It is but only because everybody in the sport takes safety extremely seriously. Safety is paramount and the rules must always be adhered to without question. You must always use hearing protection and eye protection even if closely spectating.
Always treat the gun as though it is loaded, even if you are certain it is not.
Always keep the gun pointing in a safe direction wether or not it is loaded, unloaded, open or closed. Be aware of the muzzle direction and never point it at anything you are not prepared to destroy.
Always be sure of your target and what is behind it
Never load and make ready unless you are actually ready to shoot.
Never put your finger inside the trigger guard until just before you shoot, rest it on the frame or woodwork alongside the trigger.
Break action shotguns should be open at all times when not shooting or checked clear and then placed in a rack or slip, semi auto shotguns should be checked clear and have a breach flag fitted in plain view when not shooting.
Nb: These are the basic rules and guidelines of handling firearms, they should be observed at all times.
Over & unders and side by sides should be carried broken open over the arm so you can clearly control the muzzle, not over the shoulder nor should they be rested on the foot. Semi auto or pumps should be carried muzzle up to the sky with breech and safety flag showing forwards.
The best place to get your first shotgun in the North West UK is without a doubt from Bamfords in Eccleston. John and the guys here will work with you to find a gun that fits you and your pocket, they will advise and fit you free of charge whether you want to spend £100, £1000 or £10,000. They have an ethos of a customer is for life and not just one big sale, you get really well looked after here.
Before you can buy anything you will need to get a Shotgun certificate from the police, you can not buy a shotgun or ammunition or use a shotgun unsupervised until you have a certificate, see below.
No, as long you are not a prohibited person you can use the club rental guns under my supervision. You must sign a declaration in the club house to say you are not prohibited under section 21 of the firearms act
The usual and most popular shotgun for clay pigeon sports is the Over and Under, many people now also use a semi automatic sporting shotgun. If you shoot with Clay Pigeon Shooting 1-2-1 with Stu you can try both and choose your favourite! If you choose the 'Evolution' package it gives you the opportunity to try 4 guns, the over and under, the traditional side by side double barrel, a modern semi automatic and a military style tactical shotgun.
It is, a shotgun by definition has a smooth bore barrel and usually fires multiple lead ball pellets at the same time, a rifle barrel has a grooved bore to spin its single bullet for long range efficiency and pin point accuracy. It is a very different firearm for different purposes.
When you have a beginners lesson for Clay Pigeon Shooting 1-2-1 with Stu mounting the gun is the second thing you will learn, after safety! It can hurt if you are not holding it tightly into your shoulder 'pocket' under the collar bone, I will show you how to 'mount' the gun and you'll soon get use to the recoil.
This is subject to change but essentially you apply to your local police force via thier website, you will need to download a form for your doctor to fill out from the police website and you will need 2 people of good standing to give you a reference, when filling out your forms the police are looking for honesty, tell them everything! they already know anyway, they will look deeply into your background before granting a certificate and will monitor you and your address during the period of your certificate.
Its really not a great idea, no, sounds bizzare but you dont actually aim a shotgun or use its sights to shoot, its an instinctive sport like many others, when you close one eye you lose half your periferal vision and all of your depth and speed perception, and you need that to find and shoot moving targets. If you find you can only hit a target with one eye closed like me! there will be an underlying eye dominance issue that needs sorting and analysing, it is usually something that can be fixed quite quickly but it generally takes a 1-2-1 in person session.
It does kick back or recoil but its not like in the movies and we do have soft recoil cartridges available, these make it quite easy to control the recoil. Yes it can be nerve racking to start with, but once you've tried it you will be fine.
Its known as a cartridge or shell. Inside the cartridge at the front or muzzle facing end is the pellets. For sporting clay shooting we use #7.5 to #8 birdshot which is around 350 to 400 pellets normally, there is finer #9 birdshot which is over 400 pellets and this is used in short range disciplines like skeet. For hunting there is Buckshot which varies from around 8 pellets to 28 pellets and a slug round which is a single large projectile. Traditionally, the shot is made from 1 lb of lead divided into 12 equal balls, this is where the term 12 guage comes from. Behind the pellets in the cartridge is the wad that pushes the pellets along the barrel and behind the wad is the explosive powder charge which generates the pressure when ignited by the primer. The primer is ignited when it is struck by the shotguns firing pin.