Trap and skeet shooting are some of the terms that you may come across while learning about clay target shooting.

Clay target shooting, which involves shooting flying clay targets with a shotgun, is divided into two main types (disciplines); namely trap and skeet.

Despite sharing some similarities, trap shooting and skeet shooting are distinct sports in their own right with each having its own rules.

Trap Shooting

The key to trap shooting is to hit clay pigeons which are thrown away from the shooter. A machine, that swings from side to side (known as a house or a bunker), shoots the clay targets either as singles or doubles. The targets are thrown at varying speeds, elevations and angles

The sport takes place in a semi-circular field, in which shooters shoot five shots from five different points- as a result, shooters will fire a total of 25 shots in each round.

While the shooters know where the target is shot from, they are not aware of the angle it will be shot in. This helps to create a challenge for even seasoned shooters and makes more people take it on.

However, the Olympic version of trap shooting differs from standard trap competitions in some ways. For instance, the Olympics uses 15 fixed- angle machines as opposed to the single oscillating one used in standard trap competitions, and fires the clay pigeon at a different but set angle.

Additionally, the machines in the Olympics fire targets at a speed of 68 miles per hour as compared to 45 miles an hour in standard trap shooting.

Skeet Shooting

The key of skeet shooting is to hit two clay pigeons that cross one another. It involves two machines- one placed at 10 feet high known as the high house and the other at 3.5 feet high known as the low house.

Both targets shot from these machines will reach a maximum height of 15 feet by the time they get to the center of the field.

Like trap shooting, skeet shooting also has a semi-circular field but in this case, shooters aim from seven positions. Each shooter fires a total of 25 rounds- out of these, 17 of the targets are single and the remaining 8 are doubles.

American and International skeet shooting are common types of the sport. In the American version, there is no delay when the shooter has called for the targets whereas the international version has a 0-3 second delay. The order and speed of firing is also different from the international version.

Trap and Skeet shooting are both versions of clay pigeon shooting and therefore it is best to try your hand at both of them to determine which one works for you.