DOWN THE LINE

We have installed a DTL trap and now offer the DTL discipline to CPSA regulations.

What is DTL or Trap shooting ?

Down the line, or DTL, 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.

Each competitor must shoot from each of the five firing points 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.

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. 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, as two first barrel kills are the equivalent of three second barrel kills.