Just a short distance from Junction 9 of the M40, Weston Wood is one of two grounds used by the Clay Shooting Company, for what looks like a packed calendar of events. I popped down for one of their Sunday morning registered shoots – set over 12 stands in a nice sized patch of woodland with a couple of ponds and clearing to add variety to the landscape.
The shoot was excellent – with a good varied selection of targets set by Steve Lovatt – their literature says that every shoot has a different layout, so my summary of today could well be very different next time you visit!
After a quick check-in at the club house (£30 for 100 targets only, an extra fiver for competition) – I set off for stand one (past a busy looking pool shoot) in the middle of the woodland. I wandered round the stands in order today – on my own – there were a few large groups shooting together but the referees and trappers were quick and efficient, and I had very few hold-ups all day.
The targets were excellent – some real variety, from some long crossers, quick quartering birds and some tricky presentations. There was a tricky rabbit that I saw catching some people out followed by a high right to left crosser. I particularly enjoyed the elevated stand which had a fast going away bird, followed by a quick left to right – both well under your feet and needing quick eyes to pickup, and quick hands to get in front of. Overall – the targets were some of the best I’ve seen – tricky, but not unhittable – well presented with nice use of coloured clays against the quite thick woodland. The stands were nicely setup – and the staff there were excellent and good humoured all the way round.
My scorecard was nothing to write about – but I’ll definitely be back to try again on this really lovely ground.
After completing my round – back to the clubhouse, which is excellently appointed. There is a screen to look at the top scores, when I left today Chris Childerhouse was top gun on 99 – and there were quite a few shooters over 90. I sat down for a short while for an excellent bacon roll and a cold drink – a lovely place to relax after a warm morning of shooting.
I’d highly recommend Weston Wood for a shoot – and if the Clay Shooting Company keep the standards up over their other shoots, I’m also keen to get a look at their Westfield SG near Cirencester. Both locations are included in our directory for postcodes and phone numbers.
I’m going to be adding their events to our calendar – you should also connect to their Facebook page to stay completely up to date.
