Welcome

There are many reasons to love clay shooting, and one of them is the opportunity to travel. You can shoot all your life in the field behind your local pub, but if you prefer you can hop in the car and head off to the other end of the country to take part in a competition. If you’re feeling more adventurous, you can travel half-way round the globe, whether to shoot a big event or just for a change of targets and scenery – the world is your oyster.

This month’s magazine reflects that, as we report from the World English Sporting in Chicago and the World Cup in Finland, while Mitchell Brookersmith muses on what he learned at the Junior World Cup in Germany, and Ben Cartwright jets off to the States for the trip of a lifetime to celebrate his son’s milestone birthday. Of course as a dedicated clay shooter, he has tracked down possibly the finest Sporting ground in the world, frequented by Hollywood stars and CEOS of huge corporations – he gets all the tough assignments, that one!

Closer to home, Murray Thomson reports from the Scottish Open Sporting, which draws competitors from all over Scotland as well as tempting a few big names across the border from England. Jasper Fellows has been to check out Mickley Hall in Cheshire to learn how father and son John and Scott Barnett and their team have transformed a former pig farm into a stunning ground and shooting school with its own shop. DTL and Skeet shooters aren’t forgotten. We’ve a report from the Perazzi DTL weekend, as well as the latest update from our regular columnist and outstanding young lady DTL shooter Leah Southall, who’s been adding to her trophy collection once again! This month’s cartridge test looks at two highly regarded Skeet shells from Fiocchi, the TT Two and the Official Competition – plus Charlie Bull of Just Cartridges gives us his pick of the Skeet ammo on offer, both for the English game and for NSSA, with advice on smaller calibres too.

There’s plenty of kit to feast your eyes on in this issue as well. Top of my list has to be the simply stunning new Purdey Sporting Clays over-and-under featured on page 32 – it’s an absolute beauty! Whether it’s a Purdey or something more modest, we’ve got advice on keeping your gun secure and legal while you’re travelling. I’ve been testing the remarkable new electronic plugs from Mercury, and in response to popular demand I’ve also revealed my personal favourite clay guns in this month’s Buyers’ Guide.

All in all, there’s plenty to keep you informed and entertained this issue. As always, do let us know what you’d like to see in future issues of this magazine.

James Marchington, Editor