Sporting has parallels with baseball. When you shoot, you are the batter, and the one who launches the target is the pitcher. Just like real pitchers, each pitcher uses different tricks. Some try to beat you with speed and distance, but really good pitchers use tricks. Mike McAlpine of San Angelo, Texas has been putting shooters out of the game since 1986 and is one of the best. He is also a shooting instructor who teaches three-day courses on target presentation and how a shooter can read it. Here are a few secrets he shared with me.
Deceptive target
McAlpin follows rules that ensure he never causes a shooter to miss with a short shot window, a very long range, or a target that disappears from view. In any case, you are unlikely to make such shots when hunting. He has many other ways to make you miss - many of them use optical illusions, which are often the cause of misses in hunting.
For example, McAlpin can use an inconspicuous hole in the ground and force you to shoot at a rolling target - a "hare". He often sets up the machines to deliver fast, close targets that you have very little time to shoot. He uses average (90 mm) targets that, due to their small size, appear faster and further away than they actually are, often causing misses. Or he may spin a saucer that, at first glance, will approach you at an angle, but in fact will fly straight away from you after it reappears behind the trees. He will loosen the spring on the firing machine, pointing upward, so that the target appears to be gaining height - but in reality it will fall.
But McAlpin never forgets that The launcher's task is to make the match difficult but interesting so that the shooters always want to repeat it. “If I’m setting up a 45-meter sideline, I first feed the twist, leaving the shooter’s weapon right in the starting position to hit the second, stolen target,” he says. “This way, the average shooter can leave the range happy because he hit a hard target.”
Understanding moving target behavior is critical to success at any level. McAlpine tells the story: “At a national match in San Diego a few years ago, I set up a machine at the top of a small slope and fired targets parallel to the ground. So they looked like sideways, but in fact they fell after 90 centimeters. I was there with a national champion and a leading instructor. The champion missed 25 times in a row. The instructor hit three out of 25. They offered to shoot for me. I hit 10 out of 10, but of course I knew what the target was doing.”
Shooting at a side-flying target.
You have one “demonstration” target at each station before shooting begins. Use it. Remember that tricky pitchers use the terrain to fool you, so you need something that isn't on the ground as a reference point. McAlpin knows one shooter who brings a racquetball racquet to the range and looks at the target through the strings. This is how he determines where the target is actually flying. But you can achieve the same thing with your hand. Instead of keeping an eye on the "representative" target, hold your front hand palm sideways and use the horizon line to determine where the target is going.
It is also important to follow the entire trajectory of the target, all the way to the ground, so you can more accurately determine the distance and offset. Often when the target hits the ground you realize how close it really is and that you need to take less lead. Learning the correct lead when shooting on a clay pigeon will make your shots more effective when hunting. You will be better able to adapt to the bird's flight path and will also be better able to judge distance.
Shooting at long range targets.
Plan ahead
Once you've watched the target carefully from the moment it appears until it disappears or hits the ground, you need to make a plan and stick to it. First, think about what technique you will use to shoot this target. (step-by-step tracking, lift-off, constant leash) and then follow the six steps listed:
- Select the point of impact. This is usually the point where you can see the target best. In most cases, this is also the point where the target moves under the influence of throwing force or gravity, but not the point of transition from one force to another.
- Get ready. Rotate your feet to the point where you will hit the more difficult target of the pair.
- Wait. Determine the focus window in your head - the segment of the target’s trajectory in which it is clearly visible, and look at the beginning of this section.
- Don't bully. Keep the gun ready, but do not raise the muzzle higher than the flight path, as this will cover the target with the gun. This is very important. McAlpin says it's better to be 1.5 meters lower at launch than 12 centimeters higher."
- Start here. Choose a point where you will aim your gun when making your move. If you prefer step tracking, the dot will be behind the target; if you use a permanent leash - then in front. If there is a separation, then this will be the leading edge of the target.
- Stay focused. Fully
With the passage of time it is true men's occupations and there are fewer and fewer hobbies left. One of these largely untouched hobbies on the part of the fair half of humanity remains hunting. For thousands of years, men went into the forests to get game or meat for their families.
Now that meat can be bought at your local supermarket, hunting and owning a gun has become more of an enjoyable pastime rather than a gendered obligation. Moreover, in the conditions of city life, you can’t really run through the forests after ducks and deer, so natural hunters simply replaced all this with a special sport - clay pigeon shooting.
What is clay pigeon shooting?
Skeet shooting- this is one of the types shooting sports, using smoothbore guns. The main task of the shooter is to hit the plate so that its visible part breaks off from the base. Firing takes place in special open spaces. The plates, made of bitumen pitch and concrete, are released at the command of the shooter from special machines using the principle of a catapult. In addition, with tendon shooting is endless educational process, even after 10 years of practice there will be a flight that you will not understand the first time and which you will, with the excitement of a beginner, take apart piece by piece among friends and masters.
The history of clay pigeon shooting
The official chronicle of shooting sports dates back to the 18th century from references to “cage shooting”. In European countries, so-called cage hunter clubs arose. One of the first was the English club of the city of Hornsey at the Old Hats tavern. At the shooting range, the holes with pigeons were covered with old hats, and at the command of the shooter, who was preparing to shoot, the attendant pulled the cord tied to the hat, the pigeon took off, and its further fate depended only on the shooter’s accuracy.
In the late thirties of the 19th century, an American shooter from Boston, Portlock, proposed shooting at an artificial target he invented - a glass ball with a diameter of about 6.5 centimeters. Soon his compatriot Bogardus invented a special machine with a flat spring that threw the ball at a distance of up to 35 meters. In order to better see the result and make shooting more effective, the balls were made of colored glass and filled with feathers, paint, smoke or fine dust. Glass marble shooting has gained great popularity not only in America, but also in France, England and Canada. Some gardening clubs also used flat, thin, well-fired clay plates as targets.
Despite the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century in most countries where cage shooting was cultivated, artificial targets were widely used instead of live pigeons, at the Games of the Second and Fourth Olympics the competition program also included shooting at live pigeons. However, in 1910, the International Olympic Committee condemned this type of shooting as inhumane and excluded it from the competition. So cage shooting gradually turned into skeet shooting with humane clay pigeons. Although in Egypt, Italy, Spain, France and other countries, competitive shooting of live pigeons is still carried out. There is even an international federation that organizes world championships.
Types of clay pigeon shooting
Types of clay pigeon shooting can be divided into two groups: olympic events and sporting sports.
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OLYMPIC PROGRAM IN Olympic program includes competitions in three disciplines: round stand (skeet), trench stand (trap) and double trap. On a round stand, moving from one shooting station to another (there are eight in total), changing the shooting angle relative to the trajectories of flying targets, the participant fires at the clay pigeons flying towards each other. Targets take off at different heights. In addition, the round stand differs from other exercises in the delay in the departure of the target after the shooter’s command, which automatically varies from 0 to 3 seconds. At the trench stand, the athlete shoots at clay pigeons thrown out of the trench in a random direction (left, right or straight). Until the moment of departure, the shooter cannot know where the target will fly. The double trap is conducted in the same way as the trench competition, except that the skeet are thrown in pairs and the shooting is done in doubles. In the double trap exercise, since 2004, a target delay after the shooter’s command has also been introduced from 0 to 1 second. |
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SPORTING Sporting types of skeet shooting are not Olympic. They also host World and European Championships, and are often even more spectacular. For compact sporting, you can use round and trench shooting platforms; it is enough to install an additional machine on them to launch a “hare” target, which does not fly into the air, but jumps on the ground. Big sporting involves the use of a large area with rugged terrain; it is also called a “hunting route” or “hunting trail.” Big sporting is the most diverse in terms of target trajectories and the difficulty of shooting at them. The athlete does not see the departure of some targets (bushes, trees, folds of terrain). There are very few venues for big-time sporting in Russia, and they are highly valued by professionals. |
Shooters' equipment and clothing
Hunters are practical people, so the key quality of clothing for clay pigeon shooting, as for all sports, is comfort. Each element of the shooter’s equipment meets strict practicality and allows the athlete to be concentrated on the targets and not be distracted by trifles.
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Ear protectors One of the key and important elements equipment, without which, according to safety rules, you will not be allowed to enter the stand. There are two types: passive and active. Passive headphones can be special earplugs or simply soundproof headphones. Active - headphones that work through built-in microphones that suppress the sounds of gunfire, but transmit the sounds of human speech without any problems. |
In addition to the accessories listed above, shooters often use a tongue attached to their shoes, into which the gun barrels rest while the shooter waits for his turn. And also gloves for shooting in cool weather, which you can happily wear on the streets in the cool autumn.
Manufacturers of clothing and equipment
In addition to the hunting brands featured in , which enjoy cool-weather shooters, there are several brands that have made skeet shooting a key or high priority. These include Beretta, Perazzi, Blazer, Zoli, Musto and others. It is interesting that even here Italian companies (Beretta, Perazzi, Zoli) are flagships in the design of clothing and accessories for shooting and, of course, in guns.
Billy Reid video on shooting clothing
Products of these brands can be purchased in Russia in sports stores. shooting clubs(“Fox Hole”, “Olympian”, “Nevsky” and others) or in gun stores. And scarce sports and shooting goods are available in Western online stores. But their prices are steep; for example, the Perazzi online store will ask you 100 euros for sending goods worth 70 euros by plane to Russia. It is often more economical to shop in small British stores, like Sporting Lodge, where there are additional markups on goods, but delivery will cost 5–15 euros.
Barbour Vintage Cup video highlighting classic clothing
arrow and beautiful guns
How and where to shoot
How to shoot correctly in general and at a specific target in particular is a huge topic for fireside discussions among shooters after training and competitions. There are many schools of skeet shooting, the leading and generally recognized among them is the classic English one, which dates back to the first cage clubs. But, in fact, there is no standard set of techniques that will help you always hit 100 percent of the plates.
Shooting is an individual matter, you can be taught a stance, a tab, the rules of working with a specific target, but still this set of knowledge is projected onto your physical data, plasticity, reaction, vision, endurance, morale, etc. Thus, it is important to get to an experienced master who can not only impart book knowledge to you, but also help your hands produce results. Shooters are mostly open people and are happy to share their knowledge with less experienced colleagues. Therefore, frequent debriefings in the literal sense of the word at the table in large companies in shooting clubs are commonplace. This is where you can gain the most valuable experience in this matter.
It is also worth considering that shooting is not just a shot, it is a certain complex of your “homework” and the conditions in which you shoot. At the moment you pull the trigger, success or failure depends on many factors, both controllable and not under your control, all converging on one point: did you eat a good meal, did you clean the gun, did your right boot get wet, was there a strong wind, how quickly did the machine operator you're a target.
In Russia, compared to Western countries, where skeet shooting is a classic discipline, there are not so many sports shooting clubs yet. But in Moscow and St. Petersburg you can still find a place that would suit you both in terms of price tag and location. Full list such establishments are possible. It is believed that one of best clubs- this is the Moscow “Fox Hole” and the St. Petersburg “Olympian” and “Nevsky”.
Text: Igor Makhno
Skeet shooting is a subtype of shooting sport. The competition takes place at an open shooting range. Smooth-bore guns are used, and cartridges for clay pigeon shooting must be equipped with spherical shot. Even if several pellets hit a target plate made from a mixture of cement and bituminous pitch, which is thrown into the air by a special machine, it will break.
The origins of clay pigeon shooting
After invention firearms V different countries There are people all over the world who want to learn how to shoot accurately. This was necessary for fighting, hunting, and subsequently for participating in various competitions. At first, hunting shotguns were used in competitions, and competitors used them to shoot at fast-flying targets. The first competitions of this type took place in 1793 in England: shooting was carried out at pigeons sitting nineteen meters from the shooters in special baskets (boxes) called cages. A special person behind the shooter pulled the string on command, and the bird was thrown out of the cage. But it was not enough to wound or kill the pigeon; according to the competition conditions, it had to fall no further than thirty-one meters from the shooter. This type of shooting was close to hunting, it was called cage shooting, and guns with a compact and sharp fire also began to be called cage shooting.
The first inanimate targets
Societies categorically protested against such an inhumane sport (now such organizations protest against hunting in principle). As a result, live targets gradually began to be replaced by various objects equipped with special throwing devices. First, they used 64 millimeters in diameter, filled with bird feathers, smoke, paint and other materials. However, such targets often burst; often the pellets, when the edge of the scree hit the ball, ricocheted off the smooth surface. But the inquisitive mind of a person finds a way out of any difficult situation. In 1880, in America, in the city of Cincinnati, a shooter named Ligowski invented a clay target-plate with a flat profile (it is still called that to this day, although the material is now more durable) and a throwing device - a machine. Such machines began to be installed on sites called stands, and this is where the name “skeet shooting” was born.
Spectator sport
Such an accessible and cheap sport in comparison quickly gained popularity not only on the American but also on the European continent. Skeet shooting is more emotional and spectacular: spectators and shooters immediately see the result of the shot. If the target is hit, it flashes with an orange-red cloud; if not, the referee wearing a red sleeve raises his hand up, announcing a miss, and athletes in colorful original costumes move around the site. Everything happens slowly, sedately: here it is considered an indicator of bad taste to jump on each other and squeeze the winner in an embrace, or to shout in triumph after a good shot. In a word, skeet shooting is not football, such emotions as there are inappropriate, although, of course, athletes experience enormous nervous tension at tournaments. Everything is decided by psychological stability, endurance, and the will to win.
Integration
Over time, shooting enthusiasts began to unite in clubs, circles and societies, and in 1907 the International Shooting Union (abbreviated as UIT) was organized, which united different types bullet shooting. The states where skeet shooting was cultivated integrated into the International Federation of Shotgun Shooting (abbreviated as FITASK) in 1929. However, later, in 1947, the subtype of shooting sport we are considering left FITASK and joined UIT. Now all disciplines, both bench and bullet shooting, are regulated by the International Shooting Union, all official competitions, including the Olympic Games, are held according to the rules approved by it and under its control. It must be said that FITASK also exists at the present time; it regularly organizes cage shooting championships, which are especially popular today in the countries of the Mediterranean basin: Spain, Egypt, Italy, France.
History of Russian clay pigeon shooting
The first mention of cage shooting (at pigeons) dates back to 1737. At that time, Anna Ioannovna reigned, known for her skillful ability to shoot not only with a gun, but also with a bow. The Empress had one passion: she loved to shoot at flying birds from the open palace window. On her instructions, pigeons were sometimes released from the cage under the window. Before the 1917 revolution, such entertainment as cage shooting functioned only in Moscow, Kyiv, Odessa, St. Petersburg and Warsaw. There were few fans of such events, because only very wealthy people could afford this fun. And the first information about shooting at artificial targets dates back to 1877. In 1910, the Denisevich spouses organized a skeet shooting club. It happened near St. Petersburg, in the village of Ligovo.
Achievements of Russian shooters
In 1912, athletes of the Russian Empire took part for the first time in Olympic Games in Stockholm. Then Riga resident H. Blau performed well in the skeet shooting competition and won bronze, hitting ninety-one out of one hundred plates. With his success, he paved the way for domestic stand exhibitors to the heights of world achievements. After 1917, competitions were held according to arbitrary rules from time to time. And only in 1927 in Ostankino (Moscow) they made the first stand with a trench, where the first throwing machine for clay pigeon shooting was installed. Subsequently, it was modernized, re-equipped, and served for many more years. Russian athletes. In the 20s, similar sites appeared in Kyiv, Leningrad, Baku and other cities. The first USSR championship took place in 1934, and the day before the USSR Skeet Shooting Federation was created.
First successes
At the European Championships in 1955, the Soviet stand athletes enjoyed victory: Nikolai Durnev (round stand) and Yuri Nikanorov (gangway) won gold. In 1958 at the World Championships gold medal Ariy Kaplun won the round stand competition, in the same exercise in 1968 Olympic champion The Games in Mexico City were Evgeniy Petrov. Speaking at round stand competitions of various ranks, Yuri Tsuranov achieved the greatest success among Soviet athletes (in the individual competition three-time champion world, in the team - six-time, nine-time European champion), Svetlana Demina (21 gold medals at the European and world championships), Larisa Tsuranova (24 gold medals), Elena Rabaya (18 gold medals).
Olympic program
Today, competitions in three disciplines are included in the Olympic program: skeet (round stand), trap (trench stand), double trap. Let's tell you more about them.
1. Trench stand
This discipline was included in the Games program for men in 1900, and for women in 2000. The ramp is a platform where five shooting numbers are located in a straight line. Shooting is carried out alternately at the plates flying out of fifteen throwing machines. The vehicles are installed under the shooting platform in a trench, at a distance of fifteen meters from the shooting number. A target for clay pigeon shooting of this type can have different flight altitudes; it moves away from the shooter to the right, straight or left, with a deviation of up to forty-five degrees. The casting range is 75-77 meters. The shooting series consists of twenty-five targets.
2. Round stand
The discipline was included in the Olympic program for men in 1968 and for women in 2000. The skit is performed on a site with eight shooting numbers located in a semicircle from the first to the seventh number, and the eighth is located between the booths in the center. Skeet plates for clay pigeon shooting of this type are similar to those used for trap shooting. However, they are produced by two machines, which are installed in low and high booths, located at a distance of forty meters from each other at the extreme points of the semicircle. Before the target appears, the shooter must hold the skeet gun with the butt against his belt, and shoot at the skeet with the weapon raised to the shoulder. The machine installed in the high booth throws the target from a height of 3.05 meters, and the one in the low booth throws it from a height of 1.07 meters.
In addition to the single-flying clay pigeons, on all numbers except the seventh and eighth, paired targets (doublets) are also produced. They fly out of both booths simultaneously in the opposite direction. The flight of the plates in the monastery, unlike the ladder, has a constant direction. The targets must fly through a ring with a diameter of 90 cm, installed at the intersection of the flight paths of the plates. The flight range varies between 67-69 meters, while the permissible damage zone is determined by the boundaries of the site and is forty meters. The shooting series, as in the previous discipline, consists of twenty-five targets.
3. Double trap
The discipline was included in the Olympic program (for both men and women) in 1996. A double-trap is performed on the site from five shooting numbers by repeating doublet shots aimed at hitting two parallel and simultaneously flying plates, which have a flight path rapidly moving away from the shooter and slightly diverging. The flight range does not exceed 54-56 meters. The throwing machines are arranged in the same way as in the trench stand, but they use not fifteen, but only three devices installed opposite the third shooting number. The cars are lined up and located at a certain distance from each other. There are three different schemes (A, B and C) for setting the trajectory of the skeet. After the shooter’s command, the targets fly out in a pattern unknown to him from the same place. The flight trajectory changes during the shooting series, and at the same time the shooting and viewing angles change, which depends on the specific shooting number. The series consists of thirty targets (fifteen doublets).
Competition regulations
All three disciplines have the same regulations. During the preliminary competitions, six finalists are determined, from which the winners and champion are determined in the finals. The points from the preliminary and final competitions are summed up. If, according to the results, several athletes score an equal number of points, they shoot off until the first miss. To increase spectator interest and reduce the likelihood of judicial error, in the finals shooting is carried out at special plates, when hit, a cloud of bright powder (often red, sometimes yellow) is thrown into the air.
Terminology
Skeet shooting uses specific terminology, knowledge of which is essential. Let's define the basic concepts:
- The hijack target is the one that flies in the direction of the shooter.
- An oncoming target is one that flies towards the shooter.
- A torn target is one that is destroyed when released from a throwing machine.
- Target “in the smoke” - hitting a plate with shot, when all that remains from it is “smoke” - fragments ground into the smallest dust.
- Timer - delay of target departure after the shooter's command for up to three seconds.
- The dead zone is the distance that the clay pigeon flies from the moment of launch until the shooter’s first reaction to it.
- Target processing is a sequence of actions, including the perception of the target, a raise (in a round stand), a leash (movement of the barrel relative to the flight path of the plate), advance (the distance along the trajectory by which you need to get ahead of the target during the shot, so that after the shot leaves it will be hit), a shot while maintaining the angular velocity gained by the gun.
Shotgun shooting in Moscow
Currently, everyone who wants to acquire the skills and abilities of clay pigeon shooting has this opportunity. Perhaps there is a lack of shooting ranges in the regions, but in Moscow it will not be difficult to find a suitable club for yourself. Doors for novice shooters are always open in the Council of OSTO TsAO, Moscow Secondary Specialized School Olympic reserve No. 1 and No. 2, equestrian sports complex“Bitsa”, sports and technical club “Zamoskvorechye” and many other institutions.
The main thing that distinguishes skeet shooting in Moscow from other sports is that it is distinguished by the complete absence of restrictions on the age of athletes, as a result of which this sport can be practiced by men, women, and sometimes you can even meet children from 12 years old or older people who are already over 70. Impromptu tournaments are constantly organized in almost every club, and absolutely everyone can take part in them.What is skeet shooting?
Skeet shooting training in Moscow involves shooting at clay pigeons that are launched into the air using a specialized machine. This type of corporate recreation has long ago become widespread in a variety of circles. Among other things, this is a great opportunity for a man not only to have fun himself, but also to please his wife and children, and if you have sons in your family, then you can have no doubt that they will be happy to be involved in such a manly activity.Having fun requires providing the most comfortable environment, which is offered only by a specialized skeet shooting school in Moscow. It has long been noted that sporting is perfectly combined with relaxation, so in many modern clubs You have the opportunity to place a barbecue near the shooting range to make your weekend truly memorable.
What is skeet shooting like?
One of the most common types of modern skeet shooting should be called compact sporting, which is often offered by skeet shooting sections for beginners in Moscow. It differs in that a series of 25 targets appear in a fairly limited area, and in particular this can happen either on the site of a round or special trench stand, or on any sites that have the most approximate dimensions. In this case, the maximum range for hitting targets is generally no more than 35 meters, and a fairly wide variety of trajectories is offered.Big sporting is used as the main one in international practice. Of course, it is much more complex in its organization and requires the presence large quantity specialized throwing equipment, however, it offers the widest variety of trajectories, the longest shooting distances, and also requires full training from each shooter.
