Between revolvers and saloon atmospheres. In the Far West with the Thundering Rods

Verano, it all started in the eighties by a group of enthusiasts. Now there are about fifty members. Angelo Meriggi, aka El Grinta, is the president: "We grew up with the films of Sergio Leone and John Ford".

Il Giorno

By Monza Brianza

July 23, 2025

[Verano, it all started in the eighties from a group of enthusiasts. Now there are about fifty members. Angelo Meriggi, aka El Grinta, is the president: "We grew up with the films of Sergio Leone and John Ford".] 

We are not in the prairies of Wyoming, but in a dusty quarry in Brianza, where on Thursdays the sound of revolvers pierces the air and the scent of beans and sausage recalls saloon banquets. Here, among the metal silhouettes of the Traversera shooting range in Verano, gallop the "Canne Tonanti", a group of enthusiasts who have made the myth of the Far West a lived passion. With wide-brimmed hats, spurs and guns, they look like they came out of a John Wayne movie. It all started from the passion of a group of shooters from the Cral of the BNL of Milan in the 80s. Five friends who for fun began to go to shooting competitions in the Uits (Italian Union of Target Shooting) shooting ranges dressed as cowboys and with weapons of yesteryear, attracting the attention of the other shooters. Something unusual, which gave way to a rapid rise in the number of entrants and a first official race in 1987.

Since then, the "Canne Tonanti" have become a unique reality, the only Italian club registered with the American Single Action Shooting Society (Sass), with about fifty members from Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Liguria. Among them, there were also four women. "We struggle to find young people," admits Angelo Meriggi, aka El Grinta, president of the club and a clear tribute to the legendary character of Wayne. "We grew up with the films of Sergio Leone and John Ford," he says. "Everything in us recalls that imagery: from nicknames to holsters, from boots to spurs, to weapons, perfect replicas of those used a century and a half ago on the prairies". At 77, El Grinta boasts a European title won in Germany in the senior category and dreams of triumphing in New Mexico. The competitions carried out by them are nine a year. Seven are held in Verano, one in Forte Canarbino (La Spezia) and one in Pozzaglio ed Uniti (Cremona), all according to the rules of Sass dynamic shooting, which rewards speed and precision. Judging by juries of four experts, while the McNelly Trophy, a silver horse dedicated to the first president Nello Ciampitti, passes from hand to hand by lottery, a symbol of a bond that goes beyond competition.

But behind the dust and passion, there is absolute rigor. "Safety is our first rule," Meriggi points out. "We always check that weapons are unloaded and respect the laws on their possession." All members, in fact, are qualified to use firearms, many with a collector's or holder's gun license. The "Thundering Rods" are not limited to the backyard, but always aim far away, between national competitions, international successes in France and Germany, and the ambition to challenge the best in America. "It's compelling," confesses Meriggi with a smile that betrays emotion. "But responsibility is needed."