Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2019 i Clay Shooting

Aaron Heading secured a Tokyo 2020 Quota Place for Team GB by winning Olympic Trap silver at the European Championships in Lonato on Saturday 7 September. It was one of just two chances the 32-year-old shooter from Lincolnshire had left to secure a place, and he held his nerve magnificently against some of Europe’s best shooters. His final score of 44 was enough to see off Italy’s Mauro De Filippis, who had to settle for bronze in the end. It was Croatia’s Jiri Liptak who eventually came out on top of the pack with a score of 46 and secured the gold. Aaron was absolutely delighted with the result. He said “I’m absolutely over the moon to win a quota place for my country. I’ve been so close, but to…

Country clothing company Alan Paine is sponsoring the William Powell Schools Challenge which is taking place on Wednesday 13 November at Edgehill Shooting Ground in Warmington, Banbury. The event is held twice a year, and this will be the fifth competition. There are two team categories. Seniors (15- to 19-year-olds) will shoot a red course, and Juniors (under 15s) will shoot a blue course. Teams consist of four students from the same age category. The red course will be an 80-bird Sporting layout shot over ten stands, while the blue course will be a 50-bird Sporting over six stands. Earlier this year in May, the competition saw ten different schools and more than 70 children taking part. The November event looks set to be as popular and well-contested as ever.…

Do you flinch when you fire your gun? Most shooters will say no – and yet look what happens when they get a misfire. Without the anticipated noise and recoil, any tensing up and snatching the trigger is plain to see. Often they’ll feel foolish and laugh it off in the moment, rather than stopping to think about the problem it’s highlighted. There’s a lot of self-denial and shame surrounding the subject, with shooters not wanting to own up to being ‘soft’ or ‘frightened of the recoil’. Let’s be clear that I am not talking about ‘trigger freeze’ here. That is a related, but different problem where your trigger finger locks up tight on the trigger with the first shot, instead of releasing again. That prevents the trigger mechanism resetting,…

Grey Simply blocks out sunlight, just the same as your usual sunglasses. These are great when you are lucky enough to have a sunny day on the stands. Photochromic Also known as adaptive lenses. These will darken with exposure to bright sunlight, meaning you won’t be struggling to switch out lenses as lighting conditions change. Brown Works well to block out blue light, which can help to give better contrast against a grey, cloudy background. Yellow Idea for dark, overcast days. These help to boost the contrast of a black clay against a dark sky. Not the best on a bright, sunny day as they do very little to block out sunlight Orange Helps to block out blue light, great for hazy, foggy days and ideal when shooting blaze orange…

The fifth Fedecat Trap 5 World Championship saw a Para Trap category at a world championship for the first time outside the IPC. It proved to be a popular move which was so well supported by Para Trap athletes that instead of the single category published in the programme, the world federation opened it up to all three current Para Trap categories – SG-L, SG-S and SG-U – and offered medals and prize money for each category. The event was held at the wonderfully modern multi-discipline shooting ground Sociedad Valenciana de Caza y Tiro at Cheste near Valencia, on the weekend of 30 August to 1 September. The club put on a fantastic competition enjoyed by all. This is a fabulous ground and well suited to Para athletes. It is…

These days, most of us mere mortals struggle to justify the expense of premium competition cartridges, but many still feel the need of something a little more potent than a budget load. On the safe assumption that most of us are not in the running to win any major competitions, but are reasonable shots, manufacturers have provided plenty of choice for those who desire clay-breaking performance without a bank-breaking price. We all want a cartridge that allows us to perform to the best of our ability for sensible money. There are plenty of us who shoot primarily for enjoyment, whether it’s a regular Sunday morning club shoot or the occasional competition. For these competent everyday shooters there is a plentiful choice of plastic and fibre wad cartridges in the £200…

The cream of Britain’s international Skeet and Trap shooters battled it out over a wet and windy two days at Fauxdegla shooting ground in Wales for the honours at the British Shooting Grand Final 2019. The competitors had fought their way through a series of qualifying events to reach the final, with a slew of medals to be won. After two days and 125 targets, the top shooters in each category went into a shoot-off to decide the medal positions. In seniors, Olympic Trap gold went to Matt Coward-Holley in mens, and Kirsty Hegarty in ladies. In the Olympic Skeet, the top honour in men was won by Dominic Cooper, and Amber Hill took the ladies gold. Clay Shooting columnist Mitchell Brooker-Smith finished first in Olympic Skeet junior men, commenting…

Sportarm have taken over the gun shop at the West London Shooting School. The former West London Gun Room closed on 7 September, and Sportarm began refurbishment, aiming to open the shop with a fresh new look in early October and provide the best possible service to customers of both companies. WLSS director Roddy Richmond Watson said “We would like to thank our valued customers that have used the shop over the years and are delighted that Sportarm will take over.” Established over 30 years ago, Sportarm was named ‘Best UK Gun Room’ on six occasions at the Shooting Industry Awards, and pride themselves on their knowledge and experience, with excellent sales and service. “Sportarm will always go the extra mile to ensure all customers are completely satisfied, and this…

“Beretta engineers have taken a step nearer to absolute perfection with the spectacular new 694” Shooting journalists from Europe and beyond gathered at the historic Beretta factory in Gardone, Italy, for the unveiling of the latest competition over-and-under from the world’s oldest gunmaker. The new gun, named the 694, follows in the footsteps of the company’s well established 680 and 690 series shotguns, and features a striking new action shape as well as a redesigned stock and fore-end. The 694 has been developed in conjunction with Beretta’s shooting team as a dedicated competition gun “made to dust clays and win medals”. Indeed, the company is so confident that they say “The pursuit of perfection is a never ending journey and Beretta engineers are constantly striving to push these limits. They…

Rhys Plum Rhys first started shooting at the age of 10 and has grown increasingly more enthusiastic over the years. He turns 16 in November. Rhys says: “I don’t know if there is a correct time to start shooting, so long as you’re safe and are enjoying it. I never really found a sport that I had a passion for, but when I started going to Atkin Grant & Lang with my dad at the weekends, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed shooting, and also quickly started to develop and improve my skills. I’m so glad that I found this passion in shooting as it has really given me a purpose to try and be successful. I don’t know of any other sport that is so encouraging to newcomers and…

BEDFORDSHIRE Chicksands Clay Target Club Shefford, CPSA Affiliated 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, CPSA Affiliated 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, CPSA Affiliated 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 Colmsworth, CPSA Registered Telephone: 07719 329094 Email philipcolson@hotmail.co.uk BERKSHIRE Four Counties Clay…

Speculation and rumour were rife on social media after Ben Husthwaite’s name was removed from the official results for the World English Sporting Championship, held at Northbrook Sports Club near Chicago. Ben’s score was recorded on the day as 199, one behind Richard Faulds who took third place. Cory Kruse won the championship with 202, with Joseph Fanizzi in second place on 201. Then, in mid-September, Northbrook announced it had disqualified “one of the shooters” from the championship and rerun the results – which duly appeared with Husthwaite’s name missing, placing Martin Myers top of M Class with 197. The NSCA, the US governing body that was responsible for the championship, announced that they had investigated, and that they had reached a decision whether “any additional disciplinary action should be…

Victoria and Brian King have opened a new shooting school, Essex and Herts Shooting School, located in Takley, ten minutes from junction 8 on the M11. The school caters for all shooters, game and clay. All coaches are fully qualified with APSI or CPSA under head coach Roger Hill, a fellow of the APSI and a CPSA senior coach, staff tutor and assessor. The school offers one-to-one lessons, day classes for groups of four to six, half-day clay-to-game courses, corporate events, have-a-go sessions, stag and hen parties and children’s events. Find out more at www.clayshootinglessons.co.uk, email info@essexandhertsshootingschool.com or call Victoria or Brian on 07889 597588.…

Haimwood Shooting Ground in Llandrinio raised just over £3,000 for the Wales air ambulance, with a clay shoot, pool and raffle on 7 September. The event had been postponed since mid-June due to the heavy rain, but on the day, it attracted around 80 entries for the main shoot, which was held over four stands each with four pairs on report followed by two simultaneous pairs. The event was supported by local businesses, including the Wyvern Garden Machinery, Arthurs Motor Group, and Powys Guns. Dave Harley took the high gun prize of a weekend’s use of a car, Josh Keeble’s second took home an electric mower, and third, Mike Jones won an air rifle, a scope, and the pool shoot prize of a hedge trimmer. The ground’s Mark Nixon said…

As autumn draws in and the nights darken, we start thinking about layering up to stay warm on the shooting ground over winter. Doing anything outdoors in the winter is way more fun if you are warm and dry, so this month we are looking at a range of clothing we think will keep you shooting longer when the lesser attired will retire to the clubhouse. A good stout jacket is often enough to see you right on anything but the coldest days, but all of the jackets shown here will work well in a layering system. I’ve also selected some mid-layer items; these versatile pieces can be worn under your wind-and-waterproof layer to keep you warm on cold days. When choosing warm clothing for winter shooting, remember you’ll need…

When most people think of gun safety, they think of the damage that can be done to anyone unfortunate enough to be stood at the business end of the barrel when the trigger is pulled. Fortunately, gunshot injuries are extremely rare in the UK. It’s much more common for shooters to damage their hearing or vision through incorrect usage of, or failure to use, safety equipment. Eyesight All CPSA registered events, and many others, now require shooting glasses to be worn as a pre-requisite of entry. While it may seem unlikely for a piece of shattered clay to head straight for your eye, it’s much more likely that dust or debris may irritate the eyes causing you to miss the next target and possibly leading to irreversible damage to your…

Head a few short miles south west of the elegant Regency spa town of Cheltenham, and you will soon find yourself in the Tolkienesque rolling hills and deciduous woodlands of the Cotswolds. This is where, in 1987, gunsmith and Team GB shooter Ian Coley worked with the landowner to set up ten traps and a small area to entertain clients. Ian has gone on to achieve international acclaim as one of the world’s leading clay shooters and instructors, representing his country on more than 200 occasions – either as a shooter, coach or team manager. After leading Peter Wilson to a Double Trap gold at London 2012, Ian was awarded an MBE in 2013 for his services to shooting sports. This passion and dedication to the sport has enabled Ian…

Here's a quick overview of what you get for the money in terms of new competition guns. Inevitably we've had to trim the list to suit the space available, so there are plenty more excellent guns out there. Just because they don't appear in this list, it doesn't mean they aren't a good choice. This month's gun test gun, the Browning B525 SL, really deserves a place here for instance, while the new Beretta 694 is likely to feature in future issues once we've had a chance to try it out. ATA NICKEL ADJUSTABLE The ATA Nickel Adjustable is another superb-value gun from the ATA stable. With an adjustable stock, it is ideal for those wanting precision gun fit without the price tag. Matte-finish oiled walnut, matte finish barrels and…

Winter is upon us, and if you are active in competitive shooting, that means a break in competitions. So what do you do when the competition season is done? Is it time for a break, a change – or do you keep cracking on and keep up the same level of shooting? It is certainly a good time for reflection. It is good to look back and review how your competition season went – what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what you want to work on to move forward and keep developing your shooting. This review can help you develop your plans for next year. That’s if you have a plan. Do you have a plan? If you do, what does it look like? How much detail…