OL Clay Pigeon Shoot

After much initial interest ten OL's together with a guest met up at Holland and Holland's shooting grounds in North London for the inaugural OL clay pigeon shoot. It was good to see a wide range of interest both from those whom shoot as well as several novices. On arrival we were greeted with coffee and a plethora of bacon rolls which we were unable to finish. During breakfast we were split into two teams and allocated an instructor.

For the first hour and a half our instructors got to know our capabilities across four different traps; teal, rabbit, going away and driven birds. We then retired to reception for another coffee and were handed out score cards to instil a bit of friendly competition. After shooting at four further stands our scores were calculated before we tried a few testing shots at the high tower. Two OL's had excelled, Alex Smethers and Paul Winchester with 28 and 26 out of 32 respectively. The novice guns also put in some very credible scores, one achieving 8 out of 8 at one stand before being out for a duck at another. Our overall average was 21 out of 32 - a reasonable pass mark by anyone's standard.

We retired to the club house for a bite to eat and in usual Leysian fashion toasted our scores with a glass of bubbly. As a result of our self congratulatory exuberance, Alex Smethers received a bottle of Buck Fizz rather than something a bit more traditional, but with his shooting ability I doubt any of the rest of us will get much of a look in for some time - so this is probably just as well!

The day was most enjoyable and I believe considered to be a success by all those involved. I have provisionally booked the grounds again for the third Saturday in September in order not to conflict with driven days, and to give those of us whom need it a bit of practice before the season is in full swing. Hopefully more OL's will be encouraged to attend and the day will become a permanent fixture in our calendars.

James Middleton (North A 82-87)