Ballston Spa, N.Y. - Cowboy Action Shooting is like a trip back to the days of the Wild West - with period firearms and shooting games, along with Western-style dress and Western nicknames.

Cowboy Action shooting has been offered at the Kayaderosseras Fish and Game Club in Ballston Spa in Saratoga County since 1998.

This reporter traveled recently to Ballston Spa in Saratoga County for the monthly Cowboy Action Shooting event put on by the Circle K Regulators at the Kayaderosseras Fish and Game Club. The Circle K Regulators have been offering the shoots for the past 20 years at the club and each September host "Heluva Rukas," which are the state championships for men and women shooters in various shooting categories.

"We got to the point at this club where we were shooting at steel plates and bowling pins and it was getting stale and not a lot of people were participating," said Daniel "Smokehouse Dan" Scripter, the "trail boss" of the Circle K Regulators' shoots He's also president of the fish and game club.

Scripter said he read about Cowboy Action Shooting in a magazine and ended up visiting a club in Western NY that did it. He came back sold on the concept. His club began offering shoots in 1998.

Today, the Circle K Regulators draw on the average 60 to 70 male and female shooters each month.

Cowboy Action Shooting is an international activity, governed by the Single Action Shooting Society. The are clubs across the country, Canada, Europe - even South Africa. New York has 12 clubs.

Participants are required to shoot three types of firearms that were in wide use in the Wild West.

Participants are required to shoot three types of firearms that were in wide use in the West. They include single action pistols, shotguns (either side by sides, or pump action) and single, level-action rifles.

The shooting is done at steel targets in a variety of "stages" or mockup settings. It can be a gold mine entrance, a homestead, a trapper's shed, a train trestle - and even a cowboy town where the shooter is required to kick down a door before blasting away. The Circle K Regulators' monthly shoots typically involve six stages.

Heluva Ruckus, scheduled this year from Sept. 14-16, draws shooters from across the state and beyond. It involves 10 stages.

At a Circle K Regulators shoot, a short story is read to get the shooters in the proper frame of mind, followed by a summary of the targets they'll be shooting at and any other special requirements for that setting. Each time, participants are required to shoot 10 shots from their two pistols; four to six from their shotguns and 10 from their lever-action rifles. The shooting is timed. Deductions are given for missed targets.

The western theme doesn't end with the shooting. All participants are required to have Western-style or era nicknames, which they must use during an event and during all club activities. Some of the nicknames of the Circle K Regulators include Wild Bill Longley, Wyatt Hurts, Willie Misfire, Smiling Peter, Saranac Slim, Krackshot Karen, Kate Cartwright, Ol' Scratch and Feeny Valentine.

Men and women alike participate.

Cathie Miller, 69, of Malta, N.Y. goes by Violet Cassidy. She's been shooting for 18 years.

"My husband got me into this and I had never shot guns before," she said. "Everyone here has been nothing but helpful. I used to be a terrible shooter when I started. I'm still not great, but I'm better. I do this simply because I enjoy the people I'm shooting with."

Tony Siarkwoski, 53, of Gloversville, N.Y. goes by Luke L. Short, a saloon owner during the days when Dodge City had such characters as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson around. He said his father shot Cowboy Action for years and that he decided to try his hand at it when New York passed the SAFE Act.

"Gov. Cuomo (ticked) me off. I went out, got a pistol permit and have been doing it ever since," he said.

Finally, participants are also required to attend shoots dressed in Western garb.

You won't find baseball caps, sneakers or T-shirts. Minimum dress requirements are a cowboy hat and boots, a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Many wear suspenders.

"For many guys it's a necessity," Scripter said. "That's because when they put their gun belts on, the gun belts tend to pull their pants down."

Women can wear short-sleeved tops, though, along with long skirts or pants. Hats are optional.

Debbie Myers, of Clifton Park, goes by Annabelle Bransford, who was the character played by Jodie Foster in the 1994 movie "Maverick," with Mel Gibson.

"I liked her outfits and hair, so that's what I named myself," she said.

Safety is always stressed at a Cowboy Action Shooting event.

Safety is always stressed and shooters load their firearms at a table under the watchful eye of a club official, and unload them afterward at another supervised table. Participants then load their firearms on to carts, which they pull from stage to stage. Many of the carts also have seats.

The Circle K Regulators have monthly shoots beginning in April and ending in November. Participants must bring their own ammo. The shoots go on rain or shine.

"Cowboys had to work in all kinds of weather. The only thing that stops us is thunder and lightning. This past April, we shot in four inches of snow," Scripter said.

For more on the Circle K Regulators and Cowboy Action Shooting, go to circlekregulators.com.