New Promo Video

Our local club was lucky enough to receive a nice gift from a Colorado cowboy named Grizzly Dave. He recently attended our Iron Duke match and took a ton of video of the shooters and events surrounding that day. These can be found on his YouTube channel.

Anyway, he put together a really nice promo video for the club highlighting our club and its events, and we wanted to share this with you. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did, and we hope you join us at the park for one of our upcoming cowboy matches.

We also wanted to announce that because of his efforts, Grizzly Dave has been appointed as an honorary Platte Valley Gunslinger!

 

2016 Iron Hero Match

Well, as the weather starts to change and get crisper, it is time to start thinking about matches for the coming year. We had such a good time hosting all of you this year that we would like to announce that we are going to continue the format again in 2016, with eight stages in a single day, all with the same theme. The theme for the 2016 Iron Hero match is 

Randolph Scott

We will run through all eight stages in a single day, and we are trying to make each stage unique and fun for all levels of shooters. Awards will be presented for the top three in each SASS category, and lunch is included, all for the low match fee of only $50 ($60 for entries after September 1, 2016). For those of you that came out to join us in 2015, don’t forget to submit your discount coupon in order to get your discount on the match fees for 2016. 

As with this year, you may pick up your shooter’s bags beginning the Thursday before the match at 5:00pm. 

The tentative schedule for events is as follows:

7:00am-Shooter Check in begin
8:00am-Safety Meeting
8:30am-Shoot first four stages
12:00-1:00-Lunch
1:00pm-Shoot final four stages
4:00pm-Awards

For those of you that are new to SASS and might be interested in attending an annual but are not sure about the financial outlay, we would like to welcome you to SASS and help out with a $5 discount coupon for the match. Just send this in with your entry. This discount is available to all shooters who joined SASS in 2015 or 2016.

2016 New Shooter Coupon

2016 Iron Hero Entry

Please keep in mind that since we are doing all eight stages in a single day, we are limiting entries to 75 shooters. We hope you join us. This is gonna be bigger and better than 2015.

Thank You to the NRA Foundation

As many of you are aware, our cowboy club at Heartland Public Shooting Park has had some struggles over the last few years. Attendance was way down, and our props had seen better days. Even our wagon was on three wheels and was falling apart. However, I was not willing to give up on the club, and the park was willing to invest a limited amount into prop repair. We were able to rebuild the wagon from the ground up, and put a fresh coat of paint on the buildings and perform some minor repairs, but new props were out of the question until attendance got back up.

We took a chance and explained our situation to the NRA Foundation, requesting a grant to be able to add a new hotel for the cowboy venue. Luckily, they were very generous and gave us the entire grant we requested, which gave us enough money to cover most of the materials cost, with the labor being supplied by park volunteers. This new hotel is going to get a lot of use in the coming years, not only for the cowboys, but for the other venues as well, including USPSA and 3Gun. Later we will add a balcony over the porch.

Thank you again to the NRA Foundation, and for the support that you give to all the shooting sports. You made a lot of happy cowboys with this generous gift. Pictures of the building so far are below.

nrafoundationlogo

IMG_0062 IMG_0061 IMG_0060 IMG_0059 IMG_0058 IMG_0057

 

2016 Iron Hero Match

As we mentioned at the Iron Duke match earlier this month, in 2016 we plan to continue the Iron Hero tradition with an eight stage, one day match to push everyone’s skills and stamina in a fun, different cowboy action shooting match. The theme for this year is:

Randolph Scott

All eight stages will be based on Randolph Scott movies, and each stage will be based on a different scene from a different movie, complete with a starting line being a movie line from that scene.

The movies chosen for the 2016 match are:

  • Jesse James
  • Comanche Station
  • Decision at Sundown
  • Colt .45
  • Rage at Dawn
  • 7th Cavalry
  • Ride Lonesome
  • Wagon Wheels

Preparations have already begun. We are planning on using even more buildigns and props, and we are also planning on using the new hotel that we built as well. 

The tentative date has been set for October 15, 2016, and as last year, in order to get everyone through the match in a day, the limit is set at 75 shooters. As a thank you to new members of SASS, we are offering a $5 discount on the match fees to anyone that is a new member of SASS in 2015 or 2016. By the end of November, once the park schedule is finalized for 2016, we will have entry forms and the discount coupons available. Get your entries in early. You don’t want to miss this match. It will be bigger and better than the Iron Duke!

Cost for the match is $50, and that includes lunch and a day with smiles. Entries after September 1 will be $10 more

Let’s Ride!

Old West History Come Alive

If you are like most SASS members, one of the major appeals for you was the historical feel of our sport. We all love the shooting, but there is nothing like taking a step back in time for a day to dress up like our heroes from the past to battle evil doers for a day alongside some good friends.

As we read through the Chronicle, on top of the news on the various shoots and new equipment, we were also drawn to a regular column about little known people from the old west. SASS member Joe Fasthorse, #48769, has released a book chronicling some of the unknown gunfighters that lived and traveled across the old west, and it makes for an interesting read. We get a chance to peek into a part of the west that was ignored by dime novels and Hollywood to get a taste of the reality that was the gunfighter during those days.

SASS members can pick up a copy of this book from the following link for only $12.50, and with the chill of Winter approaching, I can’t think of a better way to spend the time waiting until it is time for cowboy action shooting to return:

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Famous-Gunfighters-Fasthorse-Harrill/dp/1593441517

New SASS Ad 3 SASS Clubs

bookad

Thank You to the Iron Duke Sponsors

On behalf of the Platte Valley Gunslingers and Heartland Public Shooting Park, we would like to recognize two of the major sponsors for the Iron Duke cowboy action match that was held over the weekend. Without their assistance, we would have not been able to give the gifts to our shooters, and there were a lot of smiles on the shooters’ faces this past weekend.

hornadylogo273

Hornady was very generous in providing enough hats and coffee cups to allow us to present each of the shooters with one of each when they checked in to receive their shooter packets. We received a lot of positive responses from the shooters when they checked in, and on a chilly Sunday morning in October, I saw more than a few in use on the line in the morning. After the shoot, I also saw a lot of cowboy hats swapped out for Hornady caps as people prepared to go home or back to their hotel rooms. Hornady also provided some metal signs for the random giveaways. Thank you for your generosity, and you made quite a few cowboys and cowgirls smile.

cabelas

Cabelas was another generous sponsor for our shoot. They provided a large number of gift cards, enough to give almost every shooter a gift card to take to their local Cabelas or use online. Everyone that received one of these cards had a wide grin on their face. A couple of the shooters that received a gift card in the random drawing said to me afterward that they loved the gift cards because it allowed them to get what they wanted instead of just some trading stock for the closet. Your generosity was greatly appreciated.

We really appreciated the way these sponsors came out to support the cowboy club, along with all the other shooting sports they support at this venue, and we are lucky to have two local companies that are as supportive of Heartland Public Shooting Park as they are. Thank you again, and we look forward to partnering with you again next year if possible.

We would encourage all those that appreciate the generosity of these two fine companies to thank them by purchasing their products and services

Iron Duke Match is in the Books

On behalf of the Platte Valley Gunslingers, I would like to thank all of you that took the time to come out to our first annual in several years, and we hope the keep the hero theme going each year. With this being my first year as match director, and with limited help, we sincerely hope that you had fun. Our goal was to put on a fun and different shoot that had something for all skill levels and shooting styles. I saw a lot of grins on the range today, so I hope we succeeded.

I felt like I had a lot to learn going into the match, but I tried to learn what to do (and not to do) from other annuals that I have attended, and I hope you all return and bring friends next year as we try to make the match even better. Please don’t forget about the coupons I put in your shooter packets. One is for you, a $10 discount on next year’s match entry for any shooter registered for this year, and the other is a $5 coupon to pass on to a new shooter who registered for SASS in 2015 or 2016. I wanted to give new shooters a little incentive to maybe try an annual without committing the expense and nervousness of a multi-day for their beginning SASS experience.

It was great to also get to spend some time with friends that geography typically makes it difficult to do, as well as to meet some new friends along the way. Also, I wanted to give a special thank you to the shooters. Having the shooters vote to give me the Spirit of the Duke award meant the world to me.

We did not have a ton of shooters, but it was great to see the variety of shooters that did come. We hosted shooters from the following states:

  • Nebraska
  • Kansas
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Wyoming

The final results were as follows:

Iron Duke Match Details

Iron Duke Category Results

Our park superintendent’s wife thought the cowboy targets needed some bandannas:

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A view of some shooters on The Alamo stage:

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Gathering the shooters together for a photo after the awards:

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Thanks again for coming! The shooters were all fantastic and thanks to their hard work and stepping up to keep the posses running smoothly, we actually finished over two hours ahead of schedule

September Monthly Shoot

Our numbers ere down quite a bit, as a lot of our regular members were at Gunsmoke having a ball, but we had beautiful cool weather for the group that did show up to shoot. We were also blessed with a couple of visitors who stopped by to learn about cowboy shooting and they seemed to have a blast and it sounds like they may be joining us next year

This was our last monthly shoot before the Iron Duke, and thanks to all that came out. We used the ticket office, the saloon, and the cave for this shoot

Results for the match are as follows:

match finaltt Main Match 09192015

match final extrastt6 Main Match 09192015

Iron Duke-Who’s Coming

I have received some questions about who is coming to the Iron Duke. Now we have a small group so far, but no matter what, we are gonna have a blast. If you were on the fence about this match, we still have room for you. If you are still planning on coming, please contact me to let me know the entry is coming.

Current Who’s coming list:

  • Skid Roper
  • Major Art Tillery  
  • Two Gun Papa
  • Shalako Wray
  • Grizzly Dave
  • Panhandle Kate
  • Sandhiller
  • Flint Hills Dawg
  • Black Jack Ketchem
  • Buick MacKane
  • Calico Mary
  • Bulldog Brown
  • Young’s Angel
  • Richie Reno
  • Pit Mule
  • Dog Man
  • Fence Cutter
  • Stirrup Trouble
  • Dalton Masterson
  • D.B. Belle
  • Travelin’ Travis
  • Shady Willie Brown
  • Platte Valley Kid

We have some unique stages planned, and hope you all enjoy them. Tentative posse lists are completed and will be released when we get closer to the date in case they need to change due to additional shooters.

August Match-New Face

Well, we had a small group this month, but six shooters battled the heat and humidity to join us for a day of playing cowboy. We were also pleased to host a new cowboy shooter for the day, and we did everything we could to make sure he had a good time. Based on the grins on our sweaty faces, I think we succeeded in that regard.

Results for the match are as follows:

match finaltt Main Match 08152015

match final extrastt6 Main Match 08152015

Stages shot for the day include the following:

Time For Trouble

Texas Fever

Stampede

Ranchers Son

Come and Take It

Badgers We Dont Need No Stinking Badgers

See you next month!