Shooting Clays

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
Posts
24,149
I normally sea fish, and prefer a hobby that gets me out and about socially but a mate has decided to take this up due to the weather being so bad we never get out in the Channel!

I've shot 12 and 20 gauge before on a number of targets - winning the office event and comments from a stag do asked if I shot regularly as I was hitting the clays centre.

Just wondered if there's anyone that shot clays here?
 
I think the local place is Sporting Clays. Literally 20mins drive and shoots a couple of times a month.

Will have to see how prices stack up - it may be a easy hobby but I have too many according to the Mrs!
 
Don’t rush into spending lots of money on a gun until you’ve tried a few different brands and styles. Even then, the gun market is really flat at the moment, so you should be able to get a good deal on a mint condition secondhand gun.

Essential starter kit:

- Eye protection. Get some ballistic rated shooting glasses. Yellow or red for dull/hazy days and smoke tint for sunny days. Unless it’s super bright, regular sunglasses are too dark and offer no protection (unless they’re Wiley/ESS). Some people like the sets where you can swap lenses in a frame, but I found them too much of a faff and just had a yellow pair and a smoke pair.

- Hearing protection. You’ll have to figure out if you prefer earplugs or ear defenders. The disposable foam earplugs are rubbish. Get a good reusable set from a gunsmiths if you prefer plugs. With eardefenders, get them from a gunsmiths as the regular industrial ones are too bulky and will hit the stock of the shotgun when you have head in the correct shooting position. The top end lectronic ear defenders allow to have normal conversations whilst completely protecting you from gunfire noise.

- Clothing. A baseball hat or similar to protest your head from falling clay debris. Clay pigeon fragments aren’t heavy, but they can be razor sharp. Get a good shooting vest with big pockets that can hold a whole box of cartridges. A vest should have a gripping surface over your shooting shoulder and no exposed metal fasteners to scratch your shotgun. I prefer an adjustable/elasticated vest to a thicker shooting jacket so I can wear it over a t-shirt in the summer and layer up on colder days. You can get away with a fleece for the moment, just make sure it doesn’t have metal zippers.

Avoid the leather cartridge belts - not only with you scratch up the stock of your gun on the rims of the cartridges, but removing cartridges from their loops is far too fiddly and slow.

Gloves - forget the expensive branded shooting gloves and get down to you local discount golf shop. Go for a ventilated, lightweight leather pair or two that are a snug fit. I used to keep an old pair of skiing gloves in my shooting bag and pop them over the top of my shooting gloves when waiting to shoot on cold days.

- A small range bag to carry 2 boxes of cartridges, shooting glasses (and cleaner), spare ear protection and a bottle of water with you when you move round the various stands on a spread out sporting shoot.

Agreed - went out today with the mate to the local place. 50 cartridges each and a club hired Beretta Pigeon Silver Sporting 28".

A number of traps setup we did:
* right-to-left and a left to right on first shot (we did this once on the way out and once on the return)
* two simultaneous launched from under the tower - effectively shooting down/level
* above trees vertical - two launched with timing between - one front to back right over the top and other with a little left to right with about a 30-40deg range. Clays appeared at the tree canopy line.
* rabbit and pigeon - pigeon right to mid rising then falling, the rabbit after ran right to left straight across skipping across the ground.

Other traps were there but we'd only gone for a 50 rather than 100.

Managed to hit quite a few - the vertical needed a lead by 1 meter, fast without much distance perspective and short time to shoot.

Will take the mrs next time, but not planning a purchase just yet!
 
Most of my hobbies before I met the wife;
Astronomy (wifey drew the line after camping for a week in -15, icicles on the car and frozen water in the kettle), not social hours.
Snowboarding (wifey doesn’t snowboard)
Mountain biking (wifey doesn’t mountain bike)
Drums (noisy for neighbours)
Cinema (kit disappeared after too many speakers etc)
Fish pond (wifey tolerates but doesn’t like me spending money for repairs/upkeep)
Fishing (wifey questions every purchase but also says I don’t use it enough, weather dependent but as her dad fishes she sees it as being “ok”)

To be honest I keep being told no, then told i don’t do anything.. so that is a particular bug bear atm. I try to be too compromising sometimes.

So i’m loathed to put money into this.. got to sort the Wife’s car out first. However if it seems to be easy to get to, a couple of hours out of the house that we both enjoy then maybe. It is literally 20 minutes drive though and she does seem genuinely interested.
 
I liked it as a sport - like sea fishing on a boat - it’s very zen as you’re focused on the immediate thing at hand. The fact that you’re wait outside watching others, then shooting etc is like golf (heard it termed golf with a shotgun) but also sea fishing.

I love sea fishing on a boat in any weather - the feeling through the rod and the continuous attention to the task. You can start to recognise the feeling of the sea floor with just the feeling coming back up the line. Very much like meditation when you see the clay.
 
Just pricing up .. 50 clays as a non member including gun rental £49 for me.. or £79 for the wife and hiring a single gun (have to reserve in advance).

Now doing the maths for membership.. Membership for both of us £100/year, £15 each for 50 clays, £6.5/25 cartridges, ~£50/yr licence, £1800 for a gun (assuming both use the same).
Factor a gun lasting years let’s say for licence and gun.. £180/year annualised.

Assuming 8 times a year.. for wife+me both that would work out as £89 a time.. not including gun cleaning kit etc.

Hmm..

Going with a mate that had their own gun - would need to check if covered by insurance - only costs me £32/session.

Ignoring the cartridge bag, clothes etc.

Boat fishing is normally £50-80 for offshore for the entire day.
 
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Took the Mrs along this morning - hired a 12 gauge 28" silver pigeon.

She did 50 clays and enjoyed it in the rain and wind. The gun to her was a little large - she can cope with the recoil but just handling and it was heavier than she was expecting.

I went on todo 100 clays, but had started to get a little tired from lack of food by 1200. Good time but tired.
 
May try and see if they have a 20 or 410 for the Mrs to try.

Only trouble is I've been eyeing up 12 gauges.. Blaser F3 30" 12 bore would be lovely.. F16 too but the hammers are not inline - and I'm a gadget freak in that sort of way..
 
Used to do clays many years ago but then went onto smallbore target as preferred the chasing of perfection and accuracy.

About 9 years ago now, moved into fullbore (7.62mm) and started 1000yd iron sight, as really adore the precision and perfection of getting every part of your body in tune and calm to take the shot.

I did look at long range archery and shooting but the number of places that offer that are few and far between.

It appears .410 is considered 'accuracy' for shotguns as the cartridges have less shot thus you need a tighter group so it becomes more difficult with moving clays at range. Often touted as a beginner's gun due to the low recoil and lightness most experts see it as a skilled marksman instead. If you could have full chokes then it would be seriously difficult!

Invested in a shooting vest (£24 from decathlon). I may be tempted to part with my roland drum kit etc and put the funds towards something.
 
Thinking about gun safe positions - naturally the attic is an attractive location - we have two block walls to choose from however the temps up there get hot in summer.

If I buy cartridges in bulk it’s cheaper and the natural option would be storing them up there, however with the heat/moisture they may become unreliable (gassing and condensation).

If I was to put the gun upstairs I’d put a drying agent in the safe too.

Any thoughts/experiences?
 
How accessible is the attic? Where I first got my certificate, really challenging access was actually discouraged as it discouraged you from putting the shotgun away quickly after use. Worth checking if they like that sort of location (all areas are a law unto themselves regarding requirements).

It’s easy enough with a lift ladder and loft boards.

Only issue I could see is our CH Boiler is up there on the outside wall.

Will check.
 
I had my gun safe and ammo box raw-bolted into an outside in the under stairs cupboard in London and the MET FLO’s were entirely happy with it as it was very secure and hidden away from prying eyes.

I’d avoid the loft/attic even with a dehumidifier as shotgun ammo doesn’t like large temp changes.

Yeah my thinking - I can coach bolt in both locations. Only thing is my wine stock would have to move :D
 
The FLO is visiting on the 13th May and is already aware I have a safe securely installed. Does anybody know what the normal procedure is should the FLO be satisfied during his visit, will the licence be granted & given there & then? Or is there another short wait while more admin is done?

I would like to be able to attend the club that weekend for an open 70-bird shoot and/or possibly just use the Sport Trap. (On the 19th). There is no urgency on this at all! I happen to have a long weekend booked so using that Friday to purchase some new toys would be nice :)

A mate was told that he guy could have the SGC in him but in the end although everything was perfect, it sill took a short period after.
I keep reading it all varies on the local firearms team.
 
Hmm how to make the sport greener.. I interesting point from this that doesn’t say don’t but asks if there’s greener options: http://www.lead.org.au/fs/shootingranges.pdf

Interesting point about non lead shot having impurities leeching too.

Steel shot would be my preferred option but most barrels (even with steel shot proofing) seem prone to more damage. Most chokes in steel shot proofed shotguns aren’t steel shot proof which causes blowouts.
Steel shot doesn’t have the same mass as lead so travels a shorter distance. Which is normally ok for clays except longer distance shots.
 
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