When I was in the process of bidding adieu to Blighty, temporarily I hope, in the September last year, Herr Grumpus Von Rumpuss asked me to go stay with him in Somerset for a few days which I was anyway going to. He deliberated well on the plans and lined up quite a few things that we were going to do once I was there.
First in the line was going to the biggest clay shooting range in the UK, the Southern Counties Shooting Grounds.This is the same place where the International Shotgun world Cup competition took place. The place is vast with more than 450 traps that include a 140 feet high tower that simulates driven pheasant.
But, the human encyclopaedia called Grumps is not just about guns. His knowledge of many things, esoteric and the mundane , is VAST. He does have to show me the local curiosities too.
What you see there is a very curious phenomenon. The channel of water you see is actually a drainage canal which flows under the river. The river flows over and across it.
Something that you do not expect to see in the English countryside. He really wanted me to recognise them. Didn’t tell him that they roam around freely on the roads in Hyderabad!
The Shooting Grounds
The Olympic Trap bunker.
Within the same complex is the Sportsman Gun Centre. The pretty and supremely efficient manager was only glad to allow us take as many pictures as we wanted.
I will let the guns speak for themselves.
For the Co2 crowd
According to Grumps, the Steyr Scout rifle is one of the best practical rifles in the world £ for £.
The Steyr-AUG in the straight pull bolt action avatar.Semis over .22lr are banned in UK.
For the cross eye dominant-In this case for the right handed-left eye dominant
A Beretta SO3,one of the best kept secrets in the bargain department of fine guns.
Speak of (very)high-ribs
Fine guns of Abbiatico & Salvinelli
When we get home, what we do is talk guns-For hours-non-stop.
Grumps and I always wanted to meet a very interesting person who happens to live very close to his place. Steve Beatty runs Ivythorn Sporting, a few miles from Grumps’ place in Somerset.
http://www.ivythornsporting.co.uk/
Steve is a remarkable man in the sense that he looks and talks like one of the lads and again one of the best shotgun coaches around. Also, he happens to be a dealer who has some very exciting guns. Steve, a powerfully built man, is a plain speaking, no-nonsense and upfront guy. He also happens to have this hobby/work of wood joining and you have to see what he can build with his own hand. The entire place was built by him!
Right, Shooter was to meet us that day at the Steve’s range. By the time Grumps and I reached Steve’s place, it was pouring down. Shooter who got stuck in the out bound traffic of London kept calling us to update us by the mile he made. Finally he reached us just as the rain stopped.
What Steve did next was that you would never expect from a fancy showroom dealer. He showed us around the gun room. He gave the keys to the gun rack keys and asked us to feel free to check whatever guns we liked. Then he left to help another customer try the new rifle that he was buying. Trust is something that is not displayed often. He met Grumps once earlier, us for the first time. He spoke to us and knew that we were straight. That was enough for him to hand over the keys !
If I must have only one rifle, this could be that. A Schultz & Larsen .30/06 bolt action Mod.97 rifle built on their own patented action.19” barrel, 5 shot , comes with a moderator and a dark laminated wood stock.
It’s a superb rifle and the quality oozes out of it when you see it in person.
A Fabarm O/U moderated version.It has a sound moderator over the barrels!You would be surprised to see how well it handles in your hands.
Another Abbiatico & Salvinelli with detachable locks.
A lovely German made Forrester 8X57 double rifle. Would make a superb driven boar rifle if there ever was one.
A Heym Kipplauf single barrel break action rifle
Other Goodies on display
Identify the cartridges- Relativeness explained
A nice Somerset Red Deer mount
Shooter and Grumps in discussion about a very nice Skeetgun.
Next was range time. For all the time I spent in UK, much as I wanted, I did not take any shooting lessons and that has been my eternal regret. The night before when I shared this with Grumps, he agreed. Then he picked up the very nice William Pape (Who is credited with inventing chokes) SXS hammered pigeon gun and showed me the essentials of shotgun shooting-Proper stance, gun mount, point and swing. I practiced a few times under his sharp eye.He expected me to see practicing when he came down the next morning.Only I woke up after him.LOL.
What John picked up for us to shoot was the Pape Pigeon gun and the absolutely gorgeous and one of the rarest boxlocks around, the Dan’l Fraser SXS. (I will be making a separate post on the Dan’l Fraser).
Shooter, then, pulled out the surprise of the day. The Ten bore SXS cannon that he wanted me to shoot.
Steve, again typical of him, explained to us the layout of the clay ground, safety procedures etc,. One thing he said before he left was “Gents,I don’t mind if I get paid extra. But, I trust you not to underpay me”. That’s it. No counters, no counting clays etc. He trusted us to be truthful about the number of clays we shot at and pay for it.
The beautiful Ivythorn shooting grounds in the rolling hills of Somerset.
Our guns for the day.
When I took the stand with the Dan’l Fraser, all I had in my mind was what Grumps told me the other night- move, mount,point,shoot,swing. He told me not to think too much and shoot as instinctively as possible. “You see it, you shoot it bang, right there”.
I called out “Pull”. I never heard the trap release the clay, neither did I see it come out. I did not even know when the gun came to my shoulder. I smashed the clay dead centre almost in front of the trap.My first shot ever with the Dan’l Fraser and I smashed a bird with it. OK, after that my shooting went southbound. I started to think too much with every shot and it was reflected in my shooting.
Shooter- He is in a different class. Do not be surprised if you see him in the Indian shooting team soon. He is that good.
Shooter blasting away with the ten bore cannon.
Shooting the Ten Bore- When I called ‘ pull’, I was well prepared for the recoil. The ear-muffs did a great job. You would suffer if you didn’t put on one. The recoil on my well padded shoulders wasn’t as severe as I expected. What I experienced was a jolt through my head that sent a little shockwave through it. No pain on the shoulders nor on the ears. But, you just know that you just did something naughty and set off a near artillery piece. But, it wasn’t intimidating and but actually enjoyable.
The friendship Lesson: After a couple of shots, I said “enough”.Shooter wanted me to go ahead and empty the box as he knew that I would not be shooting one for sometime and he wanted me to have the fun. I whined “But they are expensive”. At this point Grumps who was watching this drama tore into me. “Don’t be an idiot Vickers. He is your friend.He loves to do it for you. He wants you to enjoy shooting it. He drove from London in the pouring rain and traffic jams to get you shoot the gun. Be generous and allow him to be generous. Now, pick the bloody thing up and shoot it”.
I believe I need not elaborate any further on the good fortune of having friends like this in one’s life.
Hope you enjoy reading this.
Best-
Vikram
