Date set for 2010 State Shoot at Marshalltown, Iowa~~~~September 25th&26th

 Cowboy Mounted Shooting is one of the fastest equestrian sports in the United States today.The purpose of the Iowa Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (IA CMSA) is to instruct safe handling of firearms, to educate interested people about cowboy mounted shooting, and to promote cowboy mounted shooting by hosting cowboy mounted shooting educational hands-on clinics, hosting educational workshops for club members and to host Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) competitions.The club will also be an educational resource to provide assistance to neighboring CMSA clubs with the goal of attracting new people to participate in cowboy mounted shooting; and to be a educational living history resource to other groups who want to learn more about the “Old West” – specifically the period from 1865 – 1899.   duanepistol.jpg

The club also strives to improve camaraderie among all CMSA members. The club will abide by the rules set forth in the CMSA Rulebook, promote good sportsmanship, and family participation in the sport of cowboy mounted shooting.

Mounted contestants compete in this fast action timed event using two .45 caliber single action revolvers, each loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition. Courses of fire are set in a variety of patterns.The first half (5 targets) of a course of fire will vary with each go and can required the horse and rider to stop, turn, change leads and to accelerate rapidly. The second half (5 targets) is called the “run down.” The run down is a straight course with targets set at approximately 36-foot intervals.Typically, a mounted shooting competitor crosses the timing beam at a full gallop and engages the first pattern of five targets. After a shooter fires the fifth shot, he or she returns the empty revolver to a holster and proceeds to and turn around a barrel and then races to far end of the arena while drawing a second revolver. At the far end of the arena, the horse and rider turn another barrel and then engage the five remaining targets of the run down at full speed.

Scoring is based on lapsed time plus penalties for missed targets or knocked over barrel. An average course of fire normally takes a contestant between 15 and 25 seconds to complete.