Three shot, Wild West reenactment

[billwatson2]

It's not us, but odds are it will affect us. Three shot.

Just for your information, because of all the posts in the past month about firearm safety in reenacting. Note how carefully the Rapid City Journal phrased things: "Lead fragments," not bullets, etc. They are leaving room for this to have been something other than Wild West reenactor error with live ammo. I picked a link to the closest newspaper to the event, rather than a wire service story. You can definitely sense the consternation this is causing in a community dependent on tourism.

[flattop32355]

There's a national Reenactors Guild of America????? How about that.

Nice to see that the authorities in charge aren't jumping the gun (no pun intended) with possibilities and speculation, but following through on finding out just what did happen before making definitive statements as to guilt and innocence; something that some in this hobby need to learn.

[billwatson2]

It pays to be cautious. Remember the fellow shot in the jewels a few years back? And it turned out, as I recall, to be from a modern .22? That may have been one of several things, but it wasn't reenactor accidental error.

[billwatson2]

Yes. Reenactors Guild of America. "Old West".

[billwatson2]

Speaking of national groups: An incipient group with potential. Note the emphasis on accurate history.

National Society of Living Historians.

[hanktrent]

Speaking of national groups: An incipient group with potential. Note the emphasis on accurate history.

National Society of Living Historians.

Since they're located in my state, I'd have a genuine interest in this if it seemed to be offering an island of better accuracy within local mainstream events.

What kind of potential or accuracy do you mean? The 2011 schedule is just a list of typical mainstream events, fashion shows, big Saturday night suppers, etc. and there seem to be no accuracy standards whatsoever for the group itself, other than hide your cooler, pop and plastic bags during the day (code of conduct page).

For example, here's an event they're accepting registrations for that's within a few hours of my wife and me. I see no accuracy standards or safety standards mentioned at all.

As far as safety, the code of conduct page says, "Members bearing weapons agree to attend a weapon safety course pertaining to their weapon. Members must be at least 16 years of age and have their weapons cleaned and checked at each event." That's good, of course, but it has no specifics.

Guess I'm not seeing what you're seeing.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Beauty is on the eye of the beholder.

IMHO, and experience, "they" are the result of what happens when "mainstream" folks apply labels to themselves and so reenactors become living historians, living historians become experiential anthropologists, experiential anthropologists become experimental archeologists ALL without a mutually agreed upon definition or consensus as to use, denotation, connotation, standards, activities, or events.

"Eras we currently have represented: Roman, Medieval Europe, American Revolutionary War, Frontiersmen, Native American Indians, War of 1812, Regency, Civil War, Pioneers, “Wild West”, WW I, Roaring 20s, WW II, 1980s. "

Not being negative, critical, or knocking their vision or efforts.

CHS
Who knows folks who refer to themselves as "living historians" because they put on a costume to attend a gun show becasue that is "living history"

[Blair]

Here is a perception, that tends to get lost within many of the reenacting communities today. (Historical time periods are not specifically irrelevant.)

Do not forget that these are 'real' firearms! Or, in some cases, non arms made to act like real firearms. (but that is another issue!)

There are several Organizations that have worked very hard at setting up rules of conduct that set and/or establish various guidelines regarding safety in the usage of these 'real' firearms.
Most of these are based off of the obvious dangers of "live" shooting projectiles.
A good educational/teaching program established within the live fire community can and does aid immensely in the promotion of safe handling and usage of "BLANK" firing procedures within reenacting too.
For one reason or another, many of these procedures are deemed either not "accurately or authentically" sufficient, or very controversial based on the historical documentation. Again, we tend to forget within the historical context... they were trying to cause harm to one another by shooting "live" back and fourth at one another.
I don't think for a moment that anyone is actually wishing this type of an immersion experience. So, why not make the adjustments to the historical documentation that allow for the safe usage and handling of "BLANK" base on the live fire Organizations?
The ACW reenacting community does not seem to be able to do this. Perhaps, because there is NO 'real' organization to speak of?

Not meaning to be negative... it just seems to be the nature of the beast, from my observations.

[billwatson2]

Hank: I don't disagree with the assessment, it's why I p ut "incipient" ahead of the nouns. They are starting on a journey, I think. How many reenactors would find this a step forward from what they do toward what you do? Here's a group that declares accuracy to be valuable. Compared to the number of groups who attach no value at all to accuracy, and to the many people who have adopted some kind of neo-history or "whatever I feel is right is true history," these folks are evolving. No big deal, just remembered them when backtracking to see if anyone had started a bonafide national organization for Civil War reenactors.

[hanktrent]

Here's a group that declares accuracy to be valuable. Compared to the number of groups who attach no value at all to accuracy, and to the many people who have adopted some kind of neo-history or "whatever I feel is right is true history," these folks are evolving.

For what it's worth, I've met very few reenactors who say that accuracy isn't valuable. It doesn't seem to be much of a litmus test.

Since this is a thread primarily about safety, their requirement that "Members bearing weapons agree to attend a weapon safety course pertaining to their weapon," seems like a good one. Are there such things? If most units and/or events made that a requirement, how would a reenactor find such a course? Is there a database or something? I have no idea, since I don't usually carry a firearm at events, and edged weapon consensus at reenactments seems to be not even on the radar, other than rules about bayonets.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com