My Friends,
I have decided to run for NCOWS Senator for yet another term. As way of introduction to those that do not know me, allow me to give a brief biography.
My mold was cast when the last of the Oklahoma gunfighters, Frank “Pistol Pete” Eaton allowed me to shoot his old Colt’s 44-40 sixgun when I was 4 years old. I was hooked. I’ve been a firearm collector for over 5 decades. I’ve been involved in different competitive shooting sports since I was a teen, as well as an “eat what you shot” hunter. The last eighteen years have been exclusively involved in Western Action Shooting as a competitor, though I like shooting just about any kind of firearm. I’m a life member of the National Rifle Association and a member of the Texas State Rifle Association. I am also a life member of NCOWS (L-172) and have served as both a Senator and the National Secretary for six years. While the Secretary, I served on the Authenticity Committee. Currently, as a Senator, I am serving my fourth term as the National Judge and I chair the Authenticity Committee. During these last eleven years, I have been extremely active with NCOWS carrying out the duties of Secretary and Judge. I have only missed attending one of the national events in fifteen years. I also go to as many of the regional events that I have been able to. I am member of 4 NCOWS posses. My home posse is The Berger Sharpshooters. I am also a member of the Kansas Vigilance Committee, the Johnson County Rangers, and the Blue River Regulators.
I choose NCOWS because the organization embraces things historical. I enjoy shooting in an environment where it is important to be historically accurate as possible and still have to use the sights that are on the guns. It is that simple. I am also happy with our democratic governance, which provides checks and balances to assure we maintain a strong level of authenticity while providing a fair and enjoyable level of competition. With the historically enriched people we have in this group, I can only see our organization growing and attracting more like-minded individuals to join our ranks.
Where I stand on some issues:
1) Growth: I want to see NCOWS grow with a membership that embraces our principles, especially young people that will keep the torch lit. I will not bend our rules in order to attract more members or become more appealing to the masses. Recruiting more members needs to be done with care. We need to work to get the NCOWS principles known to the masses of other Western Action Shooters and let the positive influence of what we are about do the recruiting. A large percentage of current Western Action Shooters are potential NCOWS members that just don’t know it yet. We need to groom those potential shooters and show them what NCOWS is really about. We also need to focus on recruiting the 30 and under age members, as they will be our future
2) Shooting classes: I support changes to the shooting classes where appropriate. However, those changes need to be made only to improve or more accurately reflect the way it was or might have been in the 19th century. I do not necessarily approve of removing shooting classes – those that are long established. But I do favor adding additional classes to reflect the arms and shooting styles people from different walks of life may have experienced. However, with the current number of shooting classes NCOWS now offers, we need to be particularly selective on adding any others to ascertain that they are representative of the way things were in the 19th Century.
3) Authenticity: Maintaining a level of authenticity is what sets our organization apart from other Western Action Shooting organizations. We must continue this, and I shall do my best as Chair of the Authenticity Committee. We must also actively strive to hold onto that standard of authenticity at local events flying the NCOWS banner. We all must offer our newer members the guidance and mentoring they desire as they, too, strive toward better historical accuracy within the context of our regulations. Personally, I enjoy when a member at an NCOWS event does not break character into the 21st century, be it during a congressional meeting, a National Convention, the National Shoot, or even a local competition.
4) Competition: We are first and foremost a shooting organization. Our organized matches should be safe, fun, & historically based in dress, atmosphere, behavior and equipment. I do not want to see match attendees bending rules, or altering equipment to gain a personal edge. While it is possible that certain modifications may have been done on a limited basis in the old west – to give the gunfighter the edge that kept him alive – I believe that the vast majority of the 19th century population did not engage in that activity. I have not seen any documentation that this was done. To do such modifications, with the intention of gaining a couple of seconds’ edge over the other shooters hurts the organization and the image we wish to show to the world. I think we all need to live within the both rules and the spirit of those rules.
5) Safety: While Items 1 through 4 are important, none of them mean anything without safety being put first. While it has been my job the last few years as Judge to make sure safety is observed at all of our events by enforcing our Safety Rules and Regulations, it is every person’s job at any event to maintain vigilance for any safety infraction. In the past, I have had judges from other posses contact me to get my reading on safety for their events. My standard answer is always that all the rules of safety as in the Tally Book are literal and are to be followed.
Bryan Buck, Judge, NCOWS L-172
Better known as Oklahoma Tom or Tom Dunphy within our extended family
OklaTom@att.net
214-801-4476