The Quigley Shoot

hi i'm mark bedor today's wild west is outside forsyth montana at the quigley chute the guns once used to hunt buffalo now hunt targets in a very challenging montana shooting competition we'll take you there just ahead this is fun it's a blast when we're not shooting oh it's been a blast it really has been welcome to the matthew quigley buffalo rifle match target coulter competitive target shooters from all over the country and around the world it's worth a thousand mile drive come to a ranch outside forsyth montana for the biggest shooting match of its kind the quigley as it's known for short uses the same kind of rifles the buffalo hunters used back in the 1800s it's like a piece of jewelry yeah they're works of art exact replicas of those same guns are made today by shiloh rifle manufacturing in big timber montana the company that built the single shot sharps rifle featured in the 1990 tom selleck western quickly down under a movie that inspired al lee to launch the quigley shooting match the following year i've been shooting these guns for a long time the 88-year-old lee has been hosting the quigley shoot ever since every father's day weekend on his eastern montana ranch about 30 shooters came to that very first competition 643 signed up for the 27th annual add in their family and friends and the quigley shoot turns lee's ranch into quigleyville for many the gathering has become a family tradition it is it's an annual tradition we've been doing this together as a family for about 10 years emily reeves with her little daughter erica is here with 15 family members seven of whom are competing we've always been you know shooting family target shooting the the quigley is amazing it's just such a fun time to come out here and camp do the shooting brave the elements and get the you know be able to bring the kids and get them you know excited about shooting this is my first time first time wow what do you think i like it and the shooters here include a fair number of well supervised kids you need to teach them respect and you need to teach them safety and if you can do that you know this is a great a great thing for kids eight-year-old wesley bauer is having fun shooting his granddad's rifle that's what was fun about it sixteen-year-old colter johnson first came here as an eleven-year-old with his granddad how's this weekend um pretty well he's shooting exceptionally well that's my gun he's shooting and he's beating my butt and it's been so much fun to work with colter to see him do so well all right larry the quigley does tend to attract an older crowd after all this is a sport that requires a fair amount of disposable income for a quality gun with a nice sight you're looking maybe twenty five hundred dollars but for those who love the quigley it's money well spent it's fun it's a great campout yeah it's a great sport we we shoot other places and this is this is the best one don and chris steinman strove 850 miles from yakima washington the competition and the scenery and the trip and the vendor row the noise i love hearing it hit that's my favorite part hitting at target you can barely see using only iron sights no scopes is no easy thing you just get used to looking for the contrast between the dark and the light and placing that in the peep and the in the end of your site targets range from 300 yards to as far as 1200 yards away well over half a mile which is why this is a two-person sport with a spotter helping shooters gauge the wind at long distances even a slight breeze can send a bullet off course it's challenging definitely challenged a lot more challenging than modern firearms dave gulo was last year's champion but once you learn it you'd be surprised at what you can hit target pretty far out 800 yards thousand yards even and then you just kind of look at your gun and you think i i just hit that target for real in your iron sights we're talking iron sights we're using but he also doesn't take the competition too seriously there's no pressure i let the chips fall where they may if i if i win fine i don't win everything i don't no way if i lose i lose i'm happy for the winner all this fun is governed by just two rules be safe and have fun but there are procedures to make sure that happens the muzzle is always pointed in a safe direction which is down range at all times you keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot and you keep the gun unloaded until you're ready to shoot dan couchera is the chief range safety officer but dan stresses safety and looking out for each other is everybody's job these guns have no manual safeties on them so the safety is between your ears you need to be thinking as with all firearms you need to be thinking about what you're doing and be aware of those who are around you and this is a crowd you can trust there's a lot of dollars worth of equipment sitting around you never have to worry about anybody messing with it just a bunch of real good people here the fun includes shopping at the vendor booths okay we'll take it and showing off your best western outfits we have friends all the way up and down the line that we visit with too and we have a maybe a little glass of something to drink and everybody's been so nice because yesterday all we did was watch it rain we couldn't shoot you couldn't go anywhere and everybody was happy they were having fun visiting with their friends and then today we can shoot i bought my gun in 2010 so i started the competition in 2011. the quigley shoot a montana weekend of fun friends and family together being together that's really what it's all about and getting this one started yeah he almost outshot me today yeah [Laughter] that's it for now we're back next time with more cool stuff from today's wild west i'm mark fedor we'll see you down the trail for more information on the people and places featured in today's wild west or to order show dvds and books visit todayswildwest.com funding for today's wild west provided by the montana film commission the leggett foundation the chuck wagon trail riders foundation the dude ranchers association and the dude ranch foundation [Music] you

Channel: Today's Wild West

Views: 700,084

Rating: 4.935225 out of 5

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Id: TzDS1uiwvRo

Length: 7min 44sec (464 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 30 2021