Cactus Clark Posted January 17 Posted January 17 The Fort Des Moines Rangers are excited to host the 2026 SASS Iowa/Nebraska State Championship Match scheduled over Memorial Day weekend, May 22-24 - three unforgettable days of cowboy action shooting at Coyote Gulch, one of the finest cowboy towns in the Midwest (or should we say Plains Region?). If you’re looking for a Memorial Weekend Match, head this way – it’s a beautiful time of year here. Click here for more information, including links to our new Online Registration form. It doesn’t get any easier! 6 Quote
Cotton Eye Joe Posted January 17 Posted January 17 I'm moving to Omaha in a few months, but sadly not soon enough to make this match. Is the state championship for Nebraska and Iowa always shared, or is this relatively new? Quote
Popcorn Kelly Posted January 18 Posted January 18 2023 was the most recent NE championship held in Nebraska. I believe it was held in/near Grand Island in 2022 and 2023, and likely in years prior to that, but don't hold me to that. While I've never been to a NE State Championship held in NE, I know people who have, including the 2023 match. After 2023, for reasons I can't speak to, no plans were made to hold another in NE Championship in NE in 2024, 2025, or 2026. When this happened in 2024, Fort Des Moines Rangers worked with several NE cowboys and arranged to host an NE State Championship alongside the Iowa State Championship. At least from those in the Omaha area, the driving time from Omaha to Grand Island is about the same time it'd take to get to the Iowa State Championship location in Indianola, just south of Des Moines. Here are a couple of links so you can see FDMR's range as well as some video from the 2023 IA/NE State Championship. If not this year, perhaps another. 4 Quote
Campfire Kid Posted January 19 Posted January 19 (edited) Cotton Eye Joe, Make sure to check out NebraskaCowboyActionClubs.org for info on our local clubs. Eastern Nebraska Shootists club is at Louisville, which is a short drive from Omaha. Hope to meet you at a match this year! Edited January 19 by Campfire Kid 1 Quote
Cotton Eye Joe Posted January 20 Posted January 20 11 hours ago, Campfire Kid said: Cotton Eye Joe, Make sure to check out NebraskaCowboyActionClubs.org for info on our local clubs. Eastern Nebraska Shootists club is at Louisville, which is a short drive from Omaha. Hope to meet you at a match this year! Yessiree, that's definitely the main group I see when I google for matches in Nebraska. I plan to be at the fall matches! 2 Quote
watab kid Posted January 21 Posted January 21 OK your straight south in an area i knew once , i lived in ames for a bit years/.decades ago OK nearly g=half a century go but i knew the area then , i also was at a sports car race there as a high school person , there was an SCCA track there in about 65 , i fell in love with the AC cobra at a race there IIRC , ill check my calendar on this one - if i come ill bring friends , 1 Quote
JohnWesleyHardin Posted January 25 Posted January 25 On 1/21/2026 at 1:53 AM, watab kid said: OK your straight south in an area i knew once , i lived in ames for a bit years/.decades ago OK nearly g=half a century go but i knew the area then , i also was at a sports car race there as a high school person , there was an SCCA track there in about 65 , i fell in love with the AC cobra at a race there IIRC , ill check my calendar on this one - if i come ill bring friends , That track is right across the street. Hasn't been used as a track for a long time. Now its a engineer union training facility. You can still see remanents of parts of the track. Quote
watab kid Posted January 25 Posted January 25 59 minutes ago, JohnWesleyHardin said: That track is right across the street. Hasn't been used as a track for a long time. Now its a engineer union training facility. You can still see remanents of parts of the track. sad when thingsgo away , my father and i attended a few races there back then , the name goddar comes to memory he ran a jag Quote
Cactus Clark Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 Bump tot he top with a little news regarding the 2026 IA/NE State Shoot. We have received confirmation that Johnny Too Slow will once again have his Gatlin Guns available to shoot during side match day. All you have to do is pay for the ammo. Please take some time to check out our new website and with a couple mouse clicks you can be registered for the most fun you have have with your boots on.... 2 Quote
Popcorn Kelly Posted February 24 Posted February 24 Hey, I just noticed your Top 10 things to do in and around Indianola/Des Moines area as well as the Visitors Information Guide on your website. Great information - thanks for posting. I always enjoy returning to the Des Moines area, and two of the restaurants in your information guide are high on my list - Tasty Tacos for their flour tacos and Noah's Ark for a great Italian dinner. (On a personal note, my wife and I had our first date at Noah's nearly 40 years ago.) If anyone on the Wire is looking for a Memorial Day weekend match, take a look at the SASS 2026 Iowa/Nebraska State Cowboy Action Shooting Championship hosted by Fort Des Moines Rangers. Late May is a beautiful time of year in central Iowa. Quote
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 I shot with you guys once in 2004. I had just gotten home from Iraq and spent my terminal leave going to SASS shoots. I grew up in Ames, so naturally I used the trip to visit family and to attend your shoot. It was a great time and the people were just as great. Quote
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 On 1/21/2026 at 12:53 AM, watab kid said: OK your straight south in an area i knew once , i lived in ames for a bit years/.decades ago OK nearly g=half a century go but i knew the area then , i also was at a sports car race there as a high school person , there was an SCCA track there in about 65 , i fell in love with the AC cobra at a race there IIRC , ill check my calendar on this one - if i come ill bring friends , Hey pard, I was born and raised in Ames. AHS class of 1995 and ISU class of 2000. Quote
watab kid Posted February 25 Posted February 25 3 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said: Hey pard, I was born and raised in Ames. AHS class of 1995 and ISU class of 2000. you are a bit younger than me and my time in ames , i was there in 71-75 , but you saw a lot of the great things that happened after i was gone , the campus changed a lot after i left , my folks were also ISU , dad graduated in 49 on GI bill in mechanical engineering , they lived in the Quonsets north side of campus that were built in WWII to house the folks working on the manhatan project there , i dont think that married student housing exists anymore , i lived in married student housing in hawthorn court - across the street im not sure that exists anymore it was built in the 60s , i worked for an architect that was my major professor back then , we worked out of his house that was across the street from the south towers dorms , i had lived there my first year 6th floor , because even tho my previous credits made me a junior the transfer put me back to a sophomore , in those days credits didnt transfer fairly , and mine came from UNI that was the new university in the system then and it was a tight community with a lot of smug folks in charge , i wou;ld have left ames when you were just born , so i doubt any of the people i knew there would have intertwined in either of our circles , but a few of the buildings and houses i was involved n remodeling still existed , i worked on the ISU presidents residence , a few sorority houses and fraternity houses as well as local churches , there was one house that might ring a bell - the kersey home on the west side of town but its so long ago i doubt that will click , you are about five years older than my daughter , that dates me in perspective , she graduated high school in 2000 , , perhaps one day we might meet at a match , im looking to shoot that illowa in illinois if i can fit it in my schedule Quote
Cyrus Cassidy #45437 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 7 hours ago, watab kid said: you are a bit younger than me and my time in ames , i was there in 71-75 , but you saw a lot of the great things that happened after i was gone , the campus changed a lot after i left , my folks were also ISU , dad graduated in 49 on GI bill in mechanical engineering , they lived in the Quonsets north side of campus that were built in WWII to house the folks working on the manhatan project there , i dont think that married student housing exists anymore , i lived in married student housing in hawthorn court - across the street im not sure that exists anymore it was built in the 60s , i worked for an architect that was my major professor back then , we worked out of his house that was across the street from the south towers dorms , i had lived there my first year 6th floor , because even tho my previous credits made me a junior the transfer put me back to a sophomore , in those days credits didnt transfer fairly , and mine came from UNI that was the new university in the system then and it was a tight community with a lot of smug folks in charge , i wou;ld have left ames when you were just born , so i doubt any of the people i knew there would have intertwined in either of our circles , but a few of the buildings and houses i was involved n remodeling still existed , i worked on the ISU presidents residence , a few sorority houses and fraternity houses as well as local churches , there was one house that might ring a bell - the kersey home on the west side of town but its so long ago i doubt that will click , you are about five years older than my daughter , that dates me in perspective , she graduated high school in 2000 , , perhaps one day we might meet at a match , im looking to shoot that illowa in illinois if i can fit it in my schedule Yep, while I was in college there I worked for the university paint shop. I repainted a lot of apartments in Hawthorn Court. One of my friends lived there while his parents were working on doctorates. The quonset huts have been torn down -- they were tearing them down as people moved out while I was working in the paint shop. Funny, being a government organization they had a lot of policies, and one policy said that when someone moves out of an apartment it must be repainted. So they wouldn't tear down the quonset huts until we went in and repainted them first. No one would listen to reason. This is exactly why I'm a libertarian! My grandfather graduated from ISU in 1949 after being severely wounded in 1945. He was going to become a plumber, but his combat injuries prevented any type of blue collar work, so he used the GI Bill to become a civil engineer and helped to design the interstate system in Iowa. That would make you my parents' age. David McFarland is my dad (siblings were Paul, Dennis, and Carol), and my mother's maiden name was Vicki Brinkman. It doesn't sound like you went to Ames High but it's possible that you would have run into the folks a generation older than me. Quote
watab kid Posted February 26 Posted February 26 10 hours ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said: Yep, while I was in college there I worked for the university paint shop. I repainted a lot of apartments in Hawthorn Court. One of my friends lived there while his parents were working on doctorates. The quonset huts have been torn down -- they were tearing them down as people moved out while I was working in the paint shop. Funny, being a government organization they had a lot of policies, and one policy said that when someone moves out of an apartment it must be repainted. So they wouldn't tear down the quonset huts until we went in and repainted them first. No one would listen to reason. This is exactly why I'm a libertarian! My grandfather graduated from ISU in 1949 after being severely wounded in 1945. He was going to become a plumber, but his combat injuries prevented any type of blue collar work, so he used the GI Bill to become a civil engineer and helped to design the interstate system in Iowa. That would make you my parents' age. David McFarland is my dad (siblings were Paul, Dennis, and Carol), and my mother's maiden name was Vicki Brinkman. It doesn't sound like you went to Ames High but it's possible that you would have run into the folks a generation older than me. yes no i went to high school in cedar falls , was only in ames from late 70 to late 75 , i lived and worked in waterloo till about 79 , then davenport/mioline till summer 82 , thats when i came here , been here ever since , i did remember the name of the quanset development today - pammel court , had some friends that lived there , its sad its gone but they were in pretty tough shape when i lived on campus , still cant recall the name of the towers dorms south of campus tho , i dont recall meeting your parents but your mothers maiden name sounds familiar - that has been a long time ago tho , i do remember the iowa interstate system being built - it festinated my grandfather and he and i would go out and look at the progress periodically , maybe one day wewill meet at a shoot , thankyou for the walk down memory lane 1 Quote
Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L Posted February 26 Posted February 26 I shot the Iowa State/Classic Cowboy Showdown in 2021 and had a great time. Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Permanent facilites Stage 7 Stage 8 Stage 9 Stage 10 Stage 11 Stage 12 This is the group photo of the Classics who shot the match Then in 2025 I shot a monthly match with the East Nebraska Shootist at the Eastern Nebraska Gun Club. Group photo of the cowboys who shot the match that day (it was pretty warm that day so no chaps for me) Great Folks! 2 1 Quote
Cactus Clark Posted March 16 Author Posted March 16 Bumping up to the top on a brisk Iowa Monday Let's get a few more folks signed up for this shoot. I know it's a few weeks out but you all know you want to come enjoy a great weekend of shooting, fellowship, and fun right in the heart of Iowa. In the coming weeks we will be announcing a few more secrets about the match so stay tuned, but signup now. Thanks, Cactus Clark and the whole FDMR crew 2 Quote
Popcorn Kelly Posted March 17 Posted March 17 Click here for more information and links to the online registration page. Quote
watab kid Posted March 17 Posted March 17 (edited) i gotta get down and shoot with these folks one day , looks a great place the on site camping is important to me , everey where i shoot i can camp on premises , i dry camp Edited March 17 by watab kid 1 Quote
Cactus Clark Posted March 22 Author Posted March 22 (edited) Good Morning Cowpokes, We had our first match of the year yesterday at Coyote Gulch and I was able to get all the pony express applications from John Wesley Hardin, so I figured I would post and update of who's been brave enough to accept the challenge of the 2026 IA/NE State shoot. If your cowpoke enough get those applications in to have a chance to best these fine shooters: Arcadia Outlaw La Bandita Badlands Charlie Lucky $hot Sassman Black Jack Wille Medicine Creek Johnny Blood Thirsty Desperado Missalotta T Bogus Jim Pit Mule Cactus Clark Platte Valley Kid Conestoga. Cowboy. Popcorn Kelly High Ground Prairie Dog Pete Jack Spade Riverboat Red Jigger Robb Shelleen John Wesley Hardin Shiloh Red Johnny Too Slow Wymore Wrangler Edited April 2 by Cactus Clark 2 Quote
Cactus Clark Posted April 2 Author Posted April 2 BTT with and updated Shooters List: Arcadia Outlaw La Bandita Badlands Charlie Lucky $hot Sassman Black Jack Wille Medicine Creek Johnny Blood Thirsty Desperado Missalotta T Bogus Jim Pit Mule Cactus Clark Platte Valley Kid Conestoga. Cowboy. Popcorn Kelly High Ground Prairie Dog Pete Jack Spade Riverboat Red Jigger Robb Shelleen John Wesley Hardin Shiloh Red Johnny Too Slow Wymore Wrangler 1 Quote
Cactus Clark Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 Good evening, fellow shooters! 🚨 If you’ve been procrastinating on getting that application in… this is your sign! We’re sweetening the deal with a little something extra. All entries—postmarked or submitted online by April 15—will be entered into a drawing, and one lucky shooter is getting their fee fully refunded 💸 That’s right… you could literally get paid (okay, reimbursed 😄) to shoot. So quit dragging your feet, get that app in, and let’s see who gets lucky! Thanks Cactus Clark and the FDMR BOD Quote
Medicine Creek Johnny Posted April 4 Posted April 4 Sounds like Graybeard is done procrastinating 1 Quote
Cactus Clark Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 9 hours ago, Medicine Creek Johnny said: Sounds like Graybeard is done procrastinating I enticed him off the fence. 2 Quote
Cactus Clark Posted April 9 Author Posted April 9 I've got a few more to add to the list. Keep em coming the last day to get into the drawing for your shooters fee back is fast approaching. Cactus Quote
Old Man Graybeard Posted April 9 Posted April 9 Well...come on...I expect JW to be behind....but not you Quote
Cactus Clark Posted Monday at 12:59 AM Author Posted Monday at 12:59 AM BTT for a Sunday evening.....3 more days to get in before the drawing for a shooters fee refund. Quote
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