Shot through the heart: fast draw is alive and well in Ohio
The Ohio Newsroom | By Ygal Kaufman
Published September 20, 2024 at 5:15 AM EDT

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Brian "Doc" Hric, of the Buckeye Rangers, fires in competition at an Ohio Fast Draw Association event in Bellefontaine, Ohio.Many of the traditions of the American West are lost to us now. Most will never know what it’s like to ride a wagon train, move a herd of cattle out of state or die of consumption.
But there’s still one great cowboy pastime that can be enjoyed, and Ohio is at the heart of it.
Brian "Doc" Hric, or Doc Newberry, is a mainstay at Ohio fast draw competitions, and hopes to travel internationally to pursue the hobby in the future.The sport of fast draw is thriving, and Ohio has the oldest still-running organization that specializes in this unique activity that is as much art and performance as it is sport.
Drag racing with a firearm
The Ohio Fast Draw Association (OFDA) holds events in cities across the state, often renting out spaces that are suited to their specific needs.
At a recent event in Bellefontaine, Ohio, a small city north of Dayton, they rented out the Logan County Fish & Game hall, a remote one-story building off Route 68.
The room was harshly lit by fluorescents, the smell of sulfur, from the gunfire, hung in the air and conversation was regularly punctuated by the sound of two shots.
Fast drawing revolvers for sport can be compared drag racing, according to some who compete in the sport.Brian "Doc" Hric is Vice President of the Buckeye Rangers, a fast draw club out of Willoughby, as well as secretary for the Ohio Fast Draw Association.
"Well, the sport of fast draw – because we say fast draw, people think, 'Oh, you must be some kind of an artist.' Well, technically we are, but we don't draw anything," said Hric.
Western fast draw as a sport isn't nearly as old as the activity it recreates. In the 1800s, fast draw was a life or death situation with two people facing each other and the faster draw shooting, and often killing, the other person first.
The sport of fast draw started in the late 1950s at a well-known California tourist attraction, Knott’s Berry Farm, according to Hric.
"That's where it originally was created by a couple of workers there ... and it kind of grew and went on from there. In the '60s and '70s, there was fast draw clubs all over the United States. They used to put contests on at casinos in Las Vegas, where some of the actors would go, like Clint Eastwood and Glenn Ford and people like that, and actually participate in those," said Hric.
Ohio Fast Draw Association, which started in 1960, is the nation’s oldest sanctioning body in the sport. They set up events every month in cities all over the state and clubs like Buckeye Rangers and others come to compete.
The sport, of course, has lower stakes than the historical version of gunfighting; nobody is shooting at anything but a target. In the sport of fast draw, competitors line up side by side and on an activated signal, they both draw their six shooters and fire, with the target reading their speeds. A really quick speed can be between three tenths and four tenths of a second, while the elite can go even faster.
"What I like to refer to this as: this is like drag racing. But instead of a car you're using a firearm," said Hric. 
Showdown in Bellefontaine
One of the fastest shooters of the day in Bellefontaine was Laura Campbell, of Quincy, Ohio. She’s been shooting since 2007, when she and her husband picked up the hobby.
There used to be a women’s division, but a lack of participants led the association to fold the divisions together, so now Campbell goes up against her husband and all the other men.
"This is, this is like the second contest that I've competed with the men and the contest we had the beginning of the morning. I won that contest, so, yeah ... I beat him. I beat them all," Campbell said with a laugh.
Campbell relished the opportunity to go back home to Quincy with a victory under her belt.
"I have a group of ladies that I go out to lunch with once a month, and that's the first thing they say, 'Hey, Quickdraw, how you go? Have you got a contest? Did you win? Did you win? Because if you didn't win, we won't make fun of you, you know?'" Said Campbell.
Campbell said she and her husband were never into guns before discovering the sport, which was inspired by their abiding love for Western film and TV.
Laura Campbell and her husband came from nearby Quincy, Ohio, to compete in Bellefontaine, where she posted some of the fastest times of the day.Respecting the iron
Like many sports that include an element of danger, the sport of fast draw is highly focused on safety. In their case, gun safety is the name of the game, and one of their guiding principles.
"We do not shoot live ammunition. There is no live ammunition shot in the sport of fast draw. We use what is called as a wax bullet," said Hric.
Competitors assemble their own shells with wax loads and a shot shell primer, that uses no gunpowder, to propel them. It’s important that the wax mixture is just right; too soft and the load won’t make it to the target in one piece, too hard and it will bounce off and possibly fly back at the shooter.
Some of the wax bullets used in competition during the process of assembly. The wax bullets are non-lethal, but can still pack a painful sting if a stray shot hits a person.Tony Wisen is the chairman of the Ohio Fast Draw Association.
"So we we have race guns and we have stock guns. So stock guns can still shoot live ammunition, which you don't do in competition. And you're not allowed to have live ammunition anywhere near a competition," said Wisen.
Race guns are modified with lighter barrels and other parts made out of aluminum for a faster draw time. Those guns can't shoot real bullets.
Tony Wisen is the Chairman of the Ohio Fast Draw Association, and also one of its fastest shots.A western tradition
Perhaps the most important part of the sport is its reverence of the American western tradition. The act of fast drawing revolvers is itself an homage to the Wild West, but beyond that, competitors don't just show up to competition in the same garb — or persona — that they'd wear into work at an office on Monday.
"Western wear is mandatory. Now to what degree you want to take that Western wear, that's up to the individual. We've had people dress in all buckskin fringes," said Hric.
It doesn’t stop at the clothes. Most of the competitors at these events are old enough to have grandchildren. And much like their kids and grandkids do at comic-cons and cosplay gatherings, many fast draw competitors show up to events in character.
"In Ohio fast draw, you do not have to have a character or take a handle. There are other organizations that do, and that's what they go by. People don't know what a shooter's real name is. They know them by their handle, or their character, which is kind of neat," said Hric.
Though OFDA does not require one, many choose to still come to events in character. For Hric, a retired fire department paramedic with a touch of asthma who already went by the nickname "Doc," an immediate parallel presented itself in the form of one of the most famous figures of the Wild West era.
"Okay, I chose Doc Newberry, who is an offshoot of Doc Holliday," said Hric, referencing the famed ally of Wyatt Earp. Holliday fought with Earp in the gunfight at the OK Corral, perhaps the most famous gunfight in American history, suffered from tuberculosis and notably was also in the medical profession.
As Doc Newberry, Hric competes and also shares his love of history and the American west with other competitors and spectators.
Brian Hric as his character, Doc Newberry, is a staple at all Ohio Fast Draw Association events."I didn't feel like dressing up as Star Wars and shooting lasers, so I decided to do this instead," said Hric.
A deep abiding love for cowboy culture is the bolo tie that binds all the spectators and competitors at fast draw events, even more than shooting or competition. And one cowboy figure towers above the rest in terms of influence.
"John Wayne is my absolute hero. I love my John Wayne," said Laura Campbell.
"I'm a big John Wayne fan ... I grew up with Westerns, the Don Knotts comedy westerns. Yeah, the John Wayne, Clint Eastwoods. So I was really into Westerns," said Wisen.
"I wanted a large loop lever put on my rifle like John Wayne. Because John Wayne was my hero. That's the guy that I love watching his Westerns," said Hric.
Brian "Doc" Hric (left) and Tony Wisen (right) have a laugh as they wait for their next turn to shoot at the Logan County Fish & Game hall in Bellefontaine, Ohio.The shadows of figures like Wayne, Eastwood, and other cowboy movie legends, like Glenn Ford (who was notable for being the fastest draw in real life, not just his films) loom large over the sport and all the gatherings.
As much as fast draw is a competition, it's also a performance, an oral history session and a chance to gather with friends.
 
At the end of a loud day of shooting and living out their childhood—and sometimes adulthood—dreams, the cowboys and cowgirls of Ohio Fast Draw always seem to have a blast reliving history in their own unique way.
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Ygal Kaufman
Ygal is a multimedia journalist for Ideastream who creates content for web, radio and TV.
See stories by Ygal Kaufman

By; Michelle Friesen   Herald-News

Two cowboys stand transfixed on their target,trembling fingers nearly grazing the six-shooter in their holsters.  In the
next instant, the crack of a shot resounds,and the fastest gunslinger is declared victor.

Dayton may not be the usual scene for a western showdown, but this year, Strawberry Festival – goers can enjoy
 the thrill of a quick draw.  The Southeast Tennessee Fast Draw Club is hosting a shootout at  Point Park, and spectators are invited to witness the two-day event May 16 & 17.

“It’s an attraction that will add to the festival,”said Kerry Nabors, chairman of the Tennessee Strawberry Festival Committee.  “It’s certainly something that from reputation has drawn people’s interest.”

Only members of the fast draw association can participate in the event, according to Adolf Spiegelhalter, who plans to compete in May.

Spiegelhalter and his wife, Vicki, moved to Dayton in 2000 and since then have been engrossed in what is known as the fastest timed sport in the world.

“It keeps me alert,” Adolf said.

Adolf got into the sport because of his mentor Jim Hall, who has a reputation as one of the fastest gunmen in the area.  But Hall isn’t the only local shooter the couple has befriended – nearly 10 other Rhea County sportsmen compete with them.  

“You have a fellowship of other shooters,” said Vicki.

The couple enters up to six competitions each year in the Southeast. Adolf noted that even though his wife started the sport after he did, she often outdraws him.

“I shot one or two times before I competed,” said Vicki.

The Strawberry Festival Shootout will mirror many of the Spiegelhalter’s competitions.

The contest will begin at 9:30 am on Saturday and will break for the Strawberry festival parade before resuming in the afternoon.  Sunday’s event will begin at 9 am.

In a typical round, two or four shooters dressed in western garb will stand at a measured distance from the targets near Richland Creek.

Each target displays a timed light that switches on to  signal shooters to draw and fire their weapons.  The timer will calculate, down the hundredths of a second, who hit his target first.       

The quick draw normally spans a fraction of a second, he said. “A good shooter will get a quarter – to one – third second,”said Newman.  “ You have to be not only fast, but also acute.”     

During every round, gunslingers will have the opportunity to fire five shots on average. 

“It’s an up and down sport,” said Adolf.  “Some are very good shooters, but that doesn’t mean they are going to do
well.”

Fast draws are not new to the festival, but several years have passed since the last duel, which was held at Rhea county Courthouse.   According to city manage Frank Welch; the first go-around alarmed a lot of people because it took place in downtown Dayton.

“Shots fired from the sheriff’s department tend to scare people,” laughed Dayton City Councilman, Billy Graham.

Newman presented this year’s event to the city council on Monday, saying that the new location at Point
Park’s two covered pavilions would ensure added safety.

Shooters will not use live ammo.  In addition, safety officers will monitor each gunman.

Dayton Police Chief Chris Sneed agreed with Newman.

“Most of the shooters are as trained as we are with a weapon, so I don’t think there’s going to be a safety
issue,” he said.

Written by;  Beth L. Jokinen, Lima News

 KENTON - Jim Miller calls himself a 56-year-old cowboy.  And he has the hat, gun and holster to prove it, not to mention a pretty fast draw.  Miller, of Orwell, spent Saturday in Kenton competing at the Ohio State
Championship Fast Draw Match.

"When I was a kid, I watched ‘Bonanza,' ‘Gunsmoke' and all those," he said between rounds.

The contest, which has "cowboys and "cowgirls" competing for the quickest draw and best accuracy, is
part of the annual Gene Autry Days. Activities celebrating the life of the likes of Gene Autry, who visited
 Kenton in the 1930s, continue today at the Hardin County Fairgrounds.

Onlookers watched competitors dressed like the cowboys of old shoot wax bullets at a target. Some young onlookers, also dressed as cowboys, imitated their seniors.

Paul Elliott, of Ashtabula County, stood with a slight bend ready to draw and shoot. He's been competing for three years. The key, he said, is shooting "right out of the holster."  "We let our minds  aim the gun," he said. "Your mind points your hand in the right direction. It's practice, practice. You work on accuracy, and speed comes along as you
go."

Tom Lechner's dad used to shoot and compete, so he naturally followed. Lechner, of Lancaster, Pa., says it's all about the mind-set, something he is still practicing. "You have to control your nerves. I get excited," he said, adding that a big part of the attraction is the "whole cowboy thing."

Most competitors take it seriously and practice multiple times a week if not every day. Not the case for Dale Searls, who has been at it for 48 years, along with his wife, Susie. "The only time we shoot anymore is when we go," said
Searls, who says he may not be as quick anymore, but still tops most when it  comes to accuracy. He rarely misses a target.  Searls, of Norwalk, also grew up watching Westerns on television and likes being around others with the same interest.  I enjoy talking about the Old West," he said. "But there were very few real gunfights. Just a lot of Hollywood gunfights."

 Mike & Dorianna Dobson
Former Calhoun resident and retired state trooper Mike Dobson, who now resides in
Rome, has been competing for 16  months – and has already proven to be a top
contender in the sport.  His fastest time is 0.231, shooting from a distance of
eight feet at a 14-inch square target.

He owes much of his success with fast draw to Cartersville Booth Museum Director of
Special Projects Jim Dunham and longtime gunfighter Dennis “Smiley” Walton of
Tennessee. These two gentlemen really love this sport and don’t want to see it
die out. Both are members of the Rusty Guns Fast Draw Club, out of
Rome. 

Dobson's 12-year-old daughter, Dorianna, is also the women’s  Ohio Fast Draw Association Southern Division Top Gun Champion for 2008. 

C.W. Barrett Jr., owner of the Barrett’s Gun Store here, sponsors three contests in
Calhoun each year - two in April and one in October. 

You won’t find any mean hombres pushing up daisies on Boot Hill this weekend in Mentor.

Then again, the Northcoast National Gunslingers Championship are much more family-friendly
than is HBO’s critically acclaimed series “Deadwood”.

The annual fast-draw tournament begins Friday and concludes Sunday.

Some of the fastest Western-style six-gun shooters are expected to compete, with award points
going toward the sport’s overall national championship.

All of this weekend’s scheduled activities are set for Gunny’s Hall, 8720 Twinbrook Drive, in Mentor.

Spectators can even try their hand at supervised quick-draw shooting from noon to 6 p.m. 
Friday, as well as Sunday following the day’s competition, said Ron Paul Duning of Willowick, the event’s
organizer.  
“We’ll probably have 30 of the country’s best Western quick-draw artists with competitors
 coming from as far away as Florida and Canada,’ Duning said.

He said this is the 23rdyear for the Northcoast Nationals, which has become one of the most important and “talked about shoots in the country.”

“We do some special title shoots that are found no where else, like our “Fastest Guns on Earth,”
Duning said.

“We also were the ones who, developed‘Rolling Thunder’ contest, which features the use of three firearms: a six-gun, a cowboy-style lever-action rifle and a double-barrel shotgun.”

Duning – who holds the world record for this event – has fired nine rounds from all three firearms in under 6.2 seconds in the Rolling Thunder contest.

“I’m going to try and match that time this year,”  Duning said.

Each shooter during the contest will use authentic-style firearms shooting either blanks or low powered cartridges using wax bullets.

The shooters also dress the part, wearing period costume and assuming a Western-style name.

On Friday from noon to 6 p.m.is the “Gunny’s Gulch Showdown” and will include teams from the event’s sponsors as well as media.

Open practice for the real gunslingers also is scheduled for this time. Saturday’s competition starts at 9 a.m. and runs until 6p.m. featured for this day’s activities is the Worldwide Double Gun Championship.” The Fastest Guns on Earth” and the Cowboy Action event, “Rolling Thunder.”

Sunday’s event is the final competition for the 2006 Northcoast Nationals top gun honors. It will run from 9a.m. to 5
p.m.  The public is invited to watch for free any portion of the competition.

When the margin of victory can be decided by 1/1000 of a second, it’s natural to feel
a little jumpy, said Tyler Roberts, a 13-year old gunslinger from Painesville Township.

“You get kind of shaky and nervous and you sweat a lot,” said Tyler, who
showed no signs of such anxiety while awaiting his next chance to shoot Saturday
at the Northcoast National Gunslingers Championship in Mentor.

“We came here last year and me and my dad ended up trying it and we
really liked it,” said Tyler, an eight-grader at John R. Williams Junior High
School in Painesville Township.

“I like guns and I’ve always been into cowboys.  It’s a real fun sport.”   
The annual fast-draw tournament began Friday and concludes today.    Some of the fastest
Western-style six-gun shooters are expected to compete, with award points going
towards the sport’s overall national championship.  
All of this weekend’s activities are being held at Gunny’s Hall, 8720 Twinbrook Drive
in Mentor.

Spectators can try their hand at supervised quick draw shooting from
noon to 6p.m. today following the day’s competition,  said Ron Paul Duning of Willowick, the event’s
 organizer.  This is the 23rdyear for the Northcoast Nationals, which has become on of the
most important and “talked about shoots in the country,” Duning said.

Today’s event is the final competition for the 2006 Northcoast Nationals
top gun honors.  It will run from 9a.m. to 5 p.m. 
The public is invited to watch any portion of the competition for free. 
 
Duke Bonnett, a participant from Union and longtime member of the
 Ohio Fast Draw Association, said competitions draw people from all walks of
  life, from salespeople to doctors, lawyers and chief executive officers in the
  corporate world.   “Some are more naturally talented than others,” Bonnett said. 
“It’s as much mental as it is physical. It requires a great deal of
concentration and focus in order to get a good reaction  time".

Competitors only use wax bullets powered by a shot shell primer, no
powder, or full powder blanks, according to association guidelines.  
All wax bullets are fired at a stationary steel target and all blanks are
fired at a balloon target.

Safety is always a priority in fast draw competitions, as participants do
not use live ammunition, Bonnett said.


           
Bonnett is quite proud that to his knowledge, there has never been a
serious accident in a competition.

Article from the News Herald, Sept. 10, ‘04

Area get taste of the Old West
Ohio Fast Draw Association holds event in Mentor

Between President Bush’s visit Saturday, the Great Geauga County Fair,
the Cleveland National Air Show and a host of other Labor Day diversions,
Northeast Ohio has had a busy weekend.

In the midst of it all, some dedicated six-gun lovers found time to keep
the Old West alive in Lake County.

Members of the Ohio Fast Draw Association showed up from as far away as
Marylandthis weekend to the annual Buckeye Rangers’ Northcoast National Gunslingers Championship.

It took place Saturday and Sunday at the U.S. Marine Corps League’s Gunny
Hall on Twinbrook  Road in Mentor.

Some folks had their sights set on a trophy and – more importantly – a
year’s worth of bragging rights, while others were just there to watch.

“I love‘em,” said Concord Townshipresident Gary Kern, when
asked about his interest in firearms. “Especially old guns, and I’m definitely into Western Stuff.”

Kern was in the right place Sunday, as the contest consisted of dozens of
experts in the art of drawing and firing their single-action pistols in a fraction of a second.

And as far as the Western stuff goes, these quick-draw artists do it all
in Hollywood-looking cowboy attire which, for people like Kern, bring back memories of their favorite childhood television shows.

“Oh, wow,”Kern said after being asked to list a few of his
favorites.

“Man, there were all the movies – like the Carradines in ‘em.  There was ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘The Rifleman.’ ‘High
  Chaparral’.”

Melissa Kern, Gary’s wife, agreed.

“I grew up watching that stuff with my dad and my uncle,” she said.

Believe it or not, the whole gunslinging sport itself has been around for
as long as some of those TV shows.

At 67, Fred“Hondo” Bratton said it was neither television nor the big
screen that got him into the sport.

Bratton, the event spokesman Sunday, draw a pretty quick six-shooter
himself.
I started doing this in 1956, he said. “ I’ve always been a gun nut, and
back then, I was stationed in California with the U.S. Navy.”
He saw an advertisement from a famous gunslinger and decided it was time
to invest in a custom-made quick draw holster.
When he went to the shop to pick it up, he was treated to a quick-drawing
lesson from the man from the ad – who turned out to be a quick-draw teacher to
the stars, Orva Ojala.

According to Ron Paul Duning of Willowick, there are anywhere from 2,000
to 3,000 fast draw enthusiasts from not only the U.S., but also places like
Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and Spain.

“Out of that, there are probably 1,000 heavy competitors,” he said. “And
out of that, you have your top guns who are here today.”
According to Duning, contestants competing in the weekend’s events
measure the time it takes them to draw and fire their pistols down to the
thousandths of a second.
He should know, for four years now, he’s held the title of fastest gun on
earth,” with a quick-draw time of .234 of a second.

He said although the bulk of the quick-draw competitors are in his age
range (he’s 53), a number of the younger enthusiasts are giving the older
quick-draw artists a run for their money.

One such up-and-comer hails from Mayfield Village. 
Thirteen-year-old Phil Eneper said he’s been into guns since he was 3.
Ten years later, he’s holding his own against guys three time his age in
the “Rolling Thunder” event, in which shooters have to hit nine balloons with
three different fire arms in rapid succession.

 13 year old Phil (Sparky) Enneper, competed in his first    contest in
Mentor at the    Buckeye Rangers Northcoast   National Gunslinger’s
Championship.     
Phil & his dad, Rich, are new members to the OFDA.

Three guns are laid out on a table, in front of a simulated bar.  There are balloons attached to the
front of the bar and on a wall behind the bar, and contestants shoot each
forearm until they’re empty, and then move onto the next.  
Phil cleared out all the weapons –and balloons- in 10.6 seconds.  Not bad for his first
competition.
 

Thought everyone would like to read the article The News-Herald, Cleveland, Oh had on the Buckeye Rangers match, held in Mentor, Ohio.  The contest was held September 4th & 5th, 2004.   
The writer name is:  Jeffrey L. Frischkorn   

                                        Fast Draw Artists Converge on Mentor

  
   Not quite as fast as a speeding bullet                          Duning said the next event allows            
but still quicker than the blink of an eye,                         use of both hands and for the“fanning”
some of the nation’s leading fast-draw                           of the handgun’s hammer, as often seen
artists go six-gun to six-gun in Mentor                            in Hollywood Westerns.
this weekend.                                                                  “We treat these events with safety     
     The annual Buckeye Rangers North-                         always in mind, just as if they were fired   
coast National Gunslingers Championship                     with full-charge rounds.”  Duning also said.
is Saturday and Sunday at the U.S.                                From 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, the competi-
Marine Corps League’s Gunny’s Hall,                             tion will feature the Double Gun World-
8720 Twinbrook Dr.                                                         wide Championship.
 Hours for the competition are 9a.m. to 8                        Here, participants shoot two handguns
p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.                            simultaneously at individual targets set
Sunday.                                                                           up 6 feet apart.  The object is to hit both
  Competition features cowboy action                             targets within 1/10 of a second of each
activities, with participants using Western-                     other.
style revolvers in various time-trail events.                     Also on Saturday starting at 2 p. m.
  In each case, it’s a matter of the fastest                        participants will engage in a cowboy
man – or woman – wins.                                                 action-style shoot in which they will
    The public also is invited for free to                             fire at nine balloon targets in a “saloon”
watch the competition, said its producer                         setting.
and a contestant, Ron Paul Duning.                               “Contestants will use rifles, handguns
    “We have shooters coming in from                               and shotguns  so it’s a very exciting event,”
Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas                            Duning said. “We use specialized rounds
and from all over Ohio,” Duning said.                               designed just to break balloons.  
 “We even have one coming in from Canada.”                  There's  a lot of smoke and noise.”
     Each of the participants is  required to                          The Fastest Guns on Earth also is expected
dress in period, or Hollywood Western, garb.                     to draw interest.  Contest articipants may
     “It can be fancy or more traditional dress,                    display individuality in seeing who can draw
and we really try to dress the part.  Some of                   and fire accurately in the shortest amount of
us are real “fancy Dans,” Duning said.                              time.   “You will see times in this event 
     He said the contest will feature two main                    around one-quarter of a second,” Duning
shooting events for the national competition,                   said.
with points awarded toward the overall Top                     The public is invited to watch for free
Gun award for the year.                                                    and interact with the participants.
 The first contest features the competitors                        Proceeds from the event and our
employing traditional-style, one-hand gun                        sponsors will go to the Marine Corps
draw, with the shooting of a way bullet at                         League’s Toys for Tots campaign, it’s
a steel plate.                                                                     Scholarship program and Young Marines
   An electronic system records the time,                          program,”Duning said.
with most shooters being able to perform


this task in less than one-third of a


second, Duning said.

The Buckeye Rangers’ contest, from the Metro/Plain Dealer  Paper, dated Sept. 6,’04.  
Heads reads:

Gunslingers draw on western lore for awards
Competitors aim to blast record times at Mentor meet

Mentor –High noon at the makeshift OK Corral on Sunday drew some of the
nation’s fastest gunslingers – showing off their deadly aims with plastic bullets.

Among them was a lean and tall shooter named Howard Shingler, whose quick
draw and sure shot would have rivaled that of the legendary cowboy known as
Billy the Kid.

Shingler and about 30 other cowboys and cowgirls were in Mentor over the
weekend for the North Coast National Gunslinger Championship – the fastest timed
sport in the world.

Under the blinding sun these men and women of true grit – weaned on John
Wayne cowboy films and Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti westerns – filed into a
temporary shooting range at the Marine Corps League.

Some, cigarettes hanging from their lips, swaggered about as if they were
John Wesley Hardin, one of the most notorious gunfighters in the Old West.  He was shot dead in a saloon in El
Paso, Texas, in 1895.

But neither Hardin nor Wild Bill Hickok would be a match for gunslingers
of today, said Ron Paul Duning, president of the Buckeye Rangers, one of the
event’s sponsors.

Gunslingers of yesteryear took about a second to draw and fire a pistol,
Duning said.  Today, gunslingers using modified six-shooters do the same in half-second or
less.

But they do so in the digitized world of competitive gun slinging, using
plastic bullets, black-powder blanks and electronic timers to measure speed and
accuracy.  “It’s the safest shooting sport in the world,” said Duning, who on Saturday won the “Fastest Gun
on Earth” title for the fourth consecutive year.

Competition shooters do not face off as they did in the Old West, Duning
said: competitors fire at targets.

Shooter like Melinda Shingler and her father, Howard Shingler, cut
impressive figures –sharply attired in their black Wranglers, with holstered
six-shooters hanging low on their hips.

Mindy Shingler was one among a handful or women shooters at Sunday’s
affair. Half the age of most of the slingers, she is one of the fastest in the
country.  Over the weekend her  quick draw won her two“Fastest Gun on Earth” awards in the women’s
competition.

“I’m a cowgirl on the weekends and dental assistant during the week,” said Shingler, 31, of Lancaster, Pa. 
“There has to be a little cowgirl in me to do this.”  
 
The championship featured a number of categories, from the fastest
six-shooter draws to the so-called “Rolling Thunder” – in which competitors used
a pistol, shotgun and rifle to shoot several targets in a saloon setting.

During his turn, Howard Shingler sat at a makeshift saloon table facing a
barroom set with several balloon targets.   At the judge’s signal, Shingler began firing as an electronic timer
measured his shots.

Not good.  He lost precious seconds with the slip of a finger.  But it’s all fun for Shingler, 59. and others who have had romantic  notions of being cowboys since childhood.

“Most of the people shootin’ are about my age,” said Shingler, a heating
and air-conditioning mechanic.  “We
all grew up on TV westerns.   
That’s where we saw our heroes … the Lone Ranger and John Wayne. Anything western makes me
happy.”

I thought every one would enjoy reading the article written by Maggi Martin of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Ron Duning and Phil McNaughton. The article ran on August 31, 2002. 

He calls himself Buck Ranger and packs a six-shooter that can knock a villain off a horse quicker than you can say Lone Ranger.
 
Meet Ron Paul Duning, fastest gun in the East. He can fire a .22-caliber Ruger as fast as you can blink an eye.  This weekend, he will defend his title  at the Western Fast Draw Championships, at the Marine Corps League, in
Mentor.

About 50 of the best gunslingers east of the Mississippiwill be shooting for national titles at the competition, which is open to the public.  Competitors dressed in western garb complete with cowboy hats and holster, will rustle up some grub before they open fire at targets.

The shooting comes down to split-second decisions, faster than you can blink your eye, said Duning, of Willowick, who set the world record last year with a .246 second draw.  Competitors are timed from the moment that grab the gun until that hit the target set 5 to 10 feet away

Duning, a gunsmith for GanderMountain, in Mentor, one of the contest sponsors, spends most days repairing guns and rifles for customers.  Plaques and ribbons from his shooting shows line the walls among the guns he custom makes and next to films about the Wild West.

Duning, who is president of an area quick-draw club, called the Buckeye Rangers, said the competition is more about speed and precision than power.

Shooters use wax bullets propelled by a shotgun primer when they fire at targets and are timed with electronic devices.  The computer calculates a shot down to the thousandth of a second.

Duning, a former police officer in the Dayton area, took up western quick draw on a dare from a former partner 24 years ago.  He has been winning award ever since.

At a recent contest in Johnstown, Pa., Duning set four new national speed records.  He currently holds 25
national fast-draw records.

Phil McNaughton, of Chardon, vice president of Buckeye Rangers, earned
his nickname “Fireball” because he once set his leg on fire while fanning the
trigger.

“I was quicker than the trigger,” he said.  “ I had the pad under my pants smoldering.”

While some might scoff at a sport that is based in part on Western nostalgia, McNaughton, who placed fourth in international competition in Canada recently, said it takes intense mental and physical preparation to excel.

“It is the fastest-timed sport in the world,” he said.  “Precision is the key.  Like a golf swing or a Major League (baseball) pitch, you have to find your groove and practice, practice, practice.”

McNaughton said the fast-draw competition will let spectators “visit” the Wild West for a while and see some cowboy heroes perform again.

And just to prove the good guys don’t always fade away in white cowboy hats, Duning said he saddles up and heads into most sunsets in his black hat, on
his Harley.