CLAY SHOOTING IS MORE THAN A GAME

We’ve all had those winter weekend mornings where the alarm goes off at 7.30am (or earlier, ouch), the bed is the warmest and comfiest it’s been all week, the house is so quiet you can’t hear a thing and yet we still roll out sideways to slither to the bathroom half asleep and begin our pre-shoot routine.

Blundering around the house collecting our gear from various rooms and cabinets wondering WTF we are actually doing when the whole world around is tucked up in bed.

Out to the car, feels like it’s the middle of the night still. Heater on, lights on, some random DJ on the radio we only ever hear at the weekend (the one non-shooters have never heard of!) and off we go again…

But then we get to the shooting ground.

We hear the crack of shells echoing across the range – suddenly, it all comes back to us why.

We’re not nuts after all, this is what we do and there’s bloody good reasons we do it.

It’s all about that feeling of absolute focus when you’re on the stand. The world narrows down to a single flying disc and everything else just disappears.

We spend all week slaving over tools, staring at screens or bumbling through countless other irritating but necessary tasks. Out on the range, that doesn’t matter.

You can’t think about your boss’ late night email or the supplier that made a mess of your week when a crosser is screaming for attention at 40mph. That’s what makes clay shooting the ultimate brain-dump. It’s like flicking the power switch off, if day-to-day nonsense had one.

When we’re out in the fresh air, trekking between stands and getting that much-needed dose of Vitamin D (or more likely, a good soaking from the rain this time of year), keeping moving is what keeps us sharp. Our hand-eye coordination gets a proper workout, even if some of us spend more time “ventilating the air” than actually hitting the targets.

There’s something mentally addictive about being 1-on-1 with a clay or sim pair with nothing more than your learnt skills, manual dexterity and shotgun.

Life becomes really simple in those moments: Hit or miss, beat or be beaten, pair away or pair dead. It’s very binary yet very calming (unless it’s pair away!)

If you, like a few of us on the PAIR DEAD team, started shooting later in life, you’ve inevitably wondered more than once why you didn’t start in your younger days.

To the outsider we’re just blasting clays to dust for the laughs and prestige of winning, but mentally we’re doing much more. We’re giving ourselves and mental and physical workout whilst actually relaxing at the same time.

There’s not many other sports we can think of (and we’ve tried!) that can deliver on both of those.

Think about that for a minute, let us know if you can come up with one.

Let’s talk about the ones that got away.

We’ve all been there. You smoke the first few targets and swagger around like a world-class pro. Today’s the day when that average gets a pounding.

Then you move to the high tower, next layout or shift peg and all of a sudden it’s like the shot has fallen out of your shells and into your pocket – pair away. We’ve all seen targets that seem to have a forcefield around them or are made from cast iron so the shot just pings off them.

It’s humbling. It’s frustrating. It’s downright annoying. But it’s exactly why we love it.

If it were easy, it would be boring. Yeah, who doesn’t want to shoot a perfect straight round? But if we did this week in, week out where’s the sense of progress and achievement?

The technical challenge is what brings us back. Figuring out the flight path, the distance, the lead and the speed is like a jigsaw puzzle that has an ever-changing picture on the box. You can never quite complete it but you’re gonna keep trying.

And just when you’re smashing them again, the wind picks up and the jigsaw puzzle changes yet again.

But if we’re being real, the actual shooting is only half the story most of the time. It’s about the people. It’s the team banter on the way round the course, meeting people in other squads you only ever see on shoots but you greet like old friends. It’s the way we celebrate a naughty long-range battue or mercilessly take the piss out of each other for missing a dustbin lid sitter.

The social side is the glue that holds it all together. There is nothing quite like:

• The pre-shoot tactical briefing (mostly just guessing what targets might be on today).
• The shoot post-mortem where we explain exactly how the wind “stole” a few clays.
• That first sip of clubhouse coffee when your fingers are numb.
• The legendary breakfast and lunches that taste better than any five-star meal.

Shooting is a community. Yes we compete against each other but if someone drops a straight round, they’re going to achieve legendary status amongst us all in an instant.

Whether we’re smashing a straight on a stand, layout or course or simply struggling to hit a barn door from the inside, we’re doing it together. We learn new skills, we fail spectacularly and we laugh about it over a brew afterwards. That’s what makes this a community rather than just a sport, game or hobby.

It’s about the crisp air, mental release, friendships, banter and the constant pursuit of perfection.

It makes those early mornings and “best not have another beer” the night before all worthwhile.