An outlaw gang rides into town, holsters dangling; they have robbed the local bank and stolen the safe. Now they must open it – that’s where some explosives come in handy.

But there’s a problem: the sheriff and his posse arrive and the scene transpires into a shootout.

Sounds like the scene from a classic western film, only it’s a staged shootout at Pinedale’s Green River Rendezvous Days. Don’t fear; the bullets are only blanks.

Staged shootouts had been a part of the Rendezvous festivities since the 1980s when western film star Slim Pickens was involved and many Pinedale residents want to see them return.

For a while the action took place on horseback. Pinedale resident Randy O’Neal would dress as an outlaw and ride into town to join the shootouts.

But using horses proved too dangerous after a few actors were hurt and a horse was fatally injured.

O’Neal said the horses would often get spooked by the sounds of the guns firing and by the crowds and a few actors were injured when jumping from horse to horse.

The horses retired from the shootouts but the event continued until six years ago. O’Neal said insurance and liability issues eventually brought an end to the shootouts.

Rendezvous visitors and tourists could experience these staged shootouts, which took place in skit form, in an outside theatre performance style.

“It was a pretty fun time and the tourists loved them,” O’Neal said.

The staged shootouts took place on South Tyler, between the courthouse and Tegeler Associates’ building.

He said the shootout skits often consisted of a narrator, outlaws, a sheriff and deputy, a posse, a drunken preacher and a group of brothel women.

O’Neal said residents had a great time dressing as outlaws and posse members and many in the community were engaged in the skits. People transformed into their characters and created an old-western style atmosphere for visitors at Rendezvous.

He and others who participated have many interesting stories to tell from past Rendezvous shootouts.

Bob McCarty is another local who enjoyed pretending to be a western outlaw.

He said they used to put on several shows a day and actors spent time learning their lines. The script they followed was important because it helped bring the history of the west alive.

Pinedale resident Carmen Hittle wrote the scripts and McCarty said they were historical- fiction based and entertaining.

They also used sets to add to the performances, such as a bank and salon.

McCarty said the key aspect was safety and actors were told never to shoot their weapons at other actors, instead to always aim at the ground or the sky.

Even though they used blanks, actors could still get hurt if hit from close range.

Another issue was handling a young audience and McCarty said it was vital for actors to not send an incorrect message to kids – that if you shoot people they will just get up and walk away.

That is why actors who pretended to be shot were carried away. McCarty said most of the time the script would be written so no one died or was shot.

Despite some of the issues, a group of residents is working to bring the shootouts back for this year’s Rendezvous.

Resurrecting the shootouts will be a difficult task due to the short time period and safety issues, according to O’Neal.

However, he and others want to see some kind of staged shootout take place this year.

O’Neal said it’s going to be hard getting actors together in a limited time frame and another concern is the growth in the county; more people at Rendezvous could increase the safety issues and make choosing a location difficult.

“My concern is that there are many people in town,” O’Neal said.

One plan is to have the shootouts take place on a float during the parade and the group is looking into using the Cattle Kate’s Tanning and Nail Salon float.

He said using a float would address the safety issues, because they don’t want the public harmed.

The Sublette County Sheriff’s Department has agreed to allow the shootouts to return to Pinedale. Shootout actors will have to inform the department as to when the shootout will begin.

McCarty is also in the process of crafting a historical-fiction script though it won’t be ready for this Rendezvous. He’s been researching the area’s history and plans to use famous historical characters such as Butch Cassidy. McCarty wants to use local residents’ family names in the script and is obtaining permission.

Pinedale resident Brad Waters with PROVIDENCE Architecture, Inc., is also involved in bringing the shootouts back to Rendezvous.

He said the short time period they are working under is a dilemma that could be overcome and the shootouts will likely take place this year, but members haven’t decided in what form or the location as of yet.