ATTICA — Green County Schuetzen held their third annual invitational Schuetzen fest on July 31st at the Paul and Sue Rieder farm near Attica. Nine shooters participated in this traditional shooting sport. All shooting was conducted at 50 feet with .22 Cal rifles.

Schuetzen style of shooting was brought to America in the 1820s with the influx of Swiss and German settlers. The “Golden Age of Schuetzen” was from 1890 to 1915; It was often described as “German Golf”. All shooting is performed offhand (standing) with no shooting jackets, slings or rests. Purists use single shot rifles from the era, and the governing body in the United States is the American Single Shot Rifle Association.  

“Schuetzen Meister”, Paul Rieder, conducted a pre-tournament meeting, after which Pastor Lance Smith (Zwingli UCC) offered a prayer and the “opening shot” as per tradition. Two relays each were shot on the German Ring and Mann Target. Each contestant fired a single shot on The King Target. A brief intermission was followed by each participant taking an additional shot on a Jaeger Scheibe (hunter target).

Brats, German potato salad, cole slaw, chips, beer and soda followed the awards ceremony. Eric Kassebaum (Monticello), won a medal for the German Ring. Chris Pederson (Eau Claire) won a medal for the Mann Target. Bruce Briggs (Monticello) was the recipient of the “St Sebastian” medal. Jaeger Scheibes were won by Chris Pederson and Tim Kolasch (Monticello). Pastor Lance Smith was crowned Schuetzen King, as he shot closest to center on the King Target.

Anyone interested in this style of shooting and wishes to participate in the next event can contact Paul Rieder at Pines@tds.net.