Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i Clay Shooting

22 Feb-5 Mar ISSF World Cup Cairo13-14 Mar English Open FSP Roundwood18-29 Mar ISSF World Cup New Delhi20 Mar CPSA AGM Kenilworth21 Mar English Open Compak Orston2-4 Apr DTL 300 Grand Prix Fauxdegla2-11 Apr Cyprus Grand Prix Cyprus3-4 Apr BS Shotgun Series Round 1 – OT & OSK East Yorkshire3-4 Apr UK FSP Championships Mount Farm10-18 Apr Essex Gun Masters Hepworth Hall16-27 Apr ISSF World Cup Korea18 Apr UK Compak Championships Eriswell24-25 Apr UK OTR Championships Fauxdegla25-30 Apr Tokyo Test Event Japan1-2 May British UTR Grand Prix Fauxdegla6-9 May Compak European Cup France7-17 May ISSF World Cup Lonato8-9 May Northern Shooting Show Harrogate12-16 May English Open ESP Barbury15 May Benelli Sp’Auto Atkin Grant & Lang21-23 May English Open ESK Eriswell22-23 May UK UTR Championships Bisley23 May-6 Jun ISSF European Championships…

Clay Shooting magazine columnist and Commonwealth Games gold and silver medallist Anita North has been appointed as the new England Olympic Trap Team Manager. Anita brings a wealth of medal-winning experience to the team as an elite international Olympic Trap shooter in her own right. In the 2002 Commonwealth Games she won silver in both the Women’s Trap and Women’s Trap Pairs, and surpassed this achievement in 2010 by winning gold in Women’s Trap and silver in Women’s Trap Pairs. She has multiple England and GB caps and experience competing in events ranging from Home Internationals to World Championships, in addition to the Commonwealth Games. She is an experienced coach with an ISSF ‘B’ licence and has been a British Shooting Talent Pathway Coach for the past five years. She…

Returning to the stands at the start of the clay season can be challenging at the best of times, let alone after a global pandemic has forced many of us away from the clays for so long. Techniques may have slipped and scores may be lower than hoped for the first few shoots of the season. So, how can we save face in front of friends and rivals? Prepared excuses. Some of my early season favourites include: The sun being lower than usual at this time of year. My old gun is just a bit worn out and not shooting its best anymore, of course, my gun fit being off due to a new, more circular, physique honed over the Christmas holidays! This year, however, I’ve decided to get my…

We’re all looking forward to spring and, with luck, the chance to get out shooting and competing once again. The calendar is already coming together for the 2021 clay shooting season, with dates announced for the Essex Masters, the CPSA English Open Sporting, the World English Sporting at EJ Churchill, even some shows and game fairs – and of course the season wouldn’t be complete without the eagerly awaited Clay Shooting Classic! The Classic is one of the highlights of the clay shooting calendar, with a long history of exciting targets, stiff competition and a terrific atmosphere. The 2019 event, run by Steve Lovatt at Garlands SG, raised the bar, and for 2020 the Classic was due to be held at the fabulous Orston Shooting Ground in Nottinghamshire – where…

Beretta’s Silver Pigeon is one of the most successful over-and-unders ever, with more than a million sold over the years. The gun evolved from the 680 platform that was launched in the 1950s, and has become legendary for its robustness and reliability, as well as its value for money. It’s one of the most popular choices as a workhorse at clay shooting schools, where a gun will fire thousands of shells every week year in, year out, with minimal maintenance. The Silver Pigeon’s slim, elegant lines and traditional engraving make it a popular choice with game and rough shooters as well as clay enthusiasts, and its measurements and handling seem to suit just about anyone – another reason why it’s popular for teaching newcomers to the sport. Viewed as an…

The key to success in life, as in clay shooting, is continual improvement. Nowhere is this more evident than here at Lady’s Wood Shooting School. Since the early 1980’s this picture-perfect corner of Gloucestershire has developed from a few manual traps on Michael Pinker’s lawn, into one of the most inspiring shooting schools anywhere in the country. Chris Hanks, Lady’s Wood’s general manager, has been at the forefront of many of the more recent developments. “I’ve been with Lady’s Wood since 2013,” he explains. “Ernie Hemmings took over the shooting school at roughly the same time and invested heavily in the facilities and infrastructure, with the aim of creating a top-class teaching and clay shooting venue.” “The improvements on the grounds continue to this day. In the past 12 months…

British Shooting has named the athletes to represent Team GB and Paralympic GB at the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer. In the shotgun events, Kirsty Hegarty (Women’s Trap), Matt Coward-Holley (Men’s Trap) and Aaron Heading (Men’s Trap) will all make their debuts at the rescheduled 2020 Games, which will take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021. GB’s Olympic and Paralympic rifle and pistol competitors were also announced. Matt Coward-Holley, from Chelmsford, won gold in Olympic trap shooting at the ISSF World Championships in 2019, and was Britain’s first world champion in Olympic Trap. Aaron Heading, 33, who is from Kings Lynn in Norfolk, is a four-time Commonwealth Games medallist, four-time World Cup medallist and a European Games medallist. Kirsty Barr, 32, is from Craigavon in Northern Ireland and…

British Shooting Show cancelled The British Shooting Show and the British Shooting & Country Show have been cancelled. The organisers say that holding the events in the current climate could be miscommunicated as the industry being irresponsible. “It’s the sacrifice that we all make now, that will allow us to enjoy events once again in 2022,” they say. They plan to hold the next British Shooting Show at the NEC Birmingham in February 2022, and the British Shooting and Countryman Show at the East of England Arena, Peterborough, in July 2022. Obituary: Chris Darvell Chris Darvell, a passionate Trap shooter who was part of the international Trap shooting scene for nearly fifty years, died before Christmas. Chris appeared in the CPSA averages in 1970, shooting 50 registered DTL targets. Olympic…

Whenever I work with a new student, the first few lessons are spent perfecting the fundamentals. You’ve got to get those right first. So in this first article we are going to dive deep into the basic aspects of the game – what are they, and how to get them right. Even minor problems in any of these areas will have a major effect on your overall performance. We’ll see how to do the fundamentals correctly, and how that will help you perform better. As with most of the topics that I will cover in this series, you must recognise what stage you’re at in your shooting. In my own career, to ensure that I’m always heading towards my goals, I always ask myself what is the next critical thing…

My Christmas gift is faulty Q I received equipment some nice bits from of an uncle the at Christmas items is defective , but unfortunately . My uncle is one one of of and those the people receipt who shows plans it well was purchased in advance this last August time? . Can I still return it after all A Your uncle isn’t alone in his careful planning ahead and I suspect that many people did their Christmas shopping well in advance during the recent lockdown periods. The first thing to check is whether or not the product is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, as that would be the most straightforward route to resolve your problem. Strictly speaking you are beyond the 30-day right to reject the goods, so your…

Felt recoil is more of an issue now than ever because the vogue for long-range Sporting targets has seen the popularity of powerful, high velocity shells explode. Put 28g of lead down your barrels at 1500fps and, believe us, you’re going to feel it. It’s not just the physical punch that should concern us. Recoil has a profound influence on accuracy, especially second target acquisition. Then, of course, there’s the issue of fatigue and, worse still, a devastating psychological condition called trigger freeze. Recoil is horribly complicated too. It falls under Newton’s Third law, which states that for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Simplistically, this means the forward momentum gained by the shot as the gases in your barrel expand will be balanced out by an opposite…

ith the second lockdown over it was time to get going with my winter training. Before lockdown number 2 my training had been going satisfyingly well. My standard rounds of 25 were up in the high 20s, with the occasional 25-straight, and my reverse doubles were being annihilated out of the sky. I couldn’t have asked to be in a better position. Sadly when the second lockdown came it meant I and many other competitive shooters had to remain off the shooting ranges until the government said it was safe to make a comeback. It was frustrating, but with lockdown 2 over I quickly got back into shooting and buckled down to prepare for the coming season. On the first Saturday after the lockdown ended, my granddad and I made…

As soon as the second lockdown was lifted, I grabbed every opportunity I could to get out shooting. That wasn’t easy, however, due to the tier system that replaced the lockdown. Just two days after the end of the lockdown I drove down to Park Farm SG. This ground is only 45 minutes away from me, and I can easily drive there – although as a learner driver I need to be accompanied. Once there I opted to shoot the DTL as it seemed I hadn’t shot that discipline in quite a while. I got off to a slow start, but that was understandable as I had been shooting ABT and UT in the weeks running up to lockdown. I soon found my feet again, and even managed to shoot…

Christian Schofield sums up his role, and his passion, in simple terms: “It’s about helping people to advance and enjoy themselves through the shooting sports.” As British Shooting’s Talent Pathway Coordinator, that’s exactly what he does, by working with athletes and matching them with British Shooting coaches. Christian began coaching in the Army, as captain of the Army Shotgun Team, and his motivation to inspire the next generation of shooters stayed with him after he left the Army. Christian explains that the Pathway was formed in 2014 to provide athletes across all shooting disciplines the chance to develop over the long-term. “At this time we already had a World Class Programme for shooters who competed and won medals on the world stage, and the Podium Potential Programme for people who…

Like other shooting grounds up and down the country, West London Shooting School have had to close their doors once again due to the third national lockdown – but they still have some exciting diary dates planned for March onwards, including several simulated game days at their Great Tew Estate, 10 miles from Banbury. Described as the quintessential English country estate, Great Tew has a renowned game shoot that lends itself to offering some memorable simulated clay drives. The estate is so passionate about its shooting that it has built a line of eight stone grouse butts for a uniquely authentic experience. Price for a day’s simulated shooting in March and April is £255 per person, and the available dates are: Saturday 6 and Friday 26 March, and Friday 9…

Matt Hance has been shooting Sporting and Fitasc for Britain for more than three decades, and won multiple titles including the Clay Shooting Classic, British Fitasc Grand Prix, English Open Sporting and UK Fitasc Championships. As a coach, Matt has seen a number of his students join him in representing their country at an international level, international level, including Charlie Monahan, Laurence Barnes and Barbury SG’s Josh Brown. For this series Matt has teamed up with another of his students, Rhys Plum. If there’s a particular topic you’d like Matt to cover in future articles, drop us a line at fieldsports@futurenet.com. To contact Matt about arranging a coaching session, email fitascgb@gmail.com…

Every 4 years we get to witness the world’s most elite athletes head off to the Olympic Games and watch in awe as they compete. How inspirational for young shooters to sit and watch the likes of Peter Wilson, Steve Scott and Ed Ling win medals at arguably the most significant shooting event and on such a public platform! Being inspired is a start, but how can a young athlete develop themselves to be the next Olympic medallist? There is a huge jump between shooting a domestic discipline at a county level and competing for Great Britain at the next Olympics, so how is it achievable? How can you take realistic steps towards your goals of becoming the next Richard Faulds? British Shooting has created a framework within their Shotgun…

Some strange looking photos have been appearing on clay shooting social media groups lately, with clay guns sporting a big U-shaped attachment clipped to the muzzles. A closer look reveals it’s called the Method Gateway, and comes from shooting coach and former world champion Ben Husthwaite. At first glance it looks like some sort of aiming device, perhaps a way of measuring the lead in front of a crossing clay – but the description on Ben’s website talks not about lead but teaching shooting methods. So what is the Method Gateway, what does it do and how does it work? With Ben Husthwaite’s name behind it, and shooters declaring it had solved their problems, it certainly merited further investigation. So I headed off to Kibworth Shooting Ground to find out…

North Wales, famed for stunning landscapes, ancient castles and sheep. But, for the clay shooter in the know, there’s more than lamb and Llanberis. This mountain landscape is a hotbed of top-notch shooting grounds and facilities that offer targets to rival the biggest names across the border. 19-year-old Caernarfon native Owain Humphreys has spent the last decade making the most of these world-class facilities to position himself as one of the most promising young shots to emerge from the mines and mountains in years. He’s already represented his country both home and abroad, picked up an impressive array of sponsorship deals and been marked out as an ‘Elite Athlete’ by the Welsh Target Shooting Federation (WTSF). While this success at a young age would leave most crushed under the weight…

Known and admired for his calm and concise style of tuition, Robert is one of the most experienced instructors in the UK. He qualified as an instructor almost 40 years ago, back in 1982, and joined Royal Berkshire ten years later. During his three decades with the ground Robert has demonstrated an exceptional ability to design highly original layouts and drives for both the Shooting School and The Really Wild Clay Company. Layouts that are fun, challenging, surprising but always fair and consistent are hallmarks of a Robert Cross design. Robert's design skills were behind the famous Times Tower at the Royal Berkshire, on which Mark Winser won the long wheelbase Autobiography Range Rover in 2015. There's also steady international demand, which has seen him design layouts for shooting grounds…

BEDFORDSHIRE Chicksands Clay Target Club Shefford, CPSAAffiliated Disciplines: ESP, DTL, STR Open alternate Sundays and Wednesdays over Summer. Contact for competition details. Practice and coaching available Telephone: www.facebook.com/charlelister Email: info@chicksandsclaytarget.co.uk Web: www.chicksandsclaytarget.co.uk Maulden Gun Club Clophill Road, Maulden, CPSAAffiliated Disciplines: ESP Competition alternate Sundays. Practice and coaching for members only. Fibre wad only Telephone: 07951 651051 Web: www.mauldengunclub.com Shillington Clay Club Shillington, CPSAAffiliated Disciplines: ESP Shooting every other Sunday Telephone: 07860 940362 Email carol@hcduk.com Sporting Targets Ltd Riseley, CPSA Premier Ground Disciplines: DTL, ESK, ESP, FSP, DR, SB, STR, Fitasc Open 9am-6pm weekdays and Saturdays, 9am-2pm Sundays. Regular competitions. Practice all hours. Pre-booked coaching. Telephone: 01234 708893 Email: reception@sportingtargets.co.uk Web: www.sportingtargets.co.uk Tythe Farm Gun Club Disciplines: ESK, OSK Some OSK competitions & practice. Coaching available by arrangement. Telephone: 07719 329094…