And next week when he participates in a national air pistol competition, the Tonganoxie teen hopes to beat his own record.

At a recent practice session in the basement of his home, Cody stood sideways to the target, his right arm extended, motionless, as he prepared to shoot his air pistol.

Before him, 10 meters away was a bull’s-eye target about five inches in diameter.

If more than eight seconds pass before he shoots, Cody puts his arm down.

“They say that you’re supposed to only hold it there for no more than eight seconds, because after that you can’t hold your breath that long and your heart starts beating faster,” Cody said.

Georgia bound

Cody, who is 16 and will be a senior at Tonganoxie High School this fall, has qualified to compete in the J 2 (age 15-17) division at USA Shooting Nationals at Fort Benning, Ga. In each of the two matches in which he competes, Cody will stand 10 meters from a paper target.

His goal: to hit an area that’s smaller than a dime for a 10-point shot. He will have 60 shots in each match, for a possible 600 points.

Cody said he usually shoots at about 550 to 560. However, at a January tournament in Colorado Springs, he did even better than that.

“I got 569 points,” Cody said. “That’s the national record for the J2 age group.”

Cody grinned when asked what is his goal for the Georgia tournament.

“I want to be better,” he said.

And that means, he said, topping his record — which is also the USA Shooting national J2 record — by making at least 570 points.

Lucky beginning

Cody’s start in shooting came through his membership in Lucky Clover 4-H, with Steve and Randi Lutz as teachers. He was in the seventh grade. His sister, Cally, who is 14, began shooting in 4-H also. The teens are the children of Craig and Kelly Owsley.

“They liked it real well,” Kelly said. “Cody likes to compete and when he found out there were some places he could go and shoot, he just kind of took off.”

While most shooters either shoot rifle or pistol, Cody is different, Kelly said.

“He still shoots both,” Kelly said. “… He’s probably done a little better at pistol. … But he likes to shoot anything.”

Cody, who said shooting is his only hobby, said he doesn’t have a preference for rifle or pistol.

After the Georgia competition in which he’ll use an air pistol, he’ll travel to Idaho to participate in the NRA Airgun Team Championships. There, he’ll compete in air pistol, as well as air rifle.

While the sport is fun, it can be expensive, said Kelly said.

But there could be a payoff — or two. Cody’s hoping to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

And, there are college scholarships for shooting sports. The nearest college with such a scholarship is the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

“You can pay your way (through college) just like you can with basketball or football or whatever,” Kelly said.

This has been a good year for Cody, as well as for Cally.

“They both shot in the Junior Olympics, which means they shot in a state qualifying match and scored 90 percent or above to get the invitation.”

In January, Cody set a record in the Colorado Springs 3 Times Pistols Match.

At the Junior Olympics he placed second in pistol, which earned an appointment for him on the National Development Team.

And the other shooter of the family fared well at the Colorado meet, too. Cally shot her own personal best record.

Where it all began

As Cody looks forward to this summer’s national competitions, he’s still involved in 4-H shooting sports.

Last year at the state 4-H competitions, he took first place in air rifle, air pistol, small bore rifle and small bore pistol.

Did he expect to have such a successful year?

Again, Cody smiled, then said, “Not really, but I was hoping.”

Cally said she’s gone from “not being too crazy about the sport” to practicing an hour every day.

“You have to be determined and everything and practice a lot,” Cally said.

When it comes to shooting, the hardest part for Cally is that she has to stand still.

“You have to think about it really hard,” Cally said. “You have to get really comfortable so you can stay there without it hurting or anything.”

When Cally’s not shooting, she has plenty of other activities on her mind. She plays soccer, volleyball, basketball and participates in track. She likes to dance, is active in 4-H projects such as sewing and photography and likes to swim. In school she participates on the math and science teams.

With all of her other interests, Cally’s not sure how far she plans to go in shooting sports. But it’s different with her brother, who is more focused on shooting.

“I know Cody wants to go to the Olympics, and shoot for college,” Cally said.