It is being hosted by the Hokitika Pistol Club at the Blue Spur range for the first time since the event began there 18 years ago.
Since Wednesday, western-style shooting, including long range and speed events, has been held as a warm-up to the main event today - shooting to the rules of the American Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), and completely themed to the pre-1899 era in both dress and firearms.
The Duel Down Under also incorporates acting, with a movie or historical scene played out during the event. The script for the 2018 event will follow the Woody Harrelson movie The Duel.
Four of the five ranges at Blue Spur are dedicated to action shooting and include a church, saloon, train station with a working train and a telegraph office on a set that has been modelled on the American western television series Deadwood.
Hokitika Pistol Club president Glen Surgenor said spectators were welcome, provided they brought their own eye and ear protection.
The five-day shoot will conclude tomorrow evening with a function at Shantytown.
- Janna Sherman of the Hokitika Guardian
