Learn to Shoot

 

Clay shooting is a sport enjoyed by many different people from all walks of life, it is a social and very addictive sport.

Within our Hampshire borders not only do we have some of the best clay shooting members in the country, but also a great choice of shooting grounds. It may be that you've been invited along by a friend, received a shooting lesson as a gift, or part of a hen or stag outing, or just fancied trying something different. There are many ways to get into the sport,  however, it's unlikely that you own the equipment you need to get started. Luckily there are many places in Hampshire where you can book a lesson and get supplied with all the kit required to get going.

One place, in particular, is Fareham Clay Target Club on Titchfield Lane in Fareham, FCTC is a members-owned club and has always opened its doors to new shooters. It has a dedicated skills course with shooting stands under cover. They have a structured shoot 'Progress Card' system where in a short time you will complete the course and be at 'C' class level. This includes gun safety, learning the sporting rules, trap operation, and scoring when in groups and it is a one-to-one tuition set in a dedicated area away from the eyes of the experienced shooting members. The club was established some 55 years ago and is dedicated to helping the progress of the clay target sport. The practice/have-a-go-stands are open at every shoot fixture and have to be pre-booked, which gives you a chance to give clay shooting a go under close instruction and in a safe environment. They will provide the right gun, ear and eye protection, ammunition, and a qualified instructor. We recommend a course of six lessons at £210.00 and this is with one of ten different guns, cartridges an APSI instructor and of course the practice stands are all under cover. This is an excellent way to see if you like the sport. If you do decide clay shooting is the sport for you there are then several ways in. You can look at joining the club and carrying on with supervised shooting until you are ready for the practice/competition circuits. Fareham CTC offers four home disciplines which are English Sporting, DTL, English Skeet, and ABT and once you know which road you want to go down, help is always on hand to get you going.

There are also shooting schools that offer packages of similar description, such as Owls Lodge Shooting School in Barton Stacey, owned and run by Richard & Tanya Faulds. They can accommodate every shooting need as a beginner and offer competitively priced one-to-one or group tuition, again club guns and safety equipment can be supplied so you just need to bring yourself along.

There are also many other grounds such as Wallers Ash, The Spitfire Shoot, Roundwood Shooting School, and Lains Shooting School near Andover to name a few, and details of all these grounds can be found on the CPSA HQ website or just google the ground name to find them.

Once you get going and have a few competitions under your belt you may want to start competing for a place in one of the Hampshire Inter-County teams. The selection procedure is featured on this website, but the best way to get going is to enter the Hampshire Championships if you win you automatically make the team captain, after that, it's down to averages and managers' selection. So, if you are holding a strong average and want to be considered, make sure the managers have your details so that they can keep an eye on your scores.

Best of luck ... and enjoy this fabulous sport!

 

The Hampshire Committee

 

         

               Owls Lodge Shooting School                                   The Tower at Roundwood Shooting School

     
 Fareham Clay Target Club 'Have A Go Stands'                                            Fareham C.T.C. has a great deal to start a lesson at
                                                                                                                                           £35.00 per 25 clays, to book just
                                                                                                                                           email gordge205@btinternet.com