Welcome to Quail Creek Gun Range

We enjoyed a fantastic turnout for our annual Saguaro Classic, despite forecasts calling for high winds. All classes were well represented, with three shooters in the Springer class, seven in Open, and five in Unlimited. This year’s match consisted of three events: two cards at 25 meters, two cards at 75 yards (60 yards for Springers), and two rounds of silhouettes (Chicken Little).

Our Rangemaster, Patrick Shely, opened the mandatory safety meeting at 8:50 a.m. Given the expected increase in wind throughout the morning, he made the smart call to begin with the 75‑yard event. After a brief practice session, competition got underway—and right on cue, the wind followed.

In the Springer class at 60 yards, Hogan Liechty claimed gold with a score of 388. Rocco Colicchia and Steve Perry tied at 360, but Rocco secured silver by shooting the only bullseye of the Springer group, edging Steve into bronze. In Open, Frank Aerstin posted an excellent 458 with four X’s to take gold, followed by Anita Teschek with a 434 for silver and Jack Mercer with a 432 for bronze. The Unlimited class saw Terry Wiest turn in an impressive 458 with seven X’s for gold, David Hell taking silver with a 451, and Chris Peet—who traveled all the way from Missouri—earning bronze with a 432.

Next up was the 25‑meter event, where the wind continued to build. Steve Perry, competing in only his second match, earned gold in Springer with a 377. Hogan Liechty followed closely with a 374 for silver, and Rocco Colicchia rounded out the podium with a 328 for bronze. Frank Aerstin continued his strong performance in Open, shooting a stellar 476 with 12 X’s for another gold medal. Jim Graham and Jeff Miller each fired a 474 with nine X’s, tying for silver. In Unlimited, Chris Peet delivered a standout performance, shooting a remarkable 496 with 18 X’s to take gold. Terry Wiest edged David Hell by a single point for silver, posting a 483 with an impressive 18 X’s.

Thanks to our outstanding cooking crew, Jim and Sandra, a hot lunch was ready and waiting. We took a well‑deserved break before heading into the final event. A special thank‑you goes to Jim and Sandra not only for the great food, but for always doing such a wonderful job keeping our shooters well fed.

By the time silhouettes began, the wind was truly ripping. In Springer, Hogan Liechty took gold with a score of 27, followed by Rocco Colicchia with 20 for silver and Steve Perry with 15 for bronze. In Open, Jack Mercer turned in a flawless performance, shooting a perfect 32—an especially impressive feat given the conditions—to take gold. Jim Graham earned silver with a 30. A three‑way tie at 29 for bronze between Frank Aerstin, Jeff Miller, and first‑time shooter Sean Ryan led to a shoot‑off with four chickens set at 70 yards. Jeff Miller prevailed by being the only shooter to knock down a chicken. In Unlimited, Terry Wiest posted another perfect score to claim gold, David Hell took silver with a 30, and Chris Peet earned bronze with a 29.

As this was the Saguaro Classic, overall class champions were also awarded trophies. Congratulations to our overall winners: Hogan Liechty (Springer), Frank Aerstin (Open), and Terry Wiest (Unlimited).

Finally, a heartfelt thank‑you to all our volunteers: John Livingston, Tom Jackson, and Greg Garman for serving as official scorers; Jim and Sandra for their outstanding cooking; and Patrick Shely for his excellent work as Range Master and Safety Officer.

First I would like to propose a final name change, suggested by Greg Garman. 

Reactive Action Shoot, acronym  RAT Shoot!

We had another fun competition Monday morning.  The weather was a bit cloudy but the wind died from Sunday's blow and some great scores were obtained.  Once again targets were set from 50 to 100 yds.  We had dinosaurs, moose, bats, bears, and many more steel animals to test shooting skills. The favored pellet to use is a 16 to 18 grain 22 caliber.  A wide variety of front rests were also used.  We know folks are starting to head north but are planning another shoot for the 20th or 27th.  Watch your email for the upcoming RAT date.

Once again a perfect score was a 75.

Jim G          70

Greg G        60

Dave H        58

Bill D            54

Tom J           45

I think Jim has managed to take first place in all events so far!

Despite the unusually hot temperatures for this time of year, we had a great event. Winds were challenging early on, ranging from 4–9 mph, before settling to a more manageable 2–5 mph during the 50‑meter match and silhouettes. To finish before temperatures reached 100 degrees, Patrick Shely, the Rangemaster, suggested—and the shooters agreed—that we would complete all three events but skip practice for the 50‑yard and silhouette shoots.

The 25‑meter match produced some strong scores despite consistently shifting winds. Hogan Liechty won the Springer Class with a score of 364. In the Open and Unlimited Classes, Mike Clinebell and Terry Wiest each posted two‑card scores of 492 to take first place in their respective classes.

We then moved on to the 50‑yard match, with both Springer competitors opting not to compete. Frank Aerstin captured the Open Class with a score of 469, while Terry Wiest won the Unlimited Class with a score of 470.

Lunch was served between the 50‑yard match and the silhouettes. A huge thank‑you to Jim and Sandra for grilling brats and hotdogs. Plenty of water was also available to help keep everyone hydrated as the heat continued to rise.

Our final event was the silhouette match, also known as “Chicken Little.” Hogan Liechty claimed another win in the Springer Class with a score of 27. Frank Aerstin and Terry Wiest both posted perfect scores of 32 to win the Open and Unlimited Classes. The Open Class also featured an exciting tiebreaker between Jim Graham and Mike Clinebell, who each scored 31 in the initial round. After two tied shoot‑offs, Jim edged out Mike in the third tiebreaker to secure the silver medal in the Open Class.

The first Hot Dog Shoot of the 2026 Shooting Season was held on January 17th. The attendance was one of the best in the last couple of seasons, with fourteen, bundled up shooters lending a hand to setup canopies. With that completed, flags, practice targets and benches adorned with airguns of various makes, front and rear rests, air tanks and coffee cups were made ready for three events. The 25 meter paper target, 75 yd paper target and the spectator favorite, the Chicken Little Silhouettes. With coffee cups in hand the shooters descended upon the three boxes of cookies Patrick Shely’s wife baked for the attendees. Standing around, visiting and trying to catch some of the rays of sunshine starting to peak over the Santa Ritas. 

After a short round of practice, the 25m event started promptly at 9:00. The wind was brisk at times, but that didn’t prevent some fine scores from being posted. After two cards of 25m, the target stands were moved to 75 yds, for another two cards at that distance. The wind was supposed to go down, by the 75 yd competition time, I guess it missed that news. However, Terry Wiest posted a score on one card, that is one of the best I have witnessed, given the conditions. 

We finished ahead of schedule, and most of the Silhouettes were set up before lunch. Our Chef Jim and his sous Chef Sandra, served a piping hot, Hot Dog lunch and we proceeded to the Chicken Little Silhouettes. The wind was still pretty dicey and the scores showed it, with only two shooters getting perfect scores of 32. To determine 1st and 2nd place. 4 chicken silhouettes are placed at 70 yds, each shooter is allowed 4 pellets, the clock is set at 2 minutes. Terry Wiest and Jack Mercer were in the shootoff, both knocked all four over. They were setup again, clock set at 1 minute, both knocked all four over again, They were setup again, clock set at 30 seconds, Terry knock over the most, winning the Gold, giving him a clean sweep of Gold medals in his shooting class. Well deserved Terry, it wasn’t a wind friendly day. 

Some other notable scoring, on Saturday was by Jeff Miller, who has just returned for the winter and shot a couple of times in 7 months, won two Gold medals in his class, Bron Greenwood, won 3 Gold in his class.

Though Patrick Shely’s guidance the QCAGC is developing some excellent shooters. He’s at the Range, most Thursdays and Saturdays, but won’t be back for a few weeks. He’s getting a hip replaced next week, wish him the Best. I will be standing in for him for the time being. 

Jack Mercer, President Emiretus  

Thursday morning around 7:30 I headed for the range, windshield wipers clearing off the light rain. I wondered if I would be the only one there. As I made the turn into the range, I could see one dark colored canopy was erected. I pulled into a space near the canopy, where 3 or 4 people were huddled, decked out in rain gear, trying to stay dry. Greg Garman, the Pistol Shoot coordinator was among the group and indications were that we would be waiting to see if anyone else shows up and if the rain quits. As we waited, listening to the pitter – patter of rain drops on the canopy, cars started showing up until all of the shooters who signed up, arrived. In the meantime, I put up my canopy next to the existing one to accommodate the growing number of shooters. One of the last shooters to arrive, John Livingston, announced that he heard on the radio that the rain would cease around 9:00. Looking to the North, through the fog, we could see nothing but dark, threatening clouds. It was now 8:15, could this news be yet another example of dubious forecasting in our little patch of desert in Green Valley?? One of our members, Larry Ford who drove up from Sierra Vista and after the competition, generally spends most of the day at the range. Decided to return home where he knew it wasn’t raining.

The decision was made to set up enough of the club owned canopies to accommodate all the shooters. With that the Range Master called the range cold to set up target stands and flags. Benches were setup and we practiced for a few minutes in a sprinkle of rain.

As the clock reached the 9:00 hour, someone up there flipped a switch and the rain STOPPED!! The clouds started breaking up and before long the sun was shining, the wind gained in velocity and we were back to a normal day of shooting.

Six shooters competed in three events. The first, a 25m event using the official, QCAGC 75yd target, possible score of 250. Two classes, Scope and Red dot.  Will Medicott, shooting a brand-new RAW pistol, took Gold in the Scope Class with a 246 and John Livingston a 246 for Gold in the Red Dot Class. In the 10yd, using the 50m target, Will took Gold with a 2-card total of 499 – 40x, earning him a coveted 250 medal. John took the red dot Gold, 497 – 30x. Chicken Little Silhouettes, Will, 32, won Gold in shoot out with Terry Wiest, 4 chickens at 20 yds-----Will got all 4.  John again won Gold with 29 critters. Congratulations to Will and John for some outstanding shooting. A clean, Gold sweep for both of you.

So, for a day that started out cold, wet and dreary, we ended in bright sunshine and great shooting. To top it off, Greg had some prizes for the first three places in the 10yd Scope Class competition, Will won a 12lb Butterball Turkey, Terry a package of Turkey Breast, and yours truly, Jack Mercer, 2- foot long, Turkey Sausages.

Many thanks to Greg for not canceling and the prizes, Bron Greenwood as Range Master, keeping us safe and on time. Anita Teschek helping with setup, take down, silhouettes, scoring and more. Watch out guys, she already has a proven pistol and will be receiving her scope on Saturday. There will soon be a NEW GAL in PISTOL TOWN!!!

See you at the Range,

Jack Mercer President Emeritus

Recently, the Quail Creek Air Gun Club held its first Hunter Field Competition of this season. To get enough competitors the club waits for all the snowbirds to come and nest in the warmth of the southwest. Like other clubs we run matches in winter, generally the first Sat of the month. 

What is Hunter Field Competition? We have graduated from the Red Rider BB guns that were common in most families. Instead of a BB most shooters use .177 caliber lead or eco friendly pellet. The pellet basically has the shape of the badminton shuttlecock. Soft pellets flatten and fall. Participants shoot in classes. There is a springer class (similar to the Red Ryder), and another class for shooters using compressed air.. That class has subclasses due to what upgrades have been made to the air gun. As in all hobbies the upgrades can be never ending. Ie Why have a putter when you can afford a Scotty Camaron putter?

We are allowed to use maximum 16 power telescopic sights. The 10-meter targets have an ½ inch diameter bullseye that you have to hit to knock the target over. The 55-meter target has a 1 ½ inch bullseye that has to be hit to knock that target over. One shot, one knocked over target equals one point and our matches have a perfect score of 48. So you may ask, what is so hard about that? Like real hunting you find a rest, ours are a pair of crossed walking sticks and a bucket to set on. Quail Creek holds their matches at our range in the area near the Quonset huts.

To start the season we had seven competitors and medals were awarded to the 3 top scores: Ben Spencer; Gold, scored 46

Larry Ford; Silver, scored 44

Andrew Weichert; Bronze, scored 43

Jesse Avery; scored, 36

John Weichert; scored 36

Brom Greenwood; scored 30

Tom Jackson; scored 27

A very safe and enjoyable time was had by all. If this article has sparked an interest or if you may have questions come down to the range!