Clay Shooting April 2020

Spring is just around the corner, and not a moment too soon! After all the grey, wet and windy weather, I can’t wait to get out shooting on a lovely warm spring morning with the sun shining, birds singing and buds bursting. One of the side benefits of our sport is that it gets us out in the fresh air to enjoy the countryside. We are lucky here in the UK to have some stunning shooting grounds set in lovely scenery. I’m always amazed how the wildlife doesn’t seem remotely bothered by all that banging. I’ve shot on a stand where blue tits are nesting in the soundproofing, just feet from the muzzle, and many’s the time shooting has been halted while a herd of fallow deer run across in…

Amy Easeman was crowned Clay Shooter of the Year at the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association Annual Awards on 1 February at the Belfry Hotel in Sutton Coldfield. The junior shooter won the World Compak Lady Champion title in 2019 at the age of 18, a remarkable achievement marked by the prestigious award which in previous years has gone to noted shooters such as Mark Winser, Richard Bunning, Ed Ling and Abbey Ling. Ami Hedgecock was named Emerging Shooter of the Year, a recognition not only of her championship titles over 2019, but also of her great sportsmanship. The CPSA noted that this was a superb feat for a Colt to have won in a category that is open to all ages. Former British Schools & Young Shots champion Alfie Tibbles…

The Northern Shooting Show has come up with a new scheme to get young people into shooting. Courtesy of BASC, under-16s will get free admission to the show, on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 May at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate. Then for just £5 they can purchase a ‘Passport to Shooting’ to shoot clay pigeons with the CPSA coaches on the clay line, shoot air rifles with the amazing Weihrauch HW30, have a go on the BASC shooting simulator on the AimCam stand, shoot Bell Target with the Lincolnshire Bell Target League and watch a game preparation demo from Simon Whitehead. The show organisers say the offer was only made possible because of the partners who are working with them, and also thanks to the generous support of…

We’ve got ten family tickets to the East Anglian Game & Country Fair to give away to Clay Shooting readers. Each ticket admits two adults and two children aged 5-16 – under 5s go free. The show is at the Euston Estate near Thetford on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April, and has a full range of trade stands, displays and attractions covering every aspect of the countryside, including a 40-bird clay competition run by the team from High Lodge. There’s a special entrance and car park for clay shooters. For more about the show, see www.ukgamefair.co.uk. To enter our competition and be in with a chance of winning a family ticket to the show, you’ll need to answer this simple question: running Which the well clay known competition clay…

New shooting glasses have the Edge Evolution Eyewear have launched new shooting glasses, the Evolution Edge, suitable for clay and game shooting. The new glasses have been 12 months in development and have top grade polycarbonate lenses for optical performance and impact protection. The lenses, available in six colours, resist smudges and fingerprints, are hardened against scratches, and also have an anti-fog coating. Bisley Shooting Ground’s John Heagren has given the glasses his seal of approval: “I’m very impressed. They’re so light you hardly know you’re wearing them and the lenses really are exceptional quality. Pretty much everything you could want in shooting eyewear, yet at sensible prices.” Prices start at £39.95, with a five-lens set costing £129.95. See www.evolutionsunglasses.com Shooters give VAR the thumbs-up A poll of Clay Shooting…

The Great British Shooting Awards crowned their second set of winners on 15 February, with BASC’s Duncan Thomas receiving a Lifetime Achievement award and Browning, Tikka, Nightforce, Gamebore and Pulsar among the industry giants to receive an accolade. First launched in 2018, the Awards’ aim is to give recognition to the products, organisations and people that make shooting tick. From cartridges to clothing, scopes to shotguns, the awards represent every corner of the market. They announced their first winners at the British Shooting Show in February 2019 – and returned bigger and better this year, adding three new categories including an award specific to shotgun ammunition and another for the most innovative product launched all year. Hosting the awards for the second year, head judge and Future fieldsports editor-in-chief, Peter…