Shotgun target sports date back to England in the late 1700's when "box shooting" used live pigeons released from box traps with a pull cord, thus we have today's popular call of "Pull!" requesting the release of the target.  The shotgun sports have come a long way since then.  below you will find additional information on the 3 main disciplines of clay target shooting.

Trap:  The first formal trap shoot took place in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1831, using live birds. With the advent of glass ball targets, and eventually clay disc targets, the sport began to take on the popular form of the game known today as Trap. American Trap uses a single target launcher, or trap, which is located below ground in a trap house.  This trap oscillates left to right and back, launching a single clay target, or bird.  American trap has a field with 5 shooting positions.  Singles Trap features shots taken from each of the shooting positions 16 yards behind the trap house.  The shooters position themselves on one of the 5 shooting positions, or stations. Each shooter shoots five shots from his current station, then the squad rotates to the next station. Each shooters shoots five shots from five stations.  Handicap Trap is the same game with shooters moving back to varying distances from the trap house.  The maximum distance is 27 yards.  Doubles Trap is shot from 16 yards, with the distinction being in the way the targets are presented.  In Doubles Trap, the targets are thrown two at a time, and the trap does not oscillate.  So each of the pairs of targets are uniform in trajectory.

Skeet:  The game of Skeet came along later. It was invented in Massachusetts in 1920, by a man hoping to improve his wingshooting abilities. There have been many refinements to the game of Skeet since that time. Typically American Skeet is the variety played in the United States. A skeet field has 8 shooting positions and two traps.  The targets are thrown from the "High House" on the left side of the field, and from the "Low House" on the right side of the field.  These "houses " are simply structures that hold the traps, or target launchers.  The targets have a distinct flight path.  In Skeet, only one shooter holds the shooting position at a time. Each shooters shoots a sequence of birds from 8 stations from a "high house" and a "low house."  Skeet also has a format where different gauge shotguns are used.  Using 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge and .410 bore guns lends a great deal of variety to the game. 

Sporting Clays:  While Sporting Clays has its roots in Trap and Skeet, it is a completely different game with its own set of rules. The game is played over a course which may feature varying terrain with several different target presentations from different locations with varying flight paths. While Sporting Clays was originally designed to simulate live game scenarios, it has evolved into a sport all its own. The game is played on a course, made up of stations. Each station features a shooting stand for the participant to shoot from. Upon the shooter's call, targets are released. Targets can be thrown as single targets, simultaneous pairs, or report pairs where the second target is launched upon the report of the shot at the first target. Unlike Trap and Skeet, there are a variety of specialty targets in Sporting Clays. in addition to the 108mm Standard targets. These include 90mm MIDI targets, 60mm MINI targets, rabbits that roll and bounce on edge, battues that arc, and rockets which are heavy and maintain speed. In addition the presentation of the targets vary, which is to say they may be thrown crossing from one side to the other, quartering away, quartering in, inbound, outbound, overhead, underfoot, or straight up in the air. It is the variety of targets, target presentations, course layouts and terrain that many find so enjoyable about Sporting Clays.

5-Stand:  Some ranges, where space is an issue, may choose to offer the game of 5-Stand Sporting Clays in addition or in place of a traditional Sporting Clays course.  5-Stand is a compact way to get a lot of target presentations.  Generally it is played on an overlaid Trap/Skeet field, employing all 3 traps and adding between 3 and 5 additional traps.  The game is shot from 5 stations with a menu telling the shooter which birds will be launched and how they will be presented (single, report pair or true pair).  Once the shooters have shot their specific birds, the squad rotates to the next station in a fashion similar to Trap.

There are several excellent descriptions of the different clay target games and a great deal of detailed information is available on the Internet.  Below are just a few links to get you started:

ClayTargetsOnline has some excellent descriptions of the games.

Remington Trap Shooting Fundamentals Handbook will get you started with Trap.

Remington Skeet Shooting Fundamentals Handbook will get you started with Skeet.

Deer Creek Hunt Club has a great deal of information detailed information on Skeet and Sporting Clays.

Each of the games has a Sanctioning Body in the US.  These organizations have websites that feature a wealth of information.

Amateur Trapshooting Association

National Skeet Shooting Association

National Sporting Clays Association
 

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Website last updated on January 01, 2008.
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