Not that long ago, those guns and costumes had to represent the pre-1900 "Old West" time period. Now, at least for one category within the cowboy action universe, the arms and costumes can represent the early 20th century.

"It's called Wild Bunch shooting," explained Don Cavell, aka the "Mud River Marauder," during a lull in the action at the recent West Virginia State Wild Bunch Championship, held at the Kanawha Valley Regulators' Buffalo Flats cowboy action range in Putnam County.

"Remember the [1969] Sam Peckinpah movie, 'The Wild Bunch?' The costumes and guns for Wild Bunch shooting are based on those in the movie."

The film, widely considered one of the all-time classic westerns, was set in 1913 along the U.S.-Mexico border. Some of the characters wielded the hot new sidearm of the day, the Colt Model 1911, the clip-fed, .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol adopted in 1911 as the official sidearm of the U.S. military.

Wild Bunch shooting revolves around the Model 1911. Rifles and shotguns also get used, but most shootout scenarios, or "stages," focus on speed and accuracy with the .45.

"The discipline got started because a lot of cowboy action shooters also owned 1911s, and they wanted to find a way to use them," Cavell said.

Just as cowboy action shooters must dress in Old West garb, Wild Bunch participants must wear clothing similar to that worn by characters in the Wild Bunch movie. Shooters also adopt aliases, or nicknames, and compete using those names.

"Even so, it's not just cowboy action shooting with a Model 1911," said Ed "Eddie Rebel" Clark. "The targets are smaller and farther away. Sometimes the targets move. The bottom line is that Wild Bunch shooters are expected to be a little more proficient."

A typical stage might involve firing four shots with a shotgun, 10 rounds with a rifle and 15 rounds with a Model 1911. Each pistol magazine, or clip, can hold just five shots.

"A shooter will usually change clips twice during a stage," Cavell explained. "And they can only change after a clip is empty. There's no such thing as a 'tactical reload' in Wild Bunch shooting."

There's also no such thing as using "wimp loads," low-velocity powder charges designed to minimize recoil.

"We reserve the right to pull five of a participant's rounds and shoot them through a chronograph to measure their velocities. If we find out someone is shooting wimp loads, there are penalties," Cavell said.

Before they begin each round, Wild Bunch shooters choose whether they want to use the "traditional" or "modern" gun handling style.

"In the traditional category, pistols must have fixed sights and shooters hold and fire the pistol using only hand," Clark explained. "In the modern category, the gun can have adjustable sights plus two other modifications, and the shooters use a two-hand grip."

Fred "Pike Marshall" Theierl, president of the Kanawha Valley Regulators cowboy action shooting club, said the Wild Bunch discipline has been popular since some of the club's members began participating in it two years ago.

"You can now shoot the Wild Bunch category at any of our [monthly] cowboy action matches," he added. "To shoot it, you only need to add a Model 1911 to your collection and change your [costume] slightly. It's a great opportunity for people to have fun shooting their 1911s."

Reach John McCoy at johnmc...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1231.