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Cowboy action shooting event will bring visitors back to the “Old West”

SPARTA, IL- The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois will host the second annual Illinois State Championship for members of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS).

This event, held from July 26-30, features registered shooters from twenty-one different states across the U.S.

The largest of all SASS sanctioned State Championships in the nation, the Randolph County Ruckus will again feature over 300 participants, all in period costume competing in a variety of entertaining competitions.

Cowboy Action Shooting is a multifaceted shooting sport in which contestants compete with firearms typical of those used in the taming of the Old West: single action revolvers, lever action rifles, and side by side double barreled, pre-1899 pump, or lever action shotguns. The shooting competition is staged in a unique, characterized, Old West style. Contestants shoot in several one- to four-gun stages (courses of fire) engaging reactive steel targets. Scoring is based on accuracy and speed.

Participants will also recapture scenes from the Old West by recreating “typical” scenarios including:

Shootout at the Sparta Corral

Since your brothers and friend Hock Dollerday have decided to stay at the Crystal Palace Saloon and partake of wine, women, and song, you are left to defend the honor of the Sparta corral against the cowboys.

Old West Bank Robbery

It’s your first day as teller for the Village Bank. You are pleased as punch the branch manager trusted you enough to leave you alone with the bank’s money while he went to lunch. Things are going pretty well too, until you look up and see the notorious Shady Creek gang enter the bank to rob it. If you can save the day, you will win the coveted Teller of the Month award.

The McLean County Mercantile

You are sweeping off the boardwalk in front of your store when you hear a ruckus inside. As you peer through the window and see your clerk with a gun to his head, you realize desperadoes are robbing your store. By thunder, these Randolph County rascals won’t get away with your hard earned money!

Participants of the match are all members of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), headquartered in Yorba Linda, California. SASS has over 54,000 members residing in all fifty states and in eighteen foreign countries. Currently there are over 1,000 SASS members belonging to seventeen clubs scattered throughout Illinois. The various clubs are located from Rockford to Carterville and from Quincy to Murdock. In the nearby states of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee there are approximately another 5,000 SASS members who could make the pilgrimage to the WSRC either as participants or spectators of the match.

Categories and Awards: There will be a trophy for the Top Overall Main Match Shooter, as well as a separate trophy for the winner of the Sunday Top Gun Shoot-off. SASS will supply belt buckles and regional match entries to the top male and female shooters from Illinois.

The top three shooters in a category will receive a trophy. For categories with ten or more shooters, first through fifth place trophies will be awarded. Awards will be given for the best overall times for all side matches, for men, ladies, and seniors. Out-of-state shooters are eligible for all awards except the belt buckles and regional match entries will be given to the top male and female from Illinois. To be declared an Illinois State Champion you must be a legal resident of the State of Illinois.

The Randolph County Ruckus is the SASS sanctioned Illinois State Championship. It is hosted and organized by the members of the Prairie State Cowboy Action Shooting Association, Inc. There is no charge for spectators and families are welcome to join in four days of shooting, recreation, and all-around cowboy fun.

Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich approved construction of the WSRC in 2003. The newly-constructed, state-of-the-art facility is projected to have a significant economic impact on the Southwest Illinois region by boosting tourism, creating more than 250 new jobs and generating millions of dollars in additional income for the area.

Construction on the complex’s Event Center, vendor mall, five individual vendor buildings, shower building, and maintenance building has been completed with detailed interior work being finalized in all buildings. Work continues on the Event Center’s full service restaurant and lounge that will be fully operational in time for the grand opening. Finishing touches are also being put on the Event Center’s gift shop, meeting rooms and banquet facilities.

Construction of the facility’s 120 trap fields is complete. The complex’s water tower is nearly complete and landscape work around the facility is approximately 60 percent complete. Last month crews began paving the complex’s more than 1,000 campsites, expected to be complete within the next couple of weeks.

WSRC Fact Sheet

1,500+ acres including 250 acres of water
120 trap fields extending 3.5 miles
Two sporting clay courses
Cowboy Action Shooting corral
Permanent exhibitor building
746 RV campsites with electric, water, and sanitary services, with an additional 264 sites with electrical service providing potential for camping jamborees.
34,000 Sq. ft. Multi-purpose, multi-use recreational facility
Gift shop and full service restaurant/lounge