THE Birgans aren't exactly what you call a gun-shy family.The cracking of shotguns are a familiar sound to Renae Birgan who took on the family tradition of clay shooting at the tender age of 13."My whole family shoots," Birgan said yesterday."Mum and Dad started and my brother and me just followed."Now 26, the Melbourne-based shooter is hoping to snare Australian team gold for the second time at the 2009 FITASC World Sporting Clay Target Shooting Championships.She represented the country at the 2004 world titles in France and said snaring gold on her home soil would be a career highlight."Winning gold in Europe was amazing because the competition is so tough over there," Birgan said."But winning on your home soil would mean so much more."The former Queenslander is poised to help the Aussies gain centre spot on the victory dais.After the first day of women's competition she was equal third on the leader board with a score of 37 out of 50, two shots below joint leaders Katiuscia Spada (Italy) and Darby Fennell (USA). With yesterday's score of 38 she had improved to equal leader with Beatriz Laparra Cuenca, of Spain, on aggregate scores of 75.Her brother Damien Birgan, of Brisbane, is outright leader in the open category with 95 out of 100 (49, 46) from George Digweed (Britain) on 94 (45, 49).Renae Birgan said there was nothing she liked better than comparing shots with her sibling."I like to give him a bit of a hard time but only if I'm winning," Birgan laughed."He shot a 49 yesterday so I'll have to keep quiet - there's not much you can improve on with that."Yesterday Birgan shot a 21 and 17 in the first and second rounds respectively. She said the wind and rain made shooting conditions difficult."I got a nice sunburn yesterday," she said, referring to Thursday's 30-degree heat."Today's been a bit different. When it's raining it does make things a little more difficult."Birgan said a career highlight was sharing the podium with her brother at Laang in 2006, after winning their first national championships in their respective categories.She has returned to Laang again with her mother and father, Maree and Mike, as well as partner Sox Pilipasidis - all of whom are competiting. "I just love the competition and the friendships you make at international events like this. "While we don't all speak English we can understand each other just the same."Shooting continues today.