If you’re new to the world of clay pigeon shooting there may be some forms of shooting you’re yet to come across and each discipline has its own set of pros and cons. So if you’re an experienced shooter searching for a new challenge, or a beginner looking for more information about the different forms of clay shooting out there, here’s a look at some of the most exciting shooting disciplines on offer.

English Sporting

Sporting is the most popular form of clay shooting in the UK and arguably one of the most fun. The clays are launched at varying heights and speeds which means that no two clays follow the same flight pattern. Nailing the clays can be tricky at first but for experienced shooters it’s a great way to hone their skills. A tricky variation on the standard sporting discipline is the bolting rabbit clay. Rabbit clays were created to simulate the movement of a rabbit as it darts across the ground. Unlike clay pigeons which are launched into the air, rabbit clays are fired across the ground which means they’re notorious for bobbling into the air and incredibly difficult to hit.

Trap Shooting

Targets can be thrown as singles or doubles and are released on the shooters call at varying speeds and angles. The most popular disciplines in this group are; Down the Line, Double Trap, Universal Trench and Olympic Trap.

Down the Line

Down the line more commonly referred to as DTL, is one of the oldest forms of clay pigeon shooting around and is a great way for first time shooters to experience the fun of clay pigeon shooting. The clays are always fired away from the shooter and even though they rise into the air, they do so at a constant angle which makes this the ideal discipline for beginners.

Universal Trench

Also known as “Five Trap”, universal trench is designed to keep shooters on their toes as the clay is fired from any one of the five traps installed in a trench in front of the shooting stands. To make it even more tricky the traps are set to release the clays at differing angles and speeds, meaning you never know where the next clay is coming from or just how fast it will dart through the air.

Olympic Trap

As the name suggests Olympic trap is a shooting discipline which appears at the Olympic Games. Unlike most other shooting disciplines which use one or two traps to create variation, Olympic Trap uses 15 traps arranged in five groups of three. The clays are set to travel up to 80 meters at varying elevations and shooters take it in turns to shoot at a target, before moving onto the next shooting stand. A simpler variation of Olympic Trap is Automatic Ball Trap which only uses one trap but creates the same variation by constantly oscillating horizontally and vertically.

Skeet Shooting

Skeet shooting is the most popular form of clay pigeon shooting in the US and also features at the Olympic Games. In this discipline clays are released at a fixed trajectory and speed. To achieve variety the shooter has to fire from seven different stands which are positioned around the shooting ground to form a semi-circle. A point is awarded for each clay blown to smithereens so if you’ve got a competitive streak, this could be the perfect discipline for you.

Helice Shooting

Helice shooting is designed to challenge even the most skilful shooters, due to the unpredictable and erratic flight pattern of the specially designed clays. The targets known as zz birds have two plastic propellers either side of a white clay, and are rotated at high speeds before they’re launched to give them their unpredictable flight pattern. This is definitely one for the top gunners!

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