U.S. Army Specialist Wins USPSA Multigun Nationals

Photo By Lt. Col. Michelle Lunato | Spc. Jon Wiedell (middle right), a marksmanship instructor/competitive shooter with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Action Shooting Team, won the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s 2023 Multigun Nationals in Forest Lake, Minnesota July 21-23. The Emily, Minnesota native fired off more than 700 rounds at the three-day, 12-stage three-gun competition, beating out 181 other marksmen. Wiedell’s teammates on the Action Shooting Team also performed excellently at the competition that was held at the Forest Lake Sportsmen Club. Sgt. 1st Class Joel Turner (right) took third in the Open Division. Staff Sgt. Nate Staskiewicz (middle left) earned second in the Tactical Optics Division while teammate Sgt. Houston Russell (left) followed behind in third. (Courtesy photo)  

FOREST LAKE, MN, UNITED STATES

07.25.2023

Story by Lt. Col. Michelle Lunato 

U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit

Spc. Jon Wiedell, a Soldier with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, won the U.S. Practical Shooting Association’s 2023 Multigun Nationals in Forest Lake, Minnesota July 21-23.

To win the three-day marksmanship competition, the Emily, Minnesota native had to fire off more than 700 accurate rounds at 12 different stages using his rifle, pistol and shotgun. These action shooting stages included both man-made and natural terrain features to test the skills of the 182 marksmen vying for the win. The variety in the stages tested the marksmen’s balance of speed with accuracy.

Wiedell, who serves as a marksmanship instructor/competitive shooter with the USAMU’s Action Shooting Team, claimed the Open Division/Overall win with a score of 1154.1979 points and time of 404.14 seconds. This strong score beat the second place finisher by 80.5381 second and 45.82 seconds. (This also earned him the title of Top Military in the Open Division as well.)

The title of USPSA Multigun National Champion is not new for Wiedell though. In fact, the Fort Moore, Georgia Soldier was the reigning 2022 USPSA Multigun National Champion. Of course, being the reigning champion does add another layer of pressure, but that just made the win even sweeter, said Wiedell.

“The feeling of winning back to back feels even better because all the pressure is on you to defend your title.”

Winning Multigun Nationals for the second year in a row was not something Wiedell could assume. Between the stiff competition and challenging course, the Soldier just knew he had to perform well.

“This match had a unique third day, unlike any other match. It had four short 100-point stages that were detrimental to overall success too.”

Knowing every point and second could be all the difference between defending his title or losing it, Wiedell had to push on each and every stage. The strategy worked as he claimed the win in six stages, placed second in three stages and took third in two stages. In other words, the Fort Moore, Georgia Soldier earned a spot on the podium in 11 of the 12 stages, and that’s against 181 other competitors.

Intensity on each and every stage is what needed to be done at this unique competition with so many skilled marksmen, said Wiedell.

“Due to the short stage times being shot, there was no room for error or you would lose a lot of points very fast. This gave the match a challenge in the aspect that even though I had a lead coming into the third day. I still could have lost if I didn’t perform well.”

Wiedell’s teammates on the Action Shooting Team also performed excellently at the competition that was held at the Forest Lake Sportsmen Club.

Sgt. 1st Class Joel Turner took third in the Open Division. Staff Sgt. Nate Staskiewicz earned second in the Tactical Optics Division while teammate Sgt. Houston Russell followed behind in third.

• Date Taken: 07.25.2023
• Date Posted: 07.25.2023 19:29
• Story ID: 449984
• Location: FOREST LAKE, MN, US
• Hometown: EMILY, MN, US