Practice Makes Perfect...

- Tim Weston

With the shooting season now heading into full swing, clay grounds up and down the country will have been busy with clients coming in for an hour’s lesson to remember how to swing the gun properly, get their stance right and have a practice. It is responsible to make sure that you are competent when you go out shooting and that is why many people will take a lesson or two each season. Shooting comes naturally to those who have done it for years and years, and to those who take their summer sport of pigeon shooting seriously, too. But for those that shoot once or twice a year only, a lesson, in my view, is a must. Even taking advantage of the BASC have-a-go sessions at a game fair will make a difference. It all helps. You will also enjoy your sport much more; there is nothing more frustrating than missing everything and not knowing why, but after some instruction at least you should know why you are missing!

It is not just the game shooting season that goes into full swing in the winter months – the nitty-gritty part of deer stalking, the doe cull, is also at its peak. It can be hard work, with poor weather, but the job needs doing and deerstalkers and deer managers are out and about. For the hobby stalker, does can really be hard work because of the lack of daylight hours. In the summer, on the roebucks, you can easily get out at 4am and be back home to get ready for work at 9am and still have time for a second evening stalk. But the winter is different; hobby stalkers will only have weekends or the time they