U.S. Army Soldiers Seeking Slots on Shotgun World Shoot Team

Sgt. Houston Russell, a marksmanship instructor with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, won the Modified Division of the 2025 Tarheel Shotgun Challenge in Clinton, South Carolina, May 30– June 1.

The two-day, 12-stage match tested 90 competitors’ ability to shoot a shotgun on the move, maneuver around obstacles, and hit precise targets with slugs and buckshots.

After 156 rounds, Russell claimed the division win with 756.2559 points in 181.31 seconds, which means he earned 92.79 percent of the possible score.

This particular U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) match served as a qualifying match for selection on the 2026 International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) Shotgun World Shoot in Corinth, Greece.

This is the first time Soldiers with the USAMU Action Shooting Team are attempting to earn spots on Team USA for the IPSC Shotgun World Shoot, so these qualifying matches are vital, said USAMU teammate, Staff Sgt. Nate Staskiewicz, who placed fourth in the Tactical Division with a score of 710.2944 points and 185.44 seconds, or 97.69 percent of the possible score.

“We wanted to compete and win on the world stage. Winning Nationals is one thing, but having a world championship in our, and the unit’s name will be very beneficial for credibility and increasing the unit’s sphere of influence.”

To qualify for Team USA, competitors must accumulate points from three of the six approved USPSA shotgun matches. This was the second qualifier for the USAMU Action Shooting Team Soldiers. Training for this type of match is a little different than what we normally do, said Staskiewicz.

“There’s a lot of short, fast stages with very tight no-shoots, so we’ve adjusted our training accordingly.”

Russell agreed that his first qualifier was a learning experience.

“I found a couple of things at the last qualifier match that I struggled on, like tight no-shoot arrays through low ports and having the confidence in knowing my hold off for no shoots. I focused my practice around those things, and it paid off big time for this qualifier.”

Three more qualifying matches are available for the Soldiers to earn points: the Free State Shotgun Qualifier in De Soto, Kansas in June; the Jeff Kirkwold Shotgun Qualifier in Forest Lake, Minnesota in August; and the Hornady Shotgun Championship in Green Island, Nebraska in September.

USAMU teammate, Sgt. Jon Wiedell, who placed seventh in the Open Division at the recent Tarheel Shotgun Qualifier, said this last match was particularly challenging since his gun broke on the last stage. However, having resolved that gun issue, he said he is focused and really hoping to earn a spot on Team USA.

“This means a lot to me, because it would be the first time representing not only the United States, but also the U.S. Army on a world level. It would bring me a lot of pride to be selected as one of the shooters specifically picked to represent our country competing in a discipline in which I was hired to do.”