Shooting Categories: Shotgun
How to Play the Games

The Game of Skeet - By Barry Greenberg

Squads of up to five people shoot from eight shooting stations arranged in a semi circle between two skeet houses. One is identified as the high house and the other as the low house. The high house targets start at approximately 10 feet above the ground with the low house targets at approximately a 3 foot height.

The shooting sequence is as follows:

• Stations 1 and 2: High house single: Low house single; High house/Low house pair
  
  
• Stations 3, 4 and 5: High house single; Low house single.
  
  
• Stations 6 and 7: High house single; Low house single; Low house/High house pair.
  
  
• Station 8: High house single; Low house single.

The 25th shot, completing the round, is taken immediately after the first miss or with 24 consecutive targets broken as a second single target at low house 8.

Skeet may be shot with any gauge gun (of almost any type) as long as it is capable of firing two shells. Number 9 shot is used for virtually all gauges.

We have voice controllers for the game of Skeet.

MSA's Skeet Director for 2010 is Shane Warnick - shane.warnick@gmail.com

Sporting Clays

Sporting Clays is a challenging clay target game designed to simulate field shooting. On a Sporting Clays course, shooters are presented with a wide variety of targets that duplicate the flight path of game birds, such as flushing, crossing, incoming and other angling shots.

Our course is laid out in natural surroundings and includes 10 shooting "stations" with shooters moving from one station to the next to complete the course. Each "station" presents shooters with a different type of shot. At a "grouse station," for example, shooters might face flushing "birds" that zip in and out of the trees. At a "decoying duck" station, incoming targets may float in toward the shooter from the towers.

Most courses make use of natural features such as woods and ponds to create a realistic setting for each type of shot. At any "station," targets may be thrown as singles, simultaneous pairs, following pairs (one target right after the other), or report pairs (the second target launched at the sound of the gun being fired at the first).

To further challenge shooters, target size may vary from the standard trap/skeet clay bird to the smaller "midi" and "mini" targets, or a flat disc shaped "battue" target. There are even special "rabbit" targets that are thrown on end and skitter across the ground.

MSA's Sporting Clays Director for 2010 is Jason Harrington - jason.harrington77@gmail.com

Five Stand

Five Stand is very similar to Sporting Clays in that a wide variety of targets are thrown. No two five-stands are exactly alike. There are five "stands" or stations to shoot from. There are usually between 6 and 8 traps that throw targets. Participants shoot in turn at each of the 5 stands and various combinations of targets are thrown from the traps. There is a menu card that will advise the shooter of the sequence of targets. Five Stand is a great way to get a Sporting Clays like experience in a small amount of space, with very little walking.

We also have voice controllers for the Sporting Clays and Five Stand if you are interested in shooting and do not have a partner.

MSA's Five Stand Director for 2010 is Jason Harrington - jason.harrington77@gmail.com

Trap Field

Our trap range has 3 trap fields, each of which has a little structure called the "trap house" that houses the machine that throws the birds into the air (see drawing below). This is called the "trap machine," and sometimes just the "trap." The trap machine throws the birds in a random pattern limited to a 44 degree horizontal arc, with the birds exiting the house at about 47 miles per hour and traveling about 50 yards before hitting the ground. The trap range uses either a hand release run by the score keeper, or voice calls that respond to the shooters' voices to send an electric signal that causes the trap machine to launch a bird. Each trap field has five shooting stations in an arc, each station being 11 degrees away from its neighbor. The shooting stations are paths radiating out from the trap house with distances from the house marked from 16 to 27 yards. A round of trap is 25 birds, 5 birds being shot from each station in rotation.

Trap shooters commonly shoot three events: singles, handicap and doubles.

Singles are single birds shot from the closest distance, 16 yards from the trap house. Since the birds are usually about 15 to 25 yards out by the time the shooter fires, even the 16 yard singles are 31 to 41 yards away.

Handicap is like singles, except it is shot from various distances, depending on one's ability, between 19 and 27 yards. These birds are 35 to 52 yards away, depending on one's handicap and reaction time. Since very few shooters with slow reaction times ever earn a 27 yard handicap, that 52 yard figure is an exaggeration. 27 yard shooters actually shoot their birds at 47 yards or less. As you might imagine, a little disk, 40+ yards away and flying at 40+ miles per hour can be a difficult target.

Doubles are two birds launched simultaneously, shot from 16 yards. Doubles are even more difficult and are, by far, the most fun. A round of doubles is usually 25 pairs, or 50 birds.

MSA's Trap Director for 2010 is Max McCart - rmm@suddenlink.net