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Well that was a waste of time (Park Lodge today)


Jega
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Absolute shambles ,me and my lad went to Park Lodge this morning for a couple of hours .

Well we arrived ,booked in ,bought a slab of cartridges and off we went ,(with no mention about what we were about to face ),what we saw when we opened the gate to the grounds absolutely took our breath away .........................200.. yes 200 army cadets taking up every stand on the ground.

Now i am completely in favour of educating youngsters about shooting and guns in general,but can some one please tell me how on earth you are supposed to teach that many when they only get about 1 shot each every 1/2 hour or so ?

Park Lodge have quite a bit of explaining to do on this one,every stand on the ground had about 15-20 kids on it ,there didnt seem to be any consideration given to regular shooters anywhere on the place.

It was absolutely impossible to shoot ANYTHING ,so a 30mile drive to the ground for nothing ,the most annoying part of the farce was the fact that when i looked on their website last night there was no mention of todays activities .

Like several other people we met when leaving ,we most definitely will NOT be returning to this place .

As for their claim to be "The Norths premier shooting ground" thet obviously havent travelled very far to see how a proper ground should be run .

I honestly think the place was better when it was run from a couple of old porta cabins and people who knew what they were doing ,i fear this obsession with corporate identity over good quality shooting they seem to have is unfortunately going to be their undoing.

Bye bye Park Lodge .

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Surely the skeet and trap layouts were free? Or the harder stands?

Unfortunately not ,one of the skeet stands was roped off and the other was being used for lessons.

I do feel for you but it's unfortunate, this is what comes of running a business, it's called fill your boots while you have the chance.

By all means but please have the courtesy to let people know via the website before they set off on quite a long drive .

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Unfortunately not ,one of the skeet stands was roped off and the other was being used for lessons.

By all means but please have the courtesy to let people know via the website before they set off on quite a long drive .

I must agree they did let themselves down by not being informative as far as customers were concerned.

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Unfortunately not ,one of the skeet stands was roped off and the other was being used for lessons.

By all means but please have the courtesy to let people know via the website before they set off on quite a long drive .

There website is well behind the times in the news section, there FB page is the same, even the board they advertise events on near the gate is still on 2016, they have dates for the same shoots for 2017, Slack as *******.

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I've heard of a lot of traps not working and huge numbers of no birds. Seems like they have a few issues they need to get on top of. It's a shame as it has an amazing clubhouse and facilities but maybe they spent all the money on that and less on the running and maintenance of it.

 

You would think that a corporate event such as this could be booked on a weekday while the ground is quiet instead of on a weekend when it will clash with all the regulars?

Edited by ChrisPCarter
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Did you go back and complain or make any mention of this situation? If you did, what did they say?

Yes we certainly did along with several other disappointed people ,the response we got from the young lady at the booking in desk was along the lines of ,they couldnt do any thing about it ,rather then get into an argument we just left it at that as there didnt seem to be any point in continuing the discussion.

The Army cadets normally go to Marne Barracks where Tony is well organised for something like that.. from Auntie.

Perhaps Tony could get in touch with Park Lodge and offer his services on young shooters days,they certainly need it.

Edited by Jega
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I've heard of a lot of traps not working and huge numbers of no birds. Seems like they have a few issues they need to get on top of. It's a shame as it has an amazing clubhouse and facilities but maybe they spent all the money on that and less on the running and maintenance of it.

You would think that a corporate event such as this could be booked on a weekday while the ground is quiet instead of on a weekend when it will clash with all the regulars?

How would they get 200 cadets off school to go clay shooting?

 

Ive encountered the same problem elsewhere and it is always frustrating, but at the same time its not like i check websites or phone everytime to check shooting will be available i just assume it will be buisness as normal but sometimes find a huge group or a competition.

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How would they get 200 cadets off school to go clay shooting?

 

Ive encountered the same problem elsewhere and it is always frustrating, but at the same time its not like i check websites or phone everytime to check shooting will be available i just assume it will be buisness as normal but sometimes find a huge group or a competition.

It was today Sunday so no school ,however having such a ridiculous amount of youngsters at one time really did them a disservice as their individual time actually shooting or receiving any sort of significant teaching must have been negligible at best .

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Good Evening All,

 

While I am usually the kind of person who like to read forums and not post. I really wanted to reply to this.....

 

I am the Officer who was in charge of the event held at Park Lodge on Sunday 19 Feb 2017 and would like to go through some of the points raised in this thread.

 

 

what we saw when we opened the gate to the grounds absolutely took our breath away .........................200.. yes 200 army cadets taking up every stand on the ground.

 

 

First of all they were Royal Air Force (Air Cadets) aged 13-19, Attending the event were 75 Cadets and 15 Instructors (Who were CPSA Qualified) and 14 Non-participating staff (for Ratio supervision).

We used 5 Stands at any one time (3 instructors and 15 Cadets on a stand) - while i am not sure how many stands Park Lodge have I would guess it around 30. Based on the skill level of the participating cadets these tended to be the very novice (easy hit stands) which I would imagine a seasoned clay shooter such as yourself would have little interest in. That said throughout the day we stepped aside for any other shooters who wished to shoot through (many of which we had some great conversations with).

 

 

Now i am completely in favour of educating youngsters about shooting and guns in general,but can some one please tell me how on earth you are supposed to teach that many when they only get about 1 shot each every 1/2 hour or so ?

 

So are we in fact shooting is the second most popular activity in our organisation, our cadets have the chance to fire and progress through a full range of shooting from small bore target, full bore target, firing using standard service weapons and participation in national and international competitions. Clay Target Shooting is just one small part of the experience.

The cadets on the day in question fired a full round and didn't actually have a great deal of waiting around (while one was firing others were going through elements of safe handling, theory\method with one of the other qualified staff).

Around 50 of the Cadets who attended the day are currently workinth through the CPSA Shotgun Skills modules. All the shooting we do is very much progressive and allows them to develop rather that just shoot.

 

 

there didnt seem to be any consideration given to regular shooters anywhere on the place.

 

I would also like to point out that a good number of our instructors that were there on the day are also regular shooters at Park Lodge (We just don't stand out when not in uniform). In fact I personally am a member and pay membership!!

We weren't on any kind of corporate rate, we paid for every clay thrown like everybody else....

 

 

 

As for their claim to be "The Norths premier shooting ground" thet obviously havent travelled very far to see how a proper ground should be run .

I honestly think the place was better when it was run from a couple of old porta cabins and people who knew what they were doing ,i fear this obsession with corporate identity over good quality shooting they seem to have is unfortunately going to be their undoing.

 

I use a number of grounds and as you said they are usually run from dirty porta cabins. I personally like the face that the facilities are a little nicer and while all of my previous visits to PL have been in utter anonymity - the fact that I stood out so much this time gave me a truly wonderful opportunity to get to know the staff a little and even get to know some other shooters (I'm actually meeting up with one of them to together - not many people get free time during the week).

 

While your bad experience, is a personal matter that could have been avoided by chatting to us (which i understand is not always easy for everyone) I hope this reply goes someway towards eliminating your frustration, however please also accept my apology.

 

Please feel free to send me a message should you want to chat and if you get chance have a look into what we do - we are always looking for talented and keen individuals to join us as civilian instructors and pass some of the passion on.

 

L

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200 cadets....really, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

According to the cadets there was only 84.

84 well mannered, smartly turned out young shooters, who enjoyed a day's clay shooting.

Nothing to do with corporate shooting, just the local cadets having a good day out along with most of the other regulars.

 

It's a shame that some people are so negative and self centred, Park Lodge has an excellent facility with enough stands for all to enjoy.

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Good Evening All,

 

While I am usually the kind of person who like to read forums and not post. I really wanted to reply to this.....

 

I am the Officer who was in charge of the event held at Park Lodge on Sunday 19 Feb 2017 and would like to go through some of the points raised in this thread.

 

 

 

First of all they were Royal Air Force (Air Cadets) aged 13-19, Attending the event were 75 Cadets and 15 Instructors (Who were CPSA Qualified) and 14 Non-participating staff (for Ratio supervision).

We used 5 Stands at any one time (3 instructors and 15 Cadets on a stand) - while i am not sure how many stands Park Lodge have I would guess it around 30. Based on the skill level of the participating cadets these tended to be the very novice (easy hit stands) which I would imagine a seasoned clay shooter such as yourself would have little interest in. That said throughout the day we stepped aside for any other shooters who wished to shoot through (many of which we had some great conversations with).

 

 

So are we in fact shooting is the second most popular activity in our organisation, our cadets have the chance to fire and progress through a full range of shooting from small bore target, full bore target, firing using standard service weapons and participation in national and international competitions. Clay Target Shooting is just one small part of the experience.

The cadets on the day in question fired a full round and didn't actually have a great deal of waiting around (while one was firing others were going through elements of safe handling, theory\method with one of the other qualified staff).

Around 50 of the Cadets who attended the day are currently workinth through the CPSA Shotgun Skills modules. All the shooting we do is very much progressive and allows them to develop rather that just shoot.

 

 

I would also like to point out that a good number of our instructors that were there on the day are also regular shooters at Park Lodge (We just don't stand out when not in uniform). In fact I personally am a member and pay membership!!

We weren't on any kind of corporate rate, we paid for every clay thrown like everybody else....

 

 

 

 

I use a number of grounds and as you said they are usually run from dirty porta cabins. I personally like the face that the facilities are a little nicer and while all of my previous visits to PL have been in utter anonymity - the fact that I stood out so much this time gave me a truly wonderful opportunity to get to know the staff a little and even get to know some other shooters (I'm actually meeting up with one of them to together - not many people get free time during the week).

 

While your bad experience, is a personal matter that could have been avoided by chatting to us (which i understand is not always easy for everyone) I hope this reply goes someway towards eliminating your frustration, however please also accept my apology.

 

Please feel free to send me a message should you want to chat and if you get chance have a look into what we do - we are always looking for talented and keen individuals to join us as civilian instructors and pass some of the passion on.

 

L

I wasn't seeking any sort of apology from yourself Sir .

I stand corrected on my estimation of the actual numbers of your cadets attending ,however i can only relate my own personal experience of the day.

I also applaud your dedication in introducing and teaching these young people to shoot safely and correctly.

For the other points raised ,at no point in my original post did i cast any sort of derogatory comments on the appearance or behaviour of any of the cadets ,nor did i make mention of your group receiving any sort of corporate costs (which incidentally i would be in favour of for groups such as yours )

In fact at no time in my original post did i make any sort of critical or derogatory remarks about the cadets and their instructors , i apologise Sir if you took it that way .

My complaint and dissatisfaction is with Park Lodge and the lack of any sort of pre-warning that a cadet day is schedeuled and therefore it will be considerably busier then usual ,even during booking in at the front desk no mention was made of this.

I said "old porta cabins" not dirty which i stand by ,without doubt Park Lodge has a very smart clubhouse area ,however i personally am far more interested in traps that work reliably and no-birds are kept to a minimum .

As for being"negative and self centred" ,I really would have thought that such personal attacks were some what below an officer and a gentleman ,however your opinion is yours to express as you wish .

I hope you find my response satisfactory Sir and that we can draw a line under this issue ,which i reiterate at no time was ever meant as any sort of attack on yourself or your cadets .

Edited by Jega
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The guy drove 30 miles to shoot and didn't get to shoot, i would be ****** off as well.

 

There are clubs i haven't had a good time at either, i just vote with my feet.

 

The Club should have had advance warning of the cadet visit, that's all there really is to it imo

Edited by Simuk
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