The boys are up to practicing four times a week, about three hours a day for the competition. They shoot on a pristine 80-acre site that features a shallow pond, perfectly manicured grass, 50-foot-high trees and several shooting ranges. Gunshots are incessant, echoing throughout the area.
It's the perfect place for bonding - for fathers to bring their sons, which is the case for many of those involved.
Some unfamiliar with the hunting culture may cringe at the sight of a 12-year-old pointing a rifle (as was the case with shooter Cory Bauerlien yesterday), but those involved say that is how the craft is learned.
Paul's father, who is coaching the Mayberry boys, said it was his father who introduced him to shooting at a young age.
"I've been shooting BB guns, pellet guns from when I could walk," said Paul Koontz Sr. "And I did the same for my son; dart guns, bow and arrows from when he could walk. We've grown up with guns. It's just what we do."
Added Steve McLeroy: "A lot of it has to do with area and environment. You've got a lot of old-timers around, and this is their way of life. And this is the way that gets passed on."
But not without expense.
McLeroy said the club is hosting a crab-feast fundraiser Saturday at the Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Hall near Westminster to help pay for the trip and ammunition. The boys can easily go through two $60 cases of ammunition a day.
Paul Koontz Jr. is the squad's best shooter, regularly nailing at least 23 of 25 clay birds during the rifle competition. He became that category's top shooter in the state in his initial appearance.
In a little more than a year, Paul joined the team and quickly outshot his counterparts. His success is part natural ability, part dedication, his father says.
Paul says if he is not shooting, he's home watching television shows about the sport.
"Everything in my life is focused around shooting and hunting and things like that," he said. "I was 10 when I shot my first deer. That's really when I knew this was what I wanted to do."
brent.jones@baltsun.com
