John King

LADIES LOVE CLAY SHOOTING

On a recent trip to Charlotte NC. I had the great pleasure of introducing the joys of clay shooting to a small group of lovely NC ladies.

LADIES LEARNING TO SHOOT IN TOTAL COMFORT

Throughout my last article I stressed the importance of comfort during your first shooting lesson. It is of course also very important that your comfort is maintained during your subsequent lessons. Your feelings of wellbeing start naturally with the psychological factors; being made to feel at ease and re-assured by your coach, feeling relaxed in your new environment and understanding what is going to take place during your lessons and everything that is required of you.

INTRODUCING YOUNGSTERS TO CLAY SHOOTING

The most repeated question that I receive from my adult pupils is along the lines of “At what age can my daughter/son begin clay shooting?”
My common replies about age suggest to parents that 11 to 12 is a good age to start, but I also explain that I have started a few youngsters from as young as 7. These have all been exceptional cases. They always have been girls and boys growing up in game shooting families where correct shotgun usage and safety have been an important part of their education throughout their young lives.
The most important message that I give to parents about the best time for their youngsters to start clay shooting is; “when the youngsters really want to”!

Beginners Clay Shooting Lesson with ShootClay

I had the pleasure of having Matt Rutherford from ShootClay visit Barbury Shooting School and  join me for a shooting lesson. (You can enjoy his review the ‘Beginners Clay Shooting Lesson’.at www.shootclay.co.uk )

Olympic Skeet

Very much akin to the birth of Trap shooting; Skeet had it’s beginnings in the search for a clay shooting activity that could replicate and provide a suitable practise for shooting game birds out of season. The game bird that the shooters wished to practise was Quail and the inventors of this new game were three American keen Quail hunters.

Olympic Clay Shooting

With the 2012 London Olympics moving excitingly closer; it seems appropriate to take a look at Olympic Clay shooting:

Choosing your Clay Shooting Coach and School

The best first port of call will be somewhere that has been highly recommended by someone who you trust. Your next logical option is Google - your Clay Shooting requirement's within a suitable geographical area. Any quality Shooting School/Coach will be easy to find electronically; and your first stage of assessment will be the website...

The Clay Shooter’s Alphabet

John King goes back to basics and looks at the most important aspects to remember when shooting competitions.

A is for ATTITUDE

Just How Easy it can be for Anyone to Learn Clay Shooting

Now to reassure you just how easy it can be for any one to learn the basics of clay shooting. I am going to introduce to a simple systematic way of learning to point a shotgun naturally. This system is known as “The Method" and has (in my opinion) a number of advantages over other approaches.

Taking Up Clay Shooting

If you want to start clay shooting, the most important part to get you going is the right equipment. First and foremost, a suitable size gun that you will be able to hold comfortably. To ensure your success and enjoyment you must be able to fire this gun without suffering any unpleasant and painful recoil.

Your First Clay Shoot

After enjoying some lessons and getting to grips with your very own gun - it is recommended to build upon your technique and confidence further, you enter your first Clay Shooting competition.

Clay Shooting for Absolute Beginners (Part Two)

The second part in the Clay Shooting for Absolute Beginners series. Taken directly from John's column in Clay Shooting Magazine. In the second part; we find out about step 4 within the Clay Shooting plan. 

Self Protection

Self protection in clay shooting is vital. Which is why, high on the list of the multitude of joys of clay shooting is it’s exemplary Safety Record. The non-shooting world may be surprised to learn that Clay Shooting rates as one of the Worlds safest sports.

Choosing your Hearing Protection

Choosing the right ear defenders is serious safety business which means it’s essential that you do your research first!

So, before going any further, let us all be in full agreement that shooting regularly without hearing protection will result in loss/damage to our hearing (I consider that anyone shooting a couple of times a month, a 'regular shot').

Shooting Safety Glasses - Essential Eye Protection

I would be very surprised if there are any clay shooters who are not fully aware of the crucial importance of wearing Shooting Safety Glasses when they are clay shooting or present when others are clay shooting.

Clay Shooting Wardrobe - Essential Clothing

Those of you who are new to clay shooting may be somewhat overwhelmed by the vast range of shooting gear available nowadays, from your style of shooting vest and all the other clothing items that are going to keep you comfortable shooting in all weathers.

Advice On Buying a Gun

If you have decided that the prime use of your new gun will be for clay shooting and to maximize it’s versatility you are opting for a Multi Choke - please pause here a moment.

Shotgun Cartridges

So what do you want from your 12 bore clay cartridge? Well you will want a fair price, comfort, no one should be prepared to suffer excessive recoil. Consistency and reliability will also be high on your priority list. So, what to use?

Shotgun Cleaning

Using quality cartridges will ensure that your shotgun will not have excessively dirty barrels at the end of a shoot. However you should clean it properly before it is returned to the Gun Safe...

Clay Shooting First Celebrity Shooting Lesson

Two T.V. celebrities; Zoe Salmon and Iwan Thomas are John’s latest converts to Clay Shooting. They have just completed a series of lessons with John and are buzzing with excitement about their new-found shooting skills.

Shot Gun Recoil

Many people that experience Shot Gun shooting for the first time - worry about, or experience recoil discomfort. Zoe Salmon and Iwan Thomas were just the same, before they were shown the precautions that can be taken to ensure pain free shooting.

Clay Traps

In attending Clay shoting, you see a multitude of clay targets to challenge & excite. Varying sizes, different colours, combinations of angles & distances - fantastic fun...

Our TV Stars Tackle a New Target

As Zoe was first up to shoot the right to left crossing target; Iwan steps up to have a go at target number two: The Single Driven Clay (page 36 in the book).

Learning to Shoot the 'Going Away' Target in Clay Shooting

Clay target coach takes TV celebrities Zoe Salmon and Iwan Thomas through the basics of the Going Away Target as well as reminding them of the Clay Shooting preparations.

Clay Shooting Pairs Combinations with Zoe Salmon

After tackling the going away and bolting rabbit targets, John sets Zoe up for the next challenge - the Clay Shooting Pairs Combinations. This means that when she calls 'pull' the going away target is released and when you fire, the bolting rabbit target is released.

The Bolting Rabbit Target with Iwan Thomas

Due to the Bolting Rabbit’s target travelling in front of him crossing left-to-right, there are two extra factors that Iwan needed to become aware of. Firstly that his right-handed body will not move so naturally left-to-right as his does right-to-left, and that right-handers commonly push the gun stock away from their cheeks when they are making lead on left-to-right targets.

Bogey Targets

Most clay shooters struggle with a type of target from time to time. Rarely is this a permanent struggle; but for a period of time, individuals will describe a particular target as their ‘bogey’

Clay Shooting New Edition

Over 19 years and 30,000 pupils later, the book is still very much in demand as a collectors item and has exchanged hands for as much as $300 in the US.

The Sport of Kings

Our history records make it clear that many ruling Dynasties around the world have chosen hunting for sport as their prime leisure pursuit. Wild boar and Deer hunted with hounds and shot with bows; or bird species taken with tamed bird of Prey: British Royals and members of the Nobility have always made Hunting their passion (as it remains today).

Review – Game Shooting from Scratch by John King

Like many Clay Shooters I have often wondered about Game Shooting, after-all the targets we shoot week in week out are often named after their game counterparts, and modelled on their flights; driven birds, teal, crow and many more. The sport we enjoy on ShootClay has its origins in live shooting, and like many regular shooters I have often thought about game shooting and how it differs from my weekly sporting targets.

From Clay to Game – a shooters tale…

Following my review of John Kings book 'Game Shooting from Scratch', I was lucky enough to get invited to go and watch a game-day – as a guest of John – I haven't shot ANY game before – so as I went through the day I took some notes, and some pictures to record what happened to this first time Game Shooter.