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Your first shooting lessons

Ear and eye protection will be supplied by the shooting ground.

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Tuesday, 26 June 2007

So, now you are at the shooting ground, what happens next?

As we explained previously, you can go to a shooting ground or school either on your own or with a group of friends. Unless you are lucky enough to get involved in a corporate day, our advice is to keep the party small - certainly no more than six, particularly if just one instructor is involved. More people than this, and those waiting to shoot are going to get bored while they await their turn.

"Wait a minute", we hear you say. "How much is all this going to cost?"

There will be some very special deals and events organised in conjunction with National Shooting Week, so look out for them because they may well save you money. Otherwise, you can expect to pay about £25 to £30 pp for a deal which will include basic instruction, and 25 shots at targets suitable for beginners.

Honestly, that is not a lot to pay considering you will be getting professional instruction in safe surroundings. It is less than you will pay per hour in labour charges when a garage services your car.

So, now you are at the shooting ground, what happens next?
Your instructor will probably give you a brief introduction to the ground and its facilities, and after that you should get the most important shooting talk of your entire life. It will be about safety - by far the most important aspect of all shooting sports.

You will learn how to carry a gun safely - open and empty at all times, except when you are on a firing point, faced in a safe direction, and with permission to shoot.

You will learn when you carry a gun on a shooting ground, it must not only be unloaded, but carried in such a way that everyone can see it is unloaded.

You will also learn never, ever, to point a closed gun at anyone, even if it is not loaded.

Do ask questions if anything puzzles you. You will then be issued with some form of hearing protection - usually single-use, disposable earplugs, but sometimes a set of earmuffs. Do use this protection, because gunshots are very loud, and the exposure to even a few shots can cause permanent hearing damage.

And, unless you are wearing prescription glasses with shatter-proof lenses, you should also be lent shooting glasses to protect your eyes from falling clay splinters. You may also be given a simple test to whether you have a right or left master eye - something you will find important when pointing a shotgun at a moving target. Most right-handed men are also right-eyed, but a surprisingly large number of right-handed women have a left master eye.

Only then will you be taken out to a clay layout to shoot your first few targets.

And that's the fun bit - so enjoy it!

We promise the first clay you hit and see shatter against the sky will be an achievement you will remember always.

If you wish to carry on shooting, book a series of lessons to sharpen up your technique. Prices vary, and one-to-one tuition from a top instructor is the most expensive way of doing things - typically over £50 an hour, plus cartridges and targets.

However, you can drastically cut this price by making up a small group of two or three.

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