Summer time at last

Now that spring is finally here, or the clocks have moved at any rate, it is the time to be thinking about getting out and doing more clay pigeon shooting. It seems to have been a long winter and just feeling the sun on your back is enough to put a spring in your step.

Master class day at sporting targets

I am al prepared for a full day's Master Class at Sporting Targets with Carl Bloxham, Micky Rouse and Stuart Clark. It is going to be a big day for learning new things!

Back shooting with avengance

Spring is in the air and although I have spent the winter shooting I have not been blogging about it as it has been cold, wet and mostly uneventful.

I have however been steadily progressing and in the last five competitions I have scored 66, 70,70, 73 and 73. These have been around the country, not just at sporting targets so I feel like I am definately improving.

A few weeks ago I had a lesson with Ed Solomons and I think I learnt lots from it. He had me attacking the clay a lot more and refined everything from my pick up point and where I start my gun through to how I actually perceive each target. The same afternoon I shot the winter series at Sporting Targets and did well, followed by two 100 birders on Sunday and three rounds of something quite tricky at the Royal Berkshire shooting ground, that included a 20 target flurrey which was a new experience for me!

In all I shot a 61, 65 and 66 during my three attempts which I was not too displeased with. It was a handicap competition and I was given a 20 handicap so my best score was 86, not far off the 93 needed to qualify for the finals!!

Westfield 100 bird registered competition

By Next month I will have to admit to having been a shooter for 12 months. This said I do believe that I should be able to shoot a 70/100 by now, which is what I set out to do at Westfield on Sunday.

It is never an easy shoot by all accounts but I felt it went ok. I didn't have any complete disaster stands and by the end thought I would be close to my target. As it is I shot a 64 which as we left the grount put me third in C class. Quite respectable for the first time at the ground, so I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I am still trying to find out the final results. It is easy to be spoilt at Sporting Targets, especially as they now have their Clay Pigeon Shooting live competition scoreboard on their website. You can even see the updated results on a mobile phone! This is technology being used for a practical purpose.

Sporting Targets 100 Bird Registered Competition August

I was certain that I could pull out a personal best and, inspired by the olympics shoot a 70+ for the first time. How wrong can you be?? The Sporting targets clay pigeon shoot was harder than anything I have shot recently. Having said that, I excelled myself on a couple of stands that I was not expecting to do well on, and I did feel I had improved a lot over where I was a few months ago.

I ended up with a 52.... my worst score for ages, and almost my lowest ever! I only really had one nightmare stand, which was a simo pair driven off the tower. The stand was set behind a tree so you only had limited time to aquire both targets...... not enough time as it transpires! I hit 1/8 which at least negated blanking the stand. I seemed to just drop one or two more than I should on each stand which was frustrating.

I will get my 70 on the next one.

Sporting Targets 100 Bird Registered Competition August

I was certain that I could pull out a personal best and, inspired by the olympics shoot a 70+ for the first time.

How wrong can you be?? The Sporting targets clay pigeon shoot was harder than anything I have shot recently. Having said that, I excelled myself on a couple of stands that I was not expecting to do well on, and I did feel I had improved a lot over where I was a few months ago.

I ended up with a 52.... my worst score for ages, and almost my lowest ever! I only really had one nightmare stand, which was a simo pair driven off the tower. The stand was set behind a tree so you only had limited time to aquire both targets...... not enough time as it transpires! I hit 1/8 which at least negated blanking the stand. I seemed to just drop one or two more than I should on each stand which was frustrating.

I will get my 70 on the next one.

Sporting Targets Members Fitasc Competition

I thought I would have a go at a Fitasc competition as I usually shoot gun up to guarantee my gun mount is good. In Fitasc you have to shoot gun down and can only mount the gun when you see the clay, not when you hear the trap release.

I was expecting to do badly, but ended up with 28/50 which for a first attempt is not too bad. I thought some of the targets were a long way away and several were tricky to say the least.

I am planning to have a few more goes at the competition in order to score my goal of 35/50.

Sporting Targets Newsletter 2-August-2008

Sporting Targets have an archive of published newsletters now available

The High Tower Challenge is over

So, for another year the High Tower Challenge is over. As it turns out, my repeated 23/50 wasn't quite enough to trouble the scorers! Clay Pigeon Shooting results are here for the competition.

I will aim for a 30 in next years competition.

Another attempt at the High Tower Challenge

I was convinced last time I shot the high tower challenge at Sporting Targets that I could do better than I had. The interesting thing about clay pigeon shooting is that it can it can deceive you and have you believe that anything is possible.
I had one last go at improving my score from 23 up into the high 20's. I was certain that I should be able to hit all of the close fast birds which would easily add 6 to my score.

Try as I might though it didn't happen like that. The first round I shot another 23 which I was pleased with, but then backed it up with a shocking 20 on my secnd round. It turns out that hitting those six targets isn't as easy as I had thought it would be...... oh well, there is always next year!

Sporting Targets Video 3

The third Sporting Targets video Gun Shop;

Second Clay Pigeon Shooting Video

Sporting Targets second clay pigeon shooting video is here;

100 registered Competition at Sporting Targets

Sunday the 20th saw July's 100 bird registered Clay Shooting competition. It proved to be a tricky shoot with many challenging stands. It was dry, sunny but with a gusty breeze so it offered some clays that skipped and jumped just when you didn't want them to.

I managed to scrape a 60/100 which I was disappointed with. I dropped lots of what I consider to be easy targets. Whether that was due to concentration issues or me refining my gun mount which is still proving troublesome. On the up side at least the gun didn't kick the shit out of my cheek so things are improving once more. I did find that sometimes my gun mount costs me and I almost know before I shoot that I will miss as the mount feels wrong.

I will keep practicing to see if I can be more consistent.

How easy is it to forget the basics?

The answer to that one is simple........ remarkably so!! As I have improved my shooting and my scores have gone up, I have gained consistency. In doing so I have tried to pay attention to my set up procedure, feet, weight, gun mount head, eyes etc...... but while I have been making sure that my left eye was true to the rib of the gun, I have allowed the stock to gradually rise up my shoulder.
This has resulted in the stock kicking seven bells out of my cheek every time I shoot.

Last night I redesigned my gun mount so the stock is back where it should be in my shoulder..... and then shot really badly !!

I will get some practice in if possible before the shooting competition at Sporting Targets on Sunday

Sporting Targets High Tower Challenge Part Two

I must be a glutton for punishment, either that or I don't know when to walk away? The Summer High Tower challenge at Sporting Targets is one of the hardest clay pigeon shooting competitions there is. Last time I scored 22/50 twice but felt that with a little application that I could get 26 or 27.

It turns out I was wrong! This time I scored 22/50 backed up with a truly woeful 19/50. I would like to tell you that the second score was as a result of my trying something new in order to improve and it not working out, but in truth I just missed more!

It is a really taxing competition because it mixes targets at different ranges, you have a first bird at 65 yds with a 15yd high speed crosser on report. These second birds always seem to attract too much lead.... well.... in my case they do!

I am still convinced that I can get a high 20's score, probably just need 10 or 15 more goes at it!

Lack of practice makes imperfect

I missed two whole weeks of shooting so I was dubious as to how well I would get on. It turns out the answer is "terribly!" It was as if I had never shot before, stopping the gun, bad gun mount, bad stance and foot position etc...... it was all shocking. I ended up with 28/60 which although the shoot we were on is tricky, it is no where near that tricky!

I will be back this weekend at Sporting targets to get some proper clay pigeon shooting practice in so I can get back to where I should be.

Highest score so far 67

I originally set myself the target of scoring a 70/100 in a registered competition before my Birthday. That was yesterday, so with a 67/100 last Sunday at Sporting Targets Clay Pigeon Shooting ground, I suppose I should not be to disappointed.

I am now aiming for an 80/100 by my next birthday, which would get me into A class. It is an ambitious target so we will see, but you have to aim for something.

I shot the Sporting Targets high tower challenge which is probably the hardest set of targets known to man. I shot two rounds of 50 scoring 22 on both rounds. For a C class shot that is good apparently..... I am going to have another go and try to get a 25+ which is possible I think

Gun Speed

Its odd how the learning process works. In the beginning I had to learn how to do the basics and in the process I was told about gun speed. At the time I wasn't really ready to listen and preferred to apply physics to the task.

As time rolls on and I have learnt more about the intricacy's of clay pigeon shooting I have begun to realise the point of what I was repeatedly told!

I am at a point and in reality have been for a while now whereby I enter a stand and quite often I will kill the first birds, even if they look fast and tricky. This often happens when they take me by surprise and I have to rush to catch up with the target. In this situation I clearly sweep through the target, using gun speed and hand eye coordination to kill the target. On the next target however I "see" the same picture as I saw in shot 1, but without the same gun speed so as a result I miss.

In my head gun speed has the result of "flicking" the shot as it leaves the gun, almost spraying it in a horizontal cigar pattern. Whether this actually happens or not I am still not totally sure, but that is what I feel happens. As a consequence it has got to be easier to kill targets as your shot is spread over a larger area. This is perhaps why it sometimes feels like I killed a target I didn't even see properly...... though perhaps not!

When I "do the maths" and apply physics to shooting I have far less gun speed so I need to be far more accurate as my shot is flying in a much tighter ball than if it was flicked with gun speed................ this might be pure conjecture on my part?!

My goal is going to be to concentrate on pushing through a shot with my shoulder and right arm in order to increase my gun speed where required. When I am coached, the times when I have hit birds when told to push with my shoulder and "attack" the bird means that it is something that I need to practice more. I need to lose some of my analytical approach on faster birds. The trick I suppose is knowing which targets to use which technique on.

Bank Holiday Monday 100 Bird Competition

I am getting frighteningly close to achieving my goal of a 70 by the middle of June. On what was a wet and windy Monday I hit 65 which put me 3rd equal in the Sporting Targets shoot for which i picked up my first ever prize money.

It was very satisfying to see some improvement in my shooting, although I am kicking myself a bit as I was careless with my concentration a couple of times and dropped birds as a consequence. If I had only applied myself and not allowed distractions to affect me then I would have had a great competition. I am allowing myself the next Sporting Targets shoot to achieve my goal which will be on the third Sunday of June.

The problem with winning prize money is that I took it straight into the Gun Shop and spent it on essentials!

Sporting Targets 100 Bird Competition

It is a wet and windy bank holiday monday morning, Sporting Targets have their monthly
Clay Pigeon Shooting competition on today and the weather is just like you might expect a week before June in the UK!

Some time ago I set myself the target of shooting over 70 / 100 on a registered shoot before my birthday. Sadly I have yet to achieve this feat, the best I have done is a 64 in Oxford, and a 59 last week at Kibworth. I was given a 66 at Grange Farm, but that was a counting error to which I have set them straight....... surrendering =3rd place prize money in the process!

I now have only a couple of weeks left to hit my target and I will be away for the first week in June so it is looking increasingly unlikely. I am going to count up to the next Sporting Targets
shoot which is just after my birthday, but I still seem to be lacking the requisite skills to hit a 70.

I am hoping for at least a mid 60's round today, if I 2nd barrel the first bird if required it should up my score a bit so that is one tactic I will employ.