Top Guns of Alaska Business.

• Author: McCorkle, Vern C.
• Position: From the Publisher - Introduction to Alaska company rankings

This is the 19th annual ranking of the very best Alaskan-owned, Alaskan-operated companies, based on gross revenue figures and other data supplied by the companies themselves, and where possible to do, supplemented by independent research.

Choosing a theme for each annual Top 49ers program is always a challenge, and at the same time, fun. This year's programmatic theme is definitely no exception. When we ran across the "Alaska 49ers," a cowboy-action shooting club right here in Anchorage, it was like a marriage made in Dodge--a natural.

The national Single-Action Shooting Society has more than 50,000 members in 50 states and 18 foreign countries, with more than 60 of those members in Anchorage, known as the Alaska 49ers. The club is dedicated to promoting and preserving the sport of cowboy-action shooting and reliving the history of the Old West right here in Alaska.

Members spend hundreds of dollars replicating outfits and uniforms of the mid- to late- 1800s, and thousands of dollars on restoring cap and ball pistols, black powder shotguns and rifles. This year we lassoed them to add color to our Top 49ers pages, and sashay about at the Top 49ers luncheon in Anchorage, at which more than 400 people turned out to see who the Top Guns of Business are this year.

The Alaska 49ers Cowboy-Action Shooting Club is an all-family activity open to all ages and all stages of proficiency, from beginner to sharpshooter. The club fosters shooting safety and shooter sportsmanship. Only one hard and fast requisite: members must adopt a shooting alias based on a real or fictional character from the time period. Headquartered at the Birchwood Recreation and Shooting Facility...