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What To Expect On Your First Clay Shooting Experience

With Big Shoot vouchers selling like warm mince pies this Christmas we expect a lot of you will be heading out on your first shoot very soon – lucky you! So to help you make the most of every single second at the shooting ground here’s a look at what to expect from your first clay pigeon shooting experience..

Upon arriving at your first ever clay shoot you’ll be given a full safety briefing by a qualified instructor, and then kitted up with all the essential safety equipment including ear and eye protection. Your safety is always of paramount importance to our instructors, so before you smash a single clay they’ll make sure you’re safe to shoot and happy to head out to the shooting range.

Next up they’ll help you determine your dominant eye, which is key to successfully smashing your first clay. This is a really simple process though and can even be done whilst you’re reading this blog post! Just point your finger at an object across the room, now close your left eye. Is the object still at the end of your finger? If so then you’re right eye dominant. If the object’s moved, repeat the process but close your right eye. Hopefully the object should now appear back at the end of your finger meaning you’re left eye dominant. If not we’d probably recommend a trip to the opticians!

Once that’s out of the way, it’s time for the real fun to start which of course means taking aim at your first clays. Before you pull the trigger though you’ll be shown how to hold the gun, adopt the correct stance and perfect your swing. With the basics mastered all that’s left to do then is put what you’ve learnt to the test, and with the help of our instructors you’ll be breaking clays in no time.

The clays you’ll face will come from a variety of angles but usually our instructors like to start with something simple to ease you into the action. Not only is this a great way to get your eye in, it also gives you the perfect opportunity to smash your first clay and with one broken clay under your belt your confidence will soar.

As your experience progresses you’ll work your way round a variety of shooting stands taking on even trickier targets, and with our instructors on hand throughout you’ll receive all the tips you need to perfect your technique. You might even get to take part in a friendly competition or two – and trust us nothing beats being crowned top shot at the end of the day!

Your shoot comes to a close when you’ve faced all of your clays, then all that’s left to do is tot up the scores, pose for some quick snaps and head back to the clubhouse to take stock of your incredible experience.

Sound like your dream day out? Join the thousands of first time shooters we welcome every year by booking your first shoot here.

The 5 Types Of Christmas Shopper..

With less than two weeks to go until Christmas the Big Shoot office is buzzing with activity. We’ve been organising last minute Christmas parties, sending experience vouchers to every corner of the country and even doing some research ahead of Christmas 2018!

Yep, you heard us right, we’ve decided to get ahead of the game by trying to identify the different types of Christmas shopper – and even if we say so ourselves, we think we’ve done a pretty good job! So why not see how many of these Christmas clichés you recognise..

The Super Shopper

You know the ones, they did all their shopping months ago and they’ve had it wrapped since September. Instead of fighting their way round the shops they’ve spent the last couple of months showing off about how organised they are. Annoyingly they’re pretty good at wrapping too..

The Christmas Crafter

Everybody knows a Christmas crafter. They’re the type of people who watched Kirsty’s Handmade Christmas and thought, yeah I can do that. From handmade hampers to knitted baubles, they do anything to avoid buying a real present.

The Last Minute Hero

Ah, the last minute hero. Well all aspire to be like the last minute hero. Instead of stressing about shopping they focus on everything else the festive season has to offer. Then, with a day or two to spare they nip down the shops and pull it out of the bag with incredible presents for absolutely everybody

The Supermarket Sweeper

Like the last minute hero the supermarket sweeper always leaves things as late as possible.. but not through choice. Whether it’s due to work commitments, school nativities or a stacked social life, they just haven’t found the time and now they’re racing round the supermarket shoving everything and anything into their trolley. Merry Christmas, here’s that shaving foam you always wanted.

The One Day Wonder

You’ve got to admire the one day wonder. No matter what the festive season throws at them they just refuse to to left Christmas defeat them. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, how many queues they have to stand in and how many bags they have to carry, they’re not coming home until the Christmas shopping is done. It could take 2 hours, it could take 12, they really don’t care!

Have you spotted what type of shopper you are? Let us know in the comments below, and if you’re still in search of last minute inspiration head over to The Big Shoot website.. or you could end up like The Supermarket Sweeper!

Beat The Festive Hangover By Smashing Clays

With the countdown to Christmas almost over the festive season is in full swing, and is it just us or is December just one long party?

From work nights out to family get-togethers, it’s one thing after another at this time of year. So it’s no wonder so many people suffer with a so called ‘Christmas hangover’.

Thankfully we know the perfect cure for this festive phenomenon though and if you’re up for some fun a trip to the shooting ground is the perfect way to recharge your batteries.

First things first though, the important stuff. Safety is of paramount importance if you’re going clay pigeon shooting, so if you’ve entered the festive spirit a little too much in the run up to your experience you should probably give it a miss. If you wouldn’t feel safe getting behind the wheel of a car you definitely shouldn’t be handling a shotgun. Our best advice is to sit it out and keep score, or cosy up in the clubhouse and watch the action unfold from afar.

Now that’s out of the way, back to what we’re here for – why clay pigeon shooting is the perfect cure for the Christmas blues. Where do we start? Well first of all there’s fresh air and fantastic views, which are the perfect remedy for the chaos of Christmas. While shops and restaurants are rammed with revellers, shooting grounds are a sea of tranquillity and the only thing you’ll hear is the bang of shotguns and smashing of clays. Heaven!

Then there’s the rush of taking on the clays and whether it’s your first or fiftieth trip to a shooting ground, you just can’t beat it. Setting your sights on the range of targets on offer also gives you the perfect opportunity to clear your head and focus on the only thing that matters – smashing clays. So forget thinking about whether or not you’ve left it too late to get the Turkey, or where you’ve hidden the emergency chairs, just relax and have a blast.

A clay pigeon shooting experience is a great way to catch up with friends and family too, and it’s a lot more fun than all those traditional get-togethers. You could even throw in a prize for the winner if you really want to up the ante, but don’t blame us when things get out of hand!

So, if you’re ready to beat the Christmas hangover book your clay shooting experience today!

Scientists Have Discovered The Perfect Christmas Present!

If you’re anything like us, you probably haven’t got a clue what you got for Christmas last year..

Unless it was something really amazing (like a clay shooting voucher from The Big Shoot) the chances are it got shoved in a draw and forgotten about by Boxing Day.. and the same applies for all those gifts you shelled out for too!

Nobody wants more clutter for Christmas and that’s just one of the reasons why we think a clay pigeon shooting experience makes the perfect present. After all, who’s going to forget the day they go to smash some clays?

Obviously we’re a little bit biased here at The Big Shoot HQ, but there’s some serious scientific research to back up our belief that experiences make better presents than traditional gifts. A recent study at San Francisco State University found that people who spent money on experiences (rather than material possessions) were happier and believed their money had been better spent. So basically everybody wins with a gift experience!

The brain boxes at San Francisco State University aren’t alone in their findings either. Dr. Thomas Gilovich of Cornell University has been studying the question of money and happiness for over 20 years now, and he believes that experiences make a more memorable gift because they play a bigger part in the life of the recipient – and who are we to argue with a doctor.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that smashing clays is more exciting than smelly old socks though. Anybody who’s been lucky enough to visit a Big Shoot shooting ground will tell you just how incredible a clay pigeon shooting experience can be. Whether it’s your first or fiftieth shoot you’ll love every second!

So forget buying more Christmas clutter, there’s only one gift that’s guaranteed to stand the test of time and scientists say it’s a clay pigeon shooting experience from The Big Shoot! 😉

TBS Team Take On The Clays At Hanbury Clay Pigeon Shooting

Here at The Big Shoot we eat, sleep and breath clay pigeon shooting. So when we’re not introducing our customers to the rush of taking on the clays, there’s nothing we love more than visiting some of our spectacular shooting grounds – and with over 140 different venues to choose from we’re seriously spoilt for choice!

The latest member of the team to satisfy their craving for clays was Brummie, Team Leader Mike, who returned to the Midlands to visit Clay Pigeon Shooting Hanbury. Here’s how he got on..

“I’ve been clay pigeon shooting a couple of times now, and I was really looking forward to visiting Hanbury because of all the great feedback we’ve received. It’s also really close to where I grew up too, so it gave me the perfect excuse to visit home.

Our session started at bang on 12pm, and after we’d met our instructor and signed in, we got down to action pretty much straight away. The session started with a full safety briefing, followed by a run through of the guns and cartridges we were using. Our instructor even took a cartridge apart and showed us all the different elements that are squeezed inside, which was really interesting.

After we’d completed the briefing it was time to face the clays, and the variety of different traps to take aim at was awesome. The shooting stands were covered too, so when it inevitably started to rain there was no need to stop the action. Because there were a few of us in our group things got quite competitive, but it was really good fun and I just tried to do my best to hit as many clays as possible.

Even though I didn’t quite manage to come out on top I really enjoyed the shoot at Hanbury, and the instructors really went out of their way to help me perfect my technique. By the end of the experience I was blowing even the trickiest clays apart, and if it hadn’t been for a few early misses I’d definitely have taken the title of top shot!

Thanks to the team at Clay Pigeon Shooting Hanbury for an awesome day!”

Mike took on a 25 clay shoot at our Hanbury clay shooting venue. To book your own clay shooting experience visit our website today.

Take A Sneak Peek At Our Black Friday Deal..

The countdown is almost over, the best Black Friday deals are nearly here!

But what’s all the fuss about? Well, Black Friday is traditionally when shops and retailers move into the black, meaning they can offer their best deals and still make a profit – and there’s some serious bargains to be had.

Forget trailing round the shops though,  you’ll find the best Black Friday offer right here at The Big Shoot, and you definitely won’t have to fight your way through the crowds to get your hands on this incredible deal.

Now, we don’t want to give away too much before the big day, but our Black Friday offer will feature our incredibly popular gift boxes. So to whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside..

Your Big Shoot Voucher – The pièce de résistance, valid at more than 150 spectacular shooting grounds across the UK and Ireland, and redeemable against any experience listed on The Big Shoot website.

The Adrenalin Guide – A glossy guide dedicated to the world’s most exciting activities and experiences. Every page is bursting with facts, figures, hints, tips and trivia.

Your Redemption Instructions – A simple step-by-step guide to redeeming your Big Shoot voucher as quickly and easily as possible.

The Info Sheet – This is where we like to share all of our expert clay shooting knowledge. From shooting tips to jargon busting, you’ll find it all on your info sheet.

And.. If you’re really lucky we might even throw in a few festive sprinkles, but as things can get pretty hectic here at The Big Shoot HQ we have been known to forget!

Now you know what’s in the box, all that’s left to do now is wait for our Black Friday offer to go live and find out what else we’ve got up our sleeves! To be the first to get your hands on this awesome deal head over to The Big Shoot website at midnight tonight..