A Blog For The Welsh Clay Shooting Scene

The End of an Era.

I predict by next year, there will be no Gwynedd Teams in Sporting or Skeet.

We’re getting less and less shooters every year, and some present members are already talking about giving up altogether, due to the expense.

Used to be a laugh with 3 or 4 (sometimes 5) people travelling together all over Wales, nowadays there’s rarely more than one or two per car.

Sad I know, but that’s the way it goes.

North Wales Shooters, Support the Welsh Skeet Club at Fauxdegla on the 18th of December.

Next Sunday is the very first Welsh Skeet Club shoot in North Wales, held at the fantastic newly refurbished Fauxdegla Ground.

We need  North wales shooters to come out in they’re droves to support this newly established club.

We all complain that most shoots are held down South for the benefit of South Walian shooters (as seen in next years County Finals),  well this is our chance to have regular skeet shooting up here.

Everyone who takes part has a chance of winning something whatever class their in.

I hope that the weather is kind, and that there will be at least 4 or more squads for what could end up as a monthly event,  shared between Fauxdegla and Mid Wales Shooting Ground.

This is proper competition shooting, but in a friendly environment, at a very reasonable cost.

As usually having to referee puts a lot of people off, the skeet club provides refs so no shooter has to.

So come on (weather permitting) lets get skeet shooting and support Huw Evans the North’s organiser.

What does Beckham and I have in Common?

The Beckham boot as it's called in the medical profession..

This is what I have to wear for the next month.

Doubt it’ll do much for my shooting though

It’s real name is is an Equalizer Walker, but they call it the Beckham boot because he was the first to wear one (apparently).

It’s like a torture implement and very uncomfortable to walk in, and I certainly can’t drive with it on.

Attracting young people to clay shooting and incentives and ideas for doing so.

A guest post by Ray Agate.

Attracting young people to clay shooting, and incentives and ideas for doing so.

Bring up clay shooting in a conversation with a good number of young people and chances are that you’ll be given a funny look and the topic will disappear quite quickly. There is a potential issue with the image of clay shooting with young people. In this age of video games, iPhones and music videos, the idea of shooting clay pigeons in a field for a hobby seems rather alien , why bother going someplace to shoot when you can simply load up Modern Warfare 3 on your Xbox 360 and shoot targets from the comfort of your bedroom ?

I have found that a good way of introducing the excitement and enjoyment of clay shooting is using a company that offers laser shooting, which combines modern technology that young people are familiar with along with the skills and attributes required with real shooting. I have been to a number of events where a laser shoot has been set up and the level of interest and enthusiasm that this facility generated with the youngsters, is a positive that can be harnessed and used to introduce them to real clay shooting.

The experienced shooting enthusiasts that run these events generally portray the sport in a very positive light and show youngsters how to handle the guns as well as shoot at targets. As with a lot of sports and pursuits, if you engage your audience at an early age, you potentially have a life long fan of clay shooting, which can only be a positive step for the future of the sport.

The 2012 London Olympics should also help clay shooting’s image. Next year, over 400 competitors will participate in 15 shooting events at the Royal Artillery Barracks. One of England’s hopes for a gold medal is 20-year-old James Huckle. He has already enjoyed success in the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in India, winning three gold medals. He collected three silvers and two bronze in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. His passion and success should encourage young people to have a go at the sport. Huckle says that shooting has a potential image problem: “In Britain, we’ve got this stereotyped view of people with guns as villains, as a nasty person,” he says. “That you can only possibly want to own a gun to hurt someone. But that’s not the case.”

Incentives such as National Shooting Week encourage young people to try clay shooting and find out if it’s for them. Created by the British Shooting Sports Council, it aims to dispel myths about shooting and get more kids onto the ranges.

A guest post by Ray Agate from Wish.co.uk – for more details on their clay shooting experience days click here.

South Pembrokeshire Clay League (By Angie Goodman)

Welsh Scores From the Sporting Home International.

Sporting Home Countries International Tournament 2011, Mill Hill CPSC      

Wales    6    8    8    6    8    6    8    6    6    6    6    6    6    6    8    100
Senior Team:-    S1    S2    S3    S4    S5    S6    S7    S8    S9    S10    S11    S12    S13    S14    S15    Total
1    Julian Morris    3    7    5    4    6    6    8    4    5    6    5    5    6    6    4                                    80.

2    Nigel Hart ( C )    5    4    5    5    6    2    6    6    6    6    6    4    3    6    7                                 77.

3    Dorian Evans    4    5    7    2    7    4    7    5    5    5    5    5    3    6    5                                   75.

4    Jerry Preece    3    4    6    6    6    2    8    4    6    6    4    5    5    5    5                                     75.

5    Paul Griffiths    5    5    8    5    2    4    5    3    4    5    5    5    5    6    7                                    74.

6    Gareth Griffiths    6    7    6    4    5    3    5    4    4    5    3    5    4    5    6                               72.

7    Andrew White    3    6    4    5    2    4    8    4    4    3    5    6    5    5    7                                 71.

8    Ray Webb    5    4    5    4    7    3    7    3    6    3    4    6    4    5    5                                         71.

9    Mike Harding    6    5    7    3    5    4    7    3    3    6    3    4    5    4    3                                   68.

10    Peter Humphries    6    5    5    2    7    5    6    3    3    5    5    5    3    5    3                          68.

11    John Kendall    6    3    7    4    5    4    7    2    4    5    3    4    4    5    4                                  67.

12    Daniel Morgan    2    4    7    3    7    0    5    5    4    6    5    6    3    6    3                               66.

13    Tony King    4    6    6    1    3    3    5    3    1    6    5    5    5    4    6                                         63.

14    Richard Hughes    3    3    4    3    5    2    7    4    5    6    2    5    5    6    1                              61.

15    Bleddyn Lewis    2    2    6    3    4    1    7    4    2    5    5    6    3    2    1                                 53.

Junior Team:-    S1    S2    S3    S4    S5    S6    S7    S8    S9    S10    S11    S12    S13    S14    S15    Total
1    David Kidner    4    7    7    4    7    4    5    3    5    6    2    4    5    4    4                                     71.

2    Luke Lewellen    3    6    5    3    7    2    6    3    3    4    5    6    3    2    4                                   62.

3    John Preece    3    5    2    1    1    3    6    4    4    6    5    4    6    6    3                                        59.
Ladies Team:-    S1    S2    S3    S4    S5    S6    S7    S8    S9    S10    S11    S12    S13    S14    S15    Total
1    Janine Preece    3    6    5    5    6    5    6    3    5    6    5    5    5    6    6                                   77.

2    Nikky Evans    4    3    6    5    5    1    5    2    3    6    3    5    5    4    5                                       62.

3    Lucy Pitt    2    4    6    2    4    3    5    4    4    4    2    4    3    5    6                                             58.
Veteran Team:-    S1    S2    S3    S4    S5    S6    S7    S8    S9    S10    S11    S12    S13    S14    S15    Total

1    Richard James    1    6    4    3    5    3    8    4    4    6    4    5    5    3    4                                    65.

2    Roy Hughes    4    4    8    2    4    1    5    1    4    3    5    6    3    5    3                                          58.

3    Norman Jones    3    2    6    1    5    4    6    1    4    6    3    5    2    5    3                                     56.

Manager:-
Julie Hart

My thanks to tk for the pictures.

Gwyndegla Skeet Challenge, a great success..

Yes today, the once yearly Gwyndegla skeet challenge was held at this most famous of grounds.

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Fantastic Charity Shoot at Mid Wales.

It wasn't promising good weather, but the welcome by the Williams family at Mid Wales today certainly made for a fantastic day out despite the wind and occasional heavy shower.

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Lovely sunny Weather for the Skeet Welsh Open.

Great ground, great people, sunny weather, what more could a shooter want

Whilst none of our crowd (Gwynedd) shot all that well today,  we all had a fantastic time at what is our home ground (two hours away).

I was in a squad with Henry Bales, Gwynedd’s Keith Hill, eventual joint high gun Alan Parkin, and Chris Ingram.

As I’d shot with them all at previous qualifiers, and everyone knew each other,  it was a good squad to be in.

Alan was on top form and shot a wonderful (his first I think) 99, to end up on joint high gun with Nigel Hodson and Pete Collins from  Scotland.  Close on his heels was Chris, with a (disappointing for him) 94.

Keith started better than me, and after the first 50 was in front of me by a few birds, but I managed to catch up and pass him on the final 50 by shooting a 49/50.

I needed a good kick up the backside for dropping high 6, which deprived me of a 50 straight.

I was quite surprised not to see a 100 straight  as the conditions were good, as were the birds, but a shoot off was needed to decide the overall high Gun.

After 25, Alan and Nigel were straight, and the Pete Collins had dropped out,  so it needed a shoot off on stand 4 to decide the 2011 champion.  Nigel shot first and smashed all 4 birds, whilst Alan missed the low bird on his second pair, leaving him runner up with Pete Collins in third place

So Nigel a well deserved winner took the trophy home for another year.

I must admit I was rooting for Alan to win, as we’d shot all four rounds together, and he’s truly a gentleman who won the respect of the rest of the squad with his superb shooting. Glad to see him getting runner up and veterans high gun.

I believe 4th place was taken by Huw Evans on 97.

Our lot’s scores at the end, Gwyn 84/100, Glyn (2nd in C class) 89/100, Keith 91/100, and myself 92/100.  Not all that great, but for a bunch of sporting shooters not all that bad.

Ladies high gun was taken by Helena Stewart from Scotland, with Natalie Davies as ladies runner up and top junior,  well shot ladies.

Glad to say I was in good company on 92/100, as Angie and Rob English finished on the same score.  Angie just missed out on a ladies placing by a single bird, which was a real pity as she shot really well.

Great fun at M.W., pity about the Shooting..

Yes on Saturday 6 of us went to M.W. for some much needed skeet practise.

3 shot five rounds of skeet (Me, Dave, and Barry) and three shot 3 rounds of skeet and 50 sporting (Keith, Gwyn, and Elfyn).

Also there were Huw Evans and Alun Evans to show us how it’s done.  .

Conditions were testing with a blustery wind and showers, but as always the birds were first rate with no breakdowns.

As to the scores, I only have the scores of Dave, Barry, and myself, but I do know that Keith shot the only straight of the day, and Gwyn shot two 24′s. No idea what they’re other scores were.

Barry shot, 14, 14, 18, 19, 20.

Dave shot 20, 20, 21, 23, 23, best he’s ever done, so well done indeed.

And Myself, a crappy 21, 22, 23, 23, 24.

Birds seemed faster than usual, and low bird seemed to get a jump on everybody.

Traps worked faultlessly, and staff were helpful and cheery, especially Ernie

Next weekend should be fun, and  lets hope the weather’s kind for a change.

Pity we’re self refereeing again at what is the most important skeet shoot of the year.

My thanks to Dave for the photo’s taken on his iPhone..

Great Sporting Qualifier at Mid Wales 03/07/11

Only my second sporting qualifier this year due to the skeet, but I must say it was an enjoyable day with good friends.

A very tricky course that caught out quite a few top shots.

Jonathan and the staff at M.W. have this knack of putting on birds that first look fairly easy, but are a subtle use of angles and speeds, that catch out even the best.

A fairly poor turnout didn’t dampen the day, and things ran vary smoothly throughout the day.

Only 2 small complaints,  some poor refereeing on two stands (although Keith won’t agree ), and too many stands with long left to right crossers/loopers.

Scores from our lot were as follows, TK 84, Dan Morgan 74, Keith 74 (which should have been a 71) , W.G. 69, Me 67, Gwyn 65, Dennis 63, Barry 50, Dave 48, and Elfyn 23.

Katie Cowell the junior was there, and after giving skeet a rest for the day,  shot an excellent 74 to end up on the same score as Keith.

So well done TK on a very decent score, as the top score when we left was only 88, but with a few top shots still out on the course.

But this ‘Flinching’ excuse for missing is getting a bit much now

Great Result for Welsh Team in the States..

The five man Welsh Sporting team flew out to San Antonio Texas on 25th April.

The team consisting of Jon Kendall (Capt.) Tony King, Jerry Preece , Dorian Evans, and Julian Morris, were accompanied by team manager Gareth Griffiths and Junior John Preece.

Day One went quite well considering we were shooting at 2 p.m. in 101 degree temperatures, and signs everywhere saying BEWARE OF RATTLE SNAKES.

At the end of day one, Team Wales were in third place one clay behind England. Sadly on day 2 we didn’t perform at all well after a 6:30 am rise to start shooting at 8 am we finished in 4th place, behind USA, Mexico and England.

Joint High guns for Wales were team captain Jon Kendall and Tony King.

Written by tk, with slight changes by blog owner

2011 Welsh Counties Sporting Final.

Some pics of the winners today, I’ll add names etc, later when I get a chance.

One of the best finals ever, and probably the best winning score ever seen, a 98 by Alistair Evans.

I’ve been shooting for my county team for 17 years (skeet, Sporting, DTL, and AR),  and I can honestly say, this was one of the best county finals ever held.  Fantastic mixture of targets set perfectly for club shooters and pro’s alike.

So many people shot 70+, and the smiling faces around the ground  said it all.

The weather was perfect, and the service at MW was superb, with very few breakdowns and broken clays.

The only downside was the bench and table collapsing under our team Gwyn and Elfyn, Sue, Sera, and myself were sent sprawling as it slowly collapsed.

Click on the pics to enlarge:

Counties Skeet Final 2011.

A very long 41/2 hour journey down South for the Gwynedd Shooters for the 2011 counties skeet final at SW2000.

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A day at Hodnet..

Today we had our yearly day out at Hodnet, thanks to Keith Hill and his Game Shooting Syndicate. 150 birds over 16 stands, with a great variation of easy and hard stands.

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