Bathed in the power of two stadium-style lights, the skeet field at the Ames Izaak Walton League looks serene in the growing dark of the foggy autumn evening.

Ear plugs make it sound just as still until a shot rips the dampness, echoing over the woods surrounding the clearing.

An orange disk a bit larger than a softball explodes in mid-air, the shattered fragments spinning back to earth.

The shooter lowers the smoking shotgun from his shoulder, and the next shooter steps up. She holds the gun to her eye and signals that she is ready. A soft “thwoomp” is heard and another orange disk flies from one of the two gray cinderblock houses at each end of the field.

It’s an optional practice night for members of the ISU Trap and Skeet Club, and tonight they’re only practicing skeet. Club alum Ben Berka, a shooting coach in Madrid, offers tips and training to club members free of charge.

Each of the four shooters take their turn at this position before moving to the next one, approximately 30 feet along the circumference of the semi-circular field.

By the end of one round, each shooter has shot at 25 targets. The best shooter missed only one, but tonight, no one’s counting.

“We only keep score during competitions,” said Matt Graesch, graduate student in geological and atmospheric sciences.

Some club members don’t care to keep score much at all.

“We have shooters who are very competitive, who are there to do well,” said club president Michelle Lehman, sophomore in hotel, restaurant and institution management. “We also have shooters who are there just to have fun.”

Of course, competition has its perks.

The club pays all competition entry fees, which can range from $80 to $100 for college shoots, Lehman said. Club members have competed in more than half a dozen states and around the world, including a trip to the Czech Republic last year. Lehman said trap and skeet is one of the only ISU sports clubs that competes internationally.

Club members who pay the $25 dues every semester also gain access to discounted ammunition and can use club guns, though many shooters have guns of their own, which come in handy for their other interests.

“The majority of people who come to practice are out there to get a little practice in before hunting season,” said Chris Steffen, junior in animal ecology.

Ben Parlett, sophomore in pre-business, began shooting trap and skeet as a way to sharpen his pheasant hunting skills, but got more involved with games year after year.

Even noncompetitive shooters appreciate a job well done. The first time a shooter hits 25 targets in a row, it’s a tradition to toss up his or her hat and shoot that too, Lehman said.

“You may see people walking around campus with their hat all torn to shreds, and that’s why,” she said.

Lehman said that the club’s membership is the highest it’s ever been, but that of the 54 dues-paying members this semester, only 15 to 20 are interested in competitions.

Even with experienced shooters on the field, there’s always room for beginners, and everybody learns to shoot in different ways. Steffen said there’s a lot of coaching among club members, and that new shooters will have the opportunity to try their own techniques or get specific tips and advice.

“It’s easiest to learn from experience,” said Jayme Hartema, freshman in mechanical engineering. “You have to keep learning, no matter how good you are.”