2024 “wish list”

[Richard59]

Not wishing to be rude etc heres a few shooting related wishes for 2024.
Scorers call is final, no pestering / badgering for hits.
No more wanted nor unwanted advice given / hollered / shown to shooters mid stand. Not quite a but its getting worse
All score cards (part & full) get handed in, good bad and ugly alike, bit with the number of cards that seem to get lost.
Price war on cartridges, yeah as if
More than as after all for 99% of us this is a hobby, albeit a very expensive one.
Happy New Year all

 

[donna]

Happy new year to you Richard, hope to see you at some of the grounds.

 

[jonz]

Richard you forgot to add good testing targets at reasonable cost and decent prize money for those who get podium places in each class
Did I just see a pig fly past the window

 

[Will Hewland]

Rich, almost all of your list is already the rule. Just need to make sure all grounds are consistent. There will always be a human element to it, especially with no birds. At my last shoot, it was gusty and I missed a clay as it suddenly dropped. Ref gave it me again without me asking, which was on the kind side. But a few stands later I had a quick going away target come out WAY differently to normal, which I missed. I just gave ref a “really”? look, but he just said they vary. Karma and balance right there..

 

[Richard59]

Happy new year to you Richard, hope to see you at some of the grounds.

Always nice to see you both

 

[Richard59]

Richard you forgot to add good testing targets at reasonable cost and decent prize money for those who get podium places in each class
Did I just see a pig fly past the window

Avoided those as Im not the best judge of targets, sadly costs are only going north and if just a few of the “targets only” chaps put a few bob in the knock on effect may prove the start of higher prizes, and yes we may see a few flying pigs

 

[Richard59]

Rich, almost all of your list is already the rule. Just need to make sure all grounds are consistent. There will always be a human element to it, especially with no birds. At my last shoot, it was gusty and I missed a clay as it suddenly dropped. Ref gave it me again without me asking, which was on the kind side. But a few stands later I had a quick going away target come out WAY differently to normal, which I missed. I just gave ref a “really”? look, but he just said they vary. Karma and balance right there..

Yes they are rules, sadly most are roundly abused though

 

[jonz]

Avoided those as Im not the best judge of targets, sadly costs are only going north and if just a few of the “targets only” chaps put a few bob in the knock on effect may prove the start of higher prizes, and yes we may see a few flying pigs

Richard,
when I started shooting registered competitions some 40+ years ago, entry was £20 to £25 for 100 clays , £5 of that went into the prize pot , now entries are £45 to £50 for 100 clays but it’s still £5 that goes to the prize pot ….. Now I’m told clays are £80 to £90 / 1000 so you see why I think the grounds could and should do a little more

 

[Clear Miss]

Avoided those as Im not the best judge of targets, sadly costs are only going north and if just a few of the “targets only” chaps put a few bob in the knock on effect may prove the start of higher prizes, and yes we may see a few flying pigs

Although I'm sure that it's mostly coincidence but it's sometimes quite hard to escape the thought that there are a lot out there 'gaming' the current system. I'm not sure quite how, perhaps running multiple numbers, ditching numbers and switching between CPSA, SCTA, WCTSA etc or throwing shoots to keep their averages within a class they know they can regularly win.

When you've shot well above your average on what you felt was quite a tough shoot (and not a gimme) and are a number of targets above the next in your class only to see someone in B or C class with a score mixed in with the double or triple A classes it quite easy to become despondent with the whole competition part and just do targets only.

I know this can legitimately happen as I've done it myself twice in the last few months. Had a stormer of a day and found myself near to the top of the leaderboard despite being in one of the 'scum classes'. Shame I went targets only and missed out on the class win.

My own personal 2024 wish or NYR is to get into and stay in A class and achieve at least one class win. I've not been shooting all that long (some here will have had cartridges in the bottom of their bags longer) so it would be quite an achievement and is certainly something to work towards.

We can only hope that some foreign cartridge manufacturer enters the market with a bargain basement product and gains enough of the market share to teach the established manufacturers some manners. Now that would trigger a price war. Whatever happened to Baikal?

 

[MartynB]

Whatever happened to Baikal?

Probably using every minute of production time to produce ammunition for Putin at a guess .

 

[perazman]

Although I'm sure that it's mostly coincidence but it's sometimes quite hard to escape the thought that there are a lot out there 'gaming' the current system. I'm not sure quite how, perhaps running multiple numbers, ditching numbers and switching between CPSA, SCTA, WCTSA etc or throwing shoots to keep their averages within a class they know they can regularly win.

When you've shot well above your average on what you felt was quite a tough shoot (and not a gimme) and are a number of targets above the next in your class only to see someone in B or C class with a score mixed in with the double or triple A classes it quite easy to become despondent with the whole competition part and just do targets only.

This in spades. It's rife.

There's shooters keeping themselves in AA for the prestige and others keeping themselves in lower classes for the class wins. Then there's Joe Bloggs plugging away for no reward because the system is flawed.

I know lads who've never beaten me at any shoot I've attended but by working the system are in the class above.

A B class putting in a huge score should be a freak result but it's a regular occurrence.

PM.

 

[Shagrat]

Now I’m told clays are £80 to £90 / 1000 so you see why I think the grounds could and should do a little more

More like £280 - £290 / 1000 these days

 

[Will Hewland]

More like £280 - £290 / 1000 these days

Eh? Do you mean cartridges? I believe clays bought in bulk still well under 10p each.

 

[jasper]

Yep I can buy em 3rd hand for 9p .

 

[westley]

I shall just be happy to Stay fit enough, to continue to shoot for another 12 months ! Happy New Year to you all