Mastering marksmanship should be started at shooting stands. Fortunately, our ancestors took care of this problem, and today there are shooting complexes at the service of hunters that allow them to learn marksmanship in the exercises "trap", "skeet", "sporting" and participate in competitions in these types.

The machine throws the plates on the shooter's command; the angle and direction of flight may vary. Photo by Anton Zhuravkov.

The first competition in shooting with hunting rifles at fast-flying targets took place in England in 1793. The shooting was carried out at pigeons in special cages.

At the command of the shooter, the handler pulled the cord, and the pigeon was thrown out of the cage. Such competitions began to be called "cage shooting", and shotguns with a sharp and heaped fight - "cage shooting".

The first mentions of pigeon shooting in Russia date back to 1737, during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, who skillfully fired a gun. In the "St. Petersburg vedomosti" of that time, they wrote about competitions in shooting at pigeons at the royal court, where expensive prizes were raffled off.

Over time, protests by animal defenders against this inhumane sport forced fans of "cage" shooting to replace birds with artificial targets. The American Partlog from Boston invented glass beads with a diameter of 6.35 cm.

Photo DOHA STADIUM PLUS / FLICKR.COM (CC BY 2.0)

With the help of a leaf spring, they were thrown at a distance of up to 32 meters. The balls were filled with smoke, dust or feathers, which, when hitting them, created a certain effect.

LADDER

In 1880, the American D. Ligovski and the Englishman M. Kaski, being on opposite sides of the ocean, independently invented clay targets - plates - and the first throwing device.

The sites where the throwing machines were installed in the trench began to be called stands, and at the place of their installation (trench) - trench, which gave the name "trench stand", that is, ladder.

Trap shooting was first included in the program of the Second Olympiad (1900), where the first Olympic champion became Roger de Barbarin (France).

In 1910 the International Olympic Committee excluded cage shooting at live birds and introduced shooting at artificial targets. The 1912 Olympics helped spread clay pigeon shooting all around Russia.

The modern trench area is a rectangle 25 meters wide and 24 meters long. A trench is equipped in front, in it, on the foundation, throwing machines are installed, three for each of the five rifle numbers.

In all groups, the cars provide throwing of targets to the right, straight and to the left, with deviations to the sides up to 45 °, and in height - from 1 to 3.5 meters. Their casting range is up to 85 meters.

15 meters from the trench along the entire width of the site there are 5 shooting numbers for shooting from the spot, connected by a two-meter track. Each room has a microphone for giving a command to the shooter.

The Soviet government paid great attention shooting sports, thereby solving one of the main tasks - preparing the population for the defense of the Fatherland. In 1923, the "Grand Prix" of the Moscow City Hunters Union was drawn in Moscow.

Notable development in sports life The First All-Union Spartakiad (1928) also became Russia. Her program included clay pigeon shooting. In the individual competition, the winner was the shooter of the Red Army N. Batyr.

Since then, army athletes have taken the leading role in clay pigeon shooting. But the Great Patriotic War broke out, and many leading athletes went to the front. Their experience and knowledge in shooting contributed to the implementation of complex combat missions.

The victorious volleys died down, and in the competitions of the Military Hunting Society of 1947 A. Sukharev from Chernomorets achieved an outstanding result, hitting 299 targets out of 300, setting three USSR records at once.

The first post-war USSR championship among DSO and departments was held in Moscow in 1948. Army shooters won team shooting and excelled in selected programs, and V. Leont'ev was the first in all the trap exercises.

In 1950, the USSR national team made its debut for the first time on international competitions in Sofia. The first steps on the global stage were difficult.

At the Olympics in Helsinki (1952) soldier Yuri Nikandrov was only 16th, but already in 1955 he became the European champion. And from this date, the triumphal procession of Soviet stand-up workers begins on the sites of the world.

1960 Roman Olympics. S. Kalinin (SBI) wins a bronze medal.
1962 year. Cairo, world championship. V. Zimenko, after repeated shootings, managed to "put the squeeze" on the opponent and win gold.

Events at the 17th Tokyo Olympics developed no less dramatically. P. Senichev (SBI) showed the same result with American W. Morris - 194 out of 200. Shootout.

P. Senichev missed the first shot and, being sure that the target was a bat, lowered the gun. We can only guess what our fans and coaches felt. But Pavel, seeing that the saucer continued to fly, with a second shot smashed an almost falling target and finished the series without a miss. Silver.

At the Moscow Olympics-80, R. Yambulatov strikes 196 out of 200 plates in the trap exercise and takes 2nd place. At the 1981 World Championships in Argentina, athletes from the USSR won 4 gold medals and one of them in the team event "trap".

A. Asanov became the world champion in this type of shooting. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, our athletes did not participate for political reasons. But at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, D. Monakov finished shooting with a score of 222 targets hit out of 225 and became the Olympic champion.

Perestroika, the political turmoil of 1991 and the ensuing economic crisis caused serious damage to shooting and shooting sports. In the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics, Russian stand-up athletes did not achieve significant victories.

In subsequent years, it can be noted successful performance at the World Championship (2001) P. Gurkin (SBI). 3rd place. In the same year, A. Alipov declared himself at the World Cup in Seoul, taking 3rd place. And already at the Olympics in Athens (2004) A. Alipov (BOO) wins gold with the result of 149 plates out of 150. At the Beijing Olympics (2008) Alipov managed to win bronze.

As for our women, they also won more than one medal in competitions at all levels. In 1962 V. Gerasina (SBI) became the first woman to become a world champion. Y. Klekova was also the world champion. In 2001, at the World Championships in Cairo, I. Laricheva (SBI) won a gold medal.

At the World Cup in the same year, E. Tkach became the first among women with a score of 97 targets hit out of 100. I cannot but name Elena Rabaya, Honored Master of Sports, five-time champion world, eight-time European champion, multiple champion of the USSR and Russia, head coach of the Russian women's team. This is what he is, "ladder", and the success of Russian athletes.

SKIT

On a hunt, you will not walk with a butt inserted into your shoulder, and you have to shoot the game flying in different directions.

The need to create conditions for training in shooting, to a greater extent corresponding to real hunting for a bird, predetermined the appearance of a round stand (skete).

The origin of the round stand occurred in the United States between 1910 and 1914 in the vicinity of Andover, Massachusetts.

Farmers - father and son Davis and their neighbor B. Foster - were avid bird hunters and, although they were reputed to be good shooters, sometimes they still made offensive mistakes, and in the simplest situations.

Some of them came up with the idea to install a throwing machine in the field, take a position relative to the target's flight path, in which a miss was made at the bird, and shoot until you get a reliable defeat.

Such shooting contributed to the correction of mistakes made in the hunt. But walking around the typewriter soon got tired of everyone. And the hands built a platform-circle with a radius of about 23 meters, with 12 arrow numbers located around the circumference, like numbers on a clock dial.

On a small hill, behind the 12th rifle number, a single throwing machine was installed, throwing out a plate in the direction of the 6th number. Shooting began from number 12, the hunters moved in a circle, taking two targets on each number. The last, 25th target was taken from the center, which was not assigned a number.

Photo by Anton Zhuravkov

In the process of firing, it became clear to the guys that the radius of the circle is large, and for this reason, the target sometimes flew away whole after being fired, that is, the arrows fell into the so-called windows of the scree.

In 1923, the radius was reduced to 18.2 meters.

But B. Foster built a chicken coop near the 3rd rifle number. Because of it, shooting from rifle numbers 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 became impossible.

The site was reconstructed again. Number 6 was renumbered 1, and a second throwing machine was installed there; The 12th number became the 7th, and the 8th number was assigned to the shooting place in the center of the site.

After some time, a platform with a height of 4.5 meters was erected behind the 1st number and a throwing machine was installed on it. Thus, the shooting area acquired the shape of a semicircle with seven numbers and an eighth number in the center.

The new trap shooting exercise was called "skeet" (from the English skeet - sport shooting on skeet). This exercise has crossed the oceans and has become widespread throughout the world. The created stand area with minor geometric changes has survived to this day.

Today, the area of ​​the round stand is a segment from a circle bounded by a radius of 19.2 meters and a chord drawn at 5.49 meters from the center.

The chord is 36.8 meters long, at its ends 0.91 meters from the intersection with the circle there are booths, in each of which there is a throwing machine. From the left booth, the target flies out from a height of 3.05 meters.

The right booth is low, from which a saucer is released from a height of 1.07 meters. Unlike trenching, target flights on a round stand have constant directions. They must fly over the center of the site so that they are above it at an altitude of 4.575 meters.

The deflection of the targets in the middle of the site, both vertically and horizontally, should not exceed 0.455 meters, the plates must fly through a ring with an inner diameter of 0.91 meters, mounted on a control pole with a height of 4.12 meters.

When a doublet is fed, the targets must simultaneously fly through the control ring. Seven rifle numbers are located at the same distance from each other (8.24 m) along the arc of the segment, the 1st and 7th numbers are at the ends of the chord, and the 8th in its center. All shooting numbers are connected by a track. Behind the 4th room, 2-3 meters away, there is an operator's booth.

Shooting on a round stand soon became so popular that in 1947 it was included in the program of the World Championship in Stockholm, where J. Kozelin (Sweden) became the first champion with a score of 95 targets out of 100.

The first post-war USSR championship among DSO and departments took place in 1948 in Moscow. Team shooting won by the athletes of the SBI. They also excelled in individual exercises of the program.

For the first time, shooting at the round stand was included in the program of the national championship, and the first USSR champion was soldier Ivan Abramovich Kantser (coach of the author. - Ed.).

Success came at the World Championship in Moscow (1958), where Soviet stand-ups in the team competition became winners at the trench and round stands. Gold medal A. Kaplun won the individual championship at the round stand.

At the round stand, N. Durnev declared himself, who in subsequent years brought more than one medal to the USSR national team. At the 1959 World Championship, O. Losev (BOO) won gold in the skeet exercise. In 1963, he again achieved a high result at the European Championship, becoming the European champion.

He was one of the first to be awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. Soviet athletes achieved world victories from year to year. So, at the World Championship (1962) N. Durnev had no equal. He defeated the opponents with an amazing result - 200 targets hit out of 200 possible.

On the XIX and XX Olympic Games E. Petrov won gold and silver medals in rather difficult conditions. They started talking about the highest skill of E. Petrov when in 1972 he won the Shooting to Miss competition with a score of 231 plates. His record has not yet been surpassed by anyone.

The homeland highly appreciated the sportsman's merits, having twice awarded him the Order of the Badge of Honor, medals For Labor Valor and For Labor Distinction.

The most talented shooters and coaches are leaving the shooting areas. Less and less often, we applaud the victories of Russian shooters in the World Championships, Europe and the Olympics. Why? The coaches must find the answer.

At international competitions, all athletes have one task - to defeat the Russians. You have to learn to resist this.

Yes it is. Shooters undergo mandatory testing before being admitted to the stand. On site, everyone is given special glasses and hearing protection. Each shooter is assigned his zone of fire, beyond which he has no right and cannot even - thanks to special frames. Shooting starts at the command "Start" and ends with the command "Stop", and the process is supervised by professional sportsmen-instructors. We can say that this kind of recreation is not for those who like to joke and “take pictures with guns”.

2 Skeet shooting. What is it?

Skeet shooting got its name from the scene - an athlete stands on a stand and shoots at skeet soaring into the sky. For shooting, smooth-bore guns and cartridges with shot are used. Modern plates are made from bituminous pitch and cement. Such a composition makes them brittle and they break easily when even one pellet hits. To launch the cymbals at the sites of our partners, special machines are used - the same as at the Olympic Games.

Trap shooting is one of the oldest Olympic species sports and has been a part of almost all modern Olympics since 1900 - the only exceptions were the games of 1904 and 1936. Separate competitions for women and men have been held only since 1996, before that athletes performed in overall standings without division by sex.

3 What do you need to know and be able to shoot at the stand?

First of all, you need to want to shoot and at least theoretically imagine the process of hunting birds. Secondly - do not be afraid to press the stock to the shoulder and pull the trigger at the right time. Do not worry and remember, you will not harm anyone except the saucer target. All stands are located in deserted places far from residential areas, and the stand attendants themselves are separated from each other by special bounding frames. Plus, the trajectory of the flight of the plates excludes the finding of other people between the target and the shooter.

4 How to dress at the shooting range?

We recommend choosing loose, comfortable clothing and strong sports shoes on a wide flat sole. Think about special equipment first trial lesson no need - glasses and headphones will be given out free of charge, and nothing else is required.

Trap shooting is carried out by our partners:

1. 1 Sporting Club Podolsk

   The Sporting Club Podolsk shooting club has five shooting ranges for shooting at flying targets. Each stand has its own level of difficulty. Professional trainers will help novice shooters get a taste of it - they will introduce you to safety precautions, tell you about the rules for handling weapons, and put them in the correct stance. You can get to the club from Moscow along the Kaluga and Simferopol highways.

2. 2 Biserovo-Sporting

   The road to Biserovo-Sporting lies along the Gorky highway. The club is located in a pine forest and we can say that this is an ideal choice for those who have already held a gun in their hands and at least once or twice fired from it. That is, for professional hunters and lovers of active out-of-town recreation. For the convenience of guests, on the territory of the shooting club there is a restaurant, cafe, guest houses and a shop with an excellent selection of shooting equipment.

It's important to know

• The certificate is valid for 8 months.
• To register for clay pigeon shooting, activate the certificate on our website.
• In bad weather conditions, the shooting range does not work, so be sure to call the chosen club on the eve of your planned visit to find out if it is worth coming.

Appearance of certificates

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Skeet shooting in Podolsk (35 shots)

The certificate has arrived and is ready to give impressions, emotions and memories

Trap shooting - a variety shooting sports... Clay shooting competitions are held at open shooting ranges. Shooting is carried out from 12-gauge smooth-bore shotguns using shot cartridges (with a pellet diameter of not more than 2.5 mm) at flying saucer targets. When even a few pellets get into the plate, it breaks. Targets are thrown into the air using special throwing machines. At present, an ecological technology for the production of targets is being developed and implemented, which excludes the use of components that are harmful to the environment.

Climbing history

Skeet shooting dates back to the distant past, when the nobility had fun shooting at a flying target. In the Middle Ages, live birds were used as targets, most often pigeons, which were thrown out from behind shelters. Later they began to be planted in holes, covered with a cap, which was pulled off by a rope, and the pigeon was able to take off. Over time, the hoods were replaced with special boxes, cages, equipped with devices for ejecting birds at the right time. In the middle of the last century, shooting at artificial targets appeared, which were thrown by an invented device using a leaf spring at a distance of up to 32 meters. Targets - glass balls with a diameter of 6.35 centimeters were filled with smoke, dust or feathers, which, when hit, gave a special effect to the shooting. In 1880, first in America, and then in Germany and France, throwing machines and targets in the form of modern plates appeared. Skeet shooting soon spread to almost all of Europe. In Russia, in 1887, in St. Petersburg, on Krestovsky Island, the first special stand for shooting pigeons was equipped. Wealthy people who could afford this rather expensive entertainment were fond of this type of shooting. In the early nineties, skeet shooting was practiced in several large cities. The competitions were held on primitively equipped stands using simple throwing machines, the first samples of which were brought from abroad. Throwing machines were installed on boards, which were fixed on the ground with stakes. The targets were made in situ from clay and sand. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, stands were installed in almost all provincial Russian cities.

V Olympic program includes 5 exercises: "Ladder, men", "Ladder, women", "Ladder, mixed teams", "Skeet, men", "Skeet, women".

Trap shooting

Trap shooting attracts regardless of gender and age - these are both men and women, and children (the youngest athletes are twelve years old), and the elderly. Skeet shooting, or as it is also called, skeet shooting, is conducted from smooth-bore guns at special targets flying out - skeet.

Skeet

Skeet shooting is an enchanting pastime at corporate parties, friendly trips to nature. And if you shoot skeet with your sons, then such moments will be remembered all your life. After all, shooting is not only a man's occupation from time immemorial, but also self-discipline and accuracy.

Skeet shooting in Moscow and Moscow region

Skeet shooting in Moscow and the Moscow region has found a lot of admirers. Sports shooting clubs provide an opportunity to learn the skills of sporting, compact sporting, double ladder. Modern clubs clay trap shooting in Moscow and the Moscow region provide an opportunity to try all types of disciplines.

Sporting (large) is characterized by a huge variety of trajectories, long range of fire.

A distinctive feature of compact sporting is that a set of 25 targets is produced in limited areas.

With a double trap, a pair of targets are ejected along almost parallel trajectories.

My family was not fond of weapons, but I wanted to learn how to shoot. And I knew I was not alone in my desire. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the number of female shooting athletes has increased by 60% ... While self-defense remains the most popular reason for learning how to handle firearms, there are two more - the desire to learn how to hunt and to be able to shoot with family and friends.

And it is for these reasons that I decided to take up clay trap shooting in order to properly prepare for my first non-aquatic bird hunt this fall. But it turned out that in addition to the basics of technique and mechanics of shooting a gun, you need to know a lot about the basics and etiquette in this sport. And that's what I learned from my own experience.

1. Know etiquette

I grew up watching golf on TV with my dad, licking the foam off his Budweiser and teasing the dark silence that the audience kept, their quiet comments and polite applause. Little did I know that clay target shooting etiquette would be very golf-like until I decided to visit the Orvis Sandanona shooting range to see clay pigeon shooting with my own eyes.

Located in the north of New York, Sandanona is the oldest shooting club in the United States. I arrived there on a windy morning, wanting to learn the basics of clay pigeon shooting from Chief Instructor James Ross.

Ross explained to me that, as with golf, it is assumed that there will be silence as the group of shooters line up at the station. This sport is based on concentration, not chatter and laughter. And since safety is always the most important thing, no one keeps a weapon loaded, except for the shooter, and only when he or she is ready to fire.

The shooter will ask for a demonstration - a saucer target is launched into the air without firing, which allows everyone in the group to see the trajectory and estimate the target's flight speed at this station.

“When the shooter is ready, he will give the command "Give!"That tells the launcher (the person driving the target launcher) to launch the plates," Ross told me.

At each station, everyone fires in turn. As in golf, the group moves from one station to the next in order.

2. Use the gun that suits you

A properly fitted shotgun is the first step to accurate shooting.... It is worth taking the time to adjust the gun to your body structure with the help of a specialist. The shift in the ridge (the part of the butt that your cheek rests on) affects where the shooter's eye will look when properly inserted.

A shift on the butt plate, or on the top of the stock that rests against the shoulder, affects overall aiming; too much of a shift can increase the recoil noticeably. A stock that is too long can get stuck in your armpit or catch on your shoulder; with a stock that is too short, you will feel more recoil from your shoulder or cheek.

When Ross checked my Browning Citori Micro Satin Hunter for me, he noted that the offset on the ridge was too much for me, so my eye was too low on the correct tab. He added a gel pad to slightly increase the height of the cheek and to ensure that my eye was in line with the front sight when aiming.

Skeet shooting is often referred to as golf shooting sport. You move across the field and shoot from different stations. Many etiquette rules are also similar - for example, don't talk when someone is shooting.

3. Practice the correct stance

How you stand greatly affects your results. Ross notes that "self-taught people usually lack the correct posture."

If you shoot with right hand like me your left leg must always be leading, that is, the toe of the left foot must always point to the point of impact (the place of hitting the target). And then follow the Ross Correct Stance formula:

1. Imagine a watch face.
2. Place your dominant foot at 12 o'clock.
3. If you are right-handed, the 1 o'clock point will show the gap between the heels, and the 2 o'clock point will be where you want to put the toe of your right foot.
4. If you are left-handed, the 11 o'clock point will show the gap between your heels, and the 10 o'clock point will be where you want to put the toe of your left foot.
5. Spread your feet shoulder-width apart, not wider.

The idea is to get into a comfortable stance that will allow you to move smoothly when throwing, aiming and firing. “Every time your legs are wider than your shoulders, you tell your body to tighten. It is not comfortable. This is a game of movement. Any inconvenience makes it harder, ”explains Ross.

4. Decide for yourself where you will hit the target

There is a big difference between skeet shooting and flying bird. The shooter always has at least a general idea of ​​where the target will come from and what its trajectory is, so that he can plan where to point the gun. Hunters, of course, never know how a bird will fly.

When preparing to shoot at a target, it is very important to focus on a point in the sky where your eyes will see the target, and not follow the entire trajectory of its flight after launch. This way you avoid chasing the target, and you can clearly and confidently focus on the spot where the target will appear.

“The ideal place to hit the saucer is as close to the top of the trajectory as possible, because that's where it moves slowest,” advises Ross. He also recommends aiming at the leading edge of the target.

By focusing your attention on a point in the sky above a certain tree, you can start breaking the plates from the very first shots. Understanding these basic principles not only gave me confidence in my abilities, but also showed how much fun clay trap shooting can be.