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Cost of clay grounds


retromlc
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57 minutes ago, Wylye said:

When I first opened a shooting ground in Wiltshire about 20 years ago, black standards were £25/thou. A 100 registered sporting was £30 including the prize fund.  Currently black standards are £100/thou and we are paying £45 for sporting. As you can see, there is still a margin to be made.

Interesting that clays have quadrupled in price in 20 years,yet wages have less than doubled.Typical of many things I suppose! Cartridges were £100 a thousand then now £300.

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You have to bear in mind that refs/ground staff will cost £1000 for the day. Plus a proportion of the rent, trap repairs/replacement. The only way to make it work is to sell a lot of clays - practice days, corporate stuff contribute a lot of revenue. It’s bloody hard work if you do it properly. 

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The cheap clay busting 12g over here in America went from $17usd per 100 2 years ago to the current price of $32 if you can even find them). 1000rd flats simple do not exist in wild anymore.  2 years ago I was also paying $5.99 for 120 clays and now it’s $9.99 for 90.  

On 30/06/2022 at 03:35, retromlc said:

The clay ground owner I spoke to mentioned that he buys clay ten ton at a time.i would imagine the unit cost is much lower at that level, he uses CCI??? Anyway he said their prices have gone up but the supplier is providing a poorer quality product with inconsistent weight so the clay's are breaking or not flying consistently, numerous clay's breaking out of the trap, I've noticed this and assumed they are using used clay's.

Don't get me wrong I understand economics and the need to turn a profit, running anything is not just done on the day it's a lot of work, I'm just thinking that at this rate of increasing costs they will put themselves out of business if they are trying to maintain their previous profit margins because the shooters are abandoning the sport 

I bought some eco clays not to long ago.  They are just pressed dirt and no oil binder.  I think more broke in the thrower then by me shooting them. 

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7 hours ago, Superposed said:

Trying not to play devils advocate but isn't paying 40p/clay+ just commensurate with the facilities/experience offered? Premium grounds require premium investment and likely premium running costs, they are businesses after all and need to make money to continue and secure there operations for years to come.  

I'm happy to pay for the experience of Churchills/Royal Berks/H&H etc.. because what is offered is premium and enjoy it as such, for me a treat and in moderation.

I'm equally as happy to pay 20-30p/clay for a local straw bailer or local club ground and also <10p/clay dragging out a trap myself, buying my own clays wherever I may be allowed to shoot. I expect good value like anyone else but shooting is a consumable sport, it can be an expensive one but its all relative.

Not trying to be argumentative I'm just genuinely interested in the debate/views?

The Economy and everyone's pockets are hurting now and likely for sometime to come but for things to continue and more forward there needs to be investment in clay shooting and someone has to ultimately pay for it.

Good post! 
 

I happily pay more at owls, purbeck, etc due to the venue. 
 

I really like widdington but they stopped doing cpsa shoots as they’d only get 80 or so shooters. Sadly it’s a gorgeous club ground but it’s not in a good location for people to travel to. They won’t bird shoot this year due to bird flu either so have kept premium prices. That said the ground is still gorgeous so I pay for that pleasure. 

39 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

All tweed suits and purdeys.  

Exactly how I dress m-f ;)

1 hour ago, TOPGUN749 said:

Must be where all the rich people live.😊

Hampshire is affluent relatively speaking, however I’ve also shot there being the only gun on site. Suns out, guns out? I think if the weather is too good people assume it’ll be busy. Or have better sun tasks and sports. 

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well i dont know how my grounds do it then. the 2 shoots i frequent are £12 for 50 so thats like 24p a clay.  theyre not massive groundsbut they are decent shoots not a farmer with a spare sunday deal.

 surly the clays are bought and sold at the same rate all over the uk? if anything the bigger grounds should be cheaper with economy of scale?

 

 

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5 hours ago, Sweet11-87 said:

well i dont know how my grounds do it then. the 2 shoots i frequent are £12 for 50 so thats like 24p a clay.  theyre not massive groundsbut they are decent shoots not a farmer with a spare sunday deal.

 surly the clays are bought and sold at the same rate all over the uk? if anything the bigger grounds should be cheaper with economy of scale?


 

I bet lots of smaller grounds are running prices on old stock. 
 

May of bought a load of clays a while ago and not finished them all yet? 
 

It’s not until they buy new stock the prices would jump then? 

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7 hours ago, Sweet11-87 said:

well i dont know how my grounds do it then. the 2 shoots i frequent are £12 for 50 so thats like 24p a clay.  theyre not massive groundsbut they are decent shoots not a farmer with a spare sunday deal.

 surly the clays are bought and sold at the same rate all over the uk? if anything the bigger grounds should be cheaper with economy of scale?

 

 

Exactly,I pay £10 for 50 round of sporting,anyone can turn up on a Sunday morning,I know the posh grounds like Churchill’s in West Wycombe have overheads,but also buy in bulk.’No bird’ broken clays have to be taken into account,so at 10% possibly we are paying for those too.It seems like many grounds will charge quadruple what ever the clays cost them.Naturally we have to pay a bit more when staff/ scorers are employed,than when we do it ourselves.

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If you keep chewing away at this then you will reach the conclusion that staff cost money and the facilities we enjoy have to be paid for. If all you want to do is break a few clays with your mates single stacker trap, go to Mole Valley and buy a couple boxes, find a field and have fun. Clay shooting doesn’t get any cheaper than this. 

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