The event of the origin of this Society dates back to 1874 with an incident that occurred in Adobe Walls, Texas, between a group of buffalo hunters and a group of Indians. The hunters would kill for the hides of the buffalo, or bufflers, or buffs, or big shaggies, as they were called. The Indians depended on the buffalo for their survival. The accounts of the events vary, but all agree that one prominent name in the first group, about 28, was a hunter and long range marksman named Billy Dixon. The leader of the Indians was a chief named Quanah Parker. No one is sure how many there were with Quanah, but the number ranges from 200 to 1200. After 3 days of fighting, 15 or so Indians were spotted grouped on a bluff measured later at 1538 yards away. Billy grabbed a Sharp’s rifle and fired 3 shots, knocking one Indian off of his horse. The Indians were so surprised that the dust up ended then and there. This became known as the shot of the century, and is still discussed today. In Billy’s book he described it as a scratch (lucky) shot.

Membership in the Society requires a hit on the Renegade; roughly 4 ft. by 2-1/2 ft. in the form of a man’s upper body at 1200 yards, nearly ¾ mile. The target must be hit once with only three shots allowed. The shooter uses a .45-70, .45-90 or similar black powder cartridge rifle with iron sights, black powder and lead bullets. It takes about 3 seconds for the 500 grain bullet to travel that distance at 1100 to 1300 feet per second. The drift of the bullet from the wind can be as much as 30 feet at 20 mph at that distance, neither uncommon nor consistent. A change of one mph in wind speed will move the bullet 1-1/2 ft. The spin of the bullet will also drift it 5 feet.