You don't need any equipment to start shooting

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No special dress code is insisted on for clay shooting - smart/casual is about as far as it goes.

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

The great thing about taking up shooting is that in order to try it, you don't have to own a single item of equipment!

Your local gun club will have everything you need until you decide to get completely involved in the sport.

So, how do you make that first important contact with a gun club?

A good first port of call is your local gunsmith's shop. Just go in and explain that you are interested, and ask about the location of the nearest shooting ground.

Another good way is to use the internet. As a lead-up to National Shooting Week, the British Shooting Sports Council has set up a special website - www.nationalshootingweek.co.uk. The site lists events for beginners in many parts of the UK, and incorporates a postcode search facility to help find those which are close to you.

You can also visit the sites of the sport's governing bodies. In England, the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association website contains contact details of all affiliated clubs, listed by county.

The Welsh Clay Target Shooting Association and the Scottish Clay Target Association offer similar facilities.

In Northern Ireland there are 50 clubs affiliated to the Ulster Clay Pigeon Shooting Association. Their site doesn't list addresses, but does give contact details for officials who should be able to help.

In the Irish Republic, which is not included in the National Shooting Week initiative, go to the Irish Clay Pigeon Shooting Association). You may also find gun clubs listed in the Yellow Pages or other local directories, and many public libraries have lists of clubs providing access to a variety of sports, including shooting. Some county
council websites offer the same facility.

Once you have found a club, you can just turn up between opening hours - but that isn't advisable because you might arrive on a busy competition day when everyone is occupied and all the shooting layouts are in use. It's far better to phone first, explain you are a first-timer, and make an appointment. Many clubs provide cheap, introductory packages just for people like you.

Of course, you don't have to go alone. You can always get together with a group of friends and make up a party. And a party it can be, if you choose to make it so. Many clubs have catering facilities and you may be able to book, say, a summer evening barbecue party, with an hour or two's shooting tuition thrown in. Some clubs even have licenced bars, but these facilities, for obvious reasons, will only be open to you once shooting is over.

There is another way
How well do you get on with your boss? Many shooting grounds and shooting schools offer what are known as corporate days, at which a few hours of shooting instruction and simple competition can be combined with business. The term to use to your boss is important team-building exercise, and we leave the rest to your powers of persuasion and inventive imagination!

Don't worry if you're not very sporty, not fit, or even confined to a wheelchair. Shotgun shooting is a sport for everyone, that can be done by everyone.

Most shooting grounds welcome people with disabilities, and some extremely talented competitors shoot from wheelchairs. However, if the party does include a disabled person, this is a point worth checking before a visit, because the tricky geography of some shooting layouts means they may not be accessible to wheelchair users.

So, you have found a club and arranged a visit, but what do you wear?
Shooting clubs don't really have dress-codes as such, but smart/casual is the norm. And do be prepared for wet or cold weather, and muddy conditions underfoot.

One final tip on clothing for the day: shotgun shooting requires free arm movements, and a simple check is to put on what you plan to wear, then hold your arms up straight above your head. If your jacket feels uncomfortably tight on your upper arms, and rides up your back, then find one that doesn't.