The glorious 12th – the traditional start of the grouse shooting season in August – was always a time for men in their plus fours to go stomping off into the countryside wielding a rifle or two. Well, is the world of shooting – one of the last bastions of male power – falling to women clay pigeon shooters? It appears so.
Kathy is a 28-year-old recruitment executive from London. She took up ‘pigeon shooting’, as she calls it, after her company did a clay pigeon shooting day. ‘I loved it from the off,’ she says. ‘It is a terrific challenge, and being able to beat the men is an added bonus.’
Kathy’s instructor Andrew, who has been teaching people to shoot for over 20 years, is not surprised by the rise in the number of women interested in clay pigeon shooting. ‘Women are often better at shooting because they listen more and therefore they learn faster,’ he says.
‘Women are invariably surprised by the how good they are at shooting clays. I think this acts as an encouragement,’ adds Andrew.
Lesley Goddard, former English, British and World Universal Trench champion, says: ‘There’s no reason why a woman can’t be as good a shot as a man. The top women prove this all the time.’
Daniel Wroe, at The Big Shoot – the UK’s largest network of clay pigeon venues – has noticed an increased interest from women in clay pigeon shooting over the last few years. ‘There’s definitely been a rise in the number taking part, and feedback from women is also more positive than ever. Clay pigeon shooting is a very social day, which women enjoy,and it is a more technical sport than people realise, so female guile is an asset,’ says Daniel.
If you want to take a pop at clay pigeon shooting, click here.
Why not!! Although it may be thought of as a mans sport, women are now showing alot of interest in it and good for them, it’s a great sport!