Clay Pigeon Shooting
Went for the first time this morning, taken by my brother who owns a shotgun. Quite good fun, even managed to hit a few targets. Thought it was something I could quite get into until he said his gun cost over 2k second-hand. Astonished that he even let me use it.
I've done it quite a few times - a friend who had a set up on his land invited me to shoot every now and then. I was a reasonable shot. Quite good fun but not something that I ever felt I wanted to take more seriously - or spend loads of money to do. My brother in law did it regularly and was competition standard - but he got fed up with it after a few years.
Used to shoot most weekends before I left the U.K. and just a little bit here as it’s a bit expensive.
Sporting for me over the Olympic stuff like trap, dtl., skeet.
Would equate it to being a bit like playing golf in that you can try different places with different layouts/ challenges and that you can aim to improve your score bit by bit each outing.
It’s a good allround hobby I’d say - doesn’t take up the whole day, gets you out in the air, a bit of a walk and a bit of concentration/ focus needed. Also can help encourage landowners to keep a bit aside relatively untouched or make use of unproductive land
Not sure of the price of guns now bit a decent base level Baretta 686 or Browning 323 used to cost around 600 quid back then - so maybe that’s just inflation
Sporting for me over the Olympic stuff like trap, dtl., skeet.
Would equate it to being a bit like playing golf in that you can try different places with different layouts/ challenges and that you can aim to improve your score bit by bit each outing.
It’s a good allround hobby I’d say - doesn’t take up the whole day, gets you out in the air, a bit of a walk and a bit of concentration/ focus needed. Also can help encourage landowners to keep a bit aside relatively untouched or make use of unproductive land
Not sure of the price of guns now bit a decent base level Baretta 686 or Browning 323 used to cost around 600 quid back then - so maybe that’s just inflation
Used to go to the place in West Wycombe, It's great fun, enormously satisfying when you break a clay and is a sport that I find you can have pretty early success at. I remember being very pleasantly surprised at how many clays I got the first time I went.
My brother in law shot for Scotland, and both my sons shoot both recreationally and competitively.
There are enough relies and friends with multiple guns that neither own a gun yet. They both applied for licences nearly a year ago and are still waiting.
They will source their guns through the shooting ground at which they are regulars as the owner has said he'll split the difference between retail and cost. It is very noticeable how the price of the guns they intend to buy has gone up as they have got better, but they are still only looking at £4kish (Beretta 694, Browning Sporter). I say only as we know at least three people whose guns are £100k plus. You go much higher than that. Once you have a gun the cost goes down a lot and your looking at circa 60 - 70p per clay for the clay and cartridge. Or a days competition at our local shoot would be £20 plus maybe £30 in cartridges.
In farming country it is a hugely social sport. Local shoots will have shooters from teenagers to 80 plus. The standard varies dramatically from sponsored shooters to those who can barely hit anything. Like many other sports, the older shooters are all men, but as you come down the age groups there are more and more women and amongst the yougsters the sexes are almost equal.
There are enough relies and friends with multiple guns that neither own a gun yet. They both applied for licences nearly a year ago and are still waiting.
They will source their guns through the shooting ground at which they are regulars as the owner has said he'll split the difference between retail and cost. It is very noticeable how the price of the guns they intend to buy has gone up as they have got better, but they are still only looking at £4kish (Beretta 694, Browning Sporter). I say only as we know at least three people whose guns are £100k plus. You go much higher than that. Once you have a gun the cost goes down a lot and your looking at circa 60 - 70p per clay for the clay and cartridge. Or a days competition at our local shoot would be £20 plus maybe £30 in cartridges.
In farming country it is a hugely social sport. Local shoots will have shooters from teenagers to 80 plus. The standard varies dramatically from sponsored shooters to those who can barely hit anything. Like many other sports, the older shooters are all men, but as you come down the age groups there are more and more women and amongst the yougsters the sexes are almost equal.
Last edited by weegie01 on Wed Dec 04, 2024 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Shocking the waiting times on gun licence. My son has applied for a rifle licence and not getting any feedback or progress. He's into deer stalking and has got a place to shoot. He was telling me Gloucestershire Constabulary are not taking new applications as they have had so many extra applications.....which was found to be a load of old balls when FOId. Numbers were the same 20 years ago. Probably just not got the people to do itweegie01 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 04, 2024 9:41 am My brother in law shot for Scotland, and both my sons shoot both recreationally and competitively.
There are enough relies and friends with multiple guns that neither own a gun yet. They both applied for licences nearly a year ago and are still waiting.
They will source their guns through the shooting round at which they are regulars as the owner has said he'll split the difference between retail and cost. It is very noticeable how the price of the guns they intend to buy has gone up as they have got better, but they are still only looking at £4kish (Beretta 694, Browning Sporter). I say only as we know at least three people whose guns are £100k plus. You go much higher than that. Once you have a gun the cost goes down a lot and your looking at circa 60 - 70p per clay for the clay and cartridge. Or a days competition at our local shoot would be £20 plus maybe £30 in cartridges.
In farming country it is a hugely social sport. Local shoots will have shooters from teenagers to 80 plus. The standard varies dramatically from sponsored shooters to those who can barely hit anything. Like many other sports, the older shooters are all men, but as you come down the age groups there are more and more women and amongst the yougsters the sexes are almost equal.
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inactionman
- Posts: 3027
- Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:37 am
I worked with a bloke who - by his telling at least - just missed out on a Commonwealth games appearance in shooting.
He was giving it all up due to shoulder troubles and was selling his gun - he wanted £1500 for it, which by the sounds of it may have been a bargain for someone.
Ex royal artillery colonel so definitely knew his way round things that go bang.
He was giving it all up due to shoulder troubles and was selling his gun - he wanted £1500 for it, which by the sounds of it may have been a bargain for someone.
Ex royal artillery colonel so definitely knew his way round things that go bang.
Shooting clays is fun the first couple of dozen shots , then I get a bit bored of all the ringing in my ears and have my fillings rattled . I’m actualy not too bad when they come out of one trap, tried the sideways sleet thing and fuck me that’s hard even with the shorter barrels. There is at least on old PR poster who goes shooting often near London and he loves it .
Pretty much any accuracy based sport is fun though, guns, catapults, lobbing stones at a can on the beach, darts, snooker, archery , handguns on a range - all good.
Pretty much any accuracy based sport is fun though, guns, catapults, lobbing stones at a can on the beach, darts, snooker, archery , handguns on a range - all good.
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Happyhooker
- Posts: 789
- Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:09 pm