Another dry shoot, but with a cool strong breeze. Was it the wind, or some difficult stands which kept the scores low?
Mark H 37
Jennifer 36
Paul 35
Jon P 33
Pete B 33
Tye 33
Graham H 33
Helena 31
Robin (Guest ) 31
Shirley 31
Joe 30
John A 30
Tim 30
Dawn 30
Charlotte 29
Mark C 29
Tod 28
Steve B 28
Lewis 28
Adrian 28
Graham C 28
John E 26
Geoff E 25
Callum 25
Fin 25
Thomas P 24
Geoff W 23
Bill 23
Tony 23
Dennis 23
Simon 21
Lee ( Guest ) 19
Kelsey 18
Andy P 14
Celia 12
Roger W 9
Mark H 43
Pete B 41
Graham H 39
Simon 39
Dick W 37
Tod 36
Anthea 36
Lewis H 35
Nick C 33
Grahame C 33
Paul B 32
Dennis C 32
Logan 31
Mike H 31
Shirley 30
Tye 30
Geoff E 29
Dawn 29
Helens 28
Bill 28
Tim 27
Fin 25
Callum H 25
Adrian 25
Daniel 24
Johnny 22
Joe 21
Lee 19
Roger W 16
Kelsey 13
Jade 13
Despite Saturdays torrential down pour, Sunday was a lovely day with the sun shining. Started off a little cold in the breeze, but once the sun came through it was a nice day. The shoot was a little different, being under the the control of Mark, while Brian was away.
Mark Hill 46
Graham Hill 41
Steve B 41
Tod P 40
Geoff W 40
Pete B 40
Nick C 40
Adrian T 39
Lewis Hill 38
Paul B 38
Tim 38
Mark C 37
Helena 36
Fin 36
Callum Hill 35
Tye 34
Dennis C 34
Oliver 33
Anthea 33
Jack 30
Geoff E 30
Shirley 29
Kelsey 23
John A 23
Magenta 21
Celia 18
Andy P 16
Enjoyable shoot at Ludgersghall with some challenging clays. Who set up that right to left crossing mid was wicked. Small shower during the shoot di not dampen our spirits.
Mark H 39
Nick C 38
Charlotte 34
Dawn 33
Dennis 33
Graham H 31
Tod 30
Graham C 30
Logan 30
Tye 29
Mark C 29
Pete B 28
John E 27
Geoff E 27
Shirley 27
Anthea 26
Lewis 26
John A 25
Steve B 25
Helena 25
Callum 25
Bill 22
Simon 22
Kelsey 20
Celia 12
Today (5th September 2021) we enjoyed the club BBQ and shoot. The weather had many competitors dressed incorrectly. A cool damp start to the day, then turned into a warm sunny day. This had us stripping off. We enjoyed our 50 bird sporting shoot, which also was the handicap shoot for the Roger Phillips Trophy. There was also an air rifle target shoot and a three person flurry.
After the enjoyable shoot we went back to the Ludgershall village hall for a Sunday BBQ. Chicken, sausages, steak and burgers (from Boarstall Meats), along will salads, potatoes and other healthy vegetables. An excellent array of deserts were then consumed to finish off the meal. A great thank you to those who put on the magnificent feast.
Prize Giving
Flurry Winners
Lewis, Mark and Graham, with six birds dropped.
Air Rifle Colt
Calum
Air Rifle Lady
Jenny
Air Rifle Men
Simon
50 Bird Shoot Colt
Calum
50 Bird Shoot Lady
Charlotte
50 Bird Shoot Men
Todd
Roger Phillips Trophy
This trophy is awarded to the best score, based on a handicap calculated from several previous shoots.
I know the picture has threatening skies, but I can promise you the weather was warm and dry with a light breeze to change the direction of the occasional clay. The ground was dry and hard, may summer last forever. The only negative of the day was Station road was closed by HS2 forcing a slight detour to the shooting ground. There was a good attendance of 38 (scorecards handed in), with three guests hopefully joining us for a regular shoot.
Tod 44
Johnny P 43
Adrian 41
Paul B 39
Mark C 36
Steve B 35
Graham H 35
Dawn 34
Anthea 34
John W 33
Nick C 33
Finn 33
Wally 33
Tim 32
Mark H 32
Bill 32
Thomas P 31
Ollie (Guest) 31
Jennifer 30
Geoff E 29
Simon P 29
Shirley 29
Chris M 28
Graham C 28
Geoff W 27
Magenta (Guest)26
Mike H 25
Daniel 24
Lewis H 23
Callum H 23
Jade 21
Tony H 20
Celia 19
Kelsey 19
John A 16
Roger W 16
Richard (Guest)13
Jenny M 8
The practice shoot was held at Dodershall. A small shower during the shoot did not dampen our spirits.
Wally 45
Adrian 40
Helena 37
Graham C 37
Mark H 37
Jennifer 36
Tod 36
Tye 36
John W 35
Paul B 35
Steve B 34
Dawn 33
Shirley 31
Lewis 30
Simon P 30
Callum 29
Dennis 29
Chris M 29
Geoff W 27
Geoff E 26
Jade 26
Lana 25
Anne 25
Jim 24
John A 23
Chelsey 22
Keith 22
Roger W 21
Celia 16
Kelsey 15
Bogan ( Guest )
We celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the club with a clay shoot and then lunch at Ludgershall hosted by DB Guns. The shoot was a forty bird clay shoot, results below, a flurry and the use of some black powder guns provided by Blackpowder John. After the shoot, there was a demonstration of shooting by Mickey Rouse which included shooting eggs, cabbages and watermelons. The video below has a few slow-motion shots of the black powder guns and then the Mickey Rowse trick shooting demo with exploding eggs, cabbage and an exploding watermelon.
After the shooting, we headed over to the home of Dawn and Brian, the owners of DB Guns, for an excellent meal in their garden. A very good roast of Pork, Beef and Brisket followed by a delicious choice of sweets. Prize presentations followed and then speeches from the Chairman and then Pete Sherriff.
A metal pin badge was presented to all guests commemorating the 40th anniversary.
The Chairmans Address
Kingswood Gun Club Speech 25th July 2021
It is a privilege and an honour to be in the position of presiding over the club on such a momentous occasion of the 40th anniversary since its inception. I was not around at the origination of the club which was formed by Barry Johnson, Austin Lovell, Robert Richardson, Fred Dymock and Graham Hill back in 1981. This was after a successful clay shoot was arranged for the village fete and, as in the best of traditions, a debrief was held in the pub leading to the club coming into fruition no doubt over a pint or 2. I understand from talking with some of the club originators that the initial shoots comprised of one trap that was used on land behind Lodge Garage in Kingswood.
It is a great pleasure to have so many of the original founders at today’s event to see how the club has developed since then going from strength to strength. This has been due to several factors comprising of:
The friendly manner and approach to new members, many who have never shot before. The club has always retained an active introducing and training policy – this is how I joined on phoning Pete Sheriff and being invited along to “have-a-go-day” back in 1987 which ignited my passion for the sport. I am pleased to say this core value had been retained within the club and we are now seeing many more junior and new members taking up the sport with great enthusiasm. This has and remains one of the founding principles of the club.
The demise of many local gun clubs that were tied to one shooting ground. Our club has been very fortunate with the generosity of local landowners to enable us to have 3 shooting grounds at any one time. These have varied over the years but provide us with great flexibility and choice of landscape scenarios to set up different sporting layouts. I would like to thank all the landowners for their generosity in making their land available to us which is greatly appreciated. Currently the club shoots on land owned by Arthur, Pam & Jonathan Hall at Doddershall, Frank, Edna & Kevin Goss & Dina at Quainton and Colin East at Ludgershall. Previously the club has been able to use Pear tree Farm, Collet Farm, Tetchwick Farm and land behind Lodge Garage in Kingswood along with some other “one-off” venues.
The committee, past and present, who work tirelessly in providing valuable insight and feedback in many forms as to how best develop the club; we then discuss the points informally before taking a decision. By collecting the thoughts and ideas from all club members and pooling this information it allows the committee to ensure the club is still run smoothly and to everyone’s approval.
Brian and Dawn for setting up the shoot along with their loyal band of helpers that make each shoot so enjoyable. Special thanks go to Dawn for providing refreshments at tea break time which for many years was run by Ann Holt, who introduced us all to her wonderful baking skills, and prior to that Sandra Hill. The club is very appreciative of the time and effort put in to make each shoot run smoothly and efficiently.
All the members who continue to make the club fun exciting and each shoot a pleasant experience. Everyone is keen to assist any struggling shooters on “off days” (me included) and encourage beginners to improve with impartial and friendly advice that does not come across as overbearing. At the end of each shoot everyone helps with the tidying up of the respective grounds so that no litter is left to affect any livestock or crops.
Over the years the club has had a very strong social presence, and this has appeared in a number of guises including:
In the early days there was considerable amount of fund raising with charity shoots for the acute Myeloid Leukaemia trust which raised over £5,000 over several shoots generously supported by local sponsors.
Links with other shooting clubs including one in Bexhill and one in Bridgend, where each other’s grounds were visited during the year and a friendly competitive shoot between the clubs were held. After each shoot a follow up meal was held in a local hostelry so everyone could catch up over a “pie and pint” as the saying goes
Annual dinner and dances that were held in Grendon Underwood Village Hall.
Participation in the local summer and winter league shoots
Sea shoots off the back of ferries during day trips to France between Portsmouth and Cherbourg.
And more recently an annual BBQ held in Ludgershall Village Hall held after a friendly competitive shoot.
And finally, I would like to thank everyone past and present who have helped formulate, shape and drive the club forward from its origins to its current position and ensure its continuing success.
To celebrate this event, we have had a pin badge made for all club members past and present and the landowners to receive that will be handed out shortly.
Many thanks and here’s looking forward to the future of the club.
The Shoot and Demonstration Shoot by Mickey Rouse
The Shooting Results
Tod 33
Nick C 32
Adrian 31
Lewis 30
Callum 30
Mark H 30
John E 29
Graham C 29
John W 28
Mark C 28
Charlotte 28
Paul B 28
Logan 28
Ian A 27
Richard C 27
Dawn 26
Josh C 26
Tim 25
Simon P 25
Celia 25
Geoff E 23
Finn 22
Jennifer 21
John A 21
Steve B 21
Shirley 21
Jade 21
Anne 21
Jim 20
Richard T 19
Tony H 19
Dennis 19
Daniel 17
Chelsey 17
Anthea 15
Kelsey 11
Lee P 10
Brilliant warm summer day today for our practice shoot. With the warm dry weather, we could take advantage of the dry ground, and shoot up from the field to the targets on the embankment. Normally we shoot down from the embankment.
Next week is the 40th-anniversary celebration celebrations of the club. The shoot is at the Ludgershall field.
To get you in the mood here is a video from 1989 when we were able to shoot at Edgcott. I apologise for the poor quality. We were shooting clays at Edgcott, on the farm at the top of Perry Hill. The shoot was on the 16th July 1989. I apologise for the starring role of my father and I. My brother was filming us.
The scores on the doors
Mark H 43
Paul N 42
Graham C 42
Keith 42
Nick C 41
Joe 40
Simon P 39
Mike H 39
Wally 38
Tod 38
Jennifer 37
Callum 36
John W 35
Jim 35
Dawn 34
Lewis 33
Shirley 33
Bill 33
Steve B 32
Anne 31
John A 31
Geoff W 31
Paul Ro 30
Celia 28
Chris M 28
Geoff E 27
Anthea 26
Kelsey 18
Mike Co 10
The Sunday shoot was held on a cloudy day with a light breeze. Six groups of us shot the five stands. The rain held off during the shoot, with a short spell during the memorable tea break. Memorable because there were some lovely chocolate cookies.
The scores on the doors
Nick C 43
Mark H 42
Adrian 41
Logan 40
Simon P 39
Finn 38
Tod 38
Keith 38
Dawn 37
Graham H 37
Dennis C 37
Graham C 37
Mike H 36
Shirley 36
Wally 35
Tim 35
Geoff E 33
Steve B 32
Helena 32
John W 32
Anthony P 30
Tye 29
Lewis 29
Geoff W 28
Anne 28
Jennifer 26
Bill 26
Callum 23
Mike C 22
Dean 21
John A 21
Graeme K C 21
Roger W 20
Kelsey 17
