SEARSBORO, Iowa More than 130 youth from 22 counties took part in the 2025 Iowa 4-H Safety and Education in Shooting Sports State Shooting Competition, held August 23 at Brownells Big Springs Shooting Complex in Searsboro. Washington Countys 4-H Bows and Bullets club sent nine members to the statewide event and recorded several podium finishes across divisions and disciplines. The single-day format gathered competitors from across Iowa at one venue, giving families and athletes a consolidated schedule and a clear view of the days standings as divisions concluded. Washington Countys contingent produced results in both archery and smallbore rifle, illustrating breadth as well as depth. The clubs nine shooters competed within a larger field that reflected programs from nearly two dozen counties, yet Washington County still placed athletes on the podium at multiple experience levels. That outcome underscored the clubs representation across the events structure, which sorted competitors by discipline and age division while running all contests on the same Searsboro ranges. In junior archery, Nolan Rose earned third place. The intermediate archery slate proved especially productive for Washington County, with Brayden Rundell taking first, Cooper Boman securing second, and Dean Rose finishing third. Those results put the county on every step of the intermediate archery podium and added to the clubs overall tally. The archery placements highlighted consistent execution within a discipline that demands shot-to-shot control and composure over a series of scoring ends. Smallbore rifle also delivered recognition for the county. In the intermediate division, Lovella Peiffer finished second, adding a rifle podium to the clubs archery results. At the senior level, Justin Moore earned second place, confirming that Washington County had competitors performing at the upper age tier as well. Taken together, the archery and smallbore outcomes showed that the Bows and Bullets club posted results across the range of divisions available to its athletes on the day. Participation scale was a defining feature of the Searsboro competition. With a field topping 130 shooters and representation from 22 counties, the event offered a statewide snapshot of Iowa 4-H shooting sports. Hosting the contests at Brownells Big Springs Shooting Complex provided a dedicated facility capable of running multiple divisions in parallel while maintaining clear lines for athletes and spectators. For Washington County, entering nine competitors into that environment meant testing club preparation against a broad cross-section of programs from across the state. Event organizers also outlined a pathway that extends beyond the state match. According to the competition announcement, the top four individual scorers in each discipline will be contacted and invited to compete in the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships, scheduled for June 2126, 2026, in Grand Island, Nebraska. That process, tied directly to discipline-specific leaderboards, sets a clear target for athletes who finished at or near the top in Searsboro and provides a timeline for families planning potential travel to a national-level venue. Overall, the 2025 state competition combined a substantial statewide field, a purpose-built shooting complex, and a multi-division slate in which Washington Countys Bows and Bullets club logged multiple podiums. The junior archery third for Nolan Rose; the intermediate archery sweep by Brayden Rundell (first), Cooper Boman (second), and Dean Rose (third); the intermediate smallbore rifle second by Lovella Peiffer; and the senior division second by Justin Moore summarize the clubs outcomes. Those results emerged from a one-day event that drew participants from 22 counties and concluded with a reminder that top-ranked athletes in each discipline may advance to the 2026 national championships in Grand Island. For Washington County, the Searsboro finishes provide both recognition for the present and a potential bridge to the next tier of competition.