Published: July 22, 2008 01:23 am            

Fast-draw siblings to perform at fair

Lebanon — Roanna Huckstep and Romey Nance will demonstrate “cowboy action shooting” with a spin — and a twist — at the Boone County 4-H Fair Wednesday.

Using Dakotas, Italian-made duplicates of late 19th-century Colt revolvers, the brother and sister act, called “The Blazing 45s,” will perform at 7 p.m. at the stage south of the fairgrounds flagpole.

The .45-caliber pistols are “single action,” meaning the revolvers are cocked by pulling back the hammer with the thumb.

“I think it’s in my blood,” Huckstep said. “I just enjoy shooting and I always have; it’s fun.”

“Cowboy action shooting” has grown in popularity, with several national organizations, including the Single-Action Shooting Society, dedicated to recreating the Old West. Participants wear period dress, use authentic replicas of handguns, shotguns and rifles, and participate in various contests.

Nance began single-action shooting about 10 years ago, Huckstep said. She picked up the sport about seven years ago.

“I love competition,” she said. She and Huckstep often have contests to see who can draw the fastest.

“We’ll shoot balloons, then do a little fancy gun handling, spinning and flipping,” Huckstep said.

One of the maneuvers they will perform is called the “road agent spin.” The revolver is held out, as though surrendering, butt-first and upside down. With a practiced flip of the wrist, the revolver could be flipped into firing position.

Huckstep asked her brother if there was a way to fire the revolver upside down.

“When I was practicing, I didn’t realize I was doing it differently,” she said. She learned how to flip the gun upside down and shoot it with her pinkie, and maneuver now called “the Roanna Twist.”

Their manager, Jim Nance, is friends with Bob Munden, who owns the world record for the fastest draw-and-fire: Two one-hundredths of a second.

Huckstep and her family recently returned from a vacation to Maggie Valley, N.C., and the tourist attraction “Ghost Town in The Sky.” While there, a studio was filming a movie to debut this fall.

The studio plans another movie, and have asked Huckstep to audition.

“I would love that,” she said, “even if I’m like the stunt double.”

on the web

Single-action shooting: www.sassnet.com

Cowboy shooting links: www.reloadammo.com

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.