When Hickok stepped out in the night air to confront the crowd, he encountered the gambler. Coe, pistol in hand, claimed to have fired at a stray dog, for which the town paid a 50-cent bounty. Suddenly producing a second pistol, he fired twice at Wild Bill, one round passing through Hickok's coat and the other raising dirt between the marshal's boots. (This was nearly a century before Miranda rights gummed up the legal system.) Hickok simply reacted, drawing two Colt Navy revolvers (much esteemed on land and sea for a rapid rate of fire and light recoil) and fatally shot Coe in the stomach. Then Hickok sensed another man emerging from the shadows. He turned and fired again, this time killing Michael Williams, a friend coming to help. After carrying his dead compadre's body back into the saloon and laying him on a billiard table, Wild Bill headed back outside and warned everyone present to leave town. Within an hour, the streets of Abilene were deserted.

This was to be the flamboyant gunman's last recorded fight. Hickok lost his job as marshal within the month. Five years later, in 1876, he would be shot dead from behind while gambling in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

The problem with historical gunfights is that they don't pass the nostalgia test. They were quick and dirty and often involved considerable collateral damage. So, for cowboy action purposes, they've been tidied up and expanded to 25 shots or so per stage.

Under the watchful eye of the range officer at the loading table, Spur places five rounds in each revolver, the hammers resting on empty chambers. He loads 10 into the rifle. The rifle will be "staged" in a prop buggy for him to pick up during his turn. Shotguns must be loaded with the clock running. As he waits for the shooter ahead to finish, Spur moves to the next range officer, the expediter, whose job it is to make sure each shooter is ready, understands the details of this particular stage-the order in which the metal silhouette targets are to be engaged, the order in which firearms are to be used, when and how he is to move from one prop to another. The mental rehearsal ensures safety by guarding against the "brain fade" shooters are prone to in the heat of competition. With hundreds of shooters each firing hundreds of rounds, safety is an omnipresent concern. The "170-degree rule," for example, states that you will be disqualified if the muzzle of any loaded weapon points more than 85 degrees to either side of dead downrange. Under the "basketball traveling rule," you're disqualified if one foot does not remain in place when you have a loaded, cocked firearm in hand. You will be disqualified if you drop an unloaded firearm, disqualified and finished for the match if you drop a loaded one. Only a range officer may pick up a dropped firearm. At least four designated range officers are posted at each of the 12 stages of the match. Every competitor is a deputized range officer as well, expected to immediately point out any unsafe actions observed.