A shootout Saturday at Cottonwood Grove pitted cowboy against cowboy and husband against wife and tourists vying for fastest draw in the West - or at least at Tanque Verde Ranch Resort, 14301 E. Speedway.
The Old Pueblo Gunfighters, one of the newest Cowboy Fast Draw Association-sanctioned clubs and the second in Arizona, hosted the event. It featured "real guns, real holsters, wax bullets, the nicest folks and a whole lotta fun" according to a flier for the event.
In the blink of an eye, the top fast-draw cowboys can "draw, cock and shoot from the hip," said Old Pueblo president Anthony "Buckshot" Chavez. "It takes the average person 2 (10ths) to 4/10ths of a second to blink. 'The Draw' shoots in the 30s, so that's 3/10s of a second."
"The Draw," as Apache Junction's Francis Carlos is called, is a two-time Cowboy Fast Draw Association national champion.
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He made the trip to Tucson to support the new club.
The competition is keen for Carlos and others, but the group, which advertises that it is "dedicated to the cowboy way," is also about camaraderie and fun.
Glen Gold, whose cowboy handle is "Newt Romine," has been involved with fast draw since 1959, off and on.
"I can't even hit the water if I fall out of the boat," he joked. "But I have fun."
Find out more
Go to
• www.cowboyfastdraw.com for more information about cowboy fast draw and the Old Pueblo Gunfighters.
Contact photographer Jeffry Scott at 954-3156 or jscott@azstarnet.com.
