SACO, Maine — Saco city councilors this week amended a city ordinance to allow western-style mounted shooting competitions.
The Maine Cowboy Mounted Shooters wants to hold outdoor riding and shooting competitions.
The amendment will allow them to hold the competitions, but only indoors.
Some residents said the shooting would be too loud, so as a compromise, city councilors voted to allow the competitions, but not outdoors.
“We’re hoping in the future we might be able to go back to the council and get them to allow us to shoot outdoors,” said Bill LeDoux, president of the group.
According to the Maine Cowboy Mounted Shooters website, participants in the competitions carry two .45-caliber pistols.
“While navigating through a course, the rider must shoot at five targets with one gun before re-holstering and drawing their next gun for the last five targets,” the site explains, in part. “Scoring is based on speed, accuracy and following the course of fire correctly. Targets are balloons and ammunition is black powder blanks for safety.”
The new ordinance language approved this week will also allow for 21-gun salutes at military funerals in Saco, which was previously banned.