What Is Sporting Clays?

With its roots coming from England, sporting clays is a shotgun shooting game in which clay pigeons are presented to the gunner in ways that mirror the flight pattern of game birds, or occasionally rabbits, in their natural habitats. The shooting grounds are laid out in stations (also called stands or butts, the British term) with each station representing one type of bird or a combination of game; a rabbit and a grouse, for example.

At each station, clay pigeons are thrown in pairs, five or so pairs to the station. A course consists of several stations, usually five to ten, where 100 birds or more may be presented over the course. Sometimes birds from the same traps may be shot from different positions, so the gunner sees the same target from entirely different angles, which creates entirely new shooting problems. An area presenting pigeons to several stations from a single trap is called a field.

With variations in trap position, trap speed, shooting position, and flight paths of different types of clay pigeons, targets can come through the trees, from under your feet, straight down, over your head, quartering, going away, left to right, right to left, and in any path a real bird might choose. The key words are unpredictable, variable, and sometimes bordering on impossible.�
As in golf, the rules of sporting clays become more specific, and therefore more restrictive as the level of competition increases.

There are a few basic rules, however, that define the sport:

1. The shooter may start with a low gun or a pre-mounted gun when calling for the target.
2. Only two shells may be loaded.
3. If doubles are tossed and both are broken with one shot, both are counted as kills.
4. A malfunction of the gun is counted as a lost bird under United States Sporting Clays Association (USSCA) rules; the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) allows two malfunctions per day without penalty.
5. Chokes or guns may be changed only between fields. A field is one or more shooting stations serviced from a common trap. The NSCA permits chokes to be changed between stations.
   

1. Wingshooting with a shotgun had its orgins in England in the mid-eighteenth century. The next century saw live pigeon shoots become popular, reaching their peak toward the end of the Victorian era, when one's ability to handle a gun had definite social implications. American inventor George Ligowski invented a replacement for live birds in 1880 made of baked clay and modeled after the clamshells he used to skim across water. Ligowski's clay pigeon quickly replaced feather-filled balls, the only other alternative to live birds, and just as quickly replaced the real thing.
   The first clay pigeon game, which imitated live pigeon shooting, was called trap, after the device used to hold and release live birds. Next, a new shooting game called skeet was developed in New England which was designed to approximate the fast, close-range shooting found in that area's grouse coverts.
   Meanwhile back in England, the demand to perform at estate shoots on driven game gave rise to a number of shooting schools. These schools, in turn, adapted Ligowski's clay pigeon to use on practive fields of targets that approximated the flight of live quarry, as the English like to call it. Sporting clays was born.
   Although the Britsh Open, England's premier sporting clays competition, dates back to 1925, sporting clays has made its greatest gains in popularity in England within the last 20 years. Meanwhile it took a while for the sport to make it to America. In 1985, the Orvis Company hosted the first national sporting clays championship at its Houston facilities, for which the company established the Orvis Cup. Sporting clays had come to America.�
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What Is The National Sporting Clays Association?
Founded in 1989 and located in San Antonio, Texas, the National Sporting Clays Association, a division of the National Skeet Shooting Association, is the official governing body for this sport in the United States and Canada. With more than 3 million people a year shooting sporting clays either competitively or recreationally, this is one of the fastest growing sports in America. People of all ages enjoy the sport with many participating in tournaments that offer a variety of divisions for all ability levels.�

The NSCA is a non-profit organization owned and operated by its members. With approximately 13,000 members, NSCA is America's official premier sporting clays association. Membership is represented by an Executive Council which employs an Executive Director to manage NSCA affairs. An Advisory Council provides members with an additional source of input.

The NSCA is dedicated to the development of the sport at all levels of participation and vows to create an atmosphere of healthy competition and meaningful fellowship within its membership. Shooters who wish to compete and are experienced wingshots can enter fun shoots and sporting clays tournaments and be competitive immediately. The NSCA also offers the hunter a recreational target shooting sport that will strengthen hunting and gun safety skills and extend "hunting" seasons.
As the official publication of the NSCA, Sporting Clays magazine celebrated its 10th anniversary with the July 1998 issue. Each member receives the magazine each month that contains shooting features, columns on shotshells, wingshooting, and ballistics, plus all the information you need to be a successful sporting clays shooter.�

What are the different targets?

The standard clay target is the bird sporting shooters will face on most stations. It measures 4 1/4 inches (108-110mm) across and about 1 inch in height, up to nearly 1 1/8 inch from some makers. A standard can be broken with open chokes and small shot when up close, say within 30-35 yards, regardless of the angle of the bird presented to the shooter. Even when only its edge is visible, its rim and high shoulder provide a lot of surface area for pellets to impact. Standards that show much or all of their underside or top, such as birds thrown well above or below the shooter, present even more surface area to the gun and can be broken with open chokes and small shot to 45 yards and even beyond. The time to tighten chokes and switch to larger shot, like No. 7 1/2s, is when ranges increase significantly, especially when only the target's profile is visible.

The rocket target, still measuring 4 1/4 inches in diameter, features a much flatter profile, only about 5/8 inch. They're seldom thrown on many courses, but when they are, they can catch even a top gun off guard. With a profile almost half the height of a standard, the rocket's squat dome is seldom visible to the shooter when thrown edge-on. Its thicker rim, lower profile, and often heavier weight let the rocket maintain its velocity off the trap arm better and longer into its flight, making many shooters miss behind?especially when mixed in a pair with a standard clay. When only its edge is visible, select 7 1/2, and even a choke tighter than improved cylinder when ranges exceed about 35 yards.

Rabbits, provided they show shooters their full face, aren't tough to break, at least not ballistically. While we're not going to try to tell you how to lead a bounding bunny here, when presented closer than 20 yards, even No. 9s will do the trick. No. 8 shot will work out to about 30 yards, well within the range most rabbits are shot. Only when distances stretch beyond 35 yards or the target is rolling directly or quartering away from you should 7 1/2s and even tighter chokes be used. The thick, tough outer rim of a rabbit target that withstands contact with the ground similarly can take a beating from pellets without breaking, particularly when thrown on-edge to the shooter. When you see its full surface area, however, smaller pellets will crack even the rim. The next time you're at a rabbit station, ask the trapper for permission to walk downrange and inspect some whole targets. You'll probably be amazed at how many have holes in their thinner centers and even chips on the outer edges of their rims yet remain unbroken. But despite what conclusion you may draw, the secret is to score pellet hits solidly on the rim. This usually calls for more pellets, not necessarily larger ones, at reasonable shooting ranges. So opt for a tighter choke before switching to a larger shot size.

The razor-thin battue, shot when it turns to show you all or most of its full face, will crack readily with No. 8s at most any distance. The tough part is figuring out the proper lead, typically under as well as out front, as it curls downward. Trying a shot early in the target's flight when only its profile, a tad more than 1/4-inch thick, is visible is suicide.

Midi clays are one of the two targets with a diameter less than a standard. At 3 1/2 inches (90mm), about 3/4 inch shy of a standard, the midi is often mistaken for its larger cousin by unsuspecting shotgunners. Find out what you're shooting before stepping into the cage. In addition to its smaller diameter, midi clays are shorter, too, measuring only 3/4 inch in height. So tighter chokes are called for at greater distances. And remember that midis, the most aerodynamic of the domed clays, maintain their velocity and flight path better than standards. Since they slow down later in flight, waiting to shoot till they shed some speed is wise, especially since they probably won't be dropping much then, either. This makes lead calculation more one directional than, say, those dastardly curling battues.

Minis, the "aspirin" of the clay target world, measure the same 3/4-inch height as midis. But at a scant 2 3/8 inch (60mm) in diameter, they really are as small as they appear to shotgunners the first time and sometimes every time they encounter them. A fragile target, minis can be broken handily with No. 9s out to 30 yards, 8s beyond that. In fact, the smaller the shot the better, within reason. Open chokes are fine up close. But remember all those spaces between your pellets at your last patterning session? An on-edge mini can squeeze through an open-choked pattern at medium distances when your standard No. 8 load is used. Better tighten up or switch to 9s.�

What equipment do I need? Shotgun, shotshells, ear and eye protection. First-time shooters are encouraged to take lessons.�

What is 5-Stand? Sometimes overlayed on a trap or skeet field, this game uses 6-8 automatic traps. There are three levels of difficulty: Level I, five single targets with full use of the gun for scoring; Level II, three single and a simultaneous pair; Level III, one single and two simultaneous pairs. Shooters (squad of five) can move from station to station with a predetermined menu of shots and combinations, or in a sequence unknown to the shooters. 5-Stand Sporting is a registered trademark of Clay-Sport International in Alberta, Canada. In the US, 5-Stand is licensed by the NSCA.�

What is FITASC? The most challenging from of sporting clays, it is the French version of practice for field shooting. Unlike the free and easy format of English or American Sporting, FITASC Sporting is shot in squads of up to six with a fixed order of stands (parcours in French) that are shot in strict rotation. A competition normally consists of 200 targets shot over three days in eight rounds of 25. In each round of 25, shots are taken from at least three different stands. The shooter is required to hold the butt of the gun below armpit level until the target is seen. Single targets are first shot by the entire squad. After the entire squad has completed the singles, combinations of singles are presented as doubles. All six types of clays are used. Targets tend to be at longer ranges with the added challenge of a continual variation of speeds, angles, distances, and target combinations.�

What is Make-Or-Break? Developed with the TV viewer in mind, a standard Make-A-Break playing field requires eight automatic traps (there are two No. 1 traps). Competitors shoot alternately from a single shooting station. A total of ten report doubles are shot by each competitor during a round. A broken No. 1 target scores one point; a broken No. 7, seven points. Targets are increasingly difficult as their value increases. This is a clay target game where a competitor can gain ground on his opponent. Intensity accelerates dramatically through the last four "bonus" pairs. Quick thinking and a bit of gambling are required.�