By Greg Goulder ’13
THE ROUNDUP

In the hot desert sun, Brophy sophomore and trap and skeet club leader Nate Moreno ’13 draws his shotgun to his shoulder, locks onto the clay target and fires once, destroying it in the air.

This is the scene that takes place every other Sunday with a trap and skeet shooting club at Ben Avery Shooting Range.

The club meets from 3 to 5 p.m. every other Sunday afternoon to practice their trap and skeet shooting skills.

Although not officially affiliated with Brophy, the club is composed solely of Brophy students, according to club officer Moreno.

The club shoots trap, skeet and sporting clays.

All of these are Frisbee-shaped clay discs that are launched into the air.  The shooter stands on a shooting platform and attempts to knock the discs out of the sky.

“The main difference between these is that trap shooting occurs when the target moves from low to high, skeet occurs when the target is moving from left to right, and in sporting clays, the target comes from any direction, like a hunting situation,” said officer Drew Dinsmore ’13.

All guns and ammunition can be rented at the range for $100 for an entire year’s worth of ammunition and shooting range fees, according to Moreno.

“This is actually a really good deal, considering that the price of just shotgun shells would exceed $100 for a year,” Dinsmore added.

Safety is the top priority at the shooting range, and there has only been one injury so far in the 10 years that the program has been running, according to Moreno.

No prior shooting experience is needed, although proper gun safety is necessary at the range.

New shooters are required to take classes at the gun range in order to participate in the club program.

The club is open to anyone who is ready to learn about target shooting.

Competitions take place against other local clubs, and there is a national competition annually.

Any student interested should contact either club officer Nate Moreno, or club officer Drew Dinsmore to get more information about meeting location, time and necessary items.