Area residents who appreciate history and enjoy practicing "the cowboy way" gathered Saturday on a hillside east of Twin Bridges to recreate a few hours from the Old West era and demonstrate their marksmanship with 19th-century firearms. Ozark County residents Ted and Katie Hoversen of Dawt and Vince and Ann Drexelius of the Bakersfield area are members of the West Plains Waddies, a chapter of the Single-Action Shooting Society that hosts "cowboy action shooting" gatherings around the US and throughout the world. The Waddies meet at their shooting range on the second and fifth Saturdays of each month to participate in timed target-shooting competitions using firearms replicating those from the 1800s. Many are .38 or .45 caliber pistols and rifles or 20- or 12-gauge shotguns. Members, both men and women, arrive dressed in Old West costumes with six-shooters tucked into in tooled-leather holsters worn around their waists. They all have cowboy aliases. Among club members, the Hoversens and Drexeliuses are better known as Major Missalot, Buckshot Baby, Ozark Captain and Ozark Annie.

Ted Hoversen, left, of Dawt, known by his SASS alias Major Missalot, converted a kitchen chair into a gun cart to transport the guns and equipment he and his wife, Katie (Buckshot Baby) use at the cowboy action shooting events. Shown with the Hoversens are fellow West Plains Waddies members Ann (Ozark Annie) and Vince (Ozark Captain) Drexelius of the Bakersfield area.

The West Plains group took its name, Waddies, after the term used to describe an Old West cowboy who "wandered from cow camp to cow camp," Katie Hoversen said.

Many members participate in shooting events hosted by other clubs nationwide and around the world. Katie Hoversen said when she and husband Ted retired, they became full-time RVers and often participated in shoots wherever their travels took them, finding schedules in the association's newsletter. They converted one of their kitchen chairs into a gun cart, decorated with tanned cow hide, to transport their equipment and ammo.

The Single-Action Shooting Society commemorates the "era of the Old West cowboy," said Vince Drexelius, a retired professional relationship representative for Blue Cross-Blue Shield. "It's as much about the friendship and the cowboy way-treating people politely and helping others-as it is about shooting the old guns."

As an example he described how one West Plains Waddies member gave the Drexeliuses' grandson Nathan Scott, 11, two .38 caliber pistols and a shotgun to use at the club's shooting events. "It's a given that Nathan is to pass them along to someone else when the time comes," Vince said. "That's the cowboy way."

Nathan is the son of Amy and Mike Scott of Bakersfield. Everyone in the family shoots.

Youngsters in the club are called buckaroos, and they shoot .22 rifles and pistols, if they prefer.

Safety procedures are strictly followed at the shooting competitions. Contestants load their weapons shortly before their turn to shoot, and always in front of a "loading officer" who makes sure no safety steps are overlooked. Once the guns are loaded - with no more than five bullets in each six-shooter so that the hammer rests on an empty chamber - the contestant places them on the next table and cannot touch them again until he or she is actively shooting.

The club welcomes newcomers. "We love having new people come," said Katie Hoversen. "The way it works is, the first time you come, you can use our guns and ammo to shoot one stage of the competition. After that, you're expected to have your own guns and ammo."

For more information about visiting or joining SASS, contact the Hoversens at 284-1432; katiehoversen@gmail.com. Or visit the club's website, www.wpwaddies.com.

From left are Ozark Captain (Vince Drexelius), Moonshine Dan (Dan Royster), Choupique (Robert Boudreau), Loaded Tater (Tatum McMillian), Ozark Annie (Ann Drexelius), Dun Vagen (Jim McLeod), Quick Trigger (Tom Wilds), Lost Camp (Cyrus Carter), Shady Lady (JoAnn Carter), Ozark Shootist (Chris Cutler), Buckshot Baby (Katie Hoversen), Cheyenne (Jerry Lucas), Major Missalot (Ted Hoversen) and club president Uncle Sam (Fred Howell).

by Sue Ann Luna Jones sueann@ozarkcountytimes.com.  Reproduced with permission of the Ozark County Times.

 Thank you Sue Ann and thank you Ozark County Times.