Come and Try Clay Shooting Day.

If you’re going to have an Outdoor Event, try and pick a good day. East Kent Clays did just that, when they held a “Come and Try It” Day in lovely weather at the Hawley Clay Shooting Club at Sutton-at-Hone, near Dartford, on the 25th May 2024.

Roger Wilkes reports:

The Provincial Clay Shooting Team hold a ‘Come and Try It’ Day each year so that Brethren, their families and friends can experience the sport at first hand.
Hawley is a slightly smaller venue than ones we have used before, but it still offered us two stands dedicated to our particular Event. We made sure that those of our twenty-two Visitors intending to ‘have a go’ were given a safety briefing on the use, care and etiquette of handling a shotgun. Off we then went to the stands. Our modest selection of shotguns included the conventional 12 bore ‘over and under’, the slightly smaller 20 bore which has a lighter recoil, and a semi-automatic capable of taking three rounds of cartridges and firing all three simply by pulling the trigger once.

Shooters first had a clay thrown from a trap close to them and flying away. They watched without shooting so that they could see its flight. Next, with the help of their Instructor, they were free to try and hit it. Some missed, but once their action had been corrected they were more successful.

The second clay was thrown from a trap some distance away and flew towards the shooters, although at a height from which it dropped as it got closer. This presented a more difficult target, but with coaching again many clays were hit.
At the next stand clays were thrown at differing angles, some going away from the shooters, others flying towards them and some crossing from left to right and right to left. Gratifyingly, many were still able to hit the clays successfully.
East Kent Clays has run these ‘Come and Try It’ Days for many years and has gained members through them, so we hope that one or two of those attending this year will join in and enjoy the sport.