At the annual Benelli USA Invitational, teams of four work their way around a sporting clays course, and when the shooting’s done, Benelli writes a check.
This year’s total came to $115,000, made out to Freedom Hunters, a nonprofit that takes veterans and their families on hunts and other outdoor trips. Two hundred shooters turned out Sept. 25 at The Point at Pintail in Queenstown, Maryland, for the 12th edition, with a companion online auction added to the pot. Benelli said the tournament’s running total for Freedom Hunters is more than $1.2 million.
Last year’s winners—Joe Kukla, Sr., and Joe Kukla, Jr.—shot with Marty and Brandon Geweke again and took the team title for the second year running. Amy Crow repeated as High Overall woman and Bill Siosios posted the top score on the men’s side, also finishing second in the team standings alongside Clive Watson, Chuck Wyvill and Mona Robinson. Third place went to Jim Burch, Harry Green, Charlie O’Donavan and William Boykin.
For years the Invitational lived at Prince George’s County Trap and Skeet Center in Glenn Dale. The event moved across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Pintail, a sporting clays course on the Wye River, in 2025.
Freedom Hunters got its start in 2006 and has since run trips in 46 states and as far off as Namibia, Canada and Mexico, serving 16,792 veterans and family members thus far. Its 2025 calendar held 98 adventures. Volunteers put in 53,851 hours over the year, which the group values at more than $1.9 million.
“The Invitational is a special day for everyone involved because it brings our industry, our customers and our friends together for something bigger than the competition,” Benelli USA CEO Tom DeBolt said. “Supporting Freedom Hunters gives us an opportunity to turn that shared passion for the outdoors into meaningful experiences for veterans and their families.”
Should the Kuklas and Gewekes come back next fall, they’ll be shooting for three in a row.
Learn more about Freedom Hunters at freedomhunters.org.
