Guns a Blast from Past for Family

On weekends, the Guarnieri family of Anaheim takes a step back in time.

“I should have been born back in the 1890s,” said Belinda Guarnieri, 42, a registered nurse and one-time ballet dancer, who admits to being a hopeless romantic. “I just love that era and the values of that time.”

She also loves to shoot her 18-gauge pump shotgun, rifle and pistols at stationary targets.

As a matter of fact, her husband, Michael, 36, and daughter, Sunni, 15, are all part of a shooting family that also likes to dress in the style of a century ago.

They have also taken old-time names. Michael goes by the handle of Widowmaker. His wife is known as Mis’ Fire and Sunni’s moniker is Lil’ Sure Shot.

“Shooting is really fun,” said Sunni, a Loara High School sophomore who recently competed in her first tournament. She finished a credible 36th out of 180 shooters.

She also competes in varsity basketball and volleyball.

But Michael, who once spent long hours on firing ranges to become a crackerjack competitive shooter, is quick to point out that shooting is a family social happening.

No drinking is allowed, although sometimes iced tea is used in drink glasses to simulate liquor during mock gun battles.

“We learned together how to handle the guns. We all practice gun safety, and we all go together,” he said.

The shootouts are sponsored by the Anaheim-based Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) with 2,000 members in chapters throughout the United States and eight foreign countries. Women account for 15% of the membership.

Norco is the site this year of the group’s big annual event, the End of Trail competition May 21-24, which is expected to draw 400 costumed cowboy and cowgirl shooters.

The shooters are graded equally on marksmanship and the quality of their costumes. Competitors show up in colorful garb, such as that of a U.S. cavalry officer or a deputy marshal.

Guarnieri, an electrician, part-time industrial electricity instructor at Santiago Community College and former motorcycle racer, said his goal is to win the May shoot in the black powder category.

He ranks himself in the top 10 of SASS shooters, no doubt the result of his practice since age 14, when he started shooting at the Huntington Beach Shooting Range.

“I found out when I was young that I was pretty good and started competing,” said the Cal State Long Beach graduate, who wanted to be a high school shop teacher “until I found out they don’t make much money.”

He also learned he had more fun shooting as a cowboy and collecting Western memorabilia.

“I used to compete in a lot of high-key shooting events, and now I’m more relaxed,” said Guarnieri, who along with his wife once competed on a country-Western dance circuit.

“It got too expensive, and while we were getting a lot of trophies, we weren’t winning money,” he said. “That’s when Belinda entered her first shoot, and she was hooked.”

It wasn’t long before Belinda was busy making costumes to wear and sell to others interested in cowboy clothing.

“It’s exciting to compete and especially when you’re dressed for the occasion,” she said.