Should we turn the clock back to get more people shooting?

With the current economic climate would it not be a good idea to turn the clock back to the days of regular 25 & 50 bird shoots?

A friend recently did a Fitasc shoot which was £140 for 200 targets + his cartridges , B&B and fuel cost him £500 for the weekend .

Surely to get more people out and about shooting we should consider more 25 DTL, Compact and maybe a few stands Sporting where people can indulge themselves for a nominal £20 or £30 outlay?

Most of us it is costing around £100 per 100 bird Sporting and that could be the death knell for our sport.

I started shooting clays 30 years ago as a school boy and I was fanatical. A fully paid up member of a local small club. That involved 40 sporting once a fortnight and that was my lot. I counted the days to the next shoot!

Around 15 regulars taking turns to mark and work the manual traps. Gather at 9.30 and finish around 1.00 then home for sunday lunch. I loved it. Within 20 miles there were 5/6 clubs all doing the same which meant we would occasionally have inter club shoots. Only two of those clubs now remain and are clinging on.

We live in a different world now. Everything is much more accessible and expectations are higher. I can now go to a ground mid week on my own and shoot 40 sporting in 15 mins. Is it better than my childhood? I'm not sure. There's plus's and negatives but turning the clock back rarely works.

PM.

perazman said:

 There's plus's and negatives but turning the clock back rarely works.

PM.

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Dont think its turning the clock back, but could be seen as adapting to the future. Costs are spiralling and numbers will certainly drop off as a result. I shoot with a regular group a couple of times a week, its only informal practice . However i have noticed we seem to be having fewer shots. I used to do 125 maybe 150, now 100 is the maximum and some of us do 75. 

Personally i cant see a problem with only shooting 50 reg, infact i think i would prefer it. Not only that maybe there could be an opportunity for grounds to mix things up a little. For instance with the disciplines its usually 100DTL or skeet or ABT etc. Instead they could do 50 of two seperate ,disciplines giving shooters the opportunity to either stick to one or mix things up.

MR.ANGRY said:

With the current economic climate would it not be a good idea to turn the clock back to the days of regular 25 & 50 bird shoots?

A friend recently did a Fitasc shoot which was £140 for 200 targets + his cartridges , B&B and fuel cost him £500 for the weekend .

Surely to get more people out and about shooting we should consider more 25 DTL, Compact and maybe a few stands Sporting where people can indulge themselves for a nominal £20 or £30 outlay?

Most of us it is costing around £100 per 100 bird Sporting and that could be the death knell for our sport.

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Two problems…

Firstly, it’s not worth travelling any distance for 50 targets. Two rounds would take 25 minutes and cost around £15 to shoot. No way I’m going to drive anything more than a few miles to do that, it’s simply not worth it.

Secondly, I, and probably most people, have no interest in shooting disciplines other than my own. Start mixing them up and it waters down the experience for me.

I have no idea but people tell me its comparatively cheaper to shoot now than it was 30 years ago taking into account current earnings

Agree with Jan. It costs average of £25 in fuel to go. 100 targets is right. Just how it is for me..

I agree, but to be honest I’ve never understood the obsession with prize money. I’m not an experienced sports person as such, and I’m not aware of many participant sports with class winnings or similar (I could be wrong here if course)

I wonder how much the cost of our entries would come down if there didn’t have to be a prize fund?

I didn’t take this hobby up to win money, I’d go down BET365 if I was that way inclined. I do it to compete with myself and others and hopefully improve.

I will probably be shot down in flames for even saying this 

The cost savings would be " birds only " then they would creep up to " competition " the way costs are increasing very quickly 

Sorry, I have totally misunderstood this sport.

I thought it would be enjoyable to travel just a few miles to shoot a few clays and spend quality time with like minded friends.

MR.ANGRY said:

Sorry, I have totally misunderstood this sport.

I thought it would be enjoyable to travel just a few miles to shoot a few clays and spend quality time with like minded friends.

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I think you have called it correctly. There are the hard core top shots who travel up and down this land to compete, however they are definitely the minority . I would think the vast majority of shooters do it for the reasons you have described. I would even guess the majority of registered shoots are competed by shooters who are relatively local.

Also having just posted the above ,I looked at my home county of Yorkshire and counted 18 cpsa grounds and only three to my knowledge hold registered shoots. Then there are many more smaller grounds all over the county. There is no doubt top registered shoots are in the the limelight of the sport with their flagship events but I would suggest the vast magority of shooters are as you describe Mr Angry

My local shoot puts on a fortnightly 70 bird as standard (you can shoot 50 of course) and an 100 bird every 4/6wks or so. 

If the 100 bird was a regular option though, I'd still shoot the 70 far more regularly because for me, the 'additional enjoyment' I get from shooting 30 more targets doesn't always warrant the extra £12 or so for clays, cartridges etc.

Registered shoots are clearly what they are...so I just pick and choose when that's what I fancy doing and drive a bit further afield as and when.

Do what you enjoy...For most of us, this is just a hobby after all.

The way prices are soaring for clays, cartridges and fuel, you`ll be down to shooting 50 birds soon!

Certainly going to be a challenging situation for the sport, then will the next challenge on the horizon be steel shot with biodegradable wads if they ban lead, potentially further increasing the cost of cartridges.

FESkent said:

Certainly going to be a challenging situation for the sport, then will the next challenge on the horizon be steel shot with biodegradable wads if they ban lead, potentially further increasing the cost of cartridges.

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I really cant see why that should be, surely the most expensive ingredient in any caryridge is the shot. Steel is far cheaper than lead and with the economies of scale if we are all on steal in a fair world prices should be lower. However is it a fair world.

Do you really think that if lead was banned and replaced by steel the price of cartridges would come down?

Vic.

VicW said:

Do you really think that if lead was banned and replaced by steel the price of cartridges would come down?

Vic.

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Exactly another excuse for the manufacturers to hike up the price

MR.ANGRY said:

With the current economic climate would it not be a good idea to turn the clock back to the days of regular 25 & 50 bird shoots?

A friend recently did a Fitasc shoot which was £140 for 200 targets + his cartridges , B&B and fuel cost him £500 for the weekend .

Surely to get more people out and about shooting we should consider more 25 DTL, Compact and maybe a few stands Sporting where people can indulge themselves for a nominal £20 or £30 outlay?

Most of us it is costing around £100 per 100 bird Sporting and that could be the death knell for our sport.

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There are numerous “clubs & ground” doing & have been doing such for many years in these parts (Glos) non-reg, such places run part hobby part business etc, social shooting days which have far greater numbers every week than the few competition events. Reg events though have a base cost that will forever increase, its the nature of the beast

Richard59 said:

Reg events though have a base cost that will forever increase, its the nature of the beast

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And one ground has announced an increase in entry fees, as from today. This is due a rise in clay prices.

TRINITY said:

I really cant see why that should be, surely the most expensive ingredient in any caryridge is the shot. Steel is far cheaper than lead and with the economies of scale if we are all on steal in a fair world prices should be lower. However is it a fair world.

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All steel shot originates from China so haulage is far more expensive than lead from within the EU. 
Then a total ban on lead for the U.K. and EU would most likely mean insufficient steel shot to meet demand and as is happing now as a result of the Ukraine war the price due to supply and demand will go up. Industrial Steel at this time has increased by up to 300% due to the war.

I am reliable informed steel shot went up the other month by $300 a tonne in one day.