Today I went to the Three Lions Clay Shoot near Mannington, not far from Verwood.
It's a small layout placed round what I assume may have been gravel workings, so the ground is a bit uppy-downy, there's a large pond in the middle, and there's vegetation and trees around for a very varied backdrop. The targets there have their own character, and there's a heap of variety. Fast crossing loopers, towering pairs, a report pair of rabbits where the second one had a ski-jump built into its path, and a slow approaching shot simultaneous with an crosser over the water. All a bit different, all quite challenging and great fun. The most daunting for me was the last stand, four pairs, where we were shooting into a small sloping valley. A fast yellow/lime crosser from left to right passed below the stand while simultaneously a pink dayglo jobbie crossed from right to left a bit higher. Those that know me also know that I have immense difficulty seeing these flourescent clays; today was no different.
I'm getting much more in tune with my F3 after a bit of experimentation with the balance weights in the stock - I've written elsewhere about the marked difference in feel and improvement in scores that a small shift in the point of balance makes, for me at any rate. I am swinging it better, shots are becoming more intuitive, and the performance dip that I reported soon after acquiring it is headed towards the exit. Today the gun felt good, and still shooting the fibre version of the Lyalvale English Sporter cartridges that I picked up from Purbeck I managed a 25 ex 40 on my first round. It was the coloured stuff that did then most damage. I was actually quite pleased with that apart from the one bogey stand.
After a much needed break for a drink (It was hot today, I had forgotten that it can get warm in England!) A couple of us reckoned there was time to get another round in, so off we went. I still couldn't actually nail the first stand - the pair of simultaneous crossers defied my attempts to clobber both, but things picked up after that. Shooting the Lyalvales, a few Hull Pro Fibres, and a couple of cartridges whose origin I have forgotten but which bear the legends "Fibre", and "28G", I managed to do a bit better.
The final stand - the one with the blaze targets - was different. The clays were projected at the same pace, they crossed at the same point and at the same height. But for some bizarre reason I could see them both clearly and managed to only miss one of the eight.
I finished with 34 ex 40, and I was very happy with that.
I attend three local shoots that run once a month-ish. Three Lions, Pilford, and Somerley. It is very noticeable that all three have very different characters, a different approach to target setting. This is the second time I've been to Three Lions and it won't be the last. As an aside the stands there are UPVC pipe, much friendlier that steel! They have (like Pilford and Somerley) a loo, and coffee, and the all-important, nay vital, bacon baps.
A good morning, and back in time to watch the Mens final at Roland Garros. Excellent.
