Clay Shooting June 2020

It’s said that adversity brings out the best in people, and that has certainly proved true of the shooting community during the coronavirus pandemic. Shooting grounds and gunshops shut their gates as soon as government advice became clear, the governing bodies did the decent thing and called a halt to competitions at all levels. Shooters themselves shrugged and resigned themselves to staying at home. It’s no fun, but it’s the right thing to do, and we did it. Shooters are by definition some of the most responsible and law-abiding people in the country. If you aren’t, you don’t get granted a shotgun certificate. It’s been good to see them not just abiding by government guidelines, but stepping up wherever possible to support the wider community. One example that caught my…

The calendar for late summer is crammed with fixtures as events reschedule in the hope that coronavirus restrictions will be lifted in time for a last fling of fairs, shows and shoots before winter sets in. It’s led to clashes as events scrabble for the limited number of dates available. No fewer than three major events are scheduled for the weekend of 19 and 20 September – the Game Fair at Ragley Hall, the Shooting & Countryman Show in Manchester, and the new Countryside Rocks event which replaces the Midland Game Fair at Weston Park in Shropshire. Meanwhile shooting grounds are closed for business under the lockdown restrictions, and one by one competitions big and small are being postponed or cancelled altogether. The Clay Shooting Classic, originally planned for the…

Events still planned at time of going to press, but check before booking travel, accommodation etc August 15-16 Krieghoff Sporting Masters, Westfield (dates unchanged so far) 28-29 Northern Shooting Show 30-31 Fenland Country Fair September 2-6 British Open Sporting (dates unchanged so far) 4-6 Chatsworth Country Fair 5 Oxford Gun Co Festival of Shooting 17-20 Ambassador 120 Super Sporting, Hepworth Hall 18-20 The Game Fair, Ragley Hall (rescheduled) 19-20 Our Countryside Rocks, Weston Park 19-20 British Shooting & Countryman Fair (rescheduled) 26 British Schools & Young Shots, Orston (rescheduled) 27 West Midlands Intercounties Sporting (dates unchanged so far) October 2-4 Scottish Game Fair, Scone (rescheduled) 3-4 National Intercounties Sporting, Westfield (dates unchanged so far)…

Shotgun certificate grants and renewals have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, with police diverting resources away from non-essential tasks and unable to carry out the usual face-to-face checks. Where police forces have taken it upon themselves to make GP verification mandatory, increased pressure on GP surgeries is adding further complications. Some police forces are now refusing to accept first-time applications and variations, says the British Association for Shooting & Conservation. “They are focusing on renewals so that existing firearm and shotgun certificate holders remain in legal possession of their guns,” say BASC. “Despite this, many may not be renewed in time to prevent certificate holders falling foul of the law. Those that require firearms for their livelihoods will be at a severe disadvantage.” BASC say that the challenges facing…

Staffordshire gunshop Shooting Sports UK has plenty to celebrate, despite struggling with the lockdown like everyone else. They’ve recently passed the two year milestone since the family-run business was launched – and they’ve just been appointed a Zoli Premium Dealer. General Manager Daniel Bibb explains that for the first six months he was running the business on his own from a storage unit in Cannock. He finally found the ideal location and opened the shop in August 2019, in a converted barn on the Stretton Estate. At the time they had just ten guns and half a pallet of shotgun cartridges; now they’ve more than 150 guns and 100,000 rounds of ammunition! The staff has grown too, adding Paul Hodson as assistant manager, supported by the team of Jacob, Stephanie…

Edgar Brothers is sponsoring one of British clay shooting’s rising stars, 16-year old Alfie Tibbles. Alfie, who hails from Hertfordshire, is a former winner of Clay Shooting magazine’s British Schools & Young Shots Championship. He was named as Young Shot of the Year by the CPSA in February this year, was CPSA South East regional Colt champion for 2019, and secured first place and podium position finishes last year in numerous national level competitions in FITASC and Compak, plus achieved A Class status in English Sporting and Skeet. Alfie will receive a comprehensive five-year sponsorship package with Edgar Brothers. He commented: “I am absolutely honoured to be sponsored by Zoli and Edgar Brothers, as they are very innovative and highly respected in the shooting world; I cannot wait to start…