Measuring in at just 110mm, the clays – even on the ground – seemed painfully minuscule targets. Flying through the air at up to 45mph, however, and hitting one of the fluorescent orange discs posed a seemingly impossible challenge – never mind one a beginner would pick up in an hour or so. But with patient instruction the pigeons, the clay ones that is, at Prescott Shooting didn’t stand a chance, as we embarked on a ‘have a go day’ at the school near Cheltenham.

Driving through quintessential Cotswold villages, it took less than 15 minutes to reach Manor Farm from central Cheltenham, on a route that saw us meander through the countryside until we reached the Prescott Shooting ground hidden behind the famous Prescott Hillclimb racecourse. Birdsong was the only sound resounding through the green hills as we nervously jumped out of the car – until we got our hands on the shotguns, that is.

Gloucestershire is steeped in a rich heritage of traditional game drives that stretches back for centuries, it is a county brimming with modern shooting opportunities for both residents and visitors, and as one of the fastest growing sports for young people in the UK we thought it was about time we put our fingers on the triggers.

Our instructor for the day, 21-year-old Prescott Shooting owner Daniel Martin, is one of the young people leading this growing interest in the sport. Currently shooting double trap in the Great Britain Development squad and aiming for gold in the 2012 Olympics, we couldn’t have asked for a more experienced expert to show us the difference between the trigger and the traps.

After a swift introduction to the sport and some serious safety guidelines, we were donning ear protectors and sunglasses and taking the stance with the shot gun raised, one leg forward, and the cross hair of the sight aimed at where we predicted the clays would be flying. With one-on-one guidance – and no more than six shooters per instructor – we were all surprised to score on each of our first five clays, with one sharp shooter in the team scoring a perfect five. Not bad for a bunch of beginners who thought a bore was a wild pig before the day started.

The shooting ground offers a range of targets, from floating incomers to 40-yard crossers – or clays that fly towards you or from side-to-side, to you and us – and we progressed as a group through the various challenges the individual targets offered. Round two and the fault-free beginner’s luck was a frustratingly distant memory, with most of us managing three out of the five on the next few rounds. The aptly-named ‘rabbit’, which bobbed over the ground like a sprightly bunny, proved the hardest prey of the day – but there wasn’t one person who didn’t go home a ‘killer’ that afternoon.

While we at first worried about wearing the appropriate tweed or wax jackets, shooting has apparently broken through the class divides that one might stereotypically associate with the sport. ‘Taking up golf as a sport would be more expensive,’ Daniel explained. And surprisingly, despite the masculine associations, more girls are now taking up the sport than boys – including hen parties now choosing the activity as an alternative to pampering.

The members of the fairer sex in our group admitted with girly intrepedation that they thought they wouldn’t be able to keep the gun held up, then there was the anticipated kickback with members of our group who had tried shooting before confessing that they had gone home with bruised shoulders after their first introduction to the sport. But at Prescott Shooting a special cartridge is used which reduces the kickback and leaves the shooter thankfully mark-free. After an hour or so of aiming some of our arms did indeed ache – proof that we need to go to the gym a bit more often though, as the girls’ smaller guns were relatively lightweight while the men were given the weightier 12 bore varieties.

Nothing beats a bit of friendly rivalry, and our ‘have a go day’ was a perfect introduction to the sport – fun, relaxed and with just enough instruction to ensure we hit a few targets. It wasn’t long before the competitive urge kicked in and we were counting the puffs of smoke from the smashing clays of our opponent with grimaces rather than congratulatory backslapping.

The competitive edge certainly made our focus sharper and while we won’t be giving up the day job to take up the life of a professional marksman just yet, our introduction to this fascinating world of weaponry proved just the proverbial breath of fresh air we were looking for on a sunny weekend. It is an experience we’ll certainly be bringing our friends along to again. And next time we’re confident that the pigeons really won’t stand a chance.

The have a go day, held on the last Saturday of every month, costs £20 per person and includes 25 clays and cartridges, gun hire and a professional instructor. Group bookings for corporate, hen and stag groups are also available, as is individual instruction. See prescottshooting.com, email dan@prescottshooting.com or call (01242) 673542 for more information.

Oh, and don’t miss SoGlos.com’s fantastic Prescott Shooting photo gallery too.

Michelle Byrne
28 April 2008