Didn’t anyone have fun at EOT this year?

[doc roy l. pain]

I’ve been in this game for over 25 years. I’ve never seen the wire so quiet after any EOT as this year. Only a couple of category winner congratulations. Nothing about congratulations to the overall winners or top gun shootoff winners. Nothing about great posse Marshalls or this or that posse rocked!  WTH, didn’t anyone have a good time this year?

[Boggus Deal #64218]

I was lucky enough to spend the week in Scarlet Darlin’s tent with her, her husband and Lt. Dan. I had a heck of a fun time!!!

[Dr. Zook]

14 minutes ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I was lucky enough to spend the week in Scarlet Darlin’s tent with her, her husband and Lt. Dan. I had a heck of a fun time!!!

Were you in there on Sat afternoon. I came in to see Scarlett's shotgun with the modified opening lever?

Edited March 4 by Dr. Zook

[Yul Lose]

Other than Thursday I had a great time. That wind was ferocious and Rattlesnake Slim and his Rangers did a heroic job keeping everyone safe and shooting. I’ve been to a bunch of EOT’s in Phoenix and New Mexico and in my opinion there were more outside visitors than ever before. The flow of visitors all week was pretty impressive. I got to visit with a whole bunch of folks that I only get to see at EOT and enjoyed every minute of it. I believe we rented out more gun carts than ever before and to make that happen we had to scramble and assemble more carts out of the pieces and parts laying around. 
 

I heard that the CAS match was a sellout and I believe there were a record number of Wild Bunch shooters as well. 

[Boggus Deal #64218]

2 minutes ago, Dr. Zook said:

Were you in there on Sat afternoon. I came in to see Scarlett's shotgun with the modified opening lever?

I’m sure I was! 

[Boggus Deal #64218]

4 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

Other than Thursday I had a great time. That wind was ferocious and Rattlesnake Slim and his Rangers did a heroic job keeping everyone safe and shooting. I’ve been to a bunch of EOT’s in Phoenix and New Mexico and in my opinion there were more outside visitors than ever before. The flow of visitors all week was pretty impressive. I got to visit with a whole bunch of folks that I only get to see at EOT and enjoyed every minute of it. I believe we rented out more gun carts than ever before and to make that happen we had to scramble and assemble more carts out of the pieces and parts laying around. 
 

I heard that the CAS match was a sellout and I believe there were a record number of Wild Bunch shooters as well. 

Wild Bunch had 154 in 2023 and 141 this year…

[Dr. Zook]

You couldn't miss Ms Scarlett in her red hat 🙂 & was gracious to pull out her match shotgun to let me handle. Definitely slick to open/close especially for me (used to a heavy latch feel).  I'm a southpaw shooter, so it was nice to handle a shotgun with the modified lever to see how it functioned.

 

[Wildcat O'Shea SASS#47844]

It was my first EOT and I had a blast.  Got lucky on Thursday and shot on the last relay. Less wind. Got my clean match pin.  Found a couple of cool things at the swap meet.  And we had a fantastic posse. Everyone worked and our posse marshal was great.  Sixgun Seamus.  My 2 cents

 

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

I enjoyed visiting with my friend Boggus Deal in Scar's tent!  Also saw other long time friends like FJT and Hud  for chat Sat nite then Snakebite Sunday.  All a big part of the joy of EOTs. 

I thought target size and distance was very good but for a 79 year old who had back surgery 13th of December the runs (ha) to  A to B to C. lengthy and trying.  Wind was brutal and the great posse 7 I PMed started Thursday  at 8 AM s at Stage Seven (knockdown stage) to get the full feel of 50+ mph blast. (Stage 8, the steam boat, right next to us blowed over, and yes on a shooter or two.  Tractors with forks were later brought in to hold some stages up for further use.)  Scenarios were not of my favorite but Wrangler and Rustler's team did great job.

[Texas Jack Black]

 Even the responses are tempered.😴

[Hells Comin]

1 hour ago, Texas Jack Black said:

 Even the responses are tempered.😴

Just wait for it .

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

I’m sure a lot of folks are still traveling home

[Boggus Deal #64218]

2 hours ago, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:

I enjoyed visiting with my friend Boggus Deal in Scar's tent!  Also saw other long time friends like FJT and Hud  for chat Sat nite then Snakebite Sunday.  All a big part of the joy of EOTs. 

I thought target size and distance was very good but for a 79 year old who had back surgery 13th of December the runs (ha) to  A to B to C. lengthy and trying.  Wind was brutal and the great posse 7 I PMed started Thursday  at 8 AM s at Stage Seven (knockdown stage) to get the full feel of 50+ mph blast. (Stage 8, the steam boat, right next to us blowed over, and yes on a shooter or two.  Tractors with forks were later brought in to hold some stages up for further use.)  Scenarios were not of my favorite but Wrangler and Rustler's team did great job.

Billy Boots, it is always a pleasure to see you! Mainly because of that lovely bride of yours, but still always a pleasure! 

[Grizzly Dave]

I had a great time, posse ten was the BEST!

 

Yes, the wind SUCKED and BLEW, and I'm still tasting the dust and need to vac it out of my car, but the match was fun.

 

Were there things I would change if I could, sure, but I could say that about any match, and realize the opinions vary, and matches aren't written just for me.

 

Grizz

 

 

[Dapper Dave]

I'm sorry I missed it.  Had many things to do, but I did stop by Wild West Mercantile and picked up a tie so I can say I did SOMETHING SASS related!
Congrats to all the winners and participants, please come back to Arizona any time!

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

Well I had a great time. Posse 28 may have been the hardest working posse I have been on. As a posse marshal I couldn’t be more proud of everyone. Support and encouragement for one another was great, range chores done quickly and hand off of tasks was uniform so nobody got overwhelmed. We had minimal problems with the wind as we shot late day 1, middle day 2 and morning day 3. Windy yes, but I have seen worse. 
Didn’t have the best match of my life but had fun playing! If this were Yelp I would highly recommend!

Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Singin' Sue 71615]

16 hours ago, Wildcat O'Shea SASS#47844 said:

It was my first EOT and I had a blast.  Got lucky on Thursday and shot on the last relay. Less wind. Got my clean match pin.  Found a couple of cool things at the swap meet.  And we had a fantastic posse. Everyone worked and our posse marshal was great.  Sixgun Seamus.  My 2 cents

 

You EARNED that clean match!!!

It was a match befitting a World Championship, for sure.

[Singin' Sue 71615]

As a Ranger, and being plum wore out, I had a great time!

I enjoyed the stages, and hugged so many folks! Some more than once!

We had 10 (maybe more) countries there, including Mexico for the first time.

We had a great posse, quick to work which made the stage move smooth.

 The weather is beyond anyone's control...and after the 80mph gust sunk the paddle boat, every ranger jumped in to dismantle, clear and set up tables with carpet to continue the morning. An hour delay, but all caught up...

It is an experience putting this match together...and I invite any and all that come to pitch in and help in build/tear down days!!!

Our German ,Tom, helped 3 days during build...and had a husband and wife stick around both days of tear down!

 

 

 

[Rex M Rugers #6621]

Hey , Gateway Kid , I looked over the results yesterday. Looks like Thunder Mountain gang was well represented.

Conrats to all.

Rex 

[Waimea]

Well, I didn't go this year but makin' plans for next year.

 

It will be interesting to see what category I shoot since my preferred category is Outlaw which SASS does not recognize.

 

Edited March 6 by Waimea

[Texas Jack Black]

 Starting to stir 👍

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

I had a great time, did really poorly on Thursday, marginally better on Friday and best I have ever shot on Friday.  Glad they ordered in Sun Dials to time me.  Wore out the hour glasses last year.

[Frederick Jackson Turner]

2 hours ago, Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 said:

I had a great time, did really poorly on Thursday, marginally better on Friday and best I have ever shot on Friday.  Glad they ordered in Sun Dials to time me.  Wore out the hour glasses last year.

He may have forgotten to mention thathe became a REGULATOR!!!!

Cheers, to a fine fellow!

-FJT

[Double Tap Taylor]

It was a Great time with friends and making new friends, the Rangers did a great job.

Thursday morning was intersting to shoot in all that wind, thanks Rangers for quick work to make it safe. I participated in my first Wild Bunch now hooked on that too. 

Thank you all to make this happen, I  am still working on getting home. 

[Doc Nelson #19958]

I agree with all the above, well run world championship match. 

 

Having said that, my previous experiences at EOT in New Mexico were more balanced in the stages and rotations. Here there was, in my opinion, one rotation of difficult (relatively) orders at medium to long distances with some smaller targets thrown in. One rotation of really small or long distance targets-8 to 10 yards for pistol- and one rotation of close and simple. 

 

2 of the rotations favored 2-hand shooters being more distant in target placement, I thought Duelists and Gunfighters were an after thought but left or right handed shooters were well taken care of.

 

No flyers or moving targets. 

 

Shooting wise this year ranks a distant 3rd of my 3 EOT experiences. 

It needs a to be a test of skill as this one was, but I would prefer a balanced daily rotation rather than each rotation being a repeat of the same type of stage.

 

Just my view.

Doc Nelson

[Scarlett]

On 3/4/2025 at 5:59 PM, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

I’m sure I was! 

I don’t run a Union shop… he was there. No breaks allowed. 😂🤣

 

I had a blast! Like @Yul Lose said! I met so many new friends and customers. It was a fun match. The weather- wind - was a real challenge. 
 

There have been a lot of congratulations on Facebook. 
 

Hugs!

Scarlett

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

I did not attend EoT this year - so I cannot comment on the specifics of the match.

But it is a loaded question when asking if anyone had fun.

Everyone experiences fun differently - so the question is very subjective.

And I'm sure everyone had a great time shooting, socializing and experiencing.

 

The question is better stated was EoT a fun first match?

And even having not attended - I am willing to provide "some" insight to that question.

 

Some matches feel that, as long as everyone at that match shoots the same match - it is viable/ justifiable to award a championship from the attendees.

That's simply a match.

Some matches are FUN first matches, Bordertown, Damsite, etc.

Meaning the "fun" component is the primary (after safety) purpose for a stage setup or target placement. 

We will move the targets closer or simplify the sequence IF we believe it makes it more "fun"

i.e. Bordertown (Arizona State Shoot) is not a technically difficult shoot - but everyone shoots the same targets, same match under the same conditions and so is a fair comparison of scores and results to arrive at a championship.

 

Other matches feel that, it is immaterial that everyone shoots the SAME match - the match must also include a level of difficulty that makes winning (or shooting well) not just an accomplishment among the attendees but a stand alone accomplishment simply to have shot well.

This is a challenge first match.

EoT and Winter Range before it fall into this latter category.

 

It is dependent upon Match Director, match philosophy and history which path a match proceeds down - and it is dependent upon shooters which is more "fun".

But even while we have a plethora of categories and "world champions" - the vast majority of your shooters are not going to win a championship and these shooters tend to have more "fun" at a less challenging/ technical level match (fun first).

 

I, tend to prefer "fun first" matches and since I harbor few illusions (delusions?) about becoming a World Champion; I don't attend matches geared toward difficulty.

But when you don't see the posts raving about "fun" - I don't think that is really negative towards the shoot - just a reflection that the shoot is not necessarily a fun first shoot.

 

 

 

 

[Texas Maverick]

I have debated on whether to reply to this post. This was my second EOT since I started in 2018. I went to EOT in 2019 and was signed up to return in 2020 when Covid hit and it was cancelled. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed meeting a lot of people that are still friends today. I enjoyed all aspects of the match. I have been to 4 LandRun matches, some even before they became the Nationals and have enjoyed all of them. Plus many State, Regionals and Annuals.

 

Now on to 2025 EOT. I was disappointed in a number of things. This is only my opinion but has been confirmed by a number of other shooters that felt the same but don't want to make waves. I guess I have always been a straight shooter and have always said my piece. I enjoyed the match overall but would say I do not plan on returning. I didn't feel a lot of giving back to the shooter was one of the items at this match. The only thing the shooter got was a match pin and a Ruger donated ammo box. The other matches I have attended gave out match pins, t-shirts, mugs, gun cases, brass and ammo bags, etc. Since EOT 2025 was the most expensive match I have attended I guess I expected more from them in shooter prizes.

 

I also feel the scenarios were lacking. I didn't find them hard but more confusing where it looked like it was written to trip up the shooter. This I believe was confirmed by the number of procedures that some of the stages received. I heard one posse make the statement they had over 10 procedures on just one stage. This can also be confirmed by the number of clean shooters. 35 out of 720 shooters is around 5%. I would also like to know how many of the 720 ended up with all 999's on their scores from either not showing up or MDQ's. They did not include them in the final score sheet. I saw around 30 to 40 just after the first day on the posted score sheets. 

 

Another issue was the Friday night dinner. I have never paid for a dinner that didn't have something to drink even if it was just water or tea. This dinner didn't provide anything. If you wanted a drink the cash bar was open. Sadly to say I didn't see this as the World Class match as it should be.

 

I don't want to take away from the Rangers because I did see where they all worked hard to get everything setup and to make sure it ran smoothly. Just some aspects of the match were lacking.  

 

I did not intend to ruffle any feathers but the question was asked. Yes, I did fill out all the surveys but they didn't ask about all the issues that I felt needed to be addressed. They need to keep in mind us shooters that are not going to be at the top of our category a reason to come back and spend our money. We have to have fun doing this or we won't be returning. There are way too many other matches out there to attend.

 

TM

Edited March 17 by Texas Maverick

[Texas Jack Black]

 Burn out saw it coming a few years ago. sad

[Singin' Sue 71615]

On 3/15/2025 at 9:35 AM, Texas Maverick said:

I have debated on whether to reply to this post. This was my second EOT since I started in 2018. I went to EOT in 2019 and was signed up to return in 2020 when Covid hit and it was cancelled. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed meeting a lot of people that are still friends today. I enjoyed all aspects of the match. I have been to 4 LandRun matches, some even before they became the Nationals and have enjoyed all of them. Plus many State, Regionals and Annuals.

 

Now on to 2025 EOT. I was disappointed in a number of things. This is only my opinion but has been confirmed by a number of other shooters that felt the same but don't want to make waves. I guess I have always been a straight shooter and have always said my peace. I enjoyed the match overall but would say I do not plan on returning. I didn't feel a lot of giving back to the shooter was one of the items at this match. The only thing the shooter got was a match pin and a Ruger donated ammo box. The other matches I have attended gave out match pins, t-shirts, mugs, gun cases, brass and ammo bags, etc. Since EOT 2025 was the most expensive match I have attended I guess I expected more from them in shooter prizes.

 

I also feel the scenarios were lacking. I didn't find them hard but more confusing where it looked like it was written to trip up the shooter. This I believe was confirmed by the number of procedures that some of the stages received. I heard one posse make the statement they had over 10 procedures on just one stage. This can also be confirmed by the number of clean shooters. 35 out of 720 shooters is around 5%. I would also like to know how many of the 720 ended up with all 999's on their scores from either not showing up or MDQ's. They did not include them in the final score sheet. I saw around 30 to 40 just after the first day on the posted score sheets. 

 

Another issue was the Friday night dinner. I have never paid for a dinner that didn't have something to drink even if it was just water or tea. This dinner didn't provide anything. If you wanted a drink the cash bar was open. Sadly to say I didn't see this as the World Class match as it should be.

 

I don't want to take away from the Rangers because I did see where they all worked hard to get everything setup and to make sure it ran smoothly. Just some aspects of the match were lacking.  

 

I did not intend to ruffle any feathers but the question was asked. Yes, I did fill out all the surveys but they didn't ask about all the issues that I felt needed to be addressed. They need to keep in mind us shooters that are not going to be at the top of our category a reason to come back and spend our money. We have to have fun doing this or we won't be returning. There are way too many other matches out there to attend.

 

TM

I will speak on a few things...

 

Showing those who MDQ or didn't show are no longer 'posted' on scores...

Not showing, they did not shoot

MDQ, disquallified, so no score

This was changed a few years ago, I believe per SASS

 

There were dispencers of tea, as well as water on the first table by the desserts at the banquet dinner, sorry you did not see that.

 

On the shooter gift, I like the Ruger ammo box, and a happy to recieve it.

Many collect their match pins.

As for mugs, T shirts, ect...grear for matches that do...

WR/EOT has great expence as the club putting on the match does not own the range.

Tent rental, paying for each shooter/vendor per day to the owner of the range is a big chunk of change.

 

I am a very average, if not common competitor. I do it for the fun, commeradery and to do something with my husband.

I came in 589, I believe...so I was in the bottom 90!

I enjoyed the match, and when stages were described, they were not difficult to follow.

 

As for the low clean shooters, I do believe the wind and it's issues may have been a big part of it.

 

Yes, matches are expensive...and there are many to choose from.

 

I hope this allows a little more input.

[Texas Maverick]

20 hours ago, Singin' Sue 71615 said:

I will speak on a few things...

 

Showing those who MDQ or didn't show are no longer 'posted' on scores...

Not showing, they did not shoot

MDQ, disquallified, so no score

This was changed a few years ago, I believe per SASS

Fair enough if that is the case. It just keeps someone from figuring the ratios when the MDQ's are kept secret. 

 

There were dispencers of tea, as well as water on the first table by the desserts at the banquet dinner, sorry you did not see that.

You are referring to the Saturday night banquet and yes, they did serve something to drink. The Friday night Mexican dinner did not.

 

On the shooter gift, I like the Ruger ammo box, and a happy to recieve it.

Many collect their match pins.

As for mugs, T shirts, ect...grear for matches that do...

WR/EOT has great expence as the club putting on the match does not own the range.

Tent rental, paying for each shooter/vendor per day to the owner of the range is a big chunk of change.

True, but, and you can confirm or deny this being a Ranger,  I heard this is their only match of the year and they make a good amount of money and being a non-profit they end up donating to a charity of their choice at the end of the year. It would be nice to see some of this money returned to the shooters to show their appreciation for them coming to this match.

 

I am a very average, if not common competitor. I do it for the fun, commeradery and to do something with my husband.

As do I. If it isn't fun then I won't be doing it since this is the number one reason I do this. That being said this one was not as much fun as the others so I have taken it off my to do things in the future. That is what makes America great. We can choose our activity without anyone dictating to us what we can and can't do.

I came in 589, I believe...so I was in the bottom 90!

I enjoyed the match, and when stages were described, they were not difficult to follow.

 

As for the low clean shooters, I do believe the wind and it's issues may have been a big part of it.

Agree to disagree on this. Way too many comments by other shooters on why they had misses and not many said anything about the wind. It had to do with the placement of the targets for pistols and the size of the targets in some cases.

 

Yes, matches are expensive...and there are many to choose from.

 

I hope this allows a little more input.

I am going to respectively end this with the comment that I am going to agree to disagree. I am glad you enjoyed the match but as stated I can have fun shooting other matches that don't cost as near as much and are closer. They have lost a returning shooter in me. Thanks for your response to my post and I appreciate your point of view whether I agree with it or not.

 

You must also keep in mind that some of us have to drive and take time off. This trip for me was over 2500 miles and I was on the road for 3 weeks. This costs us a couple thousand dollars range when paying for fuel, hotel/rv parks and food. This makes a big difference over those that are local. We have to determine where we want to spend our time and money and if we aren't having fun that is a big deciding factor. I hope you the best of luck going forward and do not have any ill feelings toward SASS or the EOT match. It just isn't for us going forward. I just will move on to other matches to check them out. 

 

Thanks

 

TM

 

Edited March 17 by Texas Maverick

[Texas Maverick]

@Singin' Sue 71615, sorry I wasn't trying to confuse you. Do you have any questions that I can answer to make this as clear as possible for you?

 

TM

[Rattlesnake Slim]

On 3/15/2025 at 8:35 AM, Texas Maverick said:

This I believe was confirmed by the number of procedures that some of the stages received. I heard one posse make the statement they had over 10 procedures on just one stage.

 

For the record, looking at the statistics:

 

The highest number of Procedurals by any single posse on a stage was 6, and two out of 36 managed that. We also had one posse get only one Procedural for the whole entire match!

 

The total number of Procedurals was 446, divided by 36 posse's is 12.4 per posse, or a little more than one Procedural per posse per stage.

 

The stage with the greatest number of Procedurals had 89, or about 2 1/2 per posse.

 

Granted, everyone's perception of individual stages is different, that's why we keep and study these statistics every year in order to make next year better. There is also a question on the survey about your most and least favorite stages, please have those surveys in by tonight's deadline. Thanks!

[Singin' Sue 71615]

1 hour ago, Texas Maverick said:

@Singin' Sue 71615, sorry I wasn't trying to confuse you. Do you have any questions that I can answer to make this as clear as possible for you?

 

TM

Nope. You're comments don't show for me...but someone sent them my way.

[Texas Maverick]

3 hours ago, Rattlesnake Slim said:

 

For the record, looking at the statistics:

 

The highest number of Procedurals by any single posse on a stage was 6, and two out of 36 managed that. We also had one posse get only one Procedural for the whole entire match!

 

The total number of Procedurals was 446, divided by 36 posse's is 12.4 per posse, or a little more than one Procedural per posse per stage.

 

The stage with the greatest number of Procedurals had 89, or about 2 1/2 per posse.

 

Granted, everyone's perception of individual stages is different, that's why we keep and study these statistics every year in order to make next year better. There is also a question on the survey about your most and least favorite stages, please have those surveys in by tonight's deadline. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply. Maybe it will help others make a decision about 2026 EOT. My surveys went in the day I received them.

 

 

TM