Shooting in Petanque. Food for thought. Some questions.

Who should shoot?

Shooting out boule can be practised but when to shoot is a tactical decision. In a game of doubles the familiar shooter and pointer team of normal UK players needs close examination as both players should be able to shoot. You will still lose many ends if, after your shooter has hit three out of three the next opposition point is on the cochonnet. Admittedly one player will be a better shooter than the other, however both players must be able to shoot boule out of the head. It is a discipline that should be practised away from the piste. It is amazing how difficult it can be for a team playing two shooters and still comes as a surprise to teams seeing the pointer shoot.

When should I shoot?

At the start of the end the oppositions first point is touching the cochonnet, it is pointless, (now there's a pun to think about) to try to out point the boule with all of your six boule. At best you may nudge into the holding boule eventually and sneak one point. At worst you could drop four (see boule in hand rule) Part of shooting is deciding when. Well a first boule touching the jack makes up your mind for you. Give your pointer some space by hitting the troublesome boule out of the way, even a clip on the boule may give you some room to point in with your teams second boule. If the piste is a very difficult one to point on you may shoot a boule up to 18 inches from the cochonnet, once again read the game and look at what is happening. If your pointer drags his feet to the circle and looks at you like a lost puppy he/she probably does not like the look of a point against a boule that may look harmless. Front boule are the most deceptive. ( See Phot

o) Talk about the shot, look at the point from the pointers point of view and if the shot is decided upon commit to the shot and hit it.

Photo. A boule 10 inches away can look a lot different from the circle! Yes there is a jack in this photo!