It's always a bit odd driving into the Single Action Shooting Society's End of Trail Event.

One drives down N.M. 217, a hilly, rural road, then makes a few turns and descends into the gigantic bowl in the landscape that is Founders Ranch, a sprawling 480-acre property whose most prominent features are its clapboard storefronts and gun-toting cowboys.

After getting directions from a friendly volunteer in his or her 19th-century costume, it's off to the carnival-like atmosphere, a celebration of all things Western. There are cowboy songs being sung, vendors selling corn and the leg joint from a bird, and gun shows or some other brand of excitement going on anywhere one looks.

This year, for $5, attendees could try their hand at knocking down targets on an antique shooting gallery, with all the proceeds going to the SASS Museum, a nonprofit organization to promote cowboy action shooting and build up the Western town at Founders Ranch. The kick is they were allowed to use a really old, pump-action .22 loaded with target ammunition.

The event is attended by international competitors from several countries. This year it featured competitive mounted shooting and stage shooting and Gatling gun demos, as well as stagecoach and buggy rides.