Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Clay Shooting

It’s been an exciting month for clay shooters, with the first big competitions of the season and, just as we were getting this issue’s pages ready for the printers, the thrilling news that Kirsty Barr had won GB’s first clay shooting quota place for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. We have some strong contenders in the international disciplines and I’m excited to see how they get on in the coming World Cup events in Changwon, Lonato, Lahti and beyond. Hopefully they can bag a few more quota places over the summer and provide the best chance of medal success in 2020 – that would give our sport a tremendous boost in terms of both profile and funding. This issue has a rich selection of features from the best in the…

John Martin is the new chairman of the CPSA board; he was appointed at the AGM on 23 March. He follows in the footsteps of Terry Bobbett who retired after 11 years’ service. John is a familiar sight at CPSA competitions, invariably accompanied by his black labrador, Kenny. He is a level 3 senior coach, has been an active member of the board for the last three years, and remains a director for a further three-year term. He has also been involved with regional committees, the Education & Steering Group committee and other HQ activities. The board of directors said they look forward to working with John in the chair. At a meeting in the morning prior to the AGM, the board presented Terry Bobbett with an engraved silver Armada…

After taking a few weeks off shooting to recover from my neck injury I was hungry for action again. My regular 50-bird club shoot falls on a Sunday. The day I returned saw weather as bad as I’ve ever shot in, but with my renewed enthusiasm and a pain free neck I surprised myself by shooting a solid 47 to take High Gun. Turnout was small due to the conditions and I had a lucky break on a couple of wind-tossed targets, but I’m happy with the score and my shooting. The ground who ran the shoot offered the same targets a week later for anyone who wanted to come back to practise, so myself and a mate returned in much finer weather for just that. Driving down to the…

The recent public move against all things plastic has motivated some, no doubt well intentioned, folk to begin banning plastic wads at their shooting grounds. They may think that this creates a level playing field, and some have said as much, but little do they know that the reality is actually quite the reverse – and that there are some safety concerns surrounding this issue too. Many modern clay shotguns have back-bored or over-bored barrels. These will often have lengthened forcing cones – and this is where problems can arise. This taper back to the chamber, from a point further along the barrel bore, inevitably results in an enlarged bore size, right at the point where the cartridge crimp opens and the shot and wad transition to the bore size…

Since the last issue there has been the English Open Compak at Orston and the first England Sporting selection shoot at Southdown. We have also been booking our international shooting trips for this year, but before all that we shot two more Sunday doubles. First up were Forhill and Grange Farm. Unfortunately, Forhill had so many trap breakdowns that we fell four stands short of completing the course; we had to leave by 12 to get to Grange for last entries. At Grange, with the majority of people gone, we had a trouble-free round that saw us both putting in 89s. The weather was good and it was feeling like spring was in the air. The following weekend we did Orston and then Kegworth. With card numbers 1 and 2…

1 BREAKING CLAYS: This can be poor handling, an incorrect adjustment of separating knives or incorrect adjustment of throwing plate. We also find that poor arm rubber condition can contribute to the issue. Solution: Grounds need to try handling the clays more carefully. Do not transport a trap with clays in the carousel. Service and maintain your traps regularly to help spot any issues before they become bigger problems. Assess, visually inspect and change wear-prone parts such as arm rubbers when necessary. 2 INTERMITTENT FIRING: Can be caused by electrical issues but can also be a defect in the micro switch, relay or board. Solution: Test component parts with a test meter, determine which is the faulty part, and change it. 3 REMOTE PROBLEMS: Remotes that don’t work with a…

Narrow miss for Richard Bunning at Solonge Shooting Club Richard Bunning just missed out on winning the Euro Cash competition at Sologne Shooting club in France on 6 April. He was beaten into second place by Diego Martinez. Next highest Brits were George Digweed and Mark Winser, who finished equal in 13th place. James Bradley-Day, who took 3rd in juniors, commented: “A truly first class event with the most awesome of targets.” Pioneering technology at the Al Ain World Cup A new video replay system was tested at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Al Ain. Referees could request an immediate replay of a shot to determine a hit or miss, and revise the original decision if necessary. The system can be used if an athlete challenges a call, or…

In March each year for the past 46 years an ever-growing gathering of companies from around the world has been meeting at the Nuremberg Messe in Germany for the IWA Outdoor Classics International trade fair. Exhibitor numbers were up from 1,562 in 2018, indicating that the outdoor sporting sector is in good health. This year brought over 1,600 companies from 60 countries who exhibited their wares targeted directly at the hunting, shooting and outdoor market – that’s not including the exhibitors at the recently added Enforce Tac section, which caters to the military, police and security sectors. I attended my first IWA in 1984 and I can only be impressed by the way it has grown since. A major plus point of the show is its clear focus on its…

Richard Atkins Clay Shooting’s resident technical expert, Richard has decades of experience reviewing guns, cartridges and accessories. He’s well equipped to solve problems on everything from shot sizes to stock dimensions. Stuart Farr A lawyer specialising in the shooting sports, Stuart has extensive experience in all things legal – from solving civil disputes relating to firearms ownership, to helping a governing body draft its code of ethics. Ed Lyons Director of Flint & Partners, Ed’s optometry work has helped top-level athletes reach their goals on domestic and international level. Countless shooters rely on him to keep their vision in top shape.…

In 2017-18 there were 9,696 shotgun licences issued by the Police. One of them was mine. Having secured my licence in early 2018 I could press on with buying my first shotgun. I’d already started the process the previous summer when I was having my first lessons at Honesberie. Shooting a variety of the teaching guns, I started to learn about which guns fitted me and felt good to shoot. I was actually really struggling to find something that fitted me. A lot of the issues I was experiencing stemmed from poor gun fit or poor gun mount. Or did they? I was beginning to think I had an odd-shaped bod. Like many novices, I was started off on Berettas and Brownings. I found Berettas too low in the comb,…

My clay shooting story started 21 years ago, at the age of 13, when I was granted my first shotgun licence. At that age game shooting was my dream, but clay shooting – whether it was competitive or just practice with friends – was a welcome step towards live quarry. Decades later, after much practice, it’s amazing to be starting a new chapter with the help of one of the world’s best coaches, Ben Husthwaite. I’ve been aware of the professional clay shooting circuit for many years now and Ben is a character everyone knows. Contrary to his bad boy rep, he’s been very open with me and thoroughly responsive to my numerous questions and tuition needs. Ben has won numerous titles, including World Fitasc, World Sporting, World 5 Stand,…

Here we see a simple test you can use to assess how your barrel bores might work with a fibre wad. A Diana quality fibre wad, the sort used by most major makers, is lightly pushed into two bores until modest resistance is felt. This barrel has a long forcing cone, so the wad does not seat until it is 13.5 inches into the barrel bore, even though the bore size is stamped 18.6mm, not a big over-bore. This barrel has standard short forcing cones, and the same wad has seated 10 inches fewer into the bore – and people wonder why gas gets past fibre wads in long forcing cone guns!…

BLASER F3 Prices from around £5,600 Blaser is still a relative newbie in this space, and the company has worked hard to produce a product that lives up to the quality of its sporting rifles. The result is the F3, which is available in several variants and grades. There’s the Pro, which has a flat rib, extended chokes, and a fore-and-aft balancing system; the Vantage, which has all these features except for having a ramped fixed rib; and the Supersport, which possesses a high adjustable rib. Lastly, Blaser make a Supertrap variant of the F3, which looks much like the Supersport, but with variations aimed at Trap shooter like a high Monte Carlo stock. All models are available with a range of engraving and woodwork, and a choice of English,…

This year’s British Schools & Young Shots High Gun will benefit from a prize package greater than any we’ve offered before – everything you need not just to get kitted out but also to get training and support to keep improving your game. Here’s what’s included… Webley & Scott 900X O/U Worth £690, this is a true coin-finished, silver-action gun in the style of the Webley 900K. Steel shot proofed and with a three-year warranty, it’s a versatile, durable gun ideal for any young shot growing in stature and confidence. - Boxlock steel action - Manual safety with auto-safety adaptor - 3” chamber, steel shot proofed - Supplied as 20-bore with 30” barrels 1-year BASC Young Shots membership As a Young Shot member of BASC, the winner will receive: -…

Shotgun licensing still sees huge variation in service depending on which police force you fall under, BASC’s third annual review of firearms licensing in England and Wales has found. The figures reveal some improvement comparing 2018 to 2017, but some police forces are taking up to 159 days to process a new shotgun application, and 89 days for a renewal. The worst three were South Wales, Dorset and West Midlands. The best, based on average application processing times were Cleveland, Lancashire and Leicestershire. Shotgun Certificate grants showed slight improvement from a 68-day average in 2017 to 61 days in 2018. Coterminous grants improved to a 58-day average from 63 days previously. Shotgun Certificate renewals improved to a 39-day average from 43 days at last review. BASC firearms officer Rory O’Loughlin,…

“For me its biggest advantage was its trigger pulls, which are superb” Caesar Guerini is now a very well established name among UK clay shooters. Part of that recognition comes from the ongoing success of some of the brand’s famous ambassadors, and they don’t come much better known, liked and respected than the family team of Richard and Tanya Faulds (soon to be joined by Faulds Junior!). Richard is one of our only two Olympic clay target gold medal winners since Bob Braithwaite’s success in the Olympic Trap event at Mexico 1968. Richard’s gold came in the Double Trap event at Sydney 2000, when he set what was then an Olympic record score. The following year the Queen honoured Richard with an MBE for services to GB sport. Richard is…

Those of us who are involved in shooting sports often find we need to set our alarm clock for some pretty unsociable hours. Pest control and stalking are probably the worst offenders, but clay shooting isn’t far behind, especially if you shoot competitively. Brewing a cup of coffee is often the first thing we do after the alarm goes off, and if it isn’t then we often make time to buy one before work. Sometimes before lunch we can get through two, or maybe even three cups of the stuff. Caffeine is by far the world’s most popular drug. We all know someone who we can quote as saying “I couldn’t go a day without coffee!” or “Don’t talk to me before I’ve had coffee!” But how does caffeine affect…

The competition season is finally here, but a lot has happened in the off-season. As I have mentioned in the past, I have gone from strength to strength to train in all sorts of ghastly conditions that have come my way. This brings me to the present. In the same week that I received my prescription shooting lenses, I also travelled up to Redditch to talk with a distribution company regarding support for the upcoming competition season. Oakland International were kind enough to sponsor me in 2018 and it’s fair to say that without their help I wouldn’t have been able to train nearly as much as I did. The financial support that they gave me went towards ammunition, fees, competition entry and training. I had to meet the CEO…

March was busy for me considering the season hadn’t started yet. On 2 March it was off to Mid Wales Shooting Centre for a training session with Phil Morgan. Coaching is vital for me, because sometimes bad habits creep in that affect my performance. It is also necessary to keep an eye on my gun fit, as it seems that I am still growing. Thankfully, that hadn’t changed on this occasion, which meant we could concentrate on dusting clays and correcting my recent tendency to lift my eye too high. We seem to have eliminated that problem now. On 10 March, I returned to Mid Wales to shoot my first competition there since September last year. Although I generally practise there on a weekly basis, it doesn’t compare to the…

I spent many years competing on the domestic and international scenes for DTL, then Double Trap and then Olympic Trap. During my competition career I had my podium moments at home and abroad. More recently, I have moved into coaching and I get to watch a lot of people shooting in all circumstances – in training, in qualification rounds and in finals. I have also officiated during international finals. I love to watch the nail-biting moments that are presented with finals and shoot-offs at major competitions like the World Cups, European Championships, World Championships Senior Men’s winner , Commonwealth Mike Wixey Games rec ande Olympice Games . hew . Coward- One Holley thing( I left have ) won learned the silver is that many different sorts of people become champions.…

Trap maintenance can be really tricky. It often feels like there are so many things that can go wrong at any given time that it’s impossible even to know where to start to fix them. Laporte launched their maintenance course in 2017 with the aim of helping grounds to maintain and service their own traps and hence keep them in excellent condition without having to call in help. The course has also been designed to give trap owners an understanding of how to fix common faults and prolong the life of their machines. It is offered at their Bottesford location, and there is also an option to have the technicians travel to you. It has been met with enthusiasm from grounds and has gone from strength to strength, with more…