New to the sport

[gwb]

Hi All

 

I am new to the sport. Having had a try at the recent gamefair with my son. We got on ok but would like to give it another go.

 

I have a few questions, if anyone could answer them, it would be much appreciated.

 

I have recently applied for my SGC and the cheque has just been cashed, roughly how long could I expect to wait for my visit? I live in Buckinghamshire.

 

My nearest gunshop is Country Pursuits in Rickmansworth and they advertise lessons, I intend to take a few then have a couple more with my son. Has anyone had lessons from the Instructor there? If so how did you get on?

 

I intend to eventually go pigeon shooting when Ive blown away the cobwebs [ used to shoot twenty odd years ago, pretty much forgot everything including fieldcraft] can anyone suggest how I go about finding somewhere to shoot?

 

What is the best Clay discipline to practice with the intention of eventually shooting pigeons and rabbits?

 

A [3 gun] Gun cabinet what is the average cost?

 

At the gamefair I was told I had to keep one eye closed. Those that do this how do you get on? As I have read mixed reports about using various other techniques [easy hit,tape etc]

 

Thanks for your time

[tweedledee]

hello and welcome i think when the cheque is cashed that starts the application process. as for discipline i would think skeet would be good for pigeon shooting and sporting is a great help too even if a little harder. a gun cabinet should be no more than 100£ keep an eye in the free ads for a bargain . i shoot with both eyes open suits me better but everyone is different. good luck

[p@cman]

to you gwb.

 

Hope your sgc application goes through for you quickly. The turnround for applications seems to vary wildly from region to region. Some are pretty quick, others are somewhat slower.

 

If you are near to Wycombe or Aylesbury, try a visit to Aylesbury & Prestwood shooting grounds They run a 100 bird sporting clay shoot. Friendly, helpful and reasonable price too. Sporting clays is a pretty good all-round dicipline for honing up your technique.

 

Gun cabinets appear from time to time in the sales section on this site, so worth keeping an eye out.

 

Enjoy

[gwb]

Thanks for the replies chaps.

 

Prestwood/Ayelsbury is not too far probably 25-30 mins drive, so thanks for the link.

 

On the subject of lessons has anyone had any from the guys at Country Pursuits?

[malkiserow]

[rabbithunter2008]

Hi and to PW

[clayman]

Lesson quality can vary enormously, so carry out some checks on the instructor you intend to use:

 

Are they insured? - clay shooters insurance does not cover proffessional instraction, a coach should have proffessional indemnity cover to cover you while on a lesson.

 

Are they qualified?

 

CPSA has three qualification levels, level one for novice intro, level two for each discipline area, and level three, qualified in all disciplines. The higher the level you choose the more experienced the coach.

 

BASC qualifies instructors at the basic level through a general NVQ qualification.

 

Association of Professional Shooting Instructors - APSI: - a professional association that offer instructor courses and qualification, mainly game shooting instructors.

 

Guild of Clay Shooting Instructors - tied up with Lantra and the NVQ system

 

Institute of Clay Shooting Instructors - ISCI - a professional body that accepts only independently qualified coaches, does not qualify itself.

 

Then find our a bit about their experince and its suitability to your needs. Are they game or clay orientated? Do they do mainly corporate work or 1:2:1 lessons? Can any friends recommend them?

 

The danger is that you can get a person who is a competent shooter, but not trained in giving instruction. These are different skills.

 

Some judgments on good or poor instruction:

 

Does the instructor check

 

Your gun handling and discuss shoot ground etiquette ( ie how to take a gun in / out of the slip, in / out of a rack / open & close correctly and palm the spent shells / carry the gun in or out of the slip ??

 

Did they check your master eye both off the gun, and with it mounted?

 

Did they set your feet / balance etc before checking gun fit?

 

Did they explain the basics of analysis the flight line of they clay into its components? visual pick up / gun hold / target acquisition / forward allowance etc

 

Were you told why you missed and what to do about it? An instructor who simply tells you WHERE you missed is failing to give the most important info, which is the Reason for the miss and the Remedy to hit next time.

 

Were you debriefed at the end of the lesson?

 

Enjoy you lessons, but make sure you get good instruction.

[Miroku Mike]

Hello and welcome.

 

Id would use skeet shooting for practice. Its a good alround disipline.

 

I love sporting but i like the odd round of skeet to sharpen me up,

 

it also gives you most general shots ie angles, going away driven and crossers.

 

Hope you get on ok, most of all relax and enjoy your shooting.

 

Mike

[gwb]

thanks for the replies.

I guess I may just have to book one lesson and see how it goes as I

have no references to go on. Hopefully someone on here may know of the instructor?

 

Thanks again