Frequently Asked Questions

Is shooting safe?

Clay target shooting is among the safest of participation sports (though there is no perfectly safe sport). Finding statistics is made more difficult by the lack of injuries among shooters! We can only maintain that good record by being constantly vigilant in upholding safety standards. A gun cannot be dangerous by itself - it is an inanimate object after all - but it has the potential to be lethal if misused. As the saying has it, safety is no accident.

Does it hurt to fire a shotgun?

It shouldn't, though I won't pretend that it never does. If you use an appropriate shotgun with the right cartridges, and hold the gun correctly, you will feel a firm - but NOT painful - push in your shoulder when you fire the gun. Competition shooters at the highest level, female and male, regularly fire 500 or more shots a day in training. For a beginner, between 25 and 50 shots is plenty.

The day after a first lesson, you may have a slightly tender shoulder. More likely though is a bit of muscle ache in your support arm and shoulder, simply because as a beginner you spend a lot of time holding the gun prior to each shot. As you progress, you spend less time setting up for each shot and it becomes less taxing to shoot more cartridges.

What should I wear to go shooting?

The first rule is to be comfortable. You can expect to walk on gravel paths at most clay shooting grounds, so trainers or hill-walking shoes will work well. Smooth leather soles or high heels are not recommended.

Most people shoot in jeans, cargo pants or shorts. The CPSA asks its members NOT to wear camouflage clothing as we're shooting frangible disks rather than storming the beaches of Normandy. You will usually wear a skeet vest on your top half (to hold your cartridges), so a thin base layer or two if needed and then a t-shirt or polo shirt work well underneath. You can add a light rain jacket on top if required. Too much padding restricts movement and effectively lengthens the gun's stock, which is often unhelpful.

What are some common safety concerns to be aware of when shooting a shotgun?

Every lesson with Warm Barrels will include a safety briefing. In general though, you must learn good habits through repetition and practice. The simplest way to ensure the safety of everyone around you is to keep your gun open and visibly empty unless racked or cased and until you are on a firing point/stand and ready to shoot. Be aware of your muzzle direction at all times. When you break your first clay, it's natural to turn to your instructor to celebrate, but please do so with an open gun!

Whilst at a shooting range, it is important to wear ear and eye protection, and best practice is to wear a hat too to protect you from falling clay fragments. Clays are sharp and scalps are fragile - a ball cap or similar is an essential piece of protective equipment.

How do I choose the right ear and eye protection for shooting?

Hearing protection will be provided for a lesson with Warm Barrels. If you're buying your own ear defenders, the earmuff type give the best protection and electronic models which allow you to hear sounds at safe volumes are a good investment. In-ear plugs can be effective too, particularly if they are custom moulded. This type can also incorporate electronics to allow normal conversation to be heard clearly, and the benefit of in-ear plugs is that they never interfere with mounting the gun into your shoulder.

Shooting glasses should offer good protection against errant shot, and should comply with the European standard EN166:2002. If you wear prescription lenses, it can be a good idea to wear contact lenses to a shooting lesson so you can also wear protective glasses (which we can provide). If you have prescription cycling glasses. these are likely to offer suitable protection. Shooting glasses are available with prescription lenses or with prescription inserts.

How do I hold a shotgun correctly?

This is definitely best covered in a lesson! The basic elements though are fairly simple - the gun has to point where you intend it to point; you have to be able to move the gun without altering the relationship between the gun and your eyes; when you squeeze the trigger the recoil must be manageable. A lesson will ensure all of these elements are in place.

What is the proper stance for shooting a shotgun?

Again, this is best covered in a lesson though the basic elements are stability, ability to move the gun with the target, and comfort.

How do I choose the right shotgun for me?

This is a huge topic! The first criterion is likely to be price, followed by gauge. Women may find themselves being steered towards a 20g gun by default, and men a 12g, yet this may not be the best choice for an individual. Gun shops often recommend whatever happens to be in stock.

A good instructor will offer unbiased advice (or at least admit their bias!) and ensure that whatever gun you buy will be suitable to your needs. We can help, even meeting you at a gunshop if required.

What is the best way to store a shotgun?

UK law mandates secure storage of shotguns though without stating exactly what that means. Local police forces refer to Home Office guidance and generally expect guns to be stored in a gun cabinet which meets the standards of BS 7558 and which is securely fastened to a solid wall or to joists, out of sight of casual visitors. You can expect your local police Firearms Enquiry Officer to inspect your cabinet prior to issuing a Shotgun Certificate.

When travelling with a shotgun, you are expected to take reasonable steps to secure your guns. It is a good idea to remove the forend from an over-and-under and keep it separate from the action. The action can be secured with a chain through the trigger guard, attached to a hard point in your accommodation (metal bannister, solid pipes, bath handle, etc.), using a motorcycle lock.

How do I clean and maintain a shotgun?

We can arrange a specific lesson for you if you would like, though there are videos on YouTube which show you how to clean your gun after normal use. It is advisable to have your gun serviced regularly by a gunsmith.

What is the difference between different types of shotgun cartridges?

We generally provide cartridges for lessons, with the aim of producing broken targets and minimal recoil. If buying your own, the choice is almost endless.

First, you need cartridges to be the right gauge, or bore, for the gun. In addition to gauge or bore, cartridges have a length printed on the box - usually 65mm, 67mm, 70mm or 76mm. This is the length of the cartridge case once it has been fired, and it is very important NOT to use a cartridge too long for your gun. On the side of the barrels at the breech (rear) end, you will find stamped numbers, e.g., 12/76 or 20/70. This is the gauge and the chamber length. There is no problem using shorter cartridges than the chamber length, but longer cartridges can produce dangerous pressure levels on firing.

The next choice is type of wad. This is a device separating the powder, which burns to form very hot gas on firing, and the shot. The wad protects the shot from the hot gasses and also provides a gas seal against the barrel wall so that all of the pressure goes into the primary task of pushing shot along the barrel. Many shooting grounds insist on fibre wads which can be safely ingested by grazing livestock, while others allow the use of plastic wads.

Then there is shot size and material. In the UK, we use a mix of lettered and numerical shot sizes - the larger the number, the smaller the pellets. For clay shooting, you don't need to worry about the lettered shot sizes. The common shot sizes for clay shooting are sizes 7, 7 1/2, 8 and 9. Size 7 shot is 2.4mm in diameter, while size 9 shot is 2mm in diameter. Smaller pellets give you more shot for a given weight of load, but larger shot are better at retaining energy over distance, so there is a trade-off to be made. Italian cartridges are popular in the UK, and their shot is half a size larger than UK shot of the same number. In general, use size 7 or 7 1/5 for the trap disciplines, 7 1/2 or 8 for Sporting, and 9 for Skeet. Currently almost all cartridges for clay target shooting are loaded with lead shot (the lead is often hardened by being mixed with a small percentage of antimony) but there is a move towards non-toxic shot underway. Steel shot is currently the cheapest alternative.

What is the proper etiquette for shooting on a range or in the field?

Game shooting etiquette is a big subject, covered extensively in Rosie Nickerson's book, "How to Be Asked Again".

Clay target shooting has fewer idiosyncrasies, thankfully. Unless it is your turn to shoot AND you are on a shooting stand/position AND there is no one in the exclusion zone ahead of you AND you are facing a safe direction AND you are ready to call for a target, keep your gun open and empty. When moving between stands on a Sporting layout, or between layouts when shooting Trap or Skeet, it is best to keep your gun in a case or slip, but at a bare minimum carry it open and visibly unloaded. Always enter and exit a stand with your gun open and empty. When other people are shooting, keep distracting noise to a minimum. In competition, you may appeal the referee's decision but do so politely and accept that an appeal may not go your way.

If you're shooting with a group of friends, merciless banter is often obligatory. Banter is great; horseplay is not. Have fun by all means, but never at the expense of safety.

What is the proper way to transport a shotgun?

Unloaded and in a case or gun slip. If you are stopping on your way to a club or shooting ground, best practice is to remove the gun's forend and take it with you when leaving your car. If you can, secure the gun or its case to a hardpoint in your car with a cable lock (ideally a motorcycle lock - these are generally tougher than cycle locks).

I loved my first shooting experience and would like to do more! What options do I have?

The best start in clay target shooting is undoubtedly a series of lessons. Ideally these will include the CPSA's Shotgun Skills course, and give you the knowledge, skills, and confidence to attend a club shoot on your own. Membership of a CPSA-affiliated club will introduce you to other shooters and to the competitive side of clay target shooting in a friendly environment. Clubs are not the only option, and many people find it hard to attend regular weekend shoots. Commercial shooting grounds cater to most types of clay target shooting (some offer only Sporting targets; others offer Skeet, Trap, COMPAK, etc.) throughout the week, and usually offer discounts to members.

What do I need to start shooting?

Just yourself and some suitable clothing!

What do all of these gauges mean?

"Bore" and "gauge" are used interchangeably to mean the calibre (barrel diameter) of a shotgun. Just to confuse matters, "bore" also means the internal surface of the barrel. If you were to make a sphere out of lead to fit perfectly inside the barrel (or bore) of a 12 gauge gun, it would weigh 1/12th of a pound. For a 20 gauge, it would weight 1/20th of a pound, thus the larger the number the smaller the bore. The common bores are 12, 20 and 28. There are a couple of bore sizes which don't use this type of measurement; .410 (spoken as "four ten") is simply a bore diameter of 0.41 of an inch, and you might also come across smaller gauges such as 9mm (sometimes called a "garden gun" not really suitable for clay shooting).

Is it essential to have a 12 gauge shotgun if you want to compete?

Most competitive shooters use a 12 gauge but it certainly isn't essential. Shoot whatever gun you're most comfortable with. The advantage of a 12 gauge over a 20 gauge is very marginal, though the selection of cartridges tends to be wider and cheaper.

In the USA, there are Skeet competitions which require the use of the four main shotgun calibres - 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge and .410".

What should I do if I see someone acting in an unsafe manner on the range?

Every shooter should be open to being advised if they've made a gun-handling error. Sadly this isn't always the case, and as a beginner it is understandable that you might not want to take anyone to task. If in doubt, tell the person in charge what you've seen.

I don't want to kill anything! Is shotgun shooting still for me?

Clay target shooting is a sport in its own right, and can be enjoyed at all levels from a couple or group of friends all the way up to the Olympics. Although there are a lot of people who shoot both clay targets and live quarry, there is no expectation that a newcomer to clay shooting will do both and no requirement to support live quarry shooting.

I'm scared! Should I even bother learning to shoot?

All activities carry risk, indeed so does doing nothing. Everyone handling a firearm of any kind needs to be aware of the potential a mishandled firearm has to do harm, and we take a rigorous approach to safety because of that potential. That approach makes clay target shooting one of the safest participation sports.

As well as protecting others through safe gun handling, we endeavour to protect our hearing and eyesight through the use of appropriate PPE.

Most beginners find that their fear or anxiety evaporates when they break their first target!

Can Warm Barrels help me to buy the correct shotgun for me?

Yes! Talk to us for more information.

how do I load and unload a shotgun safely?

This will be demonstrated in a lesson. CPSA instruction differs from BASC instruction on this; the latter is geared more towards game shooting, however there is a fundamental commonality and that is to keep the gun unloaded and open until you are ready to shoot, and then to ensure the barrels are pointing in a safe direction before you put cartridges in.

An important point is to avoid mixing cartridges of different gauges. When shooting with a friend using a different gauge, carry only your own cartridges. If you briefly swap guns, load for each other so the cartridges do not get mixed up. A 20g cartridge can fit far enough into a 12g barrel that a 12g can be loaded behind it, with potentially catastrophic effects upon firing.

How much does shooting cost?

Shooting is similar to golf in some ways, though far more enjoyable! Just like golf, the aim is to put a projectile on a target, and just like golf the set-up cost varies from person to person. A brand new gun can cost from around £600 all the way up to £100,000+. Used guns start in the low hundreds, with a particularly good mix of value and quality in the £800-£2,000 range.

Clay targets usually cost between 35p and 45p each (whether or not you hit them) at commercial shooting grounds, though most offer discounts for members. Clubs usually charge a bit less though with limited shooting dates and fewer facilities.

Cartridges vary in cost - most brands have several levels of cartridge with increased price equating to one or more of lower recoil, faster velocity, more consistent shot (in size and roundness), harder shot, and a more expensive wad.

Can anyone have a shooting lesson?

Almost anyone! If you’ve ever been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to 3 months or more in prison, you are likely to be prohibited from possessing, including temporarily, a firearm of any kind under Section 21 of the Firearms Act (1968). For anyone else, as long you’re physically capable of holding a shotgun and you understand the need for safety to be paramount, you are very welcome to take a lesson.