Entry Level Target/Clay Shooting

Andy Gravity

Hi there, apologies if this is covered elsewhere but I was wondering just how difficult it is to get into clay/target shooting for someone who is a complete newcomer.

I went clay shooting once a long time ago and really enjoyed it but when I started asking questions about owning your own shotgun/rifle and being part of a club it all sounded incredibly intimidating as there seemed to be many hoops that needed jumping through.

Witcher

Not hard at all...ya can join a range that caters for clays/rifle and they should be able to sort you out with club equipment that will get ya started:)

Ya only go through hoops if you want to buy your own gun:)

raymo19

Hi Andy,
Funny enough we all felt that way when starting shooting Guns/Gun Control and clubs and that sort of stuff is intimidating. However if you are a reasonable type of person with no track record or menthal disibility you have the same right to own a rifle or shotgun as anybody else. I would advise going to Courtlough shooting grounds in Balbriggan Dublin for lessons and advice. Nice grounds and good staff there to get you started. As you get more shooting experience your cluband etc. will take care of itself.

Best of Luck
Raymo

Andy Gravity

Thanks for the advice guys, it's something I'd really like to pursue.

IRLConor

If you're in the south east, it might be worth checking out Hilltop near Newtownmountkennedy as well as Courtlough. It would be a handier journey for you and the lads there are friendly and helpful.

It's worth checking out both though, since they have different facilities, different staff, etc. You might find one suits you better than the other.

raymonjdevine

raymo19 wrote: »

..................you have the same right to own a rifle or shotgun as anybody else..................

I thought it was a privilege more so than a right in Rep. of Ireland?

Sparks

raymonjdevine wrote: »

I thought it was a privilege more so than a right in Rep. of Ireland?

Correct, you have the same right as anyone to apply for a licence. (Assuming you're not disentitled by section 8 - ie. you're not underage, you're not mad, you're not in jail, etc, etc). That's not the same as having a right to own a firearm, it's not even close.

But honestly, if you're an average person, no criminal record, if you're sensible and just want to try a sport, you generally don't get any problems, especially in shotgun. We get "problem" superintendents (that's the term the Garda Firearms Policy Unit has used to describe them in the past), but you still get more than 99.9% of all applications handled without any problem.


All that said, if you just want to try it, don't buy your own shotgun. Not yet. Go to someplace like Courtlough or Hilltop, try it with club equipment, do that for a while (for a few weeks at least), and see if it really suits you. Then look at spending the few hundred euro you're looking at. Hell, I didn't buy any of my own gear for the first six years I was shooting, I just used club kit. And shooting kit is notorious for being (a) long-lasting and (b) remarkable good even for basic kit - you don't see Sergei Martnov shooting with the latest and greatest kit, but he's basicly the best prone rifle shooter in the world and has been for a while now, and I'm fairly sure that some of his kit is older than me, and I know his jacket is older than some of our junior shooters

Cork24

Clay shooting in Ireland is not cheap.. It's 350 to join a club for the first year if you get a letter off them to state that u need a shotgun for clay shooting?

Then every other year it's 200 a year plus you be putting 3 to 5 boxes of rounds every Sunday though the shotgun,

Club I went to charge that any way no wonder their finding it hard to get members,

I done it for 2 years couldn't afford it any longer couldn't find any justice in that type of price

thetl

The club I am in charges €10 for a 50 bird on a Sunday mornings for members + the cost of shells about €9 . Memberership €70 + insurance a year so if you look around for clubs as opposed to commercial grounds you can get better value.

shooter88

It's not expensive at all to start into..you can pick up a nice o/u from around 300e..buy a clay trap iv seen them from 60e a box 500 of clays 20e and clay cartridges 5e for 25 I'd take this route and if you like it then look into joining a club..I really enjoyed shooting this way and the fact that you can go any time

upandover

It's worth seeing if clubs in your area have any open days planned for non-members to come on site and shoot a few targets. It's good to get a feel for any club you might consider joining, as with all things, some are good and some not so, it's worth figuring out as best you can before stumping up hard cash. For the SE you could take a look at the Leinster League webpage for an idea of who's out there
http://www.leinsterleague.com/