How, What, Where: Clay Pigeon Shooting - MirrorMePR
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As a Countryside PR agency, the MirrorMePR Country Team love to get out into the countryside and one of our favourite office outings spent in the great outdoors has been Clay Pigeon Shooting!

If you’ve never had a go before, Clay Pigeon Shooting is the most fun you can have in a day and while we didn’t think we were particularly competitive it turns out we all were! For those of you thinking about trying out this fantastic sport, we spoke to Richard Worthington, National Development Manager at the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association and CPSA Level 1 instructor to find out more….

 

WHERE DO WE START?

Clay Shooting is a very accessible sport with hundreds of venues around the UK to have a go at. It’s a sport where people of all ages and abilities can take part and Clubs & Grounds can provide everything you need to begin with.

 

HOW DO WE FIND A CLUB NEAR US?

We have over 360 Affiliated Clubs and Grounds around the UK and you can find them by going on our website to www.cpsa.co.uk/find-a-club and searching by County.

 

WHAT DO WE WEAR?

Just wear comfortable clothes that suit the weather conditions. When you have a go at shooting ear and eye protection are provided for you and if you take up the sport then you will need to buy a Shooting Vest (called a Skeet vest) which has large pockets for cartridges, ear defenders and shooting glasses and of course a baseball cap or similar is recommended.

 

DO WE NEED TO BUY A GUN?

Not at first, as this will be provided for you on a have a go session or lesson but ultimately, yes you will need to apply for a shotgun certificate so that you can buy your own gun and ammunition as you will not want to keep borrowing someone else’s.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT 

If you attend one of our Shotgun Skills courses you just need to arrive at the organised time and then you will spend some time learning about safety, gun handling, gun fit, eye dominance etc before going on range to shoot some simple targets under supervision of a CPSA qualified Instructor. Everything is provided for you so you just need to turn up!

 

IS THERE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE?

If you get the bug and decide you would like to compete, then you can take part in the many CPSA Registered Competitions which are run every week at shooting grounds around the UK. You need to be a CPSA member and after you have shot 3 registered scores we will classify you which is like a handicap system so that you are effectively competing against others of a similar ability. As your shooting improves you can track your progression via our website and move up in class.

WHY SHOULD WE GIVE IT A GO?

Because it’s great fun! It’s not scary and doesn’t hurt as long as you are using an appropriately sized shotgun and when you start smashing clays it becomes really addictive!

 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING THE CPSA?

First and foremost, by joining the CPSA you become part of a large shooting community who undertake their hobby and sport every week. We provide public liability insurance (upto £10M) and personal accident insurance (upto £30,000) whilst you are out shooting for peace of mind and as previously mentioned you can take part in registered competitions and championships as a member. We also provide you with 10 copies of our in-house magazine Pull! per year which has lots of useful information about shooting and lists where events and fixtures are each month for you to enjoy.

 

For more information: www.cpsa.co.uk