Weekday Evening Clay Shoots

Summer is fast approaching and the light nights are here, which means fans of clay pigeon shooting don’t have to wait for the weekend to enjoy this engaging sport.

The Big Shoot centres throughout the UK will now accept weekday evening bookings, and will do so throughout the summer. If you’re in need of a post-work change of scenery, exhilaration may be just a short drive away. These centres will also accept small groups, meaning you needn’t wait for a grandstanding corporate event to down some clays. Why not join us with a few friends? Maybe you’d prefer to come alone for the chance to briefly get away from it all.

These evening sessions are the perfect opportunity for shooting enthusiasts or beginners to squeeze in some practice shooting before an event. What’s more, clay pigeon shooting is a lot of fun and is never a bad idea, whatever your reason for joining us.

To find out more about light nights shooting in your area, don’t hesitate to contact The Big Shoot’s friendly sales team on 0844 745 5008.

Alternatively, for information on all of our facilities across the UK, as well as news of fantastic offers, visit our official website by clicking here.

Dublin and Belfast – Fast Facts

A very happy St Patrick’s Day from The Big Shoot, to clay shooting enthusiasts and any other internet travellers who find their way to us.

Both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are beautiful places with rich, vibrant histories. Below are some quick and interesting facts about their respective capital cities.

Dublin

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  • Home of Ireland’s national treasure, the Book of Kells, a manuscript more than a thousand years old. Created by Celtic Monks, it features the four gospels of the New Testament and an abundance of stunning artwork. It is currently on display within the long room library at Trinity College.
  • Twinned with Liverpool England, Barcelona Spain and San Jose California.
  • Boasts the only bridge in Europe that is as wide as it is long. The O’Connell Bridge crosses the River Liffey, which passes directly through the city.
  • Also features the oldest pub in Ireland. It is believed that the Brazen Head in Dublin should take this title, since a pub has stood upon this site since the year 1198.
  • Stars of page, stage and screen have hailed from Dublin, from James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker to Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. Music stars of Thin Lizzy and U2 did as well.

Belfast

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  • While you might have missed the fleeting mention in the famous Hollywood movie, the one and only HMS Titanic was built right here.
  • A third of the population of Northern Ireland resides within Belfast city limits.
  • Has been occupied since the Bronze Age and tourists can still visit Iron Age Fortresses.
  • Renowned for its wide variety of architecture, reflecting a volatile history. Victorian designs rest beside Edwardian and even Art Deco offerings.
  • The birthplace of famed writer CS Lewis, actor and dramatist Kenneth Branagh, musicians Katie Melua and Gary Moore, television personalities Colin Murray and Christine Bleakley, as well as political figures Gerry Adams and Paddy Ashdown.

Olympics 2012 – One to Watch

Last week, we shone a light on the shooting action that we all had to look forward to at the upcoming London Olympics 2012. Now, we’re going to focus on The Big Shoot’s One to Watch.

Women have competed in Olympic shooting events since the games of Mexico 1968, with the first separate all-female competition introduced in 1996. Since then the British Isles have been represented by many talented and trigger-happy ladies and young Charlotte Kerwood is already on that list.

The hot clay shooting prospect has previously nabbed gold medals at the Commonwealth games and represented Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics. Now, she’s gunning for her first Olympic podium place and many shooting writers are backing her to climb that podium all the way to the top.

Born on 15 September 1986, Charlotte Kerwood became Britain’s youngest shooting medal winner at the age of just 15, with the Women’s Double Trap event at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.

A mere 6 months after taking up the sport, the young shooter set a British and Commonwealth record of 141. More medals would follow, namely two golds at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, and other medals in Olympic qualifying tournaments in 2006 and 2007.

She went on to represent Great Britain at Beijing 2008, an invaluable experience as the 2012 games approach. But the talented young athlete is taking nothing for granted; and focussing first on her short term goals.

In an interview for guardian.co.uk, Kerwood explained that “the excitement is building as I work increasingly hard to ensure I am representing Great Britain”. It’s a mature and pragmatic outlook which belies her age, but illustrates the reasons for her success. “Olympic selection is determined by results in the World Cup, so I have targeted at least one podium finish in a bid to secure my place” she continued.

As one of Britain’s hottest prospects, a stadium full of gold hungry British supporters might seem a daunting prospect to a sports person. But it’s a challenge that this young gun would relish. “Some people struggle with the pressure of performing in front of a home crowd but I find the support motivates me”.

The sport of clay pigeon shooting, like many others, has suffered due to the economical problems of the last few years; a matter that the young athlete was quick to address. “British shooting recently fell victim to budget cuts following the 2008 Beijing Games”, she said, “however, a lot of hard work has been put in to secure funding for eight shooters ahead of the Olympics, and I am so thankful I benefit from this”.

There can be little doubt that a bright future lies ahead of Charlotte Kerwood; whether that future is lined with Olympic gold remains to be seen, but you won’t find any of the Big Shoot team betting against it.

That’s why we’re making Charlotte our One to Watch once the first clay is pulled at London 2012.

Look out for plenty more from The Big Shoot in the run up to another exciting Olympic Games, and if you fancy trying this exhilarating and rewarding sport for yourself, click right here, and find a fantastic clay shooting venue in your area.

Olympics 2012 – Need to Know Info

Competitive shooting was developed as a hunting sport, but has been a permanent fixture on the modern Olympic Games programme since the first games were held in Athens 1896.

In 2012, the greatest show on Earth comes to Great Britain for the London 2012 Olympics. Everybody here at The Big Shoot wants you to get the most from the games, and enjoy all the trigger-pulling action as it unfolds.

So, here’s some essential information regarding shooting at the 2012 games; as well as some that’s not really essential at all…but won’t hurt to know.

‘Need to Know’ Info

1. London 2012 will feature 3 shooting disciplines – rifle, pistol and shotgun.
2. Shooting events will take place at the Royal Artillery Barracks, in South East London.
3. Competitive triggers will be pulled between the dates of Saturday 28 July and Sunday 5 August. No target will be safe.
4. The Olympic shooting element comprises fifteen events in total. Each disciplines features five events; three for men and two for women.
5. This means that a total of fifteen gold medals are up for grabs.
6. A whopping three hundred and ninety competitors will be gunning for one of these.
7. Shotgun events follow the traditional clay shooting format which The Big Shoot fans will likely be familiar with.
8. Pistol and Rifle events require competitors to fire bullets at fixed targets from a set distance.
9. These targets consist of 10 rings with a bullseye in the middle.
10. Hitting the bullseye will bag the shooter a tremendous 10.9 points.

Not So ‘Need to Know’ Info

1. Around 275,000 clay targets will be used during shotgun competitions, and an even greater number of clay fragments will need to be swept up afterward.
2. At the first meeting of the modern Olympic Games, held in Athens 1896, there were more shooters in competition than any other form of athlete.
3. Between 1896 and 2004, an impressive 88 shooting medals have been picked up by Brits.
4. When Hungarian shooter Karoly Takac, lost his right arm to a grenade blast in 1938, he simply dusted himself down and took up shooting with his left hand. Ten years and a fair bit of practice later, he took home two gold medals from the London Olympics of 1948.
5. Another famous Olympian shooter is China’s Zhang Shan who became the first woman to take home the gold in a mixed-sex shooting event, at Barcelona 1992. In the aftermath of her triumph, the International Shooting Union stopped men and women competing against one another and female events were established.

The London 2012 Olympic Games are guaranteed to be an amazing spectacle, and the shooting events will be no exception.

We still have a great deal of time to wait before shots are fired. In the mean time you can read a great deal more about the games, right here. http://www.london2012.com

For news and information on all competitive shooting events, visit the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association at their official website. http://www.cpsa.co.uk

Different Types of Clay Shooting

Clay Pigeon Shooting

Also known as Clay Target Shooting, this sport consists of shooting at specially made flying targets with a shotgun.

Although competitions involving actual live pigeons were made illegal in the UK in 1921, the term “pigeon” endures in the name popularly used by both clay shooters and the layman. The targets are still often referred to as “birds” and a hit is still referred to as a “kill” or “hit”. A missed target is often still referred to as a “bird away” and the machine which launches the targets is called a “trap”.

Disciplines

Most of the at least 20 different disciplines of Clay Pigeon Shooting, can be grouped under the main headings of trap, skeet, and sporting.

Trap shooting

One or more traps are situated approx 15m in front of the shooter and the targets or birds are thrown either as singles or doubles. Targets are going away from the firing point at varying speeds, angles and elevations. The most common disciplines in this group are:

  • Down-The-Line (DTL) Single Barrel
  • Double Rise
  • Automatic Ball Trap (ABT)
  • Olympic Trap
  • Double Trap
  • Universal Trench
  • Helice (or ZZ)

Down-The-Line or DTL

A very popular trap shooting discipline: targets are thrown at a fixed height of approx 2.75m to a distance of 45 to 50 metres.  Without moving from the stand each competitor shoots at a single target in turn, until he or she have all shot five targets. Each competitor then moves one place to the right to shoot another five targets, they then move to the right again and repeat until they have all completed a standard round of 25 birds. Scoring is done as follows: 3 points for a first barrel kill, 2 points for a second barrel kill and 0 for a miss or “bird away” (max 75 points per round).

Olympic trap

This is one of the disciplines forming part of the shooting programme at the Olympic Games. Concealed in a trench in front of the shooting stands are 15 traps arranged in 5 groups of 3. Shooters take turns to shoot at a target each, they then move clockwise to the next stand in the line. Targets are thrown for each shooter immediately upon his or her call. The traps which throw the targets are selected by a pre-determined shooting scheme that ensures all competitors receive exactly the same target selection, but in a irregular randomised order. Scoring for this discipline is done as follows: 1 point per target killed, this can be achieved with either the first or with the second barrel.

A simpler and more accessible variation of the Olympic Trap discipline is known as automatic ball trap (ABT). Here there is only one trap and target variation is achieved via the continuous oscillation of the trap both horizontally and vertically this gives the same spread of targets as in Olympic trap.

Universal trench

Sometimes known as five trap this is a variation on trap shooting. The five traps are located in a trench to the front of the shooting stands, all the traps are set at differing  angles, elevations and speeds. The shooter calls “Pull!” and a target or bird is released from one of the traps selected at random.

Skeet shooting

The word Skeet is of Scandinavian origin, however the discipline originates from America. 2 traps are are located approx 40m apart on the opposite ends of a semi-circular arc which incorporates 7 shooting positions. Targets are then thrown in either singles or doubles. In skeet shooting the targets are thrown at set speeds and trajectories. The main disciplines in this group are English skeet, Olympic skeet and American (NSSA) skeet.

There is a total of 25 targets per round. Variety and challenge is achieved by shooting round the seven shooting positions on the semicircle. Scoring: 1 point per target killed, up to a maximum of 25.

In English skeet (the most popular skeet discipline), the gun position is optional (i.e., pre-mounted or out-of-shoulder when the target is called) and targets are thrown immediately upon the shooter’s call.

In contrast in Olympic skeet, targets travel much faster, the release of the target after the shooters call can be delayed up to 3 seconds and as such the gun-down position is obligatory. In addition in Olympic Skeet there is an 8th shooting station.

Sporting Clays

The discipline of English Sporting discipline maintains the largest following. In contrast to other disciplines where only standard targets are used, in English Sporting there is a much greater variation. A huge variety of angles, speeds, trajectories, elevations and distances are utilised in closer simulate live quarry shooting.

The   variety of ‘stands’ possible within this discipline is indeterminate and as such English sporting is the most popular form of clay pigeon shooting in the UK, with a course or competition featuring a given number of stands each with specific number of targets, all travelling along the same path and speed, either as singles or doubles.

Electrocibles or helice shooting

Similar to trap shooting and originated in Belgium in the 1960s, the targets in this discipline are equipped with a helice to give an erratic and unpredictable flight. The helice is made of two winged plastic propellers with white clay in the centre.

These modified targets are released randomly from one of five traps. The purpose of the design and its effect is to as closely as possible simulate the old sport of live pigeon shooting.

Targets

It is imperative that targets conform to the agreed set of international standards and as a result they are made to extremely exacting standards in regards to dimensions and weight. Made in the shape of an inverted saucer most commonly coloured either fluorescent orange or black, targets consist of pulverised limestone rock and pitch. They can withstand the pressure of being thrown from the traps but are easily broken when hit by the lead/steel pellets from the shotgun.

Different types of targets are used for different disciplines; standard 108 mm size is the most commonly used in American Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays. International disciplines of these same games use a slightly larger target at 110 mm diameter size. Only the standard 108/110 mm target is used in all of the trap and skeet disciplines. Sporting shoots utilise the full range of targets thus providing the variety required by the discipline.

The simplest method of throwing a clay target is by hand, either into the air or along the ground. Many “trick shot” shooters throw their own targets (some able to throw as many as ten birds up and hit each individually before any land). However, a multitude of devices have now been developed to throw the birds more easily and with more consistency. A plastic sling-like device is the simplest, though modern shooting ranges will usually have machines that throw the clay targets in consistent arcs at the push of a button.

Book your clay pigeon shooting experience now at your local shooting range

Alternatively call 0844 745 50080844 745 5008