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New to shooting advice - Dundee


gazere
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Hey there, my name is Duncan and I am a 19 year old student in Dundee. My grandfather recently died and left me some shotguns, and so i decided with my dad to try shooting. I have now recently recieved my shotgun licence and have a SxS purdey 12ga, which was my great great grandfathers, and a SxS 12ga "horton" which i dont know much about. There is also a very old .410 single barrel which someone has told me may have been a poachers gun as it is unmarked. I would very much like to get involved with the sport, and have shot locally at auchterhouse a couple of times. Unfortunately I cant seem to find a local club, and so I was wondering if there were some more experienced shooters who could show me the ropes and help answer all the questions I have? Hopefully there are people about my area :).

I posted the same thing to clay shooting forums but there was nobody in my area, someone suggested I post here as well.

http://www.shootclayforum.com/index.php?/topic/16926-new-to-shooting-advice-dundee/

For pics of the guns, thanks all.

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Hi Duncan,

 

Auchterhouse is a great place to start to learn your craft, they cover pretty much every discipline in clay shooting there and is as good a ground as you will find in Scotland. The best thing to do is to give Emma Christie at Auchterhouse a call or pop in and let them know that you want to learn. They can introduce you to lots of people that shoot there and I am quite sure that you will find a couple of people who would be happy to show you the ropes. Drew Christie, who won silver at the Commonwealth games in Olympic Skeet, also does a bit of free coaching now and again in all disciplines to help get people into the game.

 

You will see in this that there is a Scottish members fun day on the 9th August at Cluny Clays just outside Kirkcaldy and you would be very welcome to go along to that too. Barry (Tignme) and Ewan have been the guys behind arranging that.

 

Cluny is open every day and you can pop along and pay and play as you please, just take your cert the first time you visit. Eddy Buchan is the shooting manager there and will keep you right.

 

Another place to try is the Scottish Clay Shooting Centre which is just outside Leuchars, they are only open on a Saturday, it is a small but really friendly ground and you will be made very welcome indeed. Ron Maxwell is the ground manager and is a really nice guy, he would be a good coach to help you learn all the basics. They have a really active English Skeet group and also have 6 or 7 sporting stands with targets to suit all levels.

 

The shooting community in Scotland is small and generally pretty friendly and once you get to know a few faces you will have lots of opportunity to shoot with other people.

 

Anything else that you want to ask then fire away or pm me.

 

As Jega said starting out with a Purdey is a bit of class too :good:

 

Edit: I meant to add that you are more than welcome to join me for a bit of clay bashing.

Edited by grrclark
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Hi Duncan,

 

Come along on the 9th as John has said on the above post, you are more than welcome all the members together have quite a few years of experience in different types of shooting.

Just bring a shotgun and shells (150) join in and have a laugh!

 

Derick. :):)

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Plastic wads won't make a difference, but the case length would as will the pressure.

 

Would be really surprised if the Purdy is 3.5", double check that. If both guns are nitro proof and 2 3/4 then any standard clay shell will be fine, although I would avoid steel shot with your guns.

 

A good choice would be Lyalvale Express HV Standard in 21g or 24g, both loads are a 65mm case length and shouldn't be too punchy with a lighter gun, both are inexpensive too.

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I thought it was a typo. If nitro proofed then 65mm carts are the ones to go for, you don't need to shoot paper case carts, but no harm if you do.

 

You will get a lot of game carts that are designed for old best English guns. Put a post in the bullets and cartridges section and you will get much better advice than I can give to what you should look at.

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Loads of discussion on that front Duncan and mixed opinions. There is a risk that a ban on lead could render a lot of older guns obsolete in all practical terms, you can get other options for shot, but they tend to be stupidly expensive.

 

Although none of us know for sure and it is all guesswork, I wouldn't worry too much about lead being banned anytime soon.

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Thanks for the advice guys. I was at Auchterhouse again earlier today, feel as though I am improving. They said they can store shotguns for a reasonable price, would it be worth shooting with the Horton on a regular basis or should I stick with the o/u I've been hiring?

Also according to Drew? my eye dominance is neither left nor right. I think this is bad :(. So far I've just been closing one eye and that works okay but I've been told perhaps I should buy glasses and black out a spot? Thanks for all the help,

Duncan.

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It really depends on what you hope to get out of your shooting. If you are likely to shoot clays a lot and want to get a little competitive then getting yourself an O/U will be a good plan.

 

A bit more weight to soak up recoil and an easier sight plane for shooting, but if the Horton works for you then use it.

 

There is no general right or wrong, just what is right for you

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Don't worry about your eye dominance, lots of top shooters use both eyes to pick up the target and then close one eye just prior to taking the shot. Even the great George Digweed does this sometimes.

 

You can also train your 'gun eye' to be the dominant one over time.

 

It wouldn't hurt to have a gunsmith service both your sxs guns, Andy Coull (Osbourne Gun Company) who lives and works in Auchterhouse village would be a great choice, Andy is a very well respected 'smith and a really nice guy, contact him on 07808 177933. He is also an excellent shot and an ex GB Olympic Skeet team member.

 

Getting those guns checked out means that you are sure they are in the best possible shape to shoot regularly

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Okay, I'd just like to resolve the eye issue before I learn the wrong way! Thanks for the number, don't have a whole lot of money being a student, gun servicing sounds expensive but I'm sure it is important. I'll give the guy a call anyhow :).

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Honestly don't stress about eye thing, using both eyes to pick up the bird and then closing one eye as you move to take the shot is really normal.

 

Andy is a good guy and won't take money off you for no reason, explain about your guns and that you want to shoot more often and he will keep you straight. As they are both fine guns you want to make sure they are in good order too, although you are not going to shoot out the barrel the locking and trigger mechanism is subject to a lot of use at clays and a wee health check is a wise precaution.

 

A few quid now for peace of mind is much better than a lot of money to have a part made by hand later.

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