Tag Archives: cowboy action shooting

Practice, Practice, Practice

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Clearly that's what I need to do more of after today's effort, or at least pay attention to instructions!

Misses – 2, Procedurals – 1, Pistol Reloads – 2 very messy and uncoordinated, Shotgun inadvertently opening – 1 and probably a bit ragged on rifle on 2 stages.

Despite this, raw times were good but that makes not one iota of difference if you have all the other stuff going on, now does it?

 

Loads of fun as usual, plenty of laughs and good company, what more could you want really.

Congratulations to Mad Dog Tannen for taking out top honours at this weekends Gamblers club match and to Ex Sighted and Prairie Joy for clean matches!

Next club match in two weeks!

Cheers

Kat xo

 

Taste The Rainbow!

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Well it might not be as tasty but the latest colour explosion would definitely rival any handful of Skittles!

It's been a few weeks of colourful and interesting patterns for Adelita skirts, corsets and tops.

 

Fulfilling others needs with bright and fun prints and plains, cotton and silks.

 

Gorgeous matching, small peacock feather detail for a couple. Noooo, not a new set for Jack and I, although I do have that fabric for me!

 

Enjoyed the “quicker” sewing, now on to “challenging” again.

Cheers

Kat xo

 

Shots on Saturday

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Yes, it was a down range kinda day yesterday with 15 Cowboys and Cowgirls turning out for The Gamblers club match.

With Jack sitting on the sidelines for now, he happily video'd (people say that but is it actually a word?… I digress) and kept score.

It felt good but had a few unnecessary misses, called 'must keep your eye on the front sight'. Never mind I'm on to that.

All times were decent however and had the Dog on the run! Nice shooting with all and thanks for the challenge 'Mad Dog Tannen'!

 

Click on this link to see Stage 1 Video (This link is mainly for Dad and Mums sake 🙂 )

Have a good week!

Kat xo

 

B-Western

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Miss 19 asked me one day, “Mum what is B-Western?” Well I could explain to her what it meant for Single Action shooters by way of category, dress, firearms etc but what did it really mean?

Now I also knew it related to the silver screen era, John Wayne, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the like. So a little research got me looking further at the term.

In short, (because we don't need the full explanation on here) film production in the late 1920's and into the 1930's and 40's saw the double billing or short inexpensive films added to fill a program. Mostly due to rental of space to show a film and therefore to make it worthwhile not only for theatre goers but for the management and staff.

Western movies were said to be the most predominant in the 30's and accounted for 25-30% of production. Therefore the term, B-Western!

However, costume wise, it is all about the smiley pockets, piping, fringing, different coloured cuffs and yokes, bright coloured fabrics, embroidery and a little bit of bling thrown in for good measure.

There are many fine examples of such with the most revered being those created by Nudie Cohn. In particular to the country music artists over many years.

I found these little gems on some Grand Old Opry dvd's borrowed from 'Emerald'. Priceless! I'm sure I recognised one outfit on a DVD that we saw at the Ryman Auditorium when we were there in 2014.

This one of Ernest Ashworth wearing his 'Talkback Trembling Lips' outfit that matched his song! What a classic! Blinged up bars of music, the writing and of course the lips across it.

 

I think it was this one of Porter Wagoner's we may have seen at the Ryman or at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

 

In the realm of costuming I have completed a few B-Western outfits now and think there will be more to come.

Here is 'Lil McGill' from Texas, in her Annie Oakley inspired outfit (as worn by Gail Davis in the tv series of Annie Oakley in the 1950's). We saw the original on display at the Oklahoma National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame and it just had to become an outfit for Lil! She won best dressed B-Western Lady at the 2015 US Nationals – Winter Range, 2015 World Championships – End Of Trail and then the trifecta, 2015 South West Regionals – Red Dirt Rampage.

(2nd Place, Sonora Blaze, 3rd Place, Paniola Annie)

 

Our Aussies can be partial to a bit of B-Western flair as well and when 'Katie Younger' and 'Robb and Co' hit the USA in 2015 they wanted an Australian themed get up. So National emblem and flower with kangaroo's, Southern Cross and the Australian flag were the order. They won 2nd Place Best Dressed Couple at the 2015 World Championships – End of Trail. Katie has the first B-Western outfit I ever made in a red and black combo.

 

'Sonora Blaze' from Colorado also required a show stopper and we got to doing this Dale Evans inspired number but in the turquoise instead of the original coral colour. Sonora won 2nd Place Best Dressed at the 2016 US Nationals – Winter Range.

 

'Flat Top Okie' from Oklahoma, required a shirt to match the boots he'd bought and after searching for the right colour fabric came up with the perfect match! Add in some custom styled design and a little bit of bling and there you have it.

 

And so we come to the latest creation in this genre. Another beautiful outfit for 'Lil McGill' with bits of a Patsy Cline outfit and inspiration from Annie Get Your Gun costumes for Betty Hutton, Lil will be the ultimate ray of sunshine getting around the range in this number! There are a couple of things left to do, like pearl snaps, embroidered triangles for pockets and careful trimming of embroidery threads but I can't wait to see this one decked out with Lil's final touches!

 

Bling it if you can!

Kat xo

P.S. Weirdly, I am looking forward to more smiley pocket experimentation, I think I nailed it on Lil's skirt. Have to do pockets on shirt now!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_movie

http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com

 

Chance For Practice

Posted on by kathousekelli70

We found out that a cowboy club match was happening up at Belmont near Brisbane today. So with a chance to get in a practice and the last shoot for Jack for a while we decided to go up to the Metro.

Just a straight forward range, set up with a couple of stages, there were 9 of us turned up to shoot 5 stages with Carter Moss.

Here are the results from today, a good win for Jack! (aka Ricochet in Aus)

 

Good luck to all the Aussie's heading over to New Zealand for the Trans Tasman, Duel Down Under. Kick some butt and bring the trophy back home!

Kat xo

 

 

Gold Coast Gamblers Club Champs

Posted on by kathousekelli70

The beginning of Feb saw a group of Cowboys and Cowgirls get together for the Gold Coast Gamblers Club Championships for 2015.

It was a hot and humid day for the 23 that showed up for some fun and action.

 

Five stages were shot and then it was time for pack up, dinner, bragging, drinks and awards.

It came down to inlaws and outlaws – seeing as there were some that weren't club members.

Jack and I were both awarded our trophies for our category wins in the Pat Garrett Champs. For the Club Champs, Jack finished 2nd in Seniors and 8th overall. I finished 1st in Lady Wrangler and 2nd overall.

 

As usual it was lots of fun, laughter and having digs at each other.

Congratulations to the overall Club Champions (the inlaws) for 2015 being Mad Dog Tannen for the Men's and Trixie for the Ladies!

 

They deal in lead friend,

Kat xo

 

Guerilla? Or Just an Outlaw

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Jesse James was one of the most famous or infamous outlaws of the American west – robbing stage coaches, banks, trains, and leader of the James-Younger gang.

Why am I talking about Jesse James you might ask? And where does the guerilla bit come into it?

Well, once upon a time, in a land far far away….lol, no simple really. Jesse and his brother Frank James were confederate guerrilla's (also known as bushwackers). Road Runner, fellow Okie when we are there, requested a Jesse James guerrilla shirt.

With eyebrows slightly raised, of course I accepted the challenge and had him send me a picture. (As seen below)

 

Not hard really, finally found fabric that would drape nicely in the required grey, a simple black bias binding should work and found some studs that could replicate the trim.

It came time in the book to get onto this one and so I fiddled around with a pattern and created the very simple oversized guerilla shirt with slanted rounded pockets. Ta dah! Road Runner's guerilla shirt.

(Hmm they could actually have had more slant on the pockets now seeing it on the mannequin, noticeable when it's laying flat)

These shirts with their pockets shaped like that apparently made for ease of carrying extra ammo and accessibility to it. (so I've heard)

Personally I'm thinking that if you are galloping around on a horse at break neck speed you might lose it but then I thought about the drape of the fabric and figured it might well stay put due to the weight of the ammo.

The guerrilla shirts were often made by wives or sweethearts, some were elaborately embroidered, some plain, some with a placket and collar, made from various fabrics and patterns. According to civil war websites the shirts originated in Missouri but were similarly worn down through Texas.

Here are some more examples worn by the Duvall brothers and Bloody Bill Anderson.

 

All very different indeed!

And the whole guerrilla story with William C Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson is a tale for another day.

Cheers

Kat xo

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James#Quantrill.27s_Raiders

http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/civil_war_history/v058/58.2.beilein.pdf

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-guerrilla-shirt.26529/

 

What’s in a New Year?

Posted on by kathousekelli70

Jack and I wish all our family and friends, near and far, a wonderful, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! May 2016 bring you all the joy and blessings you deserve.

 

We spent New Year's Eve at Ripley with some of the Queensland cowboys and my little one – shooting 4 stages, enjoying dinner and drinks afterwards with a few ringing in the New Year with a black powder salute.

 

Our New Year will hold a healthier Jackaroo, more travel and living each day to the fullest. You never know what's around the corner so make each and every day count – 365 days for 365 new memories.

Use them wisely 😉

Love to you all

Kat xo

 

Australian Nationals 2015

Posted on by kathousekelli70

A quick trip to Harrington, catching up with an old friend from school (Heidi was the cool friend with red gym boots!) and we made the trek south again to Newcastle staying another fun filled night with a certain little princess sporting her new Frozen dance skirt.

Monday we headed to the range and over the next few days got stuck into 'building' in the bunkhouse. We finished lining it with timber panels, beading, installing shelving and a new corner to the existing, sort-of-a-shelf. We made and installed coat racks, cutting 3 from the old one and making another 5.

The sewing machine also came in handy for hemming curtains for the window, dressing room and showers.

 

We got the guns back into our hands and got the muscle memory happening and seemed reasonably happy with a practice. Things were looking okay.

Come Thursday the campers are definitely rolling in and the fun is beginning, side matches and Warm Up match were held on a particularly warm Friday! 42C/108F

Beers, catch ups and posse marshal walk through was done and dusted.

94 shooters fronted up Saturday and Sunday with, thankfully, cooler and sensible shooting weather days. 6 stages held each day. Movement, reloads, and good stage design.

Don't know what it was though but with only 2 clean shooters for the match, the rest of us had too many misses!

However, we had a great Posse and paired up with Posse 4 we had as much fun as you could get! Posse 3 and 4 – myself, Jackaroo/Ricochet, Chuckwagon and my Margarita Sista Pearl Starr, Gopher, Squints, Kitty Pearl and Sidewinder Sam, Dam Sam, Walker, Tom Mix, Henry Moon, S.O.B., Hoodoo Brown, Tin Star, Black Jack, Holy Ollie, and Sodbuster – if I have it right. (First time I haven't taken a photo of our posse list so I did get it right)

Saturday night we had the shindig and gambling.

 

Then Sunday it was all over bar the shouting. Jack finished 1st in Senior and 6th overall. I finished 1st in Lady Wrangler, 2nd Lady and 8th overall. There was 1 rank point and 0.07sec between Jack and I.

Above photo's courtesy of S.Sedger.

A big congratulations to RC Shot and Jazzi Jess, Men's and Ladies Overall Champions for this years 2015 Australian National Championship!

Congrats!

Kat xo

 

Broken Hill, NSW

Posted on by kathousekelli70

We are now on our way along the Silver City Hwy taking us to Broken Hill in far west New South Wales.

We had a couple of nights in Mildura and a chill out day. Got 4 corsets finished and one sent away to its new owner. Piping done and pinned for a “yellow” project and more bling and stars for the “teal” project.

 

Now, if I just get my hands on an overlocker/serger this will also include completion of a pair of pants as well and will be into other projects! Never a dull moment, love it.

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed a swim at the Motel, 36C/98F, although there hasn't really been enough hot days for the pool to warm up fully so took a little while to get used to the water, suffice to say it was very refreshing!

 

Then on recommendation we found the Curry and Tandoor Indian restaurant. Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Rogan Josh, Naan Bread, Samosa's – perfect, hot, fabulous food. Beads of sweat on Jack's brow a good indication it was good!

 

A leisurely start to the day, will take us around 3 hours to get to Broken Hill. Broken Hill is a mining town – still mining – in fact the BH in BHP Billiton is for Broken Hill (I learnt something new off Google today). It has been referred to as 'Oasis of the West', 'Capital of the Outback' but more commonly known as, and what I've always know it as, 'The Silver City'.

Broken Hill was named by Charles Sturt (the explorer) in 1844 whilst discovering the Barrier Range. Silver ore was discovered there in 1883 by a boundary rider named Charles Rasp. It was/is mined for silver, lead and zinc.

'We're on the road to nowhere……..' It's one of those long highways of nothingness travelling out here.

 

We've past a heap of wild goats, the odd emu and the only kangaroos we've seen so far were roadkill.

Made a quick pit stop at Coombah at a little servo (service station aka gas station) and met a couple from the UK who spend time visiting many countries but spend a good portion of their time in the US in Florida. Maybe we will see Susan and Martin somewhere again.

 

So we are now in Broken Hill at our friends, Lusty Pearl and Slap Happy (aka Phil and Helen Grossi), they are Still Memories Digital Photography and cowboy pards.

Tonight (Tuesday) We are down at the Palace taking pics of the Muscle Cars that are participating in the Aussie Muscle Car Run. This is a charity run for Leukemia Foundation, 7 days, 2,218 kilometres.

 

The Palace is famous for featuring some of the filming of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert both here in Broken Hill and some in the little town of Silverton on the outskirts of town.

The Palace has also just had a tribute show to Priscilla called Broken Heel. The shoe sits in the foyer of this unusually Australian ornate painted hotel.

 

Wednesday was spent chillaxing and applying more bling and cutting out of leather work for a costume whilst watching Boondock Saints. A BBQ s Ned off under the Bali hut at Stonegrill@Grosso's. Love it. Thanks for having us guys, was great to catch up with you again!

Kat n Jack xo

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Hill,_New_South_Wales

https://www.facebook.com/StillMemoriesDigitalPhotography/

http://www.aussiemusclecarrun.com

http://thepalacehotelbrokenhill.com.au/#!/index