Director of Campus Safety is a Cowboy in Spare Time

by Amanda Panaro
edited by Casey Williams

The Director of Campus Safety, Stuart Mitchell, travels with two pistols, boots with spurs, suspenders, and a big hat, for what he calls “the most fun you can have with your clothes on!”

Mitchell is a member of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), an international organization to preserve and promote the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting. SASS endorses regional matches, promotes rules and procedures to ensure safety, and also seeks to protect its members’ Second Amendment rights to bear arms, according to their website, http://sassnet.com.

Mitchell became involved in the organization through a friend nearly eleven years ago, after participating in organized shooting sports in some form since age seven. However, this organization is unique in the fact that each participant must not only have a shooting alias, but a mandatory costume as well.

Director of Campus Safety Stauart Mitchell practicing his hobby, Cowboy Action Shooting.

“Iron Pony” is the name Mitchell goes by among the members of SASS. The name came from a combination of his Harley Davidson motorcycle and stories he heard from a World War II veteran. The former fighter pilot told Mitchell how they used to ride their motorcycles up to the P-40 Warhawks, jump in and take off. The advanced pilots referred to those motorcycles as iron ponies, and for Mitchell, the name stuck.

SASS has nearly 50,000 members of the association worldwide, mostly in the United States, and approximately 20 clubs in the New England area. The club Mitchell belongs to has hosted the New England Regional Championship in Pelham, NH for the past four years. The event on average brings about 300-350 shooters who compete over a four day period.

“At multiple-day matches many of us will camp out at the range or club, and the time spent hanging with friends is what we enjoy the most,” said Mitchell. SASS members include couples, as well as families with three generations of shooters, who for the most part, get the greatest enjoyment from the bonds they form.

There are no big prizes for winning an event; sometimes a trophy or a belt buckle to wear on your gun belt may be awarded. However, none of the competitors ever cheat, and “even the best competitor will go out of his or her way to help someone new, or someone they are competing against. If you have an equipment problem, a half a dozen people will offer to loan you whatever you need to finish up a match,” said Mitchell.

For more information on how to become a member of the SASS or details on upcoming events, visit http://sassnet.com/.