Ask The Instrcutor: Sneaky Target Setter

Question: What’s the purpose of a target setter hiding a trap machine behind a bush or a tree

Answer: If you ask an experienced target setter how he defines a well-set sporting clays course, he will likely list the following criteria: 1) The targets are visible. 2) The targets have a minimum of a 3-second target engagement window, where the target is visible and “hittable”, 3) the course is challenging, and 4) the course is fun. These are not necessarily in the order of importance and may vary from one target setter to another. Sporting clays should test your shooting ability, not your vision. This means that targets should have enough of a profile (belly or face) to be visible and should be “hittable” for at least three seconds. The target should also be an appropriate color for the background; brightly colored targets against foliage and black targets against the sky. If these very basic rules are followed, concealing a trap machine behind a bush or a tree is one of many techniques a target setter uses to deceive the shooter. The hidden trap machine denies the shooter the ability to pinpoint the exact starting point of the target’s flight path. This tends to challenge a shooter’s depth perception leading him to overestimate or underestimate the distance of the target. If, for example, the target setter threw a 70mm or 90mm 35-yard crossing target from a concealed trap, it might prove quite challenging for shooters to accurately judge the distance and speed of the target. Is this fair? Absolutely. It is just one of many techniques a target setter will use to deceive a shooter. The two biggest compliments a target setter can receive are: “the course was challenging, but fair” and “that target was really deceptive.” The target setter can use a variety of techniques to turn a target that looks like it is pretty straight forward and hittable, into a very deceptive target. These targets will often be the subject of more than one conversation back at the clubhouse.