Clay pigeons, beware.

Local gun clubs at Iowa State, including the Trap and Skeet Club, are recruiting members and pledging to promote safety as well as fun.

“We’re really safe,” said Rob Loften, president of the club.

“We make sure that the people know what they’re doing and know how to handle the guns,” he said.

Loften, senior in animal science, said the club is a great opportunity to learn more about guns and gun safety.

“I enjoy getting to know the members and improving on my gun skills,” Loften said.

“I encourage anyone who is at all interested to come to a meeting. It doesn’t matter if you are a hunter or even if you have never shot a gun before,” he said.

Trap and skeet are actually two separate competitions.

Trap shooting is firing at five targets that are flying directly away from the “hunter.”

In skeet shooting, there are on average eight different stations.

At these stations, clay pigeons fly out from houses above or below the shooter, and they are thrown in either singles or pairs.

“The club is not at all limited to hunters,” said Jeremy Phillips, club treasurer and sophomore in finance. “It’s more a bunch of people who just want to have a good time.”

The Trap and Skeet Club practices at local sportsman’s clubs twice a week.

It rents out the place for the evening and gives members the chance to shoot both trap and skeet.

The club owns six 12-gauge shotguns that were purchased for them by funding from the Government of the Student Body. Before members are allowed to touch the guns, they must have completed a gun safety course offered through the local National Rifle Association or police department.

Members are not required to own a gun. For a fee of $20 a semester, members are guaranteed at least one opportunity to practice a week, along with proper shooting instruction.

The membership fee also guarantees members the use of the club guns, as well as shooting vests, safety glasses, earplugs and gun shell carriers.

The only things members are required to pay for are shotgun shells and clay pigeons.

The Trap and Skeet Club has meetings at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday in Room 20 of Ross Hall.