The Dirt on Paladin





Well pards!! here it is... The Dirt on good `ol Paladin UK!!



I first got into CAS about 6 yrs ago after the Totally Unjust handgun ban that was imposed on All British Handgunners.  After being an active UKPSA shooter,it seemed that the sport of Action pistol shooting was `gone forever, but then I heard about CAS through Bob Dunkley who was the U.Ks. Practical Pistol Champion, he had been to the other side of the pond and had tried (And was now hooked on) CAS!!   He then formed the BWSS and CAS was born in the UK.  At first there was not too much interest in... `Muzzle Stuffing` but as time went on we got better (And faster) at using them!  In some ways when I look back I would not have tried CAS but effectivly, I had no other choice iffn I wanted to continue a form of shooting which used pistols in an `Action Type` of way. And lets be honest all of my age group (1950`s Vintage!) grew up on.. Have Gun Will Travel, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Wagon Train, The Lone Ranger.... the list is endlesss,  And I for one remember (Sad as it seems!!) `riding` home from the Kids Saturday Morning Picture Club on my imaginary `Hoss` slapping my thigh to get him to go faster and shooting my imaginary six shooter at every Hombre I encounted. So iffn ya like, its gone full circle!! I am back to playing Cowboys.... But Now I get ta use REAL COWBOY GUNS!! Yehaw!!



My Alias `n how it came about!...



I chose ..Paladin for two reasons....the first was because of the political climate about 6 years ago, My Alias at that time was.. Mad Dog and after the handgun ban it seemed a bit aggressive and so it was time to think of a new one to use, it came down to two...A dentist called Phil McCavity!! a play on words incorporating my first name Phil=fill and again McCavity=My Cavity and secondly Paladin.    Annie `O`s Father was an HGWT fanatic! bearing in mind I am now talking about a 55yr old man in the 1960`s...He actually MADE his own `White Knight` holster from a rather blur image in a magazine, and from what I heard it was absolutly beautiful! So, In his memory I am proudly carrying on his Fantisy.

Here`s some..... Useless info on Paladin.. adapted from the HGWT website.



The Original.. `Man in Black`...




The series' first episode, "Three Bells to Perdido," offered little clue to Paladin's past. It did, however, introduce us to his dual life as a wealthy man-of-the-world residing in a San Francisco hotel, and as a black-clothed gunfighter-for-hire.


The Man in Black On September 14th, 1957, a new western debuted television. Richard Boone played the man called "Paladin" in Have Gun -- Will Travel. The unique title survives today, in countless incarnations in advertising and other media -- or have you never heard the phrase "Have ______, Will Travel"? Well, now you know whence it came. Its dramatic opening had Paladin aiming his gun and his words directly at the audience, and the series always featured a no-nonsense approach and intelligence rarely evident on the small screen. HGWT has seldom been seen in syndication over the last 25 years, apparently because it was filmed in black-and-white, and because it's "tainted" by violent content. The latter rationale seems especially ludicrous, considering the graphic mayhem depicted in today's programming. Paladin killed many men, true enough -- but his victims were always deserving -- and almost none of the violence in the show was gratuitous. The best epsiodes put today's television drama to shame.

Dressed completely in bad-man black, with a silver chess-knight on his holster,(When asked why he had a a knight on his holster Paladin replied..."It's a chess piece, the most versatile on the board. It can move in eight different directions, over obstacles, and it's always unexpected") he'd hire out his services to those fortunate enough to be able to afford them. On many occasions, however, Paladin would do charity work, donating or waiving his fee for a good cause. He was a champion of justice, highly-principled and ethical, always concerned with "what's right." (Look up "paladin" in the dictionary, watch a few episodes, and you'll understand why this name was chosen.) We also were introduced to Paladin`s Business Card which would somehow find its way into practically every episode: Frequently he would switch his allegiance to his employer's opponent -- after discovering his now ex-employer was up to no good. He was physically strong, and great with his fists (once duking it out bare-knuckled with a prize-fighter for dozens of rounds), but it was with his gun that Paladin truly excelled..... Here is a piccie of My Card and as you can see it differs from the original!! In as much as he had his faithfull stead!! I `Might`travel ... I got petrol prices to worry about!!

Paladin's standard modus operandi was the constant perusal of the scores of newspapers to which he subscribed, searching for potential clients in the turbulent stories of the times. Then he'd send his card, along with a clipping of the story, to the person-in-need. (Succinct and effective marketing, don't you think?) His standard fee was one thousand dollars -- a hefty sum in those days -- and he'd travel that many miles to get it.





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E-Mule Paladin