How much is too much ?

[westley]

Taking the 4 Grandkids to the local ground on Sunday, 100 targets/cartridges between them. Grandad won't be shooting !

STILL cheaper than taking them to a Premier League football match though.

 

[FESkent]

The Sunday straw balers are cheaper but in this neck of the woods the targets aren't up to much as they're catering for people who lose interest if the targets are testing.

hopefully the club i am secretary for is better than a straw baler, however I agree with your comments re testing targets, as a club we have young and old shooting, novices and experienced so to keep the members and visitors returning targets have to be set such that all enjoy the shoot, hit clays and get value for money,  not always an easy thing to achieve. The closing of greenfields shooting ground in Canterbury plus competitive pricing has seen the club membership double in recent weeks.

One clay wholesaler this week told me clay prices are going up now, and possible again in a few months given the rising energy costs. Then the increase in cartridge prices.

All in all 2022 is going to be a very challenging year for the sport for the working man and pensioners.

 

[jwpzx9r]

40p per clay, no way as far as I am concerned, that just greed and exploitation of the gullable

Said it many times before because our clubs are member run and owned our shooting is way cheaper... but the targets are exactly the same as at any other UT or OT  venue I pay €3.50 for 25 targets , which in sterling is £2.90 or 11.5 pence per target Even at the best trap ground in Europe the targets are only 27pence a pop .

 

[TRINITY]

Said it many times before because our clubs are member run and owned our shooting is way cheaper... but the targets are exactly the same as at any other UT or OT  venue I pay €3.50 for 25 targets , which in sterling is £2.90 or 11.5 pence per target Even at the best trap ground in Europe the targets are only 27pence a pop .

You are preaching to the converted. I am also aware of the huge difference in cartridge prices in Europe. The Eurpoean approach is the model I would love to see in the UK . However many in the UK  industry see the shooting fraternity as a cash cow to be milked to its limit. I am sure others  may not agree with my views. However the way things are going many people may start to ration their shooting and some may say enough is enough and quit. Not only that the financial costs of the sport is a barrier to many newbies getting involved. 

 

[jasper]

75 target registered anyone???

 

[Jan Powell]

You are preaching to the converted. I am also aware of the huge difference in cartridge prices in Europe. The Eurpoean approach is the model I would love to see in the UK . However many in the UK  industry see the shooting fraternity as a cash cow to be milked to its limit. I am sure others  may not agree with my views. However the way things are going many people may start to ration their shooting and some may say enough is enough and quit. Not only that the financial costs of the sport is a barrier to many newbies getting involved. 

Completely agree. I shoot over in Northern Ireland fairly regularly. There the grounds are run by the shooters for the shooters. You referee the squad before you and they referee you. Facilities are often basic but good. Targets are, for the most part, excellent.

The result is vastly reduced prices and a better team spirit as nobody leaves the ground until all shooting is finished.

 

[chesterse]

75 target registered anyone???

Why not 12 stands x 3 pairs = 72! Do we really need to be shooting 4 pairs all the time? But trouble is it would not be long before they were charging the same for 72 as a 100

 

[jasper]

Why not 12 stands x 3 pairs = 72! Do we really need to be shooting 4 pairs all the time? But trouble is it would not be long before they were charging the same for 72 as a 100

It could be whatever.  With the idea to reduce costs. I went with 75 because it works with dtl, skeet sportrap,compact etc. 

Jasper. 

 

[Will Hewland]

2 hours ago, chesterse said:

Trouble is, 75 birds would only save the ground owner £3 maximum in clays per shooter, so that’s all they would want to pass on. All other overheads don’t change. 

 

[chesterse]

Trouble is, 75 birds would only save the ground owner £3 maximum in clays per shooter, so that’s all they would want to pass on. All other overheads don’t change. 

Let’s have 125 for another £3 then Just seen a pig flying by! 

 

[Will Hewland]

Let’s have 125 for another £3 then Just seen a pig flying by! 

Actually, because clays bought in big bulk are still cheap, one registered ground in Bucks used to offer 120 for the price of 100 to try and drum up trade. It didn’t really work, as it cost every shooter another box of shells and took longer to finish. Plus I’m sure some people struggle to understand their percentage out of 120..

 

[jasper]

Let’s have 125 for another £3 then Just seen a pig flying by! 

Boom. Love it. 

Trouble is, 75 birds would only save the ground owner £3 maximum in clays per shooter, so that’s all they would want to pass on. All other overheads don’t change. 

So its £12 for 100 . 12p for a raw clay.???? 

 £28 per 100 targets in "overheads" / profit. ? Hmm. So we see just what the market will stand now then.  Think I'll set up a ground . Great returns. 

Jasper

 

[Will Hewland]

Ok, running a decent registered shoot: Once you’re set up with a ground, 30 traps, all the towers, stands, groundwork’s, buildings etc.

200 entries is £8000 entry revenue, minus cost of clays of probably £8 per head including breakages and show pairs, which is £1600. About £1400 for scorers and staff and HG money. (Other prize money is self funding so ignored here). So of the £8000 revenue, £5000 is the gross profit. Even if you set aside £1000 every shoot for reinvestment and maintenance it leaves a nice nett profit of £4000. However, if the shoot only gets 80 entries, revenue is £3200 so barely worth doing for all the effort. And don’t forget the initial investment that was made and has to be clawed back over a year or five.. 

It’s worth doing, but only if you get the big entries I would say. 

 

[Cosmicblue]

Midlands based and getting down to Ian Coleys/Barbury/Edgehill 40p a clay seems to be the going rate - we can grumble about it but the stark reality is that beyond the price of the clay there are lots of other overheads such as staff costs/maintenance/rates/utilities/capital investment costs and of course if the grounds don't make a profit then there's no point from a business point of view.

As a shooter I've weaned myself off shooting expensive loads because like other stuff in shooting much of it is mostly a head-game - cheap loads for us normal people work just as well.  I'll pay a little more for fibre/bio carts just to have the option of buying one type that's acceptable wherever I go.   

I do note however through 2021 and now in 2022 that most of the  grounds I visit (Coleys/Barbury/Kibworth/Edgehill/Barby Sporting  are noticeably quieter than they were pre-covid.  Is it cost or have people just found other stuff to do - I really don't know.

 

[TRINITY]

There are plenty of commercial grounds that seem to happily charge 30p or less . Perhaps they have a superior business model. I would suggest that if a ground needs to charge 40p then it's either a poor business model or greed. Either way such places could go bust as far as I am concerned because I would never set foot in them.

 

[jasper]

Lots of businesses trying to recoup their covid "losses" by screwing the *** off everything  .. They must be very careful they Don't alienate their customers.  Unfortunately  if you earn a wage you Don't get that option. Just image my boss when I tell him I'm x pounds down over the last couple of years. 

Jasper. 

 

[BerettaDan]

I’ve just come back to the sport after 5 or so years lay off. I must admit the price of clays and cartridges had shocked me. Yet the price of guns doesn’t seem to have jumped as much?

 

[Doctor Lecter]

I’ve just come back to the sport after 5 or so years lay off. I must admit the price of clays and cartridges had shocked me. Yet the price of guns doesn’t seem to have jumped as much?

don't give em ideas !!! 

 

[Richard59]

Midlands based and getting down to Ian Coleys/Barbury/Edgehill 40p a clay seems to be the going rate - we can grumble about it but the stark reality is that beyond the price of the clay there are lots of other overheads such as staff costs/maintenance/rates/utilities/capital investment costs and of course if the grounds don't make a profit then there's no point from a business point of view.

As a shooter I've weaned myself off shooting expensive loads because like other stuff in shooting much of it is mostly a head-game - cheap loads for us normal people work just as well.  I'll pay a little more for fibre/bio carts just to have the option of buying one type that's acceptable wherever I go.   

I do note however through 2021 and now in 2022 that most of the  grounds I visit (Coleys/Barbury/Kibworth/Edgehill/Barby Sporting  are noticeably quieter than they were pre-covid.  Is it cost or have people just found other stuff to do - I really don't know.

Having been to Barbury numerous times last & this year the place has been rammed weekends & midweek, you’ve been most fortunate to find the place quiet.

 

[Richard59]

There are plenty of commercial grounds that seem to happily charge 30p or less . Perhaps they have a superior business model. I would suggest that if a ground needs to charge 40p then it's either a poor business model or greed. Either way such places could go bust as far as I am concerned because I would never set foot in them.

I’m racking my grey cells to try and remember when I last went to a regular ground that’s sub 30p a clay, you are a fortunate chap for having such facilities local to you, 40p has been the norm around here (WM, SW & SE) for some while, some grounds / schools even more, prices won’t be going down either.