The great frontier, dusty saloons, and high-noon gunfights may belong to another era, but the cowboy spirit is alive and well in Burnet.

For Vinton Stanfield and a growing group of local gunslingers, cowboy hats, revolvers, and elaborate gun holsters are all part of the action as members of the Cowboy Fast Draw Association.

“Once you buy the holster and the gun, it’s the cheapest fun you can have shooting,” Stanfield said. “There’s nothing like it.”

Cowboy Fast Draw is a shooting sport built on speed, accuracy, and consistency. Gunslingers using wax bullets see how quickly they can draw, aim, and hit a roughly 17-inch-wide target. A competitor must strike the target within 1.24 seconds to earn points.

Stanfield, who lives in Burnet and competes under the alias “Burnet Bandit,” is one of many international members of the CFDA chasing the highs of the pistol-plinking sport that combines the style of the Old West with modern shooting.

Stanfield began competing in 2020 and quickly became a leader in the fast-draw community. Wanting to give local competitors a place to practice, he transformed part of a large metal shed in his backyard into a dedicated range.

Metal targets, range timers, a safety net, and plenty of fast-draw paraphernalia fill the space, which becomes a gathering spot on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

Regular practice sessions last anywhere from two to three hours, or, as Stanfield puts it, “Till everyone is tired of shooting.”

Competitors generally face off in pairs, with a judge positioned behind each shooter to ensure no one draws early. The judges also help with reloading and collecting empty shell casings, working in the background to keep the action going.

On the firing line, practices, competitions, and the handling of loaded revolvers are taken seriously. But away from the targets, Stanfield said, the atmosphere is rarely heavy.

“It’s just fun,” he said. “Most of the time, we only know people by their aliases and don’t even know guys by their first names.”

That sense of community stretches well beyond Burnet. Cowboy Fast Draw is an international organization that brings together competitors for state, regional, national, and world championships.

With help from Stanfield and other local leaders, Burnet has hosted two state tournaments, including one this past March. The city is scheduled to host a four-day regional tournament next year at the Burnet County Fairgrounds for competitors and fans.

“We’re really hoping for a good turnout,” Stanfield said. “We want to get with (Mayor Gary Wideman) to get some publicity and maybe have a celebrity shootout with him, some officers, and deputies.”

For Stanfield, Cowboy Fast Draw is also a family affair.

“My youngest son and I compete together sometimes,” he said. “I’ve got some of the awards that we’ve won on display here in the range.”

The pair competed at a tournament this year, where Stanfield’s son earned a spot among the top shooters in the competition: the “Magnificent Seven.”

“My son came in seventh and made the Magnificent Seven,” Stanfield said. “I think that tournament really helped him feel good about what he was doing, because it can be frustrating.”

Frustration is part of the process, he said, even for a sport known for its simplicity and thrill.

A thumb can slip off the hammer of a revolver. A competitor can fail to pull the trigger properly. A gun can even be dropped.

During a recent practice at Stanfield’s range, a local competitor’s hand slipped from his revolver, causing it to fall to the ground. Everyone was immediately told to remain still and keep their hands up while a range judge retrieved the revolver and ensured it was safe.

If one of the wax bullets had been fired when the revolver hit the ground, it could have done serious damage. Like “blank” bullets, wax bullets have gunpowder but no metal projectiles and are rarely fatal. Wax bullets are soft and malleable but can be fired with enough velocity at close range to penetrate clothes and skin. 

“Mistakes happen,” Stanfield said. “Part of the process is getting out of your mind and clearing your head after that.”

Beyond overcoming mistakes and frustrations, Stanfield said the sport’s greatest reward has little to do with shooting and more to do with people.

“Everybody is fantastic,” he said. “It’s a worldwide organization, so you get to meet all kinds of people doing it. We’ve met one of the original founders who started Cowboy Fast Draw, people who are retired and doing it for fun, and people who compete for a living. They’re all great.”

Looking ahead, Stanfield said his goal shifted away from simply being the fastest.

“It’s been about shooting percentage,” he said. “The fastest time I shoot is 0.402 seconds. There’s other people that shoot in the threes and high twos—some crazy-fast people. But right now, I’m working on accuracy because a miss is a miss.”

For the time being, the Burnet Bandit is more than happy to keep working on the details alongside his son and local compatriots while sharing his passion for slinging iron.

“This is one of the easiest things to do for me,” Stanfield said. “It’s fun, it’s cheap, it’s serious, and the people love what you love.”

caden@thepicayune.com