Honoring a Straight Shooter

Sharpshooter Joe Bowman was known professionally and affectionately as "The Straight Shooter" -- and, better still, "The Master of Triggernomics" -- because of his flamboyant showmanship and dazzling prowess as a marksman. He rubbed shoulders with notables ranging from Roy Rogers to Sammy Davis Jr. -- and taught Robert Duvall how to handle a very special firearm while playing a former Texas Ranger in Lonesome Dove. I met Bowman on a few occasions during his visits to the Houston offices of Cowboys & Indians magazine, and was always impressed by his courtly manner and vivid storytelling. He passed away last June -- while on his way back home to Houston after a rootin'-tootin'-shootin' performance in Albuquerque --and was posthumously inducted into the Texas Heroes Hall of Honor at the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, Texas, just one month later. It was my privilege to help produce this tribute video honoring The Straight Shooter.