The takeout (hit) clears opposing stones: speed from the legs, keep the stone ahead, slide flat, with milestones from the first hit to the peel.
The honest answer: a takeout (also called a "hit") is a shot that removes a stone from the playing area by hitting it with your stone [1]. The point is not feel, as on the draw, but speed and contact. And the speed does not come from the arm: in elite curlers the push-off on takeouts changed from a calm, quasi-static push to a fast, short impulse from the legs, with a shorter push-off time [2].
The takeout has variants you should know: the hit and stay (your stone stays where it made contact) [5], the peel (meant to remove a guard) [1], the double takeout (two stones at once) [1] and the hit and roll, where your stone rolls on [1]. This guide is about the basic hit.
How hard is it? Hitting is doable, hitting in a controlled way with good weight and a stable position takes time. You can learn it early, as long as your slide is calm. More speed makes the throw calmer if the technique is in place, but shakier if not. There is no time promise.
Slide toward a resting target stone and try to touch it. A centre contact ("nose hit") usually leaves your stone standing at the contact point: a hit and stay [5].
Milestone: three out of five stones touch the target.
The weight comes from the leg push-off [3], and the heavier the shot, the later you start the push-off [3]. Start with hack weight [1]. It is faster than a draw but still manageable.
Milestone: your stone reaches the hack in three out of five tries, and you stay in position with no hand down.
Now comes real takeout speed. Keep the stone ahead: it is the furthest point forward through the whole push-off and slide [3]. Remember the rhythm: stone back, foot back, park, stone forward, foot forward, slide [6].
Milestone: three out of five stones hit the target and clear it.
Fast, strongly curling ice makes hits hard, especially for beginners. The US federation's instructor manual then advises draws and come-arounds. On slow, straight ice you play tap-backs instead, since you cannot curl around guards [4]. Do not fight the ice, go with it.
When several opposing stones sit in the house, take out the "higher" one (the one further forward), unless you have the hammer [4]. Make the opponent throw the hard shots, and do not do their work: a takeout at the front of the house can jam their stone into yours and tip the end in their favour [4].
Milestone: you hit the "right" stone, not just any stone.
A surprising finding from biomechanics: in elite curlers, sideways wobble was smaller on the takeout than on the draw, and the higher the push-off speed, the more stable the sideways position (r = −0.46) [2]. The authors call it a "momentum-stability effect". It is a finding from 20 elite curlers, not a beginner recipe, but it suggests that if you wobble on timid hits, a committed push-off with a clean position often helps more than hesitating.
A takeout removes a stone from play by hitting it [1]. The peel is meant to clear a guard [1], the hit and stay leaves your stone at the contact point [5], the hit and roll lets it roll on [1]. Depending on the goal, you choose speed and contact point.
When you lead, clean play with many takeouts makes sense, so the opponent has no stones to hide behind [4]. When you trail, you need guards and draws to score [4]. On fast, curly ice hits are hard, so favour draws and come-arounds [4].
As a beginner, flat. On the ball of the foot, knee joint force was more than double in a pilot study [7]. In professionals, toe contact raised hip and knee torques [8]. Move to toe or heel variants only once your technique is solid.
Knee (54%) and back (33%) were the most common pain sites in competitive curlers [10]. Delivery and sweeping are the drivers [10]. Take speed out, slide flat and strengthen hips and knees. If pain is strong or lasting, get it checked by a doctor.
The Release in Curling: Letting Go and Turning the Handle