HAYDEN - Several young shooters stood at separate stations, their backs to onlookers and their attention on the flying targets.

Red, blue and dark pink shotgun shell casings littered the ground at their feet while chunks of neon orange clay speckled the field just beyond. A voice yelled, "Pull!" and a thunderous explosion burst from a shotgun. The smell of gunpowder, like a freshly extinguished firework, was pungent in the chilly morning air.

"You just have to have respect for the gun," said Lane Thompson, 16, of Coeur d'Alene.

Thompson, a Coeur d'Alene High School junior, was one of about 70 young shooters who participated Saturday in the third annual Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) Tri-State Challenge at the Coeur d'Alene Skeet and Trap Club in Hayden. It serves as a yearly event where youths from Idaho, Montana and Washington come together to refine their knowledge and cultivate their passion for the sport of shooting.

Youngsters in grades 6-12 picked up their shotguns and shot skeet, trap and 5-stand while competing for accolades in the rookie, intermediate and varsity age-group levels as well as shooting for the overall high award.

"It's just really cool to know you can control a gun like you can," said Thompson, who is a member of the Viking Trap and Skeet. "The target's moving through the air and you look at it, you're like, 'Man, that's moving fast but I could hit that.' It definitely helps improve your hand-eye coordination and your mental fitness."

Lisa Kinsey of Coeur d'Alene pulled up a chair to watch her grandson, Cedar Gabriel, 14, a Lake City High School freshman who shoots for the LCHS team and frequents the gun club.

"You live in North Idaho, you need to know how to use a gun," Kinsey said. "He's a hunter, he's a fisherman, it's all a part of it. He has a good support system of another grandpa that trains him and teaches him and does a great job."

Coeur d'Alene High team coach Bill White and adviser Kiersten Kerr both agreed that safety is important at the tri-state challenge, but it's also about learning and having fun in the process.

"We're also trying to introduce kids to the shooting sport because there's all kinds of college scholarships and college teams out there," Kerr said. "We're hoping that our kids will be able to go on to college teams."

Volunteer and retired L.A. police officer Dave Daniel of Coeur d'Alene said the program encourages youngsters to be careful and safe with their firearms and by doing so, they become confident and capable.

"They're going to be shooting between 10,000 and 12,000 rounds here," he said. "There won't even be a hangnail as far as accidents or anything like that."

Many, if not all, of the shooters belong to USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESS) or SCTP (Scholastic Clay Target Program). The Idaho State SSSF challenge will take place in the spring, followed by regionals and nationals.

Info: www.sssfonline.org, www.usayess.org, www.cdaskeetandtrap.com or www.nssf.org.