Update on Special Events

If I have left anyone off, or if you guy know of anyone who can help, feel free to forward this information to them. I wanted to keep everyone in the loop on what is going on with special events:

 

  • October 1 Monthly Match: I will be out of town through Saturday. If I get back in time I will be there, but if not, Skunk Stomper will be running the match for me. If I am not able to be there, please just take a picture of scoresheets with a phone and text them to me, and I can get the results online that night so the scores do not get lost. To save on setup time for the Hero match, three of the stages will be Hero stages, and the other three will be shooting variations of them. That ensures that we only need to set up five stages and the side match for the Hero setup
  • Iron Hero Match: Things are progressing well. Once the park sends me the final shooter list, I will finalize posses and awards. Once the shooters books are printed and I have the packets, I will get the packets for shooters built. The park will be taking care of the lunches. Once I know when we will have access to the ranges to set up, I will let you guys know. I will be out of town the weekend before the Hero match. Barring a large influx of last minute shooters, it looks like we will be running two posses for the match. I have arranged enough door prizes to where everyone will get a door prize
  • 2018 State Match: Things are coming right along. Worked on a lot of sponsors and we are getting in quite a few door prizes. Even if we sell out, there is a decent chance that everyone will get a door prize. I have promises of two hand made quilts to raffle off for the SASS Scholarship Fund. Shooter book rough draft and stages are completed. One thing I could use some help with. If anyone has any experience in putting together a banquet or dinner or has any ideas on where to hold it, I would gladly take the help in that area. If you can be available to assist with side match day (April 13), please let myself or Skunk Stomper know
  • Work Days: Once we get through with the Hero match, we need to have a few work days to gussy up the props and build some more, depending on how much funding we can get from the park. So, put on your thinking caps on ideas for props and things that need to happen. Some of the things we need to do: Freshen paint on horses and cows, new platform on gallows and paint, we need to build a small platform to shoot from to set next to a roofline for one of the state stages, we could use a few more sections of fence, and I would like to build a new false front or two (even if just something simple we need to prop up using fence posts). If you have any weekends available after the Hero, please let me know. The more help we get, the easier this match will be.

 

I will also post this info to our Facebook page and the club website. Thank you all for all of your efforts.

 

Stirrup Trouble

Platte Valley Gunslingers

Territorial Governor

SASS Regulator

New Territorial Governor

For those of you that are not aware, SASS has a role set aside to help grow the sport and to coordinate among the clubs. That is the role of the Territorial Governor. The person holding this role has a number of responsibilities, including: voting on proposed rule changes, helping to select the locations for state matches, coordinating with other clubs, communicating members needs with the SASS Board, and helping to grow the sport. There are also many other duties not mentioned here. Every club will be represented by a Territorial Governor, and a Territorial Governor may represented more than one club.

Some of the requirements for the person that holds this role include the following:

  • Active SASS member for a minimum of three consecutive years
  • Member of at least one club
  • Attend at least one state level or above match per year
  • Currently certified at both RO1 and RO2 level

Dalton Masterson has served this club well for many years, but due to family and life commitments, he felt it was time to step back and allow someone else to take the reigns. After discussion, Stirrup Trouble (aka David Sayers) has accepted this role and will serve as the Platte Valley Gunslingers Territorial Governor. He appreciates your patience during the transition. Feel free to contact his with any questions or concerns

TG

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

 

Saloon Progress

Well, the wind and a few sprinkled didn’t help out yesterday, but we did make some progress on the saloon. Got a fresh coat of brown stain on a lot of the outside walls, and some of the inside ones. The wind wasn’t helpful for ladder work, so I still have the upper part to go. We were also able to get all the loose boards tightened back up, so it is pretty solid again. Now it just needs the stain finished, lettering put up, and finish the dressing up.

Jacob and Toby, the honorary cowboys at Heartland Public Shooting Park, are going to break out the dremel to make new letters for the saloon and the bank.

Today I was able to get out into my shop to make some new signs to put up on the outside of the saloon. As you can see, they are a little rough, but that was by design. After all, we ain’t no fancy place like Kansas City. Things get a little rough in our town with all the gunplay. Hope you enjoy it, and we look forward to shooting with you soon.

saloonsign1

saloonsign2

saloonsign3

Next Cowboy Project

Well, after looking over the many tasks ahead of us in refurbishing our props, we have been looking for buildings we can work on that are small enough to move into the shop. That way, once Spring arrives, our work won’t be quite as daunting. It looks like our next project will be the saloon.

The saloon has been a good prop over the years, but it needs some help. Mother Nature has not been kind to her. The weather has aged it, and a couple of years ago a windstorm took it down. The cowboys were able to repair it to be functional again, but it is time to perform a face lift before the coming season. Bill Starkey and the folks at Heartland Public Shooting Park were kind enough to offer to move it into the shop for me and to pick up the repair supplies that are needed in order to bring it back to its original glory.

Here is a quick look at the saloon as it sits today, and hopefully soon you won’t be able to recognize it.

saloon

Wagon Project Before and After

For those of you that have been following the progress of the wagon repairs, you can see that this prop has really seen some big improvements, and is safe to use on our stages once again. Rather than scroll through all the progress pictures, we thought you might like to see the before and after of the project. More projects are coming soon as time and the weather allow.

Before:
sadwagon

After:
side-view-after-touchup

Come join us in 2015 for some great cowboy times!

Wagon Project Completed

Well, it has been really busy in the shop, but we finally were able to finish repairing the wagon and bringing it to what it needed to be. Thanks to some assistance from the park employees, after the frame was attached and the wheels were back on, we got the seat attached and the wagon was finally completed. Today’s progress is documented below:

First, we drilled holes in the bed so the frame could be attached.
drill-bed

Then it was time to start attaching the frame.
frame-finishing
frame-attach

After the frame was attached, it was time to start assembling the wheels to the frame.
first-wheel
wheels-on

After turning the wagon upright, it was time to tighten the bolts on the bed one last time.
bed-attached

Then, the final assembly step of attaching the new seat to the wagon bed.
seat-attached

Just a few spots needed a touch up of stain after all the work, and we were able to step back and enjoy the view of a job well done.
side-view-after-touchup
front-view-final
side-view-angle
rear-view

We look forward to enjoying this new prop with you in 2015.

Wagon Project Moving Along

Well, we made even more progress today than I anticipated. Special thanks to some honorary cowboys at the Heartland Public Shooting Park today. Bill Starkey and his crew made sure that I had everything I needed to get started, and Jake and Toby did a fantastic job of building a custom seat for the wagon. This will really make this prop “pop” when we are done. Here you can see our progress today,

One of the wheels fell off the sad old wagon trying to get it into the shop. Time to get the old girl looking good.
sadwagon
brokenwheel

Then it was time to start disassembling the old wagon to start the rebuild process
oldonside

After taking apart the frame, it was time to start painting the wheels
oldwheels
freshwheelpaint
freshwheels

Then it was time to get the frame looking fresh and good
frameandwheels
frameandhandle
frame

While the frame was drying, it was time to gather the lumber and start building the bed for the wagon
bedlumber
newbed

Now that the bed was built, it was time to give it a fresh coat of stain to protect it
stainedbed

Just as the bed was finished, the honorary cowboys at the park brought me over the new seat they built for it
newseat
newseatside

I couldn’t let that great seat not look as good as the bed, so it was time to get it stained as well
newseatview
newseatstained

Things will get a good drying this week, and next weekend we will do final assembly. Then it will be time to decide on the next project for the winter. We will posts updates after we finish it up. We hope you will come join us next season

Upcoming Cowboy Project

As many of you are aware, our cowboy props at Heartland Public Shooting Park have seen their better days, and most of them are in serious need of repairs or outright rebuilds. That is one of our goals for the coming year as we prepare to host you for the Iron Duke Match in October 2015. The days are short and the weather is cold, so we are somewhat limited on what we will be able to accomplish before Spring, but we are going to do what we can.

The first project we have decided to work on is the wagon. This is something that we can repair in the shop, so we will not be hindered by weather. As you can see, we have a bent axle, the frame is in need of some rust repair, and the wood is warped and rotten. Keep checking back on our progress, and we will show you what the group has been able to accomplish. As soon as he repairs are completed, we will post pictures of the new and improved wagon for our stages.

We look forward to shooting with you in 2015.

Wagon1

Wagon2

Wagon3

Interested In An RO Class?

Just a quick note to anyone who might be interested. Out territorial governor has graciously offered to come out to Heartland Public Shooting Park to teach the RO classes to get people certified if they would like. I would like to get a group together so the trip is worth their time, even though they offered to teach the classes to a single person if necessary. Even if you are not a SASS member but are interested in learning more about the sport, or if you simply want to add another feather to your RO certification list, this is a good opportunity to learn some new skills.

Special note: Don’t let the lack of a SASS membership stop you from taking the class. You do not need to be a SASS member to take the RO-1 course.

If you are interesting in some more information or would like to sign up for the course, please contact us and we will let you know when we have some dates set

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