Clay Pigeon Shooting is an exciting sport that provides something for everyone, a sport that people of all abilities can participate in from complete beginner to Olympic champion. The gold medal won by Peter Wilson at the London Olympic Games 2012 was the epitome of achievement, but clay shooting is accessible to all at a local level too and interest is growing all the time.

 

Different styles and guns

 

Trap - In the Trap disciplines of Down-The-Line, Automatic Ball Trap, Olympic Trap, Double Trap and Universal Trench, the targets are thrown away from you by a trap positioned in front of you at varying speeds, heights and angles. In English and Olympic Skeet, the targets are released from two trap houses, one positioned on each side of a semi-circular layout, at fixed speeds, heights and angles. In English and FITASC Sporting, the targets are designed to simulate those found in nature. This means that they can come from all directions, including rolling along the ground!

 

Trap disciplines require smoothness and control from the shooter. These guns are the heaviest and generally have the longest barrels. An added benefit of extra weight is to absorb more recoil when you fire two shots in quick succession at targets.  Trap shooting is the discipline we practice here at Westley House Shooting Club.

 

Sporting - In English and FITASC Sporting, the targets are designed to simulate those found in nature. This means that they can come from all directions, including rolling along the ground!  These disciplines require versatile guns of medium weight. The barrels are often fitted with a selection of interchangeable chokes to cope with the wide range of targets presented to you.

 

Skeet - In English and Olympic Skeet, the targets are released from two trap houses, one positioned on each side of a semi-circular layout, at fixed speeds, heights and angles.  These disciplines call for a gun that allows you to make fast movements and quick changes of direction. A gun of medium weight with shorter barrels is often the choice.

 

Traps and targets

 

What we call a target is defined as a clay that is in motion. The type of target is then further defined by the clay and trap used for its launch. There are many different styles of clays. The most popular is called the Standard and is in the shape of an inverted saucer. It’s made from a mixture of pitch and chalk, or bio-degradable material. Although clays come in many colours, the most commonly used are black or orange.

 

Today’s traps, or target-throwing machines, have developed from simple hand held manually operated models to sophisticated electronically-controlled automatic versions. These traps hold several hundred clays at a time and are activated manually or acoustically. They can throw targets at different heights, angles and speeds.

 

Cartridges & chokes

 

The humble cartridge is perhaps the most underrated piece of equipment you will use. Each one is a combination of high quality components and skilled engineering. Millions are produced each year and the consistent performance they give us is a manufacturing triumph. A good shooter never takes them for granted. 

 

Shot comes in a variety of sizes so that you can select the appropriate cartridge for a specific target. The number of pellets in a cartridge depends on the diameter of the shot for a given weight of cartridge.

 

The word ‘choke’ refers to a constriction towards the muzzle end of a gun barrel. The greater the amount of choke, the denser or tighter the shot pattern will be over a greater distance. So, open or wide chokes with smaller shot are more suitable for close range targets, whilst narrower chokes with larger shot are suitable for longer range targets

 

Source: CPSA 2015