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WHAT IT'S ABOUTrap shooting has been a sportin the US since 1793. Then,hunters used real birds, usually

pigeons, to hone their skills during off-hunting season. They would place thebirds underneath a big cowboy hat,and attach a long string to it. Whenthe shooter is ready, he will yell, "Pull".

The person holding on to the stringwould yank the hat and release thepigeons. Now, shooters still begin thegame by shouting "Pull". But instead oflive pigeons, the targets are now bright,orange circular discs.

I met up with Patrick Chen, whois one of the four licenced coachesat Bukit Timah Gun Club and thehonorary treasurer of Singapore GunClub. Patrickhas fouryears of shootingexperience and is one of the club's topmarksmen. Feeling slightly pressured,I listened intently as Patrick walkedme through a compulsory 15-minutec n r c h i n o a n d e q f o f r r q o q c i n n

POINT AND SHOOTYOUR WAY TO SHARPERR E F L E X E S . B Y P E A R L T N s r o w

Getting kitted

Holding a 4kg, l2-gauge shotgun

was quite thrilling for me. The gun,

measuring 120cm long, felt very solid

in my hands. Patrick explained that"72 gange" refers to the calibre of thegun, or the measurement of the inside

diameter of the barrel in inches. I

had visions of myself running around

Rambo-style, with dirt smeared on my

face. But in reality, trap shooting is a

rather civilised affair. Patrick handed

me a vest with shoulder padding to

absorb recoil from the shotgun, and

earmuffs to protect my ears.

Before I could start shooting, I had

to learn how to stand, that is, with my

body 45 degrees to the gun, and with 70per cent of my weight on my left forward

leg. This leg is now my rotating point

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for all my movements. Hoisting the gun,

I placed its barrel snugly between my

shoulder and collar bone and rested the

hollow of my cheekbone squarely on the

stock of the gun. I was in my optimumposition and ready to fire.

There are five different stations,

each ofthem is 16m from the trap house

that releases the targets. You begin a

round by calling, "Pull", taking aim and

shooting your first target. At the club,

the coach presses a button on a remote

control to release the targets. Each

shooter gets five rounds at each station- atotalof2S rounds in all. Targets are

launched at random angles and their

oscillation tests your reflexes as you

have to move left to right continuously

to shoot them."Pull!" I yelled. An orange disc

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flew out ofthe trap and I squeezed thetrigger... and missed. . . again and again.Finally, after six rounds, I managed tohit one target. It was very satisfying tosee it smash into smithereens! Therewasrt't much recoil, thankfully, and eventhough the gun shots were loud, my earswere well-protected by earmuffs. I cansee why some people practise for 200rounds tirelessly.

I fired a total ofsix shots during the15 minutes I was there. That wasn'tmuch compared to 50 qhots these guysmake in an hour. Honing a sense ofdead-on precision aside, I could tellthat a big part oftrap shooting also liesin building good upper-body strength.My arms were trembling from bearingthe weight of the shotgun. It was agreat experience playing GI Jane, andI walked away feeling quite empowered.The good thing: no pigeons were harmedfor this story.

Dress codeT-shirt, jeans and comfortable shoeswill suffice. A padded shooting vestwill be provided to let you keep yourammunition and protect your shoulderfrom gun recoil, which, by the way, isvery slight.

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Skills neededGood motor coordination and reflexesare a bonus. Sharp eyesight will alsocarry you far.

The payoffA lot of satisfaction is gained fromhitting your targets and you will alsoget strong shoulders and arms fromlifting the shotguns.

Whereto learnThe Bukit Timah Gun Club is locatedat 127-KRifle Range Road (offDunearnRoad). It costs $65 for non-members forone hour of training. The fee includesinsurance, ammunition (25 rounds) as

Pearlin learnsthe ropes fromthe veteran.

well as coach and range fees. Corporateclasses are also available. Call64GG-8I24or e-mail gunclub@singaporegunclub.com for more information.

Report cardFun factor: 7110 Holding and shooting

a shotgun is very exciting, and even moreso if you manage to hit your targets.Warning: It can be highly addictive!

Fit factor:2/t0 Much of the action isarm and sight dependent. Unless you doat least 100 rounds, you won't work upmuch of a sweat.

Fear factor:3/l0 Strict rules areobserved. Shooters must point theirguns at the floor when they are notshooting.

DRESSED FOR THE KILI GEAR UP AND PERFECT YoUR AIMING.

^ Stay protected from the recoilof the shotgun with this shootingvest ($250, Chye Whatt Seng).

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ru Protect yourskin from thesun and slatheron the SPF 50Kawaii Tokyo SunSurvivor sunblock($42. John Little,Robinsons andmajor pharmacies).

SHAPE September 2008 | cET FIT I I 1 1