HARPER H. CREIGH, AKA JUDGE ROY BEAN, SASS #1, and his love of the Old West and the Cowboy Era, is primarily responsible for the resurgence in popularity of the six-shooter, lever-action rifles and Old West style of clothing. Raised on western movies with Gene, Roy, and Hoppy as his heroes, he spent many Sunday afternoons bailing out his screen heroes with his lever-action rifle and six-shooter.
Born in Houston, Texas, in 1936, Creigh served in the United States Marine Corps from November 1953 to September 1962. After nine years of military Service, he built architectural scale models for a living and taught personal defense classes on weekends. In addition to shooting long-range rifle, trap, skeet, sporting clays and International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), in his "spare" time, he shot in modern-day action matches and watched cowboy movies where he expertly, but casually, picked off the bad men. With his single action revolver a Model 1866 Winchester Yellowboy Carbine, he drew fine beads on obnoxious outlaws throughout Saturday afternoon TV Western movies.
From the comfort and safety of his living room, this Southern California businessman kept the bad guys off Roy Rogers' back, saved the heroes of a mountain man movie and battled banditos alongside The Wild Bunch. According to Ron Harris, Author of All About Cowboy Action Shooting, afternoons spent on the figorous sight acquisition exercises rendered Creigh an epiphany of sorts. He envisioned action shooting matches, much like the IPSC style of shooting enjoyed by many Wild West aficionados, complete with the guns of the Old West and dressed in cowboy gear.
One Saturday in 1979, while watching a couple of cowboy movies on television, Creigh realized there were clubs for Civil War reenactors, muzzleloader clubs, The Society for Creative Anachronism, which reenacts the medieval period, and, of course, many modern firearms and target shooting organizations, but there was nothing for the American cowboy era, 1850-1890. While running an IPSC match, he asked if anyone had cowboy-type guns. Almost everyone raised a hand. Creigh then announced that the next match would be shot with Cowboy guns. In that instant, Cowboy Action Shooting was born.
In 1982, after watching the movie "The Mountain Men," Harper had another idea; fascinated by the Mountain Man Rendezvous depicted in the movie, he called some friends and set in motion a plan to create a "cowboy" weekend. The idea was that a group of ranch hands had just ended a three-month trail drive and, having been paid off, the had money in their jeans. The cowboys wanted to have fun before starting back to the ranch and work. So a three-day weekend of fun and shooting was put together and named "End of Trail."
Harper Creigh started more than a shooting match, or even more than a shooting club, he started a whole movement and a shooting sport phenomenon, conceived and produced the first Cowboy Action Shooting, known as "End of Trail." The First World Championship hosted 62 shooters competing over three days. The 25th Annual End of Trail in 2006 had 1,100-plus ground shooters and 100-plus mounted shooters competing over a ten-day period. Yes, that should be called a "phenomenon."
Creigh is quick to acknowledge the efforts of many others who contributed to the rearing of his brainchild. In the late 1980's, Harper and several Cowboy Action Shooting diehards organized the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), and named themselves The Wild Bunch. His original alias was "Sackett," until someone, reading a book about Judge Roy Bean, quoted "Judge Roy Bean was short, stocky, opinionated; liked dogs more than kids; had a white beard, and loved ivory handled Colts." Friend and then fellow Wild Bunch member, Dave Britton (aka "R.J. Poteet"), said, "that sounds like you're talking about Harper." Creigh has been "Judge Roy Bean" ever since and enjoys his status at the Conscience of Cowboy Action Shooting and Badge #1 of over 75,000 members worldwide.
To keep the game from getting too serious, SASS requires period clothing and gear and the use of aliases. Humor is a major component of this relaxing and therapeutic game, and is central to its burgeoning popularity. It was decided early on that no money would ever be awarded at the End of Trail World Championships or other SASS sanctioned matches. This was surely "Judge Bean's" most Solomon-like decision. Creigh says he is often asked if he is proud of the number of members in SASS today. His response, "I am more proud of the quality of the people than the number of people."
In a Louisiana swamp at a Cowboy Action match in 2000, "The Judge" met Katie Ferraro, aka "Justice Lily Kate," SASS #1000, and married for the first time in 2002 at the age of 65 at the 20th End of Trail, with 1,400 of their closest friends in attendance. That same year, he moved back to his hometown of Houston, Texas, after having lived for thirty years in California.
Since that Saturday afternoon three decades ago, the Father of Cowboy Action Shooting has helped guide the growth of his brainchild into maturity and into a new century. It is important to him that his creation remains the safe, fun-filled and educational amateur family recreation that he helped design. "The hardest part is keeping it pure and honest," say "Judge Roy Bean," sounding vaguely like Paul Newman, "....'n runnin' off the cheaters 'n complainers. A few years ago, somebody called me "The Conscience of Cowboy Action Shooting.' It's a hair shirt I wear proudly, because I feel that Cowboy Action Shooting is my child and I want it to grow straight and true. With all the great godfathers and godmothers it has, it can't go any other way."
In 2004, the Judge was the first inductee in to the Single Action Shooting Society Hall of Fame. He is #1 in CAS/SASS and #1 in the Hall of Fame. And, rightly so. At 72 years young, he is still the glue that holds it all together.
While the shooting match remains the nucleus of a Cowboy Action event, and whereas the old-time firearms are first-rate fun for serious (and not-so-serious) compeitors, Cowboy Action Shooting encompasses many other activities representing critically important and deeply held Western philosophies - The Cowboy Way - The Code of the West - The Spirit of the Game. These qualities represent Harper Creigh's philosophy and the guiding principle of Cowboy Action Shooters. May it always be so.