Falling numbers of shooters.

[Richard59]

Same at redricks today must have been 200 entries 

Being a (single day) England Selection shoot helped I would think 

 

[Andrew Smith]

I shot at Churchill’s High Wycombe at 6pm on Thursday night, only 6 shooters out on the course for the whole evening inc me and my friend. But at 35p a clay was well worth it, great shooting ground. 

 

[Richard59]

I shot at Churchill’s High Wycombe at 6pm on Thursday night, only 6 shooters out on the course for the whole evening inc me and my friend. But at 35p a clay was well worth it, great shooting ground. 

And the very same day just a few miles down the road Owls was full for an open comp, next week Coleys have 400+ booked in for a mid week jolly. 

 

[Mike]

We went up to Thimbleby today . The place was rammed. It goes beyond the targets , the whole experience is good from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave . They have created a very nice ‘ golf club quality’  lounge with good  food . The reception is friendly and efficient , clean loos , great gunroom . Obviously they don’t shoot registered there , but they’ve got their offering right judging by the attendees , also nice to see so many ladies shooting . 

I heard from a good friend that Thimbleby are now charging for no birds 

 

[MartynB]

They’ve changed the way that they charge from the method they used a couple of years ago . It’s now per clay shot at like everyone else . I’m sure we had our no birds deducted ( very very few on the last outing perhaps 2 out of 300 ) but then again I didn’t go to the till . The lad who paid is a farmer , I’m sure we’d have heard him from half a mile if he had a problem 

They used to charge per 100 and give you a card with plus 5% to cover breakages and if you shot less that that the balance was logged for your next visit .. quite complicated ,  
 

. 

 

[Mike]

They’ve changed the way that they charge from the method they used a couple of years ago . It’s now per clay shot at like everyone else . I’m sure we had our no birds deducted ( very very few on the last outing perhaps 2 out of 300 ) but then again I didn’t go to the till . The lad who paid is a farmer , I’m sure we’d have heard him from half a mile if he had a problem 

They used to charge per 100 and give you a card with plus 5% to cover breakages and if you shot less that that the balance was logged for your next visit .. quite complicated ,  
 

Thanks for the reply, I'll not be going there anyway, too far for me four hour round trip. 

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[Andrew Smith]

And the very same day just a few miles down the road Owls was full for an open comp, next week Coleys have 400+ booked in for a mid week jolly. 

Owls is 65 miles from EJ Churchill! I’d love to know how Coleys will handle 400 shooters at once, going to need a lot of staff and a lot of stands and traps (I have never been to that ground although I’ve driven past it many times). 
 

Churchill’s seem to rely on corporate work and comps. At 35p a clay it is a good value ground and 3 miles from my office. Normally 45p a clay there. 

 

[jasper]

Owls is 65 miles from EJ Churchill! I’d love to know how Coleys will handle 400 shooters at once, going to need a lot of staff and a lot of stands and traps (I have never been to that ground although I’ve driven past it many times). 
 

Churchill’s seem to rely on corporate work and comps. At 35p a clay it is a good value ground and 3 miles from my office. Normally 45p a clay there. 

Coleys don't.  It's over three days. Speciale event. Coleys masters. So its averaging out at 130 odd a day. 

Jasper.

 

[Richard59]

Owls is 65 miles from EJ Churchill! I’d love to know how Coleys will handle 400 shooters at once, going to need a lot of staff and a lot of stands and traps (I have never been to that ground although I’ve driven past it many times). 
 

Churchill’s seem to rely on corporate work and comps. At 35p a clay it is a good value ground and 3 miles from my office. Normally 45p a clay there. 

Ah my rather poor reply re Owls was that there much pushed thursday comp would probably entice the regular mid week shooter, 60 miles it may be but many of us motor further to some grounds, and a lot of the names there can also be seen at EJC.  The Coleys bash is as Jasper points out a three day mid week jollly, looks like 450+ have booked which for a non reg mid week shoot is quite something, for all that it goes smoothly. 
Nice to see EJC offer those incentives too
 

 

[Santa2512]

I haven't shot regularly, for at least 18-24 months,

Health, Grounds being sold & Covid have put paid to all  that.

Yes there are some local  Pro clubs near to me, but the clue is in the first part.  

If it isnt a mini at 5 billion yards, or stratospheric crosser  , then the choice of birds is limited.  

So shooting is sadly not my top priority,    I'd like it to be, but unless i start investing considerable amounts of travelling time and cash  its not going to get much better  

 

[Westward]

Well if you happen to be based in the west country it's not falling numbers of shooters so much as falling numbers of reg sporting shoots. Today for instance, unless you fancy a 200+ mile round trip in 30+ degrees, there's the choice of Meadowcroft... or... Meadowcroft. And nothing local until Westfield next Sunday apart from the SuperSporting at Cefn Tilla, which has very few places left.

I'm not doubting the economics behind it but the decision to end registered sporting shoots ay Longridge has left a big hole.

 

[Jan Powell]

Seems the big ticket events are doing just fine. I’ve just spent four days overseas at the European Championship/Home International. The ground opened extra layouts to accommodate demand but it still took 11 hours to get all the squads through. It was almost dark by the time shoot offs were done.

Guess it’s the weekly registered competitions and practice that are suffering.

 

[ColinD]

Wait a while, the global recession has only just started to gain momentum.

Big events will attract the sponsored shooters, but the declining grass root shooters are what keep the money coming in for the manufacturers in the long run 

 

[donna]

Agree Colin, the “bigger” shoots that we and our friends are entered for were all booked well in advance and paid for when money was less tight.  From talking to my clients (of all ages) they are all cutting back on everything, the luxuries first to go, then the nice but not so luxury and people are really worried about the upcoming months. For a younger man with say a mortgage and a few children, shooting will be a luxury, and when you add up the cost of the shoot, the cartridges, fuel to get there, a coffee etc they will soon realise that money could be spent on food/clothing or bills. As we are now having to travel further afield for a good shoot, we’ve decided to pick out a few each month as I’d rather shoot quality rather than quantity. 

 

[jasper]

Let us know when you find the quality ones then. ?

Jasper. 

 

[Mad dog]

Shooting has hit a perfect storm 

1. cartridge cost

2. shooting grounds putting up prices 

3. police licensing putting up more & more hurdles 

4. Shooting becoming looked upon being antisocial as more & more people moving into the countryside

5. Very few youngsters coming into the sport

I put a nice Beretta 686 on gun trader recently for a really fair price & did not have a single enquiry for it it’s a shame shooting is dying 

 

[Richard59]

Shooting has hit a perfect storm 

1. cartridge cost

2. shooting grounds putting up prices 

3. police licensing putting up more & mor hurdles 

4. Shooting becoming looked upon being antisocial as more & more people moving into the countryside

5. Very few youngsters coming into the sport

I put a nice Beretta 686 on gun trader recently for a really fair price & did not have a single enquiry for it it’s a shame shooting is dying 

All valid points, all of which are frequently raised on this platform, no easy answer to any, although 5) in my experience new shooter numbers are greater from the more, er mature age bracket than “youngsters” but thats a whole different kettle of fish. 

Good luck selling the 686, my first gun way back in 1987. 

 

[Mad dog]

All valid points, all of which are frequently raised on this platform, no easy answer to any, although 5) in my experience new shooter numbers are greater from the more, er mature age bracket than “youngsters” but thats a whole different kettle of fish. 

Good luck selling the 686, my first gun way back in 1987. 

686 gone to a local  gun shop for PX for cartridges did call Avalon guns but they told me not interested in buying guns atm very sad at this current climate cartridges have more value than guns

 

[ColinD]

686 gone to a local  gun shop for PX for cartridges did call Avalon guns but they told me not interested in buying guns atm very sad at this current climate cartridges have more value than guns

Looks like their new/second hand sales of guns have slowed right up. Probably same for most dealers in this current climate.