First gun

[Will Hewland]

At this stage, gun fitting will simply be making sure that the gun you buy is about right. There are certain checks by experienced folk to adhere too. For the first period of your shooting, your gun hold and stance will not be right, so a really good gunfit will not be worth striving for. Get a gun that is about right, then revisit when you hav shot a minimum of 5000 shells, IMO..

 

[robster970]

Thank you CSC.

I assume when people refer to registered shoot, it is something associated with scoring/ranking and CPSA rather than the less serious end of shooting which is more Hicknaham Farm.

Correct?

 

[jinxy72]

i agree with CSC … the point i was making is don't pay top money until u know its right for u.

yes thats right for reg shoots. thing is if you shoot reg shoots too early you will end up with a low class that u can't lift .. this is because its took as an average over x amount of shoots .. so if u have say 20 low score shoots then it will be more difficult raising your class once you get better …. hope this makes sense

 

[robster970]

Perfect sense. Thanks.

 

[Will Hewland]

Nearly right.. Be aware that your ranking is set every six months and it looks back one year, so the slate does get wiped clean. i.e your average is NOT the average of all the shoots that you have ever done; just the last year. So, going out and having the usual low-scoring first year is no handicap for future gradings.

CSC3

 

[robster970]

So to summarise:

a. Carry on shooting left handed

b. Buy second hand, L/H, look for Miroku.Browning, Beretta if I can afford but don't worry too much

c. Get some instruction from now to stop bad habits developing and get basics right

d. Don't worry about gun fitting for about a year/5000 cartridges

e. Have fun

 

[Will Hewland]

Spot on sir! IMO

The other good reason for going with those three gun makes is that they are prolific, so more chance of finding one that fits, without having to spend money on any basic adjustments (especially if you are of roughly average physical proportions). To be clear `dont worry about gun-fit` means `finite gun fit`. Basic gun fit is important and should be able to be established by an experienced gun shop in about 2 minutes with you.

The only other thing I would look for, especially in a first gun, is that it has a decent recoil pad on it. Novices especially will suffer from recoil because the gun mount may not be too good. Fitting a recoil pad afterwards can be very expensive, especially if it involves cutting the stock.

CSC3

 

[robster970]

So now I have Hicknaham lined up until end of September, I'm looking at either Banbury of Churchills to get going with 6 lessons.

Another dumb question now.

I am assuming that until I get the shotgun cert and my own gun that I can only shoot under instruction (i.e. I cannot hire a gun, buy ammo and use the facilities) at Banbury/Churchills. Does this change if I become a member before getting the cert?

 

[Will Hewland]

Hi,

I did my first years (occasional) shooting at EJC with their club guns. I was not a member.

EJ Churchill will definately loan you a gun for either a lesson or a caddied round (practice round with one of their staff escorting you and pushing the buttons). You dont need your own gun there.

People use borrowed / shared guns at all sorts of Sunday shoots too, which I believe is permitted by the grounds licence. You cant hold a gun at home or buy ammo without a certificate of course.

Cheers,

 

[Will Hewland]

To add:

I think EJC will let you do a caddied round (much cheaper than a lesson) as long as you have had two or three lessons first. Probably worth doing: Lesson, lesson, lesson, caddied round, lesson, caddied round, lesson etc..

 

[robster970]

Guys - I seriously owe you some pints for this info.

As EJC is by far the closest club to me and time is my rarest commodity, I'll probably go for that.

 

[Will Hewland]

You are welcome. Might be worth looking at their membership. Its pricey, but you `get your money back` easily if you are a regular practice / lesson client.

CSC3

 

[robster970]

I'd considered that already - if I'm trying to shoot at least 100 (is it birds?) weekly then it pays for itself quite quickly.

 

[Will Hewland]

Yes, its certainly worth it in the first year; maybe less so when you have your own gun and mainly go off to various Sunday shoots.

They USED to offer some bargains for first time joiners, such as free lessons. Check..

CSC3