Edgehill shooting grounds
Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:49 pm
yesterday I went for a clay shoot at a place called Edgehill. I have a Scottish friend,Tom, who works as an Engineer here.He took me there. very pleasant man.Edgehill is an absolutely stunning place situated in a valley far away from the buzz of the city about 20 miles from the town of Warwick.One has to drive down the hill to access the shooting grounds.Barely twenty people shooting and I was told that it's the busiest it would ever be.There was a Labrador dog and she was absolutely unaffected by all the shooting going around her and kept on sleeping in the light sun with her four legs up in the air.There were these two pups in the club house bouncing around as pups are wont to .I saw kids as young as seven learning to shoot Skeet.What touched me the most was a kid afflicted with Downs Syndrome, wearing a shooting jacket,watching the proceedings with great delight and sitting there lost in his idyllic world. I do not think he shoots.
They have skeet,trap,double trap,automatic bolt trap,english sporting etc etc and what not.
Tom has a Baikal SXS with 28" barrels,choked half & three quarters.The stock 14".Pretty small for me but was great fun shooting and there was hardly any felt recoil.We used Eley 24 grams cartridges.The Baikal is simplicity it self but robustly built.The wood extremely plain and not walnut. But, it in deed handled like a wand.We shot the gun without pre-mounting it unlike what we did at Barby shooting gounds.Probably that explains the disaster that ensued.
The sporting clays layout is really rugged with the birds coming at impossible angles.Some of the traps are mounted on trucks at various places on the hill.The tower for rocketing pheasant is just that.Way over the hill top.Many traps were well hidden behind bushes and you would see them coming at you or going away like real birds in real hurry.Did I tell you that I am a natural at clays? Forget it.It was a most humbling experience.The birds coming at great speed and very tricky angles ensured that the misses were far greater than the odd hit.The fun,however,far outweighed the performance.
The horse was not 20 yards away from us and promptly galloped up the hill once we started shooting.Knows well how to save its hide.LOL.
There were these five gents shooting ABT.All of them well over fifty and two possibly in early sixties.The way they were hammering the clays plumb in centre tells us that age is not really a hindrance to excel in this sport.They were hardly athletic.But,they were super in their shooting.
Anand,Dev and Grumps.A great reason for you to come visit me. And any of our members foe that matter. I know it's easy to offer this from a great distance.But,should any of you come here,it shall be a real pleasure to take you for a shoot.
Best-
Vikram
They have skeet,trap,double trap,automatic bolt trap,english sporting etc etc and what not.
Tom has a Baikal SXS with 28" barrels,choked half & three quarters.The stock 14".Pretty small for me but was great fun shooting and there was hardly any felt recoil.We used Eley 24 grams cartridges.The Baikal is simplicity it self but robustly built.The wood extremely plain and not walnut. But, it in deed handled like a wand.We shot the gun without pre-mounting it unlike what we did at Barby shooting gounds.Probably that explains the disaster that ensued.
The sporting clays layout is really rugged with the birds coming at impossible angles.Some of the traps are mounted on trucks at various places on the hill.The tower for rocketing pheasant is just that.Way over the hill top.Many traps were well hidden behind bushes and you would see them coming at you or going away like real birds in real hurry.Did I tell you that I am a natural at clays? Forget it.It was a most humbling experience.The birds coming at great speed and very tricky angles ensured that the misses were far greater than the odd hit.The fun,however,far outweighed the performance.
The horse was not 20 yards away from us and promptly galloped up the hill once we started shooting.Knows well how to save its hide.LOL.
There were these five gents shooting ABT.All of them well over fifty and two possibly in early sixties.The way they were hammering the clays plumb in centre tells us that age is not really a hindrance to excel in this sport.They were hardly athletic.But,they were super in their shooting.
Anand,Dev and Grumps.A great reason for you to come visit me. And any of our members foe that matter. I know it's easy to offer this from a great distance.But,should any of you come here,it shall be a real pleasure to take you for a shoot.
Best-
Vikram