How To EnHance Your Shooting

Top Sporting shot and coach Matt Hance continues his instructional series, this month turning his attention to the ins and outs of the FITASC discipline

- Matt Hance

Having covered technique and method in previous lessons, we will now take a look at the wide range of other Sporting disciplines that are on offer. First up, FITASC Sporting – my favourite.

This is often called the F1 of Sporting clays, and it will certainly test all aspects of your shooting ability. Newcomers to the discipline soon discover that any flaws in their technique or ability to read targets will be magnified in FITASC Sporting, as the discipline tests exactly this and, to the highest degree, also your ability to shoot from a gun-down position.

One of the most obvious differences between FITASC Sporting and other Sporting disciplines is the requirement for the shooter to start with the gun out of the shoulder. The FITASC Sporting rules dictate that the highest part of the stock – whether that be top of the pad or top of the comb – be held below the FITASC line (as marked on the shooter’s apparel), which is 25cm down from the top of the shoulder. This is strictly monitored and the referee will make it clear that the gun should not be moved on the call, nor on the sound of the machine, but only when the target is visible.

Another difference is the fact that the shooter stands in a hoop and not in a cage. This is because the FITASC Sporting discipline was originally designed to simulate hunting live quarry and so not only are the targets set accordingly but also the shooting stand/ hoop affords the shooter the ability to move 360 degrees (when safe to do so). Hence, so long as the shooters stay inside of the hoop, they can change the direction that they face. This may be advantageous as one may find it easier to take a driven target as it drops just a few feet behind you or to move within the hoop to change the direction you face between shots in a pair.

The targets