Shotguns

[smegablade]

I went clay pigeon shooting at the weekend as it's something I'd always fancied trying.

Had a great time and wouldn't mind taking it up as a hobby.

So as I know nothing other that what I learnt on Sunday I thought I'd ask the collective if they know anything.  What do you know? What should I be aware of? What should I avoid?

TIA

[John Williams (Panda) - Joint Manchester AO]

I think Manchester's Diggsy does a bit of clay pigeon shooting....

cheers

John

[carpetstu]

What do you want to know?

Your own gun licence is approx £50..

You do not need a licence to use someone else's gun but they must be present when you do.

Only the licensed gun owner can transport their gun.

If you want to own a gun you need a police approved gun cabinet. This must be installed ready for your Police home inspection before they will issue a licence.

General consensus would say an over under is better than a side by side, shot gun.

It isn't a cheap hobby.

You will probably want to invest in a decent shooting jacket and boots at some point.

Take lessons ... they are well worth the money if you want to do the hobby properly.

Be careful where you buy a gun from if you decide to go down this route. There is some serious crap out there that can cause damage if its faulty.

Take advice on where to buy from people that already have from the same.

Oh and be careful  

[James]

What should I avoid?

Getting shot    

[dombanks]

you'll need a licence but they are not that difficult to get as a shotgun is only a class 2 firearm and therefor not that dangerous.

according to where you live contact your local police force for the form.

i would imagine just like a rifle (class 1) you'll need to be a full member of a club and you'll need a cabinet to lock it up in which will need to be securly fixed to a load bearing wall in a private part of your house. but i may be worng on this. i know i had to for my class 1 licence.

at first i would advise you to go a few more times to a club near you, join if its not too bad and see if you really want to go the whole hog after you've done it a bit. they will aslo be able to help you on how is best to get through the licence application as some forces are waay more difficult than others.

shooting of any description is ace... after a stressful day there is nothing better than going down to the range and cracking a few rounds off! the bigger the bang the better although i really like the accuracy of proper target shooting

edt: like stu said it aint cheap, but if you can use a club owned gun to start off with you'll just have to pay the ammo costs and you wont need to worry about the liences etc

[funbobby]

Ive done a bit, you will need a gun (durr), a shotgun licence application form from your local police HQ for which they wil interview you (how much do you drink Sir? Errr ten pints a week officer!), you will need insurance ( I was with the Scottich Game Keepers Assc.)  If you intend to keep a gun on your premises you will need a shotgun cabinet that bolts through the wall ideally in a hiden place (not your loft or an outbuilding) which the police will try to pull of the wall.  A safe place other than the shotgun cabinet to store your cartridges. Join a club and your away.  PS If you join a club they will probably bulk buy cartrigdes which you can buy on the day.

PS anything that flies past is fair game ;-)

I have a picture somewhere from when I went clay pigeon shooting on a sunday morning in the Westy with a shotgun strapped to the cage.  Dont mess ha ha!!!

[Barry Ashcroft]

QUOTE

Shotguns? What, like guns that fire shot?

Oh, you must be the brains of the operation. Yes, guns that fire shot.

[brindle]

Sorry to steal Blatmans thunder - but is a public forum the best place to be talking about who / who hasn't got access to shotguns / firearms?

[carpetstu]

It may vary from area to area but we didn't need to be part of a shooting club in Staffordshire to get a shot gun licence.

We are fairly rural though and did indicate we are asked if we would like to go on pheasant shoots etc with private land owners.

[carpetstu]

Sorry to steal Blatmans thunder - but is a public forum the best place to be talking about who / who hasn't got access to shotguns / firearms?

As long as the guns are licensed and secure I don't see the harm. IMHO

If people want to get hold of a gun for illegal purposes they will find an easier way than trying to track a club members address and break in to get it from a locked gun cabinet.

[wizzer]

Knew a bloke that shot himself in the leg climbing over a fence   he had to crawl a mile back, and had to have is leg amputated

[boblog]

If you are getting a gun for clay shooting then get yourself a multi-choke, you can then change them  depending on what type of clays, bolting rabbits, distance etc, it makes quite a difference.

[carpetstu]

If you are getting a gun for clay shooting then get yourself a multi-choke, you can then change them  depending on what type of clays, bolting rabbits, distance etc, it makes quite a difference.

Must look into that.. Need to buy a new gun very soon

[Liam]

If you are getting a gun for clay shooting then get yourself a multi-choke, you can then change them  depending on what type of clays, bolting rabbits, distance etc, it makes quite a difference.

Hmmm. IMHO It really depends on how you progress. Multichokes are more expensive than fixed chokes which tend to be a good average but fine for beginners (and indeed, experienced shooters).

Better to concentrate on learning to shoot properly and safely first before adding in the complication of changing chokes while learning. More important to get a gun that fits you properly.

If you really get serious and start to compete then you might want to upgrade to a better gun anyway which is when you can start to look at more complex designs. It's called upgradeitus or the Westfield owners disease

They also need more maintenance as chokes need to be removed after each use and the threads cleaned out otherwise they will coke themselves in and be a pig to get out. I stress again, IMHO.

Personally, in Sunday morning club clay shooting, I seldom changed chokes and saw few who did.

But it is a great sport.

[Jonah]

Hi Smegablade, I am a BASC qualified shooting coach & still shoot quite a lot of clays. If you would like any advice then email me  & I will mail you my phone-no.

Otherwise Google CPSA who are the main clay shooting organisation for England & you will find a lot of advice & information there. Beware of "advice" such as it is a class 2 firearm & therefore not dangerous. All guns are dangerous & should be treated with the greatest of respect.