PLAYTHINGS

If the economy gets any worse, we may end up a hunter-gatherer society again, and the yuppies want to be prepared. Forget the golf course; skeet and clay pi-geon shooting is the new sport of choice. The not-so-idle rich are flocking to the three ranges in the Los Angeles area, taking out their aggressions on the clays. The sport’s appeal is simple: It combines the concentration of Zen archery--also a growth sport in Southern California--with an American penchant for big guns. It’s politically correct--sporting clays are shot into the sky in a manner replicating the behavior and flight paths of quail, grouse and ducks; no animals are involved. Yet. And there’s a certain air about the social aspect; most people make an afternoon of it, strolling around the grounds, shooting, eating and talking, “just like old shooting parties of Victorian England,” says director John Milius, a top marksman. The sport is almost as big as golf in Japan; some of the best shooters at the ranges are Asian yuppies. And testosterone is not required; women are totin’ their guns right past the big sign at Moore-N-Moore Sporting Clays in San Fernando that warns shooters to watch out for rattlers. Of course, none of this comes cheap--guns run about $600 and an afternoon on the range can cost $75. But at least you don’t have to dress the clays.