Pre-CompetitionRoutine

Why a Routine Works

Competition adds variables: unfamiliar ground, an audience, a card that counts. A routine reduces the number of decisions you have to make while those variables are pressing on you, and decisions made under pressure are the ones most likely to be wrong.

It also creates familiarity. When the sequence of your morning and the sequence of your mount are identical to the ones you use in practice, the competition feels less like a different activity and more like a normal day that happens to be scored.

The routine has to be yours and it has to be repeatable. A borrowed routine you cannot sustain under pressure is worse than a short simple one you always complete.

The Week Before

Do your technical work early. The days before a shoot are for confirming what you already do, not for rebuilding your mount or trying a new lead method — changes made late tend to surface as hesitation on the stand.

Keep practice light and specific in the final days. A short session on presentations you know you find difficult is more useful than a high-volume day that leaves you tired and sore.

Settle the logistics in advance: entry confirmed, travel time checked, start time known, cartridges bought. Every one of those resolved in the week is one fewer thing to rush on the morning.

Kit and Admin

Check and pack the night before, using the same list every time. Clean the gun, confirm the chokes you intend to use are present and correctly fitted, and count out more cartridges than the event requires.

Pack eye and ear protection, spare batteries if your ear defenders are electronic, and the documentation the event and your jurisdiction require. Add weather-appropriate clothing and footwear for a walked course, plus water and something to eat.

Keeping the same bag layout every time means you can find things without thinking, and it makes a missing item obvious before you leave rather than at the first stand.

• Gun and chokesClean, checked, tubes seated and tight.
• CartridgesMore than the target count, in your usual load.
• ProtectionEye and ear, plus spare batteries where relevant.
• DocumentsCertification and membership as the event requires.

Arrival and Course Walk

Arrive with time to spare. Registering, paying, unloading the car and finding your squad all take longer than expected at an unfamiliar ground, and starting the day rushed sets a tone that is hard to shake off.

If the event allows it, walk the course or at least part of it before you shoot. Seeing the stands, the backgrounds and the light in advance means the first look at each presentation is not also your first look at the terrain.

Note the conditions while you walk. Wind direction, sun position and background all change how targets appear and behave, and forming an impression early is more useful than reacting to it stand by stand.

Warming Up

Loosen the shoulders, neck and upper back before you mount a gun. Clay shooting is a rotational movement and a cold, stiff upper body produces a slow, cramped swing on the first stand.

A few unloaded mounts, performed properly with the gun pointed in a safe direction and following the ground's rules on gun handling, do more for the first stand than anything else. The aim is to make the mount you use at stand one identical to the one you use at stand ten.

If the ground offers a practice stand and the event permits it, a small number of targets is enough to confirm the gun, the load and the mount. The purpose is calibration, not a full session — arriving at the first scored stand already tired is a poor trade.

The Pre-Shot Routine

The routine that matters most is the short one you run before every single target. It should cover the same points in the same order: watch the show, decide the break point, set the hold point, pick the visual pickup point, then call.

Keep it brief and identical each time. A long deliberation invites doubt, and a routine that changes under pressure is not doing its job. If you find yourself skipping steps late in a round, that is a signal to slow down rather than to shorten it further.

Finish each target and move on. Whether you broke it or missed it, the routine restarts clean for the next one, and that reset is the mechanism that stops one lost clay becoming three.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I practise the day before a competition?

Lightly if at all. Confirm what you already do rather than making technical changes, and avoid a high-volume session that leaves you tired.

How early should I arrive?

Early enough to register, unload, walk some of the course and warm up without rushing. Starting the day hurried tends to carry into the first stands.

Is a practice round before the shoot worth it?

A small number of targets can confirm your gun, load and mount. A full session beforehand risks arriving at scored targets already fatigued.

What should a pre-shot routine include?

The same points in the same order every time — break point, hold point, visual pickup point, then the call. Brevity and consistency matter more than content.