I position my left hand under the gun's stock and when I nod that I'm ready, Tom Fister lets me support its entire weight. I'm surprised by how heavy the gun is - about ten pounds - because the shooters I've been watching hadn't seemed to be struggling at all to support their guns.

The next difficulty is keeping the peep sights in the right place on the targets that are positioned 50 feet down range. The circle I'm seeing is swimming around the target circles. The gun's trigger is very light, and when I think I'm on target for a fleeting nanosecond, I take the shot.My shot is on the paper. It's not near one of the targets on the paper, but at least it's on the paper.Shooting is one of those sports that looks easy, until you try it."Everything needs to be consistent," said Tom Fister, Kutztown, a coach for the Ontelaunee Rod & Gun Club (New Tripoli) Junior Rifle Team. Rich Frantz, Tamaqua, also coaches. "It's mainly mental."Fister's daughter Valerie got him into the sport. Through a program at Kutztown High School, Valerie began shooting in the Lehigh Valley Prone League. Next Valerie's younger sister, Amy, started shooting.Today, Tom Fister has been involved in coaching for about six years. Amy Fister, a University of Memphis junior, is shooting for the Division I team."The sport is fun but for me the best part is all the people you meet," Amy Fister said. "Most of my friends are on my team or on other teams."Kaitlyn Frantz, a Tamaque Area High School junior, and her sister Sarah Frantz, a Tamaqua seventh grader, have been shooting four years and two years, respectively."When your kids start shooting, it does get the parents involved," Rich Frantz said. "Next thing you know, you're coaching other kids too."Amy Fister and Sarah Frantz recently traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to compete in a Junior Olympics air rifle competition. Both shot very well in a field of 180 competitors. Sarah is currently ranked 12th in the nation in air rifle shooting; Amy is ranked fifth nationally in small bore rifle shooting and 25th nationally in air rifle."The matches are fun and the traveling is fun," Sarah Frantz said. "I like everything about it."Kaitlyn and Sarah Frantz, and teammates Brenton Riegel, Calista Smoyer and Megan Waidelich recently competed in a match in Ohio, where they qualified for a championship match in Anniston, Alabama, which will be held in June."They practice two times a week, for several hours," Tom Fister said. "It's a serious sport - they have to concentrate, and it takes mental and physical strength - they are very devoted to the sport."Other members of the Ontelaunee Junior Rifle Team are Quintin Lawley, Luke Chromiak, Jackie Collo, Josh Collo, Willy Hower, Kerry Kerschner, Max Kuscan, Jenn Plocinik, Emma Rhode and Andrew Bowman.Facts about Small Boreand Air Rifle Shooting'* The small-bore indoor range is 50 feet; the air rifle range is ten meters.* There is no limit to how many team members can compete at a match, but only the top five scores count.* Small-bore matches are "three position" and shooters compete in rounds standing, kneeling and prone (lying down.) Most air rifle matches are "standing" but there are also three-position matches.* The targets two center bulls-eye, where shooters can begin and make sight adjustments; those two center bulls-eyes are surround by ten bulls-eyes. The top score a shooter can get is 100 points, by shooting ten centers.