No, but I'm keen to try it some day. maybe this year will be the year I get time to do it!
Just wondering if anyone on this forum is into clay pidgeon shooting or any other sport shooting?
No, but I'm keen to try it some day. maybe this year will be the year I get time to do it!
I wouldn't go the whole hog and buy my own gun, just turn up and pay for x number of shots.
I do a fair bit - I'm a 50m competition rifle shooter, shoot for Northern Ireland national team.
I've tried clays in the past and whilst I enjoy it, I'm not great at it.
I would only go to a place that supplied all the gear. I wouldn't do it that often to justify buying.
I've always fancied trying it but it isn't cheap. I used to do a lot of air rifle field-target shooting but now even that has got horribly expensive - you can't just bowl up with a hundred-quid Weihrauch and be reasonable competitive these days.
Rob
The area I've just moved to has a Clay Pigeon shooting club nearby. I've been saying I'm going to give it a go myself, quite interested
I tried it many years ago aged 17 and I found it a lot harder than I expected. Definitely worth a try though, particularly if it's local.
Paul
The benefit of owning your own shotgun is you can go when you want and don't need to be supervised by a certificate holder. You would need a shotgun certificate though, gun cabinet etc, so probably isn't worth it if you don't intend to shoot regularly. Gun fit is important if you want to shoot well, so like most things, if you want to get good at something you will need to invest some time and money.
If you do it regularly, then get your own kit and pay for a few lessons.
If you only want to go once a year or so, then just do a 'have a go' day somewhere (where the cost of the coaches time is included), as it will be much simpler!
Have fun.
Up to a point!
It's a bit like most things; the cheaper ones can do just as good a job in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing and, equally, the top of the range will not make an incompetent/novice good!
Access to shooting facilities really depends on where you are - some clubs in my area will lend/rent you a gun and will be able to provide tuition.
I've become a bit of a fair weather shooter so haven't been out this year (although the weather isn't the only reason).
The group I shoot with are of similar age and ability so it is a fun morning/day.....just as long as we don't take ourselves or our scores too seriously :)
Last edited by Stanford; 3rd March 2016 at 15:14.
I've had a go now and then and it was fun, but I'd never bother getting a gun and going regularly, personally.
Perhaps it was because I wasn't much good, although I wasn't much good at fencing, but I did that for a good few years and am toying with going back to it (if my knee permits...)
M.
I've done a lot of clay shooting, family is into game but never been for me.
It's good fun, the sport has picked up some momentum thanks to the last olympics etc. Plenty of good youngsters about now.
been with a mate a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it. had intended to get a gun and take it up more seriously but whilst i can still run around a football pitch it's been put on the back burner for now.
I can thoroughly recommend trying it out if you've never been.
I've done it on lots of stag weekends and enjoyed it, despite being hungover. It's always been fun when competing against a group of friends.
I do Air Rifle Field Target most Sundays gets me out in the fresh air and good bit of banter with the lads. It can be expensive if you want it to be, my Rifle is 2k now but I love it and it should last me till I drop off.
Just shot 100 clays last week at a superb set up near Andover run by an Olympic gold medallist
borrowed a Caesar guerini from a friend who organised it
cost was 35p per clay and cartridges were £20
great fun but not sure if I want the hassle and paperwork of gunownership
i do have the offer of a nice Winchester grand European 12g though for £950!
Whether it is worth getting a gun and equipment for me would depend on what facilities you will have access to. Sporting clays can be a fantastic day out on a good course whereas DTL can be just the opposite. Olympic trap can be very addictive and expensive 100 cartridges don't last long.
I own a Beretta 682 and shot most of my life, good sport and a good excuse to get out the house on a Sunday :)
Maybe we should organise something
I love it
I have a 682 gold e myself
I used to shoot clays but as anyone who knows me will tell you I always refer to is as clay-pigeon missing.
I reached the dizzy heights of hitting more than I was missing and then packed it in, but I would definitely give it a go
vermin shooting here at night...rats and rabbit
.22 pellet and 22lr
Yes. Clays, pheasant, partridge, occasional duck on the foreshore, deer once (not sure I'd recommend it) rabbits and squirrels locally.
Used to shoot very regularly, much less so now.
I love target sports I shoot.
10m air pistol
20m 22 rim fire
Sporting clays
Compound archery
And I'm now looking at getting a multi shot shotgun on my FC and trying practical shotgun.
Love them all but not great at any.
Yep i shoot clays skeet and sporting pretty much every other week and have done for more years than i care to remember .
I also shoot air rifles mainly for fun now but i used to compete in H.F.T. competitions up and down the country with my lad ,i still do the odd charity shoot .
As for game /live target shooting i only ever really did pheasant shoot once or twice i didnt see the point in shooting what were effectively farmed birds ,i also stopped doing pigeon shoots when farmers started charging us for the rights .
I occasionally shoot vermin rats and feral pigeons for one or two local companies and thin out rabbits at a local equestrian centre when the numbers get a bit out of hand .
Guns i own ( presently )
Browning 425 ,12 gauge .
Berretta silver pigeon ,12 gauge .
Weihrauch HW100 . .177cal
Air Arms S400 custom .177cal
Weihrauch 99s .177cal
Air Arms Prosport .177cal
Weihrauch 45 .22cal
Sporting clays at a local ground for me. As with many, it's a fun day out with friends as I know I'm not good enough to shoot competitively. Another Beretta owner; 682, 391, and a Lanber for rough shooting.
If you buy a good gun eg Beretta/Browning, similar to a good watch, you won't loose money on it if you want to sell it in a few years time.
Yeah, I had a pop at it last year and really enjoyed it.
A mate of mine is a regular at the local club and I was his guest so to speak. I'd never shot a shotgun before that day and really didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole day and managed 32 out of 50 clays which pleased me no end.
I've spent a lot of years photographing fast moving military jets and I'm convinced that concept helped me greatly on the day.
Looking up the barrel of the gun and just keeping ahead of the clay is almost identical to swinging a 500mm telephoto at a plane licking past you in the sky.
^ I can see how that would help. Target acquisition and following!
Just came back from a shoot., clays all year, game in season.
mike
^ Same for myself. ^
A day out 'dusting' clays with a few mates can be great fun (esp if one manages to hit the really high ones).
To touch on a few comments about the hassle etc of shotgun ownership - it's not that bad tbh, the most hassle is prob deciding on and having a gun cabinet fitted but even that's not that bad.
A firearms certificate can be a little more involved though.
Been quite keen to try this myself - do clubs often offer discounted rates for using your own gun?
The father-in-law has a shotgun (which almost never sees the light of day!). I'm guessing the license holder would be the only one permitted to transport it though.
Yep, a bit of clay shooting along with more driven shooting during the season.
Have been out tonight shooting crows in the wood as they come into roost.
That was fast and frenetic fun
Chaps
I was once a fanatical clay pigeon shooter many years ago and most guns had a 28" set of barrels.
It that still the norm ?
I still have my Miroku 7000 and the damn thing has barely shot 500 rounds. Possibly it is time to sell it on.
Regards
Mick
28" is usual fr game guns s/s.
most shooters I see for sporting clays use 30-32".
i think skeet still use shorter barrels.
mike
I've done a few "pay and play" days, thoroughly enjoyed them but at the moment I am not doing enough to justify getting a shotgun licence and a 'gun. Presumably there is a crossover point where it becomes economic to buy your own kit.
I've shot clays quite a few times, mostly skeet, really enjoy it although not the bruised shoulder when you get it wrong...
Like watches it is an interest that can be as affordable as you want it to be... I was leant a gun whilst shooting once, it was very nice and when I enquired it turned out to be around £18,000! I gave it back after that!
Pigeons, yes. Clays, no. Not sure clays stir fry with ginger and spring onion that well.
Vermin here also, 12g and AA 410 for bunny's and pig e ons. Lots with Basil's also years ago with 308, 223 and 6mm PPC.
Beretta DT10L, 30", choked 3/4 & F for Trap. Not the best engraving in the world, but it's 'real', not stamped. A good gun.
Just looking at purchasing a new clay gun, Love the DT10, which has just been superseded by the DT11.
The new DT11 is the best part of 5K, I quite fancy a Beretta 692 black edition
Rob
My wife and I took it up a couple of years ago, something we could do together and compete against each other on a level playing field. We had quite a few lessons before we applied for our licence and got our own guns. We go to the local ground most weekends and it's a lot of fun.
Take a look at https://www.cpsa.co.uk or http://basc.org.uk, both promote "have a go" weekends or will point you towards a club or instructor, give it a go!
Sad news after posting this thread, I went shooting with my dad today and when he was cleaning it earlier he found a large crack going all the way along the grip about 5cm back from the receiver. So basically it's a write off gun now unless he settles with mismatched woodwork or a very expensive custom stock being made.
I do a lot. As with most things in life it's as expensive as you want it to be, currently own a Perazzi MX12 SC3 a Blaser Supersport and my 1st ever gun (my father bought me 36 years ago) a Beretta 301.
Also have the Mrs Beretta 682L in the cabinet as well, cracking piece of kit. She picked it up last year for £1400 and it's totally mint. A real sleeper.
For anybody out there not quite sure of how it all works, here's a cracking promo for the new Blaser F16 www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9LP1F9KMZ4
Great sport, not as hard to get into as you might imagine.