What is down the line?
Down the line is one of the oldest forms of
clay
shooting. It is a great discipline for beginners as it gives you many
targets to break and also teaches the importance of concentration on
the shooting circuit. A round usually consists of 25 targets, which are
fired away from the shooter. The shooter stands 16 yards behind the
firing house, where they will fire at the rising targets. There are 5
firing positions and even though the targets rise they do so at a
constant angle. However, the targets are fired randomly across the
horizontal plane, the maximum arc is around 44 degrees.
How
is down the line shot?
Each
competitor must shoot from each firing point, and a total of 5 clays
will be launched at each of these points. The order of the firing
points is so that when the competitor has shot, they would move to the
next position on their right. If a shooter is on position 5 they will
go to 1. The shooter usually calls for each target with the gun already
in their shoulder, and has two shots to break the target.
How
is down the line scored?
Three
points are awarded for breaking a target on the first barrel, whilst
only two points are awarded for breaking the target with the second
barrel shot. Big competitions can consist of 4 rounds making up 100
targets, a perfect score would see 300 points from 100 targets. It is
possible to win a competition by breaking fewer clays than other
competitors, two first barrel kills is the equivalent of three second
barrel kills.
What
is the best gun to use?
A
trap gun is the most suitable for such an event no matter what level
you are shooting at. A common set-up would be a ¾ or full choke
that is set to shoot slightly higher than centre. This will aid the
shooter to put the target inside the pattern, if the clay is positioned
slightly above the foresight bead. If the only gun available is a
sport, an alternative set-up can be made with a multichoke using the
tightest tubes.
