The latest legs of my tour saw me visiting two grounds in
the neighbouring counties of Hampshire & Sussex during the beautiful spell
of warm sunny weather we were enjoying before the cold returned.
First stop was Lains Shooting School in Quarley, Andover
where I met with the ground owner Howard Kirby at his traditional clubhouse and
we sat down, tea in hand to chat about his excellent shooting school which was
established in 1987.
Lains is a CPSA Registered Ground and is open for practice 6
days a week from Monday to Saturday using the Promatic Wi-Fi Wireless Clay
Release System and offers a Sporting Layout, a Compak Layout which includes a
Skeet Range, a High Tower and an absolutely incredible Grouse Butt set deep
into the earth and which has to be seen to be believed…..trust me, the steps
down into the Butt go along way and you can’t see anything but sky! Give it a
go if you dare……
Lains has a membership base of approximately 400 who benefit
from the usual discounts at the desk (membership costs £40 per year) and
Instructors who can tailor lessons to suit your experience and ability.
Introductory Lessons which are ideal for beginners cost £49 and include
everything to get you hitting those targets safely so if you know someone who
fancies having a go then what are you waiting for!
Aswell as Clay Shooting, Howard also has an Air Rifle range
on site and his other passion is Gun Dog training which he also runs from
Mullenscote Dog Training Centre on the other side of his shooting ground. Take
a look at his website www.mullenscote.co.uk
for more info.
Lastly, I would like to thank Howard for his hospitality on
the 27th March and Sean for showing me round the various layouts
available to shoot. Do take a look at their website www.lainsshootingschool.co.uk
and if you register for their newsletter you could be in with a chance of
winning a practice round of 100 clays and cartridges in the monthly draw.
Second stop of the week was at Southdown Gun club in Findon,
West Sussex on the following day 28th March, which again saw
unseasonably warm weather and lots of activity with people booking in to shoot
and builders working away at converting the lower level of the clubhouse (more on
this later).
I met with one of the Directors, Shaun Miller who along with
Greg Swann took over the ground approximately 2 years ago and again we sat down
with a mug of tea (I do get a lot of tea with this job) to talk about the
various changes they have made throughout the ground and some of the excellent
activities they can offer.
Southdown is a CPSA Premier Ground and is open for practice Wednesday
to Saturday with Sunday’s reserved for registered competitions. Again, they
utilise the Promatic Clay Release system which also enables a solo shooter to
practice with a delayed launch and occupying such a large site they are able to
offer a large variety of targets to suit all tastes. The infamous Lane offers
an excellent range of Sporting targets to test your ability and they are now
able to offer a Compak layout with a Skeet range, a DTL layout, an ABT layout
and an impressive Sportrap layout. There is also a selection of starter &
training stands to enable anyone to have a go under the guidance of their qualified
Instructors along with various other activities including Quad Bike Safari’s,
Mud Buggy’s & an Air Rifle Range.
Shaun told me they had worked hard on increasing their
membership which now stands at approximately 300 and membership costs £70 per
year which qualifies you for the usual discounts but also you get to shoot for
free on your birthday, a free BBQ on evening shoots, a free shoot for referring
a friend who becomes a member etc etc.
As mentioned at the outset, the chaps have been busy working
on the clubhouse aswell as the various layouts and the ground floor is
presently being converted into a retail
shop on one side and a training/meeting room on the other so if you are looking
for somewhere to host a meeting with an activity to follow then take a look at
Southdown’s website www.southdowngunclub.co.uk
as this could be the perfect place for you.
Once again, I would like to thank Shaun for his hospitality and
for taking the time to show me round. I happened to bump into a Southdown
regular who I went thro’ the CPSA Instructor’s course with and he offered to shoot
the Lane with me. Never one to shirk a challenge (unless it’s a Compak layout
thanks to my nightmare at Northall CPC!!) we set off to shoot some clays. Surprisingly
enough, we ended with a draw on 73 each following a quick re-count so probably
a fair result and certainly a marked improvement on the last time I shot
Southdown so I’m happy.
Look out for my next stop soon…….
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