The technical testing ground waiting in Warwickshire

Navigating an event of this scale requires a bit more planning than a standard Sunday morning registered shoot.

Ragley Hall sits just outside Alcester in Warwickshire (drop B49 5NJ into your satnav), providing a sprawling parkland backdrop that is easily accessible but prone to bottlenecking if you time your arrival poorly. The gates open to the public at 06:00 for breakfast, with the main stands and exhibition areas firing into life at 09:00.

Everything wraps up by 18:00 on Friday and Saturday, and 17:00 on Sunday. Parking is vast but field-based, so checking your tyre pressures and preparing for a decent walk is part of the ritual. If you’re a BASC member, remember to register for your complimentary entry tickets online before the midnight deadline on Thursday 23 July to avoid paying full price at the gate.

While the wider festival celebrates everything from falconry to fly fishing, our collective focus inevitably falls on Gunmakers’ Row.

This year carries a distinct weight as Beretta celebrates its 500th anniversary, bringing a massive historical and technological showcase to the venue.

For the performance-obsessed clay shooter, this area is a masterclass in ergonomics. Heritage giants like Holland & Holland, E.J. Churchill and Boss & Co. stand side-by-side with modern engineering specialists like Longthorne. It’s an inspirational place where you can shoulder a beautifully balanced custom stock, discuss barrel harmonics with individual master engravers and debate the physical nuances of gun fit with Bill Blacker at the Gunmakers’ Court.

Looking at beautifully engineered guns inside a canvas pavilion is one thing, but pulling the trigger is where we really get our kicks as shooters.

The Shoot Line this year features an expanded presence managed by E.J. Churchill and the CPSA, offering structured competitions alongside informal rally layouts with the standout technical addition being the Rally Clays line.

It’s a fast, head-to-head clay challenge where pairs of shooters compete point for point on identical targets. A fantastic test of mental stamina and visual discipline, this test strips away the isolation of a standard cage and adds the immediate pressure of an opponent breaking targets right next to you. If your mount has a slight hitch or your eyes are failing to lock onto the target under pressure, this layout will find you out instantly.

For those looking to refine their approach, the BASC coaching team is also offering intensive 30-minute one-to-one sessions focusing on eye dominance, stance adjustments and the precise physics of gun fit.

When the ears come off and the gun’s safely stored in the secure armoury on site, the rest of the festival offers plenty of substance to keep the conversation moving.

• The culinary transition: The BASC Wild Food Kitchen Theatre is showcasing high-end game preparation, with guest appearances from Dick and Angel Strawbridge on Sunday alongside curated menus by Marco Pierre White in the VIP enclosure.
• The canine athletes: Over at the Working Dog Ring, the Home International competition pits the finest spaniels and retrievers in the country against complex retrieval patterns that require an enviable level of handler communication and discipline.
• The craft yard: The brand-new Modern Ruralist Craft Yard focuses on traditional living skills like dry-stone walling and wheelwrighting, celebrating the raw, manual precision that mirrors our own dedication to our craft.

We’ll be walking the lines over the weekend, looking closely at the latest shifts in competitive gear and catching up with familiar faces between the stands so if you see us by the cages or examining a new rib profile on the row, come over and tell us how your mid-season averages are looking.