Shoot reports and news 2024

Shot the Pro One on Friday, it was my first year doing so after picking up my license last year. Went with a friend and was part of a good squad, nice bunch had a few laughs and some good support all the way round. It was my second time at Barbury, so the ground still felt a bit unfamiliar (a lot of walking).

Finished on a 75 which i wasnt too annoyed with, I'm a solid C class shooter I did want to better my 83 and the English Open. Felt comfortable with the distance stuff, the stands in the recently harvested field were my fave. came away with a 7 on 7 and managed to hit the far bird on the full use stand towards to the end of the course ( i think stand 13) nearly got all 5 bit missed the low teal. Disappointed that there wasn't any driven targets and a lot of the stands had slow quartering away birds that you stupidly missed. Hale Bale rabbits were fun, hit 5 which i was relieved at.

Shot the pool shoot after which was enjoyable, hit the 6 and 7 as my nominated pairs so I was content with that. Can't work out why there are so many big scores at these events, if the standard is so high why arent the targets more difficult to create some gaps. Feels a bit boring seeing the same faces take the win. I also cant workout how there are C class shots hitting 101 and classed as C.

TerryTibbs said:

I also cant workout how there are C class shots hitting 101 and classed as C.

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That appears to be a genuine case of someone having done exceedingly well on the day providing there aren't other factors at play that aren't immediately obvious.

I did take a look at that persons past scores to see if there was any funny business and they have been shooting a while with 40+ registered scores ranging from 40/100 - 70/100. Only in the last 4 shoots has the individuals scores increased to high 70s and 80s out of 100. It'll take a while for their average to increase to the point where they go up into B and A class. Looks like they'll be taking class prizes for a little while longer.

With being in C class, the room for improvement is vast and something as simple as employing the services of a good coach can drastically change your shooting and put a large % on your average scores. Also, the Pro One had a lot of super sporting stands to fill out a score if your shooting is good but not consistent as would be expected with someone with 40+ registered scores but still in C class. Hitting a 101 was probably a red letter day for that individual and I can only imagine how they would have felt leaving the ground afterwards.

I've just had my second session with a coach this past weekend and in the weeks since my first session my average scores increased from mid 70s to low to mid 80s and that's after just one session. Completely changed the game for me where I had thought I'd hit the natural ceiling of my ability. Providing I don't suddenly crash and burn I fully expect to be in A class at the next classification period purely as a result of the coaching I am receiving.

TerryTibbs said:

Shot the Pro One on Friday, it was my first year doing so after picking up my license last year. Went with a friend and was part of a good squad, nice bunch had a few laughs and some good support all the way round. It was my second time at Barbury, so the ground still felt a bit unfamiliar (a lot of walking).

Finished on a 75 which i wasnt too annoyed with, I'm a solid C class shooter I did want to better my 83 and the English Open. Felt comfortable with the distance stuff, the stands in the recently harvested field were my fave. came away with a 7 on 7 and managed to hit the far bird on the full use stand towards to the end of the course ( i think stand 13) nearly got all 5 bit missed the low teal. Disappointed that there wasn't any driven targets and a lot of the stands had slow quartering away birds that you stupidly missed. Hale Bale rabbits were fun, hit 5 which i was relieved at.

Shot the pool shoot after which was enjoyable, hit the 6 and 7 as my nominated pairs so I was content with that. Can't work out why there are so many big scores at these events, if the standard is so high why arent the targets more difficult to create some gaps. Feels a bit boring seeing the same faces take the win. I also cant workout how there are C class shots hitting 101 and classed as C.

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Still be the same faces winning no matter what the difficulty, until talented new shooters come along, which they are.

Clear Miss said:

That appears to be a genuine case of someone having done exceedingly well on the day providing there aren't other factors at play that aren't immediately obvious.

I did take a look at that persons past scores to see if there was any funny business and they have been shooting a while with 40+ registered scores ranging from 40/100 - 70/100. Only in the last 4 shoots has the individuals scores increased to high 70s and 80s out of 100. It'll take a while for their average to increase to the point where they go up into B and A class. Looks like they'll be taking class prizes for a little while longer.

With being in C class, the room for improvement is vast and something as simple as employing the services of a good coach can drastically change your shooting and put a large % on your average scores. Also, the Pro One had a lot of super sporting stands to fill out a score if your shooting is good but not consistent as would be expected with someone with 40+ registered scores but still in C class. Hitting a 101 was probably a red letter day for that individual and I can only imagine how they would have felt leaving the ground afterwards.

I've just had my second session with a coach this past weekend and in the weeks since my first session my average scores increased from mid 70s to low to mid 80s and that's after just one session. Completely changed the game for me where I had thought I'd hit the natural ceiling of my ability. Providing I don't suddenly crash and burn I fully expect to be in A class at the next classification period purely as a result of the coaching I am receiving.

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Don’t know how many entries in C class but there were about 250 in B so by the sheer weight of numbers someone is going to have an exceptional day. I thought the balance of target difficulty was perfect as to keep most people happy.

With being in C class, the room for improvement is vast and something as simple as employing the services of a good coach can drastically change your shooting and put a large % on your average scores.

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Totally agree with this. Coaching can easily make a 'Class' difference if not two.

TerryTibbs said:

I also cant workout how there are C class shots hitting 101 and classed as C.

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That person who hit 101 was me .
I am relatively new to shooting approx 19 months. Threw myself in at the deepend as soon as I got my licence and started shooting registered shoots straight away. Needless to say I was rubbish to begin with. My initial goal was not to embarrass myself and come last - unfortunately I did on a few occaisions.
I shoot with a group of lads who have shot for years and they helped me massively at the start with the basics and over time I started to get better, reguarly getting over 50%.
I then chose to invest in lessons with Ben Husthwaite and after adopting his methods saw myself getting over 60% fairly reguarly and seeing my average creep up to 59%. Then recently following more lessons with Ben something has just clicked and the last 2 months I have been hitting high 70’s and a few in the 80’s. Came top in C Class at the last shoot at Westfield which was my first win with an 84 and luckily for me I carried that form into the pro one.
I am truly blown away that I managed to come top when only a few weeks ago I would struggle to be anywhere near the top. Long may it continue but I doubt I will stay in C Class much longer and I can’t wait to move up!
Had a big smile on my face since Saturday but it is all down to hard work and good coaching and good mates who support and absolutely nothing sinister on my behalf

Clear Miss said:

I can only imagine how they would have felt leaving the ground afterwards.

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Absolutely buzzing was how I felt!

Matt Bowman said:

Absolutely buzzing was how I felt!

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Congratulations iv just shot my 2nd registered at Blyton on Saturday and managed a 68 which I was incredibly happy with. Came joint 2nd in class C which I will take. Also managed a 25 straight at our local Sunday ground felt like George Digweed . It even stopped me shooting of the hip to keep a good round going

Matt Bowman said:

That person who hit 101 was me .
I am relatively new to shooting approx 19 months. Threw myself in at the deepend as soon as I got my licence and started shooting registered shoots straight away. Needless to say I was rubbish to begin with. My initial goal was not to embarrass myself and come last - unfortunately I did on a few occaisions.
I shoot with a group of lads who have shot for years and they helped me massively at the start with the basics and over time I started to get better, reguarly getting over 50%.
I then chose to invest in lessons with Ben Husthwaite and after adopting his methods saw myself getting over 60% fairly reguarly and seeing my average creep up to 59%. Then recently following more lessons with Ben something has just clicked and the last 2 months I have been hitting high 70’s and a few in the 80’s. Came top in C Class at the last shoot at Westfield which was my first win with an 84 and luckily for me I carried that form into the pro one.
I am truly blown away that I managed to come top when only a few weeks ago I would struggle to be anywhere near the top. Long may it continue but I doubt I will stay in C Class much longer and I can’t wait to move up!
Had a big smile on my face since Saturday but it is all down to hard work and good coaching and good mates who support and absolutely nothing sinister on my behalf

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I can vouch for Matt, it is a genuine recent improvement in ability. Plus watching me a bit

Matt Bowman said:

Absolutely buzzing was how I felt!

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Nice one! You must have felt like a champion.

It was a good coach that made all the difference. That's probably the best thing that one can invest in when starting out in the sport.

Well done matt, I haven't shot much in the last few weeks as I'm recovering from a blood clot on the lung ( don't recommended that for a few days skive off work) so shot Sunday, first couple of stands a bit wobbly but cleaned the last 3 for an 88 and to top it all won both games of petanque Monday night

Brook Bank today for thier registered 100 English sporting.

I've never been before despite it being roughly the same distance as my usual grounds. Nice place, well kept and with a nice clubhouse. Though It definitely is a DTL/ trap/ skeet ground with a little sporting slotted in where there's a space.

With the course being set around the trap and skeet layouts they were quite limited in what could be set. Despite this there was a good selection of targets with most presentations and target types albeit on snooker table flat land. Robin Heal seems to really like simmo pairs..

I was happy with the first 6 stands around the layouts and dropped one or two through silly errors until the second stand of simmo pairs. A pair of going away trap style birds where I dropped 5 of the 10 targets.

Second half of course was quite tough with birds from the high tower doing some damage. I couldn't find the long crosser and dropped two of the driven targets. The odd one or two away on each stand from there hurt my score.

I ended on a disappointing 77/100 and walked back to the club house quite annoyed that I'd let the inconsistencies ruin what could have been a good score. Rather surprisingly 77 was the high gun for B class at that point and ended up as the class win for B class. Typically it was targets only.

A glance at previous scores for the ground show the average B class high gun at high 80s so today's course must have been a tad stiffer than usual.

Clear Miss said:

Brook Bank today for thier registered 100 English sporting.

I've never been before despite it being roughly the same distance as my usual grounds. Nice place, well kept and with a nice clubhouse. Though It definitely is a DTL/ trap/ skeet ground with a little sporting slotted in where there's a space.

With the course being set around the trap and skeet layouts they were quite limited in what could be set. Despite this there was a good selection of targets with most presentations and target types albeit on snooker table flat land. Robin Heal seems to really like simmo pairs..

I was happy with the first 6 stands around the layouts and dropped one or two through silly errors until the second stand of simmo pairs. A pair of going away trap style birds where I dropped 5 of the 10 targets.

Second half of course was quite tough with birds from the high tower doing some damage. I couldn't find the long crosser and dropped two of the driven targets. The odd one or two away on each stand from there hurt my score.

I ended on a disappointing 77/100 and walked back to the club house quite annoyed that I'd let the inconsistencies ruin what could have been a good score. Rather surprisingly 77 was the high gun for B class at that point and ended up as the class win for B class. Typically it was targets only.

A glance at previous scores for the ground show the average B class high gun at high 80s so today's course must have been a tad stiffer than usual.

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Well Richard, you didn't do so badly, the average was 68 and there were 21 in your class

Clear Miss said:

Brook Bank today for thier registered 100 English sporting.

I've never been before despite it being roughly the same distance as my usual grounds. Nice place, well kept and with a nice clubhouse. Though It definitely is a DTL/ trap/ skeet ground with a little sporting slotted in where there's a space.

With the course being set around the trap and skeet layouts they were quite limited in what could be set. Despite this there was a good selection of targets with most presentations and target types albeit on snooker table flat land. Robin Heal seems to really like simmo pairs..

I was happy with the first 6 stands around the layouts and dropped one or two through silly errors until the second stand of simmo pairs. A pair of going away trap style birds where I dropped 5 of the 10 targets.

Second half of course was quite tough with birds from the high tower doing some damage. I couldn't find the long crosser and dropped two of the driven targets. The odd one or two away on each stand from there hurt my score.

I ended on a disappointing 77/100 and walked back to the club house quite annoyed that I'd let the inconsistencies ruin what could have been a good score. Rather surprisingly 77 was the high gun for B class at that point and ended up as the class win for B class. Typically it was targets only.

A glance at previous scores for the ground show the average B class high gun at high 80s so today's course must have been a tad stiffer than usual.

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Chap you are being rather harsh on yourself, as surely 77 in B is and not the day you think you have had?
B being “won” with a high end 80 (AA AAA territory) is not / should not be the norm

Martinj said:

Well Richard, you didn't do so badly, the average was 68 and there were 21 in your class

View attachment 10878

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Richard59 said:

Chap you are being rather harsh on yourself, as surely 77 in B is and not the day you think you have had?
B being “won” with a high end 80 (AA AAA territory) is not / should not be the norm

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Thanks both for the kind and encouraging words. I'm a hugely impatient person with a set target for this year. I do need talking down now and again and to remind myself that it's a long game and overnight success isn't likely.

I shot the 100 ESP at Westfield today. I did have a huge rant typed out about the crowds and wait times but summarised - God, that place is begging out to organised on a squadded basis and not the chaos it currently is. That being said, no breakdowns and there was a team present filling the traps and keeping it running. Just a huge turnout on a sunny Sunday in August. Who'd have thought eh?

To start, I don't deal well with waiting around and have really struggled in the past on old style FITASC with hour long breaks or if a breakdown has caused a long delay. I go off the boil and lose focus and when that happens its very hard to come back. I also felt quite fatigued this morning for some reason. I'm normally fresh on Sunday AM but not today. I was shooting alone so I should have stayed at home really.

A long wait to get onto stand 1 which was a slowish teal and an incoming driven bird. Nothing too difficult but I dropped the first pair having watched 20 people shoot it before me, the majority of which straighted it. Missed one of each target over the next 3 pairs to leave the stand with 4/8.

Head up and onto the next stand to be presented with another huge queue of people and a long wait. A fast, side on crosser at mid distance with a quartering R-L looper. Side on targets are usually my weakness so I was happy to finish that on 7/8.

Missed stand 3 due to huge queue of people waiting.

Stand 4 was a simmo pair of long crossers which I found on the first two pairs and then lost to leave a 4/8.

The next 8 stands very much followed theme and a finish on a very annoying 66/100. I just couldn't seem to pull anything together with a lot of inconsistencies. If I could reflect back and ask what went wrong was a combination of fatigue and impatience leading to just blind shooting rather than making a plan and approaching each stand as an individual challenge.

I did get to see Wynno from this forum shoot a straight on one of the later stands so not all bad.

Can't win them all and a reminder of my inexperience and where I am on this journey.

Much prefer squadded shoots ,although they do put you on a spot timewise re travelling.
Your day sounded a `mare...

Mr clear miss.
Just to add that Westfield today was pretty challenging in places. With a 74 % average and a top heavy entry of 103 A class and above (out of 184 entries) and not too many C class to (Respectfully) drag the average down . Then it probably actually shot 1-2% harder than that 74 average. I'm AA and shot with an A class bod. We both worked very hard for our 85 and 88. Watched a lot of really top class folk really having to dig deep today. The 96 high guns are just aliens. Ignore them on your journey. Have fun and keep looking forward.

And yes the massive queues don't help. Maybe it's time to stop the non registered shooters at registered events. After all these shoots are supposed to be for cpsa members.

But maybe you should also consider working on this part of your game. I'm afraid this won't be the only time you encounter it.
For me I just try to relax a bit and DON'T watch too many targets. It tires the eyes and the brain.
But also on these sort of days, if the refs would call the next couple of shooters it would help. Nothing worse than being 10-15 deep and not having a clue when it's your turn.
Keep up the good work and enjoy.

jasper said:

Mr clear miss.
Just to add that Westfield today was pretty challenging in places. With a 74 % average and a top heavy entry of 103 A class and above (out of 184 entries) and not too many C class to (Respectfully) drag the average down . Then it probably actually shot 1-2% harder than that 74 average. I'm AA and shot with an A class bod. We both worked very hard for our 85 and 88. Watched a lot of really top class folk really having to dig deep today. The 96 high guns are just aliens. Ignore them on your journey. Have fun and keep looking forward.

And yes the massive queues don't help. Maybe it's time to stop the non registered shooters at registered events. After all these shoots are supposed to be for cpsa members.

But maybe you should also consider working on this part of your game. I'm afraid this won't be the only time you encounter it.
For me I just try to relax a bit and DON'T watch too many targets. It tires the eyes and the brain.
But also on these sort of days, if the refs would call the next couple of shooters it would help. Nothing worse than being 10-15 deep and not having a clue when it's your turn.
Keep up the good work and enjoy.

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You are absolutely correct and it's something to work on. I have long term ambitions that go beyond casual shooting so learning to keep the flame lit during wait times is essential. I am a serial target watcher so that's something to be mindful of in the future.

The refs calling out the next three or so shooters to come forward would be an advantage especially as Westfield is quite strict on seeing targets and they tend to operate on the basis that it's not their problem if you were 25 yards away stood waiting because of the crowd and didn't get to see the targets from immediately behind the stand.

I find when at a not a squad shoot the best way is to start at the furthest stand away and work back, you can often get 3/4 done without much queuing especially if you start from the off

Great round at East of England, credit to the team there, bit of a trek but well worth it.