Fast Draw as it is known today originated in California during the early 1950s. Dee Woolem, a stuntman at Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park, sought to master the single-action Colt revolver he used in his train robbery performances. To test his skill, he initially tried dropping a silver dollar from the top of his gun hand, drawing, and firing before the coin hit the ground. Using the thumb-cocking method, Dee managed to outpace the falling dollar after about a week of practice. As holster designs and draw techniques improved, Dee was soon able to fire two or even three shots before the dollar reached the ground.
Other stuntmen at Knott’s quickly took up Fast Draw, leading to the need for a way to determine who was the fastest. Dee, along with Knott’s technicians, developed a large clock-face timer to measure the time it took to draw, fire, and hit a balloon target with blanks from a single-action six-shooter. Over the following years, Dee won the National Fast Draw Championship title four times and set a self-start record of 0.12 seconds (in self-start events, the shooter presses and releases the timer button with their trigger finger to start the clock as they draw).
After a local TV station aired a segment on Dee’s Fast Draw skills, public interest grew, and people began asking how they could get involved. Dee eventually left Knott’s to promote Fast Draw for companies like Great Western Arms, Crosman Arms, and Daisy B.B. Gun Company.
Dee also toured with his “Fastest Gun Alive” act for Kilgore Toy Company, which manufactured a line of cap guns. He designed a unique toy gun set for them featuring two guns—one with a blue handle and the other with a red handle—attached to a large plastic steer skull with electric leads. The skull had a red eye and a blue eye, which would light up to indicate which gun fired first. Dee’s image as a four-time National Fast Draw Champion was featured on the lid of the set’s packaging. He toured the U.S., appearing in department stores that sold Kilgore toys.
During this promotional period, Dee helped train people in safe Fast Draw techniques and organized clubs across the United States.
Over the years, the sport of Fast Draw has evolved in both style and equipment. Today, Fast Draw remains a vibrant sport, enjoying a resurgence in interest. While the equipment has modernized, the camaraderie and enjoyment of the sport remain its most important aspects.
