Q) Can you please settle an argument? My friend seems to think that there is a time limit for how long you can take in the stand between shots at a Sporting shoot. I know that there is a time limit in the Olympic disciplines and in DTL but I wasn’t aware of any such thing in Sporting.

A) DON BRUNT replies: Your friend may well be a little smug at the answer I’m afraid. Yes, there is now a time limit of 10 seconds during which you must have called for your next pair once you have shot the previous pair. It is understandable that you were not aware of it as very few were until the recent British Open Sporting event where several shooters fell foul of this new rule and as a result received a warning for the offence.

Another new rule that has appeared is that a shooter now entering a cage is no longer allowed to see a sim pair twice. Traditionally this was allowed as many sim pairs can be shot two ways, depending on which bird the competitor tackles first, therefore a chance to see the pair twice gave them the opportunity to decide on their plan of attack. This was also enforced at the British Open, though neither of the new rules as yet appear in the CPSA Rule Book (version 7 May 2012).