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poorly maintained clay grounds


goodo123
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Have you ever been to one? Where machines stop working 1/2 way through the round? Where they use pick ups in automatic traps and it just throws out pieces over and over? Where anything electrical seems like it's been wired up with parts from a shed?... Not mentioning any names but isn't it annoying when with that little bit more effort it could be so much better?..

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Well I will name and shame

 

One of the worst grounds for this is Steve Smiths at Dinnington, Newcastle

 

This could be a fantastic ground, used to be a Premier Ground, don't know if it still is

 

No markers (for practise)

 

You don't even get a scorecard, I asked once and was told "we don't use them anymore"

 

Pick ups are used, Under staffed in my opinion.....

 

Bywell up the road charge the same £6 per round, you get a marker/buttoner altogether a far more enjoyable experience.

 

However, I am attending a charity shoot at Steve Smiths on the bank holiday at the end of May, will be interesting to see how it works out.

 

:shaun:

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shaun whats bywell, £6 30 sporting?

 

No mate, it's £6 a round for everything, they don't do sporting as such, it's Sportrap/Compact

You rarely get a marker during practise shoot unless they're a bigger ground.

I can appreciate that for Sporting, but this was a Premier ground and they traded on that fact for a long time

 

And I'm talking about Skeet/Trench/DTL, Cant comment on Sportrap/Compact as it was years ago I last shot that there

 

:shaun:

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Well I will name and shame

 

One of the worst grounds for this is Steve Smiths at Dinnington, Newcastle

 

This could be a fantastic ground, used to be a Premier Ground, don't know if it still is

 

No markers (for practise)

 

You don't even get a scorecard, I asked once and was told "we don't use them anymore"

 

Pick ups are used, Under staffed in my opinion.....

 

Bywell up the road charge the same £6 per round, you get a marker/buttoner altogether a far more enjoyable experience.

 

However, I am attending a charity shoot at Steve Smiths on the bank holiday at the end of May, will be interesting to see how it works out.

 

:shaun:

I was a member at Steve smiths and is my closest ground. Unfortunately you are made to feel rather unwelcome if your not part of the "in crowd". I stopped going there last year for those reasons.

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Not had a market outside of competition unless I drag someone with me.........actually I have at Nelson clay ground..... For DTL or ABT but most places I have shot are claymate or accoustic

I may have to clear this up

 

Bywell are mainly a Skeet/DTL ground, you ALWAYS get a marker/scorer type person, I dont think you are allowed to go out on your own,

 

The DTL is accoustic but still someone there for you

 

Compact/Sportrap is operated by buttons and there is always someone to do that for you

 

Other grounds where I have shot sporting up here or herabouts are thimbelby, where its a claymate, but they always give 10% to account for any mishaps,

 

Braidwood uses something similar but it counts the clays as you use them, they also allow 10%

 

Spennymoor, its been a while but Im sure there were trappers/markers on the sporting

 

Steve Smiths, you get a creditcard type thing which is credited with however many clays you want, so if you shoot Skeet they give you 25, if you have any breakages/malfunctions you have to then go back and tell them, its as if they dont believe you when you say I had x number of broken clays

 

This comes across as a knocking Steve Smiths but as I said earlier, it has the chance to be a cracking little ground if a bit more thought and effort was put in,

 

Totally agree with the above about the "in crowd" but I suspect a lot of places are like that

 

:shaun:

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We used to hold GB OTand UT team selection shoots at Steve Smith's back in the late 90s and early 00s when Jack Reid ran it and it was a popular venue. Not many problems then if I recall correctly.

Thing is Phil, he still runs it :no:

 

tried to sell it a couple of years back, with no takers, he doesnt own the land, just rents it

 

then put a manager in and from what I heard it picked up a bit, now he is back behind the helm

 

:shaun:

Edited by shaun4860
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It appears to me that this thread has changed from 'Poorly maintained grounds' to 'working within budgets'.

 

I run a ground and don't provide markers for sporting practice but the price we charge reflects the savings on markers wages as we only charge £16 per 100 for our members and they all seem to appriciate the cheaper costs. (they are mostly Yorkshiremen after all)

 

If I have ABT on then a buttoner and marker is provided.

 

You have to sometimes allow a little for practice and mark your own cards in your groups if it keeps your entry costs down and if you want pampering then pay the higher price. That said, I shot at Podimore last week in an Inter-service shoot and paid £30 for 100 and marked our own cards and the traps were a nightmare with breakdowns. (you don't always get what you pay for).

 

Happy shooting to all and lets not forget that we all started at strawbale self trapping and marking shoots so why not still support them!!!!

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I'm going to Greece next week and there is a ground near the complex we are stopping , can't wait although something tells me I will never moan about a uk ground again.

They probably have a line of Greek kids with easy throwers :)

Edited by delburt0
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