Was absolutely knackered last night - so waited until today to put some thoughts down on paper.
Arrived in Monmouth on Friday evening - B&B right in the centre, so checked in and grabbed some dinner with Bob_P and Wendy - decent way to start the weekend. Saturday peg time was 10.30 - so got an early night and just the single pint!
Headed to the ground - just a mile and a half from Monmouth - large field close to the A40 for parking, parked up and walked in to find the clubhouse. Busy, busy - with a room for booking in and all the squad lists and scores, and a kitchen area serving great food and drinks. Found out that John Bidwell was a late addition to my squad, but he was the only person I knew.
The ground had three layouts - all shot new system with separate trap layouts for all three pegs.
First for me was Hull, with a steady course to start with including some edge on crossers, some quick quartering g/a birds, a terrific straight going away down a wooded path which needed quick action as it dived away, and the only bird close to a driven all weekend with an incomer r/l that needed virtually no leed and caught a lot of people out. I lost my way a little bit on the middle peg, dropping a distant rabbit, a hanging crow and one of the left to rights - eventually taking 16 on the layout.
Second layout was Promatic - shot from the side of the hill, down into a field - with the last peg looking out over a wider field. Peg one had a quick straight bird, diving down the hill and a rabbit at the bottom of the hill which reminded me of a Southdown distant valley rabbit... I dropped two on the first peg, including the first bird out and a rabbit. Second peg was two edgy crossers, and a g/a bird, with an incomer that dived behind a hedge - I stayed straight through there. Peg 3 was a battue, a crosser, a big incomer and our first bigger gaps of the day - straighted the singles and then played percentages on the doubles - ensuring I took two from four to get a 21 - was pretty happy with that as a second layout.
Third layout was CCI - up in the wooded area - all very well laid out with stone chipped pathways and clearings with three very different pegs. Peg one had a high midi teal that blew back on its self and caught loads out, as well as some decent higher birds and a good quartering g/a. Second peg had two great quartering crossers as well as a fast left to right crosser on the ridge that needed a bit and another teal that started above your head up the hill. Final peg was on an open bit of field with a midi crosser, a crow, a looper and a right to left crosser - the sim pairs were good here. Finished on an 18 - which was a couple light for me, some stupid mistakes on the first peg.
So - finished the day on a 55 - possibly 5 light of where I wanted to be as I knew day two would be harder and I had made a few silly mistakes on the way.
Day two - was on a later rotation - starting at 11.30 - so I arrived at the ground a bit later to hear reports that things had been toughened up a bit - so I knew what to expect as I headed out.
Started on Promatic - hoops had all been moved as well as some of the traps, making us closer (but easier) for the rabbit - had a bit of a meltdown on peg one - missing 3 out of 4 of my doubles - which meant I was scrapping all the way through the later pegs as it got a bit harder. Stand 3 had the quick right to left crosser from below the position of yesterday and that needed some skill - hit it second barrel in the singles - missed it in the doubles. Finished the layout on 16
Then to CCI - again, all the hoops moved and a couple of traps changed - we shot it in reverse order, I was just one away on peg one but had a wobble on the second peg missing a few singles and 3/4 doubles - bad news. On the final peg managed to pull myself together to finish on 15 - definitely 2 or 3 shots harder than Saturday.
Final layout of the day, we were the final squad up to Hull which reports were telling us was *much* harder than the day before, maybe 5/6 shots! Again, hoops moved to make things tougher. I never really got started on this one - dropping singles and doubles all over the place... Peg two had two teals which I really struggled with - one popped up over a hedge and I'm sure I never got close. Final peg had a looper in a window where only one shot was really possible - managed it in the singles, but not the doubles. Finished on a lowly 11.
Overall - really loved the ground, the whole event was very well organised with very few delays, anything that went wrong was handled quickly and efficiently and traps were filled up at lightning speed. The atmosphere was fantastic, assisted by good weather and some nice food.
My squad was lovely - met some new people from up t'north - and one of the GB ladies shooters from Bisley who was great company - on top of that I had the pleasure of shooting with John Bidwell who was an absolute gentleman with some great stories and anecdotes from his illustrious career - was excellent to watch him shoot and put his Move, Mount, Shoot principles into action - there were very few targets that John didn't find on the round - and his final scores reflect that.
I'll post up the full results and winners later - but I finished on 97/150 - I really wanted to break 100 at this, but I certainly didn't disgrace myself - and really enjoyed myself - which is definitely what counts.
Also great to see some ShootClay members there - including Ed - who shot terrifically on both days.
Arrived in Monmouth on Friday evening - B&B right in the centre, so checked in and grabbed some dinner with Bob_P and Wendy - decent way to start the weekend. Saturday peg time was 10.30 - so got an early night and just the single pint!
Headed to the ground - just a mile and a half from Monmouth - large field close to the A40 for parking, parked up and walked in to find the clubhouse. Busy, busy - with a room for booking in and all the squad lists and scores, and a kitchen area serving great food and drinks. Found out that John Bidwell was a late addition to my squad, but he was the only person I knew.
The ground had three layouts - all shot new system with separate trap layouts for all three pegs.
First for me was Hull, with a steady course to start with including some edge on crossers, some quick quartering g/a birds, a terrific straight going away down a wooded path which needed quick action as it dived away, and the only bird close to a driven all weekend with an incomer r/l that needed virtually no leed and caught a lot of people out. I lost my way a little bit on the middle peg, dropping a distant rabbit, a hanging crow and one of the left to rights - eventually taking 16 on the layout.
Second layout was Promatic - shot from the side of the hill, down into a field - with the last peg looking out over a wider field. Peg one had a quick straight bird, diving down the hill and a rabbit at the bottom of the hill which reminded me of a Southdown distant valley rabbit... I dropped two on the first peg, including the first bird out and a rabbit. Second peg was two edgy crossers, and a g/a bird, with an incomer that dived behind a hedge - I stayed straight through there. Peg 3 was a battue, a crosser, a big incomer and our first bigger gaps of the day - straighted the singles and then played percentages on the doubles - ensuring I took two from four to get a 21 - was pretty happy with that as a second layout.
Third layout was CCI - up in the wooded area - all very well laid out with stone chipped pathways and clearings with three very different pegs. Peg one had a high midi teal that blew back on its self and caught loads out, as well as some decent higher birds and a good quartering g/a. Second peg had two great quartering crossers as well as a fast left to right crosser on the ridge that needed a bit and another teal that started above your head up the hill. Final peg was on an open bit of field with a midi crosser, a crow, a looper and a right to left crosser - the sim pairs were good here. Finished on an 18 - which was a couple light for me, some stupid mistakes on the first peg.
So - finished the day on a 55 - possibly 5 light of where I wanted to be as I knew day two would be harder and I had made a few silly mistakes on the way.
Day two - was on a later rotation - starting at 11.30 - so I arrived at the ground a bit later to hear reports that things had been toughened up a bit - so I knew what to expect as I headed out.
Started on Promatic - hoops had all been moved as well as some of the traps, making us closer (but easier) for the rabbit - had a bit of a meltdown on peg one - missing 3 out of 4 of my doubles - which meant I was scrapping all the way through the later pegs as it got a bit harder. Stand 3 had the quick right to left crosser from below the position of yesterday and that needed some skill - hit it second barrel in the singles - missed it in the doubles. Finished the layout on 16
Then to CCI - again, all the hoops moved and a couple of traps changed - we shot it in reverse order, I was just one away on peg one but had a wobble on the second peg missing a few singles and 3/4 doubles - bad news. On the final peg managed to pull myself together to finish on 15 - definitely 2 or 3 shots harder than Saturday.
Final layout of the day, we were the final squad up to Hull which reports were telling us was *much* harder than the day before, maybe 5/6 shots! Again, hoops moved to make things tougher. I never really got started on this one - dropping singles and doubles all over the place... Peg two had two teals which I really struggled with - one popped up over a hedge and I'm sure I never got close. Final peg had a looper in a window where only one shot was really possible - managed it in the singles, but not the doubles. Finished on a lowly 11.
Overall - really loved the ground, the whole event was very well organised with very few delays, anything that went wrong was handled quickly and efficiently and traps were filled up at lightning speed. The atmosphere was fantastic, assisted by good weather and some nice food.
My squad was lovely - met some new people from up t'north - and one of the GB ladies shooters from Bisley who was great company - on top of that I had the pleasure of shooting with John Bidwell who was an absolute gentleman with some great stories and anecdotes from his illustrious career - was excellent to watch him shoot and put his Move, Mount, Shoot principles into action - there were very few targets that John didn't find on the round - and his final scores reflect that.
I'll post up the full results and winners later - but I finished on 97/150 - I really wanted to break 100 at this, but I certainly didn't disgrace myself - and really enjoyed myself - which is definitely what counts.
Also great to see some ShootClay members there - including Ed - who shot terrifically on both days.
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