Rattlesnake Slim

We have now officially received more supplemental surveys than the original awards survey. Thank you all for your insight and inspiration to make EOT 2023 the best match possible. The survey closes Saturday at 6:00pm AZ time.

These surveys went out to everyone who shot EOT 2022, whether you returned the original survey or not. A reminder should follow today, and the survey will probably be closed by the end of this week. Thank you to all who have responded, and a reminder if you've been putting it off.

TW, I'd rather not fan those flames (we really do hear you, and my butt is smoking enough already). I will say that 2022 EOT's awards budget was the same as 2020 Winter Range, obviously with less spent per category. There are numerous alternatives to consider, and we will look at all of them. As a World Champion award winner, we greatly value your input via the survey. Those who actually shot the match and respond to the surveys have a voice in our future decisions, rather than just an opinion on a wire topic. Looking forward to the results. Thanks in advance

The 1st place Remingtons that everybody was so disappointed to see go were $300-$400 each, plus second place, third place... buckles, walnut bases, engraved plaques....

The Arizona Territorial Company of Rough Riders would like to say a big THANK YOU to each and every shooter who completed the 2022 End of Trail survey series. We tailor each survey to the individual shooter’s level of participation with everybody receiving surveys on the Cowboy Match, Costume Contest, Sponsors/Vendors/Entertainment, Handbook/Communication, Swap Meet, and Awards. Other surveys on Long Range, Shotgun, Speed Events, Plainsman, Warmups, and Wild Bunch are sent only to individuals who participated in those events. Out of 4864 individual surveys sent, 2338 were returned for an impressive 48%. While we wish all of our shooters would respond, we are confident that this percentage of return gives us some very useful direction for the future. And as promised, that begins with every Rough Rider reading every survey, followed by a spectacularly long meeting. The surveys on the awards, for the most part, reflected the sentiments expressed in the recent SASS Wire topics. Because these survey questions were written before the Wire posts brought specific questions to light, we will be sending all registered shooters an additional follow-up survey dealing with awards quality and category numbers. Please use this opportunity to give us your honest feedback on the additional topics. Again, you the EOT participant, are our most important source of feedback and ideas for improvement. I would also like to give some background and clear up some misconceptions on category numbers and awards. When the Rough Riders produced “Winter Range” we typically awarded 34-36 categories. When SASS asked us to host “End of Trail”, the new contract required us to offer all possible category/age combinations. With the exceptions of Buckaroo/Buckarette, Junior, Elder Statesman/Grand Dame, Cattle Baron/Cattle Baroness, El Patron/La Patrona, and El Rey/La Reina (categories that must be honored regardless of how few enter), the remaining categories were collapsed or combined so that no open category has less than seven entrants and no ladies category has less than three. This resulted in 55 categories for EOT 2022. This was mandated by SASS and the Arizona Territorial Company of Rough Riders must comply with the terms of the contract. Some categories actually ended up with less than the minimums, due to last minute cancellations. The 34-36 categories awarded at Winter Range level cost close to $1000 each. Therefore adding 20 categories with NO additional source of income had a significant impact on the awards budget. In essence, you are cutting the same pie more ways, and therefore the amount we can spend on each category’s awards must be reduced. We realize the need to make changes, and that brings me back to the original topic. Please, please fill out this additional survey and help us shape the future of this World Championship match. Thank You

Hey Sarival, where did you get your nails done? I'm thinking of changing mine up too!

An impressive 45% of the surveys have been returned and we greatly appreciate your effort. The survey period will end Sunday night, so if you haven't yet...

Over 300 surveys returned already! Thanks to all who have responded. If you have been putting it off, please take some time to fill them out. We count on your input. The addition this year of Ladies categories in Long Range and Cowboy Clays are just two examples of a direct result of survey responses.

End of Trail surveys are going out to all registered shooters. Please take a minute or ten to tell us what you liked or disliked about End of Trail 2022. This is the primary way we look for ways to make the match better every year. The surveys are tailored to each event that you entered; you will get separate surveys for Main Match, side matches, Cowboy Clays, Long Range, etc. If you and your spouse registered under separate emails you will each get your own set of surveys. If you registered under the same email and have another email that you would like to have the second survey sent to, email Sunshine Kay at register@endoftrail.org and she will get a second one off to you. Finally, the surveys are sent through Survey Monkey. If you have ever opted out of a Survey Monkey survey you must opt back in to receive our surveys. You can do that here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/user/email-opt-in/?ut_source=footer . If you have any difficulty or have questions about the survey, contact Sunshine Kay or PM me here. Thank you in advance for your time and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us for End of Trail!

Larsen's rats only have a taste for new Rugged Gear gun carts!

They just arrived home in Colorado yesterday.

I would like to address the myth of "home field advantage". The EOT long range targets are shot only one day each year, at the Long Range side matches. The local ACSA club has not shot monthly long range matches in a few years. Nobody, including Buckshot Sheridan, knows the exact distances. He and his crew drop the targets wherever they "look right" and will sit level on the rocky Ben Avery range. As far as the wind and lighting, if you've been here you know how they change from day to day, even hour to hour and minute to minute. Unfortunately, our tight schedule and range availability don't allow for a sight in day, although the Ben Avery public range is open Wednesday through Sunday with targets to 200 yards.

That's right, 2022 End of Trail crowned a new World Champion "Bingoist" Friday night. Clyde the Duke beat everyone with an amazing 78 spots covered across the five games. CONGRATULATIONS!

It was just an option. It said "may" not "must". Do it if you want to, or don't. How is that a "P trap"? It is only an optional way to "make the shotgun safe on the box". Would you get the same Procedural penalty if you shot your first revolver before laying your shotgun down on the box?

Sassy worked all week setting up. Then shot the match while fulfilling her Board duties of Media Liaison. Then shared award ceremony duties with me. Then immediately changed clothes and helped with tear-down. Then came back today to finish tear-down, finishing about 4:00 pm. She'll be at the Ranger appreciation dinner tomorrow night then make the trip back to Tucson. WHEW, what an amazing lady!

That's right. 55 categories met the minimum for competition, 7 for open categories and 3 for ladies.

Just spending the week with Yul put the biggest smile on my face. I'm still smiling looking forward to working with him next year. And next year Yul, you REALLY have to stay for the Ranger appreciation dinner. It's our chance to pay you back in a small way for all of your hard work.

Sarival made them all fit back in the trailer, no small job.

Thanks Yul, for your kind words and your generous offer to coordinate the cart corral.

Those dogs aren't sniffing for illegal aliens. They alerted on the three percocet tablets in my luggage in the trunk.

Legendary Guns, an Arizona FFL will be present to ship firearms to FFL's in other states and to handle retail sales for Arizona residents. Also a first time vendor, American Gun Works of Glendale CA, will be present to handle FFL transfers for residents of California. All swap meet sellers sign a contract to conduct firearm sales in accordance with Federal and State laws.

I bought a GWII three or four years ago to try Cowboy Fast Draw. I was VERY impressed with it. It was well put together and incredibly smooth right out of the box. When I decided fast draw wasn't for me I had no problem selling it, there is a very willing market.

There is no gun cart contest this year.

And may the wind always blow the smoke away from the BP shooter's (and spotter's) eyes. If that's not too much to ask...

Howdy All, I wanted to clarify some of the information that was in the old, now hidden, post on this subject. Marshal W Hill has graciously agreed to coordinate the Costume Contest for Serenity, who has taken on responsibilities as Wild Bunch Match Director and Scoring Coordinator. We thank him for his willingness to take on this important part of our event. The Saloon Girl category was eliminated due to the lack of participation at End of Trail in recent years: 2021 saw 1 entry, 2019 - 2, 2018 - 1, 2017 - 0, and 2016 - 1. The Arizona Territorial Company of Rough Riders has a long history of being responsive to the wishes and suggestions of our shooters. Each shooter is emailed a shooter survey and each and every Board member reads each and every survey. Most of our match improvements have come as a direct result of shooter input. If you want to see this category considered for reinstatement, take an active role. Dress as a saloon girl in either the Best Dressed Lady, Best Dressed Couple, or Best Dressed Silver Screen Lady Category. Of course you can also dress as a saloon girl in the shooting costume category if you do indeed shoot dressed that way. Fill out your shooter survey with this and all of your suggestions for improvement. We're listening. Rattlesnake Slim Vice President Arizona Territorial Company of Rough Riders