Learning How to Start Shooting
This is the learning to shoot page, here you can find all the information you need to get going if your new to shooting. There are articles on getting a shotgun licence, safety, buying your first gun, gunfit and some of the different shooting techniques. The video below is a good place to start.
Learning About Shooting: The Sport the Facts
Getting Started
Starting to Shoot and Getting a Shotgun Licence
So you want to take up shotgun shooting, where do you start? It can be quite a daunting prospect for the uninitiated. The first thing to do is to find a club or a commercial shooting ground where you can Have-a-Go. I would also advise buying some shooting magazines. Shooting is one of those sports that some people take to immediately, others find their passion grows with their skill. Read More
Are you mainly interested in clays or game? Perhaps you want to do both. Assuming you are an adult male, I would usually say go for a 12 bore as your first gun. Consider a 20 bore if you are a woman or a young shooter, or, if you have a problem with upper body strength (I might also add that 30” 20 bore over and unders make great game guns for more experienced shots). As a novice, though, you will not go far wrong with a 28” barrel multi-choke over and under. It will be easier to swing. Read More
Learning the Basics
I favour lightly loaded cartridges for instruction and training (I use them for just about everything). My favourite budget load is the excellent Express High Velocity. The Hull Chevron is another good choice and very soft recoiling. I favour lightly loaded cartridges for instruction and training (I use them for just about everything). My favourite budget load is the excellent Express High Velocity. The Hull Chevron is another good choice and very soft recoiling. Read More
Once you have bought a good clay gun, there is some additional kit which is essential, and some which will come in very handy. On the essential front, buy ear protection which you find comfortable. You MUST wear ear protection at all times when shooting. It is hard to advise on the best type of ear protection, it must suit you and meet the relevant British, and/or, international standards. Read More
Shooting is a traditional sport and it has a dress code, but there is plenty of room for style and individuality. Most Guns – as we call ourselves - wear a tweed jacket of some description and tweed breeks. These days plus-twos are in shooting fashion, they usually stop a couple of inches below the knees. Any longer and you risk being taken for a 1920s golfer. Read More
Learning to Shoot
Shooting is potentially dangerous, yet it is a very safe sport because the vast majority of shooters take safety so seriously. The first rule is to treat all guns as loaded - always. NEVER point a gun at something you are unwilling to destroy.The second Golden Rule is to always make sure a gun is UNLOADED and UNOBSTRUCTED. , and, if you pass it to someone else ... Read More
Eye dominance is a most intriguing phenomenon. Most adult men have one eye that directs the pointing process - finger or gun it makes no difference. When they point at a distant object, they will line up with one eye - usually the right eye if they are right-handed. This dominant eye, the finger tip and the selected object, will be in a straight line. This is a natural sighting system. Read More
There are few things in life which are quite as satisfying to possess as a really well fitted shotgun. Just what is a well fitted gun? The glib answer is that you will know one when you try it (and if you ever have one and get rid of it you are damned fool). A well fitted gun is one that feels right, that points naturally to where the eye or eyes are looking and that controls recoil effectively. Read More
In the last part we considered drop and length, in this part we will begin by considering cast. It is the extent to which the stock is angled to the left (cast-on) or right (cast-off) and is an especially important variable of gunfit to those who have less than absolute eye dominance or have a body shape which does not conform to the 'Mr. Average' norm. Cast is usually measured at heel and toe, typical dimensions would be 1/8" and 3/16" respectively (though guns may be much more heavily cast in some cases). Read More
Forward allowance is a subject guaranteed to get any group of shooting men talking. Some swear that they do not see a gap when they shoot the birds, most of us do though, whether we apply lead consciously or unconsciously. There are all sorts of system for applying forward allowance, moreover, one may ‘Swing-Through’ from behind, one can touch the bird and ‘Pull-Away,’ or you can ‘Maintain a Lead.’ Read More
It has often been said by those that know that to shoot well you must have a good gun mount. Many who work at the retail end of the gun trade, for example, will tell you that they can immediately get some idea of a customer’s shooting ability when they first watch him (or her) mount a gun in the shop. Experienced shooting instructors note the same thing. Read More
Additional Information
As a father of four, I have a special interest in teaching Young Shots. My two boys are keen shooters, and both have bagged their first pheasants in the last couple of years. They both shoot clays too. Jamie my eldest boy shot 50 ex 60 in his first sporting competition at Hollland & Holland, and we have won two events as members of the same team together - if you detect a bit of prde you're right. Read More
