Down-The-Line
Down-the-line (DTL) clay pigeon shooting is a variation of trap shooting which is very popular in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Its origins are from the now banned pigeon shooting and the very beginnings of the clay target sort. DTL now forms part of the family of trap disciplines and in number of competitors is undoubtedly the largest variant, especially in the Commonwealth countries where it is most popular. Competitors use a double barrelled shotgun, usually 'under-and-over' type, and are allowed to fire both barrels at a single target released on the traditional call of 'Pull!'. The maximum load permitted is 28g per cartridge, slightly larger than the Olympic disciplines which use a standard 24g load.
The traditional DTL shooting layout is set up with 5 stands in a crescent shape 16 yards from a traphouse, which throws a random target from an oscillating trap between 0 and 22.5 degrees to either side of a center post, set 50–55 yards from the traphouse. The clay should always be on a common trajectory for height, even though it is variable in horizontal angle. The average speed for a down the line clay target leaving the traphouse is usually 42mph +/- 1mph.