Nicky T Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Having just recently returned from a days tuition with Carl Bloxham i thought that i'd write a little review for anyone who may be contemplating doing something similar in the future: Myself and Tony, a shooting pal of mine from Worsley (who doesn't come on here) decided to seek a little professional shooting help and enlist the services of Carl Bloxham for a day, to get an insight into where (and how) we can improve our sporting shooting Shrugging off the dismal forecast we met up nice and early this morning to spend a couple of hours driving down from Manchester to Carl's chosen shooting ground; Long Marston Shooting Ground (www.lmsg.org.uk) in Stratford-upon-Avon. Despite it's basic appearance, Long Marston SG has everything that you could need for a full day's sporting tuition including a pattern plate, variety of mobile traps and shooting positions to create a more than adequate number of target presentations and catering facilities that included Carl's now infamous Vienesse Whirls . The day started off with a brew and a chat with Carl finding out details such as the the level of experience we had, the scores we were getting, the grounds we shot regularly at and any specific areas that we wanted to work on during the day. All of which he listened to intently and continued to discuss with us throughout the day . Following the chat we headed out to the pattern plate and to brave the elements. I have never been so grateful for sheltered shooting positions as i was today! The pattern plate illustrated the affects of our choice(s) of cartridges being fired through varying chokes and certainly made interesting food for thought when it came to the benefits of using tighter chokes on days like this to learn exactly where you need to be shooting various targets. Aside from the actual "patterns" it also gave Carl the opportunity to check gun fit and eye dominance and he instantly implement some changes in the way in which Tony was mounting his gun and and presented him with some options with which to overcome his left eye dominance . The remainder of the day was spent shooting various target presentations from numerous different shooting positions and analysing the differences in approach required for each scenario with regards to stance, mount, gun-hold points, break points, movement and lead. Every 90 minutes or so we were afforded a break from the relentless liquid sunshine and treated to a Bloxham brew and Vienesse Whirl, giving us the chance to further question Carl and clarify techniques that we had just been using/learnt . If ever a target needed adapting Carl could move the trap or us to taylor make it to our requirements and throughout the entire day Carls manner of instruction and the directions that he gave us were perfectly pitched, addressing any concerns that we had and most importantly building on the skills that we had All in all it was a cracking days shooting and one that i'm looking forward to repeating in the not too distant future. The cost of the day was incredibly reasonable: - Carls' fee for the days tuition from 10am - 4pm (he even kept going until 5pm!) was £160 which we split between the two of us. - Clays for the day were charged at 10p/clay and in total we used 800 clays (£80 worth) which included every clay used to set up targets (maybe 50 in total) and every no birds (no more than 10 all day ). Again this price was split between the two of us. - Cartridges; bring your own. I'd definitely recommend the day so if you require any additional info I'm sure that you'll be able to find it at: www.carlbloxham.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beretta Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 'A' class looms for you now then. might even beat chard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian E Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Sounds like good value Nick, lets hope you can remmber all the info, maybe an idea to make some simple notes you can look at to remind yourself later. Hope to see you up at Worsley soon, so you can pass some tips on.. btw 71\100 last wensday, you were just driving out as i arrived ! DOH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulos Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Hope it pays off Nicky As Beretta says - A class looms (just wait until I've gone down to B or up to AA - I don't want any competition ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anni Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Good stuff Nicky I bet your little notebook is stuffed with info now NickyT's Bible. ....Will you let me have a read one day Next time you go I might tag along. I shall ask tony about the eye dominance thing next time I see him Roll on the weekend. Im gona be lonely in Z class now :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky T Posted July 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Hope it pays off Nicky As Beretta says - A class looms (just wait until I've gone down to B or up to AA - I don't want any competition ) you'll be in AA class by then I'm sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky T Posted July 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 I bet your little notebook is stuffed with info now NickyT's Bible. ....Will you let me have a read one day I shall ask tony about the eye dominance thing next time I see him Im gona be lonely in Z class now :( I'll share the secrets with you TEAM MATE :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulos Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 you'll be in AA class by then I'm sure I imagine so! Alcoholics Anonymous most likely!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 'A' class looms for you now then. might even beat chard You kept that one quiet you Crafty Cockney :( :( We'll see if it's done you any good. Are you Worsleying on Saturday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 An excellent choice of coach. They don't come better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catamong Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Yes, money well spent I'd say, Carl's an excellent coach and also a very nice guy, he's forgotten more about Sporting clays than most people will ever know. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky T Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 You kept that one quiet you Crafty Cockney :( We'll see if it's done you any good. Are you Worsleying on Saturday? Worsleying indeed with the usual crowd for a midday shoot Will you be gracing us with your presence? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyoftheboy Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 interesting post Nick..... I too have been considering visiting Mr Bloxham..... thanks for the insight.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian E Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Im gona be lonely in Z class now Don't worry Anni, I will be there with you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chard Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Worsleying indeed with the usual crowd for a midday shoot Will you be gracing us with your presence? I should cocoa. :( I haven't written Sunday off yet either, but I've got a job that I'm not having much success in changing, so I don't think that one will happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethegeek Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Nicky, thanks for taking the time to write that up - great review. Even though I am still only a low scoring relative newbie, I had been considering 'investing' in a day with Carl. However my stamina, and what little youthful vim and vigour I ever possessed, is not what it was and I figured a whole day one to one would be too much. It did occur to me though to organise it as a day out for a group from the local 'hay-baler' where I normally shoot. Say three or four in total, all of a similar level/ability. Before speaking with Carl directly, I would be very interested in your view/opinion as to the value/feasibility of doing it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky T Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Nicky, thanks for taking the time to write that up - great review. Even though I am still only a low scoring relative newbie, I had been considering 'investing' in a day with Carl. However my stamina, and what little youthful vim and vigour I ever possessed, is not what it was and I figured a whole day one to one would be too much. It did occur to me though to organise it as a day out for a group from the local 'hay-baler' where I normally shoot. Say three or four in total, all of a similar level/ability. Before speaking with Carl directly, I would be very interested in your view/opinion as to the value/feasibility of doing it that way. I'd certainly recommend the enhanced value aspect of sharing a day of Carl's tuition between you and people that you regularly shoot with as it will not only make the day cheaper but you'll be able to remind each other of pointers that Carl made long after you've left and begun putting what he preached into practice. The only downside is that if you split the day amongst too many, you may feel as though you're not getting enough of Carl's time to work on your shooting technique so personally i wouldn't go with more than one other shooter at a time. If the shooter you go with is like-minded then it can be a highly constructive day and a lot can be achieved, but be wary of taking someone who isn't completely keen as your day could be spent listening to relentless questionning instead of learning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter De La Mare Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Nice write up Nick, I'm glad you enjoyed it and hopefully will see the benefits soon. Shame about the weather though. I see you managed to eclipse my 750 clays, just about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky T Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 I see you managed to eclipse my 750 clays, just about. You still hold the solo record Pete as ours was split between two shooters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beretta Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 think pete still holds the record for most expensive. anymore than 2/3 and its hard to keep track of everyones different styles of shooting so you lose the benefit. 2 is best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter De La Mare Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Ya, if something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 nice one nicky. only way is upwords now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
covlocks Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 That sounds like a worthwhile day. How do you get in touch with Carl? Looked at the Long Marston web site and its only open for a couple hours each weekend - didnt that cause a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petethegeek Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 That sounds like a worthwhile day. How do you get in touch with Carl? Carl's personal website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 I would say 2 is perfect,but three if your streatched for pennies. Carl will go to almost any destination and some of the grounds let him "open" when they are not. The best money you will ever spend with a n excellent coach and good egg. 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.