They are two similar sports with a common clay target. Both were originally developed to sharpen hunting skills and evolved into organized sports. Trap is the older of the games and Skeet was developed to provide a grater variety of target angles. A picture is worth a thousand words, to get an idea about the two different sports, head out to a local T & S club and have a look at how the they are shot. There are also the web sites of the
NSSA and the
ATA as well as youtube videos.
Which you'll prefer has a lot to do with your natural ability and personality. In Skeet, you're shooting mostly crossing shots and trap is all departing shots. If you're old and/or slow, you may prefer trap. Skeet's more social, as the shooters take turns shooting from one of the 8 stations. With trap, each shooter is alone on 1 of 5 stations. Skeet includes 4 pairs of doubles per round and conventional trap is all single shots.
The games can be handicapped to make them more difficult (or more interesting). Skeet is shot with smaller and smaller bore guns. In trap, they increase the distance from the trap from 16 to 27-yards.
The games have been know to include some wagering
more so in trap.
Warning: Trap and/or Skeet can be addicting!