My first time at Dartford yesterday, in the shadow of the Dartford Crossing bridge (map) - the ground is pretty big with tons of space for Skeet, Trap and Sporting layouts. The FITASC Series is being set by John Dyson - and he had a little table setup in front of a scoreboard ready for the FSP - we booked in and settled down in the huge clubhouse for a coffee. Despite some nice sunshine, the flat ground meant we were exposed to a brisk Northerly all day - with some shelter and sunshine, it was quite warm - but on 10/12 pegs I was grateful for my thermal baselayer and a big coat in between hoop time.
Format was to shoot two layouts back to back - then a very welcome hour break - and onto the final two layouts. Pace of the day was excellent, no delays and only a couple of no-birds all day - excellent value at £48 for 100 targets.
We shot Marsh and Trench first - close to clubhouse - old style layouts with some decent targets - the hoop positioning was subtle, it didn't look like we had moved far - but target positioning was excellent so that the variation was tricky and really had you thinking. There was a great battue on the Marsh layout that got harder through the three layouts and a high teal that was really interesting. The Trench layout was next door - set on a trap layout and with some really tricky targets that dived into the ground in the strong wind, two rabbits that caught a few out and a fierce edge on midi that was interesting in the sim pair at the end.
Decent length break in the middle - enough for some lunch and a relax in the club house. Food was excellent and a good price - and the clubhouse has enough seating and sofas so that you can chill for a bit.
After lunch was the Tower and Platform layouts - interestingly you can drive across the SG to reach these, there is a second car park with another clubhouse for the skeet ranges - and the next parcours were set in the land next to those - we were pretty close to the river now, and the open, flat landscape made it bitterly cold. Once again, enjoyed the shooting here - the tower layout had some quick targets including a couple of edgy crossers and another high teal that was very wind affected. The platform layout had more of the some, a rangy edge on midi, and another flat blaze clay that dived into the scrubby bush there. The final peg was shot from the top of an old shipping container that had been turned into the aforementioned platform.
Overall - an excellent day of shooting - with great targets, and a great ground to shoot at. The clubhouse and facilities are excellent and the ground is huge enough that they can put on quite different layouts despite not having a huge amount of topography to call on. The atmosphere was great, with a good squad and decent refereeing - we were freezing in the wind, but the refs must really have felt it all day.
I'm definitely getting booked on for the next go round at the beginning of March.
Format was to shoot two layouts back to back - then a very welcome hour break - and onto the final two layouts. Pace of the day was excellent, no delays and only a couple of no-birds all day - excellent value at £48 for 100 targets.
We shot Marsh and Trench first - close to clubhouse - old style layouts with some decent targets - the hoop positioning was subtle, it didn't look like we had moved far - but target positioning was excellent so that the variation was tricky and really had you thinking. There was a great battue on the Marsh layout that got harder through the three layouts and a high teal that was really interesting. The Trench layout was next door - set on a trap layout and with some really tricky targets that dived into the ground in the strong wind, two rabbits that caught a few out and a fierce edge on midi that was interesting in the sim pair at the end.
Decent length break in the middle - enough for some lunch and a relax in the club house. Food was excellent and a good price - and the clubhouse has enough seating and sofas so that you can chill for a bit.
After lunch was the Tower and Platform layouts - interestingly you can drive across the SG to reach these, there is a second car park with another clubhouse for the skeet ranges - and the next parcours were set in the land next to those - we were pretty close to the river now, and the open, flat landscape made it bitterly cold. Once again, enjoyed the shooting here - the tower layout had some quick targets including a couple of edgy crossers and another high teal that was very wind affected. The platform layout had more of the some, a rangy edge on midi, and another flat blaze clay that dived into the scrubby bush there. The final peg was shot from the top of an old shipping container that had been turned into the aforementioned platform.
Overall - an excellent day of shooting - with great targets, and a great ground to shoot at. The clubhouse and facilities are excellent and the ground is huge enough that they can put on quite different layouts despite not having a huge amount of topography to call on. The atmosphere was great, with a good squad and decent refereeing - we were freezing in the wind, but the refs must really have felt it all day.
I'm definitely getting booked on for the next go round at the beginning of March.
