The Tab Tries…Clay Pigeon Shooting

Elizabeth Foster talks us through her day of Clay Pigeon Shooting…


It was a rainy Wednesday and after a quick look around the outisde of the LCR, the designated meeting place for the Clay Pigeon Shooting Society, I took a guess that the people in the flat caps and tweed jackets were who I was looking for.

Everyone seems friendly and welcoming, and soon we drive off to the Mid Norfolk Shooting School, about a fifteen minute drive away.

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The last time I shot a gun was when I was about 10, and then I only took a couple of shots for fun, so I needed a lesson. Me and the other two newbies met our instructor, Noel. Noel definitey knew what he was doing, and sorted us out with guns, 20 calibre ‘for the young lady’ and 12 for the two boys. The difference is in barrel size, so mine was slightly smaller and lighter.

As we were to have repeated throughout the afternoon, the most important bit about shooting is the way you hold the gun. We therefore spent some time inside the centre practising the art of getting the gun right up next to your cheek before you shoot, and making sure that the barrel is wedged into a soft part of your shoulder so the recoil doesn’t give you nasty bruises. We then grabbed some bullets, ear and eye protection, and headed off to do some shooting!

We each had 50 bullets, but first Noel showed us how the clays travel across, and we practised following the target without shooting. Then it was time to try some shooting. The first ten or so bullets I didn’t hit a single clay, though I was assured that this was perfectly normal for a first time, and Noel said a few times that I was very close.

So, are you going to give us our burgers back or not?

We moved over to the other side of the shooting range, and I seemed to do a bit better from the right. I hit two clays, and I have to say watching them explode was seriously exciting- adrenaline rush! We moved on to some harder targets and I didn’t do so great, but by the end of the session I had hit a few, and was loving it. I managed to obliterate my last clay- a really good one according to Noel, and was on a high on the walk back.

The next day, my upper body felt like it had had a terrific workout, carrying the guns on the cook of my arm had really seemed to have an effect, though thankfully my gun position was good enough that I didn’t get any serious injuries. I will definitely be going back again, once you get a taste for making things explode it’s hard to go back! Seriously though, it was a really good afternoon and something which you might not often get the chance to do, particularly at the reduced club prices, £25 for a lesson and £10 for a normal practise. Have a go!

 

Photo credits Colin Tsang