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From left: Howard Childress, Jane Kapp and Lelan Kapp take a break between events at a trap shooting competition near Boonville. All three live near St. Joseph and frequently travel to shooting competitions throughout the Midwest. Howard and Lelan have been friends and hunting partners for more than 40 years. “I had a friend with a bird dog who took me to hunt with Kapp on Kapp’s land,” said Childress. “As soon as I met him I knew he would be a friend for life.” They started competitive shooting together in 1989. “We started shooting for the fun of it,” said Lelan. “We thought it would improve our hunting skills. We weren’t going to get serious about it … but then we did!” The pair brought Lelan’s wife, Jane, into the sport shortly after they caught the bug. “I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands of shells we’ve shot over the years,” said Childress. “When I was in my prime, I shot between 20 and 50 thousand shells a year.” All said, the opportunity to be outside, the challenge and the friendships they make are what keep them involved in the sport. “It’s a challenge every time you go,” said Lelan. “Every course is different, and the targets will be different from day to day. As soon as you learn how to break the targets, the trap setters change them on you.”— Photo by David Stonner