Basic Old Style FITASC
I have heard that question many times and finally decided
to put the answer in writing. My hope is that by the end of the article you
will feel intrigued and comfortable enough to go out and attempt this
wonderfully fun and challenging game. This
is not meant to detail every single facet of the game but to provide a basic
understanding.
FITASC stands for Federation Internationale de Tir aux
Armes Sportives de Chasse, which is the organization that governs Parcours de
Chasse Sporting, the game known in the states as FITASC. The National Sporting
Clays Association governs the games in the United States. Conceived in the early twentieth century in
Spain and developed in France, the basic concept of the discipline is
simulation of live game shooting using clay targets and shotguns.
FORMAT
Normally sporting clays are shot in rounds of 50 or
100, while FITASC is shot in 25 target increments. Each 25-target course is
called a “parcours” or “layout;” in competitions, one will usually shoot two or
three parcours each day taking approximately 45 minutes each. A typical parcours may use four or five
traps and many different types of targets including standard, midi,
mini/bourdon, battue, rabbit, rockets, and zz birds. There are three stations
from which you shoot the same targets, although they change drastically from
station to station. For example, from stand one you might have a nice, simple
going-away bird, but the same target viewed from stand two is suddenly a
forty-yard crosser. FITASC has a reputation for being difficult although I
believe a more accurate description would be challenging. Most shooters agree
that the challenge stems from the wide variety of target presentations seen in
a 25-target layout.
Remember that I said the goal of FITASC is to simulate
live game shooting. Using many single targets where the shooter is allowed two
shots at each bird does this. Most parcours have four or five singles at each
station (one from each trap), and two pairs. That means that at the most, you
will only see the same bird twice, once as a single and once in the double. The
result, unlike in English Sporting, is that one never has the opportunity to
“groove” on a target.
Each parcours is shot by a squad consisting of six
members. The first shooter attempts the singles from stand one followed by the
second shooter and so on. Then the order is rotated and shooter #2 starts off
the doubles from stand 1. Shooter number 3 goes first for stand 2 singles....
allowing each squad member to shoot first once during the 25 bird competition.
The squad always previews the single targets before each station, with the
first shooter viewing them from within the shooting stand. Doubles are
previewed as well, unless they are report pairs consisting of target
presentations already viewed as singles, in which case no view pair will be
allowed. This saves time and targets and lends to the hunting perspective.
RULES
The game imposes a mandatory gun hold point before the
shooter can call “pull.” Think about it, you never hunt with a mounted gun. In
FITASC, a horizontal line is drawn (usually with colored tape) 25 cm below the
top of the shoulder. It’s important to note that the curve of the shoulders
does not matter; the 25 cm is measured straight down as if a board were resting
on the shoulder extending forward and the line is drawn exactly 25 cm below the
board. Before a shooter calls “pull,” he must have the heel of the gun
completely below this line and touching his body. He cannot move the gun from
this “low-gun” position until the requested target is visible. The tricky thing here is that in FITASC,
there can be up to a three-second delay from the time a target is called for
until it is actually thrown.
Once within sight, all targets must be shot with the gun
shouldered. (No hip-shooting allowed.) After shooting a target, there is a time
limit of twenty seconds to prepare for the next bird. Although gun
modifications (i.e. changing chokes) are allowed in FITASC, they are not
permitted while in the shooting station, even if you can do it in less than
twenty seconds. Even outside the shooting station, gun modifications are not
allowed to delay the game. Failure to comply with these very strict rules will
result in a warning from the referee.
A big difference between Sporting Clays and FITASC occurs
when a no bird is called on the second target of a report pair. Considering
that a report pair means that the first bird is thrown on the call “pull” and
the second bird comes on the sound of the gun blast, a no bird on the second
bird should not affect the first shot’s result. Therefore, the first target
result is established and the pair is shot again. The gun must be fired at the
first bird only to release the second target to be scored. For example, if you
call pull and break the first bird of a report pair, and the second bird never
comes, the first bird is established as dead. You must repeat the pair and even
if you miss the first bird and kill the second, the score is marked as a dead
pair.
Some other very important FITASC rules include no aiming
at view targets or another shooter’s targets.
Absolutely no coaching fellow shooters! You cannot pre-mount your gun at
any time following commencement of shooting, even it you are facing away from
the shooting and just practicing your gun mount. You better get it out of your
system before you arrive at the parcours. (I have some personal
experience with this particular warning, believe me some referees have eyes in
the back of their heads!)
GUNS AND AMMO
Twelve gauge is the maximum size shotgun allowed. Shells
with no more than 36 grams (1.25 oz) of shot are required, with the shot
size ranging from 6 to 9.5. Only one size shot per shell, no spreaders, and no
reloads are permitted.
ROLE OF THE REFEREE
The referee’s role in FITASC is very significant because
of the rules and repercussions for breaking them. For example, after the call
for the target, if a shooter moves his gun too early or starts it above the
line, the referee will stop play and issue a warning. If the shooter repeats
the mistake on the same layout, the target called for will be scored zero for a
single, zero/zero for a true or following pair, and zero/no bird for a report
pair. “No bird” opens up a whole new set of rules.
The referee is the only person who can call a “no bird.”
If a bird seems irregular in any way after the shooter has called “pull”, the
shooter must attempt the target unless the referee calls “no bird”; otherwise
the target will be scored lost. By the same token, if the referee calls “no
bird”, under no circumstances is the shooter to attempt to break the target.
Again, this action would result in an initial warning, followed by lost targets
scored when repeated. In the case of a no bird on a single, following pair or
true pair, the shooter repeats the sequence.
In some instances, if a shooter believes that a referee
made a bad call, there are steps he can take in his defense. The shooter must
immediately object to the action by saying “protest”, at which point the
referee will pronounce his final decision. If the shooter still objects, there
is a defined and somewhat complicated process, involving a fee, a jury, and
potentially an appeal jury, that can be pursued. If you get into that
situation, I suggest you read the rulebook. The two referee decisions that cannot
be protested are whether a clay was hit or missed, and whether or not the
clay was defective. The referee’s decisions are final regarding those
situations.
Referees also play an important role concerning gun
malfunctions. First of all, if your gun malfunctions, you must not open it or
unload it; you must allow the referee to examine it first to determine the
cause. If he determines that it is your error (safety catch on or wrong chamber
loaded for example) then the target will be scored zero. If it is a legitimate
malfunction, a warning will be noted on the scorecard. After two warnings, all
subsequent malfunctions will result in a score of ZERO. Normally no sharing of
weapons is allowed on the layout, but in the case of multiple malfunctions the
referee may approve this option at the shooter’s request.
Another way to draw attention from the referee is to be
late. Punctuality is very important in FITASC. Participants should arrive at
their designated layout 15-30 minutes early and must be prepared to
shoot when the referee calls their name. Following the referee’s third summons
for a missing squad member, shooting begins and his targets will be scored ZERO
until he arrives, at which time he can fall into place in the rotation.
Having read all of this, you should be all set to go out
and enjoy FITASC! Don’t be intimidated by all of the rules; the same
wonderfully fun, nice, and helpful people that you’ve met on the sporting clays
courses are going to be there to help you. We’ve all had to learn from
experience, including a fair share of warnings. Generally the referees won’t
bite and in most cases will be more than happy to remind you of the rules
before you begin. In my opinion, FITASC is the most enjoyable discipline in
clay shooting and if you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on a lot of
fun!!!
(Editor‘s note:
Ashley has discussed the format for Old Style FITA SC. New Style FITASC
has a slightly different format but, the rules remain the same.. More on New
Style in the future.)
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