With not so much as a single wax jacket or pair of Hunter boots between us, the SoGlos.com team nevertheless consider ourselves to be dab hands at clay shooting – and having spent many an afternoon smashing clays in the Gloucestershire countryside, even have a fairly good aim to backup this ungracious air of confidence.

But, present any one of us with a crossbow – or air rifle for that matter – and our blank faces tell a different story altogether. More than keen to accept a challenge that gets us out of the office and into the fresh Gloucestershire air, however, our itchy trigger fingers found themselves on a Have A Go Day at Prescott Shooting.

This being our third visit to the shooting school near Winchcombe in as many years, we were surprised and delighted with the obvious developments at Prescott Shooting’s Pinnock Wood Farm home.

As well as new wood-chipped parking facilities, impressive log cabin clubhouse and well-stocked shop (complete with plenty of wax jackets!), the tree-lined valley had also come alive with an extended range of shooting stands and tricky-looking obstacles.

There was even a cup of tea and custard cream biscuit to accompany our safety briefing by Prescott Shooting’s twenty-something owner Daniel Martin, before we were given the chance to get more to grips with clay shooting, as well as try activities including archery, air rifle- and crossbow-shooting for a first time.

The arrogant bravado of the (at best) proficient beginner clay shooters was maintained after a successful start to the day – scoring an almost a full house of hits with our shotguns against 25 circular clay targets, including 40-yard crossers, floating incomers and bunnies that hop along the ground.

The backslapping temporarily evaporated when we took our seats for a go against some ominous crows plastered on paper targets, however, and some of us failed to get a first-time ‘kill’ with the more slender air rifles. But, we soon got the hang of the alternative technique and precise sites, the paper crows, paper squirrels and colourful snooker ball targets were far from safe in this exhilarating and rewarding round.

While the comedy of everyone’s Robin Hood-style stance was not lost on us, sans green tights, we also discovered that archery really isn’t as easy as it looks on the period dramas! Taking a concerted effort to pull back the bow string, roughly aiming at the red and yellow targets before releasing the soaring arrow, while we had heaps of fun and some very close shots, the bull’s-eye was missed on all occasions, and our best Jim Bowen impressions will definitely be saved for a future visit.

And finally, with the score-keeping getting nail-bitingly close, we reached the crossbows. The medieval-looking weapon was perhaps the one challenge we were all a bit apprehensive about, but the impressive whoosh of the short arrows being fired through the air soon got the men particularly keen. Again, requiring an adapted technique and a very precise aim, the crossbows offered another very different and challenging experience we’ll be keen to try again.

On previous Prescott Shooting visits we had already discovered that while skill, patience and the killer instinct to squeeze the trigger at just the right moment are all required, the biggest thrill of a day’s shooting is the boisterous competiveness and jovial camaraderie gained from competing against friends and colleagues.

And, as well as providing the chance to try a new sport (or practice your aim if you’re already a seasoned shooter, like us, ahem), having the chance to ‘pick n mix’ some very different activities only added to this sense of novel fun.

Now extended, improved and with even more entertaining activities to sample, there couldn’t be a better time to visit this independent country pursuits venue in the heart of the county – whether or not you’re the proud owner of a wax jacket or pair of Hunter wellies.

Prescott Shooting’s Have A Go Days are held monthly throughout the year. See Prescott Shooting Have A Go Days for more information.

For more information about Prescott Shooting visit prescottshooting.com, email dan@prescottshooting.com or call (01242) 673542 directly.

Michelle Byrne
8 August 2011