What does a skeet range look like, and how do the targets fly?
Officials' detail · Targets and rounds · 1 of 4A skeet field has two houses 36.8 metres apart, a high one on the left and a low one on the right. Seven shooting stations lie on an arc between them and an eighth stands midway. Each house throws its target along a fixed path, and the two paths cross above the centre of the field.
How it works
- The houses: the high house target emerges 3.05 metres above the ground beside station 1. The low house target emerges 1.05 metres above the ground beside station 7.
- The stations: 1 to 7 lie on a segment of a circle with a radius of 19.2 metres. Station 1 is at the left end and station 7 at the right. Stations 4 and 8 are at the middle.
- The crossing point: properly released targets pass through a circle about 0.9 metres across, 4.6 metres above the centre point of the field.
- Distance: in calm weather a target must carry 68 metres, give or take 1 metre.
- Shooting boundaries: markers stand 40.3 metres from each house. A target hit outside the boundary is lost.
- Release: by a microphone system with a timer, which adds a random delay of up to 3 seconds after the call.
- One button: a double is released by a single button, so both targets leave together.
- Settings: examined, approved and sealed by the jury before each day.
Tricky cases
Is the target always on the same path?
Yes. Each house has one machine in a fixed position. What changes is where the athlete stands.
An athlete breaks the target after it has passed the boundary marker. Does it count?
No. A target hit outside the boundaries is declared lost.
Can a coach go into a house to look at the machine?
No. Athletes, coaches and team officials are prohibited from entering the skeet houses once the jury has approved the settings.
Why the rule exists
Every skeet field in the world has the same geometry, so the same sequence of shots can be practised anywhere and scores compared. The boundary markers make a late shot at a target that has already gone past count as a miss.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ISSF rules | As above | ISSF 6.4.19; ISSF 9.9.3 |
| Older ranges | Fields built before 2013 with stations 1 and 7 facing the opposite house are still accepted | ISSF 6.4.19.4 |
| Interference with range equipment | A warning, then a one-point deduction, then disqualification | ISSF 9.3 (c) |
From the rule book
ISSF Official Statutes, Rules and Regulations, Edition 2025 (second print 07/2026), Shotgun Rules, rules 9.3 and 9.9.3 and General Technical Rule 6.4.19. Effective 1 July 2026. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: ISSF Rule Book (PDF).