Billy Gene Hicks (May 29, 1927 – October 7, 2016) was an American moving target shooter who distinguished himself in competitions around the world and the United States from 1955 to 1981.

Billy was a victim of Polio in his early childhood years but later recovered having only a slight difference in his stance, with his left leg being shorter than the right.

Hicks was extremely proficient with not only the pistol and rifle but was also deadly accurate with hitting moving targets.

He served with the Marine 6th Division in Sing Tau China until the end of World War II.

Hicks began shooting Trap and Skeet in 1955 while stationed in Hawaii, and achieved his AA (Master Class) rating the same year which was almost unheard of.

He entered into large professional competitions sometimes going up against movie stars like Roy Rogers and Robert Stack.

In a competition where the shooter has a little less than 3 seconds to fire and hit Hicks had proven that he could perform consistently under pressure.

In 1966, the US team won the gold and top honors at the Olympic Trap World Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany.

In 1967, Hicks again joined the United States Team at Bologna Italy with James Beck, Chris Bishop, and Richard Loffelmacher.

While there he was instrumental in the realignment of the H&MS-39 provisional organizational structure by recommending delineations of responsibility and assignments of specific tasks, thereby promoting more effective operations.

Despite the constant pulse of combat support operations, 1stSgt Hicks in his spare time supervised the layout and construction of the Provisional Marine Air Group 39 Skeet Range which was the only one of its kind in Northern I Corps.

During his career as a professional shooting instructor he designed and built many shooting facilities both at Rolling Rock Club and for other private enterprises, including Duck Towers, Quail Walks, Live Bird Ranges, and culminating with a full size Olympic Trap Range for Rolling Rock Club as his parting gift.

1964 National Rifle Association of America, International Skeet – Distinguished Expert Certification 1966 Member- United States World Championship Trap and Skeet Team 1966 ISSF World Shooting Championships [Wiesbaden, Germany) – Gold Medal / Silver Medal / Bronze Medal (288x300) 1966 Military All-American Skeet Team Sports Afield 1966 National Rifle Association of America – Shotgun Distinguished Expert Certification 1966 International Distinguished Shooters Badge #100 [awarded] 1967 Member- United States World Championship Trap and Skeet Team 1967 ISSF World Shooting Championships [Bologna, Italy] – Silver Medal / Bronze Medal (274x300) 1968 (NRA) National Record Holder [a first National Record] – Olympic International Clay Pigeon Competition (200x200) Perfect Score – Thurmont, Maryland [May 19, 1968] 1968 National Rifle Association of America – Master Classification for NRA International Clay Pigeon Competition – Certified Lifetime Master 1968 All-State Skeet Team Virginia 1969 All-State Skeet Team Virginia 1970 NSSA World Champion 1970 (NRA) National Record Holder [Co-Holder] – Clay Pigeon 300 Target (Score 294) – Inter Service Clay Pigeon Tournament, Fort Benning, Georgia [September 7–11, 1970] 1971 All-State Skeet Team Virginia 1981 – World Champion Live Moving Target Championship Guadalajara Mexico [U.S. Grand Prix March 2, 1981]