A step into the unknown

Shooting your first clay competition can be a nerve-wracking experience, but one 100 per cent worth stepping out of your comfort zone for, writes Emma Clitherow.

The world of competitive clay shooting is not one I have been part of until now and, to be honest, I had my reservations – mainly linked to my confidence in my level of shooting. However, a couple of weeks ago I decided to take a big step into the unknown and have a crack at it.

I first came across the Wilde & Glorious x BASC Ladies Cup clay shooting event when someone I follow on social media put out a call for other women to join her team. I’d seen shooting events like this advertised before, but had always assumed that I wouldn’t be good enough to compete so had never entered one until now.

I do a bit of game shooting but as far as clay shooting goes, my norm would be a low-key wander around a few stands with friends on the occasional weekend. The idea of a shooting competition with people keeping score and watching me made me nervous. Those two aspects alone had always been enough to put me off.

However, there was something about this event that made me want to take part. Whether it was the opportunity to shoot at Holland & Holland‘s prestigious shooting ground, or that it looked like a great opportunity to meet other women who are just like me, I decided to go and get stuck in.

Sticking with it

I entered the intermediate category and leading up to the event – despite my best efforts – I didn’t get as much practise in as I had planned. Work, life and all the normal things that keep our hobbies at bay meant I’d only made it to my local clay ground a handful of times since the end of the game season.

With this in mind, I was incredibly nervous on the morning of the event, convinced I was going to be rubbish. So much so that I even wondered if I was better off just pulling out. Thankfully, I decided to stick with it and have a go, and I’m very glad I did.

Registration was at 9am with tea, coffee and breakfast options available and a few sponsors stalls to browse over. I didn’t really know anyone, but managed to find the other girls on my team and introduce myself to a few other people there, too. With more than 90 women gathered to shoot the competition, it wasn’t hard to find someone to chat to.

Exceeding expectations

The event kicked off with Claire Sadler, BASC vice chair, giving an inspiring welcome speech. Each team of four or five members were then introduced our scorers who took us around to each stand.

Jem, our team’s scorer, asked us if any of us had ever shot a competition before, to which I obviously replied no. To help, he said he would teach us how a registered competition worked as we went around which was a very valuable experience in itself.

We got to the first stand and I could feel the nerves building. The usual rhetoric of “What if all of the other girls on my team were better than me?”, and “What if I missed them all?”, filled my head.

My name was the final one the list so I was to shoot last on the first stand. I took the time to watch the clays, worked out my plan and hoped I’d at least hit one. When my turn came, I didn’t actually feel as nervous picking up my gun as I thought I’d be. The atmosphere was encouraging and relaxed and, to my own amazement, I hit nine out of ten clays.

Scores on the doors

We all shot 80 clays in total across eight different stands. Everyone had their own strong suits and tricker questions as we moved around the course, and I think we all learnt a lot from each other.

I was absolutely chuffed to shoot 60/80 at my first ever competition, with nine out of ten hit on three of the stands. So much was my confidence buoyed that I immediately signed up for the next Wilde & Glorious Ladies Cup event at Barbury in June, where I’m hoping for at least one perfect ten on my score card.

All in all, I’d recommend anyone to give an event like this, or competitive shooting generally, a go. I left the ground with a huge sense of achievement and a new found confidence in my shooting. I also have some new shooting friends in my contacts and the next event in my diary, one which I’m very much looking forward to already.

Images courtesy of Emma Clitherow and Wilde & Glorious.