Clay Shooting Disciplines Explained

Trap Shooting Disciplines Offered by HGC

Harris Gun Club trains and competes in a range of trap-based clay shooting disciplines, including:

  • Down The Line (DTL)

  • Double Rise

  • Automatic Ball Trap (ABT)

  • Olympic Trap

  • Universal Trench (UT)

These all fall under the “trap” category of clay shooting, where targets are launched away from the shooter from one or more traps positioned in front.

Discipline Descriptions

Down The Line (DTL)

  • Uses a single trap that throws clays away from the shooter.

  • Shooters stand on five stands arranged in a line.

  • After completing a set number of targets at each stand, shooters rotate to the next one.

  • Typically, one clay is released at a time; two shots may be allowed, but scoring favours hitting on the first shot.

Double Rise

  • Two clays are released simultaneously from the trap.

  • Usually thrown on diverging paths (one left, one right).

  • Requires fast target acquisition and quick shooting technique.

Automatic Ball Trap (ABT)

  • Uses a single trap that oscillates both horizontally and vertically.

  • This creates a wide variety of unpredictable target angles and heights compared to DTL.

  • Shooters rotate as in DTL, usually in squads of five.

  • Two shots are allowed per target, but scoring is not differentiated by first- or second-barrel hits.

Universal Trench (UT)

  • Uses a trench containing five separate traps.

  • When the shooter calls “pull,” one of the five traps is selected at random to launch a clay.

  • This creates variation in angle, height, and trajectory.

  • Shooters generally have the option of using two shots per target.

  • More challenging than single-trap disciplines due to unpredictability.

Olympic Trap

  • An even more demanding form of trench-based trap shooting.

  • Typically uses 15 traps arranged in three groups of five.

  • Targets are thrown at higher speeds and with wider variations in angle and elevation.

  • The combination of speed, randomness, and technical difficulty makes this an elite-level discipline used in international competitions.