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THE BRAUERS

At home on the range

On Sundays—and just about any other day they can manage it—Bill Brauer, a store owner of Fond du Lac, Wis., and all four of his children reach for their guns, pile into the family station wagon and head for the trapshooting range. Mr. Brauer has been blasting clay birds to bits since 1945, so it was no surprise to anyone that his two sons, Bill and Dick, grew up wanting to shoot. What was a surprise—and a happy one—to Brauer was that his two daughters, Barb, 17, and Patty, 13, grew up equally enthusiastic. "I had hoped the girls would take to it," he says, "but I couldn't be sure."

Both Barb and Patty give the male Brauers stiff competition. Barb's aim is so good she breaks 87% of her targets, Patty 80%. Bill Jr. (at top of picture next to Bill Sr.) is the family champ, averages 96.92%. In a recent championship he missed only three birds out of 400.

Mrs. Brauer is the only member of the family who doesn't shoot. Her game is golf. "Someone," she says, "has to keep the balance in this household."

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