Introduction

Shooting Disciplines

Clay target competition is conducted in three basic disciplines - TRAP, SKEET and SPORTING CLAYS. TRAP is further divided into ISSF TRENCH, DOUBLE TRAP and DOWN THE LINE (DTL) Shooting. DTL further divides into: - Double Barrel (DB); - Double Barrel Point Score (DB Points); - Single Barrel (SB); - Double Barrel Handicap (HCP); - Double Rise (DR); - Deauville Doubles; - Novelty Events. SKEET divides into two disciplines - ISSF SKEET and an Australian version of AMERICAN SKEET and SKEET DOUBLES. Detailed rules of all disciplines are laid out in the ACTA Rules Book, available at the club office, but briefly, the different disciplines are shot as follows: Trap
Double Barrel This is the most common basic form of DTL shooting. A squad of 5 shooters stand 15 metres behind the trap house with unloaded guns. The referee will announce the event is ready to start. No. 1 shooter will load two cartridges into his gun, place his gun to his shoulder and call "Pull". The referee will release a target from the trap, the competitor will fire at the target. If he breaks it with his first shot, the referee will call "one", if he misses with the first shot he may fire a second shot at the target. If he breaks it with his second shot the referee will call "one". Regardless of which shot breaks the target, the score is the same, if the target is missed the referee will call "lost" and the score of zero is recorded. Immediately the competitor has shot, he unloads his gun then No. 2 shooter will repeat the procedure and so on. After No. 2 shooter has shot, No. 1 shooter moves across to No. 2 position i.e. each competitor moves one position right after each shot. The club nominates the number of targets to be shot for each event. Double Barrel Points The procedure is the same as above except that if the target is broken with the first shot, the shooter scores 3 points, with the second, 2 points, a miss is zero. Single Barrel Is similar to double barrel except only one cartridge is loaded into the gun and one shot only fired at the target, the score is one or zero.	Down the Line (DTL) Layout Targets are released from the trap house on the shooter's call. The trap oscillates causing the target to be released unpredictably somewhere within the defined arc.
Double Barrel Handicap Is similar to double Barrel Shooting except the shooter is placed further or closer than 15 metres from the trap according to ability. Handicaps are determined by rules laid out in the ACTA Rule Book. In this event competitors may use 32 gram cartridges as opposed to 28 gram cartridges required in all other events. Double Rise In this event the 15 metre mark and the squad etc. are the same as double Barrel but two targets are released simultaneously from the trap when the competitor calls pull, and the shooter attempts to break one target with each shot. The score is one point for each target actually broken. *Deauville Doubles* In this event two shooters team up to shoot 2 targets released from the Trap simultaneously, the competitor shoots at "his" target first, if he breaks it with his first shot and his partner missed with both of his shots, the partner may use his second shot to attempt to break his partner's target, if both targets are broken by either shooter, a score is recorded. If neither or one is broken - no score is recorded. The shooters stand at 20 metres from the trap house for this event and shoot from tracks numbers 2 & 4. *Novelty Events* Are a light hearted diversion from formal events. Their form can vary from event to event. They have no effect on the grade or handicaps of shooters. *ISSF Trench* Is the trap discipline shot at the Olympic Games and World Championships. 15 traps are installed in a trench and are electronically released by acoustic microphones in random sequence controlled electronically. *Double Trap* Two targets are thrown simultaneously.
Skeet A round of skeet consists of 25 targets shot on a semi circular layout with two trap houses, the left being the high house, the right the low house. There are 8 shooting stations. One shot only may be fired at each target. Squads consist of 5 shooters, each takes his turn to shoot from a position known as a pad. These are numbered from 1 to 8. From each of these stations a single target is released from each house on the call of "pull". The shooter may have his gun on or off his shoulder as he chooses. After the competitor has shot his two single targets from stations 1,2, 6 and 7, he remains on the pad and shoots a "double", ie two targets are released simultaneously, one from each house, one shot is fired at each target. If at any time during a round a competitor misses a target he then reloads one cartridge and repeats the first target that he has missed; however, if he gets to station 8 and has broken all of the 24 previous targets, he then repeats his last target to complete the 25 target round.
Skeet Ground Move mouse over a shooting pad to see sequence of targets released from each position. Note: Allow a few moments for the initial animation sequence to load.
ISSF Skeet The above comments also apply to this discipline. The gun must be in the classic ISSF down position when the target is called and there can be up to a three second delay before the target is released. 24 gram loads must be used for all ISSF shooting. Skeet Doubles This is shot with a simultaneous pair thrown from each station, except No. 8. Sporting Clays Sporting clays Is a very testing and popular sport. Unlike skeet and trap, which have set target trajectories that are the same at every range, sporting clay targets are thrown from numerous traps set out in random fashion over a large area with each club and competition vastly different. The targets, varying in size and shape to add to the variety and challenge, are thrown either as singles where two shots may be fired, or in combination of pairs where only one shot per target can be fired. Targets can be thrown at slow or fast speeds in varying heights and directions and can be launched as going away targets, incomers, quartering, crossers, from towers, in amongst trees or in open fields. Other variations include “springing teal” that climb vertically, “battues” that turn at the end of their trajectory or “rabbits” that run along the ground. Targets may be close or as far away as 50 metres. Every shooter gets the opportunity to see the targets first before shooting, and all shooters have to shoot the same targets and combinations. Refereeing From time to time you may be asked to referee a squad for the various club shoots. To familiarise yourself with the rules for refereeing, Click Here