We walk you through what to expect on your first time picking-up, including when to know if your dog is ready, what to do on the first drive and how to behave during the day
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How to get your shotgun certificate
Find out how to apply for a shotgun licence, plus more information on waiting times, fees and the appeals process
A guide to buying your first gun
It's never too soon to start looking at guns with a view to buying your first and any dealer will be happy to reserve a gun until your certificate arrives
Our beginner’s guide to shooting – what you need to know
Beginner's guide to shooting: Here we have the answers to some of the questions you have asked about starting shooting.
How to get into game shooting
Have you ever wanted to get into game shooting and wondered where to begin? Well, that’s just what Johnathan Cox, head keeper at the Buckhurst Estate in East Sussex, is trying to solve for many keen clay, pigeon and wildfowl shooters. Driven game shooting is notorious for being seen as…
Starting shooting: What’s a lock, stock and barrel?
Starting shooting: What makes a shotgun? 'Lock, stock and barrel' is a common enough phrase in the English language, signifying completeness in every respect!
Start shooting with lessons – and you’ll soon be hooked
Shooting lessons: what you need to know! So, now you are at the shooting ground, what happens next?
Guide to shotgun jargon
With so many shotgun terms floating about, it can be hard to know what you're talking about.
First invitation to shoot – what now?
A: Congratulations on receiving your invitation to shoot. However, before you mount a gun to shoot at any sentient creature, you need to have plenty of practice at clays. Go to a good ground that will do proper gun fit too. That will make you a better shot and will also give you confidence in…
How to be an excellent companion on a shoot day
Shooters are generally a friendly lot and will welcome a new face. Read up a bit on clayshooting/pheasant shooting and partridge shooting before you go out and learn the difference between driven shooting and rough shooting. For more in-depth knowledge on some of the terms you’ll hear when you’re new…
Why footwork in shooting is crucial to consistency
Being a good game Shot is about being consistent on all forms of quarry, in different weather conditions, on different topography and at different times of the season. Alan Rose, the renowned shooting instructor at the West London Shooting School, always drummed into me that style and technique kill the bird. The top sportsmen in this country are successful…
Starting game shooting
Wildfowling If you can’t afford to buy game shooting by the day, or through a syndicate, we recommend you join one of the many UK wildfowling clubs listed with the BASC. That’s because… An annual membership fee costs much less than a day’s driven game shoot. You are mentored in…
Starting shooting with clays
The first clay pigeon shoots started around 1885 as an affordable alternative to competitions using live pigeons as targets. Shooting schools – particularly those owned by London gunmakers – set up courses to simulate the flight of live birds. The new sport quickly became a hit with Victorian and Edwardian game…
Shooting safely – rules everyone should know
Shooting is rightly proud of its safety record. Compared with any other sport you care to name its safety record is second to none. In fact accidents of any sort are exceptionally rare. This happy state of affairs exists because sportsmen treat their gun and fellow shooters with the utmost…
Starting shooting – how to find an instructor
Getting going – will you get a thump in the shoulder? The thought of firing a shotgun for the first time can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’ve talked to someone who didn’t get suitable instruction when they tried their hand at the sport. If you believe what they say, you’ll…
Shotgun jargon buster
It’s nice to look at old magazine adverts and think: “Wow, in 1904 I could’ve bought a best London gun for about £100, a good day’s wages today!” Back then, though, most folk didn’t earn that sort of money in a year. and things haven’t changed a century later. Today the average…
A new series on starting shooting
Funny old world, isn’t it? In spite of society throwing its hands up in horror at the mere mention of guns, shooting as a sport has never been more popular. Almost 700,000 people own shotguns in Britain, and the number is growing across all age groups, and both sexes. Add…
Buying a first shotgun
Any busy shooting coach will see a continuous stream of newcomers to clayshooting or gameshooting coming through his ground who, having had a few first encounters with those elusive moving targets, are now thinking of buying a first shotgun. They may have been to one or two clayshooting days, or Saturday…
Meet Richard Daws, our AYA Centenary shotgun winner
“Disbelieving elation is the only way I can describe how I felt when I was told that I was the lucky winner! Collecting the gun was fantastic if a little surreal for someone who had never previously won anything."
Etiquette: How to get invited back to shoot
Receiving an invitation to go shooting of one of the sport’s great pleasures. Hopefully you’ll receive several during the season. But have you never noticed a falling-off in the offers you receive. Or wondering why they have stopped altogether? What is the problem? Could you be doing something wrong? We…