SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 7 Syndicate Ridge From Moree to Paxton, single action shooters descended on the Gleniffer Range for the inaugural Syndicate Ridge Rendezvous shot over the weekend of 21 and 22 June 2014. The eagre posse rode in under clear skies and mustered with itching trigger fi ngers in anticipation of the shoot: an authentic adaptation of the Joel and Ethan Coen fi lm 'True Grit'. Bigfoot Wallace opened proceedings when he strode up to the fi ring line and out onto the Staked Plains of Texas for a buffalo shoot with Vernon Shaftoe and a Flathead Indian called Olly. To the bang and clang so synonymous with single action shooting, the rest of the posse followed in turn, to leave the big shaggies about all gone. From there it was on to Fort Smith and then the Wharton's before a deep descent into the Choctaw Indian Nation. By sundown some clear themes had developed: Bigfoot Wallace was determined to make the most of his day release; Captain Ball was preaching big medicine with his smoke wagons; and Kaloona Kid was not going to be denied a scalp. Quoting lines from the fi lm including the climactic 'Fill your hand, you son of a b***h!', the participants rode, manoeuvred, lassoed, stabbed and blazed their way through a total of 9 competitive stages and 2 side stages over the course of the weekend. But the action wasn't confi ned to the range, with a rustically elegant dinner served on Saturday night at the Bellingen Showground. Genuine period recipes were plated up (fortunately at half the prescribed chilli!), and to the high quality tunes of Morgan "Billygoat" Tucker, the locals scooted across the dance fl oor, resplendent in their best period attire. Intermittent showers served to momentarily delay fi rst smoke on Sunday while our intrepid cowboys hunkered down. With the showers long gone and the smoke settled on the ninth stage, Bigfoot Wallace and Glen Heifer Kid had emerged as the fastest guns in the northeast. Tension grew as the two were invited to shoot the Gunfi ght at the SR Corral. The Gunfi ght is a single-stage shootout between the weekend's two fi nest participants, and provided a memorable climax to the Rendezvous. Gun leather was tightened, adjusted and re-adjusted as the two cowboys focussed on the steel plate targets descending in a 'V' shape before them. An excited crowd gathered in the bleachers to bear witness and, as quick as a fl ash in the pan, saw the gun slinging prowess of Bigfoot Wallace win the day. With the shooting concluded, the participants moseyed out onto the range for the mandatory group photo and their well-earned awards: Bigfoot Wallace (Winner - Gunfi ght at the SR Corral, Fastest Gun and category winner – Wrangler), Glen Heifer Kid (category winner - Senior), Hoodoo Brown (category winner – Duellist), Kaloona Kid (category winner – Classic Cowboy) and a certain youthful but mysterious Rogue Cowboy (category winner – Young Guns). Other prizes from best-dressed through to simply hard luck were awarded to round off a successful weekend's event. The Bellingen Pistol Club would like to thank the NSW Offi ce of Communities for event funding and all our prize donors, sponsors, volunteers and participants for their generous patronage, including Awl Leather; Bellingen Timbers; Coffs Disposals, Workwear, Safety & Boot Centre; Coffs Guns and Safaris; Hunt's Hardware; Monica Sala; and Norco Rural. The sights, sounds and smells of single action shooting are a unique trip back in time and we look forward to sharing this exciting experience with you at the 2015 Syndicate Ridge Rendezvous. In the interim, single action shooting is offered by the Bellingen Pistol Club on its regular bi-monthly shooting calendar. For enquiries call Glen Heifer Kid on 02 6655 5073.

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