Outlaws Shoot ’Em Up At Old Timers

By John Larson

MAGDALENA - One of the surprise events during Old Timers weekend was the performance of a gunfight re-enactment in Magdalena by the High Plains Outlaws.
Visitors and families were entertained by an Old West “shoot ‘em up” in the Spanish Village area Saturday, July 10, by characters such as Pat Garrett, Wyatt Earp, Ike Clanton, and other notable lawmen, outlaws, saloon girls, and townspeople.
“I put this particular group together last year. It just fell into place,” said Larry Iams of Datil, founder of the troupe. “I wasn’t expecting to get this good of a response.”
After each performance Iams talks to the audience and enjoys fielding questions from kids.
“We try to be as historically accurate as possible, while still be entertaining,” Iams said. “I never liked the Hollywood versions of the Old West, you know, where you have 50 rounds in your pistol and can hit something a mile away with a .45.”
Iams said the drama in historical events is more compelling than their fictionalized accounts.
“Things like shootouts, in reality, happened very fast and at close range,” he said. “We might add a little extra dialog for our actors, but the style of dress and the weapons are historically accurate.”
Most of the rifles and pistols used in the re-enactments are replicas, but the cartridges are, of course, blanks.
“Sometimes we have problems with [misfires] during the show, but that happened even in the Old West,” Iams said. “Normally I load all our blanks, but problems with ‘em come up. Maybe with the altitude.”
Now he has to buy blanks from the same company that sells blanks to movie companies.
“They can cost up to one dollar each. That can get quite expensive,” he said. “Our shows are free, but we do take donations from audience members.”
Iams said the group now numbers a little over a dozen people.
“They’re mostly from Datil and around that area, but we could use a few more. Everybody does it on a voluntary basis. Because they all share the same love of Old West history,” he said.
Each member portrays a historical figure, and Iams is looking for three or four more men, and three or four more women.
“Having their own firearms is a plus,” he said. “They need to have their own firearms. Using someone else’s gun is like wearing somebody else’s shoes or hat.
“Me and Fred Ferguson have been supplying guns to those without guns so far.”
Also needed is a period musician, he said.
Iams has been part of Old West re-enactments for several years, after he worked as a wrangler in Colorado in the early 1990’s. “I started doing this in California,” he said. “Started in 1995 with the Fallbrook Outlaws in Fallbrook, California.”
That group has earned several awards for staged gunfights and stunts.
Iams said the next performance will be in Pie Town for the Pie Festival.

Pictures: (top) Larry Iams displays his six shooter and gunbelt
(bottom) One of the skits performed at Old Timers.

Photos by John Larson

Outlaws Shoot ’Em Up At Old Timers