I just came across this great article, about the Smoky Mountain Shootist Society. Get this — once a month, a large group of armed men (and women) meet on a hilly area and start blasting. Real guns.
If you’re interested in that kind of thing (and even if you’re not — it’s not something I’d usually find interesting, but this is a hoot!), check out the complete story on MetroPulse.com. It’s well-written, quirky, and lots of fun.
One of my favorite parts:
There must be about 80 of them, judging by a count of the cowboy hats during the obligatory safety meeting that opens every match. They’re individualists—they all got up this morning with different ideas of what an authentic shootist looks like. Some look like they’re escapees from the set of Unforgiven or Silverado. A few might fit in better in Red River. … Some are in leather fringe, some in serapes, some in what looks like authentic 19th-century underwear. One fellow’s wearing his coin collection, a few dozen 1870s silver dollars on leather pants. It’s unclear whether any of it helps them shoot.