Cowboy Shooting: On the Road

By Richard M Beloin MD

This story is about a retired man who, looking for a hobby, gets introduced to cowboy action shooting. It traces his training sessions by an experienced shooter, with whom he enters into a romantic relationship.

They traveled to different cowboy shooting locations and started traveling out West. They visited several national parks, monuments, and many popular tourist attractions over six Western states.

This book will appeal to the general public. It contains many comical situations between the major characters and cowboy shooters. In short, it provides a realistic exposure to a second life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546229131

Richard M Beloin MD

The author is a retired physician who now spends his winters in South Texas with his wife of 50 years. After fifteen years as an accomplished Cowboy Action Shooter and a lifelong enthusiast of American Western History, he has returned to writing in 2016. He has been writing western fiction circa 1880’s since 2018 and has now accumulated four books in this series. They are: Wayne’s Calling, Cal’s Mission, Sylvia’s Dream, and this latest production called Paladin Duos.

Book preview

© 2018 Richard M Beloin MD. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/21/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2914-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-2913-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018901983

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them

Contents

Dedication

BOOK ONE

Chapter 1     Changing Times

Chapter 2     A Second Life

Chapter 3     Setting Up

Chapter 4     Lady Slipper

Chapter 5     Home Invasion

BOOK TWO

Chapter 6     Recovery

Chapter 7     Primer and Solo Shoot

Chapter 8     Our First Trip

Chapter 9     The Bar W Ranch

BOOK THREE

Chapter 10   On The Road–Preparations

Chapter 11   On the Road–Deming, NM

Chapter 12   On the Road–Albuquerque, NM

Chapter 13   On the Road–Durango, CO

Chapter 14   On the Road–Cody, WY

Chapter 15   On the Road–Hill City, SD

Chapter 16   Final Destination–Nashville, TN

Abbreviations

1.jpg

Circuitous Tourist Route

2.JPG

Unloaded Cowboy Cart

3.JPG

Loaded Cowboy Cart

DEDICATION

T his book is dedicated to Curt and Sandy, who started the Sugarhouse Dancers, and were our companions and guides throughout our Western vacations.

PREFACE

T his is a work of fiction with some true to life venues. The characters and shooting locations are fictional, and a figment of my imagination.

There are six bases that were used, over a week’s time, to visit real local attractions. All these sites were visited by the author and his wife, while vacationing over several years.

Although the shooting events and locations were fictional, the safety rules, scoring methods and shooting classes were all real and part of the SASS Handbook. The Cowboy alias names are all fictional.

Special extensive reference to the Bar W Ranch is also a fictional location with fictional characters. The choice of the name, Bar W Ranch, does not depict or refer to the many registered Bar W Ranch’s registered throughout the Western states, including Texas.

The Sugarhouse instructors are the only nonfictional characters. The partner dances, two-step, and waltz moves they taught are also real. All dances performed by the leading man and woman are real. Except for the Wild Horse Saloon, the dancing locations are all fictional.

The romance and interactions, of the leading characters, provide a comical and realistic relief throughout the book.

—Enjoy the shooting, romance and traveling over the American West—

CHAPTER 1

Changing Times

M y life, as a practicing medical physician, changed drastically ten years ago. At age 51, I became a widower. My wife of 28 years passed away after a long chronic illness. With all three kids out of college, married and well settled, I found myself alone in a four bedroom two story house. I sold the family home and moved into a ground floor single story condo with a two car garage. The second garage was hopefully planned to be a workshop or a hobby room in retirement years.

My only hobby at the time was shooting an auto pistol at the local indoor range. This maintained my comfort zone with a handgun and was part of justifying a concealed weapon permit. With no other interests, I delved into my internal medicine practice.

During the next ten years several changes occurred in the practice of medicine. These changes were drastic and it changed my life long style of dealing and communicating with my patients.

The first was the evolution of a modern and complicated billing system. Whether you dealt with Medicaid, Medicare or a private insurance, the coding of services for payment became a nightmare. A simple office call was tied to sub coding with an illness that dictated the payment schedule. We now had at least 5 different office calls with a separate payment schedule and each had sub codes. The basic yearly physical exam was now tied to multiple sub codes. The simple coding system was now replaced by an intricate maze of possibilities. The worse of it all was that denials were very routine, which required the staff to call the insurance companies and find out how to code the service properly. Many times a second denial occurred despite all attempts to code properly. Frustration levels were high among the coding staff since our coders had to relearn the system they had trained for. This mess with coding promoted the next change.

The second was the new wave in practice ownership. Local hospitals saw the frustration levels of their practicing physicians. The local hospitals had billing staff well experience in new coding methods since these code changes first appeared in hospitalized patients. Hospitals started purchasing medical practices and went into the business of outpatient medical care. The internal medicine group I belonged to decided to go this route and sold out to the local hospital. Suddenly, I became a salaried hospital employee after being in private practice nearly 25 years.

The third change, to kill private practice, was the idea that a physician could prosper as a salaried employee. It became impossible to find recruits as replacements in your group. The doctors coming out of training were looking for a salaried position and shied away from private practice–single and group practices. They wanted and found the security and benefits of a large employer and the local hospital fit that bill.

The fourth change was the new approach of night call and hospital care. The new crop of MD’s were trained in one of two disciplines. One group was trained in outpatient primary care, while the other group was trained as physicians caring for the hospitalized patients. This last group has become known as the hospitalists.

The third and fourth changes fueled the growing trend that a salaried physician either did office type medicine or hospital based medicine. This lead the office physician to abandon night and weekend call as well as transferring their patients to the hospitalists for inpatient care. Physicians started signing contracts for 32 hours per week of office work with benefits–that is four 8 hour days. I signed a contract for 5 days per week for a total of 40 hours per week. I needed all 5 days each week to care for the large practice I had developed.

The fifth and final change was the development of the digital medical record. On top of all the adjustments I had already made, I had to brush up on my 40 year old typing skills. For weeks I practiced at home until I could type 50 words per minute by using standard technique–not hen pecking. The real dilemma was how to add a laptop in the examining room without insulting the patient. Fortunately the hospital special administrative section gave us great proven methods. After several weeks, I learned how to properly exchange the hand written record for the digital system–and not interfere with my patient communication skills.

So this old dog had to learn new tricks. I incorporated all these changes and my days were busy, but my nights and weekends were long and empty, without night and weekend call. I found myself maintaining my practice but experiencing less personal satisfaction. It was clear that I was of the old school and had modernized into the new school. This is probably why I did not find the satisfaction that the younger physicians experienced. The new docs liked a guaranteed salary and fixed work hours without the hassle of billing, business expenses, night/weekend call, employees and the fluctuating bottom dollar.

My practice flourished over the years despite all these changes. Things were actually going smoothly until that fateful day when I experienced a personal medical catastrophe.

55413.png

The first four days at the office were uneventful, actually operations were smooth and patient care was productive. Fridays were always unpredictable and could be business as usual or could be a havoc in progress. It seems that the staff, including myself, was tired from the first four days of the week and or were looking forward to the weekend.

The day started promptly at 8 am with a new patient referred for a cardiac evaluation. The patient and his wife were full of questions that needed my immediate attention. Consequently, I was 20 minutes late to get to my second patient. For reasons not clear, several patients also needed more time with me and so by noon I was very late. The staff instigated a corrective measure and cancelled a long yearly Medicare exam. I also elected to put off many of the typed notes to a later time. The result was that I finished my office hours only a half hour late at 5:30 pm. The billing clerk had already left at 5 pm, but the receptionist and my nurse always stayed until the last patient left the office.

As the cleaning service arrived, I moved to my private office to finish all the typed notes that were incomplete. I admit that I felt fatigued but attributed it to the difficult day. While I was typing I experienced a transitory double vision which I dismissed when it quickly cleared. I finally finished my notes an hour later. As I was closing my laptop I heard a pop in my head that was accompanied with flashing blue stars. An explosive headache ensued and I screamed out in pain. As the cleaning lady came in my office to check on me, suddenly everything went black and then there was nothing.

55405.png

The next thing I recall was being on an ambulance gurney being wheeled into the ambulance. The ride to the hospital was interrupted with periods in and out of consciousness. I finally woke up in a large and busy ER. The ER physician did a quick history and exam and astutely told me that he suspected an intracranial subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Fortunately the headache had lessened since receiving a mild analgesic and after stabilizing my vital signs that showed a fast heart rate and elevated blood pressure, I was transferred to the radiology department for an emergency head CT scan. In a short time the ER doc and radiologist came to inform me that the CT scan confirmed a mild to moderate hemorrhage and suggested that an enhanced CT scan be performed to locate the origin of the bleed–presumed from an aneurysm.

The enhanced CT is a form of angiogram produced by injecting a dye thru the IV line that lights up the arteries in the brain and can locate an arterial aneurysm.

This enhanced scan did confirm the location of the aneurysm and the fact that it was presently not bleeding. By the time I got back to the ER, I noticed a slight weakness of one arm and leg and a mental dullness with lack of clarity. I was then admitted to the hospital for further management. It was the next day when I had a meeting with a neurosurgeon and an interventional neuroradiologist. The issue at hand required a decision whether to proceed with a surgical clipping of the aneurysm versus an endovascular coiling procedure.

I had been informed of this meeting ahead of time and took the opportunity to explain to my two sons and daughter what the two choices involved before meeting with the doctors.

The surgical clipping is an invasive open cranial procedure which involves applying a metal clip at the opening of the aneyrysm to close off the opening to blood flow. The endovascular coiling involves the insertion of a catheter in the femoral artery and directing a micro catheter via the aorta to the carotid arteries and then to the intracranial arteries. After locating the aneurysm under CT imaging, a coil is electrically released into the aneurysm. The coils are made of platinum, are the size of a human hair and have a spring/coiling memory. The coils are left in the aneurysm and induce clotting of the blood in the aneurysm. This clot prevents blood from entering the aneurysm. For years surgical clipping was the gold standard. The endovascular coiling has been performed since the early 90’s. Recent articles have been showing a likely long term benefit of this coiling technique over surgical clipping.

I met with the surgeon and the neuroradiologist and they presented their own approach respectively. The risks of either method was well detailed as well as their potential complications. Both methods took into account that I had suffered some mild neurological deficiencies when the aneurysm ruptured. At the end of the discussion, I was comfortable with my decision–I chose the endovascular coiling method. My kids who were at the meeting were also comfortable with my decision.

55397.png

Thanks to modern technology and an experienced neuroradiologist, the procedure went well without complication. The coils were instilled in the aneurysm and proof of the clotting was proven later by CT imaging. The remainder of my hospital stay was uneventful except for the physical therapy for my arm and leg weakness as well as a baseline evaluation of my impaired cognition. I was discharged from the hospital after a five day stay. The discharge planner scheduled me for outpatient physical therapy and for a follow up visit with the neuroradiologist with an enhanced CT scan.

The month of physical therapy was so beneficial that on my last visit with the therapist, I had no residual weakness. The impaired cognition did not change. Basically I was experiencing memory deficits that were not conducive to medical practice. One month later, my cognitive skills had not improved, and was told by my neurologist that such impairment may last many months or may be permanent.

55390.png

I had now been on temporary disability for close to three months when the group chairman of my private practice invited me to a meeting of the group’s senior physicians. The early discussion covered my present cognitive impairment and then the subject matter moved on to the potential for permanent disability. The discussants pointed out that this medical catastrophe occurred while on the job and that stress of the difficult last day had certainly contributed to the event. This approach meant that I would qualify for permanent disability under the group’s plan. One physician pointed out that continued medical practice could lead to a re-bleed or worse. Another pointed out that working with impaired cognition was a high liability for me and my group–not mentioning that our malpractice insurance could refuse to insure me or that the new hospital employer could refuse to reinstate me.

And so the extended discussions continued along these lines. The chairman closed by recommending that I accept the group’s long term disability benefit–not knowing that the insurance carrier had already approved my disability up to age 70. It was also pointed out that I would also be eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62 and would likely qualify for Social Security Disability benefits after being disabled for one year. These benefits along with my old Keogh, IRA and now current 401 plan would provide my financial security.

The decision was a difficult one. After practicing medicine for over 35 years, it was not easy to let go of a profession that had been so rewarding. When I reviewed the pros and cons on the matter, it always came down to the same conclusion. I could not risk the liability for myself and my group, but more significant, I could not risk the potential damage to my patients. It was also crucial that I not expose myself to the stresses of medical practice, that could be the cause of further neurological complications.

After a long week of personal soul searching, I informed our senior partner that I would retire. I was still reluctant but understood the reason for my decision. My reluctance was based on two issues. The first was walking away from the practice of medicine, but the real frightening thing was, what am I going to do with my life? I had no hobby and no major interest outside of medicine. I NEEDED A SECOND LIFE!

And so my story begins.

55383.png

CHAPTER 2

A Second Life

A knock at the door and there was Jack, my next door neighbor. Come in Jack, how about a morning cup of coffee? Yes, a coffee sounds great. Well, what brings you here this fine Saturday morning? Thought I would check on what you are doing tomorrow. Well Jack, I have nothing planned as usual. I am sure you are aware that I am having difficulty finding a hobby or a regular activity to fill my days. I have tried golfing, hiking, card playing, reading and even tried dating but nothing is going well and I am still trying new endeavors.

Jack looked at me and said, I guess that is why I came to see you today. I have known you for 10 years since you moved next door. I was working at a cable TV company and you were busy with your practice, and so we never got together much except for our visits to the indoor range for pistol shooting. I retired one year ago and immediately got involved with a shooting sport that I had eyed for a long time.

They are having a shoot tomorrow at the local club and I hope I can convince you to join me as your guide. I thought about what he said and for no reason I gladly said I would be happy to join him on this tour.

Jack replied, That is wonderful, now this sport is called Cowboy Action Shooting, but I do not want you to Google it. I want you completely ignorant of the sport so I can present it to you the same way it was presented to me. What I did not realize at the time was that Jack was planning some Shock and OMG as well as some personal introductions, and had already acquired two books on the subject!

I almost cheated and nearly opened Google to look up the sport on Cowboy Shooting. Fortunately I resisted and Sunday AM arrived. Jack picked me up and we headed to a local shooting range within 10 miles of home.

55376.png

Sunday day 1. We arrived early at the club and only the organizers were present at the clubhouse. Jack explained that I was a tenderfoot–meaning that I was a newcomer and knew nothing of the sport. He actually refined his statement by saying to the man that I was being introduced to Cowboy Action Shooting(CAS) in hopes that I would join the sport. The organizer came up to me and said welcome to the Desperados, my name is Ranger Rooster, I am president of this club and range master for the shoots. I just realized that members of CAS use alias names. He further added, you are lucky to be guided by P–Shooter, and I am certain that under his guidance, we’ll see you again.

Jack, or I should say P–Shooter, showed me around the clubhouse. There was a registration counter, a display table where members place their wares for sale, and many round tables for lunch and meetings. The clubhouse also functions as a dance hall when the club hires a country band, and removes some round tables to create a dance floor. I also saw an elevated bench/bar that opens during dances to provide liquid refreshments.

On our way back to the parking lot where participants were arriving, I asked Jack, why did you take the name of P–Shooter as your alias? His answer, the first time I came to a shoot, one of the local cowboy shooters told everyone that I was a well known auto pistol shooter in the competition world. At registration, since I had not taken an alias, someone yelled out P–Shooter and it has been my alias ever since.

P–Shooter explained how alias names were chosen. It was often based on a profession, location, work ethics, habits, physical appearance, past criminal record and on and on. For example a name like Diamond Bandit would likely be a local jeweler, Iron Man would be a welder, Otto-Driva would be a German race car driver, and Ditch-Witch would be a lady excavator operator and so on. Now you can imagine the origin of alias names like Booger Joe, Big Dufus, Scruffy, and Sassy Dame.

55368.png

Arriving at the parking lot, I noticed that several participants had arrived. Jack pointed out, note that there are cowboys and cowgirls. The shooters are unloading their cowboy carts which is a two wheel L shaped wagon like an old plow. There is a top box for ammo, a rack for long guns, a bottom box for accessories that also serves as a seat and two holsters attached to the upright handles for pistols. I was looking at these cowboy carts and noticed that some were commercial products but most were made by the shooters themselves. These had a personal flare that seemed to match the dress and decor of either a cowboy or cowgirl.

The next thing Jack pointed out was the dress code. Look at the men’s costumes. Yes, they are costumes of the 1800’s and so they are period correct clothing between 1800–1900. The man’s pants are either canvas or a tweed with buttons for suspenders, without belt loops, and buttons instead of zippers. The shirts are full, partial buttoned fronts or shielded bib fronts. They have long sleeves and banded collars. Mandatory accessories include the cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Many cowboys wear vests for insulation or for show.

Jack then described the ladies costumes, they have the option of wearing the same costume as men but often substitute the banded collar shirt for a long sleeve blouse. However, many wear a gingham type dress of the pioneer days or a flashy costume of the era….. etc etc. Some wear riding pants as a costume approaching the late 1800’s. Other optional accessories include bonnet, apron, chemise under the dress, ankle length skirts and vests. There is more individuality with women costumes which adds to the flare, beauty and fantasy of the sport.

55360.png

I watched the men load their cowboy wagons. Something caught my eye–a cowboy was working hard to pump air in his wagon tire. That is when Jack jumped in and said, today most cowboys use hard rubber tires instead of pneumatic tires. There are too many thorns, sharp plant products and cutting rocks that cause flats with pneumatic tires, whereas the hard rubber type is the standard west of the Mississippi.

The wagon loading process was a universal system from one wagon to another. Jack volunteered the sequence of events. They start with the long guns to be placed in their racks. The rifle’s lever is left open and the double barrel shotgun in open. Some shooters use a period pump shotgun and the slide on those is open. The revolvers are placed in the wagon holsters or in the bottom box. Ammo goes in the top box and any other accessories go in the bottom box. Used ammo bags are attached to the wagon and the last item secured to the wagon is a large beach umbrella–for sun or rain protection. The cowboy then puts on his boots and hat, secures his belt and holsters, and can use an extra belt for his shotgun and pistol/rifle ammo slides.

While watching several shooters getting ready, Jack and I heard a loud @#$%^&**(% I forgot my *******ammo. Jack added, par for the course, at least he didn’t forget his holsters like he did last month. Guess you can understand why his alias is Alz Homer! This made me think that were I to entertain this sport, a check off list would be in the cards for me, especially since I still have memory deficits from my aneurysm rupture.

Jack continued, after the wagon loading is done, the shooters head for the clubhouse to register and get their coffee and donuts. They then circulate, socialize with other club members, look for visiting shooters and new shooters to welcome them to their club. Everyone then waits for the 9 AM Shooter’s Meeting.

55353.png

Suddenly an SUV pulls in and parks right next to us. Jack turned toward the vehicle but not before I saw a smile on his face. WOW, I could not believe my eyes, but it was real. I saw a tall and slim woman with a friendly face, a natural smile, well endowed, skinny legs and beautiful short blond hair in a Princess Diane style. I thought, great genetic inheritance. I knew that my jaw had dropped open and would be tongue tied if forced to speak. I came out of my reverie and heard Jack say. Doc Derby, I would like to introduce you to Lady Slipper. This cowgirl is a well known shooter in this club and other surrounding clubs. Doc Derby is my neighbor and today I am introducing him to our sport.

Lady Slipper stepped up to shake my hand and welcomed me to today’s shoot. I finally got a few words out, and I did notice that she in turn was giving me a full going over, as I had done. She then proceeded to load her gear and get ready. We were able to carry a conversation as she multi tasked her prep work and her responses. After she was ready, we escorted her to the club house where the next step shortly followed, the Shooter’s Meeting.

55346.png

The Shooter’s Meeting was a mandatory attendance for all shooters. It started with the Pledge Allegiance to the Flag. The Range Master who wrote the stages ran the meeting. Posse’s were assigned. He announced that this shoot would be following SASS rules, went over convention rules such as only lead bullets allowed etc etc, and pointed out that this club requires that the loading and unloading tables be manned at all times. He reminded all shooters that everyone was a safety officer and any questionable activity should be brought to the range officer’s attention. After some shooters asked questions or made announcements, the meeting was terminated and the shooters headed to their posse’s starting stage.

As Jack and I were considered spectators, we stayed this side of the split rail fence. Jack then proceeded to describe the full sequence of events. "The range officer gathers the posse and reads the scenario. He describes the sequence of each firearm. For example: you shoot the 5 pistol targets from left to right on the first pistol and right to left on the second pistol. The rifle 5 targets are shot by double tapping targets 1,5,2,4,3 in that sequence, the three shotgun targets are shot four times in the sequence 1,2,2,3. Targets 1 and 3 are knockdowns and must go down or are a miss. So the