The year was 1958 …. The fledging single action gun sport of Fast Draw (aka “Quick Draw”) was really booming! Most of the major TV shows were westerns. New clubs were springing up all over the USA. This phenomenal growth was remarkable when considering US mail was the primary method of communication. Even printing was expensive in relation to what a one page flyer costs today when printed on your home printer connected to your PC.

     The state of California was going through an amusing identity discourse. The news media fanned the idea fire of separating California into two states. Although not actually taken seriously by the general public, the rancor encouraged competitiveness between the Northern and Southern areas. And folks actively interested in Fast Draw were asking the question who was the “Fastest Gun in California”.

     No associations existed that could promote a State Fast Draw Championship Contest. Several clubs in the San Jose area decided a state championship event was desired. They spoke with a few shooters from the South but couldn’t come to an agreement as to where the event should take place – North or South? (No Lester, Barstow wasn’t even considered!) The Northern clubs came up with a plan. California was known as the “Golden State”, how about if they hosted a contest and name it the “Golden Challenge”? They knew who the top shooters are in Southern California and will invite them to a contest held at the Town & Country Village in Palo Alto. While they won’t claim the contest to be the State Championship, it would certainly be implied. They will use a home made timer designed by several Stanford students (a modified 78 RPM phonograph turntable). Percussion blanks only, each shooter will get three shots starting off the button and three shots starting from a reaction light. Total the inverse order scores and come up with a Winner. The discussion then turned to awards. The entry fee of ten bucks would be used to cover promotion costs. Incidentally, general liability insurance was not even a consideration back then. Oh, for the innocent days of yesteryear! It was suggested by the Northern hosts that some hot shot Hollywood Actor or Stuntman would most likely win all of the marbles – so let’s not spend too much on a trophy.

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    Here is a photo of the trophy won by Ralph “Mack” McKensey. Notice the Fast Draw figure was not available at the time. According to legend a young boy took the trophy to school “Show & Tell.”   Whoops, when it fell out of his bicycle basket the gun was broken off. That’s OK, the trophy survived (misspelling and all) and so has the wonderful sport of Fast Draw.

WINGO Indoor Rifle Range
Written by Bob Crismon

      The year was 1960 ….. The war has been over for fifteen years, times are good. Folks had extra money and time to spend on elective things of interest. Many of us chose recreational shooting activities. Interest in the Single Action revolver and lever action rifle grew every day, sparked by the popularity of movie and TV western shows. Winchester Fire Arms was in the ammunition and long arms manufacturing business. The new gun sport activities resulted in the sale of Winchester blanks, cartridges and brass. But without a manufactured side arm, Winchester could not capitalize on the Fast Draw Western TV show driven business boom. Winchester came up with a brilliant idea – why not develop a shooting sport centered on the use of Winchester rifles? Most Single Action Fast Draw shooters are likely Winchester rifle owners.

     The first and only WINGO Indoor Rifle Range was opened in San Diego. A large, freestanding building was built for this purpose. The inside of the building looked somewhat like a bowling alley. However, instead of bowling lanes, twenty or more rifle shooting stations spread across the building. Also like a bowling alley, the front area contained spectator bleachers, a service counter, and restaurant and gift shop. Unlike a bowling alley however, no alcohol was sold or allowed inside the range building. The shooting stations were perhaps ten feet below the spectator level providing excellent viewing advantage.

     The provided Winchester pump action rifles used Winchester 22-caliber “rat shot” ammo (a mini shotgun type load). Shooters purchased the inexpensive ammo at the service counter, paid a nominal fee, and were assigned a station. Each rifle was secured in its place by a thin, flexible steel cable. No only did this prevent anyone for taking the rifle from the shooting area, but for safety it restricted the right and left oblique swing (sweep) range of the barrel. Also a safety barrier wall separated the individual shooting stations. The shooter loaded his/her rifle and pressed a button mounted on the loading table. Like in bowling, each shooting activity started and ended individually. Most of the shooters belonged to a team and competed with team members as well as other teams. Bragging rights was the only but sufficient reward. Most teams were sponsored by a business, quite often the employer of the team members. Benches behind the shooting line were used by 6-8 team members. Individual “drop in” shooters could sign up for a non-team station and compete with each other.

     I represented the FasDraw Timer Company at the time and was given a VIP tour of behind the scene facilities. Down range behind a wall where bowling alley pin setting machines would have been located, hidden refrigerated machines made an endless supply of ice blocks. Other machines transformed the ice into shaved ice. The shaved ice was then pressed into ice balls about the size of a tennis ball. Each station had five ice ball launching arms. Like a baseball automatic pitching machine, the five ice balls were hurled one at a time toward the shooter station about one second apart. The trajectory of each ice ball was slightly different and would fall to the floor before not quite reaching the shooter’s station. The apex of the ice ball path was perhaps twenty degrees. Rarely did two balls in a row follow the same path. This was because the ice balls themselves were not always formed into perfect balls. In fact, sometimes a handful of slush would be launched instead of a ball. This inconsistency just made the game that more interesting. After all, like in a modern day single action competitive match, the shooters were there for a good time. And fun it was! Each shooter shot three sessions comprised of fifteen ice ball targets. The game was shoot ‘till you hit. Hits were noted on a scorecard. There was no timer involved; just add up the number of hits for a score. Unlike golf, honesty was rightfully assumed (lighten up guys – that’s a joke).

     One could find action at the Wingo Indoor Rifle Range from early weekday afternoon on, with peak competition in the evening. Weekends the place was jammed! You may have to wait an hour or so to get a station. But few minded because of the enjoyment in watching others compete plus the friendship and camaraderie that quickly developed between shooters. After about six months, all of a sudden the WINGO Indoor Rifle Range closed and Winchester abandoned the venture. Why, I don’t know. Do you?

 

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WINGO Rifle Range Mystery
Bob Crismon

     While researching the Gunfighter Gulch published article “Wingo Indoor Rifle Range”, Greg Custodio found on the Internet an article published in 1971 by Popular Mechanics magazine. 

http://books.google.com/books?id=m9cDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&ots=QUrMupvZvZ&dq=wingo+indoor+rifle+range&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

     The article contained range photos of a special Winchester rifle apparently developed for Wingo range use.  It’s interesting that the article doesn’t say if the range was open at the time of the article.  Is it possible the Wingo range closed in the early seventies?  Three brothers, Bob, Fred and Dave were shooting Fast Draw in San Diego in 1960 and of course, shot at the Wingo range.  We are absolutely sure the 1960 date is correct.  Shortly after all three Brothers left San Diego (run out of town by Fast Draw Combat Master Deputy Sheriff Eldon Carl?).  We do remember seeing the boarded up building many years later.

     We three don’t remember the special rifle in Greg’s article find being used.  The article described it as a .20 caliber single shot shotgun.   That doesn’t make sense!  The photo clearly shows the down range launch board with five ice ball target launch holes.  How can one shoot up to five timely launched targets with a single shot rifle?  The article mentioned a “control console.”  The photo shows two men at each end of the console and they apparently have some type of control panel in front of them.  We do not remember a console.  Why two consoles for one shooter?  Could it be two timers were used to determine the fastest shot (and hit) of two competitors side by side.   That would be fun, particularly the shoot ’till you hit game.

     Winchester probably came to the conclusion the Wingo range product could not meet profit objectives.  Plus, someone forgot what their core business was – manufacture of long guns.  Perhaps ten years later Winchester set up a publicity photo shoot at the closed range to test a new shotgun product, modified Wingo system and new timing system.  Here is a comment from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingo

Another Internet find contributing to the Wingo Range mystery may be viewed at:

http://codyfirearmsmuseumblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/happy-thanksgiving/

     Here is the answer to the Wingo mystery:  After all of these years no single story is absolutely correct.  However, you may want to go with the eye witness Wingo version but that would mean trusting the nefarious Crismon boys! 

Thell Reed, Jr.
Excerpt from Guns and Ammo Magazine 1964
Written by Elmer Keith

     Times change with the years, and I well remember when any man who was really fast with a gun kept the fact to himself as much as possible, did his practicing alone, and was quiet and soft spoken. To have advertised the fact would have invited a gun fight. Today these fast cap-snappers and drug store cowboys advertise on billboards, their cars and neon signs that each and every one is the “world’s fastest.” There is a vast difference between wholesome, healthy competition against “robot” gunmen, flashing light signals or opponents armed with blanks when your life is not at stake as compared with bucking armed opponents who will kill you at the drop of a hat.

     There is also a vast difference between timing a man with an electric timer from start of his draw, when his movement breaks the contact tape or wire to when the hit of the slug stops the timer, as compared to time taken from a flashing signal of some kind. Men differ greatly in reaction time. This is the time it takes for the brain to telegraph the signal to the hand and for the hand to react and draw and fire the gun. Some men have fast reflexes and some do not. Thell Reed’s reflexes are lightning fast. In an actual gunfight, the man who starts first usually wins. When two equally fast gunmen used to go up against each other, both usually died though one may have hit his opponet first.

     If one has much faster reflexes than the other, he may win, provided the other is not a slip-gun shooter like old Jack Newman. When his thumbs held back the hammers on his two 2″ barrelled .45 S.A. Colt slip guns in his pockets, it would have been no use to shoot him as when his thumbs relaxed their grip the other gunman would undoubtedly have received his two hits also. Jack’s wife usually wore a fortune in jewels, but with him along and with one hand always holding a stubby .45 gun in one pocket or the other, no one ever bothered them.

     Thell Reed was started on shooting and accurate sixgun pointing by his father when he was just seven years old. He is just past 20 now and has practiced handgun combat shooting with live ammunition thirteen years. He is no cap snapper, nor wax bullet shooter and uses blanks or wax bullets only when forced to do so by competition rules. He is a slim, quiet, unassuming youth of small stature and rather small-boned. He has beautifully shaped hands with rather long fingers, ideal for gun handling. They have never been stiffened by injuries and are as supple as those of a fine violinist.

     He has perfected a system of knocking the empties out of a Colt Single Action and reloading it faster than any man I have ever seen. We timed him firing six shots, reloading and firing six more—all hits—in 10 1/2 seconds!

     Some competitions require that he empty the gun, reload and empty it again and he can do so with single action guns faster than most shooters with double action, simultaneous ejection S&W or Colt guns. He can also thumb the hammer of his .45s while the gun is in recoil and get off that second shot faster than any man I have seen work with just one hand. He never fans a gun, does all work with the one hand involved. His special gun rigs are made by Andy Andersen of North Hollywood, Calif. 

     Spinning sixguns on his fingers simultaneously with both hands, the so-called “border shift,” throwing one gun to the other hand and all kinds of fancy gun juggling, he has mastered perfectly. He went through his repertoire of such tricks for us and did not drop or fumble a gun at any time. Spinning guns on the fingers and fancy gun juggling won’t buy any chips in a gunfight, but is good for show and movie business and also to keep the hands and fingers supple and limber. He has also mastered the old gun fighters’ trick of passing a gun to an adversary butt first and then instantly reversing it and shooting. However, he is the only fancy gun juggler I have ever seen operate that did not quite often drop a gun or fumble a draw. We watched him draw and shoot .45 Colt ammo all afternoon and there was never a suspicion of a fumbled draw.

     His favorite guns are a pair of 4 3/4″ .45 S.A. Colts. He does all his own gunsmithing and these guns require constant work if they are to be kept in operation in everyday practice with full loads. His mainsprings are worked down light but still amply strong to fire with certainty and his trigger pulls are very light–in fact lighter than I personally like for my heavy, work-hardened fingers. The outside edge of his trigger guards have also been filed narrow to allow his fingers to slip into the guard freely as the gun is drawn. He uses the old hammer draw exclusively. His holsters, however, carry his guns well to the front side of his legs with butts topped far back and muzzles ahead and out of line with his legs. The holsters are cut out rather deep in front to allow shooting with the barrel raised to the minimum to clear leather.

     In his draw the muzzle of the gun is never pointed at or near his legs. Holsters are steel lined and shaped to fit the guns. I never liked the hammer draw myself, as most men have to almost do a back somersault to get their guns out and in action. It is no doubt, however, the fastest possible draw of all for the single action, for close range work. Across a card table or at five to seven yards range Thell Reed is absolutely without peer. At five yards he shot for the head only of the silhouette man-target and placed all five 250-grain slugs well in the head of the target. At this range he is unbelievably fast and I know can and did split a quarter-second many times drawing and hitting with full loads. He also did the same shooting at the central chest or heart area and placed all five well in the center.

     Back at seven yards his groups spread some but were still all good, killing hits. I think virtually no man ever handled a gun who could beat his time, draw and hit, at five paces. His hand is held just above his gun and in the draw the thumb knocks the gun straight back from the holster and he flips up the muzzle and fires it as fast as any man can do so. I noticed when shooting at the head of the target at five paces, his shoulders jerked back to elevate the gun as he was firing just as the gun cleared the leather and powder burns marked both his shirt and gun belt over his holster from barrel and cylinder junction.

     While this is the fastest possible single action draw and good at very close range, I would never favor it for longer range. I much prefer the butt tipped forward and the gun thrown forward in the draw and pointed at the target. With his hammer draw, either singly or both guns at once, his hands move the very minimum so that the guns just clear the holster and tip up in line with his targets. I believe he has gone as far as any man can ever go on this type of hammer draw and still have the ability to hit with full loads. He can also slap in a second shot about as fast as most good double action men can do with well-tuned S&W double action guns.

     For longer strings, however, the double action would be the faster. He can, however, empty a single action or two at once very fast and keep his shots well in the killing area of the target at close ranges of from five to seven yards. His reactions are lightning fast and on a “go” signal, his shot will blend in with the verbal signal. For speed and accuracy I believe his hammer draw with his .45s is as fast as humanly possible at close range with single action guns. Whether it is as fast or faster than Bill Jordan’s double action draw could only be proved on electric timers.

     Reed barely clears his holsters for his fastest speed, but for longer ranges, seven to 15 yards, throws the gun farther forward in front of his holster and locks his arm there as he fires. His hammer draw with barrel tipped well forward and butt of gun tipped well back is, no doubt, safer for the shooter than the butt-tipped-forward method especially for amateurs as the barrel is never pointed near his legs during the draw. The butt forward draw, however, with gun thrown toward the target, pointed and fired all in the same motion, is a far more accurate draw at any but very short ranges. Equally good grouping can be accomplished with the butt-forward-draw with the gun thrown forward at the target at three times the range than the hammer draw is practical. Due to more gun, hand and arm movement, however, it is also slower—but still very deadly in a gun fight.

     Reed has practiced the hammer draw exclusively, but I would like to see him take up S&W double action guns and practice and perfect the butt-forward draw. I am sure he would very soon become one of the best men in the game as well as one of the fastest of all time. He has also been working with the .45 Colt Auto, shooting it with the same position of holsters, butt to the rear, and is phenomenally fast. Starting with the side safety on, he can draw and fire just as fast as with his single action, but I noticed he had a much harder time getting his shots up high enough as the .45 Auto is the poorest of all guns for hip shooting.

     He has perfected one .45 Auto draw that is very good and very accurate. He draws the gun and raises it to eye level while the left hand comes up for added support. With this draw he is a very deadly shot with the .45 Auto. In fact, he can bring the pistol up to eye level and use sights, with both hands, about as fast as most men could use the gun barely clearing leather. He can also empty it, with good grouping, very fast indeed and simply has a string of empties coming ont of the top, reminiscent of a sub-machine gnn, his slugs ripping through the target.

     Enough practice with any one type of draw and holster will result in great speed and I remember Fitzgerald of Colt’s was also very fast with his cross draw 2″ .45 New Service Colts. He also barely cleared leather and shot across his body pointing the gun by body movement with arm locked across body. Fitz’s draw was more accurate at longer ranges, 15 to 30 yards, than is any hammer draw of the single action I have yet witnessed. He shot with either hand and always out to the side of his body.

     Reed is a practical sixgun man. Loads all his own ammunition, casts his own bullets in gang molds and lubricates and sizes them. He uses Star reloaders to load them. This for both the .45 Autos and the .45 Colts. He is also a good long-range shot. G&A Editor Tom Siatos let him try his fine .470 Lang double-barrel rifle at 200 yards and Thell hit exactly center, where we told him to hold, and the recoil of the big elephant rifle bothered him none at all. He enjoyed shooting it.

      Though he has to drive a long way to shoot, he practices three days a week and has burned up more sixgun ammunition in 13 years than most men would use in a lifetime even though they were persistent shooters. I believe he has gone as far as any man can go with the .45 Single Action Colt. Now I, for one, would like to see him take up double action shooting with revolvers and suitable holsters using .44 Special or .44 Magnum or even .357 Magnum. For his small hands I think the Combat Magnum .357 Smith & Wesson, or a pair of 1950 target 4″ .44 Specials would probably be best. If he will now take up these guns and practice steadily with them with gun butts to the front in Jordan-type holsters, I honestly believe he could and would become a second Ed McGivern. I would estimate his fastest hammer draw and hit with the .45 Single Actions at 5 paces to be around ten-hundredths of a second, from start to bullet impact. Of course, if he started at a given signal, reaction time would have to be added, but this lad’s reflexes are so fast he could kill you during the time it would take you to wink your eye.

     On his first try at standard trap shooting, he broke 48 x 50, which is good even for veterans. He is good with any gun and very good at standard 50-yard slow fire pistol shooting with target guns. He has killed both deer and javalina with his .45s and also hunted and killed a fine grizzly in Alaska with two shots at long range from a rifle. He has been on tour in Japan with the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Show doing exhibition shooting and bareback bronc and steer riding. He has won a great many fast draw contests, including the Big Bear, California combat firing contest, shooting against the best in the country. He has also won several running deer contests with sixguns. He averages about 500 practice rounds of .45 ammo per week. Tom Siatos and I watched him perform one whole afternoon and we came to the conclusion that here was a lad who would go far in the shooting game, if he stays with it.

     Back of Thell Reed’s phenomenal success is Thell Reed, Sr., “the man behind the gun,” so to speak. Thell Reed, Sr. started his boy at seven years of age with a .22 rifle. By the time he was nine years of age, he had him shooting a pair of .45 Colt Single Actions with good effect. He has put up all the money for the lad’s practice over the years and encouraged and coached him in every possible way. Coaching and instructions has been not only with guns, but also on being a sportsman and a gentleman. Reed, Sr., is a fine shot as well and is one man who believes that starting a youngster in the shooting game is the best way to make a man of him and eliminate any possible tendencies toward juvenile delinquency. I would say he has done a fine job on all counts. Thell Reed Jr., is a lad to watch in the years to come and one who I believe will be one of the best all-around shots of this or any other era.

Click Here for the complete article on the Guns and Ammo website

Fast Draw is a fast-moving, fast-growing sport, which carries on the traditions of our western heritage. It is a test of speed, reaction and accuracy. It is exciting, entertaining and safe.

Fast Draw competition involves an attempt to draw a single action revolver from a holster at a given signal, and hit a silhouette target or a nine inch balloon at twenty-one feet with a wax bullet. Also blank loads are fired at four inch balloons, at an eight foot distance. This type shooting is timed by an electrical timing clock calibrated in the 1/100 of a second. The purpose of the draw is to stop the clock in the least possible time.

Contestants must conform to a set pattern of rules governing distances, type of charges, guns and holsters, so that everyone competes under the same conditions. Strict safety measures are set up and enforced at all times. No live ammunition is ever used, and is not allowed anywhere in the shooting area.
WHO IS FAST DRAW?
Doctors, lawyers, professional men, tradesmen, and workers from various other fields are to be found as active Fast Draw supporters. Robert Six, President of Continental Airlines, and Donald Douglas Jr., President of Douglas Aircraft Company find Fast Draw an exciting form of relaxation. Show business personalities Jerry Lewis, Clint Eastwood, and Sammy Davis Jr., and many other celebrities are fans of Fast Draw. Richard Boone, the star of the TV Western, “Have Gun Will Travel,” states that, “the work done by the organized Fast Draw Clubs throughout the country helps to educate people on how to handle guns safely and sanely. If the Fast Draw organizations continue their work along the lines of safety, there will be considerably fewer accidents.”

WHAT DO THEY DO?

Most clubs meet once a week to practice and compete as a club. Besides this, there are many additional contests on an area, regional, and State level, including a State Championship each year. The clubs do not exist only for themselves, though. They put on many shows and exhibitions in their local area. The men and women of these clubs donate their time and talent to civic affairs when called upon to do so. A typical show involves a gun safety talk, an exhibition of Fast Draw, comedy acts, fancy gun handling, spinning and twirling, and other related activities, including mock gun fights. Businessmen often sponsor Fast Draw shows, inviting the public free of charge. The club receives a fee for their services, which brings much publicity to the sponsor.

WOULD I LIKE THE SPORT?

Who knows? Drop in to your local Fast Draw club and see for yourself. The club meetings are usually open to spectators. You don’t even have to own a gun. One of the members will probably let you use his gun and “rig” (gun belt and holster), and give instructions. Fast Draw has shooters ranging in years from 18 to 70+ at the State Championship competitions, so why not give it a try.

IS IT EXPENSIVE?

Any sport, hobby, or pastime, has an investment involved. The amount of desire you develop toward the sport will set the limit. The basic requirements are a single action revolver and a holster and belt suited for Fast Draw. While attending contests or special events, western wear should be worn. This generally consists of a western hat (optional), shirt, trousers, and cowboy boots. Often, clubs will have identical outfits, as in many other sports.

HOW DO I LOCATE A CLUB?

Check with your local western clothing store, sporting goods store, and Chamber of Commerce. But if there is no Fast Draw club in your town, write or call TOP GUN magazine, and the staff will be able to tell you where the nearest club can be found. If you are interested in forming your own club that can be done through the help of TOP GUN magazine, and Fast Draw Association in your State. Write us for details.

This Colt has a Colt letter with it and was originally sent to a Mexican Railway in 1903. The backstrap is engraved with the abbreviated letters of the railway, Ex. Nat. Mex. I made the grips for it from whale jawbone. When I bought the gun it was in need of work. The barrel & cylinder were pretty rough so I decided to replace them.

This is where it gets interesting… many years ago when E.L. (Pop) Warner first started shooting he had John Phillips change his Colt from 44/40 to 45 so he could use it in fast draw. The 44/40 is the one he carried when he was young and got in the gunfights that you can read about in Tom Blasgen’s book “Fast Draw Yesterday & Today”. He also carried it when he was a Mercenary soldier for a while with Pancho Villa. As luck would have it John had kept his original .44 barrel and cylinder all these years. They were in fair shape, better than what was in the gun, so I called John and bought them from him to put in the Mexican Colt. It just seemed like a fitting idea because of his tie in with Villa. Al and I were friends from the first day we met back in the early 60′s until the day he died.

The son of an itinerant horse trader, “Pop” learned to shoot a Colt sixgun from a retired gunhand turned cowhand. He grew up to become one of the last of the professional old west gunfighters, hiring his gun out in Mexico, the south western United States, and the last of the range wars in Wyoming.

Having outlived the age of the gunfighter, “Pop” became a successful business man. He started shooting in our sport of Fast Draw in the early 1950’s and is still active today. He has undoubtedly traveled more miles, and shot in more contests than any other shooter in our sport. He has attended contests from California to Ohio, Georgia and Florida.

For a number of years he presented a trophy in memory of his wife at any major shoot which he attended. These were greatly sought after. At first, he presented them for the fastest Standing Reaction Wax shot of the contest. One of the early Oklahoma speed shooters, Eddie Humingbird, won more of these than any other shooter I know of. Feeling that going for broke for a fast shot in order to win his trophy might be causing shooters to blow contests, Pop started presenting them for the best five shot Walking Wax total. He also started limiting them to one per shooter. Previous winners of his trophy were not eligible to win again. I am very proud to have won one of his best walking wax Mrs. E.L. Warner Memorial trophies.

Pop has told me that when it was for real, he poke fanned his Colt. When he started in Fast Draw, he was one of the few fanners, so he taught the thumbing draw. About ten years ago he switched back to poke fanning. For many years he shot nothing but Colts, but today he uses a Ruger set up for him by his close friend John Phillips. For the many years I’ve known him he has been using a custom, one of a kind, Alfonso rig.

For the five years that I was involved in producing the Mid Western Fast Draw Associations monthly Newsletter, the one report we could always rely on was the one from Pop. He is presently the Executive Chairman of the Worlds Fast Draw Association. E. L. “Pop” Warner, we in Fast Draw give you a special Six-Gun Salute!

I was just a green kid when I first read about these, now legendary, contests hosted by the Sahara Hotel and Colt Firearms Company. I was just coming off a collapsed lung and I weighed in at my lowest – 122 pounds. I possibly would have been a great REAL gunfighter as, turned sideways, nobody could have hit me plus I ALREADY had a hole in my lung! Anyway, I was both determined and destined to enter in what would become the last Nationals contest. I was probably the first Canadian to ever enter an “OPEN” organized Fast Draw Competition.

The bus trip of over 40 hours, coupled with the characters I met, would keep me from getting much sleep…

The first day we were held up at the border because of my gun and holster which I had kept in the open and by my side as Canada’s laws forbid a concealed weapon…ho-hum. At the border I was escorted off the bus and into their inspector’s chambers where they (rather dumbly) stared at my permit to carry and my gun until, after a 15 minute delay, they bundled my gun into my suitcase and marked the case with a code number of some kind. I then boarded the bus with about every passenger (who were probably angry) gawking at me like I was some kind of alien! Yet, one by one, they struck up conversations with me eventually asking me about the gun/holster or the contest.

I recall at a rest stop in Medford Oregon, two women securing a mop and water bucket so that they could wash the dirt-caked windows of the bus. Since they couldn’t reach them I offered to do it. Boy, was that driver MAD! Especially at me!!! It wasn’t much later that the dirt REALLY clung to those windows.

Vegas was like one or two strips back then. I remember being SO grateful to finally see all the lights appear in the desert. I remember needing to get to a gun store which was a ways down the strip from the Hotel. Having no car I walked and was picked up by a curious driver who had spied my holster. I had my very first ride in a Cadillac! He was a Competition Shotgunner and asked a lot about our sport of Fast Draw and the contest as he drove me directly to the Gun Shop. I had a long walk back though…

One of the places in which we were set up to practice was the Silver Slipper Saloon where I got my very first American Silver dollar, which I still have, and the place was VERY crowded. I had my first glance at something called ‘Twisting”. I’d read about “Thumbers” like Thell Reed and others so I thought “What the heck are these guys doing?”. I didn’t join the practice then… I just watched. I experienced my first case of anxiety and thoughts of futility since I was a “Thumber”. I recall seeing one “Thumber”, Red Jordan I believe, who was posting some fast times by using a “lean-back-fire-over-holster shot” but he was still no match for the “Twisters”. I remember a young boy, well dressed in buckskin, and his “ritzy looking” mom coming to practice and being escorted out of the Silver Slipper as the kid was under age. I never saw them again.

When I returned to the Hotel Sahara I encountered Les Heep (Rawhiders Fast Draw Club) practicing in the hallway. There was Les on a homemade clickerbox timer drawing his gun as countless guests and staff worked their way by him. He and his pard, Wolf River Bob, invited me to take part.

The next day it was all about the Sahara Convention Center. WOW, the layout was plush and this was the building where Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) had fought. On this day it was a place for 180 or so “Gunslinging Gladiators” and I watched, in awe, along with thousands of spectators. Suddenly, it was ‘my turn at bat, “High Noon” for Dennis! My opponent was a guy named Dick Derrick. I heard the command “Shooter Walk!” and we both stiff legged it down the runway towards each other. To this day I cannot remember what times we shot but I did win the first one. Unfortunately for me it was a ‘two of three’ competition. The crowd cheered. I heard someone yell “Go Canuck!” either cheering me on or urging me to go home. Suddenly, it seemed that this was all about me. I was getting distracted and even more nervous but I was up for this, too far up! When the second signal light came on, I grabbed for the gun (6 inch hand rule) too far in front and webbed the hammer! The trigger was pulled back, but the web of my gun hand held the hammer to keep it from firing. It was now one to one so on to “Sudden Death”. When the third signal start light appeared I did it AGAIN! This time however I reacted, and my left fanning hand swept in to clear the ‘web’ and fired the gun a split second BEHIND my opponent, who also had to “recover”

Back in the stands I was somewhat disappointed but still caught up in the excitement and wonder of all of this. I watched as several of my T.V. western “heroes”, Clint Eastwood (Rawhide – He also competed with us), John Russell (Lawman), Paul Brinegar (Rawhide), Ruta Lee and others appeared on stage. I watched as Rodd Redwing and Ed Stembridge put on a stage show with Redwing announcing to us that he would be using his guns already cocked in his holsters and where they shot on a stage and lit match heads using their rifles, etc. Thanks to our later connection with Arvo Ojala, five of us Thunderbirds later met Rodd and were given a personal tour of Paramount studios and the Stembridge Armories which supplied Hollywood’s guns. In the Sahara Convention Center I ran into Peter Brown (Lawman) and we nodded to each other. I remember wondering if he was thinking; “So that’s what a Canadian looks like?” (skinny and underfed) Then there was Paul Christensen (Valley Gunhawks Fast Draw Club) hurriedly banging out metal plates and ‘liners’ for fast draw shooters on the plush carpeted stairs of the Sahara. Oh yeah, about that carpeting… don’t be touching any door handles or any metal if you’ve walked a ways on that carpeting. We were all like “Mexican Jumping
Beans” for the next two days! It really primed us for the nervous contests…. really!

I recall a contestant wearing a Civil War outfit even competing with his “cap n’ ball” Colt revolver. He didn’t last long either. I met Al Brian (Valley Gunhawks Fast Draw Club) who introduced me to holster maker Alfonso Pineda (see picture). Al invited me to the Gunhawks next big contest, which I did attend. I also met writer John Lachuk whose entourage asked me to pose for pictures with two ‘Vegas Beauties’ for inclusion in an upcoming Fast Draw story on the Vegas shoot. (To my knowledge they never used the photos but it was FUN!)

I remember Les, Bob and myself going outside the Center one evening to pose for our own pictures when, behind us, shots were being fired! We turned to look and coming out the Center doors were two T.V. stars, a very young and wasted looking Bob Fuller (Laramie) and his partner, John Smith (Laramie), were draped over two teenage looking girls. Both actors were laughing and firing shots in the air. At later contests I would have trophies I’d won presented to me by an older, more somber Master of Ceremonies, Robert Fuller, who had been doing TV shows like Emergency and movies like The Return Of The Magnificent Seven. I talked with him quite a while at a tavern later. He was a genuine nice guy.

I remember the Arizona and Texas shooters whose “southwestern” accents were so deep that I’d be, in later years, accused by other Canadians of talking “American” for a couple of months after I’d shot with them for awhile. I had no trouble understanding them but my wife, Karen, would have to fake it during conversations. Later she would ask me “What did that man say?”. I recall Al Milicevic’s accent, and I thought it reminded me of my “television-fostered” thoughts of people from “The Bronx”. I remember Americans, not only in Vegas, who picked up on my constant use of the term “Eh?”. I wonder how many Americans, north of Texas that is, are saying; “Eh?” nowadays? (It’s addictive, you know.)

It was finally time to say Goodbye to Les, Wolf River Bob and Las Vegas. I dreaded the bus ride home…as usual the “gringing” of the wheels and transmission made it impossible for me to sleep. At a long rest break in Seattle I was approached by a “gay guy” who tried his darndest to get me to sleep overnight with him as two American sailors did their darndest to overhear and see by peering over the top of the newspapers they were pretending to read. I graciously excused myself and left to get a chocolate bar. I never went back. I recall a nice black lady who tried to show me the intricacies of gambling with “one armed bandits”. I suspect that she was addicted to them!

Soon there was (shudder) the Border…and finally, home.

If they were to hold another such Nationals like that in Vegas, would I go? You bet!!! If I HAD to go by bus, would I still go? No flippin’ way!

Some of my memories of Vegas have since been overshadowed by later adventures in Fast Draw as I came to have many more pleasant as well as adventurous incidents. These memories are ALWAYS enhanced by the excitement and the people we meet aren’t they? … “Eh?”

Den Robinson is one of the founding members of possibly the oldest active Fast Draw Club in existence, The Thunderbirds of Canada. He is currently a Vice Chairman of the Worlds Fast Draw Association. He holds many Fast Draw titles and continues to promote gun safety, Fast Draw and the Thunderbirds Fast Draw Club though his participation in western shows and demonstrations to this day. The Sundowners Single Action Shooting Club is also fortunate to have Den as one of the founding mentors to our club.

Shortly after my arrival at the studio, realization set in as to why I was invited to perform live on TV. It certainly wasn’t because of my renowned gun handling ability. The truth is I was the only local gunslinger they could get on such short notice. Hugh had a Great Western timer and the dad blamed thing didn’t work! Since the timer prop was not available, Hugh wanted a local shooter to discuss with him the new Fast Draw craze that was sweeping the country. Hugh was an accomplished gun hand, having been trained by Arvo Ojala. Hugh shot a .45 caliber nickel plated Colt Single Action. As shown in the photo, I shot a Magnum .44 caliber nickel plated Ruger Blackhawk that I had modified. On camera we fired off a few blanks and twirled our guns a bit. Later after the show I called my sister to get her comments. She said, “I thought you said channel three at four o’clock – but the show was on channel four at three o’clock – I missed it!” Dang! Oh well, so much for my fifteen minutes of fame and glory.

Hugh O’Brien asked Marshall Faber to repair the Great Western timer. Marshall, with the usual design engineer mindset said, “This thing is a piece of junk!” Hugh then engaged Marshall to design and build him a reliable timer along the same lines as the Great Western. At that time almost all Fast Draw (also at the time also referred to as “Quick Draw”) shooting activity relied on a percussion blast. Either a primer or blank was fired. The sound of the shot was detected by a microphone that in turn stopped the timer sweep hand motion. The timer clock face was calibrated in hundredths of a second. The timer was activated by the shooter’s trigger finger depressing a start button mounted on top of the adjustable stand. The stand also contained a microphone. Upon release of the start button the timer hand began its sweep. Upon detection of the shot, the microphone stopped the clock. The fastest time off the button I ever witnessed in an actual contest was nine hundredths of a second. That event took place in San Antonio at the 1962 Texas State Championship.

For the next several years I had the pleasure of traveling around the country and shooting in Fast Draw contests while representing Faber FasDraw. It sure was a lot of fun as I rarely competed to win. My sales strategy was to make available a FasDraw Timer to local club contests at no cost. I even paid the entry fee necessary to personally enter the contest. If I was lucky enough to win a trophy, I donated it back to the sponsoring club. That is, all except the Texas Fast Draw Championship of 1962, 1963, and the Texas Two Gun Championship in 1964. I kept those! While very few local clubs owned a fast draw timer, a reliable, accurate, and low cost timer was of great interest. Without a timer, fellow shooters performed a “judge” assignment; look at the smoke and determine if the shot was high or low.

I came across a remarkable and innovative timer at a contest sponsored by a local club in San Jose, California. The home grown timer used a 45 RPM phonograph turn table calibrated to indicate up to one and one-half seconds total elapsed time (two revolutions of the turn table). The turn table mechanism utilized a stepping motor and was surprisingly quite accurate. The phonograph timer was started by use of a start button (operated by another person) that turned on a reaction light and concurrently started the turn table. A microphone mounted behind the metal target detected a wax bullet hit, turned off the reaction light, and stopped the turn table.

As the use of wax bullets developed, the Faber FasDraw Timer design was enhanced to support this popular change in the fast draw game. Early on, timer start button manipulation became a source of contention. Soon the Faber FasDraw timer self-start button was replaced with a reaction light start mechanism (copying the phonograph turn table timer design). The ultimate demise of the Faber FasDraw Timer came about as a result of the popularity of Walk & Draw blank contests. The Faber FasDraw electronic design could not be reliably modified to support two shooters firing a blank shot within milliseconds of each other. It took two complete FasDraw Timer systems to compete with products such as the Chrondek Timer that used more advanced electronic technology. In addition, the FasDraw Timer design would not tolerate low AC voltage current which was often found when a long extension cord was needed for the power source. However, the product has proven to be durable as working examples of the Faber FasDraw Timer exist today.

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 Shooting 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.

Bob Crismon is a veteran Fast Draw shooter, SASS member and one of the founders of High Noon Showdown Fast Draw, an exciting shooting sport that simulates the classic western movie gunfight. With an emphasis on safety and fun the contestants engage multiple targets against the clock. Speed is nothing without accuracy in this sport!

It is foolish to think you can take any single action gun, regardless of make, in its production-line condition, and attain any kind of real speed, or without getting a torn thumb from its sharp edges. Do you think any of the top target shooters in the U. S. are using production line guns? Well, possibly a few, but if so it is only because the manufacturers of target guns have recognized the needs of competitive target shooting. Has any company done like-wise for the Fast Draw boys? We must have special guns, finely tuned for our sport. Crosman Arms Company has done a lot in this direction with their low-cost Hahn 45 and their CO2 Single Action Six. So has Ruger, with the positive action of their Single-Six. But even these fine guns can be improved for fast draw speed and fast draw safety. And for this improvement, each fast draw sportsman must be his own gunsmith. He must sweat it out over the work bench.

S-o-o, Cowpokes, hand and rattle. Here’s a few timely tips on “Tuning for Time.”

Let’s start with the Hahn 45. Strange as it seems, this low-cost gun requires only a little effort to make it a real rootin’-tootin’, fast, rugged piece of equipment.

Don’t get nervous; this is easy. Grab the Hahn 45 in your grubby little mitt and hold it up to the light. Cock the hammer a few times and release it slowly. What do you see just back of the cylinder? You see a little round bearing ball jumping in and out of a hole like a “Jack-in-the-Box.” There’s your gremlin, my fast draw friend. Back of that ball bearing is a coil spring. When the hammer is cocked the ball bearing has to compress this spring to ride from one cylinder positioning hole to another. The hard spot in the action occurs when the ball bearing starts to ride out of the positioning hole.

Now we are ready to dismantle. And here’s a tip: make sure all the gas is expelled from the powerlet by depressing the trigger and pushing forward on the hammer with the ball of the thumb. If this isn’t done, the powerlet will take off like a Nike. It doesn’t even need a launching pad.

First remove the grips. Now, what’s the handiest thing on the workbench? An ashtray? Right! Lay the Hahn across the ashtray so that the cylinder of the gun is suspended. Remove the screw just above and in front of the trigger guard. Next, remove the hammer screw. Take the screw removed first, and insert it in the back side of the frame where the hammer screw was removed. This keeps the hammer in place when the gun is disassembled. Remove the other two screws and lift off the top half of the frame.

Whoops! We’ve lost the main spring. Nope, here it is, in the part we just lifted off. Pick it up and take a look. You will notice at one end of the spring a shiny spot where the hammer has been riding. Look at the bottom of your hammer. There you’ll find a flat spot. Did you ever teeter-totter with a 12 inch plank across a railroad tie? It’s a rough ride. So take the pliers and kink the main spring just enough on the end so that you have a curved surface riding against the hammer. That’s part of your trouble cured already.

Next, you must take care of the little gremlin we mentioned before – the coil spring, which holds the ball bearing against the cylinder. With a wire cutter, remove one to one and a half coils from the back end of the spring. What’s next? Nothing. Put ‘er back together, friend. Now you’ve got an action that’s finer’n silk and just as smooth.

Smooth? Wait! There is something we’ve overlooked. What are we going to do about sharp edges on the hammer spur that keep chewing up your thumb? They need some smoothing! So – take a piece of medium one inch emery cloth. Cock the Hahn. Hold the barrel between your knees, and make like the Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy on that hammer spur. Problem solved. No muss, no fuss. And watch your fast draw time improve!