Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Clay Shooting

Well this is going to be a Christmas like no other, but it’s still Christmas! I for one will be spending as much time as possible with family and friends, even if much of that has to be via Zoom and Facetime. And of course there will still be presents, tinsel and all the trimmings. Choosing a suitable present can be tricky, particularly if you don’t share the same interests – so I hope this month’s Christmas Gift feature will provide some inspiration, whether you’re picking a present for someone else, or wondering what to put on your own wish list. There are some great ideas there, with something for every shooter. With Christmas in mind, we asked some top shots, and leading names in the gun trade, what gun…

Clubs and grounds are affiliated with the CSPA at various levels, depending on what they offer and what their goals are. These are: Associated: Clay shooting clubs that don’t have the benefit of their own ground but are in accord with the aspirations of the CPSA. Affiliated: Has its own ground and possibly clubhouse, self-certifies their facilities, and adopts CPSA guidelines. Cannot host CPSA Registered Shoots. It is recommended that a CPSA Safety Officer attends every shoot but not required. Registered: A well-established ground that conforms to the criteria detailed in this article. Authorised to host CPSA Registered competitions in one or more disciplines with a CPSA Safety Officer in attendance at every Registered shoot. Premier: A substantial Registered ground with at least four layouts of a specific discipline or…

I spent time during lockdown thinking about what I could give back to the sport I love – and came up with a clays-to-game mentorship scheme, where I’ll be showing some clay shooting guests what it’s like on a game shoot, watching from the sidelines. I wrote about my idea on social media and was contacted by many clay shooters who were interested in game shooting but had concerns about what to expect, the cost, and whether they would like it. I started making plans! I’ll be taking out my first ‘guests’ for their introduction to game shooting – not shooting, but simply watching and taking it all in. I want to ensure they see the whole picture, not just the view from the Gun line. They will hear the…

As life slowly works its way back to some form of normality, it meant the dreaded return of college and sixth form, meaning that it was unlikely I would be able to shoot on weekdays! However, I was still able to get a few competitions in whilst sitting my AS Level exams, which were extremely important as it determined whether or not I would make it to the second year of each of my courses (Psychology, Sociology and Business). It turns out I passed each subject with flying colours, so that was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, meaning I could once again focus on my shooting. On September 13, I travelled up to Holmes Chapel to shoot their War of the Roses competition. I absolutely love the…

Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th of September marked the final competition of the 2020 season, the British Shooting Grand Festival held at East Yorkshire Shooting Ground. With 2020 being such an unprecedented year with many obstacles preventing many shooters from getting to the ranges, it was nice to see everyone after such a long time to end the year on a positive note. My family and I drove up to East Yorkshire on the Friday before to commence with some beneficial pre event training. The last time I shot at the ground was back in February, before the Coronavirus pandemic had struck Britain, so it was of paramount importance to become familiar with the range and get a feel for it again so I would be ready for the two…

The competition season for me has well and truly come to an end. This month, I’ve spent some time looking back at past events, and also forward, to how I can make next year even better. I seem to have totally settled into my new gun, the Krieghoff that I wrote about a couple of issues ago. I’ve decided that the off-season will be a good opportunity to deconstruct elements of my game, with the support of my coach, Matt Hance, so that I can enter the 2021 season as a stronger competitor. I have found that it is important to note down the elements of your game that you don’t want to compromise. For me, this includes my kill points on targets – I need these to be specific,…

Multiple DTL champion Paul Chaplow, of Norton in Yorkshire, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for ‘services to Clay Pigeon Shooting’ in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List this year. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the award will be presented to Paul at a later date by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. Paul and his wife, Pat, will also be invited to one of the Queen’s garden parties when they resume next year. Paul heard about the award by email, and initially thought it was a hoax. “Because you have to accept by a certain date, I got a phone call from the House of Commons asking if I was declining, so I was overwhelmed to be honest!” he said. Paul took up clay shooting in the late 80s after…

Peter Chester It’s been good, really good. The conditions on Friday were much worse than today. I nearly got blown off my feet while shooting the Doubles. I shot the low bird, a gust came in and I had to balance on my heels to take the high bird. Alex Banning I straighted the first 50 in English, which I was really pleased with. Then I straighted the next 25 but dropped one on the last round finishing the English on 99. So, that was slightly disappointing, but overall I’m still really pleased. Alex Garcia The conditions today (Sunday) are challenging but the targets are hittable, and the scores prove that. The windy quite gusty at times but the targets are holding well. The team here at Eriswell have done…

“I couldn’t find anything I didn’t really like about the F16 Intuition.” I’m really enjoying doing these gun reviews. After reading many reviews over the years, and now being able to try some different guns myself, I feel that reviews are not always quite what they seem – so I’m trying to be as honest as I can, and tell you what I really feel about the guns I have selected to try out. A few of my lady clients have been asking me to review a ladies’ gun, so I asked Emily at Orston Shooting Ground if I could use their demo Blaser F16 Intuition, Blaser’s ladies’ gun. Having already reviewed a Blaser F3 I was interested to see how this compared. Blaser’s F16 models are the less expensive…

First up, let’s look at the Fiocchi F3 fibre wad. Like the Lite Speed we reviewed here recently, the F3 fibre wad ammo has been designed to appeal to the UK market. It’s a competition fibre wad load to complement their already successful F Blu and F Black cartridges. The F range cartridges are designed to meet the performance needs of competition shooters while also being attractively priced. Now of course fibre wad cartridges are increasingly required in the UK, so it’s significant that Fiocchi have introduced a fibre wad option. The F3 fibre wad shells come in very smart cartons, predominantly black with red and white highlights, and carrying the UK’s Union Flag, making it clear they’ve been developed for the UK market. It’s a nice touch. Aware that…

I have had a few custom stocks made for me over the 14 years or so that I’ve been shooting. I had three on my Zoli, all made in Italy. Then after some years of shooting a Zoli I switched to a Krieghoff K80 Super Sporter, fitted with the standard stock. For a while I struggled. I had it cut down to size, had a large amount of toe removed, and so on – but it still wasn’t quite there. Eventually I decided the best course of action was to get a custom stock made. This is the ultimate in fine tuning for a stock – and it can make a huge difference. Imagine your gun is just 2mm out of fitting perfectly at the stock end; how far off…

If Santa could deliver any gun to you this Christmas what would it be? Would you immediately go for the most expensive, the one with the most bling? Or perhaps you'd choose something more modest but with a proven record for bashing clays? A fortunate few may already own their dream gun but are happy to specify a stunning gift for somebody close to them. This is the challenge we set some of our favourite shooters, coaches and gunroom managers. We asked them to choose their ideal gun, or a gun for someone they knew, for Christmas day, together with a box of cartridges to put through it. Paul Lilly, Gunroom Manager, Ian Coley Sporting My ideal gun to receive on Christmas morning would be a Beretta DT11 EELL Trap…

West London Shooting School hosted the final shoot in the CPSA’s Premier League series on 28 September, with more than 200 shooters competing at the picturesque grounds. Despite the strong winds, the ground showed a good variety of targets set over 14 stands. Chris Childerhouse emerged as the overall high gun of the 2020 League after a hard-fought contest. Chris, who was runner-up in 2019, won a Browning 725 Black Edition Sporter, £1,000, 1,000 Eley cartridges and a set of Evolution Edge shooting glasses as his prize. The top of the table was very closely contested this year, with Martin Myers taking the runner-up spot only three points behind Chris. Colin Ferguson was one point behind in third. Colt shooter Dan King shot superbly, and only missed out on the…

This year has marked a remarkable come-back for Peter Chester. After more than a decade away from shooting, he has made a Phoenix-like return to form, astonishing everyone with dazzling performances at the ESC Grand Eastern Championship, the BSSA European Open and now the World Skeet Masters. What made this latest achievement all the more remarkable was a 197/200 score in truly awful, first-day weather conditions at Eriswell Lodge. On Friday 25 September, rain and wind hammered Eriswell Lodge from the north. A cold, unwelcome introduction to Autumn that eased only marginally during the rest of the three-day event. Who says Skeet isn’t fun! World Skeet Masters 2.0 Of course, Peter’s isn’t the only comeback to celebrate. The World Skeet Masters was originally John Dyson’s baby that made a brief,…

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. 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. 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.…

Velocity is measured at 2.5 metres from the muzzle. Pressure is the mean breech figure in Bar (as per CIP). SD is Standard Deviation (consistency). CD is the Central Density rating. This records the percentage of the total pellets landing in the 30-inch circle that were also within the inner 20-inch circle Shot size is derived from actual pellet count per ounce and is listed to the nearest UK size, with < and > symbols where shot is slightly larger or smaller than the nearest size. UK No.7 = 340 pellets/oz; UK No.7.5 = 400 pellets/oz; UK No.8 = 450/oz; UK No. 9 = 580/oz. Shot weight is the average actual shot load, measured in grains. 1 grain = 0.065 grams = 0.0023 oz. CV is Crush Value. This is…

The championships continue at home. The English Olympic Trap Championships took place at the end of September at the National Clay Shooting Centre at Bisley. Shooting was made more challenging by cold windy weather, more wintery than autumnal. The competition drew a very moderate entry of 55 shooters who competed over the course of 200 targets over two days. It was Lee Betts who emerged the latest English champion. Lee put in a solid performance to finish on 185, securing the win by one target ahead of 2019 World Champion Matt Coward-Holley with Rod Gould taking 3rd overall on a score of 178. Lee’s son, Tom, finished 4th overall and won the Colts category. With Tom taking winner in Colts, the other Colts medals went to Tegan Hart and George…

Everyone gets feedback, whether you’re an athlete or a coach. It can range from more technical feedback such as gun mount, all the way through to something more conversational, like how to improve clarity when communicating with one another. There is a difference in taking feedback and using feedback. Many times I have seen athletes stand and nod aimlessly at a coach who is asking them if they understand what they’re saying, knowing full well that they aren’t taking any of it onboard. I’ve stood there as that coach and registered that same aimless nod as I’ve asked an athlete if they have implemented previous feedback. I notice it because I’ve been there before – I’m guilty of doing the exact same thing. It’s easy to become good at giving…