Man Made Platforms

What are peoples views on the use of scaffold towers and the like to shoot off? I find it very difficult to shoot off tower because I'm not to happy about heights. I dont turn into a quivering wreck above 6ft off the ground but I find I plant my feet and dont want to move to shoot. Mrs fuz may as well give her card to someone going up there and ask the scorer to mark it zero as she is very nearly a wreck up there. Quite a few shooters I spoke to while waiting to shoot the tower stand at hornet yesterday said they hated heights and it was a distinct dissadvantage to them. In this age of trying to make shooting more accessible to all surely this practice must be stopped. How on earth is a disabled shooter meant to climb up 25ft of stairs to shoot the stand? it must be a real struggle for some of the older chaps too! Fuzrat

I,ve always thought what a good variation these towers provide, shooting at targets below you etc, however i can see your point i'd never given a thought to anyone who may be scared of heights, and some of these towers you'd never get a disabled person up. Mind out of all the clay disiplins,i would say sporting probably see's the least disabled participants, probably because of where they are set up,farmland,woodlands etc.

I had never thought of the height factor scaring some people either to be honest but admit it can be a very real problem. The one at Hornet is good in that it gives the height but the tight steps make queuing etc, hard work, one up one down is not conducive to concentration plus it was hard work trying to watch and track a few birds before your turn.  In essence I like them but they need to be user friendly. 

I dont have a problem with heights but once shot off some airplane steps on wheels that they use to get in the plane door and I just didnt feel safe up there as they wobbled about a bit, even dropped a live cartridge over the side never to be seen again ! Rob

Funny you should mention it but at my local farm shoot we built a scaffold platform, only about 12ft high.  One local club member will not climb it, we let him shoot from the ground next to the stand.  At our recent charity shoot I was scoring this particular stand and a lady shot went to pieces on it because of the height.  Quite annoying for her as she is a pretty decent shot and was in with a chance of a place until this stand. If anyone wants to really feel what it's like for someone with a fear of heights they should climb to the top of heart attack hill at Doveridge and go up the five or so steps on the rickety old stand they have at the top.  Then just look down!!!!! I like stands like this as long as you are shooting down.  Can't stand it when you get there and the target is presented just as though you are on ground level. Mark

I had never thought about this until today - the only I have shot from is at Weston - but I can imagine how that would throw someone who doesn't like heights. The disabled shooters question is also one worth thinking about.I don't have a problem - but I know what excuse to use the next time I drop shots on one.

Hazel my wife cannot go up scaffolds  and even climbing the ladder into the loft at home is difficult for her. Even the well built wooden stage at Wylye is a no no for her, as she can see through the gaps in the floor and the sides. At Four Counties Brian the owner lets her shoot from the ground next to the stand and will do so for anyone with a fear of heights. But hazel can stand and shoot from man made or natural bank with no real problems as she knows that she is firmly on the ground. Andy

optima said:

I,ve always thought what a good variation these towers provide, shooting at targets below you etc, however i can see your point i'd never given a thought to anyone who may be scared of heights, and some of these towers you'd never get a disabled person up. Mind out of all the clay disiplins,i would say sporting probably see's the least disabled participants, probably because of where they are set up,farmland,woodlands etc.

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shooting below your feet does give good variation and towers only need to be used on flat ground genraly so disabled shooters or those scared of hight could shoot from underneath,but then that meens not all shooters are shooting the same thing.I and others who are disabled shoot sporting all the time,a quad bike makes most places accesable but we cant clime stairs even with a quad.   

Dont get rid of platforms. They are the only thing that steps my shooting up a level. /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif (Sound of double drum tap and cymbal).. CSC3

Hurrah for a monday morning funny!

Thankyou very much hes here all week!

Gary Glitter used to shoot off platforms.Look what happened to him.