by Someone Who Knows

    
    Have you ever looked around you at a cowboy shooting match and wondered where all those people come from, what their lives are like, or what attracted them to such a sport? Each is unique. They are young and old, short and tall, light and dark, male and female, experienced old hands or totally green. Some are hot dogs always looking for an edge, and others shoot month after month, year after year, knowing they'll never hear their names called when the awards are handed out. And then there are those who find Cowboy Action Shooting to be a welcome and entertaining extension of their personal experiences and lifestyles. Here's one of that kind ...

    Chuck Lewis can't remember exactly when he fired his first long gun, but it was a little after the time he shot his first pistol, and that was in 1941, an old revolver carried by a railroad detective friend of the family. He was hooked. For years all his early guns were used (poor guy: various classic handguns and old original Winchesters, and things like that), but it wasn't until 1952 that he bought his first new rifle, the popular .30-30 Winchester Model '94 carbine. That thing has been all over the continent, and is still in perfect condition, as are all of his guns. His parents had bought him a new .22 rifle as a kid, but he was proudest of that '94 because he had bought it from his own farm labor earnings. Of the one hundred twenty-five guns he has owned, only thirteen have been new when purchased.
    Most old photos of Chuck show a revolver on his hip, and he's been carrying continually since age eighteen. Handguns, too, were older used pieces, and he prefers heavy caliber single-actions. Though he purchased a new Ruger Single Six .22 when they first became available to him in 1955, it was Colts he loved and wished that company would produce the Single Action Army again. They finally did start again at the end of 1955, but, yikes, who could afford the outlandish price of $125.00 to get one? It was his wife Pat who bought him his first new .45 Colt SAA in 1959, a 5-1/2 incher that rode his hip thereafter. His holster-and-belt rigs were always of the old traditional style, usually from El Paso Saddlery or the great old Lawrence Company of Portland.
    Today all of Chuck's Colt SAA .45s are early second-generation models, and he has pairs of them in all three major barrel lengths and even the 3-inch Sheriff's Model, as well as others. Over the years they've all had action jobs and personal attention by his favorite Coltsmith, Bob James (Arizona Thumber), of Glendale, Arizona. Chuck uses them all in matches now for more variety of experience and fun.
    His rifles include several original Winchesters, and his favorite original Model '73 is a pristine rifle in .38-40 caliber. He shoots another Model '73 at cowboy matches, and carts around a Model '92 as a backup. His cowboy shotgun is a sawed-off 12 ga. side-by-side.
    Chuck's son, Chip Lewis, alias Cubicle Cowboy (SASS #423) and a die-hard western traditionalist, actually was in the formal sport of Cowboy Action Shooting^. earlier than his father was, and he finally convinced the old man to get into this new game. Chuck thought it was great that this sport let him use the same guns in shooting matches that he had always carried and used anyway. He shot Traditional, of course, but competed in the Senior category since 1991 and now competes as an Elder Statesman (shooters over age 70). The third consecutive generation hunter/shooter in the family is Chip's son, Matt Lewis, alias Chevelon Kid (SASS #61789). The family tradition is in good hands.
    Chuck was in cowboy shooting quite a while before he convinced himself that the sport was here to stay and that it was time to finally join the Single Action Shooting Society. His first SASS alias was Tex Cobb, chosen in memory of an old (1872-1962) pioneer and Texas cowboy and gunman of that name who had been a friend of his in Alaska and who had been written of many times in various publications. But with so many other shooters named Tex-this-or-that, or Texas-somebody, or some-kind-of-Texan, he later changed his alias. 
    As the cowboy shooter known as Dust Devil (SASS #2147), he has piled up about a hundred and fifty awards. For five consecutive years, 1994-1998, he received Winter Range Top Ten National Championship buckles, and in 1996 he won the silver buckle as first-place senior of the year from the Arizona Cowboy Shooters Association. He's never felt he was shooting competitively, only against himself. He's not really obsessed by awards, anyway, and is little impressed by some of the gamesmanship he now sees in cowboy shooting. He has always perceived cowboy matches as social events, and has more fun now simply shooting and handling the Colts and Winchesters that he loves.
    He never practices and has always shot cowboy matches using only the experience and familiarity with his guns developed early in life under real and practical conditions. He has never found much personal use for modern military arms, rapid-fire sporting rifles, ungainly-looking high capacity pistols, or any of the new cartridges that seem to come out every month. He feels if he can consistently take mule deer at 300 yards with his old .270, then he can do the same against a bad guy armed with an Uzi at the same range. (We think he sees another Ruby Ridge in his future!)
    Chuck is old fashioned and stubborn regarding his unequivocal sense of honesty and integrity, and wastes little time on those lacking the same qualities. His personal code of ethics has always been evident in his role as vendor coordinator over many years at Winter Range, and also for the Arizona Cowboy Shooters Association. Most people who know him or have dealt with him would concur in a heartbeat. Also, if you have no sense of humor you'll never understand him.
    Chuck is a member of the the National Rifle Association (NRA);  the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS); Wickenburg Sportsmen's Club (WSC); the Rio Salado Cowboy Action Shooting Society (RSCASS); and the Arizona Cowboy Shooters Association (ACSA). Many years ago he served three years on the board of ACSA, ending his service as an elected President. His wife Pat (Lady Gambler), is an associate member of ACSA. Chuck is also one of the original board members (badge #7) of the Arizona Territorial Company of Rough Riders, who produce the Winter Range National Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting at Phoenix, Arizona, and he has worked every Winter Range since the first one in 1992. He retired as an active director after Winter Range 2000, and was elected to the board of trustees for life and is still always there doing what he can to make everyone feel welcome.
     
   
     
(NOTE: The preceding article has been revised and edited from a publisher's synopsis of author personal background, and has been expanded to pertain to the interests of the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting).

Copyright 2008 CHL Book Enterprises