Good old days

[Steve Lovatt]

Who remembers when shooting 80 at a 100 bird sporting would actually win high gun ,no classes All open shoots with the top 6 or so scores winning money ???

I bet there was no throwing scores then ???

Cpsa class system and averages , is this an improvement for our game ?????

Think I know the answers that are going to come back !!!!!! And off who !!!!!!!

 

[no.1topdog]

Who remembers when shooting 80 at a 100 bird sporting would actually win high gun ,no classes All open shoots with the top 6 or so scores winning money ???

ME!

I bet there was no throwing scores then ???

NEVER HAVE AND NEVER WILL!

Cpsa class system and averages , is this an improvement for our game ?????

NO IF YOU ARE IN THE TOP 6 EVERY TIME. YES IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE TOP 6 EVERY TIME

Think I know the answers that are going to come back !!!!!! And off who !!!!!!!

BET YOU DIDN'T GUESS ME??  :sarcastic:

 

[Hamster]

I don't recall 100 birders in the old days but prize money 30/50 birders were all done off scratch.

 

[clayclouter]

shooting was a lot slower in the days steve remembers,he had to load little lead balls into his musket and push them down with a rod  agggggh! the good old days !

 

[Steve Lovatt]

well david you are 35 years older than me !!!!!

 

[Rob Boffin]

I think the averages are an improvement for b class and below, but a lot of people seem to play the class system once you look at a and aa class. A few seem to get stage fright when they reach aa and put in scores lower than they achieved in a then when they're back in a class the scores and class wins/payouts return

 

[Macc Ladd]

always want to shoot the best I can, and am always trying to improve. just sometimes, some days, it just don't bloody happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in fact a lot of days!!!!

 

[jim french]

yes i remember but it was more often than not a 40 or 50 re entry 1st card to find them 2nd card to do your best. Urchfont  1980 something B Spencer one of the first to win with a score over eighty. Was it better well there where no sand baggers but plenty of mark your own.

 

[miroku6000]

Yes I remember Steve, I used to set many shoots up back in the late 70s , the colt car shoots at Cirencester park the gatcombe park shoots ,these was 3 day shoots 70 bird. Open shoots ,we used to get 300 entries plus a lot of the prizes was sponsored by local gun shops and Barbour , back then you could buy 2cards at a time ,so you could build a score by practicing with the first card then shoot straight after with the 2nd card . Shoots then seemed a lot more relaxed and a lot more fluffy rabbits on the stands and a lot cheaper so you would get a broader clientele . You wouldn't get sandbagging with open shoots , but I did catch a few marking their own cards , I overcame this by using special pens , I found that open shoots give a wider selection of shooters a chance to win ,not just the sponsored few as it is now.

 

[miroku6000]

Don't know what happened there I didn't write fluffy rabbits ,I wrote fluffy rabbits on the stands

 

[miroku6000]

Ha ha cool, how did you do that.

 

[Michael]

Mark your own, that's topical here. Shot a handicap shoot at our local shoot this Sunday. The group in front of us had some issues, first of all one shooter had a gun problem after the 2nd of 4 pairs so he swapped guns with his mate and started again. Ok it's not the olympics is it that'l be alright. Next shooter of the group begins to shoot. It's an on report pair of basically down the line very low, very fast, 2nd bird quartering to the left. 3 times he chose not to shoot the second bird, calling it a "no bird" as it's trajectory was slightly different from normal. We looked at others queuing, exchanged puzzled glances and shrugged our shoulders. We get to the last stand a simo pair screaming fast high teal with a right to left looper, it's fantastic when you get it right. Guess who was in front shooting the stand on report?

Listened to them after having a cup of tea and discussing their brilliant scores. Why do people do this? after all the 1st person they are cheating is themselves. As a by the way my wife shot both the stands correctly, straighted em both.

 

[Salopian]

I think the Open shoots are much fairer . At Weston Park last September a chap who had never shot before in his life won a  Great Wall Pickup  Truck.

 

[Jim Wheeler]

I have a couple of points/questions, as Steve asks about the high gun being an 80 or less 'back in the day' , what was an average score? 40? 68?

my first comment is ,we all want to shoot clays,, not miss them.   we all pay the same price,, so I think a top score of 90+ is required, but a 'c' class gun needs to score at least 60/70 ?

which is the next point,, how can you allow a 're-entry' shoot ? I admit I'm not up to speed on local shooting,, :blind:  ,,yet,,, but that seems ridiculous to 'practice' a round,, then shoot a score for competition. ,, next , people will want 6 shot auto's to kill a pair!

years ago it was 'par' to present stupid  targets in Fitasc sporting,,, eye tests at 60 yards, etc! having said the above, it's now almost normal to need 196+ to win a fitasc sporting/compak,,, BUT, the average score is now up to 140ish,,,, which is where it needs to be.

still don't like this re-entry thing,,,, its almost cheating.  same as recording your own score,,or 'mates' scoring ,, I like the idea of a waiting squad member doing the score for the shooter's in front., :codemafia:

I'm sure these comment will elicit some comment.

(or rattle a cage or two, :biggrin: )

 

[maddmatt]

Who remembers when shooting 80 at a 100 bird sporting would actually win high gun ,no classes All open shoots with the top 6 or so scores winning money ???

I bet there was no throwing scores then ???

Cpsa class system and averages , is this an improvement for our game ?????

Think I know the answers that are going to come back !!!!!! And off who !!!!!!!

Rose tinted glasses Steve, you can't compare the old days with the sport as we know it now, has the cpsa, class system and averages improved it, well some will say yes some will say no, the facts are shooting is very popular at the moment, entries to the majors are on the increase and fitasc enjoyed its highest number of entries last year so something must be working, yes it is also down to ground owners/course setters who have worked hard to improve shoots...

 

[Hamster]

Re-entry shooters can be a little misunderstood, it isn't a case of nearly cheating although admittedly the more you enter the higher the probability that you'll wring a good score out of all the stands. It's no different to practicing in a sense, the shoot organiser need re-entries to pay the bills and he/she who can afford to will shoot more which makes you a better shooter eventually, you need to do your bit but money talks.

It's almost inconceivable to reach the very top without the means and inclination of re-entries.

 

[Steve Lovatt]

I'm not saying what's right and wrong , Ido however hear a fair amount of comments , not like it used to be , particularly in Fitasc but I don't know has my first Fitasc was only 5 years ago

I can see the point Matt about courses and setters as we have better kit to play with nowadays rather than a rigid dual clay manual trap

It is really good to see so many shooters enjoy shooting competitions again

 

[maddmatt]

Steve, I hear the same things, the good old days of fitasc hmmmm pretty sure if you look back at all the gb selection shoots, british grand prix, the scores will be very close to what you see now, difference now more shooters are capable of hitting those scores. Some people think the old days means 70 yard birds and screaming battues, thankfully course designers worked out you don't have to put on massive distance targets to beat shooters, subtle speeds, angles and new ways of presenting target can do the same thing...

 

[lead belly]

I'm not quite as old as a conker tree but not far off. I remember packing up riding motocross in the late eighties and starting shooting clay's seriously and going to the big shoots. The one thing I remember is, all the big shoots in those days had a good atmosphere and a real buzz and sense of occasion. You can shoot the World or European fitasc shoots now and not see half the people who are shooting you wouldn't know they were there unless they were on your rotation. And while I agree with you Matt ref the 70 yard birds etc,I think the problem is now a lot of the major shoots are boring and are being set up by people who haven't got a f---ing clue. I can still remember targets from my first Fitasc shoot abroad in Switzerland in 1989 ish. Most of the shoots I shot last Year (with a few exceptions ) were better than taking sleeping tablets.  A lot of these shoot organizers now are taking the piss and not giving value for money,all they are interested in is taking the money for very little effort. Any other business that did that,  wouldn't survive . But because we are all desperate to go shooting they know they can get away with it. As regards the cpsa average system, its crap, but what other way is there ?  Just noticed I tend to get more  exited the more London Pride I drink -