LeRoy - What do design engineering and professional computer skills have in common with target shooting? The answer is Metal Spinning Targets Inc., a LeRoy-based business operated by David Kasinski and his wife Darlene.

Kasinski has been interested in target shooting since his BB and pellet gun days of eighth grade. His background as a design engineer and his brother Paul's business and computer skills have all come together in the development and marketing of the heavy-duty shooting targets Dave designs and makes.

"I decided to try and make one (target) myself." Dave said, recounting the frustration he felt after a mail-order target he purchased broke.

The first 15 he made and took to a gun show all sold.

"That's because I didn't know any better!" he said laughing, recalling the low prices he charged. Kasinski says his prices are still very competitive with most targets on the market, because he feels that buyers are getting a better value with the durability of his product.

Made of three-eighths-inch steel plate. Kasinski's targets can be used with a variety of center-fire handguns and rifles. Rated for velocity and energy, there are different target designs for each caliber of gun.

There are standard or customized dueling trees and swinging targets, but Kasinski's reset target is unique. When a specially calibrated reset plate is hit with a shot, it flips all the other target plates back into position without the shooter having to walk to the target.

Gun shows and word of mouth were Kasinski's main sales outlets until June, when his brother developed an Internet Web site to increase market potential.

Paul, who lives in Jacksonville, Fla., left a computer security position with the National Security Agency and other business consulting work and started his own company, Aspirix, to develop intelligent business Web sites.

One of Aspirix's web sites, developed for the Jacksonville Suns minor-league baseball team, has been cited as the best in minor-league baseball and better than many major-league teams' in terms of its useful information and user-friendly design, Paul said.

The Metal Targets Inc. site features background information on the company, an on-line order form, contact numbers for more information, colorful, interactive "targets" that provide more detail on each type of product and sections for posting questions or giving feedback.

"It's a marvelous Web site," Dave's wife, Darlene, said.

"His (Paul's) technology is giving me advertising that I wouldn't have thought of using." Dave said.

"From the time we initiated the project until we went on line, no one on the Aspirix team had a face to face meeting with Dave. We used the phone, fax and, of course, the Internet to communicate, share ideas, and view work in progress," Paul said.

Paul tracks the number of "hits," or visits, made to the site, and sends his brother a report summarizing the activity by days and hours. The site, up since June 1, is receiving 150 to 200 inquiries a week. Darlene said.

In computer terms, that's not a lot," Dave said, "but it's quite a few for shooters."

Dave said his speciality targets appeal to shooters with particular interests, from cowboys in costumes using period guns and law enforcement personnel, to hunters and farmers who want "critter" shapes.

A down side to the heavy weight of the targets is the cost of shipping them, said Darlene, who helps with the business, primarily taking orders and preparing the shipping.

Sales this year have already exceeded past years, the Kasinski's noted, but they are grateful that the demand is not growing too fast. Since Dave works full-time as a plant engineer for Batavia Metal Products, its important that the target business not put a strain on family life with their children Sam, 10, and Angeline, 8, Darlene said.

Dave said he thinks growing up in a family-run business gave him and his brother the entrepreneurial drive to own their own businesses. (His parents formerly operated Lock's Motel in Batavia.) Dave, his brother, Paul, and the former Darlene Grambo all graduated from Pembroke Central School. Paul's wife, Heather, also a principal in Aspirix, is a LeRoy native.

Metal Targets Inc. products are available locally from Batavia Marine, Avon Gun, Creekside Gun Shop in East Bloomfield, Beikirch's in Rochester and the Buffalo Gun Center. The targets have been purchased by the Batavia Police Department and are also advertised in an out-of-state law enforcement catalog, Dave said.