StickyMicky

Quite fancy giving this a go, and surprisingly, so does the missus

Found a local`ish place that is convenient, but what should i expect?
I have an image of loads of old duffers who all won the war? (by themselves) and it not being very "missus" friendly

Do they let you loose with a proper shotgun, or is it all these girly air rifle type things ?

jods

They'll probably start you off with sub-sonic cartridges. careful you don't do yourself an injury! My shoulder took a right hammering - mind you I was using "Proper" ammo and fired off something like 500 rounds

what would scooby do

Not into shooting clays, sticking with cats at the mo

my06 ppp silver

iTrader: (2)

great fun, dont know about the people to expect though, 2 diffrent types of shotgun side by side ie. OO or the other type ie. O
O
also 2 styles of shooting as well, usually down to personal preference although they may teach you for safety 1. aiming ahead of target trajectory- basically shoot just in front of where the target is going so that the shot and clay meet.
or 2. swing method- this is where you follow the line of the clay and whilst pulling the trigger you continue to follow the trajectory of the clay.

only other thing diffrent from normal shooting is you keep both eyes open have a good one

worley

Make sure that the shotgun is pressed firmly in the shoulder 'knotch'. Don't go straight for the 12 bore, use a lighter gun and there will be less pain.

Enjoy

Nik

BOB.T

Last time I went I hit chuff all, still had fun though!

I did manage this though...

belliott69

iTrader: (3)

don't worry its not all old duffers, i'm 22 and do it as a hobby now, used to be really into it going most weekends to tournaments, but got to stroppy when i lost and stopped enjoying it. i'm crap now but love it as i don't care what i hit and miss.

i'd advise going to your local gunshop and asking for reccomendations of local instructors who will teach you safety first as thats the most important bit. then they'll get you hitting clays quicker than you'd imagine and help you learn the proper way to shoot.

Turbohot

My son and his dad go clay pigeon shooting as a hobby. Apparently, it was fun for my son even when he was 16, 17, or even 18- I can't bleddy remember. I wouldn't mind it meself at my age.

Enjoy it.

Turbohot

I never took you for Dangerous Dave-ing, man.

Leslie

I had a go at it while doing my military training in Canada. I hit the first one and never got near another one! Never had the chance to try it again though.

Les

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

I've been clay pigeon shooting years ago. I think I was about 19 at the time, and a large group of us went together. Ages ranged between 16-19 both male and female. I don't know enough about shotguns to give you all the details, but I do know they had lighter guns for women and heavier ones for the men.

I wore a pad that went over your shoulder, and I guess we were not using "proper" ammo. No pain at all, for anyone in the group. Just lots of fun.

Oh, as for the type of gun, I'd recommend over and under, just seems so much easier to aim with that style.

billythekid

Well, the basic answer is dont expect anything - and then you wont be disappointed!

That said, I would keep it simple.

20G, going away, full size skeet clays. Book 1 hour with an instructor. Spend 20mins before the shoot going over safety and how to shoot the target.

Dont shoot too many, do 50 or 75. After that you will be tired and your shoulder will be starting to turn to mush.

Going away is by far the best way to learn. You will pick up your sight picture and understand how the shot string moves. You should be able to hit >50% by the last 10 shots.

If you enjoy the above, I would go back and try 100 clays, with going away, crossing, and maybe try rabbit. Again all on 20G and with an instructor (of course). I would aim for 30/100.

Depends what set up your shoot has, but mine has a very, very nice set up for people learning as we have a skeet range, 10 practice stands and 10-12 ESP stands.

After a couple of hours on 20G I would try the 12G. Its a much bigger kick, and you can hit targets a lot later and a lot further away - but its best to try the 20G first. IMHO.

20G is not a "girls gun". I regularly shoot our ESP course on my 20G and show up people shooting 12G on the exact same course...

Shooting is a mind game, if you miss, you need to re-think your shot. If you take the second shot the same as the first, its another miss.... so you are always thinking. There are lots of techniques, but your best to just have a go first and see if you enjoy it.

Where are you?

StickyMicky

North east

Was looking at this.

http://www.stevesmiths.co.uk/

Lydia72

I had a go a few years ago and loved it. I'd gone with a group of blokes and a female friend but after the safety briefing she decided not to do it (very girly girl and was worried she would break her nails/ nose). I finished somewhere in the middle re shots on target but I did get the best single shot of the day so don't think it's not 'missus friendly' (probably more even for males/ females than loads of other sports) although the gun did start to get very heavy after a while.

billythekid

Looks decent enough.

SJ_Skyline

I took my father clay shooting last year for a birthday treat (last time he shot anything was on a range in the 80s, working in the US). It was a regular over and under break action gun with something like 50 shells each broken up into 20-odd practice shots and 30-odd competition shots.

The shots started quite easy and progressed in difficulty into some quite challenging double shots.

Give it a go, if you don't like it then you don't have to go back

The Zohan

Great fun, haven't been for years. If the missus is going and she hasn't done it before she might find a 410 instead of a 12 bore easier to handle and a lot less painful.

If you haven't got any firearms expience then do listen to the safetly briefing and rememeber to aim slighly ahead, slightly below and follow the clay with the gun even after pulling the trigger.

I really must have a go soon

stilover

There are actually 3 types of Shotgun. Side by side, over & under, and sigle barrel semi-Auto. Though the semi-auto is banned at certain clubs, as it's hard to tell if a gun is loaded or empty unless the dummy cartridge (with red ribbon) is used.

Semi-auto's hold 3 cartridges, but can be adjusted to hold 5, but that's illegal.

Just make sure which ever club you use that they are BASC registered and insured.

Prices vary, but for 50 clays, cartridges and use of a gun, expect to pay £15/20.

P1Fanatic

Ive been doing it on and off since a teenager and still have a shotgun and just starting to get back into it again with a round of Sporting and Skeet planned on Sunday.

Go to a reputable place with a proper trainer is my advice. Theyll teach you properly from the start and have a variety of guns to use. They will get you hitting plenty of clays. Recoil isnt so bad for a bloke if a decent build unless your doing 100+ shots. For women the smaller 20g maybe better but that means less shot fired at the clays. There is also the more popular option of a semi-auto that uses the recoil gases to reload the next rd so is easier to handle.

As with any sport you will get your stereotypes and most clay shoots (sporting at least) you will see plenty of tweed n barber jackets. But there are plenty of women shooting as well as entire families.

Its not cheap to get into properly. If you enjoy it and want to progress you will probably want to get your own shotgun at some point so you can shoot anywhere and Id advise 2nd hand for your first one but try and shoot as many friends and instructors guns for comparison. My beretta 682 is about 15 yrs old and was £600 as a guideline but still looks as new and is rock solid - they are built too last. You will need a Shotun Cert which is £50ish every 5 years but to get that you need a gun safe which is min £100. Cartridges you can then buy in bulk but even then your looking at £35+ per 250 (10 boxes) which doesnt last long. A lot of grounds ask you to use fibre wad cartridges (bio-degradable) these days. Then youll want a skeet type vest, gunslip, ear defenders, cartridge bags, snap caps, cleaning kits etc etc. A round of 50 clays is £10 upwards depending where you go.

Not sure on PPP Silvers tips on shooting styles as tbh you incorporate both as you will always have to swing through the target and aim in front of it to hit it. But a decent instructor will explain all that and well worth shelling out for right at the start before you learn bad habits

Simon

P.S. You can also get tracer cartridges to see exactly where your missing but they are expensive at £35 a box of 25 last time I looked.

Rob Day

iTrader: (78)

In my past experience I find that if you book a slot you will be give the tutorial first regardless if you are experience or not, you will then be told the H&S policy along with some hands on tuition. The ones I've used in the past are litterally a lodge where they hire professional gunmen to come on the grounds and take you round. They normally use their weapon of choice which is normally a double barrel with low gauge cartridges. You will be at various stands with the clays being pulled from various angles. Women are keen at the sport now and to be honest I dont get bruised from the sport but have seen some large marks on shoulders of others days after the event. I would strongly suggest that he/she gets some padding on the shoulder if they are a bruised easily or are frail/boney. All other PPE should be supplied by the club.

Expect anything upto 2 hours of fun with anything from 25 shots to 50 shots, price vary but i go to two places.
Kelbrook 50 shots £30, and
Coniston 40 shots £40 but a much better set up with a nice cafe lodge and shop.

HTH
Rob

mamoon2

Phone your local club and arrange a taster session, you will find most are very friendly and welcome newcomers. Yes, there will be the tweed mob with £7k guns, but there will also be normal folk like you and I, always a few women at my local too.

Don't worry about starting on 20 gauge as mentioned above, with a decent skeet vest which has padding on the shoulder you will be fine. Mine doesn't have padding and my guns are 12g.

If you like your taster session, then as advised above, go to your local gunshop and they will be able to recommend someone to teach you how to shoot properly. This is normally cheaper than lessons at the club and you will only need 2 or 3. Quite important that you learn to shoot the correct way from the start otherwise you will be wasting money.

It is an expensive hobby though! As P1fanatic said, you have those initial costs (cert, safe, guns, vest, bag etc...) but then if you want to go on a pheasant shoot it starts to get very expensive. The guy that did my lessons rang me up before christmas and invited me on a pheasant shoot and the cost was £400 for the day ..... er no thanks!

If you do buy a gun, then second hand is the way forward. Below is a picture of my guns. The double barrel over and under was £475 and you wouldn't know it was second hand.
The black one is a 12g Benelli Semi Automatic Pump Action shotgun which was £600 and its a lot of fun. I really only got this because the kid inside of me wanted to be like the terminator

[-(o)-]

iTrader: (1)

I'm a Target Rifle shooter, but done more than my fair share of Clays, mostly Sporting. Shooting is pretty much the only sport Men and Women compete side by side, which can be embarassing.

Most clubs are always keen to get more people in and don't be put off by any of the red tape that you might have to go through. Clay Pigeon is probably the most social and enjoyable shooting you can do. You don't need to purchase lots of kit as most clubs should be able to provide this at least to start. As above, you don't have to use a 12g, I used to prefer the smaller 20g as the muzzle velocity was higher and more like the rifles I'm used to! (I normally shoot 7.62 so no one accused me of being soft.)

I took my lot to the NRA Open Day last weekend at Bisley which they all enjoyed and no bruised shoulders, 13 and 14 yr old included. Give it a go, think you'll love it.

GC8

Id opt for a semi automatic 20G to start, it available. I suffer from an element of gun-shyness, as a result of shooting a f*cking big gun when I was very small: so an easy start suits me, even now. It might be better for your girlfriend too.

If picking an auto Id go for a nice walnut Browning, rather than something in matte black or cammo, as above

IWatkins

Certainly a lot of fun once you get the initial training and H&S stuff out of the way.

If you get into it, certainly join a club as this will keep the costs down.

And if you like clay shooting with shotguns also investigate "practical shotgun". This is where you use a pump action/semi shotgun to move around a course shooting out steel targets and the whole run is timed. Think Keanu at the start of Point Break It is a awful lot of fun. Have a look on YouTube, some good vids there.

Cheers

Ian

IWatkins

Double post

GC8

Harder since the witch hunt.

billythekid

Practical shotgun is a lot of fun. I have a dedicated practical shotgun - 12G Mossy 500 pump, ported, all black, tactical kit on it... but you do feel like a bit of a **** walking round with it... all the gear no idea

Swift Nick

I used to take the **** out of my mate when he said he'd hit 40 odd out of fifty, he offered me to have a go and I soon realised I couldn't hit a cows **** with a banjo.

I keep my gob shut now

Callum Ferguson

iTrader: (1)

Speak to Jack Reed at Steve Smith's and tell him you & your good lady are beginners. Ask him to give you an introduction to clay shooting as a hobby & you'll be in great hands. He is a top bloke and very experienced. Most of all have fun

StickyMicky

Some good info here, cheers chaps (and chapp`ess)

I am not at all frail/bony/weedy so i doubt i will have any problems in that department, i suspect the missus will, as i have seen her struggle a few times with heavy shopping bags and her eye and hand coordination seams to have been wired up inside out and back to front at times


The SteveSmith site is approx 15mins drive from my car wash by the looks of things so its pretty convenient.