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The Texas Star Newsletter for the Texican Rangers
A Publication of the Texican Rangers
An Authentic Cowboy Action Shooting Club
That Treasures & Respects the Cowboy Tradition
SASS Affiliated PO Box 294713
May, 2016 Kerrville 78029-4713
Officers
President
Judge GeePee 210-378 6966 [email protected]
Vice President
Sheriff Robert Love 210-215-9155
Secretary
Tombstone Mary 210-262-7464
Treasurer
Madam Ella Moon 830-739-0339
Range Master
A.D. Texaz 210-862-7464 [email protected]
Communications
Dutch Van Horn 210-823-6058
Words from the Judge
Hello the Camp:
Let me begin by thanking all the
cowboys and cowgirls that braved the
impending weather to shoot with us on
Saturday and Sunday. Even though we
got a little wet on Saturday we had a great
time, with good friends, good stages and a
great ranch to shoot on making it all
worthwhile. Sunday was also pending bad
weather; however, I did not feel a drop of
rain until we were leaving the ranch.
52 brave souls came out on Saturday
with 6 guests and 20 on Sunday with 2
guests. On Sunday our own Agarita Annie
shot the match, and needless to say she did
great. Please encourage her when you see
her. Congratulations to our overall winner
on Saturday and Sunday “Skyhawk Hans”
and to our 12 clean match shooters on
Saturday and our 1 on Sunday.
Winners of Wild Bunch/Cowboy
Match on Saturday the 30th of April were
“Leather Lung” in the Wild Bunch and
“Bison Jim” in the Cowboy Posse.
“Marshall Willy” was the winner of the
BAM Match on Sunday the 1st of May.
Now for club business, at the work day I was approached by 2 club members that are willing
to provide seed money to start a fund to purchase equipment for maintaining our range. In my
opinion I believe it would be advantageous to have a riding mower and a walk behind string
trimmer that the club owns. When we own equipment we can mow and trim as needed, not only
when we have a work day. There are members and board members who would donate their time
to come out and mow and trim as needed. Please email ([email protected]) with your
comments.
See you next match.
Judge GeePee
John Wesley Hardin
Most Dangerous Gunfighter of the Old West
Old West outlaw and gunslinger
John Wesley Hardin was born May
26, 1853, in Bonham, Texas.
Rumored to be so mean he once shot
a man for snoring, Hardin was shot
to death in El Paso on August 19,
1895, by a man he had hired to kill
someone else.
John's father, James G. Hardin,
was a Methodist preacher, lawyer,
schoolteacher, and circuit rider. His
mother was Elizabeth Hardin. At
age fourteen, John stabbed a
schoolmate. At age fifteen, he shot a
man to death in Polk County.
While fleeing from the law following that murder, he killed at least one, and possibly
four Union soldiers who were attempting to apprehend him. As a cowboy on the
Chisolm Trail in 1871, Hardin killed seven people. He killed three more upon arriving in
Abilene, Kansas. Back in Texas, following a run-in with the State Police back in
Gonzales County, Hardin got married, settled down and had three children. But he soon
resumed his murder spree, killing 4 more times before surrendering to the Cherokee
County sheriff in September 1872. He broke out of jail after a couple of weeks, however.
Hardin next killed Jack Helm, a former State Police captain, who led the fight against
the anti-Reconstructionist forces of Jim Taylor in the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Hardin had
become a supporter of Taylor's from 1873 to 1874.
In May 1874, Hardin killed a deputy sheriff in Brown County while visiting the town
of Comanche. Fleeing to Florida with his family, Hardin was captured by Texas Rangers
in Pensacola on July 23, 1877. During that flight, he killed at least one, and perhaps as
many as five more victims.
On September 28, 1878, Hardin was sentenced to twenty-five years for the Brown
County deputy's murder. He was pardoned on March 16, 1894. Having studied law while
in prison, Hardin was admitted to the Texas bar soon after his release.
In 1895, Hardin went to El Paso to testify for the defense in a murder trial. Following
the trial, he stayed and established a law practice. Just when he seemed to finally be
going straight, Hardin began an affair with one of his married female clients. Her
husband found out about the affair and Hardin hired some law officials to kill him. One
of the hired gunmen, however, Constable John Selman, shot Hardin instead.
Hardin carried a number of
firearms during his life but it was
reported he had a pair of Colt
Thunderer’s in .41 caliber when he
was killed. Hardin carried these
guns in special leather lined pockets
of his pants. He favored this method
of carry because he said he could
draw faster than a conventional
holster. Perhaps that speed was why
Selman shot him in the back.
Legend has it that his last words were, "Four sixes to beat, Henry." When killed,
Hardin was shooting dice with local furniture dealer Henry Brown at the Acme saloon in
El Paso. Thus ended the life and career of one of Texas deadliest gunslingers. Despite his
killing of over thirty people, Hardin had a reputation as a gentleman among those who
knew him, and he always claimed he never killed anyone who didn't need killing.
Captain Bill McDonald
By Dutch Van Horn
1852 - 1918
William Jesse McDonald, known as Captain Bill
McDonald was a bodyguard for both U.S. Presidents
Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and a
famous Texas Ranger Captain credited for first saying,
“One riot, one Ranger.”
Mc Donald was born in Kemper county near
Meridian, Mississippi, but relocated with his mother to
east Texas after the American Civil War.
At the age of sixteen, McDonald quarreled with
federal officials during Reconstruction and was tried
for treason but acquitted through the intervention of
future U.S. Representative David B. Culberson. He
graduated in 1872 from Soule Commercial College in
New Orleans. He became a teacher and later
established a grocery store in Mineola, Texas.
He later became a deputy sheriff in Wood County.
After he married the former Rhoda Isabel Carter, they
moved to Hardeman County, Texas where he was again
a deputy sheriff.
It was said of the mild-mannered, gentle-spoken lawman that he "would charge hell with a
bucket of water," and that he could have a pair of handcuffs on a criminal before they could offer
resistance. The man led a charmed life--no bullet could touch him, legend said. He rose from
deputy sheriff to be a special Ranger, and soon afterward was made a Deputy U.S. Marshal.
His bold tactics drove the Brookins gang from Hardeman County. McDonald also
apprehended cattle thieves and train robbers in “No Man’s Land” and the Cherokee Strip.
In 1891, Governor Hogg named McDonald to succeed Samuel A. McMurry as the captain of
Texas Rangers Company B, Frontier Battalion, a position that he retained until 1907. McDonald
and his company were involved in numerous matters throughout the state, including: the Bob
Fitzsimmons-Peter Maher prizefight in El Paso, the Wichita Falls bank robbery, the murders by
the San Saba Mob, the Reese-Townsend feud, the lynching of the Humphries clan, the Conditt
family murders, and the shootout with Mexican Americans near Rio Grande City. In all of these
events, only one Ranger, T.L. Fuller, lost his life under McDonald’s command.
Although McDonald was nearly killed in a gunfight with Sheriff John P. Matthews of
Childress County in 1893 in Quanah, he was no mythical western gunfighter. His reputation as a
gunman rested upon his easily demonstrated marksmanship, a flair for using his weapons to
intimidate opponents, and the publicity given his numerous exploits. Yet McDonald had the
ability to track outlaws, to evaluate physical evidence found at the scene of a crime, and to stand
off mobs.
His admirers see him as one of the "Four Great Captains," along with John A. Brooks, John
R. Hughes, and John H. Rogers. McDonald's detractors have portrayed him as an irresponsible
lawman who accepted questionable information, precipitated violence, hungered for publicity,
and related tall tales that cast himself in the hero's role.
This most famous and feared lawman in the history of Hardeman County--and perhaps the
entire state of Texas--went on to inspire generations of Texas Rangers and did more to foster and
preserve the Rangers' "one riot, one Ranger" credo than any other man. Without a doubt, had that
December, 1893 shoot-out never taken place, the stories of Capt. McDonald would still cover the
pages of countless history books. Guide to President Theodore Roosevelt on his famous Big
Wolf Hunt, and later a bodyguard for President Woodrow Wilson, McDonald's niche in history
was assured.
McDonald died of pneumonia in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was buried at Quanah, Texas, and
his tombstone carries the motto: “No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that’s in the
right and keeps on a-comin’.”
Famous Quotes "The next best thing to being clever
is being able to quote someone who is.”
Mary Pettibone Poole
"We are rough men and used to
rough ways."
Bob Yonger
"A jail is just like a nutshell with a
worm in it, the worm will always get out."
John Dillinger
"There were only two things the old-
time cowpunchers were afraid of: a decent
woman and being set afoot."
Teddy Blue Abbot
"Can't you hurry this up a bit? I hear
they eat dinner in Hades at twelve sharp and
I don't aim to be late."
Black Jack Ketchem, just before he
was hanged
"They say I killed six or seven men
for snoring. It ain't true. I only killed one
man for snoring”.
John Wesley Hardin
“Leave me alone and let me go to
hell by my own route.”
Calamity Jane
“I have vision, and the rest of the
world wears bifocals.”
Butch Cassidy
“Above all things, the plainsmen
had to have an instinct for direction. I never
had a compass in my life, but I was never
lost.”
Charles Goodnight
"Never run a bluff with a six-gun."
Bat Masterson
Derringers
By Dutch Van Horn The term derringer is a misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of
small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers
worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became an normal term for any pocket
pistol, along with the generic phrase palm pistol that Deringer’s competitors invented and used in their
advertising.
The original Deringer pistol was a single-shot
muzzle loading pistol called the Philadelphia
Deringer. This was the type of pocket pistol used
by John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln. With the advent of cartridge
firearms, pistols began to be produced in the
modern form but were still known as a derringer.
A derringer is generally the smallest usable
handgun of a given caliber. They were frequently
used by women, because they are easily concealable
in a purse or as a stocking gun. Due to their
compact size they were also many times carried in a
muff (a fashion accessory for keeping the hands
warm). The original cartridge derringers held only
a single round, usually a pinfire or rimfire, with the
barrel pivoted sideways on the frame to allow
access to the breech for reloading.
When Colt finally started to convert from cap
and ball technology to self-contained metallic
cartridges they were behind their competitors. As a
stop gap in 1870 Colt bought the National Arms
Company, a Brooklyn, New York, a company
known for manufacturing derringers
Colt continued to produce the .41 Short derringer
after the acquisition, as an effort to help break into
the metallic-cartridge gun market and later
produced its own rear-loading guns and cartridges.
These Colt Derringers were popular and were
manufactured until 1912.
The famous Remington derringer design doubled
the capacity, while maintaining the compact size, by
adding a second barrel on top of the first and
pivoting the barrels upwards to reload. Each barrel
then held one round, and a cam on the hammer
alternated between top and bottom barrels. The
Remington derringer was in .41 Short caliber and
achieved wide popularity. This bullet moved very
slowly, at about 425 feet per second. That is about
half the speed of a modern .45 ACP. The bullet
traveled slowly enough to be seen in flight but at
very close range, such as across a card table, it
could easily kill. The Remington derringer was
poplar and sold from 1866 to 1935.
Slightly larger than a gentleman’s pocket watch,
the Sharps Pepperbox derringer was a favorite with
gamblers and other who felt they needed protection,
but wished to keep their “ace in the hole” out of
sight. Sharps first produced its Pepperbox derringer
in .22 short rimfire, then later in .30, and .32 short
and long rimfire. One frontiersman, threatened with
a .22 derringer, slapped it out of his assailant’s hand
and said, “If anyone ever shot me with a twenty-
two, and I found out about it, I’d skin him alive!”
Also known as the colt Cloverleaf, the Colt
House Pistol as a small 4-shot single-action
revolver chambered for the .41 Short/Long rimfire.
This gun was designed to fill the same role as a
derringer: small personal protection, but with
greater ammunition capacity.
Chambered in the same .45 Short rimfire
cartridge that the Remington derringer used, it was
not a very powerful round. The 130 grain projectile
only had 13 grains of black powder to make it go.
The 4-shot cylinder had a unique shape
which led to the “Cloverleaf” nickname.
Colt made about 7500 of the standard
Cloverleaf between 1871 and 1876. They
also made another version with a 5-shot
unfluted cylinder. The popularity of guns
like this influenced other manufactures to
develop their own line of pocket pistols.
RO Corner
By Sheriff Robert Love The officers of the Texican Rangers are
offering the members something completely
different for the Saturday shoot in June. We
will be holding a 22 side match BEFORE
the main match. This will allow us to beat
the heat and all have lunch as soon as the
main match is over. A.D. Texaz & Sheriff
Robert Love will furnish guns or you can
bring your own. Since 22 Long Rifle
ammo has been hard to get, the Texican Rangers will be furnishing the ammo. We have 4
categories: Cowboy, Wild Bunch, Ladies Cowboy & Ladies Wild Bunch. Cowboy will be shot
with 5 rounds from a single action revolver and 10 rounds from a lever action or pump action
rifle. Wild Bunch will be shot with 5 rounds from a semi-auto pistol and 10 rounds from a semi-
auto rifle. Each shooter can compete in both categories if he/she wishes to. The side match will
start at 7:30 a.m. and run until 8:45 a.m. The mandatory shooters meeting will be at 9:15 with
hammers down at 9:30.
Feedback
By Tombstone Mary, Secretary
We are halfway through our shooting
year with 6 more opportunities to get your 5
matches in for annual club awards. For
those of you who are new to our club you
must shoot 5 times in one category to
qualify for annual awards. If you have any
questions about how many times you have
competed in one category, please send me
an email. If I can help answer any questions
or help with any problems, please let me
know. You can email me at
Van Horn Mercantile
FOR SALE: by Culebra Blaze
Ruger New Vaquero, .357/.38, 5.5" bbl, blued.
Like new, less than 250 rounds fired. Was a backup
before I started shooting .45 Colt. $575
Ruger Blackhawk, .357/38, 6.5" bbl, blued. Like
new, less than 250 rounds fired. Bought for the last
"Josey Wales" match some time ago; has been a
house pistol since. $475
Face to face only. Contact Culebra Blaze, Cell:
210618-5551, e-mail: [email protected].
WANTED
A new shooter is interested in buying:
A pair of Ruger SASS Vaqueros in 357
A 20” barrel ’73 in 357
An SKB double in 12 Ga.
If you have any of these for sale, contact him via
email: [email protected]
Books
May Birthdays Dan McAngus 5/1
Marshall Willy 5/4
Texas Sarge 5/5
Texas Tony 5/8
Frontier Faith 5/17
Sierra Cheyenne 5/29
Lucky Nickel 5/28
Key Links www.sassnet.com
www.texicanrangers.org
www.greenmountainregulators.org
www.pccss.org
www.stxpistolaros.com
www.tejascaballeros.org
www.traviscountyregulators.com
www.trpistoleros.com
www.texasjacks.com
www.cimarron-firearms.com
www.tsra.com
www.wildwestmercantile.com
TEXICAN RANGERS
2016 March 12-13 Monthly Match
April 7-10 COMANCHERIA DAYS
April 30 Wild Bunch Match
May 14-15 Monthly Match
June 11-12 Monthly Match
July 9-10 Monthly Match
August 13-14 Monthly Match
September 10 SHINDIG 2016
September 11 Monthly Match
October 8 Final Match of 2016
November/December Range Closed
CENTRAL TEXAS MONTHLY CLUB SHOOTING SCHEDULES
1st Saturday Plum Creek (Lockhart)
1st Saturday South Texas Pistaleros (San Antonio)
2nd Saturday Texas Riviera Pistoleros (George West)
2nd Saturday Travis County Regulators (Smithville)
2nd Sunday Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (Pharr)
2nd Weekend Texican Rangers (Comfort)
3rd Saturday Tejas Caballeros (Dripping Springs)
4th Saturday (Cowboy) and 4th Sunday (Long
Range)
Green Mountain Regulators (Marble Falls)
Jan 30
Feb 22-28
Mar 11-13
Mar 17-20
April 7-9
April 7-10
May 5-8
May 13-15
May 19-22
2016
TSRA Regional Match
Winter Range
(25th Anniversary)
Bayou Blast
Trailhead
(25th Anniversary)
Land Run
Comancheria Days
Battle of Plum Creek
Jail Break
Fall of the Fort
(SASS TX State Championship)
THSS
Phoenix
Lake Charles, LA
THSS
Oklahoma City
Texican Ranger (Comfort)
Plum Creek
Oakwood Outlaws
Ft. Parker
Books
Texas Ranger Jim Callan…
…a man looking for a way to put some salve on his wounded heart. Perhaps by fighting renegades he could
fight the beast within. This is the epic tale of the lives of a man and a
woman woven together by happenstance and by historical movements that
continue to shape the great southwest today. From the settlement of Texas
by folks like Sam Houston to the battlegrounds of the Mexican-American
War, you’ll feel the bonds that hold Texans to their roots.
By: Col. Callan SASS® Life 73944
aka James T. [Tim] Graham
Texican Rangers
Available online from: Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Outskirts Press
$27.95 Hardback - $18.95 Paperback
Photo Gallery
I wasn’t dressed like this and everyone was laughing at me.
