Sports

Looking very much like a hitter in the batter's box, Manny Bragg twisted the toes of his spiked shoes into the dirt, working to get a good grip for that important first step.

He'd taken a few practice "swings," too, pivoting his hips and planning his route. He wasn't carrying a bat, though, or eyeing a baseline. He was armed with a semi-automatic pistol, and he was mentally picking his way around an obstacle course of walls, boundary lines and assorted props at East Huntingdon Sportsmen's Association in Alverton.

Then, a buzzer sounded, and he filled the air with the "pop, pop, pop" of nearly 30 rounds.

All the while, Bragg was on the move. He fired four shots into two paper targets on his left, spun on his heels and fired into two more on the right, ran around a wall, fed a new clip into his pistol, dropped an ammo box into a chute to open a window, and alternately ran and shot into targets on his left, his right and through the window.

It took 16 seconds. And Bragg was disappointed.

"That's about two seconds longer than it should have taken. I was a little too wobbly there, too awkward, at one point," Bragg said.

Most shooters would love to do so "poorly." A Missouri resident, Bragg is a champion shooter in the U.S. Practical Shooting Association.

But his self-criticism underscored the nature of practical shooting, which has been described as the rock and roll of recreational shooting. The sport challenges shooters to fire quickly and accurately while on the go.

Winners in a number of categories -- based on pistol types and skill level -- are determined based on a formula that takes into account points scored per second, minus penalties for misses.

"My analogy is that this is like playing chess with a gun," said Houston Graves of Penn Hills, another practical shooting competitor. "You've got to know in your mind what needs to be done and be able to physically do it right away.

"When you see someone who's really good at it, it's like ballet. They're poetry in motion."

More than 300 Practical Shooting Association members -- from around the region and even as far as Israel -- have been competing at East Huntingdon since Thursday in the group's Area 8 championships. The match concludes today.

It's not surprising such a large-scale event is being held in this region. Aside from East Huntingdon's facilities, the sport is popular in Western Pennsylvania. A number of sportsmen's clubs -- Pitcairn-Monroeville, East Huntingdon, McDonald, Clairton, and Castlewood, among others -- hold shoots every month.

"It's just a blast," said Dave Fries of Cheswick, who helped establish the program at East Huntingdon and still shoots at age 71. "I've been shooting since I was 5, and this is where it's at for me. It's a lot of fun, it really is."

Practical shooting traces its roots to combat pistol shooting, though it can involve rifles and shotguns, too. And it still draws military marksmen and law enforcement types, said Alan Meek of Virginia, an area 8 director.

But it's evolved to become a sport enjoyed by all types of people, he said.

"We've got doctors, lawyers, professionals, construction workers, college students, women, juniors. And what's really neat is that they can all come out and compete with world champs and former world champs on the same course on the same day," Meek said.

"Can you play a round in the Masters with Tiger Woods? Can you do laps with your favorite NASCAR driver? Can you get on the ice with the Penguins? No, but here you shoot with the best shooters in the world. That's very unique."

Some of the shooters admit to being a little sensitive to the perception of their sport. To the uninitiated, handguns aren't often viewed in a positive light, Graves said.

But practical shooting is proof that they can be safe and enjoyable in the right hands, he said.

"To me, it's a passion," Graves said. "It's a wonderful way to recreationally enjoy shooting handguns."

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