LeedsZeppelin

Hazel Bank in Knaresborough. Contact Mark on 07852 785590 to book a time slot.

One of my local grounds is opening this weekend. They are limiting places on the course with time slots, have adapted the course and using hand sanitizer on the stands.

I'm eagerly awaiting some grounds local to me opening up so I can start shooting again. With a bit of commonsense, clay grounds should be safe to use. By nature they are all fairly large and outdoors. Limit group sizes, Limit numbers on the course, Limit one person to the station plus someone to button (some grounds may need to temporarily move the trap buttons away from the station slightly), have a one way system around the course with a cordone for safe distance, hand sanitizing stations, one in - one out of the clubhouse to pay. Even DTL and trap setups should have enough distance between the shooters if done correctly. I'd feel safe going shooting now.

I shot at a different ground this week, and upon registering I was informed to keep my gun locked in my car when not shooting. They had removed their racks due to "a theft at another ground". I assume this is in relation to Orston.

I won't be filing the beads off. I don't even notice them when my eyes are on the bird. I'll shoot how it feels natural for now, and ignore the beads. I may get a few tuition sessions later in the year anyway, so I'll ask the question then if I still have doubts. I do still see part of the rib when I am mounting the gun with the beads lined up. The amount of rib obviously increases when lowering the mid bead below the end bead. I'm not holding the gun like a rifle.

Yes, I shoot ESP. Thanks for the link, it was an interesting watch. I do shoot with my eyes on the target. Just to clarify, I only sight the bead up to check my gun mount. I had the feeling he was. I'll stick to lining the beads up upon mounting ti g the gun and forget about it from then on. I shot well once I started doing that. As tempting as those ornately carved needles sound, the others have swayed me into giving the gun another chance, ignoring the figure of eight idea, and just shoot the gun as feels right. If I change my mind I'll let you know - I'll even knit you a multicolored gun sock! 😃 Thanks for the input everyone.

I bought a new shotgun over christmas for clay shooting which is the first gun I've used with a mid-bead. I assumed that the mid-bead sat in front of the other when you looked down the rib, and the gun seemed to fit well, and feel perfect for me. I shot a decent round with it on it's first outing on boxing day (around 70% - which is good for me) and was happy with the gun. I've since read that the beads should make a figure of eight shape. The end bead sitting on top of the mid-bead. I tried that today only to score 8/22 on the first three stands! I reverted back to lining the beads up and got a full house on the next stand. I even managed to finish up with a card of 29/50. Again, I felt happy with how the gun performed after the change. Talking to another shooter afterwards, he suggested the beads have proven that the gun doesn't actually fit me correctly, and suggested comb is too low and the beads should definitely form a figure of eight. Does this sound correct to you, or is he talking rubbish? Or are the beads a 'horses for courses' kind of thing? Should I shoot with the beads lined up?Remove the mid-bead and have done?Look at getting the comb adjusted? Or bin the gun and take up knitting?

@Westley @BlaserF3 That surprises me. I've heard nothing but good things about Coniston in the past. Maybe the magic wears off after a couple of visits.

Thanks all. It looks like I've got quiet the choice to keep me going for a while. I'll have a look at Park Lodge. I shoot Yorkgate at Otley Chevin on Sundays, I'll be shooting there Tuesdays again when the summer league starts again. Someone mentioned HazelBank to me elsewhere, and told me they shoot sportrap under floodlights on a Wednesday evening. Any chance if you know if that is members only? Is Marne the one at Catterick garrison? That's just up the A1 from me. Any good? I'll check out the others too. I usually shoot sporting, but I'm open to trying other disciplines. Thanks, I'll have a look into them. Is Park Lodge worth the extra 10p per clay? Thanks for the tip. How would you rate Kelbrook against Coniston? They are about the same distance from me.

I'm looking for somewhere to shoot mid-week around the North Yorkshire/West Yorkshire area. I'm not too bothered if it's daytime or evening (even floodlit), I just want to put more cartridges through my gun in the hope of improving my scorecards for my Sunday league. Anyone recommend anywhere?