Clay shooting has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while, so I was thrilled to be invited to The Big Shoot by Adventure company Geronigo to give it a go!
Who are Geronigo?
Geronigo are the largest action sports network with the widest range of activities in the UK and Ireland. Established in 1998, they have over 20 years of experience, with over 75 activities across 185 attractions. I took part in The Big Shoot Activity; a clay pigeon shooting network established in 2004. There are a variety of packages to choose from, including those for children. Our package included 25 clays each to shoot.
Clay Pigeon Shooting.
We arrived at the site in Enfield for our slot at 11am and were immediately greeted by super friendly staff. The sound of gunfire had me jumping from the moment I entered the car park, and I was quite nervous to freely hold a gun for the first time, let alone pull the trigger! After checking in, and receiving our bullets and headphones to muffle the sound, we were introduced to our Instructor ‘Craig’ who was extremely knowledgeable and provided us with some amazing training.
He took us to a small opening, behind one of their wooden stations and handed over the shotgun for the first time. It was the first time I had ever held a gun. I’ve shot bullets from an AK47 when I was in Vietnam, but the guns were nailed into the fence, so you couldn’t pick them up. Here, I was carrying and aiming the gun myself, which was really exciting. The shotgun was a lot heavier than I expected, weighing approximately 7 lbs, and Craig made sure to hold the back of my shoulder when I was shooting to help counteract the recoil force. He told us how to hold the gun, how to stand and position our feet, as well as where our eyeline should be. To begin with, he released one clay at a time, and told us when to pull the trigger so we got used to the timing, before stepping to the side and letting us do it on our own.
I ended up being pretty good at shooting, hitting 24/25 clays. For a beginner, the average hit rate is 10/25 so I was really impressed with myself to get 24. Dan received 17/25, another great score – not quite as good as mine though 😉
We enjoyed the session so much that we decided to purchase an extra 20 rounds of clays. This time, we headed for the ‘double’ station, where two clays are fired at the same time. The time goes a lot quicker and naturally it is more difficult to get hits, but it is also so much more fun! I somehow managed to hit 19/20 clays which has now made me super keen to get my shotgun license and have a clay pigeon machine in my garden! I’m addicted!
Here’s a couple of my shots…
The whole session lasted about an hour, and once we had finished, we were pleasantly surprised to find out the staff take professional photos of you, which they put on Facebook for you to download for free that same day. This is such a great touch as so many places I’ve visited charge for photographs, and even if they don’t, it’s rare you can download them that same day. Not only that, but they provide you with flat caps, a gilet, and an empty shotgun to hold, so you look like a real country girl/boy during the shoot!
Another appealing quality about this site was its separation from the city. It was nice to be away from the crowds, tubes and traffic, and be surrounded by greenery and wildlife. I miss nature.
Overall, we both completely loved the experience and look forward to returning. There’s definitely something thrilling about gunning down a clay pigeon as it soars across the sky – gets the adrenaline pumping!
Thank you so much again to Geronigo for inviting us down to review the experience.
For more info on how to book the Big Shoot, see website: Big Shoot
If you are looking for another action filled day, check out one of Geronigo’s other activities here: Geronigo Action Sports
Disclaimer
* I received complimentary tickets to review this experience