Pellpax is extremely proud to be sponsoring the world-class Olympic Skeet shooter, Amy Brown. Amy has already competed in international competitions in Holland, Serbia, Málaga, Malta, Finland, and the UK, and is now in training for the Open Cyprus Grand Prix in February 2018. I caught up with Amy to find out what’s going on in her hectic life!
Having completed a foundation Law degree at Northumbria University, in Newcastle, Amy is now embarking on a course in Mechanical Engineering. Juggling higher education with a sporting career isn’t easy (yes, that’s a massive understatement!), but Amy’s tutors have always been sympathetic to her athletic commitments, and this support from Northumbria University has been extended to a shooting scholarship. Next time, we’ll find out more about this.
Amy’s training consists of regular sessions at the university gym, in order to build and maintain upper body strength and stamina. She follows a strict high-protein, moderate carbohydrate diet, balancing muscle-building with sustained energy levels. For shooting practice, Amy divides her time between Beverly Clay Target Centre in East Yorkshire, Bywell Shooting Ground in Northumberland, and Auchterhouse Shooting Ground in Dundee, Scotland, where she receives instruction from her coach, Iain McGregor.
One of the ways in which Pellpax assists Amy is to supply cartridges for training. At the moment, she’s using Hull Pro One Cartridges, a high-performance product that has been selected as the Olympic training load.
“They’re fantastic pellets. They just feel really good.”
The 2018 Open Cyprus Grand Prix will be held from February 4 to February 12, in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia. As the largest airgun competition in the world, and the first international competition of the year, it’s a popular, well-attended tournament. Amy will be competing in the senior ladies Olympic Skeet event.
“Cyprus is one of the largest open competitions in the world. Everyone from Olympians to world cup medallists go at the start of the year to see where they are at, at the beginning of the season.”
In addition to furthering her own career as a world-class competitor, Amy works with her younger sister, Erin, as co-ordinator of a ladies’ and girls’ shooting club. Proceeds from monthly meetings are donated to charities such as Bloodwise, an organisation striving to defeat all 137 types of blood cancer, and the Great North Air Ambulance.
Whatever is going on in the present, or in the near future, Amy never takes her eye off the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The qualification process will begin at the end of 2018, and Amy is determined to be part of Team GB.
Do well in Cyprus, Amy! From everyone here at Pellpax.
If you’re interested in learning about using a shotgun, A great way to begin shooting is with a beginners course or some assisted training from an instructor. Our resident shooting journalist Hazel Randall tried out one such course, heading out for some instruction from Alan Evans of Fair Clay Targets.
Clay Pigeon Shooting. Credit: Dennis van Zuijlekom, ‘Barrage’.
I arrived at my destination with a hammering heart and a sense of dread. My life-long fear of guns – including toy ones, which, pointed at my body, can induce in me a shameful hysteria – was kicking against the whole idea. As I shook hands with Alan Evans, of Fair Clay Targets, I put on what I hoped was a brave face.
Alan was just as I expected him to be – tall, friendly, and relaxed. My nerves subsided a little. He led me to a wooden table, where a double-barrelled, over-&-under 12-bore shotgun lay open. Alan showed me that there was no cartridge in the opened barrel. He put one into the chamber, and then he took it out again.
Having established that there was no ammunition in the gun, and that death was not imminent, Alan closed the barrel and got me to hold the gun. He showed me how to tuck the stock (I’d always called it the ‘handle’) into my right armpit, support the fore-end with my left hand, and push the lever with my right thumb to open the barrel. I then closed the barrel. I did this a few times, growing a little more comfortable.
Holding the gun
The next step was to learn how to hold the gun. I was shown how to push the butt into my right shoulder, supporting the fore-end with my left hand. Throughout the session, I made the mistake of positioning my hand too far forward, restricting the movement of the barrel when aiming. With right hand on the grip, forefinger on the trigger, and cheek nestled into position directly over my left foot, I stood side-on to my ‘target’ (Alan’s right eye). Cross-eyed and a little shaky, I tried to position the tiny white sight at the end of the barrel over my target. I was glad when that bit was over.
My heart rate rose again when we went over to the cage from which I was to shoot. Immediately in front of it, a rope ran the width of the field. I was told to stay behind the rope. Alan operated the trap from where we stood, pulling a couple of clays so that I knew what to expect. These clays, flying onto a background of trees, were bright orange, showing up well against the dark backdrop. The trap from the other end of the field fired black clays towards us; these were easily seen against the sky. Alan told me that the clays were biodegradable, and the debris was left where it fell, to decompose within a couple of weeks. I thought that was pretty marvellous. Alan gave me some ear protection to put on. It was time to shoot.
I opened the barrel, and Alan slipped a 24-gram shot cartridge into one of the chambers. Now the adrenalin was racing through my body. That first shot (which missed, obviously!) thrust the butt into my shoulder, and the bang filled my head. It was exhilarating. I liked the smell of the sizzling fumes that curled out of the chamber after the remains of the cartridge had popped out.
Following the clay
I found it difficult to follow the clays with my eyes and the barrel simultaneously, often holding the gun in a fixed position while my gaze wandered over the sky. Because my face was not hugged firmly into the barrel, my head tended to jerk backwards, throwing me off balance and the gun off target.
Thanks to Alan’s patience and expertise, my first experience of using a gun was an enjoyable one. The session ended with a strong, sweet cup of coffee and a biscuit, and the day ended with an almighty headache!
Fair Clay Targets provide various services, including corporate events, and beginners days, so you can try shooting for yourself. Check the official Fair Clay Targets website for further details.
Here one of our up and coming shotgun enthusiasts, Steph Brooks, compares two excellent over and under shotguns….
The cost of attaining a new shotgun license has increased in recent years from £50 to almost £80 as of the 6th of April 2015. Nonetheless, the number of legally held shotguns in this country has increased year on year, thanks to the popularity of both game hunting and clay pigeon shooting, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Buying a new shotgun can be a daunting task, particularly for those new to the hobby as there are many things to consider when shopping. Attributes such as gauge, barrel length and action can be easily assessed, but there are more personal concerns, such as the amount of recoil felt, or how well a shotgun fits into the shoulder, that can be hard to measure, particularly when buying online. Because of this I am putting two over and under shotguns to the test, and will attempt to guide you through the maze of terminology to help you make a successful choice.
Looks
Clean Lines and no clutter: The Webley & Scott 900 Game
Out of all the attributes to consider when buying a new shotgun, looks are perhaps the most personal and, in my view, the least important. By this I mean that, so long as the shotgun is accurate and reliable, it can look like an old log, and I would return to use it.
As it turns out, both of these shotguns are far better looking than that, and actually broadly resemble one another in terms of shape. These shotguns both utilise a walnut stock, but the colouration on the 900 is more clearly defined than the Premier with the latter using silk varnish that doesn’t enhance the grain as much as a simple oiled finish. This gives the 900 has a slight edge in terms of appearance, but also a more tactile feel in the hands.
The receiver of the 900 and the Premier are both manufactured from a single piece of steel and both feature laser inscription that is of a very high standard. The Premier features various patterns that while clearly inscribed, seem to be somewhat unrelated. The birds I understand but what is that medallion looking thing meant to be? A clay? In any case I prefer the simple branding on the side of the 900, with its clean lines and less clutter.
The Premier weighs in at a shade over 3 kilos with the 900 weighing 2.6. This may not be too noticeable when first picking the shotguns up, but after a few rounds of shooting with shoulder fatigue playing a part, I assure you that this will become a noticeable difference. The chequering on the 900 seems to be deeper and better positioned as well, ensuring a secure grip at all times and providing better control between the hands.
This is also aided by the better balance that the 900 provides, although it worth pointing out that this particular 900 has 26” barrels, and still retains a positive bias towards them. Models of the 900 are available with barrel lengths up to 30” and it would be fair to assume that these models would be more top heavy than the Premier.
The 900 also features a far thicker recoil pad than the premier and with both shotguns capable of firing significant 12 gauge loads this seems to me to be somewhat of an oversight. Despite gun’s added weight, which should slow the gun down when firing, the Premier kicks particularly hard, like many Lincoln shotguns, and lacks the amount of rubber required at the butt to soften the blow, leading to increased fatigue and, in the hands of an inexperienced shooter, more flinch and worse accuracy.
However the Premier does have the edge when it comes to the trigger. The 900 features a trigger with a larger length of pull at almost 14 ¾” and a pull weight of 6lbs compared to the Premier’s 4 ¾lbs. This made the Premier’s trigger seem crisper and more responsive and gives better control over shot placement despite the increased recoil. Whilst the trigger is better I can’t understand the decision to forgo a rubber recoil pad on the Lincoln so I would recommend the 900. Trust me, your shoulders will thank you.
Winner: Webley & Scott 900 Game
Performance
Longer barrel, and a tighter spread: the Lincoln Premier
The most important thing to consider when buying a shotgun is how well it shoots. This seems like somewhat of an obvious statement, but you would be surprised by the amount of people that are swayed by lasering on the receiver, or a goldplated trigger.
This has always seemed counter-intuitive to me and reminds me slightly of the heavily customised cars you see being driven around proudly that underneath all the Halfords body kits and stickers are still just a 1 litre Corsa bought on finance. After all, it is tight spreads and high pellet energy that kill birds, not how the prestigious the gun looks when nestled above the fireplace.
The action of the Premier seems somewhat stiffer and harder to use than the 900, but I put this down to it being a new gun and nothing that some repeated use and a little lubrication won’t fix.
The Premier and the 900 both produce tight spreads, with the Premier slightly edging it terms of shot pattern thanks to its longer barrels, and slightly tighter choke. This rewards good shooting and ensures more clean kills and less “wing” shots. The 900 also, while well centred, seems to shoot a little high compared to where the sights are pointing even when aiming as though the bird was perched on top of the front iron. This can be somewhat corrected with a full choke but never seemed to be as dead centre as the Premier.
All in all I think the Lincoln Premier wins this one, although I would like to see a test conducted between a Premier and a 900 Game with similar length barrels for comparison.
Overall, I think that there are many things to like about both of these shotguns, the 900 is undoubtedly more comfortable to shoulder and fire but when it comes to all round performance I think the Lincoln shotgun just edges it. This was a particularly close run comparison however and it is easy to see why these shotguns are available for almost identical prices. Despite its heavy recoil, the Lincoln features a crisp trigger and better degree of accuracy and tighter spreads and no amount of stained walnut will make a shotgun better than that.
