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I recently had the privilege of participating in a target setting clinic
held at American Shooting Centers in Houston and Westside Gun Club in
Katy, Texas. The instructional clinic was held May 28 through June 2 in
conjunction with the annual Bob Brister Open, with British target master
Dave Peckham providing students with an inside look at his knowledge and
skills of sporting clays. This hands-on training allowed us to practice
what we had learned, as students set both main courses, the FITASC round,
and the 5-Stand event for the Brister tournament. Peckham had just
finished hosting the British Open at his home shooting grounds, Southdown
Sporting in Sussex, England, but his reputation as a target setter has
been established over an 18-year career that includes target setting all
over the world. Dave is no stranger to American shooters, having designed
the course for the US/UK Masters Tournament for the past two years, and he
will no doubt gain more recognition as he creates the layouts for this
year's U.S. Open at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club in Prior Lake. From
there he returns to the United Kingdom to work his craft at the World
English at Somerly Estate and the US/UK Masters at his home grounds in
Sussex the following week.
My primary reason for enrolling in this target-setting clinic was to
learn the English version, style, and philosophy for setting targets. The
Brits invented sporting clays, after all, and we still have a lot to learn
about the game. I have been setting targets for eight years and have
learned through trial and error, as well as from travel to other
tournaments and ranges throughout the United States. There are several
good target setters in this country, but in most cases they have received
no formal training.
Many range owners have not given priority to target setting, and many
who design the present tournament courses have been volunteers who have
learned from others. Unfortunately what they have learned is not always
challenging or interesting. Many simply focus on beating the shooter with
junk, such as rabbits on-edge and going away, true pairs with short
windows, and targets that only young eyes can find as they are set on edge
with lots of speed. I have to admit that I too have been guilty of such
target presentations. To their credit, many target setters often work
around limitations that are difficult to surmount, such as lack of land,
all manual machines, standard-target auto traps, range owners that only
want soft targets, and a lack of competent help. |
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Peckham stressed that above all the targets have to be fair, meaning that
all shooters can see the targets. Most target presentations should be
thrown as report pairs (so that shooters will have full use of the gun),
with a few true pairs that have good target separation. The terrain
dictates what, where, and how the targets will be thrown; at each shooting
station, the first target should have a 35+ yard range and some challenge,
while the second should be milder. This gives the shooter a chance at
recovery on each set and an opportunity to break at least 50 percent at
the station. Most of Dave's preferred presentations will have crossing
targets, rarely quartering. These targets have a slight curl, so the
shooter will always see some face or bottom. The primary targets of choice
are midis and upside-down battues, and Dave's favorites contain a 40+
teal, upside down battue thrown from a tower (30-70 feet), a rabbit under
your feet at 30+ yards, and a crow (high incomer from behind a tree). He
also favors lots of black targets in the sky.
Dave is not going to beat shooters up with extreme speed. Yes, he does
use speed, but you will have a hard time detecting the speed, and he will
often throw targets that have to be taken on the rise as they move over a
tree or hill, and you simply can't take it falling. The English just do
not shoot many (if any) dropping targets. The long, crossing targets are a
staple, but American shooters have the most problems with them. As a
result, setters avoid them, and we cannot compete with this type of
target.
When he designs a shooting station, Dave knows where the shooter's
comfort zone will be in relationship to the targets being thrown. To beat
him, you must study the target line before you step into the shooting
stand. He explained that 50 percent of the shooting is done outside the
stand, and you had better recognize what the target is doing-if you decide
to shoot within the comfort zone, he will pick your pocket. The target
will be in transition in the comfort zone, and most shooters are going to
miss it over the top and over-lead it.
In closing, I would like to thank Connie McElroy and American Shooting
Centers for having the foresight to invite Dave Peckham to the U.S. to
give us another twist on how the targets are set across the pond. The
feedback from the shooters at the Bob Brister Open, where the target
setters tested their new skills, was that the course was very challenging,
but also fun to shoot. Most of us believe that we have to continue to
raise the bar in our target setting and hope that Dave will make another
trip to the U.S. for another course of instruction. |
