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This part of our web guide focuses on the shooting sports known as trap, skeet, and sporting clays.

Trap, skeet, and sporting clays involve shooting at sporting clays with a shotgun, originating as simulations of bird hunting. Although they share similarities, each has unique characteristics.

Trap shooting began as an alternative to pigeon shooting, as evidenced by the fact that one of the names for the clay targets used is clay pigeons.

Trap shooting has been a sport since the late 18th century, when real birds, commonly the now-extinct passenger pigeon, were used. Birds were placed under hats or in traps and then released.

Artificial birds were introduced around the time of the American Civil War. Initially, glass targets were used, but clay targets replaced these in the latter part of the century. Although live birds were more commonly used, clay targets originated as early as 1830.

Today, trap shooting involves attempting to hit clay targets launched from a single machine, often called a house, generally away from the shooter. The goal is to break as many targets as possible using a shotgun, with the most common format being a 25-target event.

Variations of trap shooting include the single-trap, in which the shooter fires at single targets launched from a single machine; the double trap, where shooters aim at two targets launched simultaneously; or the continental trap (Olympic Trap), which features wider angles and faster targets.

Invented by Charles Davis and William Harnden Foster in the 1920s, skeet shooting simulates the experience of shooting at flushing birds. It involves hitting two crossing clay targets launched from two trap houses positioned in a semicircle.

Skeet shooting involves two target launchers (high house and low house) at opposite ends of a semicircle. Shooters move through eight stations, aiming at targets crossing at various angles.

Variations of skeet shooting include American Skeet, the most common form in the United States, featuring eight shooting stations arranged in a semicircle, and International Skeet, used in Olympic competitions, which uses different target speeds and shooting sequences.

Sporting clays originated in England in the early 1900s and gained popularity in the United States in the 1980s. It is often referred to as "golf with a shotgun."

Sporting clays courses typically consist of 12 to 20 stations, each offering distinct target presentations, angles, and speeds. This variety challenges shooters to adjust to evolving conditions, mirroring the experience of actual pigeon hunting.

There are two versions of sporting clays. With standard sporting clays, shooters navigate a course with multiple shooting stations, each offering different target presentations. FITASC courses usually have fewer shooting stations than standard sporting clays. FITASC courses are generally more structured and challenging due to fixed positions, a faster pace, and specific target sequences. Both variations offer a variety of target presentations, but FITASC targets are usually more complex and require precise timing and technique.

In comparison between trap, skeet, and sporting clays, trap uses a single launcher, skeet uses two, and sporting clays uses multiple launchers. Trap shooters remain stationary, skeet shooters move through fixed stations, and sporting clays shooters navigate a course with multiple shooting stations. Trap targets are launched away from the shooter, skeet targets cross from side to side, and sporting clays targets vary in direction, speed, and distance.

All three sports have a common goal: to simulate the experience of bird hunting and challenge shotgun shooters with moving clay targets.

Topics closely related to either of these sports are appropriate for this category.

 

 

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