With protective headgear and eye wear on, safety button off, and all spectators behind him, Brad Beckmann, senior, is free to bear arms. To Beckmann, with all the precautionary measures and all the safety regulations, the only thing deadly about his sport is the competition.

And yes, Beckmann said, shooting is a sport.

“It’s a lot more than people think it is,” Beckmann said. “The best shooters are, no doubt, athletes. There are guys in the sport who wake up and do it every day.”

And it’s a sport that requires a keen feel for a gun, as well as instinct, Beckmann said. Beckmann wields a Krieghoff K-80 Pro-skeet, or in laymen terms, a shotgun used in competition. He said his gun acts as a part of him now.

“My gun fits me so well that it always shoots where I am looking,” Beckmann said.

Beckmann placed fifth in the nation during the Jr. Olympic Shoot in Colorado last summer. The competition, or “shoot”, was for kids under the age of 18.

Among other accolades, Beckman also tied for third in the State High School competition last spring. He shot 99 out of 100 targets.

With such a high level of competition, Beckmann said he has learned how to get over pre-competition nervousness, which he still gets before every shoot, no matter how small.

Beckmann said he likes shooting because it’s an individual sport, but the individual scores also go towards a team score.

Beckmann competes state-wide and nationally in the American Trap. His team, the Gateway Claybusters, competes in a nation-wide Scholastic Clay Target Program.

Beckmann is also a member of a USA shooting where he competes nationally in Olympic Trap, otherwise known as “bunker trap.”

The Olympic Trap is pretty competitive, Beckmann said. Athletes in this trap can qualify for World Cups or even the Olympic games.

Beckmann said he hasn’t qualified for one yet, but he hopes to do so in the future.

The Claybusters is coached by John Stokes, who has been Brad’s coach for five years.

“[Stokes] has become like a father for me,” Beckmann said. “I’ve known him for so long and spent so much time with him.”

Stokes said Beckmann shows promise in his future.

“Brad has great potential in the shooting sports,” Stokes said. “His hand eye coordination is excellent and well developed.”

Stokes said Beckmann’s ability is hard to come by, but the biggest component of his success is his hard work.

“Everybody talks about the flashy person or the naturally talented person doing well, but you need to look at their habits and desire,” Stokes said. “There are many things that an athlete has to put in the time doing to become a well rounded shooter.”

Beckmann said he practices at St. Louis Skeet near Six Flags, as well as at Busch Wild Life in St. Charles.

Beckmann’s sister, Torie Beckmann, sophomore, also shoots, but she said she’s just in it for the fun of it.

Torie said she’s glad her brother shoots because he’s helped her learn and he’s set a good model.

“If [Brad] didn’t [shoot] then I probably never would have gotten into it,” Torie said.

Brad said he plans to attend Lindenwood University because they have a good shooting program. The shooting team isn’t part of the NCAA so he can’t get a scholarship for it, but he will receive a partial academic scholarship.

He also said he would love to start a shooting team for MHS.

“Other schools have teams, and I think it would be awesome if we had one,” Brad said.

He said he hasn’t spoken to Activities Director Mark Linneman, about starting a team, but he’d like to round up a group of people to do so.

Brad said if anyone wants to get into shooting or is interested in the team, to contact him on Facebook or in person anytime.

“Having a team would just be really fun,” Brad said.