fast Draw may never die but it is my opinion that stories like these diminish the sport a little every time they happen. It keeps the sport of Fast Draw from achieving the respect that it deserves.  As a result Fast Draw may remain the most famous cowboy shooting sport that no one has ever heard of.   

     The second is the personal story of a fellow OFDA International member Humberto “Gaucho Bert” Riselli and the obstacles he is negotiating in his attempt to obtain US citizenship.  He and his wife emigrated from Argentina approximately 20 years ago, living and working in Ohio where their sons were born.   Over the years and with the guidance of attorneys Humberto says he believed they had finally completed the mandatory requirements to earn citizenship.  He was told the last step in the process was to go through an interview at the US embassy in Argentina.  He was led to believe the interview was a mere formality and he would be there no longer than two weeks.  The interview was scheduled for November 6, 2014.  He tells me his family dressed up for this life changing event and they were filled with joyful excitement that the moment had finally come.  After presenting his documentation and enduring the extensive questioning he was shocked when he was told his request is denied.  He was informed his only recourse is to file an appeal with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which he has done.  Heartbroken and unable to expedite the USCIS appeal process the Riselli Family is still in Argentina hoping for a miracle.  Please keep them in your prayers.  The Winternet Shoot is dedicated to them.

The Mr. Clean/Mrs. Clean Award Winners for Hitting All 15 Targets
Garrett Harmon
Ron Zimmerman
Howard Shingler
Shawn Murphy
Tony Wisen
Sue Zimmerman
Dennis Robinson

The Greased Lightnin' Award for the Fastest Shot of .255
Garrett Harmon

For those of you who enjoy the all the detail here is the link to the final score sheet.

     George Narasaki founded the Sundowners in Berkeley, California in 1958. The original five-member group practiced at a gun club in San Leandro until their move in the late 1960’s to Bob Keeney’s Buckeye Ranch in Lafayette, California. Membership in the Sundowners was by invitation, the only way for a new shooter to become a Sundowner was to be sponsored by a Sundowner in good standing. During their time at the Buckeye Ranch the club grew to fifteen members, all top Fast Draw competitors. Besides George their roster included well-known west coast shooters Van Gentry, Francis Carlos, Ed “Fast Eddie” Hawkins, Bob Grilli and Helen Stransky. The club found itself in an envied position in the world of professional Fast Draw since Sundowners were regularly taking championship honors home from many of the biggest Fast Draw events in California and the surrounding western states. If the Sundowners showed up at a Fast Draw contest participants knew they were facing some tough competition and it would be a fight for the prize! Sundowners competed in three of the four famous Colt Sahara Walk and Draw National Championships held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sponsored by the Colt Firearms Company and the Sahara Hotel and Casino from 1959 through 1961, this contest was one of the most prestigious competitions in the 50-year history of the sport. The event drew hundreds of competitors, a huge crowd of spectators and reporters from all over the US and Canada to watch the best in the sport compete in an old fashion walk down western gunfight. The contest was held at the height of the Hollywood Western era prompting all the major Hollywood production studios to send some of their most recognizable cowboy stars including Clint Eastwood, Rodd Redwing, Peter Brown, Jock Mahoney and others to the event to promote their movies and TV shows directly to their target audience. Not only did the Sundowners participate in contests, they hosted many championship level events including the 1964 California State Fast Draw Championships in Concord, California. Typical of the large Fast Draw clubs the Sundowners were also active in organizing gun safety presentations and fund raising events for the communities in which they lived. In the early ‘70s George’s family and his construction business had grown to the point where he decided to step away from the world of Professional Fast Draw. He hung up his guns, sold most of his equipment and fully immersed himself in his life responsibilities.

     I was introduced to George through a mutual friend; renowned single action gunsmith and gun coach Jim Martin. Jim had mentioned George as one of the best thumbers he had ever known in an interview that was documented in Bob Arganbright’s book “The Fastest Guns Alive – The Story of Western Fast Draw”. As an Asian American and amateur Fast Draw historian I was interested in the story of George Narasaki in particular. I contacted Jim in 2003 and he told me he had lost track of his friend many years ago. As fate would have it in 2005 George found himself semi-retired and curious about what happened to the sport that was an important part of his life in his younger years. With the full support of his wife, Norrie, he began researching the current state of affairs in Fast Draw and was pleasantly surprised to find that after a 30+ year hiatus the sport he loved was still alive and well though substantially smaller than when he was an active competitor. Driven to see if he could still perform at a competitive level George contacted Jim to build him a Fast Draw single action gun. Jim called me with the news that George still lived in northern California and was interested in speaking with someone who was knowledgeable about the way Fast Draw was practiced today. For obvious reasons I was a willing volunteer and arranged a meeting with him immediately. George and I hit it off from the beginning and we soon found ourselves preparing for one of the biggest Traditional style contests on the professional Fast Draw circuit today, Gary and Joyce Tryon’s Wild West Championship held in Florence, Arizona. This annual three-day event brings together the current “Best of the Best” from the active sanctioning organizations, the Ohio Fast Draw Association and the World Fast Draw Association, to a shootout in the desert. Of further significance is the fact that this is one of the only contests that attracts a high number of veteran shooters. In my opinion it is the presence of the veteran champions who held titles during the golden years of the sport that make this contest special. Always a threat, their collective years of experience give them a mental edge that makes them the biggest stumbling block for the younger champions in their quest for the Wild West Championship title. Winning this championship increases the credibility and pedigree of any professional single action gunfighter who aspires to go down in history as one of the best. It was at that contest that George introduced me to original Sundowners Van Gentry and Francis Carlos. Each of them, including George, proudly carried their original Sundowners badge and I could tell by the stories they told that the Sundowners was something special in their lives.

     It was also during that ride that we discussed a new sanctioning organization that started in 2002, the Cowboy Fast Draw Association. I told George my group of friends had been exploring that style of shooting since 2004 in my monthly Internet contest because there were no local clubs organized in California at the time. Upon our return George, Jack Fritz and I started to explore the world of Cowboy Fast Draw. George and Jack went further than I in researching the CFDA by traveling to Idaho, South Dakota and Montana to meet the people and participate in CFDA Championship events. They returned with glowing reports and as our enthusiasm grew for this style of shooting so did our local group of shooters. Jack and his wife, Kitty, graciously hosted our initial activity at their property in Sonora, California.

     Soon after that original Sundowner Ed “Fast Eddie” Hawkins joined the fun. In September of this year we had found we had outgrown our current location and began searching for a larger place to gather. Fast Eddie took the lead and found us several places to shoot that satisfied our requirements right in the heart of the scenic Mother Lode region, site of the California gold rush. For a California Gunfighter it doesn't get much more western than that! We now had a place to shoot, timers and targets, enough shooters to put on a contest and a group of like-minded individuals to share the responsibilities. The next logical step was for us to form as a club. On October 28, 2006 The Sundowners became an active shooting club again with the goal of promoting Fast Draw in Northern California.

     It started off as a typically cold December morning until I noticed a cloud of dust and eventually heard the thundering sound of hoof beats in the distance. By late afternoon Gunfighters were riding into Gunfighter Gulch.  

     Duke, Carol and Johnny from the Shawnee Bandits of Ohio were the first to arrive and I was not surprised. They are family to me and I am an honorary badge carrying member of their club. They supported and promoted the Internet Shoot from it's inception in 2005. Both Duke and Carol are former OFDA International Chairmans and Fast Draw Champion title holders in the OFDAI and the WFDA. Johnny is fast with a gun and just as proficient with a spreadsheet. I was sure glad to see them knowing I would not have to manage this shootout by myself.

     Next to ride into town was The Thunderbirds, the oldest continuously active Fast Draw Club in North America. Heading up their posse are founding members Den and Karen Robinson.  Den was one of the first to help me with my mission to document the history of Fast Draw and it is my great honor to call them my friends. There is no one sweeter than Karen and I refer to Den as the Founding Father of Fast Draw in Canada. Few can equal what this couple has done to keep Fast Draw alive in North America. Den frequently crosses the border to compete in the United States.  He was a member of the group of pioneers from the Western States and Mid West Fast Draw Associations that merged their organizations to create the World Fast Draw Association in the early 1970s. He was also a member of the club that inspired me to be a Gunfighter, The Valley Gunhawks of San Jose California. The Thunderbirds remain an extremely active club and have been hosting Fast Draw Championship events, Fast Draw demonstrations and Wild West shows for decades.

     Out of the corner of my eye I see someone drawing a crowd.  It is no surprise to me that in the middle of the gathering I spot my compadre Jon "Trickshot" Wilson from Trickshot's School of Fast Draw coaching two new shooters; getting them ready to meet their destiny.  He has a passion for old west history, western movies and cowboy shooting sports. If it involves a single action Tricky will be there. He holds Champion titles in every major association that promotes the sport.  He is tireless in his effort to share Fast Draw by repairing guns, teaching Fast Draw technique and putting on trick shooting and fancy gun handling exhibitions. He is known to travel far and wide for anyone who asks for his help. Rumor has it he was selected to go underground to compete in a no holds barred gunfight for an Ultimate Gunfighter title.

    Suddenly I hear a ruckus coming from the Final Shot Saloon.  Clint Felten owns the place and I know he wouldn't be pouring shots and beers before a gunfight.  A professional Gunfighter himself, he strictly enforces Fast Draw's primary rule of "SAFETY FIRST" at all times. Entering the saloon I discover the cause of the revelry. I see my gunfighter family from Scotland has arrived. BJ Colt and his posse, The Gunslingers, are possibly the happiest bunch of people on the planet no matter what they are doing.  Stewards of Fast Draw in the United Kingdom, The Gunslingers were formed in 2007 as the result of a merger between the Glasgow Gunslingers and the Scottish Fast Draw Association. Dancing and singing Highland Songs of Death with them is my Fast Draw brother Terry Campbell and his beautiful bride Laura. It's a sure sign there is going to be a big bash in the saloon after the gunfight.  In the corner of the room are Minnesota's Fast Gun Gary Rosen, Ohio's Deadly Doc Hric, California's Top Gun Jon Rivera and Florida's Bear Claw Bob Ball sitting at a table quietly killing time over a hand of poker.  My fear that I was throwing a party that no one would come to just went out the window!

    I got back out on the street just in time to see the last riders tie their horses to the hitchin' post and realize it is almost time for the Showdown.

     When the trail dust finally settled I found 36 Gunfighters standing in the middle of main street. It was clear they were itchin' for a gunfight and I am more than happy to oblige.  Another chapter in the history of Fast draw is about to be written.

     The December 2014 Internet Shoot is dedicated to Ron Paul Duning 
(1951-2012)
Yee Haw, Shoot it ALL!

I used to host what I called an Internet Shoot on my Gunfighter Gulch website every month so I could practice with other people like me who could not find any Fast Draw clubs in their area. 

The first Internet shoot was a word of mouth event that was scheduled for January 2, 2005.  To my surprise 39 shooters showed up for my first "virtual" contest.  26 were OFDA International members.  I was slightly intimidated since many of them were veteran champion shooters and leaders of the OFDA.  Needless to say I did not place very high but I sure had a lot of fun.  My favorite memory of the first shoot was that one of the legends of Fast Draw, Red Jordan, honored us by participating in this crazy little experiment of mine.  

Each month more and more gunfighters from around the US would join us shooting the events I specified each month and sending their times to me. I would compile the times and rank the shooters based on the results. It was purely an honor system "index contest" and it gave me a sense of competition that I couldn't get any other way. Eventually my Fast Draw friends in Scotland, The Gunslingers, expressed interest in joining the party and for that reason we started shooting balloon targets with shotgun primers at close range to simulate the conditions that the shooters in the UK compete under so we could include them in the monthly gunfight. Soon I had 50+ shooters participating.

Approximately 5 years ago my family and career forced me to discontinue the internet shoot and curtail my participation in Fast Draw.  Recently I find myself with free time and, of course, the first thing I think of is shooting Fast Draw again.  In discussing it with some of my close gunfighter friends here in North America and Scotland it was suggested that I consider restarting the Internet Shoot.

A quick poll on my Gunfighter Gulch FaceBook page seemed to support the thought so here we go.  Attached are the links to the spreadsheet we will use to record your times and Libre Office, a free office suite program that will allow you to use the spreadsheet if you do not own Microsoft Excel.

Internet Score Sheet
Libre Office Suite - versions are available for Windows, Apple and Linux computers

The events will be 3 sets (5 shots per set) of standing blanks. Misses or times over one second will be recorded as 1 second. Use any draw style you want - thumb, fan or twist.  Hand on the gun aka lawman's ready or off the gun as in traditional Fast Draw is the shooters choice. If the gun, holster, target and timer is legal in any recognized Fast Draw association anywhere in the world you are welcome to bring it to the line.  In North America we will use standard OFDA/WFDA 5" balloon targets and shotgun primer only ammo.  UK gunfighters will use their standard balloon targets and blanks. If we have shooters from Japan and Korea interested in participating they should be on even ground using their standard balloon targets. The open window for shooting the events is from Saturday December 13, 2014 to Sunday December 21, 2014 in your practice range or as a group at your club. Again, this is an HONOR SYSTEM contest. Practice all you want between now and December 21 but shoot the contest events only once.  Record the times and draw style you used and send the scoresheet back to me any time within the window.  Shooters have until midnight of December 21 PST to email the completed score sheet to me at my Gunfighter Gulch email address.  Any score sheets received after the deadline will not be counted. I expect to have all the scores tallied and posted on this page by Christmas Day.  Early submittals are appreciated since flooding me with all the scoresheets on the 21st will increase the time it takes for me to format the final scores and post the results to Gunfighter Gulch.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to email me or post a comment on my Gunfighter Gulch FaceBook page.

Video Links

North America Gunfighters using shotgun primers and standard OFDA/WFDA type balloon targets   

UK Gunfighters using theatrical blank firing guns and standard UK balloon type targets

WFDA Japan Gunfighters using plug fire blanks and WFDA Japan balloon targets.

     If all Indian braves had been as handy with guns as full-blooded Chickasaw Rodd Redwing you’d never hear today’s taxpayer’s lament, “Give the country back to the Indians!”  You wouldn’t hear it because the Indians would still be in full possession!

     Rodd is one of Hollywood’s leading technical experts on weapons.  He might very well qualify for “fastest gun alive” laurels, if he cared to claim them.  But, as he puts it, “I don’t simply because I don’t think there is any such thing.  In the Old West, the white man had a saying, “There was never a horse that couldn’t be rode, or a man that couldn’t be throwed.”  This applies to fast guns.  Gun slinging is like any other skill; you can’t be best all the time.  Speed with a gun depends upon the shooter’s current physical and mental condition.  One day, he might be unbeatable, on another, he just can’t do anything right.  The most any athlete can hope for is to average out as one of the best.”

     Actually, Rodd makes his living by doing things right all of the time – at least when it counts.  Too often, doing something wrong would not only cost substantial money lsses for a film studio – it might cost a life.

     During the filming of “Fastest Gun Alive,” for which Rodd was technical director, he was obliged to shoot down a narrow corridor between dozens of extras who were “spectators” at the famous “beer mug shot” by Glenn Ford.  Alan Joslyn dropped the beer mug (made of wax to avoid glass splatter), and Glenn drew and shot at it with a blank.  Rodd, placed out of camera ranges with a .22 rifle, shattered the mug in unison with Glenn’s shot.  The backstop for Rodd’s bullet was a bale of hay placed at the end of the narrow corridor between the extras.  A wrong shot here could have been disastrous, but nothing happened; and all three “takes” were perfect.

     Rodd is also in demand as a professional exhibition shooter.  For exhibitions, he uses a pair of Frontier Colts with chambers sleeved to shoot .22 rimfire cartridges, and a pair of Marlin .22 caliber, lever-action rifles.  He fires against the hardened steel backplate of a shooting board, which was designed and built for him by the Los Angeles Police Department.  Rodd is equally adept with his dozen or so big bore rifles and pistols, but they don’t lend themselves to use on the stage or at a TV studio.

     Rodd has performed on many network TV shows, such as “Wide, Wide World of Sports,” “You Asked For It,” “Art Linkletter’s House Party,” “What’s My Line,” “I’ve Got a Secret,” and “People Are Funny.”  During rehearsals for a recent “People Are Funny” show, Rodd twice registered draw times witnessed by 43 persons, of .17 of a second, including reaction time.  On “You Asked For It,” Rodd did his most controversial shooting stunt, that of throwing a knife with his right hand, then drawing his holstered gun with the same hand and shooting a hole to receive the still hurtling knife.

     One Hollywood writer has intimated that Rodd’s spectacular shooting is largely the result of trickery.  The “trick” to the knife shot, as Rodd explained tit to me, is to “Pick out a mark on the board at which to throw the knife.  Then shoot a hole in that spot while the knife is in flight.”  It’s a good trick - if you can do it.

     Another of Rodd’s stunts is to snuff out a candle with his Frontier revolver – complicating matters by putting the candle on a swinging pendulum.  He has another pendulum with a two inch hole in its center.  Through this he splits a bullet on an ordinary hunting knife, shattering two wafers, placed on to each side of the blade.  Rodd performed these and other shots in his repertoire at the December Fast Draw National Championship match, held in Las Vegas, Nevada before an audience of over 3000.  He amazed even the most blasé among the shooters present to compete in the event.  Crowds are nothing new to Rodd.  He recently did his exhibition shooting in the Hollywood Bowl, before an audience of 20,000.

     Unlike many Hollywood personalities, Rodd does not make free personal appearances in search of publicity.  He does perform a great many benefit shows for the Boy Scouts, Polio and Muscular Dystrophy victims, and crippled children’s schools, totaling an audience in 1959 of almost 8,000.  He also visits boy’s detention schools, in an effort to bring a message of rehabilitation to these troubled youngsters.  Rodd loves children.  After Rodd performs for one of these children’s groups, he throws the meeting open to questions – no hold barred.  Here are a few typical ones:  “When did you become an Indian?” “Do you live in a teepee?”  “Are you married to a squaw?” (Rodd’s charming wife, Erika, came to the United States from Germany, before World War II) “Have you ever been shot?” “Have you ever killed anyone?” Rodd doesn’t tell his youthful audience that he has taken human life, although he was obliged to do so during World War II.  He does admit to being shot.  When his wide-eyed spectators ask how, Rodd replies with his usual impish grin, “With a B-B gun!”  However, the several scars on his body really resulted from some pretty rugged action in the South Pacific as a lieutenant in the Army Air Force.

     Rodd’s concern for his own people leads him to spend much of his time working in their behalf.  He is Chairman of the Public Relations Council of the Los Angeles Indian Center, helping thousands of Indians to settle in the big city every year.  Ten years ago, Rodd started a Christmas collection of gifts for Indians still living under poverty stricken conditions on reservations.  He enlists the help of the Shriners and the Boy Scouts in collecting the gifts, and the Navajo Trucking Company delivers them without charge.

     You can’t help responding to Rodd’s personality, once you get used to hearing an Indian who talks more like Cary Grant than Tonto.  He attacks life with a zest that is refreshing amidst the pervading ennui of Hollywood.  His hair is still a glistening gunmetal black, although I’m sure he is ten years the senior of your salt and pepper headed author.  He is not tall, but he is lithe and physically fit.  Typical of his race he has little need of shaving his smooth youthful appearing face.

     Rodd’s accent results from his being raised in the heart of London.  He attended Westminster School until he was 14; then accompanied his stage actor father, William Redwing, and his lovely mother, Lillian, to New York City.  (It was for Rodd’s mother that Cary Mills wrote the familiar song, “The Moon Shines Tonight On Pretty Redwing.”)

     Rodd attended Harlem High School in the “Hell’s Kitchen” neighborhood of New York, with such later to be famous classmates as “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Jack “Legs” Diamond, Buddy Minabrook, and Franky Yale.  In spite of his slender build, Rodd was an excellent athlete, participating in track, basketball, baseball, and football.  He went on as a History major at the New York University, where he starred as one of the lightest first string ends in football history.

     During those years, Rodd’s father taught him to love and respect firearms in the same manner as the Frontier Indian did.  The elder Redwing also taught his son another tenet of Indian Philosophy, “Don’t kill, except in need.”  To this day Rodd has yet to kill and animal, or even a bird.

     After gaining his Bachelor’s Degree at NYU, Rodd was pondering an offer to teach history and double as a football coach at Wheeling, West Virginia High School for $125.00 a month.  Suddenly he was offered a role in a stage play, “The Bad Man.” at $125.00 a week.  The choice was easy.  The late Cecil B. De Mille subsequently brought Rodd to Hollywood for the role of Lupe Velez’ brother in “The Squaw Man.”  With one exception Rodd appeared in every De Mille picture filmed since.

     Rodd still acts in many big budget pictures and numerous TV shows such as “Wyatt Earp” and “Playhouse 90” but his career as technical firearms director overshadows his acting.  For 23 years, Redwing has been called in by Hollywood studios to add excitement to shooting sequences in virtually every important Western filmed in the Movie Capitol, from Howard Hughes “The Outlaw.” Through such classics as “Shane” “Duel in the Sun” “High Noon” and “Vera Cruz” to the more recent “Warlock” “Gunfight at the OK Corral” and “Last Train From Gunhill.”  Soon to be released is his newest, the biggest budget Western ever filmed, “One Eyed Jacks” with Marlon Brando and Karl Malden.

     Rodd takes over the actual direction of the gunfight scenes in these pictures.  He receives a copy of the script about a month before the cameras are ready to roll.  He picks out each shooting situation, checks it for authenticity and plausibility, then works in new and starling shooting stunts.  In “From Hell to Texas,” star Don Murray was to be surprised by a shot fired from ambush and take cover behind a rock.  To dramatize the situation k Rodd had Don leap from his horse, cock a lever action Winchester ’92 one-handed while in the air, land in a prone position and fire the rifle as he hit the ground.  “I had to start him out landing on three mattresses, then take them away one at a time, as he perfected the leap,” Rodd told me.  Don had never handled as much as a B-B gun before he got this role.  Rodd made him look like a boy who grew up with a rifle in his hand.

     Rodd is often called upon to make a gun-shy movie star look good with a gun, in front of the camera, but he also teaches them to shoot with live ammo.  “I start them out shooting at a Dixie cup, only a few feet away,” Rodd said.  “I let them shoot until it gets beyond their accurate range, then start them on a new cup.  As their skill increases, they can hit the cups farther and farther away.”

     Rodd teaches and practices an instinctive, pointing type of aim, if you can call it that.  Actually, he claims not to be aware of the gun at all, looking with both eyes at the target, and using no sights.  The front sights of his revolvers are all filed down to facilitate his draw, and some of his rifles lack sights entirely.  “My method is more like shotgun pointing,” says Rodd.  When he spotted my raised eyebrow, he smiled, “You never saw sights on a bow, did you?  At least, not on an Indian bow.  That’s strictly instinctive.  When I was working with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin on “Pardners” Jerry couldn’t figure out how I outshot him using a rifle without sights.  He had a scope on his.  After a couple of weeks with me, he threw away his scope and shot better than he ever dreamed of.”

     Often, Rodd must give an impromptu demonstration of his shooting skill for a movie star, before said star will allow some of the shooting stunts that involve putting live bullets in the air near him.  For a scene in “Warlock” Henry Fonda was indulging in some target practice at bottles.  Rodd was stationed out of camera range with an M1 Carbine, shooting past Fonda to break the bottles, in unison with the actor’s blank shots.  In “Tin Star” Rodd fired live ammo from a .30 caliber M1 into a watering trough behind which Don Murray was hiding.  Midway through the trough Rodd had placed a steel plate to stop the bullets.  The holes and spurts of water that resulted were realistic enough for the severest of critic.  Later in the scene, Don ran from behind the trough, and Rodd followed him with a barrage that kicked up dust barely inches from his heels.  Those ricochets were the real thing!

     Often, Rodd has to be concealed from the camera by bits of scenery, which obscure his target.  On such occasions, Rodd will sight upon his target and lock his arms in position while the scenery is moved into place and then, on cue, neatly dispatch the bottle, bar glass, or what have you, without the movie audience ever being aware of his existence.

     Even the story lines of many movies are influenced by Rodd’s ideas for shooting stunts.  It was his idea for Grace Kelly to shoot one of the badmen in “High Noon”.  Rodd had the pleasant task of coaching Princess Grace for both “High Noon” and “The Swan” making her into an excellent pistol shot and a creditable fencer.  In “Warlock” Rodd set up one shot in which a barber was standing in front of a water wagon as he was gunned down by the villain.  Rodd fired two blood pellets at the man’s chest, perfectly positioned, so that as he sagged away, two holes appeared in the wagon behind him, with water pouring forth.  This was one of the few times that Rodd was able to persuade Hollywood that a 255 grain slug traveling at 900 feet per second will go through a man, not lodge two inches deep in his shoulder.

     Rodd organized the now popular trick of yanking the victim of a shooting off his feet with a hidden wire, to simulate the knockdown power of the big bore guns common to the Old West.  He first used it in “Shane” when Jack Palance shot down Elisha Cook.  He used a wire for yet another effect in “Warlock” when Fonda, dressed in a frock coat, had to outdraw a baddie who was completely unencumbered.  Rodd placed a fine wire under Henry’s coat in such a way that by pulling it at the strategic moment, Rodd could yank the coat back from the holster, leaving Henry free to draw without interference from the garment.

     No mere sixgun jockey, Rodd excels at, and teaches, fencing, knife throwing, whip fighting, and fast and fancy rifle shooting.  He also acts as a consultant on military tactics, and teaches military drills of all nations, including the Union and confederate armies of Civil War days.  For “Gunga Din” Rodd taught 3000 extras to crisply execute the English drill and the Queen Anne Salute, a complicated rifle drill.

     Rodd also acts as unofficial gunsmith on location trips, carrying a supply of often needed spare parts.  “You can’t teach a man to shoot if his gun won’t work” he explains.

     Rodd uses his own design of holster and belt, and is now producing them commercially.  They are available in every color, including silver and gold, to fit any make and caliber of revolver.  The holster is reinforced by a resilient spring steel band that encircles the cylinder.

     “Motion pictures have come a long way since the days of six-shooters that never ran dry, or heroes who could hip-shoot the bad guys at 50 yards” said Rodd, “but progress has been painfully slow.  Many producers still hesitate to add a gun advisor to the budget, and leave the shooting scenes up to the writer.  The results of this economy are hackneyed at best, and at their worst, physically impossible.”

     In his current release, “Heller With a Gun” Rodd does the gun work and also plays the role of what he terms, “an idiot Indian.”  When I asked if he objected to such roles, he mused, “No – I guess not but someday I’m going to produce a Western of my own and for once, I’m going to have the Indians ride up a hill!” 

I'm working on a story about my trip to San Diego, California to meet Nick Asadi owner of Tombstone Leather Products. Not only did I get fit up for a custom Fast Draw double rig I got quite an education in the art of leather crafting and cigar making.  Here's a sneak peak.  

Clint Felten from the Final Shot Saloon cornered me at the bar for an interview about Papa G and Gunfighter Gulch.

For more gunfighter interviews visit the Final Shot Saloon and click Podcast.

     The gunfighters started arriving in Los Banos California on Thursday, October 11, 2007.  By Saturday 60 shooters from the United States and Canada were gathered at the Merced County Springs Fairgrounds to write a chapter in Fast Draw history by competing in the very first Cowboy Fast Draw Association titled match in the Golden State, the California State Fast Draw Championship. 

     Hosted by the Sundowners Single Action Shooting Club and sponsored by the Los Banos Chamber of Commerce the event far exceeded the expectations of all parties involved.  What began as a seemingly innocent conversation at a garage sale about a barbeque competition and Fast Draw demonstration evolved into the Henry Miller Wild West Weekend and the California State Fast Draw Championship.  The grand finale to a year of special events organized by the city to celebrate their centennial year.

     Thanks to donations by local businesses and community groups, the Sundowners and the Golden State Gunslingers were able to convert a livestock show arena into a first class shooting venue for this inaugural gunfight.  Ballistic safety netting covered the area above the backstop to insure none of the wax bullets used in the match would escape the shooting area.  Local artist Joan Bengtson was commissioned to create murals depicting scenes of old Los Banos as well as the Yokut Indian villages that dotted the landscape in the late 1800’s.

     The weekend began under dark, cloud filled skies on Friday, October 12, 2007 with the Will “Tawodi” York – “Big John” Whala Shootist Championship.  Fans of the big iron who braved the rain were not disappointed.  Tawodi and Big John put up a good fight but in the end it came down to Nevada’s Cal “Quick Cal” Eilrich versus California’s Jon “Trickshot” Wilson.  When the gunsmoke cleared Quick Cal held the first place Shootist Championship belt buckle.  After the Shootist match members of the Fast Draw community teamed up with members of the Los Banos community in a special Pro-Am match to honor the memory of beloved local resident and veteran Fast Draw competitor, Frank “Lefty” Manzanedo.  Proceeds from this event were donated to local charities.

Sunny and warm California weather greeted the shooters on Saturday morning for the first day of the Championship. The fairground was alive with Old West ambiance. The smell of savory food filled the air. Vendor's booths were brimming with colorful wares. Live music was everywhere. High Card Johnny was in the Red Garter Saloon dealing games of chance. Los Banos professional trick roper Hilda Machado was demonstrating her amazing skills and teaching an attentive audience how to spin ropes. Lawmen, cavalry soldiers and cowboys were patrolling the grounds on foot and on horseback. The Buffalo Soldiers mobile museum was a fascinating exhibit chronicling the history of this proud military unit. Even President Abraham Lincoln and a contingency of soldiers from the North and the South were in attendance. Many of the visitors dressed in Old West attire and took part in western themed games and activities.

     Looking over the field of fast guns there was no way to predict who would walk away with the Top Gun prizes. Gunfighters from the Cowboy Fast Draw, Ohio Fast Draw, World Fast Draw and Old Time Gunfighters associations united under the CFDA banner to share the sport they love with the people of Los Banos. Amongst them was the 1963 California State Champion Bob Bussinger and Jim VonFeldt the 1974 California State title winner. The sounds of cannon fire from the civil war soldiers' encampment thundered in the distance as the shooters prepared themselves to meet their destiny. CFDA Membership Director Marshall "Mississippi Marshal" Hopper was on the microphone calling the contest; keeping the spectators well informed and entertained with his special brand of southern humor. When the first day of competition was over the shooters joined our sponsors for a good old fashion Saturday Night Social enjoying a chuck wagon dinner and an evening of dancing to lively country western music provided by recording artist Joni Harms.     

     Sunday started with a special match, “Still Alive at 65”. Contestants that were eliminated from the championship on the first day qualified for a second chance at cash prizes if the fastest shot they fired in competition was .650 or higher. Seven shooters made the cut, Hal “Five O” Lagmay, Charles “Chickasaw Warrior” Gilmer, Todd “California Drifter” Springer, Yuly “Bandida” Springer, Tammie “Lefty” Lipscomb, Elyssa “Sweet Pea” Long and Shirley “Wench” Miller. As fate would have it the final shootout paired the California Drifter against his wife Bandida. Many laughs were had at the Drifter’s expense as he endured the taunts of his fellow gunfighters to edge out his beautiful bride for the $300.00 top prize. Bandida received a $200.00 second place winner’s check to soften the blow of her defeat. Not a bad day for this pair of Golden State Gunslingers at their first competition.

     The last day of the Fast Draw Championship ebbed and flowed in dramatic fashion.  A match is really interesting to watch when it gets down to the last ten in each division and Sunday was no exception. 

     The 10 fastest women gunfighters in California on October 14, 2007 were Annette “Miss B. Haven” Coffman, Kathy “Cool Hand Suz” Landsdowne, Treasea “Fannie Mae” Long, Shirley “Legally Loaded” Coffman, Geneva “C21 Peacemaker” Brett, Peggy “Queen of Hearts” Franks, Dinah “Alotta Lead” Eilrich, Yuly “Bandida” Springer, Erika “Hannah Calder” Frisk, and Tammie “Lefty” Lipscomb. The championship round pitted Miss B. Haven against Cool Hand Suz. The first light went off and both shooters hit the target with Miss B. Haven bringing the heat to win the shot. Miss B. Haven got one more win before Cool Hand Suz put a fast one downrange to send a message to the 2007 CFDA World Champion that she wasn’t done for the day. Miss B. Haven decided it was indeed her moment in the sun and on the very next draw answered back with the fastest shot of the round capturing the CFDA Women’s Division California State Championship title.

     The lineup in the Men’s Division read like a who’s who in the history of Fast Draw. Six of the fast guns in Sunday’s Top 10, Cal “Quick Cal” Eilrich, Jim “Ol’ Gun” Standridge, George “Sundowner” Narasaki, Ken “Short Keg” Gentry, Francis “The Draw” Carlos, and Jim “Gentleman Jim” VonFeldt were pedigreed veteran Fast Draw Champions each with over 30 years of sixgun experience. Anyone who has shot against them can attest to the fact that they are some of the fastest guns in the CFDA today. The combination of experience and speed makes them the most difficult obstacles to overcome in the quest for Fast Draw glory. Rounding out the field were CFDA Champion ValDean “Trapper Smith” Schroeder, WFDA Area Top Gun James “Arizona Ranger” Barney, WFDA World Thumbing Champion Jon “Trickshot” Wilson, and OTGA Nevada State Champion Gary “Omaha Outlaw” Wagner. It was a see saw battle all the way but one by one shooters were eliminated and the field was narrowed down to the final two. All eyes were on Sundowner James “Arizona Ranger” Barney and his “obstacle” veteran champion Jim “Ol’ Gun” Standridge as they stepped up to the firing line to close the show. If either of them were nervous it didn’t show. At the first light Ol’ Gun put out a fast miss as the Ranger laid in a respectable .436. The Ranger hit another .436 on the next draw but Ol’ Gun’s light was blinking with a .418 making it one to one. Both men settled into their stance at Marshal’s command “shooter set” focusing intensely on the light for the third shot. Seconds later they exploded out of their holsters and it sounded like one shot. Marshal announced the times Arizona Ranger .427, Ol’ Gun .430, two to one in favor of the Ranger. It was obvious there isn’t any holding back in Ol’ Gun’s game because he marked the grease with a .410 on his next draw to answer the Ranger’s .459 tying it up at two to two. With sudden victory looming over their heads the shooters pulled their smokewagons for the last shot. Marshal announced the time, .416 for the 2007 Men’s California State Champion, James Barney.

     The gunfighters packed their gear and gathered one last time at the KUBB Country Radio Main Stage for the awards presentation. On Friday they were Fast Draw competitors with their eye on the prize but as they sat in the grandstands waiting for the presentation to start they bantered with each other as old friends.

     Their attention was drawn to the stage as “Big John” Whala’s booming voice was heard over the PA system announcing the arrival of a special delivery. Escorted by mounted Merced County Sheriff Deputies a Wells Fargo stagecoach arrived at the stage entrance to deliver the Chamber of Commerce prize. Los Banos Mayor Tommy Jones emerged from the stagecoach to supervise the unloading of the Wells Fargo strongbox containing canvas bank bags filled with $7000.00 in gold coins that were to be presented to the winners. Just as soon as the stagecoach left the grounds a masked rider showed up with his sixguns blazing intent on stealing the strongbox. Out of the clear blue sky the Golden State Gunslingers came riding in on stick horses. With hangman’s noose in hand they corralled the bandit and took him into custody saving the day!

     The heavy sacks of gold made it safely into the hands of their rightful owners and the gunhands said their final goodbyes. The 2007 California State Fast Draw Championship had come to an end. As the last gunfighter rode off into the sunset the town was already buzzing with talk of next years Henry Miller Wild West Weekend. The Sundowners have been invited to host the California State Championship again on October 10 though 12 in 2008 so mark your calendars. You don’t want to miss the next one. 

     The year was 1958 …. Sammy Davis, Jr. was the hottest of club entertainers – and one of the best in Hollywood at handling a Colt Single Action.  Interest in Single Actions was booming as the most popular TV shows were serial westerns.  A whole bunch of Hollywood wannabe cowboys were learning to draw, shoot and twirl their six-guns and Sammy was right up front leading the “Pack”.  Many of Sammy’s fellow actor friends were also active in the fledging sport and held private contests at each other’s homes.  I was in LA drumming up fast draw timer business and received a call from my employer, the Faber FasDraw Timer Company in Denver.  Both of Sammy’s timers had quit working and he wanted them fixed before he went on a road trip.  I knew Sammy had ordered two clocks about a month earlier but I had not met him.  I was told I should meet him back stage around 9:00pm at the Moulin Rouge Night Club in Hollywood.

     Wearing my all black cowboy costume I saunter up to the Maitre d’ and informed him of my mission.  He hauntingly looks me up and down and I could see right away we had a problem brewing.  I had my double Andy Anderson rig on and two nickel plated Colt 45’s holstered but with my split-tail jacket buttoned he probably didn’t see them.  Maybe he didn’t like it that I wore a string tie instead of a regular tie.  Then again, it may have been the black boots with ‘bull dogger’ heels.  Ah, now I know – it was because I didn’t have my hat in my hand!  Anyhow, this fellow says in a snooty manner, “You will need to go around to the back entrance.”   I nonchalantly unbuttoned my jacket and pulled it back exposing both Single Actions and replied, “No, I don’t think so!”  With that I walked past him and down through the center of the restaurant, right past the tables of interested and smiling dinner/show patrons.  This was a real swanky night spot that catered to African-American patrons.  Keep in mind this was years before the Civil Rights Act and racial discrimination regrettably was mostly the norm.  I was probably the only white guy in the place.  I see Sammy on stage and touch the brim of my hat to him.  He had already noticed the ruckus and smilingly, pointed toward a side door adjacent to the stage.

     The back stage area was crowded with very little room for Sammy’s entourage of a dozen or so people.  Some drove the costume truck, buses, and autos.  Others took care of various chores and several of the really big guys were personal body guards.  They pointed me to the clocks and I made the necessary repairs in a matter of minutes - a burned out vacuum tube (remember those?).  Sammy quickly cut his act short and came back stage.  After a genuinely warm greeting, he says, “Let’s shoot!”  Immediately huge steamer trunks fly open and before I know it almost every guy has his black Arvo Ojala double rig strapped on, each with two nickel plated Colt Single Actions.  These guys all start spinning and twirling their guns, what a fun sight!

     We take turns shooting primers to stop the clock.  Back in those days Cowboy Action Shootingtm was a one draw, one shot, and one target game - against one timer.  SASS matches have certainly come a long way since!  Sammy was clearly the fastest of the bunch.  I asked Sammy if the noise bothered the patrons.  He said, “No, the orchestra just plays real loud when we start having fun back here.”  After we shoot for awhile Sammy thanks me again for coming, explaining he has another show to do.  As we conclude I say, “Sammy, are you aware that we haven’t been paid for these timers?”  Sammy looks me in the eye with his one good eye and says, “No I didn’t know and I apologize in behalf of my accountant.  Give me your card and you’ll have a check in the mail tomorrow.”

     Guess what …… Sammy Davis, Jr. was not only a top gun hand, singer, dancer, comedian, and actor; he was also an honest man.  Sure sounds like all of the qualifications necessary to be a SASS Posse Member, doesn’t it.

     The Thunderbird Fast Draw Club was born in late 1958, during Fast Draw’s “Heydays”, in the northern hills of British Columbia, Canada.  The T-Birds were first called the “Coast Marksmen Hipshooter’s Division.  The first recorded news of them appeared in B.C. Outdoors magazine, March 1959.  Club members, under the direction of Army Sgt. Reg Patterson, used live ammo at balloons and tin cans, and wax bullets at a timer fashioned from a clock radio.

     During this era of “Quick Draw” as it was often called, the American Fast Draw shooter was rapidly turning away from the use of live ammunition.  The Canadian counterpart was no exception.  After three accidents and under pressure from the police, other gun clubs, and the T-Bird’s themselves, the club, in 1962, voted out the use of live ammo for good.  Prior to 1962, the club adopted a new and less cumbersome title, the Thunderbird Fast Draw Club, a name submitted by the since deceased Ken Roberts.

     Pressure from the “mother club” Coast Marksmen continued as its directors were opposed to everything but target shooting.  The few remaining T-Birds moved to a more liberal outfit known as the Pt. Moody Gun Club.  With some help and direction from American, Al Brian and the Valley Gun Hawks, who became our “sister club” and in many ways our mentors the Thunderbird’s luck seemed to change for the better.  On sunny days we shot outside, but most of the time we shot indoors in the “Black Hole” Pt. Moody’s basement range.

     We spent the next generation of years bucking gun laws, putting on shows, shoots, parties, loopholling gun laws, buttonholling police and local officialdom, and more shows.  Several of us helped John Dinkins build a Fast Draw Club between here and Portland, Oregon…. The Los Tiradores in Sedro Woolley, Washington.

     During those days, there were many shows, shoots, parades, and some of the best successes the club has ever had.  Then we had to move to a distant range because Pt. Moody became the Thompson Mt. Sportsmen’s Association.  Rough times beset the T-Birds.  Combat shooters had taken over, and the general feeling was that a “club within a club” was going to pay through the nose.  We then moved to the Langley Rod and Gun Club, whose caretakers, Archers Ed and Betty Oswald were familiar with the T-Birds and saw us as an asset.

     In our “lifetime” the T-Birds have done countless exhibitions, T.V. shows, a movie, parades, rodeos, and demonstrations for Boy Scouts, Range Wardens, and Army Cadets.  We even did a show for the Governor of Washington State.  In accomplishing these activities, the club has had to operate under very strict handgun control laws.  In 1979, we broke our all-time monthly club shoot turnout – 33 members.  At our peak we had a membership of 44, over half of whom were WFDA members.  We have our own monthly newsletter and rulebook.

     The name THUNDERBIRD is well known in these parts.  There is a local Indian (Haida) legend that says, “The Thunderbird receives the highest respect of all Haida clan symbols as he is considered the intermediary between God and man.”