A GOLDEN LESSON IN PIGEON SHOOTING

Olympic gold medallist Richard Faulds is a fiend at Double Trap – but how would he fare when facing pigeon over stubbles…

- WILL GARFIT

Soon after he won the gold medal in Australia in 2000 I had the pleasure of meeting British Olympic hero Richard Faulds. Not only is he an exceptional shot but also a great ambassador for the sport of shooting, both competition and game. A quiet and modest man, his responsible attitude to shooting – and the politics that surround it – is an example to shooters and non-shooters alike.

A year after he triumphed at the Olympics I found myself honoured to stand beside the great man at the awards ceremony of the European Side-by-Side Championships, he having won the hammerless class and methe hammer gun class with Grandfather’s 1877 gun. The fact that he had a score of 92 against many competitors and I had 77 against few puts the event in perspective. For me, it was a one-off lifetime story; for Faulds yet another championship title.

I spoke to Faulds afterwards and conversation turned to pigeon shooting, as it does. I asked if he would be amused to come and have a day with me if I could find something of interest. For the Mr Cool, who contained nerves and emotions until the last pair of the Olympic shoot-off, to be so enthusiastic with open-eyed excitement at the prospect of a pigeon-shooting trip took me by surprise. Yes, he loved pigeon shooting and would be there.

It so happened that the following week a large rape field had been harvested and a Flightline had developed between it and the cement works’ quarry a mile to the east. This is an attraction for pigeon but as to why I am still unsure. It may be water but more likely calcium, as the pigeon can regularly be seen sitting on the chalk spoil heaps.