FEATS WITH CLAY

Something struck a chord with me in your Young in the field column [June issue], not just my own dismal performance in a recent charity clay shoot but the ongoing debate about suitable cartridges for very high pheasants. In my experience, the relative ballistic performance of 32gm of No 5 over 36gm of No 4 is of no consequence when so many shooters are unable to kill birds cleanly at 35yd. It strikes me that if we really do wish to minimise wounding, as of course we should, we need to learn to identify what birds we can expect to kill actually look like before we start shooting at them. Most of us need more practice in this respect and some summer tuition on clays should be on most true sportsmen’s and sportswomen’s agendas.

If our ability to do this could be significantly improved then few people would be concerned with what is required to kill 55yd birds. Guns may also find that improving their performance improves their enjoyment of what is, by any standards, an expensive day out. Andrew Maund Exebridge, Somerset