Richard's Diary...................JJ's Shooting Ground

This week's tour took me to JJ's Shooting Ground in Darenth Woods, Nr Bean, Dartford where I met with one of the owners Mark West. JJ's has been open since 1986 and run by Mark's Dad John with Mark coming on board about 5 years ago to help run the shoot.

The shoot is set in 16 acres of woodland with a natural bowl at it's centre and offers an excellent range of English Sporting targets which are changed on a daily basis so there's always something different to shoot at.

They are open four days a week, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10.30am to 3pm & Sunday 10am to 2pm when they hold their regular Competitions. There is also a number of additional Thursday's they can open during the year so on the last Thursday of each month they hold Frantic Thursday where you can shoot as much as you want for a set price of £40pp for a half day or £70pp for a full day's shooting with free tea and coffee and a cold buffet thrown in.............sounds perfect to me and great fun with a 2 man flush operating all day!

One of the Club's Instructor's Dave kindly showed me around the ground and I took the opportunity to have a go at a couple of clays on each stand which was great. The firing positions are set within banks/dug-outs which adds to the whole experience and feels more natural than being in a metal stand.

So if you haven't tried JJ's before I'd thoroughly recommend a trip down there. Give Mark a call on 07771 507851 or check out their website www.jjscsc.co.uk for more information.

Lastly I'd like to thank Mark & Dave for their time and hospitality and I hope to get back there very soon.

Richard's Dairy...........Doveridge Clay Sports Club

Following my recent visit to Manchester CTC, I also managed to squeeze in a trip to Doveridge where I met with Sue Bramley & Jo Gilligan.

I'd heard lots of great things about Doveridge and was keen to get there and see for myself and I was definately not disappointed.

The ground is situated within 70 acres of beautiful countryside on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border and offers superb far reaching views.

They are a CPSA affiliated Premier Plus Ground and offer extensive shooting facilities with up to 14 stands on their English Sporting layout plus a 150ft High Tower. There are also 5 English Skeet layouts one of which is permanantly set up for Olympic Skeet, 2 DTL layouts, 2 ABT layouts, 1 Olympic Trap layout and 1 Compak layout so something for just about everyone!

As you can see the grounds are immaculately maintained and a pleasure to shoot in! Talking of which Jo took me out to shoot a few Clays on the Sporting layout which was great fun until I missed a few (hard ones I might add) and Jo offered me some friendly advice which those of you who know Jo will understand I can't repeat on here.....!!

We then moved onto the Olympic Skeet layout which is something I've never shot before and it was a real eye opener not only to contend with the increased speed and the delay but too shoot in the gun down position which is the rule. I'm delighted to say I did manage a pair on Stand 4 after quite a few attempts, a lot of cartridges and some more wise words from Jo!! 

The ground is open for practice 5 days a week from 10.00am to 5pm Wednesday to Saturday and 10.00am to 2.30pm on Sunday's. They are currently running their English Sporting Winter Series and the next Registered fixture is on the 25th November 2012.

There is also an onsite Gunshop (www.premierguns.co.uk) and a resident Gunsmith Simon Willmore so there is everything available to cater for your shooting needs and a fantastic ground to shoot in!

Take a look at there website www.doveridgeclaysports.co.uk or contact them on 01889 565986 or via e-mail on enquiries@doveridgeclaysports.co.uk for more information.

Lastly I'd like to thank Sue & Jo for their time and hospitality and would definately recommend a visit to Doveridge asap. 

Richard's Diary..........Manchester Clay Shooting Club

Following my recent trip to Fauxdegla Shooting Ground, I moved onto Manchester Clay Target Club where I met with the Club Manager Kate Grime.

The car park was full which for a Wednesday afternoon was a good sign and Kate explained that this was one of their regular discounted Veteran Class days and they always have a very good turnout which is excellent.

Manchester CTC is a CPSA Premier Ground located in an area of outstanding natural beauty, set in over 400 acres of picturesque woodlands and only just 20 minutes drive from Manchester City Centre.

 As you can see there is a substantial Clubhouse with Reception, Cafe & Conference Facilities and in the grounds there are over 50 stands to shoot from including 15 on the English Sporting layout with a 40ft, 60ft, 90ft & 105ft high tower to really test your skills!

They have also recently opened their new Skeet & ABT layout which I believe is proving very popular.

The Club also operates a Membership Scheme which gets you the usual discounts at the desk plus extra benefits like a free 100 bird shoot on your birthday (proof required I believe). Membership rates are Adults £70, Ladies & Veterans (over 60) £50, Couples £100 & Juniors (Under 18) just £15.

The Club run a range of lessons from Have A Go to Corporate days, Simulated Game days and 1-1 tuition so do contact them as I'm sure they can accomodate you.

I coordinated my visit with a seperate meeting and we had arranged to chat whilst we got some shooting in and I have to say there was an excellent variety of targets on offer and we must have been enjoying ourselves as before you know it we were the last two shooting!

They are open for practice on Wednesdays from 12.00pm to 4pm (2.00pm to 6.00pm during Spring/Summer), Saturdays from 12.00pm to 4pm and Sundays from 10.30am to 2.30pm.

Take a look at their website www.manchesterclayshooting.com for further information on this friendly Club or contact them on 07761 409427 or via e-mail on info@manchesterclayshooting.com

Lastly, I'd like to thank Kate for her time and hospitality and I look forward to getting back to the ground soon.

Young Shot Days are a hit... lots of smiling faces!