Clay Shooting December 2020

Well this is going to be a Christmas like no other, but it’s still Christmas! I for one will be spending as much time as possible with family and friends, even if much of that has to be via Zoom and Facetime. And of course there will still be presents, tinsel and all the trimmings. Choosing a suitable present can be tricky, particularly if you don’t share the same interests – so I hope this month’s Christmas Gift feature will provide some inspiration, whether you’re picking a present for someone else, or wondering what to put on your own wish list. There are some great ideas there, with something for every shooter. With Christmas in mind, we asked some top shots, and leading names in the gun trade, what gun…

Multiple DTL champion Paul Chaplow, of Norton in Yorkshire, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for ‘services to Clay Pigeon Shooting’ in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List this year. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the award will be presented to Paul at a later date by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. Paul and his wife, Pat, will also be invited to one of the Queen’s garden parties when they resume next year. Paul heard about the award by email, and initially thought it was a hoax. “Because you have to accept by a certain date, I got a phone call from the House of Commons asking if I was declining, so I was overwhelmed to be honest!” he said. Paul took up clay shooting in the late 80s after…

West London Shooting School hosted the final shoot in the CPSA’s Premier League series on 28 September, with more than 200 shooters competing at the picturesque grounds. Despite the strong winds, the ground showed a good variety of targets set over 14 stands. Chris Childerhouse emerged as the overall high gun of the 2020 League after a hard-fought contest. Chris, who was runner-up in 2019, won a Browning 725 Black Edition Sporter, £1,000, 1,000 Eley cartridges and a set of Evolution Edge shooting glasses as his prize. The top of the table was very closely contested this year, with Martin Myers taking the runner-up spot only three points behind Chris. Colin Ferguson was one point behind in third. Colt shooter Dan King shot superbly, and only missed out on the…

A Rolex won by Peter Croft at the 1983 British Olympic Trap Grand Prix came up for auction at Fellows Auctioneers at the end of October – and was expected to sell for more than £10,000. Croft, originally from Wednesbury, West Midlands, was one of Britain’s top Trap shooters in the 80s, and he won the Rolex GMT as the bronze prize at the Rolex sponsored 1983 British Grand Prix. The watch is described as a gentleman’s stainless steel Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master bracelet watch, and featured as Lot 124 in Fellows’ Luxury Watch Sale on Monday 26 October. It had an estimate of £6,500-8,500, and was predicted to sell for over £10,000 including fees. Croft finished behind Peter Boden and Kevin Borley in the 1983 event, and according to an…

Pilla’s new progressives Pilla have released a new range of ‘progressive’ lenses for their shooting glasses. Named the Generation 2 VX Progressive, the lenses are made by Zeiss and are claimed to provide a spectacular visual sight picture with robust target enhancement and depth of field. This is achieved by extra light flooding into the eye from the bottom of the lens, causing the iris to tighten – similar to reducing the aperture on a camera lens to increase depth of focus. The lenses are available in a variety of colour tints including the popular CPDF, CPM, CPC and CPN. More info at www.pillasport.com B525 tops Fieldsports poll Browning’s long-established B525 shotgun topped a Fieldsports Channel poll to receive the accolade ‘Top clay gun’ among its viewers. Hot on its…

The Breda Zenith Sporter is now available with an adjustable stock, at a price of £2,550. Distributed by Viking Arms, the gun has a low profile action, long (75mm) forcing cones, a tapered 10-7mm ventilated top rib, ventilated side ribs, and comes with five Maxi 90mm extended chokes. The wearing parts of the action are designed to be easily replaceable. The stock is made from naturally seasoned grade 3 wood, which is then hand finished over a period of three weeks, allowing time for each layer of oil to build on the finish before it is then attached to the action. James Marchington tested the fixed stock version of the Italian-made Breda Zenith Sporter at EJ Churchill in our September issue and declared “If you’re looking beyond Beretta and Browning…