English Open at Doveridge

[Jeremy Baker]

over 155 people shot 0 x 8 on stand 12...when the wind picked up they were VERY wind affected, one squad shooting on Saturday morning got the worst of the wind and all 6 in the squad blanked...48 shots, no clays broken...great target!

My favourite stand.I'm not having a dig or a go but I shot it Sat morning and loved it.

Just interesting to hear differing options on a stand.

Got them before they started doing too much and it was just gap.

 

[Lock Stock & Barrel]

over 155 people shot 0 x 8 on stand 12...when the wind picked up they were VERY wind affected, one squad shooting on Saturday morning got the worst of the wind and all 6 in the squad blanked...48 shots, no clays broken...great target!

Although, to be fair, I've heard that same old shooters' lament at any of a dozen shooting grounds, so why should/would the Open be any different? They wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't put on a few 'liveners' to keep you on your toes and test you - and they can hardly be held responsible for the weather; Doveridge can do many things, but controlling the elements isn't one of them.

Also, if some shooters did hit it, which I suspect they did, then it just proves that it was hit-able. 

 

[EdSolomons]

It was tough yes, and some were a bit further than others, but you had the full face of the clay to aim at. There was no question of its breakability, plenty of time etc, just reading it right. I mad a couple of tweaks and smashed my last pair.Too little too late but was very deceptive. Maybe instead of a pair they could have had a steady ish bird as the first target so there was a bit of a banker for people but it was straightable if you read it right.

The only bird I would have changed was the edgy teal/crosser on 13; I found it ok but thought it was a bit thin! 

 

[ExSCA]

That was a tough target - I didn't realise so many people had missed it - I got three of them, first bird, the second pair - and then blanked it from there on...  I watched someone hit 7 of them...  and it seems there were only a few straights on that stand...  anyone want to see what it looked like:

<a href="http://www.shootclayfor...um.com/index.php?/gallery/image/545-dsc-0420/

I'm with Ed here - stand 13 was nastier in my book - the teal was a bit of a lottery - and the midi was hard to see, let alone hit with the wind.

 

[chesterse]

Agreed I think 13 was harder but I would not have changed any of the targets.. Although I finished on 71 there was not any target that I didn't hit apart from the report bird on stand 3.
Been thinking why it was such a tricky shoot.
OK the weather was not great and had a negative effect for many shooters.
Also found for me that on several report birds that there was quite a delay from calling pull to the bird appearing, either birds were coming from a long way back or there were slow pulls. this threw my rhythm out.
Fifteen stands always makes it more interesting but more difficult, if you are not finding them straight away the there is no chance to recover.
Overall a great challenge which my reaction when finishing was and still is, "I would like to shoot that again I think I could do better"!

 

[ExSCA]

Agreed I think 13 was harder but I would not have changed any of the targets.. Although I finished on 71 there was not any target that I didn't hit apart from the report bird on stand 3. Been thinking why it was such a tricky shoot. OK the weather was not great and had a negative effect for many shooters. Also found for me that on several report birds that there was quite a delay from calling pull to the bird appearing, either birds were coming from a long way back or there were slow pulls. this threw my rhythm out. Fifteen stands always makes it more interesting but more difficult, if you are not finding them straight away the there is no chance to recover. Overall a great challenge which my reaction when finishing was and still is, "I would like to shoot that again I think I could do better"!

Aaah the stand with the battue from the left, in the trees - possibly stand 6.  Pull.... Bang........................................Bang.

 

[Darkside]

Stand 5...long wait for the battue, then a quick target, was easy to let the battue get the jump on you then have to chase it...

 

[ExSCA]

Stand 5 it is... I remember... two good targets, just the delay in the second pull was a little excessive.

 

[BenW]

Video from the shoot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn3HDZriiwk

 

[Mr Potter]

We shot this on the Friday at 13:00, started on stand 8 and after 5 stands I was 12 birds down. At that stage I decided this was too tough and I wasn't enjoying it!!

I'd Dropped 5 on stand 12 but picked up a bit after that. I agree that stand 13 was the one that was the toughest/unfairest on the course, all my teal fell back and I could shoot them on the drop and only missed my last bird, the shooter who was two guns behind me had all his teal blow into Shropshire.

Only target I didn't find on the day was the report bird on stand 15, a mini and that was my fault for looking too far back for all three of them and they were gone on the wind before I saw them in the distance. Shot fairly steadily through to the end and straightened three stands, 2, 7 and 11 finishing on 75. Cheered up a bit when we went into the clubhouse to find that was a "respectable" score, still thought it was too tough but certainly not the "bag of sh*te" that had been described to me by some from the 9 and 11 o'clock rotations.

By the Saturday morning though and thinking more about it I had come round to the idea that it was actually a very good shoot and with one or two minor tweaks could have been great. I would, like Ed, have had something more forgiving as a second bird on stand 12, done something different with the first bird on stand 13 and got rid of that ****ing mini on 15!

If it was available to shoot again I'd be up for that, West Midland Shooting Ground - Hodnet often re-run their big shoots.

Mr Potter

 

[abbeygold]

I strolled into the cage at stand 12 as first shooter of our squad, completely un fazed by the show pair and fully expected to smack em up hard. Imagine my despair when six shots in I hadn't chipped a single bird. I gave it more, gave it less then got well under it and only managed to avoid a humiliating fat 0 by almost shooting the last bird on the drop. It was only when I viewed it from the lake area that it twigged that those clays were very high indeed. All that slow moving fat belly had me fooled so for those reasons I would say that was a very good target and a lesson learned!

 

[abbeygold]

Any good Skeet clubs in Berkshire?

 

[JonSkeet2]

I have to be honest as a lowly C class shooter I really cannot fault the shoot or targets at the EO.

To my mind there wasn't any target out there that couldn't be broken if read properly, unlike some other normal reg shoots I have been to.. 80YD raffael teals anyone???

So far as i'm concerned my misses were down to me, OK it was the first time I had shot anything in 4 months but straighted 3 stands and only blanked 2... I learnt a lot.

Everyone involved needs to be congratulated, The Doveridge team, The CPSA team, The referees, The ground staff etc.  I may be biased as my partner works for the CPSA but getting up at 05:30 every morning and not leaving until 19:00 at the earliest without a break of more than 5-10 minutes, hotel, eat then in bed by 10 isn't easy.

I spoke to the CEO Nick Fellows after shooting it on Saturday morning and could only give positives, If I thought the shoot was crap I would have told him.  The overall feedback has been 99% + positive.  The only person I'm aware of complaining wasn't able to turn up and walk off with HG.

Jon.

 

[OneAwayTim]

900 shooters, you have to set a course that will split them up! I really enjoyed all the stands and found I had to work at every clay! If I missed it was my fault. Managed 70 which wasn't to shabby for a B class shooter and had the please of watching Scott Barnett my mentor finishing with 85.

At one point I said to him "just can't understand why I missed those?" To which he replied "you didn't put the lead in the right place".

I'll try that and the BO in September !

 

[Jeremy Baker]

Whoohoo baby!

 

[GavB]

Congrats Jem will go toward a few beers in Prague

 

[Jeremy Baker]

A few for my pals as I don't.

 

[SoR]

Congrats jem what score did you put in for 8th?...ps I would edit that photo it has your full address on it!

 

[Jeremy Baker]

I shot a 66.

Thanks.

Don't live there mate anymore it's sold.

 

[Mark Jones]

Well shot mate, after the Essex I had my C class bet on you for the Muller Comp, well done again!!!