Long Riders live Old West fantasy in Bedford

"I’m going to hunt you down!"

"You’re not getting my hooch!"

Gunshots follow. Rifles and revolvers unleash a hail of bullets amid the smell of gunpowder.

The sights and sounds of a Wild West town where gunslingers and outlaws rule the streets?

No, it’s here in law-abiding Bedford on a Sunday morning and a group called the Liberty Long Riders has met for a few of hours of "Cowboy Action" shooting.

The competitive shooting sport originated in the 1980s in California and features a mix of rifles and revolvers that are originals or copies of guns used before 1900. One by one, the gunners shoot at targets several feet away as they are time and points are tallied for competition.

They wear badges, boots, bandannas, spurs, belt buckles, holsters, hats and other garb inspired by the spirit of the Old West. They also each carry an alias to help bring period characters to life.

"The idea is to have as much fun as you can while duplicating the 19th century west," said Dan Drewery of Stewartsville, who goes by "Trapper Dan." "You can travel all over the country and meet up with these bunches."

Group members belong to the Single Action Shooting Society, an organization that preserves and promotes the sport. There are about a dozen clubs of SASS in Virginia, including one in Lynchburg, according to the organization’s website.

The Liberty Long Riders meet monthly in Bedford County at a range behind the Bedford Lion’s Club less than a mile off U.S. 460.

Lynchburg resident Ashley Martin, also known as "Della Rose"’ travels to various clubs within an hour’s drive of the Hill City to shoot. She’s been involved in SASS for more than half her life, joining at 13, and in July won a state title for women’s Cowboy Fast Draw shooting in Roanoke.

For Martin, the gatherings are more than competition.

"This is my family," Martin said of the atmosphere. "I don’t know what it is about the cowboy spirit, but everybody is so friendly."

She loved Western films when she was a kid and her father led her into the sport, the 30-year-old said.

Her family also bonded through the sport: Her mother was more active in the dress up side.

"We always had the choice of what we wanted to do and shooting just engulfed us," Martin said.

She’s competed at events in California, Colorado and North Carolina and at age 13 won a junior competition on the West Coast.

"You can go anywhere," Martin said of Cowboy Action matches. "It’s worldwide."

She and other shooters are gearing up for a statewide competition in Roanoke over the Labor Day weekend. The weekly matches are good practice, Martin said.

SASS groups adhere to strict safety rules, members say. Gun barrels are pointed upward at all times and participants wear ear plugs and never walk in the path of loaded or unloaded guns.

Shooters joke around with each other and the fellowship is very friendly. Stories of Wild West characters are told prior to each round of shooting as the group listens.

"It’s the best people you will ever meet in your life," said Charlottesville resident Philip Beasley, nicknamed "Doc McWane."

"So even if you couldn’t shoot, it’s worth coming out for the dress and the people."

SASS groups are open to new participants (but not felons whose gun rights have been revoked), Drewery said.

Beasley, a Cowboy Action shooter for the past 15 years, said the sport draws people from many professions and walks of life.

"You get into this, you don’t have much room to be shy," Beasley said. "It makes a world of difference in how you feel about yourself. You communicate with people better afterwards."

The bigger the match, the more fun, said Beasley, because it draws a variety of shooters who take different approaches to the game. Some days shooters can’t hit the side of a barn door, he said, and other days they can’t miss.

A strong love of country also is at the heart of the game, Beasley said.

"There’s no better way to reinforce things that used to be than to go out and do them and have fun," he said.

Authenticating the Old West through dress and sport and with like-minded people is what keeps Beasley coming back.

"You’re your own hero," Beasley said of the Old West spirit. "Everybody needs a hero. You can be your own."

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Cowboy Up