What are the differences between clay pigeon shooting and game shooting?
First of all, let’s talk about the wonderful similarity between the two, and that is that they both give the most amazing day out in the heart of the countryside.
The most obvious difference is that game shooting involves shooting live birds and clay shooting during which you are shooting pieces of clay out of the air. The clays can be shaped in any form and are fired out of a trap. The other difference is when you’re allowed to do both of these different activities.
The Game Shooting Season
The game season is very clear: the grouse shooting season starts on 12 August, “the glorious twelfth”, that’s followed by partridge in September and then the pheasant season starting on 1st October.
The main game shooting season starts on the 1st of October and finishes at the end of January, and you can happily shoot pheasant and so on. It all obviously kicks off on the glorious 12th. The 12th of August is the start of the grouse season. The season finishes on 31st January.
Every day of the year is available for those wishing to shoot clays. Whether you are trying to fine tune your shooting skills in readiness for the game shooting season, or whether you just love a fabulous traditional country pursuit in the heart of the countryside, but doing it in warmer times, then clay pigeon shooting during the summer months is just wonderful.
The Best Locations for Game Shooting
Choosing the best location can really make your shooting experiences all the more memorable. Game shooting takes place on licensed estates across the countryside, so your day will be spent in the beautiful heart of the British countryside. Most of the grouse shooting is in the north of the country in beautiful moorland in Yorkshire and up into Scotland. Many of the great pheasant shoots are further south, throughout Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
With clays, there is a little bit more flexibility. There are obviously the options to go out to the beautiful estates and set up private clay shoots in the very same way as you do with game, or there are superb shooting schools across the country, some within London and other cities, others further out in the country, again, in the heart of country estates. You’ve got different options of location.
Learning to Shoot
The other thing to consider when choosing between clay and game shooting is that having a bit of experience will make your game shooting day more enjoyable. You don’t need to have done hours of practice, but a little will help. When we have a client who wants to go game shooting for the first time, we will always recommend one or two practice sessions with clays before they go. You can also benefit from having an instructor who doubles up as your loader on a game shoot, and that way you keep on learning throughout your game day.
With clays, you can happily have absolutely no experience whatsoever and use it as an opportunity to see whether it’s something you want to take up and get a whole lot better at. And many very experienced guns use it as practice in the off season. You don’t need huge amounts of experience for game, but it certainly does help.
As we said at the start, whether you are an absolute novice or whether you’ve been shooting since you were old enough to hold a gun, there is no doubt with either a game shoot or a clay shoot, you will have a fantastic day out.
Imagine being in the heart of the British countryside on a bright crispy winter’s day or in the warm summer sunshine, you can’t fail to have an absolutely wonderful time.