America's Game, Part I

Ask any target shooters from any target discipline where roots of their chosen sport lie, and odds are they will reply, “Hunting.” And they would be right. Admittedly, however, some of the elements of the sports have moved a long way from home. Nine-pound skeet guns would appall the founders of the game, who were simply looking for a way to improve their grouse hunting. Sporting clays shooters had some claim to legitimacy early on, but these days pre-mounted guns and testy presentations would make many hunters scoff at a comparison with bird hunting. FITASC, an acronym for the French organization that governs the sport, still claims that it is hunting-based and even shoots on “parcours de chasse,” literally “hunting fields.” Participants do shoot low gun with two shots on singles, but some of the targets are shots that seldom would be attempted in the field. The original target game, trap, has its roots sunk into hunting as deeply as any, but even it no longer can claim much relevance to field gunning. Still it is fascinating to look at the roots of trap, for therein are the roots of all the other games.

A bit of digging offers insight into the early form of the game, as the February 1793 issue of Sporting Magazine recounts how it was shot at the time: “A shallow box of about a foot long, and eight to ten inches wide, is sunk in the ground, parallel with the surface, and just twenty-one yards from the foot mark, at which each gunner is bound to take his aim. The box has a sliding lid, to which is affixed a string by one appointed to that office, who is placed next the person going to shoot, from whom he takes the word of command for drawing the string whenever he is ready to take his aim... The gunner is not permitted to put his gun to his shoulder till the bird is on wing; and the bird must fall within one hundred yards of the box, or is deemed a lost shot.”
The targets of the time were often pigeons, but there are comments about sparrows, meadowlarks, quail, blackbirds and bats being used as well. (Bats at 21 yards? I doubt the scores were high that day!) But it is impossible to deny the hunting roots of the game, with live birds the constant target supply and the basic setup an attempt to duplicate birds flushing in the field—albeit at a distance to make the shooting more challenging than walking up behind a dog.
The first trap shoot in the US appears to have been held at the Sportsmen’s Club of Cincinnati in 1831. The New York Sportsman’s Club followed in 1840. Other clubs began taking part, and trapshooting became a popular pastime around the country.
Issues with live targets used purely for entertainment arose on both sides of the pond. The English took the first step toward political correctness, substituting glass balls for birds. Charles Portlock, of Boston, brought glass balls to the US in 1866. That began the move to inanimate targets, but the switch came slowly. Glass balls simply couldn’t provide the challenge of live birds, as they were about 21/8" in diameter and initially lobbed from traps that did little more than loft them into the air. Typically there was a three-trap field shot from 18 yards, with the traps being fixed (although there are examples of traps with strings attached to pivot them). Eventually the rules required that targets fly at least 20 yards—not exactly placing them into the “whoopee” category. Fred Kimble introduced choke boring in 1868, and the stage slowly was being set for the game of trap as we know it.
The next phase arrived in 1880—the year that George Ligowsky introduced the clay pigeon. This “clay pigeon” truly was made of clay, was hard to break and rang like a bell when hit. Although it gave us the target name we use today, in 1884 it was supplanted by a target made of composition pitch that resembles the disks currently used. One of the co-inventors was none other than choke-meister Fred Kimble. Peoria Blackbirds, named for Peoria, Illinois, their “birthplace,” had much more interesting flight characteristics, didn’t leave broken glass lying all over the field, broke easier and, most importantly, were socially acceptable. The First International Clay Pigeon Championship was held that same year. Today’s trapshooters would have had no problem recognizing the venue.
It wasn’t long before organizations appeared to guide the sport. In 1890 the Interstate Trapshooting Association was formed. It tended to the needs of professional shooters, including some of the great exhibition shooters of the late 1800s. Then came a shift to representing the interests of more common shooters, and in 1919 the organization’s name was changed to the American Trapshooting Association. In 1923 the name was changed again to the Amateur Trapshooting Association—the same ATA that governs the sport today.
The first Grand American Trap Shoot was in 1893 and still used live pigeons as targets. Twenty-four shooters attended. The Grand was a roving shoot in its early years. The first Grand using clays, in 1900, was held on Long Island, and 74 shooters participated. Growth was such that a New York Times article in 1922 reported that 400 one- or two-day shoots were taking place around the country and that there were 1,500 club shoots. In 1921 8 million targets were thrown, and 20,000 shooters participated in registered events. Three years later, after having been held annually in a number of cities around the country, the Grand moved to Vandalia, Ohio, where it stayed until 2006. The firing line was a mile long and poised on the edge of an airport.
The new site, the World Shooting and Recreation Complex, is impressive. The range is just north of Sparta, Illinois, in a location that offered something the ATA desperately needed: room. Built from scratch, it has 120 trap fields on a 31/2-mile-long firing line, two sporting clays courses, 25 skeet fields, 1,000 campsites and 4,000 parking spaces. Restaurants and modern support facilities combine to offer an impressive venue for the shotgun sports. The range is operated by the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources. The sheer size of the Grand, with 5,480 participants in 2007, overwhelms the capabilities of even the bigger ranges around the country.
Although baseball gets the title “America’s Pastime,” it would seem that trapshooting is just as deserving. After all, Americans have been shooting trap for 177 years in “sandlots” as well as the finest of clubs. Young and old, male and female share the dream and chase the prize. The game is pretty much the same as when it started, excepting, of course, the substitution of pitch targets for feathered ones. We still call the throwers “traps,” because they once held birds instead of clays. “Pull” used to mean exactly that: Pull the string and release the bird. Some shooters call “Bird” instead of “Pull.” “Dead” and “Lost” calls have nothing to do with the targets of today. Shooters take their hunting heritage with them every time they walk onto the field.
That isn’t to say there hasn’t been some deviation from the standard American format in other parts of the world. The game evolved there as well. American trap singles are shot from 16 yards, with five shooting stations in an arc behind the trap house so each station’s shots are the same distance. Only one shot is allowed in single-target events. Current trap settings stipulate an angle of 17.14 degrees to either side of the centerline, with a total target flight distance of 48 to 52 yards. Targets should be eight to 12 feet high 10 yards from the trap. Five shooters on each of five stations form a squad. Handicap events follow the same format, with handicaps assessed based on the shooter’s performance on 16-yard targets. The maximum distance is 27 yards. Doubles targets are both fixed-trajectory targets, so there are no surprises. Events consist of 100 or 200 rounds, with overall champions pulled out of the various combinations of the many events offered.
The “approved” shooting technique has evolved to a pre-mounted gun that resembles something Buck Rogers might have carried: adjustable buttplates and combs that rise to the heavens as they support faces peering down ribs that resemble the Brooklyn Bridge. The American trap gun has developed into a very specialized shooting instrument (more on this in Part II, in Sept/Oct). This isn’t to say you couldn’t show up with a Model 12 pump and shoot low gun, but you would stand out like a sore thumb. The ATA still allows the use of 11/8-ounce loads. Release triggers are quite popular, which many consider directly related to the ATA still allowing 11/8-ounce loads—subjecting shooters to the cumulative recoil effects of the heavier loads. Lighter loads are an option and are being chosen by more and more shooters.
Contrast the American version with International trap, the Olympic game. If American trap is a family sedan, International trap is a sports car. The International trap house is 60 feet long and eight feet wide. It is 6 feet 6 inches high, with the roof at the same level as the shooters’ feet (hence the second name given the game: “Bunker”). The house contains 15 fixed-trajectory traps—one group of three dedicated to each of the five shooting stations. There are nine trap “schemes” in the rulebook that lay out target trajectories and speeds and target combinations. Each three-shot scheme has one target from the left, right and center traps. Each trap group must be set to one of these international standards. This schematic approach keeps the playing field as level as possible, no matter where the game is played. The shooting line is straight and 15 meters behind the house.
International targets are thrown fast. The left trap in each group of three throws the right target and the right trap throws the left, so all of the targets cross the midline of the field of fire, thus allowing the shooter to set up for a shot with a single focal point. The International target is 2mm wider (110mm) than the standard US target, but has a slightly lower profile. The standard travel distance is 83 yards (75 meters plus or minus one meter), or roughly 21 yards farther than in American trap. Targets are five to 11 feet high 11 meters from the trap. Regardless of the elevation, the target is expected to travel the full 83 yards, so there is some variation in target speed. The shooting field width is 45 degrees from the centerline. The International target-setting standard is roughly 60 degrees wider than in American trap, and the targets about 20 mph faster. If you snooze, you lose. This game is tremendous fun for those with a sadistic twist in their makeup.
Six shooters make up a squad. Five are on stations and the sixth stands near the referee. Shooters rotate after each shot, with the sixth dropping into the first station so the squad doesn’t have to wait for No. 5 to walk the full length of the line. Presentations are computer controlled, so that each shooter sees the same selection from each station: two lefts, two rights and one “straight.” (The center targets must be within 15 degrees of center, almost an extreme-angle shot in American trap.) A typical International match consists of three rounds of 25 targets the first day and two more the second day, for a total of 125 targets. The top six shooters then shoot one more round of 25, with those targets added to the previous totals to determine the winner. Shooters call for targets with a mounted gun. Two shots are permitted. Shot-charge weight is limited to 24 grams, a few grains less than a 7/8-ounce load. Velocities in excess of 1,300 fps are common.
Universal Trench is a five-trap version of International trap. The five traps are in a trench eight meters long. The sequence of shots on each trap is predetermined but unknown to the shooter. The two left traps throw to the right, the two right traps throw to the left, and the middle trap throws something up the middle. The targets may be slightly slower than International, with flight distances of 60 to 75 meters. Elevations vary from 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 meters measured 10 meters from the trap. Two shots are allowed at each target, with kills by either barrel scored equally. Twenty-eight gram (1-oz loads) are permitted. Universal Trench is administered by the FITASC organization.
Double trap, also an Olympic event, uses target angles that are a bit more civilized than the single-target event. Three fixed-trajectory traps are used. The center trap throws a dead straightaway 3-1/2 meters above the roof of the house 10 meters out. The left and right traps are angled out five degrees. Every combination of traps is used. Flight distance is set at 55 meters, or 60-1/2 yards. The shooting stations are in a straight line, with only station No. 3 (15 meters back) being directly behind the traps. A typical match has each shooter attempting 25 pairs of each trap combination, for 150 rounds. The top six shooters meet in a final round of 25 pairs that uses only the two angled targets. Known target trajectories put an absolute premium on shot execution. The game is shot with a mounted gun using the same 24-gram loads as the single-target event.
England developed its Down The Line (DTL) version of trap. It is shot over a field quite similar to American trap, except the target spread is 22 degrees left or right of center for the widest angle. Target flight distance is 50 to 55 yards. The 110mm International target is used. The firing line is on an arc 16 yards from the house. Five targets are launched on each of the five stations, for a 25-target round. Both barrels can be used. The game is scored on a point system, with three points awarded for a first-barrel kill and two for a second-barrel. This creates the potential for a winner who actually breaks fewer targets than another shooter, as two first-barrel kills match the six points of three second-barrel kills. Twenty-eight gram (1-ounce) loads are permitted.
The single-barrel version of DTL is handicapped, but only back to the 23-yard line. Double rise, another variant, features equally angled targets to the left and right but does not necessarily utilize the entire 44 degrees of the field. Five points are awarded for a double kill on the pair of targets, two points for each single target broken. Placing the scoring premium on pairs broken can create scoring intrigue, as it isn’t just the number of targets broken that determines the winner but the points, and that extra point for the pair allows a shooter to make up ground on a competitor. Gun-start position for DTL games is at the shooter’s discretion.
Automatic Ball trap is another European game. It is a cross between International and DTL. The firing line, 15 meters from the house, is a straight line, with three meters between the five stations. A single oscillating wobble trap is used. Targets are to be one to four meters above the trap-house roof at 10 meters, between 30 and 45 degrees from the centerline, and have a flight distance of 75 meters. Six-man squads shoot with mounted guns and get two shots per target. If you don’t miss, you can shoot a round with a box of 25 shells, but they must be 28-gram loads.
Comparing the games, it becomes evident that Americans shoot the slowest targets at the narrowest angles and use the most shot to do it. Which may explain why 100-straights are fairly common and shoot-offs sometimes continue for days. The record for rounds fired in a shoot-off is 575—and that was after the shooter ran the initial targets!
In 2007 ATA numbers showed 34,387 active shooters and 77,129,220 registered targets thrown—a reflection of a general downward trend since the “glory” year of American trap: 1999. That 100th anniversary of the Grand drew a record 7,909 shooters to Vandalia. The next year, 2000, saw a record number of registered targets thrown: 85,968,505. Since then the tailing off in trap mimics a downward trend in hunter numbers. Does this reflect a downturn in the economy? Fewer clubs? Frustration with a sport that requires 100-straights just to make it to most shoot-offs?
In an effort to grow numbers again, one group has stepped up to the plate, effectively introducing young people to the shotgun sports in significant numbers. The National Shooting Sports Foundation provided the impetus to start the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP). It’s all about getting young people and shotguns together. The program is open to school-aged kids across the country where there are adults interested enough to help. It’s working.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet a few of the adults—typically parents of SCTP shooters—and have been amazed at their level of commitment. They border on being zealots. What really got my attention is that these volunteers often aren’t shooters. They spend their extra money and vacation time and wear out the family car so their kids can shoot. They take the coaching course so they can help the kids with the program. SCTP coaches aren’t shooting instructors; they are shooting facilitators, coordinators, managers, morale builders and cheerleaders. And don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s just the dads doing this stuff. The moms are jumping on the bandwagon too.
SCTP shooters participate in American trap and skeet, International trap and skeet, and sporting clays. All of the targets shot are registered under the umbrella of the SCTP, which has drawn support from various shooting organizations and many companies within the shooting industry.
In 2001 there were 700 SCTP shooters; in 2007 that number had increased to 9,003 (including 1,202 girls). How’s that for growth? SCTP is structured as a team sport. There are 4H teams, club teams and even school teams. In fact, 20 percent of SCTP teams are school affiliated. SCTP is becoming a development pool for the US Olympic shotgun teams and a feeder system for collegiate shooting teams. (In 2007 32 collegiate teams competed at the National Intercollegiate Championship.) Kids have never before had the exposure to the Olympic shooting sports that SCTP is providing. And those numbers are reflected in a block of new-generation ATA shooters.
The SCTP trap championships are held at the World Shooting and Recreation Complex the three days preceding the Grand. In 2007 there were 1,500 shooters at these events, and a bunch of them stayed and shot the Grand as well.
The SCTP stresses responsibility, accountability, organization, preparation and dedication—skills that will benefit these kids throughout their lives. Although only a few will make the Olympic teams they dream of, all shooters will reap the rewards of responsible young people keeping the trap fires burning for another generation. America’s game is in good hands.
Next issue I’ll look at trap guns and their evolution.

Dave Holmes, of Traverse City, Michigan, is a former police firearms instructor, sporting clays range owner, guide, gunfitter and shotgun-shooting instructor. He has worked in the gun trade with several companies. His articles have appeared in a variety of sporting publications, including ClayShooting USA

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