OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE TUSCO LONG RIDERS The Shooting Makes It Fun, the People Make It Special April 2018 Writer/Editor: Baby Doll Blue April 7th We had 20 shooters brave the cold at the Tusco April shoot. Congratulations to our Top Mens and Overall shooter, Blood Washed, and to our Top Ladies shooter, Dusty Lady. Welcome to Tusco Blood Washed, from Indiana, and Tusco Pete. We hope you enjoyed your first shoot at Tusco and hope to see you again soon. Thank you to Life-R with Patriot Casting for his donations to the prize table. As always, thank you to all who came out to shoot with us and we hope to see you all in May! Top 20 1. Blood Washed 2. Buckaroo Bubba 3. Crazy Cryder 4. Stone Creek Drifter 5. Swiss 6. Hooligan Howes 7. Raging Thunder 8. Life-R 9. Sixgun Seamus 10. Thunder Creek Kid 11. Moosetracks 12. Dirt Slider 13. Last Gun 14. Laramie Leadslinger 15. Prairie Dawg 16. Dusty Lady 17. Cayenne Kay 18. Saddlemaker 19. Random Lee 20. Tusco Pete Clean Shooters Saddlemaker Thunder Creek Kid In this Issue Prairie Dawg s Little-Known Facts of the Old West Ohio State Championship Shoot Next Shoot: May 5 th 2018 Rain or Shine 1 P a g e
Blood Washed with Hooligan Howes, Buckaroo Bubba, and Cayenne Kay ~Photographs provided by Baby Doll Blue with KK Photography~ 2 P a g e
Prairie Dawg's Little-Known Facts of the Old West 10 Earp Vendetta Ride Myths Adapted from an article by Peter Brand From: www.truewestmagazine.com *Thanks to Hollywood, most people think that the so-called Vendetta Posse was assembled after the death of Morgan Earp in March 1882. Wyatt, however, actually gathered his men immediately after the shooting of Virgil Earp, late in December, 1881. The posse acted as bodyguards for the Earps and their families and all were located at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tombstone. They were riding as federally deputized lawmen in January and February of 1882, well before the killing of Morgan Earp. *Hollywood also claimed that Wyatt Earp only had three or four men with him on the ride. The evidence shows that the posse contained a total of eight men, including Wyatt and Doc. 3 P a g e
*Wyatt was not the only Earp brother left to ride against the cowboys after Virgil was injured and Morgan was murdered. Youngest brother, Warren Earp was also a member of the posse. Other riders included: Doc Holliday, Sherman McMaster, Texas Jack Vermillion, Turkey Creek Jack Johnson, Daniel Tipton and O.C. Charlie Smith. *The movies would have us believe that Wyatt and his posse killed large numbers of cowboys during their ride, but the facts show that only two men Frank Stilwell and Florentino Cruz were probably murdered by the Earp posse. A third victim, Curly Bill Brocius, was claimed by Earp and his men, but his body was never found and formally identified. Earp ally Fred Dodge later claimed a fourth victim, Johnny Barnes, was shot with Brocius and died of his wounds. The jury is still out on that one, as Barnes was listed as a member of Cochise County Sheriff John Behan s posse, which never actually caught up with Earp and his men. Behan s posse totaled 25 men and included John Ringo and Phin Clanton. *Another misconception relates to the killing of Frank Stilwell at the Tucson railyard. Most movies show Wyatt acting alone and killing Stilwell face to face as he tries to grab Wyatt s gun. Eyewitnesses saw other posse members on the train tracks at the time and recalled several gunshots on the night. The subsequent autopsy proved that Stilwell had been shot multiple times, by different weapons, indicating more than one shooter. Other members of the posse apparently pumped lead into Stilwell, possibly after Wyatt had unloaded his double barrel shotgun at close range. 4 P a g e
*Earp biographer Stuart Lake claimed that Wyatt gave Florentino Cruz a chance to save his own life in a staged, face-to-face gunfight. The truth of the matter was that Cruz was gunned down as he tried to flee the posse at Pete Spence Spencer s wood camp, where he worked. Several posse members were seen firing from horseback at him as he tried to run away. He died in a hail of bullets. *Some authors, including Wyatt, threw Ringo into the mix as another victim of the Vendetta Ride. The evidence, however, shows that Wyatt, Holliday and their friends were located safely in Colorado when Ringo bit the bullet in July 1882. Ringo may have been murdered, but not by the Earp posse. *Although never depicted in any movies related to the vendetta, newspapers reported that the Earp posse stopped a train at Dragoon Summit Station in late March 1882 and searched the carriages, probably looking for members of the cow-boy gang trying to flee the area. *The 1950s heroic myth of Wyatt and his men cleaning up the wild frontier was not popular in 1882. At the time, Earp and his men were not universally viewed as deputized lawman upholding the law, but rather as vigilantes carrying out personal vengeance. They were actively albeit ineffectually pursued by county authorities. It was an unusual scenario that saw the Earp band of federally deputized gunmen being chased around southeast Arizona by a county sheriff and his cowboy friends many of whom were would-be targets of the Earp posse. 5 P a g e
*Unlike its portrayal in some movies, the Vendetta Ride was not a quick or successful affair. It commenced with the killing of Stilwell on March 20, 1882, and did not officially finish until the Earp posse rode out of Arizona Territory and arrived in Silver City, New Mexico Territory, on April 15, 1882. The posse had been in the saddle for more than three weeks. Their hardships included a lack of food, water and funds, not to mention the threat of an all-out gun battle with a large cowboy posse. In reality, Earp and his men were happy to leave Arizona Territory and head for safer ground in Colorado. Earp Exodus: In mid-april 1882, Jack Stilwell arrives in Tombstone and joins a 24-man posse made up of John Ringo, Ike Clanton, Pete Spencer and others to hunt the killers of his brother Frank. As multiple posses dog their trail, Wyatt Earp and his handpicked avengers decide to make a run for safer climes and head out of Arizona Territory, following the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks into New Mexico Territory. After an extended stay in Albuquerque, Holliday and Wyatt have a falling out. Doc allegedly called Wyatt a Jew Boy, for having a Jewish girlfriend, Sadie Marcus. The fugitives travel by rail in two groups to Colorado, where Republican connections successfully shield the men from extradition efforts in Arizona Territory. Peter Brand is a writer and researcher of the American West, who is based in Sydney, Australia. He has written books on the life of Texas Jack Vermillion and on conman Perry Mallon. See TombstoneVendetta.com for more details. Ohio State Championship Shoot Good luck to all who are attending the Ohio State Championship Shoot in Piqua, Ohio on May 24 th -27 th. The Miami Valley Cowboys always put on a great shoot and I m sure this year will be just as fun. Help us represent Tusco at the Hard Times Range on Memorial Day Weekend. 6 P a g e
Tusco News & Notes Six Stages We now shoot six stages at Tusco. A few people have told us that they drive a good distance to shoot at Tusco and would like to shoot as much as possible. Obviously we only have room for five shooting bays. So what we do is shoot the first stage you start on twice. Consider it a warm up stage. Only five stages will be scored. You can take your best time on your first stage. If you don t want to shoot it twice you do not have to. This would provide more shooting for our shooters. New SASS Magazine With the new release of the SASS Quarterly Cowboy Chronicle, I once again would like to start collecting any unwanted issues of the magazine. We will use these for our promotional events, like our Tusco Long Riders Day at Kames Sports. Please either black out or cut off your name and address or I will do it before they are passed out. Thank you! Facebook Page When you make a post about Tusco or share pictures on Facebook, include #TuscoLongRiders. Let everyone see what we are all about. New Shooters Shoot for Free at Tusco The Tusco Long Riders will be offering FREE SHOOTS to ALL FIRST TIME SHOOTERS AT TUSCO. This is ONLY for a shooter s first ever shoot at Tusco. (*this is only for monthly matches, excluding High Noon 3-day Shoot in October, and the Charity Shoot in November.) Cowboy Swap Meet at Monthly Shoots As a reminder, feel free to bring your old Cowboy Gear, Guns and Equipment to sell at our monthly shoots. It s a good opportunity to sell some of your unwanted stuff to your fellow shooters. Your items are your responsibility. Pre-Paid Shoots Looking for that perfect Gift for your Cowboy Friends and Family? How about a Pre-paid Shoot to a Tusco Monthly Match. They cost $10.00 each at a shoot or they can be mailed for $10.50. Contact Buckaroo Bubba at pittfandwr@aol.com or 330-348-5637 if you would like to purchase them. 7 P a g e
Contact Information Tusco Long Riders 2132 Midvale Mine Rd SE Dennison, OH 44621-9019 http://www.tuscolongriders.com Tusco Long Riders on Facebook www.facebook.com/tuscolongriders President Buckaroo Bubba Dan Ranker 330-348-5637 pittfandwr@aol.com Vice President Prairie Dawg Lou Polsinelli 216-932-7630 lpolsi@yahoo.com Treasurer Angie Oakley Angela Haun 330-209-4500 angelahaun@gmail.com Secretary Baby Doll Blue Kristina Hall 740-319-4107 kk-photography@outlook.com Club Sheriff Split Rail Tim Watson 330-364-6185 vandtwranch@roadrunner.com Club Deputy Dewey Shootem David Keeler 440-752-9336 deweyshootem@windstream.com Club Deputy Six Gun Seamus Ken Flanagan 330-904-5166 sixgunseamus@gmail.com Match Director Muleskinner Mike Legg 740-922-1290 pamlegg@wildblue.net Territorial Governor Stone Creek Drifter Achim Obernyer 330-339-7561 stonecreekdrifter@gmail.com Supporting Clubs Big Irons Middletown, Ohio www.bigirons.com Blackhand Raiders Nashpost, Ohio www.blackhandraiders.com/home.html Brown Township Regulators Malvern, Ohio www.browntownshipregulators.com Firelands Peacemakers Rochester, Ohio www.firelandspeacemakers.com Greene County Cowboys Xenia, Ohio www.gcfng.com/gccowboys/index.html Henderson Wild Justice League Williamstown, WV http://hendersonwilds.com/ Logan s Ferry Regulators Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania www.logansferrysportsmens.com Miami Valley Cowboys Piqua, Ohio www.miamivalleycowboys.org/ Ohio Valley Vigilantes Mount Vernon, Ohio www.ohiovv.com/ River Junction Shootist Society Donegal, Pennsylvania www.riverjunctionshootistsociety.com/ Sandusky County Regulators Gibsonburg, Ohio http://scsclub.org/events/cowboy-action/ Scioto Territory Desperados Chillicothe, Ohio www.sciotodesperados.com Shenango River Rats Masury, Ohio www.brookfieldconservation.com/cowboy.html Wild West Point West Point, Ohio www.affox.com/casscores/westpoint.html 8 P a g e
Tusco Long Riders Mercantile Brought to you by: LouAnn s Sewing Shoppe One-Shot Al & Needle-Eye Annie 9 P a g e
www.badazzbullets.com 330-550-3132 Billy Badazz Please show support to our sponsors. Like their pages and our Tusco Long Riders Page on Facebook! 10 P a g e
PATRIOT CASTING " BULLETS OF THE CHAMPIONS" STATE REGIONAL NATIONAL LIFE-R SASS# 44051 614-736-1077 3400 BRUCETON AVE. COLUMBUS, OHIO 43232 lifermike@gmail.com 11 P a g e