European Compak Sporting Championship, Signes, France...report & p

[Catamong]

Apologies for not reporting sooner on this event, I've been a bit busy with other things, and I had loads of photos to download and sort, so it's taken me a bit of time to get around to this one.

 

Right then, this event was organised by the governing body of International Sporting shooting, (FITASC), and was hosted by the Ball Trap Club in Signes, about 50 miles from Marseille, on the Cote D'azur., South of France.

 

I'd never shot in that part of France before, but had heard good reports about the ground, so was keen to give this one a go.

 

The ground is set in very hilly terrain, with a delightful drive up through the hills, here's a pic of the nearby countryside looking back down to the coast:

 

 

Here is the welcome board at the entrance to the ground, each of the 8 layouts was sponsored, many thanks to them:

 

 

The event was a standard 200 birder, shot over 4 days, and started on Thursday 1st May. It was shot under the new system for Compak Sporting, whereby there are no 6 man squads as previous, but shooting is continuous all day long, apart from short breaks required to top up the traps.

 

All of the scoring was electronic, the ref would sound a buzzer for a lost target which was recorded on the electronic scoreboard for all to see. There was therefore no need for shooters to act as scorers, as they would under the old system.

 

I wasn't sure how this system would work in practice, but it actually worked quite well, however, there were a few problems on a couple of the layouts when the scoreboard went haywire and started giving everybody zero's, but these were sorted relatively quickly.

 

As is always the case in shoots outside the UK, every target was orange, which is great for most layouts with a hilly background, but not so good for edge on targets against a white sky:

 

 

A good few GB shooters made the journey down to shoot this event, I'm sure there would have been a lot more, had there not have been an unfortunate clash of dates with the World English Sporting being held in the UK. I must have pondered which one I'd rather shoot for all of 5 seconds before I decided to go for the Compak.

 

We arrived at the ground on Wednesday afternoon, all of the layouts being open for practice, here's a young guy from Belgium shooting the tricky Rio layout, with virtually all the targets below your feet, shooting over a 75 foot precipice:

 

 

A few well known GB shooters were there, including Tony Manvell, he probably shoots more events overseas now than he does in the UK............."now, how much lead do I give that one..?" :

 

"

Another well known top GB shot was there, none other than PW's very own "Mr Potter", (who'll be once again captaining the North team in the forthcoming Charity shoot), just look at the concentration before he minces another pair of targets, or perhaps they're easier to hit if you keep your eyes closed..?:

 

 

The ground was very well prepared for the event, they even had a specially made red carpet laid out on the steps up to the clubhouse:

 

 

The opening ceremony was held at a restaurant a couple of hundred yards up the road, each of the teams from every country formed up and marched down the road to much applause from the crowd, here's the GB team about to move off:

 

 

Ladies from Portugal, unfortunately with the sun in their eyes, these girls can shoot..!!

 

 

This is Celine Rodde from France, a local Lady who went on to win the Ladies title:

 

 

There was even a team from the Ukraine, small though it was:

 

 

Here's Norway:

 

 

Other teams gathering at the start of the procession:

 

 

Here's Phil Easeman with Daughter Amy, they both went on to shoot good scores:

 

 

After the formal opening ceremony was over, everybody collected their start times, together with a goody bag, containing a few bits and pieces, including a pair of flip flops, amazing..!

 

A cocktail party was held, with plenty of local food and drink being laid on:

 

 

Thursday dawned bright and Sunny, a lovely day with a gentle breeze. Shooting started around 9.00, for me it was a good opportunity to study the targets as I wasn't starting that day until 12.30, so I had a look at 2 or 3 of the layouts,

 

This is the Rio layout again, absolutely stunning views across the valley:

 

 

The Zoli layout was tricky, with a good combination of birds above and below your feet, it caught quite a few people out:

 

 

GB shooter Andy Seaman made it look easy:

 

 

Here's another team GB shooter, Adrian Balham, shooting Zoli:

 

 

I started on Browning, not a hard layout, but I still managed to drop 3, including the very first bird out, missed it over the top and in front with both barrels..!:

 

 

I then shot the Sata layout and did a 23, so not a disaster for the day with a finish on 45, but in Compak you always kick yourself 'cos they're not hard targets..!

 

As is always the case on overseas shoots, we always enjoy the local cuisine, this area being particularly noted for seafood.

 

Adrian put away 3 buckets of "Moules Marinieres" on the first night, followed by this monstrous seafood starter on day 2...........yes, that is only the starter..!!!:

 

 

The forecast for Friday was for strong winds with rain later, and they were dead right, it blew quite hard from first thing onwards, I had the misfortune to have to shoot the B&P layout at probably the windiest part of the day and returned a dismal 17. OK, it was the hardest layout for many, with only one single and two simmo pairs, but I was disappointed with my performance there, particularly as I shot another tricky layout a little while later, (Rio), and did a 23..! It's fair to say the birds on Rio were less affected by the wind.

 

I finished early afternoon as the wind died down, time to share a quick shandy with Mr P:

 

 

The storm clouds were gathering in the background, and sure enough, in late afternoon, the heavens opened, (fortunately I'd already left by then..!)

 

The whole event had a real "buzz" about it, with a good spread of trade stands around a central square near the podium:

 

 

The wine seller was also there, just look at those shotgun shaped wine bottles:

 

 

A good selection of food was there, with chicken & chips and fresh pizza:

 

 

And the beer was cold, thank goodness:

 

 

The Loos also deserve a special mention, they were kept absolutely spotless by a team of local girls in constant attendance, a nice gesture:

 

 

Saturday & Sunday were both lovely days, warm and sunny, no excuses due to weather on those days, although the sun did make a couple of birds a tad harder at certain times of the day, here's Adrian shooting the Rover layout:

 

 

The competition at the top was fierce, the French were always going to do well here as it's a local ground to most of them, I don't bother looking at the scoreboard until the event is over, even then it can be misleading until all of the scores were in:

 

 

The shoot was won by Christophe Auvret, a ground owner from Normandy, on 197, followed by Charles Bardou from Paris on 194.

 

The top scoring GB Shooters were Steve Grant and Cheryl Hall, both on 186.

 

A special mention has to go to the GB Veterans team of Steve Grant, Andy Seaman and Adrian Balham, who shot a team score of 539 to take the Gold medal, beating France by 4 targets, what a result..!!

 

Here they are on the podium, a fantastic achievement..!!

 

 

Other members of team GB after the ceremony:

 

 

All in all, a great event, well organised and properly run, definitely a ground worth shooting.

 

Next year the Compak Championship of Europe is being hosted in April by Portugal at a ground I think I have shot before in Porto, followed by the World Championships in Tallin, Estonia, in late June.

 

Looking forward to them both..!!

 

Hope you have enjoyed the report and pics, if you've read this far it can't have been too boring..!

 

Cat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Will Poon]

Bloody marvellous blog there Cat, Great shooting had by all

[Will Poon]

Just to add Cat, how do you know about these events in advance?

[p@cman]

Excellent, good read

[Old farrier]

Brilliant write up nice pictures thanks for sharing

 

Look forward to you leading the south to victory in the charity shoot

All the best

Of

[beretta]

Great report Cat as always. Pity the mags can no put together a good report like you.

[kingo15]

Same as above fantastic write up and some great pics.

Really enjoyed it makes me want to go. Just one major flaw cant shoot for **** haha

[Catamong]

Just to add Cat, how do you know about these events in advance?

 

All of the shoots are on the FITASC website, I've always fancied doing one somewhere nice like Crete, combining it with a weeks holiday, fantastic, will do it one day..!

 

http://www.fitasc.com/uk/home/view

 

Cat.

[Kes]

Enjoyed that - Thanks

[Nicky T]

Great report Rob as always and well shot

[southrop]

Excellent write-up and photos, having looked at the fitasc website seems there are a number of shoots coming up this year in warmer-climes.

 

Can any seasoned traveller explain just how one goes about taking a shotgun abroad to these events in Europe, any advice / tips would be very welcome as I have never shot abroad.

[dashman1]

Great report

[shoot and be safe]

I enjoyed reading that. Well done

[Will Poon]

Thanks for the link Cat, very informative

[100milesaway]

A superb report as ever from Cat and very well shot to all our representatives. Thanks for putting this up, all these gestures like yours could sew the seeds of ambition in lots of the UK shooters. from Auntie.

[Mr Potter]

Great report and pics Rob, and every word is true it was a great event, so well organised and other than those scoreboard hiccups (which I only heard about and did not witness) the whole thing ran like clockwork. Even the opening ceremony was bearably short unlike the first FITASC event I went to in France about 14 years ago, the ceremony lasted about 3 hours!!

 

We always rue the ones that slip away but this year I was gutted that I wasn't 2 or 3 years older! If I'd been 65 and shooting as a Super Vet I'd have ended up in a shoot off for the silver medal... We can but dream, by the time I'm a SV I'll probably have forgotten which end the bullet things go in.

 

Anyhoo brilliant article Cat, you really do have a talent with both the keyboard and the camera. Hope we can renew the rivalry next year, I fancy both shoots but will probably only do one.

See you in just over two weeks for the important event of the year.

 

Mr Potter

[shaun4860]

Very good write up

 

Did you happen to note if those shotgun wine bottles were for sale/price?

 

[Del T]

A good interesting read and some great pics:)

[Catamong]

Can any seasoned traveller explain just how one goes about taking a shotgun abroad to these events in Europe, any advice / tips would be very welcome as I have never shot abroad.

 

Yes, first of all you need to get a European Shotgun Permit from your local FEO, (no charge), then pick your events, it's as simple as that.

 

You need to be a CPSA member to enter online, (as it proves you have valid insurance cover), you then need to pick an airline that will carry guns.

 

Easyjet and British Airways will, (also TAP, Portugal), but they charge extra for the service, Ryanair won't, I can't speak for any of the other airlines.

 

Don't bother taking ammo, it's not worth it as it uses up all of your 20kg baggage allowance, simply buy the shells at the ground, you may be pleasantly surprised how well they break the clays..!

 

See you next year..??!!

 

Cat.

[kingo15]

Or just drive then take as much ammo as you want.

Are the cartridges much different prices at events like this?

[Catamong]

Very good write up

 

Did you happen to note if those shotgun wine bottles were for sale/price?

 

 

Yeah, they were also on sale at the French FITASC championships that I shot near Paris last year, I think at this years event they were selling for 80 Euros, but I can say that the wine is not plonk, it's a lovely soft, (and very drinkable) Pomerol...

 

I'm shooting the French Compak Champs at arras in mid July, I'm pretty sure they will be there, so PM me your mobile number and I will text you the price from the ground, perhaps they will do a deal, as I've fancied buying one, trouble is, once you've opened it, you've got to drink it...!

 

Cat.

[Catamong]

Or just drive then take as much ammo as you want.

Are the cartridges much different prices at events like this?

 

Yes, spot on, I don't like flying with guns as it's so much aggro, much prefer to drive if possible.

 

Cartridge prices are generally no more expensive than you would pay in the UK, but I can't speak for Countries like Russia, as I've never shot there.

 

Cat.

[kingo15]

 

Yes, spot on, I don't like flying with guns as it's so much aggro, much prefer to drive if possible.

 

Cartridge prices are generally no more expensive than you would pay in the UK, but I can't speak for Countries like Russia, as I've never shot there.

 

Cat.

I weren't sure if it was like we have a captive audience that need something so lets make some money.

 

I really fancy doing one of the french ones. But I have a few more years of practice before I even contemplate doing something like that.least it gives me a goal now.