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…
Start Shooting
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…
Learning to shoot and cook game in Somerset
My experience of clay pigeon shooting has largely been limited to team-building days. And I found them immensely frustrating. For whilst some of my colleagues picked up their shotguns and were away, hitting clays with just about every shot, I was a complete amateur and a quick 10 minute lesson…
10 shooting tips you need to know
To avoid frustration when out shooting in the field this season, follow these ten shooting tips.
How a shotgun cartridge works
Shotgun cartridges might look simple things but loading them is something of a science, says Charles of Just Cartridges.
Pardon? Why shooters should ALWAYS wear ear protection
One of the safety rules of shooting should certainly be that the shooter wears efficient ear protection at all times. Take a cavalier attitude to protecting your hearing and you risk profound deafness and the lifelong misery of tinnitus with all the discomfort, annoyance, dizziness and disorientation that comes with…
Clayshooting tips for beginners
Understand the jargon heard on the clay shooting ground with Mark Russell's tips for shooting beginners
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
How long will it take you to get your shotgun and firearms certificates?
Wondering why it is taking so long to get your firearms and shotgun certificates through? It all depends on where you live, according to a recent report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulory (HMIC). Expect a wait Look at these tables of HMIC data showing the length of time it…
How a shotgun works
Lewis Potter looks at the inner workings of a shotgun to explain and illustrate how a shotgun works