Hauling around a 12-gauge shotgun in the name of sport often generates an onslaught of curious questions or silence from people, says Burlington trapshooter Emily Brown.

The appeal for Brown?

“It’s an addictive sport, like golf, because you can never beat it,” she says. Like golf, trapshooting requires some physical strength and stamina, as well as mental acuity, and improves hand-eye co-ordination and mental focus.

Variables, such as wind direction and speed, can easily alter the outcome from one round to the next. A round in trapshooting consists of 25 shots, five shots from five different stations with the aim of breaking the greatest number of airborne clay targets.

Brown’s own addiction to trapshooting has lasted 44 years and shows no signs of waning. In fact, she is in recruit mode as a board member of the Ontario Trapshooting Association.

She was introduced to the sport at age 12 and immediately began making a name for herself in international, national, provincial and regional competitions. Brown is a member of the Galt Sportsman Club, which is one 60 clubs in the province that shoot trap.

“The sport has taught me persistence, patience, determination and with just 10 seconds to hit the target, it has taught me problem solving skills from a young age,” she said. “It’s provided me with strength of character.”

Shooting enthusiasts come from all walks of life, including professionals and tradespeople, and of all ages, from children to adults to seniors, and of course the sport attracts male and female competitors, as well as recreational shooters.

“It’s not so much about equipment, it’s about the shooter,” Brown maintains. While guns can range in price from $300 to $5,000, a yearly club membership fee runs around $200 and a box full of shells and clay targets run about $6 per box. A fire arms licence is not mandatory.

Brown will be touting the merits of trapshooting at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show (March 15-19 at Mississauga’s International Centre, 6900 Airport Rd.) on Thursday, March 16, as one of four females on a Women of the Outdoors: More than Just a Pretty Face panel.