shotgun..willy Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 i paid a visit to lakenheath clay ground not so long ago iv not been clay shooting that long but my best score yet is this a hard ground to shoot??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorfolkBoy Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 i paid a visit to lakenheath clay ground not so long ago iv not been clay shooting that long but my best score yet is this a hard ground to shoot??? You have a PM. Lakenheath has some challenging targets as I suspect we are about to find out...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 i paid a visit to lakenheath clay ground not so long ago iv not been clay shooting that long but my best score yet is this a hard ground to shoot??? It has quite a reputation for tough Sporting targets, the English Open was held there a couple of years ago and the targets were pretty testing, combined with a strong cold North Easterly wind and lots of waiting around due to the ridiculous squadding system in place, it put a lot of people off going back there. Let's hope the lads today had a more enjoyable time, they certainly can't blame the wind..!! Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 2, 2007 Report Share Posted March 2, 2007 There were some testing targets there today, particularly some looping fast chondels as well as some very quick high driven midi's and fast crossers. Some good variation with incoming and looping away targets, I don't have the experience to know how hard it was but compared to the two registered shoots I have been to I would say it was on a par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 PIN, What are you on about? The most testing target I found there was the high driven standard, I use to be able to shoot these as if I was shelling peas but it's all gone pete tong of late. The chondels were easy, you just need to " Get in the box" HHHOOOMMM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Seriously Pin, there were no hard birds there. The A team were all in the Box, and hommmmmming our way round, using the force and destroying the darkside. The only thing that was difficult was the sun on certain stands and the sporting xompact owing to the fact that there was a severe lack in trap cards so you had no idea where hte birds came from. You think that's hard, try Drinkstone mate, that is stupidly hard. Try a Springing teal that is already 35 yrds in front going away at a Warp factor of 5. That was one of their normal clay days, not even an open comp This essex masters sounds great if we all get squadded together, wouldn't want to end up with George or Faulds. Jesus how off putting would it be for them to watch me miss more than I hit. Second thoughts, sounds like a plan for MC to dominate the world the way hes going. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tosspot Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 the hardest bird i saw there all day was the sweaty sock one that took your money (sorry Brian) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 the hardest bird i saw there all day was the sweaty sock one that took your money (sorry Brian) **** I wouldn't mind being squadded with Digweed, I would look slim for once. As for Faulds he would probably give up after being embarassly beaten by an unkown Essex lad Bring it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Ok SS and MC, if they were not that hard how come you didn't hit more of them then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Because I am not 25 stone and named George, It wasn't the chondels I missed, it was the driven mainly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Did ok on the driven, couple of pairs in there too. I didn't have a problem with anything in particular, just inconsistency due to lack of concentration and lack of experience when reading targets. The two away from underneath should have been a straight but I let too many away shooting over the top of them The crosser on the rabbit stand, over the top of that too, pete even told me where I was going wrong and I still did it the second round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 I just dropped stupid ones and twos after hitting the first four on each stand. Doesn't seem like much as you go round until you count up at the end. Still say they weren't as hard as you make out, some were testng granted especially with the sun, but not hard. I missed 33 from 18 stands so that's less than 2 a stand. Comes down to concentration of task in hand rather than taking the **** out of each other as we were. I think if we had been shooting it in a comp I might have faired better, but then again they would probably have been harder targets anyway. The day was about enjoyment only. Mind you if you class them as hard, I'd relish the chance to shoot comps down your way mate, as they must be easy. One day, we'll get you over to Drinkstone, and then you tell me if those at lakenheasth were hard. Seriously, I could shoot lakenheath every week if they were all like that and never be jarred off. Just about right, enjoyable in the main with a couple of tricky ones thrown in. Sorts the men out from the boys and stops too many shoot-offs. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Erm, was all about the crack for me, I don't think I have used the word hard have I? I was replying to someone in this thread who asked what it was like. I have seen far harder targets, I have seen more deceptive targets. However in my book there is a big difference between the definition of "testing" and "hard". I am not saying this to be "charley big potatoes", I am too inexperienced and new to it all for that, neither am I like that. However, on the second round we took a good few stands as simo pairs, with the last pair round the other way. Those we didn't take like that we took as the last pair simo, with one or two I think which wouldn't have been possible as a simo pair. It's entirely possible shot as on report pairs I wouldn't have said "testing", I certainly didn't call it hard though One or two were hard, to me. The chondel followed by right to left long crosser about stand 4, as a pair that was very hard. The driven pairs from stand 15 or 16 were difficult too, as was the midi/std pair towards the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Grant you the midi/Standard pair on stand 3 or 4 was tricky, owing to I think the bar on the cage more than anything else and I did drop 3 there myself. The chondel/crosser was awkward in terms of sim pair as neither led for the other to be tken first enabling good gun swing, the chondels on 15 I found particularly easy, but then we all have targets we can't quite get our heads round. The two from underneath, i made the same mistakes, in fact I think I got it in my head that the right hand side one was going in a different direction that what it was, so when i swung through I was shooting up the right hand side of it anyway. This was after MC had told me where I was missing as well. The midi/standard pair on 1 or 2 from behind, I took like Fitasc, standing side on and mounting on the bird whilst still behind the cage, this after missing the first two standing forwards looking up. Experience is making it into an easy bird, and quite rightly as you summise, if you ain't seen them like that before they are tricky. Come up again, and we'll give them another crack. This time though your score should improve, because you've already shot them and so know what to expect. Remember just because they look a particular way when watching somebody else shoot them, they always appear different when your in the cage. I said to MC on Friday that some of them, when watching looked like bat out of hells, and yet when inthe cage you had all the time in the world at them. And no "all about the criac" wasn't for you mate, I just meant that if we had concentrated like we were shooting a comp, we would have all been focused more and thereby we would have shot better scores. Nobody is saying you are "Charlie big potatoes" either, just that your difinition of hard and testing birds is different o anyone else's. Why, because you get your own sight picture of each one and because you shoot different grounds/birds then anyone else, which means you interpret them differently. I bet if I came to your normal ground, I would struggle like hell. Why, background may be different/off putting. Birds presented differently etc. etc. It's what your used too. Hence why you get certain people only shoot certain grounds. My perception of Drinkstone is that it is very hard for two reasons. you have trouble gauging the exact distance owing to the vast openess of the background and also that they put difficult birds on owing to the calibre of the guns that shoot there. County/England and GB shots all reside there week in week out. Look at the Results in the Pull magazine or any mag and your see that Suffolk always does well in the sporting comps. One man always stands out and that is Jed Welham. The guy is phenomenal, i have shot behind him/in front of him and the picture he sees is completely different to mine, when i ask him. (by the way, a very, very nice man to talk to and always has time to offer advice) I have shot lakenheath no more than i would say ten times over the last three years, and yet i find them comfortable, but testing at the same time. MC will tell you, i went with him over there just after they shot the british open, Stand 13 - Driven pair off the tower. Sign up said British open stand 13, I refused to shoot it believing it to be too hard for me at the time. Now on Friday I went in to the cage, (The birds being no different then than before) and shot 6 ex 6, MC went in (having straighted nearly all up to then) as did Mungler and both struggled to find them. I class both of these guys far better than me over the whole course, and yet to me, this birds were a piece of cake. I think a lot of the fight is in our heads and not that the birds are hard/difficult/testing etc. Hey, the real beauty of Clay shooting as that if it was that easy we wouldn't keep it up, and we all strive towards the best we can be. I posted on here that I wanted to represent England/GB at the olympics for Skeet, but I know in reality I do not have the time to be able to achieve this. I might if I was a "Natural" shot, but I content myself knowing that each and every time I go out I improve my own score. That score for me at lakenheath was my best to date and next time I go I will be looking to get another five on top of, to make sure i get into eighty odd. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Very well said, I was eluding to that but didn't say it well. Some targets will be hard to some people, not so with others. I've had that before and it happened yesterday with a simple quartering away rabbit. For me that should have been 5ex5 with first barrel kills, I dropped all five, twice with both barrels I had just come off a stand with a simo pair of quartering away birds which were easy, I missed 5 and was furious with myself - which is why I probably missed the rabbit :( My point is that on the day an easy target might be impossible, and you are bang on its mostly all in your head. Looks like I will be shooting it again on the 24th, we will see if I do any better - and congrats on your best score expecially as you say with all the **** taking and "hooooommmmm"ing coming from behind you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Must admit, with all that "Hommmmmmm" ing behind me, I wasn't surprised to see Mungler, MC and LV :( Thank god FG.22 was there to keep them away Glad you can make it on 24th, look forward to it mate. I must do better than eighty though. Ideally 85-90 ex 108/114 would suit me. No excuses, but after i had the cast changed to the stock, that was only the second time i have shot with it, and whilst most of the timeit seems to come up lovely etc, I still find that muscle memory in the neck/head region from before the stock was cast kicks in and I make a right hash of it. Trouble is if you think about what you're doing in the cage, 9 times out of 10 you'll miss anyway, because it's not natural to do so. I read an interesting article the other day from an old mag, saying that if possible, you should try to take every bird as a snap shot. This way you don't over complicate the target, especially those that you have a lot of time with, such as a long incomer or springing teal. Sounds good advice, but not necessarily the best form of advice either (The author of the article did say it went against everything he had written in the magazine over the last X months about how to shoot). SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Except for long crossers, rabbits and certain other targets I gave up shooting gun down and my scores dipped, but have started to improve considerably now that I have stuck with it. Personally since you don't have to (like for FITASC) shoot gun down, I don't see the point - its just more movement which = more things to go wrong. At my local shoots I will practice gun down to keep my eye in for the pigeon, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Except for long crossers, rabbits and certain other targets I gave up shooting gun down and my scores dipped, but have started to improve considerably now that I have stuck with it. Personally since you don't have to (like for FITASC) shoot gun down, I don't see the point - its just more movement which = more things to go wrong. At my local shoots I will practice gun down to keep my eye in for the pigeon, though There's a lot of nonsense talked about styles of shooting and how everybody would shoot better "gun down", it simply isn't so, just watch Faulds & Digweed in action, the only birds they shoot "gun down" are ones where you have loads of time on the target and there's nothing to be gained by pre-mounting. I would advise most people to pre-mount the gun on most targets, as the motion of mounting the gun very often leads to a missed bird, (whoops, sorry, slapped wrists, ......"target"). I say again, "This ain't figure skating, you don't get points for style" Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Stalker Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Pin try & get yesterday out your mind mate :( I think we both over did things what with Lakenheath, then the pigeon & crows on Saturday. As for the rabbit stand yesterday I actually hit some....... A bloody first for me And it was only one or two occasions when I've actually beaten you SS makes a good point about how people see the targets differently, the left to right crosser after the rabbit at Lakenheath I found easy hitting everyone, where the rest of our team struggled Stealth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Yep you were all over that crosser, if you wanted to take that any earlier you'd need to ask laporte to let you shoot them at the factory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.