Sporting Shoots; where- and how was it? (2018)

[donna]

Southdown this morning.  Mixed bag for me, shot some stands well others not so good.  Particularly peed off about my last 3 stands, where I managed to drop 11 clays, primarily by trying to be too careful - chucked away a couple of first pairs slowing the gun right up.  High point was Stand 13, where I learnt from yesterdays quickish teal error and hit all four by taking them a bit more aggressively.

Great to see you today. Mixed bag for our squad too.  Not one of us shot well! Just couldn’t get timing right today. Shot some stands well and some crap but it was just nice to be out and about. Ended up on a very bad 67 which is well below my average but there’s always next week!! 

 

[Bebo]

Great to see you today. Mixed bag for our squad too.  Not one of us shot well! Just couldn’t get timing right today. Shot some stands well and some crap but it was just nice to be out and about. Ended up on a very bad 67 which is well below my average but there’s always next week!! 

Good to see you too.  I'm loving the fact the weather is warming up and it's making shooting enjoyable again, instead of an endurance test.  Next week will be interesting - corporate shoot at Holland and Holland on Friday, where I expect the targets will be ones that you have to try not to miss, rather than try to hit, Saturday off to Fareham to shoot my first ever ABT Registered, staying in Wiltshire and Sunday will be Barbury and maybe Horne on the way past.  Definitely making the most of it at the moment.

 

[donna]

Good to see you too.  I'm loving the fact the weather is warming up and it's making shooting enjoyable again, instead of an endurance test.  Next week will be interesting - corporate shoot at Holland and Holland on Friday, where I expect the targets will be ones that you have to try not to miss, rather than try to hit, Saturday off to Fareham to shoot my first ever ABT Registered, staying in Wiltshire and Sunday will be Barbury and maybe Horne on the way past.  Definitely making the most of it at the moment.

Busy weekend indeed! You will enjoy Barbury, lovely ground with great targets and normally free tea and coffee!

 

[Will Hewland]

I felt Southdown was definitely tougher than usual and I also didn’t shoot well. Net result poor score.. missing 4 on my last stand just cemented it. Sigh..

 

[Sian]

Southdown for us, colour, COLOUR, COLOUR  again.  I can honestly say a good few I missed I f**king well didn’t see.  The presentations were good and enjoyable but certain stands I suffered and today Tony too.  The sim going away with the bush in front too high.  Anyway started on Sportrap which needed me to concentrate on what I was doing and made a few wrong calls near the end finished on 83.  The sporting finished on 82 and my last stand a few no birds made me a bit jumpy and missed one.  I wanted matching scores . Poor old Tony just had a sh*tty day and on the Sportrap had a spectator going “bang” just as he wanted to shoot!  Greater London lady and joint runner up so happy with that on the sporting.

 

[Bebo]

Well shot Sian.  Yes, for those of us on the shorter side that sim pair was made more difficult by the second bird dropping away behind the bush.  Couldn't even attempt to get it while it was dropping.

 

[Sian]

Well shot Sian.  Yes, for those of us on the shorter side that sim pair was made more difficult by the second bird dropping away behind the bush.  Couldn't even attempt to get it while it was dropping.

Thank you.  Yes very irritating, the black just disappeared.  Taking a pair of garden shears with me next time

 

[Markh701]

“..on the Sportrap had a spectator going “bang” just as he wanted to shoot”

I had someone to the left of me who liked picking up cartridges in their stand after they had shot. In addition to taking off a jacket and shouting “I hit it” when the clay was hit just added to the distractions. All round rather annoying and it never ceases to amaze me how individuals get absorbed into their own world to the detriment of others. A bit of politeness and awareness would not go amiss in our sport.

 

[donna]

Well shot Sian.  Yes, for those of us on the shorter side that sim pair was made more difficult by the second bird dropping away behind the bush.  Couldn't even attempt to get it while it was dropping.

I struggled on that one too, had to take the black target first. I get frustrated and annoyed over things like that, when are grounds going to learn we are not all 6’ tall?  Struggled with a few of the  bars being a tad high for me to be comfortable too.

First stand we had loads of no birds which seemed to follow us round. Don’t think I’ve ever had so many broken targets there before. 

Targets were good as usual but just wish they’d cut a few bushes down. 

 

[schmokinn]

I struggled on that one too, had to take the black target first. I get frustrated and annoyed over things like that, when are grounds going to learn we are not all 6’ tall?  Struggled with a few of the  bars being a tad high for me to be comfortable too.

First stand we had loads of no birds which seemed to follow us round. Don’t think I’ve ever had so many broken targets there before. 

Targets were good as usual but just wish they’d cut a few bushes down. 

Southdown Breakdown back to its best again by the sound of it,even though they had improved generally i have never known anywhere with so many no birds.

When shooting the sportrap a couple of months back the poor bloke in stand 5 had 13 simo pairs before he actually got a proper pair of targets,fortunately he got them but cost him half a box of shells and is just unacceptable..

I am totally convinced they use pick ups for competition on several occasions seeing dirty clays in the traps.

 

[Martinj]

I felt Southdown was definitely tougher than usual and I also didn’t shoot well. Net result poor score.. missing 4 on my last stand just cemented it. Sigh..

Maybe it was the "Widdington effect" I shot badly at Highclere, the targets were all close enough and I'm sure I was missing in front to start with, should have shot 90+% but I didn't.

 

[Sian]

I realised that I had missed out the annual Cheddite Sporting Championship held at Hunston Wood, Stowlangtoft which we attended on Sunday although it was also running on Monday.  I enjoyed it as I did the year before.  A good mix of targets for all abilities and some challenging ones too.  I started badly actually on stands you would probably consider steadier but I got better and I have to say I did manage some very good ones including a sim pair of teal that were challenging, missing only the first one.  One long crosser I did not touch which needed a chunk paired with a battue that I did manage to get.  Not close either of them.   The pool shoot was also very challenging.  I think it was won on a 19/24 on the first day at least.  Enough scored to win ladies.  Lovely set up - covered area with hay bales to sit on, hot food and cakes etc on offer, Blaser guns to try out and the Thorrolds brought a selection of goods from their shop.  

 

[chesterse]

I realised that I had missed out the annual Cheddite Sporting Championship held at Hunston Wood, Stowlangtoft which we attended on Sunday although it was also running on Monday.  I enjoyed it as I did the year before.  A good mix of targets for all abilities and some challenging ones too.  I started badly actually on stands you would probably consider steadier but I got better and I have to say I did manage some very good ones including a sim pair of teal that were challenging, missing only the first one.  One long crosser I did not touch which needed a chunk paired with a battue that I did manage to get.  Not close either of them.   The pool shoot was also very challenging.  I think it was won on a 19/24 on the first day at least.  Enough scored to win ladies.  Lovely set up - covered area with hay bales to sit on, hot food and cakes etc on offer, Blaser guns to try out and the Thorrolds brought a selection of goods from their shop.  

I went on the Monday for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it, some really testing targets. I shot the very long crosser and battue well but messed up the simmo teal and the other simmo long birds about 3/4 the way round.

A lot of thought and effort had gone into the targets and the wooded venue was a really nice setting.

Don’t know what the final scores were but it was definitely set up to be challenging rather than a score building keep the punters happy type of shoot!

 

[Sian]

I went on the Monday for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it, some really testing targets. I shot the very long crosser and battue well but messed up the simmo teal and the other simmo long birds about 3/4 the way round.

A lot of thought and effort had gone into the targets and the wooded venue was a really nice setting.

Don’t know what the final scores were but it was definitely set up to be challenging rather than a score building keep the punters happy type of shoot!

If you go onto Barrow Sporting Clays facebook page or Ben Thorrold's page you will see the winners with a message saying all scores will go up soon.  I started very badly really but I sometimes do that and then get going.  I lost 11 on the first four stands!!!  Then stand 5 beat me up losing 5!!!  After that it got better, kicked myself up the behind.  Still lost too many but at a better pace and actually really did far better on stands 6 to 14.  Stand 15 I found difficult to see them and get my timing so first pair dead and the last bird killed and 5 missed.  Ref did say that earlier in the day they were more visible when the sun was out.  That is one of those stands that I can either be a demon on or an absolute flop and on Sunday I was a flop.

 

[Richard59]

Oxfordshire, have not picked up a gun since last week at EO, was a tad rusty, st1 was a simo of a flat teal and edgy quartering away r-l looper, 5 away , later missed 3 quartering away bunnies where the shot into ground was a smaller diameter pattern than the clay One was generally untidy on all stands, not than anything felt given mind. My tardiness again rose its head on the Sportrap, lost 5 on bounce all 7 losses were in 9 early targets. That all said I enjoyed my morning out at this most pleasant of small grounds, and all bar the odd spit I was done before the rain was heavy and in for the day

 

[Will Hewland]

I did EJC FSP today. Brilliant (hard) targets but 10 degrees and pissing down when I started at 12. I was under dressed so cold and wet. Squad of 7, so took 3.5 hours. Lost focus with it all once or twice, but would have been great in good weather. I doubt more than 90 will be hit. I did 78 and only shot badly in a couple of hoops. 

I see that Widdington last Sunday only had one shooter over 86. I’m sure seeking the firm ones out lately. 

 

[tiptop]

Widdington today. Always look forward to these, with beautiful scenery and great target setting. I hadn’t shot for a while and was feeling rusty and unsettled. I think this was the toughest one I’ve shot there. 6 or 8 properly tough stands and the rest were no card fillers. Magnificent really, but as a course it was a bit relentless. I just didn’t touch two targets and didn’t really try enough change to find them, so that was 8 away very abruptly. Otherwise I just struggled a bit almost everywhere, finishing on 80, 6 below my average. A great shoot really, but I would have eased three stands off a bit.

Good to meet MartinJ.

Is Widdington registered this year or open shoots? There seems to be no trace of them on the CPSA website, although on their own website they are stating registered shoots.

 

[Martinj]

Is Widdington registered this year or open shoots? There seems to be no trace of them on the CPSA website, although on their own website they are stating registered shoots.

They are registered on the dates shown, I couldn't find them on CPSA either.

 

[tiptop]

They are registered on the dates shown, I couldn't find them on CPSA either.

View attachment 7725

Even if you type widdington, or widdington shoot in the main search bar, no results are found for them. Just wondering if they are even affiliated to the CPSA now.

 

[Martinj]

Even if you type widdington, or widdington shoot in the main search bar, no results are found for them. Just wondering if they are even affiliated to the CPSA now.

I don't know, the May 26th scores are not posted on the CPSA site either