In the Begining

It was late in 93 that I called my old High School pard, Jim Borton and asked him if he would like to go with me to something called a Cowboy shoot. Well of course he did so off we headed to a place outside of Bakersfield called 5-Dogs where a Cowboy club was just getting started.  There was no doubt about it, we liked it. On the trip home we decided to start a club in our area, Reedley, Ca. It only took one meeting with a few friends to sell them on the idea of the Kings River Regulators. We would shoot at the Hutchinson’s range out on Highway 180. We all gathered in Jim’s shop fabricating targets from every scrap of steel we could find. Our group consisted of Snakebite, Hank, Hawkeye O’Riley, Shorty and Bean Pot. On occasion Bear Paw would show up from Hanford and Hardpan would drift in from Madera. It didn’t take long before we had a large following out at the range and folks started coming in from miles around to join the fun. Without doubt, we needed a new place to shoot that had more room. We decided to pitch the idea of a Cowboy club to the Board members at the Fresno Rifle and Pistol Club. We were met with some skepticism but the local IPSC group supported the idea of giving us a chance so we were allowed the temporary use of a couple of small bays at the east end of the range. We increased our target production using both private funds and a small loan from the local American Legion (Hawkeye was the Commander). We continued to build targets and to spread the word of our upcoming match at every gun related function and gun shop we could get to. Our first match was filled to the brim with a turnout not seen at FRPC in many years. We were an instant success.  We were on the local TV morning shows, in the newspaper and on radio talk shows. Before long we had outgrown our small temporary area. In 97 we pitched the idea of turning what was a DG pit at the end of the range into a Wagon Wheel arraignment of shooting bays. The FRPC was concerned about the expense but we assured them that we would fund the development. We were given approval to proceed and within a few days one of our newer members, Cole Chance, had made arraignments for a D9 Caterpillar to start pushing dirt. Over 30 club members turned out that day with tractors and hand tools and two days later we had an 8 Bay Cowboy range. Needless to say, target and prop production was a major activity for the next several months. We had great participation from the membership, and as funds became available, we would invest it all back into building props and targets. That investment never stopped. The Kings River Regulators Cowboy Action Shooting Club has become and is a major part of the FRPC. Due to the teamwork and ingenuity of our membership over the past 26+ years we have become one of the premier CAS clubs in the Game.  As a long time and early member of the SASS (Single Action Shooting Society), we enjoy the original concept of Cowboy Action Shooting… i.e. Playing Cowboy! So the game is on at the Kings River Regulators.  We encourage and welcome new members, we play by the rules and we strongly support the “Spirit of the Game”. With teamwork and member support our Club and the Sport of Cowboy Action Shooting will continue to flourish for a long time to come.

 

Snakebite