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Sporting Clays Battue Target

In sporting clays, there’s a lot of unique and different types of targets. The one I’m going to be talking to you about today is the Battue target. As you can see, it’s pretty thin when compared to a traditional sized target, making it just a little bit different. But where the target setters really get you is in the target presentation. On a normal Battue target, the clay comes out flat at a pretty high velocity, then suddenly twists, and reveals its full body at or around its apex. Because of its quick velocity and turning motion, the Battue target has a limited shooting window. Because of the Battue’s limited shooting window, there’s really only two good places to take this target.    The number one place is the apex, which is the highest point that the target reaches, and also where the target starts to turn over. Let me show you how to shoot this Battue at its apex.    When the target comes out, I’m in the ready position with my eyes looking at the thrower, looking for the target to come out. I follow the bird with my eyes the entire time. When it comes out, I slowly mount my gun to the target, and then break my target at the break point. Although, shooting the target at its Apex is the easiest, you won’t always come across this target path in sporting clays.    We’ve repositioned our machine. So now, the targets coming at us, making it a little more difficult, because I’ll have to shoot it as it’s falling down. This increases the speed of the target. And I have to increase the speed of my gun because the target’s increasing in speed. So your barrel has to increase in speed to keep up with it. Follow through is the most difficult part of the shot, but it is a must to break the target.    Now that I’ve shown you a couple different ways to break the Battue target, I want to explain to you why I’m in the ready position. I’m in the ready position so that I can mount the gun to the target, and keep the target above my barrel so that I always see it throughout the entire shot.    When I see the target come off the machine, I start mounting my gun to the target, and right as my gun touches my shoulder, I pull the trigger because it’s in my break point. If you like to shoot in the ready position, you need to practice as much as possible. I, personally, practice these mounts thousands of times to perfect them. And though the Battue target is a bit of a novelty, these tips will help you break them on the sporting clays range. Until next time, Stay Army Strong. CLICK HERE FOR PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION