Learn About Shooting Sports
An introduction to the disciplines and traditions of our club.
Trap Shooting
One of the three major forms of competitive clay-pigeon shooting — shotgun shooting at clay targets. The most popular variant in Canada is American Trap, governed by the Amateur Trapshooting Association.
The shooter stands behind a “house” containing the trap machine, which throws clay targets away from the shooter at varying angles.
Skeet Shooting
The sport originated in 1915 as “Clock Shooting” and was renamed skeet in 1926, from the Scandinavian word for shoot. Military forces adopted it during the Second World War for training gunners on moving targets.
In skeet, two trap houses (a “high house” and “low house”) throw clay targets across the shooter’s field as the shooter moves through eight stations on a half-circle.
P-I-G
A club tradition. Think hangman, played with a 12-gauge. Sunday Shoots often feature a P-I-G round when there are enough participants.
Selected Latvian Terminology
Terms used at our range — English / Latvian:
- Shotgun — bise
- Rifle — šautene
- Pellets / shot — skrotis
- “Pull!” (call for the clay) — “Dod!”
A complete bilingual glossary including a species reference table (English / Latvian / Latin scientific names) covering 40+ game animals, birds, and fish from both Canada and Latvia is being migrated from our previous site.
Further Reading
See our Resources page for sport-shooting organizations, firearm-safety courses, and Latvian outdoor links.