A cold, breezy and sunny January morn greeted the 9 shooters for the first meeting of 2018. A single squad only was required, shooting singles and doubles at 8 different targets over 3 stands. Two new stands (Nos. 1 and 2) have recently been created, positioned up the concrete path and turning right at the end where a high bank now towers in front of the cages. We shot both of these stands and the targets, particularly the fast dropping incoming looper on stand 2, proved rangy and quite difficult. Stand 4, part way up the concrete path, hosted the final 4 targets. Unfortunately the bright sun in the faces of shooters made this stand problematic to say the least with Phil opting to retire and not shoot these targets at all. He did button and score for us though, which was great, thanks Phil.

A group of German shooters, in England for some game shoots and spending Sunday at Cambridge on the clays, were very excited to see the muzzle loaders in action as they passed by. As customary for such keen interest, we broke off from our shooting, had a chat and offered them a go at shooting black powder which they were delighted to try, with some shooting very well indeed! Entente at its finest!

Shooting their single guns, Clare, Viking and Dick were all hit some, miss some finishing around the 50% kill rate on these challenging targets. Martin, shooting his 7 bore, was plagued with misfires in the early stages and despite some good shooting on stand 4, only managed 50%. Dave, also shooting 7 bore, shot very well indeed despite his trapped neck nerve, what would he have done if fully fit?

Shooting their double guns, Jon and Bushy were both hit some, miss some finishing also with 50% kill rate which Jon was particularly pleased about, because as a game shooter he is not just getting used to muzzle loading but is also still getting to grips with shooting clays!  Mike had another bad day, the German 16 bore giving him a consistent good walloping which left him somewhat battered in the cheek department. Bad gun fit/mounting again? Too much load? Or maybe he is changing shape in his old age, which could account for these recent issues?

Dave Elvin took the High Gun Cup for the meeting with an excellent 76.7% kill rate.

Results:

Notable moments/quotes of the day:

• “I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it” – bet that doesn’t get published!

•  Mike to Martin: “I think your breech plug needs to see my Dremmel!”

•  To Mike “You look like you’ve been 2 rounds with Mike Tyson!”

•  To Bushy “Now remember it’s powder, wad, shot!”

•  Clare and Phil both realizing they had forgotten vital items on reaching stand 1, and having a long walk back to their cars!

Next Meeting:

Saturday 3 Feb 2018 at Cambridge gun club.

Club shoot, so come along and bring and shoot whatever gives you pleasure.

MIKE

A cold February morn greeted our 12 shooters. Fortunately the rain, wind and sun stayed away, so it was relatively pleasant shooting. Most were suffering with or getting over winter colds, so maybe an impromptu trophy for this meeting could have been a finely engraved spittoon!!  It was good to see Allan Wellings and his family from Staffordshire who travelled over and joined us for the day, always a pleasure.

We split into two squads all shooting the 30 bird singles with percussion guns using the skeet and ABT compact sporting ranges. This gave a total of 15 different targets each shot twice only. I think all the shooters would agree that the two layouts displayed some very tricky targets, some of which would have been good birds for nitro guns, but rather more challenging for the muzzle loaders - and the scores certainly reflect this. One target in particular is worth a mention, the “A” bird on the ABT layout, a very fast quartering away midi. Only Martin and the Viking hit it, Viking Pete hit it twice as his first pair! Sadly he did not capitalise on this fine start!

Some notable performances:

Clare made a blistering start on the skeet range, only dropping 2 of the 16 birds which put her way ahead of the rest of her squad, alas the ABT targets caught her out only killing 4 of the 14! What might have been…..? Archie also had a slow start on the ABT range 4/14, but came back strongly with 11/16 kills on the skeet to take high gun for his group on 15/30.

Martin shot well as usual, but even he was caught out by some of these targets and finished as runner up on 17/30!! Poor Dave Elvin was suffering and just couldn’t get them today, what a change from the last meeting, just proves we can all have off-days! Graham too was struggling, strangely he was the only shooter to score more on the ABT range than the skeet, don’t know what that means? But blame the knee! Overall winner was Clare who took the High Gun Cup for the meeting with an 18/30, which considering the targets, was very well shot indeed. Several shooters stayed back for an afternoon session, most shooting nitro breech loaders. A special mention should be made for Dick who was shooting his .410 over/under pop gun who shot superbly well!

Results:

Notable moments/quotes of the day:

• Allan, you’re determined to destroy that cage! (after persistently knocking it with his gun/Knee!!)

• Clare: “Looks like all you blokes have been beaten by a girl!”

• Dave E on the skeet stand “These are a selection of all my worst targets!”

Next Meeting:

Saturday 17th March at Cambridge gun club.

Club shoot, so come along and bring and shoot whatever gives you pleasure.

Mike.

PROLOGUE Friday 16/3/2018

We had been lulled into a false sense of security. The ‘Beast from the East’ had trampled over us disappearing westwards a few days previously and we had enjoyed a glimpse of spring with temperatures in the mid-teens along with a pleasant southerly breeze. It was hard to believe, sitting out in the garden on Friday afternoon that the forecast for tomorrow was of snow, sub-zero temperatures and a biting easterly wind.

Shoot Day:

Woke up to snow, sub-zero temperatures and a biting easterly wind. The chickens refused to come out of their hutch. I Googled ‘AAroadwatch’ to check road conditions and things looked more promising towards Cambridge so I decided to attend our club shoot.

There were only nine of us so we decided to go round in one squad. We were all shooting singles today. Clare had been out to pick suitable targets, 10 driven birds from a variety of traps using differing clay sizes, 10 targets based around the skeet range and a final 10 targets on a new sport-trap layout. It worked out that, because of the orientation of the layouts, all crossing birds today had a tail wind, making them very challenging.

Gosh it was absolutely BITTER!!!!

We tackled the driven birds first. These were launched into the icy wind slowing down very quickly. These targets looked very easy but only Dave Elvin and Viking got all 10, but most put in a good showing.

It was a totally different kettle of fish on the skeet layout. Jet propelled crossers and loopers, incomers that struggled against the gale to fall just within range and of course those pesky rabbits. There were mixed fortunes here with Phil only missing one target, Dave Elvin, and Clare dropping two targets each and Bev three. After doing well on the driven, Tim struggled on this layout as did Paul. Most shooters OXO’d.

On to the final layout, the cold was now really getting to us and the club house seemed very appealing. The targets here weren’t that far away but they were incredibly quick, if you thought about them you had missed. Bev, the only one stupid enough to be using a flintlock, and doesn’t do much thinking, straighted this stand, leap-frogging the other competitors to win the coveted high gun trophy with a score of 26 from the 30 targets. He was closely followed by Dave Elvin on 25 and Clare on 24. Funnily enough most people shot above their average probably because of the relatively easy driven birds which boosted their confidence and their score. It was good to witness Dick shooting his newly-acquired 24 bore improve throughout the day only missing 3 targets on the last stand. Watch out all you small bore shooters!

We retired to the club house for a warming drink and a bite to eat. Most of the group decided to call it a day but some volunteers from the AML had agreed to run a have-a-go stand in the afternoon so they had a few more hours of the icy wind to contend with.

A big thank you to:

•  All those who scored and button-pushed which was a thankless task on such a

     bitterly cold day.

•  Viking, who lent Bev one of his hand warmers.

•  Clare for picking the targets and, as is usual, carrying out all the admin.

Results:

Notable moments/quotes of the day:

• ‘A bit of a nip in the air today’

• ‘Can someone else do the button pushing and scoring now PLEASE?’

Next Meeting:

Sunday 15th April 2018 at Cambridge gun club.

Club shoot, so come along and bring and shoot whatever gives you pleasure.

Bev (scribe for the day)

A rather fine and pleasant April morn greeted the 16 shooters, what a change in weather from the March meeting of minus 4 degrees.... (where were you guys???) perhaps spring has finally arrived? Dave Elvin Jnr and his friend Dan joined us, both shooting nitro through modern breech loaders as did Dick, but he was nursing a sore hand, so we’ll let him off!

We split into two squads with singles in one and mainly doubles shooters in the other, and shot over the training layout and the sport-trap stand opposite the skeet range. Both stands offered a good selection of targets to test us all, and some in particular are worthy a brief mention. On the Sport-trap layout, there was the distant incomer, which didn’t come-in very near at all! and took a whole lot of lead to kill and that incredibly fast left/right crosser which only a few managed to master! On the training layout, the right/left rabbit crossing the large puddle and rapidly decreasing speed, caught many out and it became affectionately known as the “otter”.

As 5 of the shooters wanted to shoot their double guns (40 targets), we put them all into one squad, with two single barrel shooters being Clare & Viking. As the current holder of the Pennine Double Barrel Cup, Clare secretly thought that 3 of the double guns felt they needed some extra doubles practice in readiness for the coming weekend's Spring National in Yorkshire!!

Robin got off to an amazing start and was smashing everything, until of course, there was that long distance incomer as mentioned above, gently gliding in the distance towards our right and then dropping almost vertically as it ran out of steam. These tricky targets were to be his nemesis on both layouts! Something for you to practice Robin!! Tony did not enjoy the sport trap layout at all, as he experienced a few problems with his gun - which we believe was down to 'pilot error'! But all sorted by the second layout, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The 'Otter' caused much amusement with Vikings target sinking just as he pulled the trigger, and Kevin missing in front as again the clay stopped dead in the water and just plopped over. Robin took some photos with a very nice camera that Clare much admired, to which he replied it was Clare's camera!! All in all a lovely morning's shooting.

Some notable performances:

In the singles, Both Dave Elvin Snr and Clare shot well to take joint 1st place with 22/30, Mike was close behind with 21 to take 3rd place, with Archie not far away with 19. Bev, shooting flintlock managed a respectable 18/30 and the Viking, although suffering with a bad back, scored a good 16. In the doubles, Bushy shot very well with a fine 33/40, Martin and Robin not far away with 30 and 28 respectively. Tim shooting his nice double flintlock, was plagued with ignition which had an effect on his score. Kevin and Tony were both having unusually bad days! A special mention should be made of Dave Jnr & Dan, who both shot Dave's 7b muzzle loader in the afternoon and considering how new to shooting Dave Jnr is, he did exceptionally well. We feel it won't be long now until he follows in his father's footsteps with the muzzle loaders. We look forward to welcoming you both back to shoot with us again!!

Sandra trapped and scored for Clare’s mob and Dick and Dave Jnr for the others, thanks to all, it is greatly appreciated. Bushy took the High Gun Cup for the meeting with an 82.5% kill rate, which considering the targets and his ongoing recovery from a hip replacement, was very well shot indeed.

Results:

Notable moments/quotes of the day:

• On Tim leaving a hammer down. Mike: “that was a cock up” Tim: “that was a cock down!”

• Archie: “Did I get it?”

• Bev: “I offered Tim a flint of mine, but he actually refused it!”

• Don’t know about an otter, but that big hole there might give us some driven badger!

Next Meeting:

Sunday 20th May at Cambridge gun club for the first club competition of the year, The Trevor Watling Memorial Cup. Double barrel muzzle loaders, 40 birds. For those that do not wish to do the competition then single targets will be shot as normal, so "bring whatever brings you pleasure".

Mike & Clare

A dry and pleasant May morn greeted the fine turnout of 20 shooters, the temperatures soon rising to make it a hot shoot in more ways than one! This was the first AML competition of the year competing for the Trevor Watling Memorial cup. It was great to see the Watling family members come along again to support the event, and to see Rob and Liam shooting, as well as the latest member giving vociferous accompaniment!

There were 17 shooting double barrel muzzle loaders at 40 targets for the cup. The remaining 3 opting for single targets over 30 birds.  We split into three squads and shot stands 4 and 6 up the concrete path, and stands 1,2 and 3 around the corner all of which were against the high bank. Each of the 5 stands offered a testing pair of targets to make the shoot most enjoyable and a close run and happily for some, no pesky wabbits were shown!

Squad 1:

Good shooting from this squad. Tony R started well but then unusually the wheels fell off for 22. Graham also had a cracking start but did well to finish on 23. Kevin shot his small bore with light loads consistently for a good 25. Bushy and Martin had their usual tussle at the top! After 4 stands, Bushy was one point ahead, on their last stand they were neck and neck after 2 pairs, and both dropped only 1 of the remaining 4 targets to end up equal with 27 apiece. Nail-biting stuff! Rob and Liam need a little more practice!! But both enjoyed the shoot. Sandra & Peggy-Sue trapped and scored, the other 2 squads were not so fortunate and had to resort to DIY!

Squad 2:

A close run thing between the 5 doubles shooters, and an exciting finish for 3 of them! Dick had a slow start on stand 4 but came back strongly, Clare shot consistently over the 5 stands to end with the same score as Dick. For Viking Pete, Robin and Derek it was an epic battle! After 4 stands Derek and Viking were on equal scores with Robin only 1 kill behind, it was all down to the last 8 birds on stand 6! Robin shot the first 7 but then missed the final bird for 29. Derek shot 6 then he too missed the final bird also finishing on 29. The Viking shot 7 to clinch it by one point and was the high gun for the day to win the cup! It could have gone either way and I’m sure a very tense last stand to spectate! Phil and John P shot singles to finish with their average scores. Derek deserves a special mention for shooting so well on his first club shoot after his recent surgery.

Squad 3:

Another close run thing between the 5 doubles shooters, all who were shooting well. Paul R had a slow start but came on strong at the end. Archie and Jon both shot consistently over the 5 stands for 25 and 26. Bev and Mike were shooting very well, it was neck and neck after the first 3 stands, Mike pulled strongly ahead on the fourth but then had a poor last stand which finished his chance for the cup, but he still beat Bev with another 29 v 27! Tony G, recovering from health problems, shot single targets and enjoyed his day.

Results:

Notable moments/quotes of the day:

• I think those thistles need cutting back!!

• Mike: “I must learn my left from my right!”

Next Meeting:

Saturday 9th June at Cambridge gun club for the Recession Trophy (Half Ounce).
30 Single targets for muzzle loaders using ½ ounce of shot only. The shot will be provided on the day with our special half ounce scoops!  This is always an interesting competition so join us if you can.

Mike

A dry and coolish June morn greeted the good turnout of 18 shooters,the weather staying kind: not too hot, not too windy and not too sunny. This was the second AML competition of the year and we were competing for the prized Half Ounce (Recession) Trophy. All the shooters opted to compete using just a ½ ounce of shot only which was donated by the AML club funds.

We split into three squads and shot stands 4 and 6 up the concrete path, and the pond stand. Each of these offered some testing targets for normal loads, let alone ½ an ounce! The final scores certainly reflected this, but they sorted out the men from the boys, and the Clare from the girls!

Squad 1:

Bev shot his socks off with his trusty flintlock to be high gun for his squad and gain a place in the shoot-off with an excellent 19. Kevin shooting his small bore drum and nipple conversion from flint, had a good start but sadly the final stages saw many ignition problems to leave him on 14. Martin had a bad day unusually scoring only 13, we understand that the late night before (singing and the odd drink or two...) might have had something to do with it! Phil, Viking Pete and Tim just couldn’t get to grips with the light loads and targets all finishing on 10.

Squad 2:

Derek and newcomer Phil S both shared Derek’s Ardessa and despite frequent mis-fires, still managed a respectable 15 apiece. Mike was close behind with a 14. Archie (in between frequent chats!) managed a 12. Paul finished on 11 and Tony R shooting his double as a single, then pulling the wrong trigger on several occasions, ended on 9 which is unusual for him.

Squad 3:

Bushy shot well as usual, it doesn’t seem to matter which gun he picks up and which load he uses! He was high gun for his squad and gained a place in the shoot-off with another excellent 19. Dave E Snr shot a very respectable 17, while son David Jnr was not far behind with a 12 (look out Dad!) Clare and Dick were pretty much bird for bird throughout the competition both finishing on 11. Graham brought up the rear, but as usual he thoroughly enjoyed his mornings shooting.

The Shoot-off:

The crowd gathered anticipating a nail-biting shoot off between the 2 high guns. The target chosen was on stand 6, the fast quartering away low crosser. Bushy shot first using his single percussion and killed it. Bev followed using his single flintlock, but missed. It was all over, Bushy taking home the trophy for the second year in recession, I mean succession!

Results:

Notable moments/quotes of the day:

• Mike to Bushy: “A gentleman would have shot flintlock too in the shoot-off”

• Bushy: “It was a hollow victory”

Next Meeting:

Saturday 22nd July at Cambridge gun club for the new Holts Auctioneers sponsored trophy competition for muzzle loaders (load limits apply).  An open competition, this will be shot over 30 single targets with a free gun valuation for each entrant on the day.  As well as the usual clubhouse eating facility, Cambridge Gun Club will also be putting on a BBQ for us - this promises to be a good event, so do come along and join us.

Mike

This was the first of what is going to be an annual competition. Up for grabs was an attractive engraved mug and medals down to third position.

East Anglia has had the longest dry spell since the summer of 1976. The temperature has been hovering around 30 degrees for a few weeks and it was yet another really hot day for the competition. At least there was a slight breeze to stop us overheating.

This was an open shoot so it was encouraging to see that a number of the competitors had travelled long distances to ‘chance their arm’. In total there were 34 entries.

It was a 30 bird sporting competition which took place over 5 stands. There were a wide variety of targets which included some horrible floaty ones that you can see for ever before they come into range, fast flat loopers, high loopers, teal, a testing R to L rabbit, a smattering of crossing birds. Also included, were some relatively straight forward targets. Something for everyone.

It was good to see that a couple of the gentlemen representing Holts namely Nick Holt who is the owner and Josh competed in the competition. Nick hit some good birds and missed some bad ones with equally fine style. Josh had a few ignition problems but soldiered on manfully to complete the course.

Most of the competitors were shooting percussion with only Michael Swingler and Bev, to give the others a chance, choosing to use their flint guns. Competition was close right to the end with Paul Revere, who shot early in the day, coming out on top with an incredible score of 27. He was closely followed by one of the last to shoot, Bushy, with 26 and in third position Allan Wellings with 24 (well worth the long journey from the Midlands!).

Part of the deal on the day was that if you had competed in the competition you could have one of your guns professionally evaluated. Bob, the gentleman from Holts who was responsible for this was kept busy all day. There were some really lovely examples of gun makers art to be seen, from top quality flint guns by famous makers, to a 1 ½ “ bore punt gun made by Archie Owens, one of our very capable AML members. It was enlightening to hear what such a knowledgeable expert had to say about all our guns.

A great big thank you must go to Karen & Mick of the Cambridge Gun Club for agreeing to run the event, as well as organise and man (sorry Lauren!) the barbeque plus all the other things associated with keeping the traps running.  Lastly and by no means least the Club would like to thank Clare for her organisation and coercion skills in securing ten willing volunteers for scoring duties, AND  plying them with food and very welcome drinks during their shift, to Sandra who took all the entries on the day and  finally to Martin, whose tireless passion for muzzle loading helped to make this such a wonderfully sociable and very successful day.

Results:

Next Meeting:

The next Club shoot is on Sunday  5 August. Included in this shoot will be the very first AML Small Bore Competition. To enter, your gun has to be 16 bore and over, with a max load of 3/4 ounce of shot.  The competition will be shot over 30 single targets and the lucky winner will take home the very fine Small Bore Trophy. If you do not wish to take part in the competition,  you can shoot whatever gives you pleasure!

Written by 'Fast Flinter' Bev

This was the first time we had run this small bore competition.  The prize (courtesy of Dave Elvin and Bushy) was a quirky trophy consisting of a miniscule brass pig colloquially called a ‘boar’ mounted on an embarrassingly large wooden plinth.

To be eligible for the competition, the bore of your gun could be no larger than a 16 and the maximum load, 2 ½ Drams of powder and 7/8oz of shot. The astute amongst you would have noticed that this differs from the National Small Bore events where the maximum bore size is 18. The idea was that this change would allow more of our members to compete as a number of them had the slightly larger bore size.  As it turned out we had 18 shooters but only 9 of these possessed guns that met the criteria and could enter the competition.  It would be interesting to see how the scores would compare, as all 18 shooters were shooting the same targets.

It was yet another very hot day. Driving to the shoot reminded me of driving in France or Spain with brown lifeless fields and withering vegetation. I’m praying for rain, not too much you understand God, just enough to help things along.

 Four stands were used giving a wide variety of targets. A number of the stands were placed facing a high bank and this was used to full advantage with targets being launched up the bank, or appearing as crossers just above the bank and probably the pièce de résistance, a mini launched from a 15 foot tower close behind you appearing overhead, from behind, travelling like a bullet and disappearing over the bank. In addition to this we had a nasty, fast, bouncy, edge-on going away rabbit along with some tricky quartering and fairly rangy loopers.  It was a testing but very shootable layout.

The Competition:

It is worth mentioning before studying the scores that Martin, Paul Revere and Archie were all using small bore guns they had not shot before, this was reflected in their scores, even so Martin still managed 15 from the 30 targets which, in the scheme of things was a good score. Unusually, poor Mike W was having a torrid day at the office, gradually getting more and more frustrated as he progressed. Dick using his very light 22 bore was getting punished by the recoil, but even so he put in  an excellent score of 17 which ended up putting him in 3rd position. Viking and Kevin both started strongly but faded toward the end. The final winner of the competition was Bev with a creditable 22, closely followed by Bushy with 21. It is interesting to note, and much to Martin Crix chagrin, that both shooters were using French guns. (Martin is an ‘English only’ when it comes to guns but not cars!!)

Results (Competition):

Non-competition:

The high gun for the day was Dave Elvin who, using his 12 bore Pedersoli Mortimer flint gun, blasted his way to a 24. It says a lot about the ignition speed of his gun that he shot 3 of the 4 mini targets mentioned earlier. Anything other than instant ignition would have resulted in a miss on this target. Other notable performances were Phil who was second in the non- comp shooters with a score of 19 and Graham, who even though he suffered from ignition problems, managed 18 which matched Clare’s score. Relative new-comer Tony G is now starting to get the hang of it and it was good to see him coming to terms with some of the targets. It was also good to see some new faces namely Fred and Cathy. Fred shot a muzzleloader for the first time (I think) at the Holts Muzzle loading day and did very well, this time Cathy also had a go. Looking at her expression I think she enjoyed it.

Thank you once again to Sandra for button pressing and scoring in her normal cheery manner and to Cathy along with Clare who assisted in the afternoon session.

Results (Non-Competition):

Next Meeting:

The next club meeting is on Saturday 1st September where those who wish to can compete in the Flintlock Trophy, a 30 single bird competition. If you do not have a flintlock or do not want to enter, fear not, because our normal club shooting is running alongside the competition. So come along and enjoy yourselves!

Bev – scribe for the day.

An important ingredient for any flintlock shooting is the weather, and it was ideal, dry, sunny, not too hot and with a gentle breeze. Due to holidays and work commitments only 5 shooters competed for the trophy this year and it was great to see notable flint shooter Geoff Holden competing again after a number of year’s absence.

As is usual we split into squads, one squad of 9 which included the flint competitors along with 4 percussion shooters and another squad of 10 which included singles and double percussion shooters which Sandra, our resident scorer took care of.

Martin and Bev had picked the targets for the day, deciding to use 2 layouts, the sportrap layout and the sporting stands based around the skeet range giving a wide variety of testing targets.

The Flintlock Competition squad report:

The trophy shoot started on the sportrap layout. There were 14 targets to be shot. Martin was shooting with great determination missing only 3 of the 14 giving him a significant lead of 3 targets from his nearest rivals Bev, Viking and Geoff who had all missed 6. Paul Revere was starting to have ignition problems making it impossible for him to consistently hit the targets. Moving on to the second layout it was realised that unless Martin had a sudden loss of form it was going to take some outstanding shooting to catch him. It was not to be, Martin shot brilliantly to take the flintlock trophy this year missing only 6 of these very testing targets giving him a final score of 21, and although Bev killed the same number of targets on the second layout, the deficit of 3 remained so he ended up with 18.  Viking finished with 13, the 2 long-range rabbit targets messed up his score good and proper! (He really is very partial to rabbit!)  Geoff suffered from the dreaded OXO on this layout but still ended up in 3rd position with 15. Paul R had a nightmare on this layout as the ignition on his gun became less and less consistent. All in all a most enjoyable and competitive trophy shoot.

As mentioned earlier we had 4 percussion shooters in our squad, John Poole, Tony G and the 2 lovely ladies Clare and newcomer Catherine. Clare started like a train missing only 1 target from her first 10 shots. Unfortunately the wheel nuts were lose and she had a disappointing second half ending up with a total of 14. I thought I heard her muttering something about poor gun fit – hmmm!! John shot particularly well on the first layout missing only 4 out of the 14 but struggled from then on, ending with a score of 16. Tony G lacked consistency but improves every time he comes, keep it up Tony! A special mention must be made of Catherine, only the second time shooting a muzzleloader ending up with an amazing score of 12. I will be keeping a jaundiced eye on her!!

Big thanks to Derek who very kindly button-pushed and scored for us.

Unfortunately we dont have a report from the other squad other than to say everyone had big smiles on their faces all morning and seemed to be having a lovely time. Congratulations to high scorers Mike for his 25 (singles) and Bushy for his 32 (doubles).

Results (Competition and non comp):

Next Meetings:

Our next muzzle loading shoot is the Skeet National at Eriswell Shooting Ground on Sunday 30 September. Shooting starts at 10.00. We will be looking for scorers that day so if anyone would like to button and score for a squad, please let me know.

Our next AML Club shoot is Sunday 14 October which will also include the Big Bore Competition for those who wish to take part.

Bev – scribe for the day.

A very wet and cloudy, but not cold and sunny morn greeted the 15 shooters, which considering the weather, was an excellent turnout. Some shooters arriving a little late due to road works and detours. We welcomed some visitors who joined us for the day, Steve from Yorkshire and Jan and his partner Hetty all the way from the Netherlands. Always good to see new faces, especially when they have travelled long distances to shoot with us. We hope you enjoyed your day. A mention also to young Henry who some of us met at the Fenland have-a-go stand, he brought a rescued single 12 for us to see and we hope to see him, and it, in action at the next meeting following a little work.

Many thanks to Cambridge gun club for erecting small marquees on two of the uncovered stands which kept us dry when loading.

The days shooting was primarily for the coveted Big Bore Trophy, but for those who did not possess or wish to shoot a large gun, a parallel shoot was held using the same stands and targets for any calibres. We split into two squads and shot stand 6 and the sport-trap layout up the concrete path, and the pond stand. It has to be said that the targets were probably the most testing that we have ever encountered at Cambridge and it would be interesting to see how the normal guns faired against the big bores………

The Big Bore Trophy Squad report:

We started on Stand 6, 4 targets each shot twice. Jan from the Netherlands experienced misfires from the outset and had a shaky start, as did Archie. Martin and Mike got to grips with the targets well, the others taking half of them. Whilst loading under the cover of the marquee, Steve with his very long barrelled 7b commented that “this roof’s not high enough for me ramrod!!"

On to the Sport-trap layout, 3 targets each shot twice. Some very testing birds including the distant incomer dropping at around 50 yards out! Jan continued to struggle, Archie shooting splendidly to take 5/6, the rest managing only 3’s and 4’s.

So after the first 2 stands, Martin was in front with an excellent 11/14, Jan trailing with 3 and the remainder on 7’s, 8’s and 9’s. It was close and all to shoot for as we approached the final Pond stand.

The glum faces of the other squad leaving the stand spoke volumes, surely the targets could not be more difficult than we had already encountered? The results suggest much the same!!

8 targets, each shot twice, the flame low crosser was particularly challenging as were the distant crows! Jan had more success after changing over to Martins gun. The majority taking around the 50% and Graham with a gun on trial, shot very well to take 9/16. Poor old Bushy had a string of 6 misses which probably cost him the trophy. Mike clawed back to take a good 10/16, but the wheels fell off for Archie on this one! Big thanks go to Dick who trapped and scored for us, standing out in the rain for the first 2 stands, well done Dick it is appreciated. All in all, an excellent mornings shooting with the big guns at some great targets.

The Big Bore Trophy + others Squad:

The second squad had 4 shooters who were competing in the Big Bore competition, Bev, Viking, Phil and Paul Dixon. The remaining shooters Clare, Catherine, Fred and Derek were all using their normal guns with standard loads.

The squad shot over the pond first where the majority of targets were very rangy, with probably less than 50% of them within 40 yards. This really was a shoot for big bores with big loads. The 4 big bore competitors were struggling to get any consistency. Phil had a couple of very nasty hang-fires which fortunately he managed to sort out. Bev achieved the embarrassingly low score of 8 from the 16 targets on this layout which amazingly was the highest of the 4 big bore competitors and a good indicator to the degree of difficulty. Standard guns with standard loads stood little chance. Out of the remaining non-competition shooters Clare was top breaking 4 targets. Poor Fred was having all sorts of problems getting his newly-acquired double barrelled gun to go off which was very frustrating for him.

The squad moved on to the sport trap layout. Fred had decided to change guns and used Derek’s big bore gun for the remainder of his shooting. I believe he actually ended up buying the gun at the end of the shoot.There were 6 targets to be shot on this layout, again mostly rangy and very testing. Zeros kept appearing on the score sheet with monotonous regularity, but there were some impressive long-range kills. On more than one occasion, with more than one shooter, the clay broke after the gun had been lowered from the shoulder. Few of us had ever witnessed such a delay giving a good indication as to the range of some of these targets. Bev looked surprised after shooting 4 of these (so modest!).

Quietly moving on to the last stand, dark humour was starting to raise its head, but we gave it a good whack and things got back to a resigned normal. Viking smashed an excellent 5 out of the remaining 8 targets followed by Clare who shot 4. Anyway the final tally showed that in this squad, and in the Big Bore Trophy, Bev managed to break 15 targets, followed by Viking, Phil and Paul and in the non-comp shooters Clare was highest scorer with an impressive 10. Catherine in only her 3rd shoot unsurprisingly struggled with these targets, but it was pleasing to see that she kept her good humour without a glimpse of despondency.

The Big Bore Shoot-off:

So we ended up with a shoot-off being required, with Martin and Mike both finishing on a creditable 19. Graham not far behind with a fine 17 with Bushy just one behind and Bev one behind him.

After a cup of tea, much snorting, grunting and cries of “here piggy piggy”, the shoot-off was held. We waited for a pair of nitro shooters on the pond stand, who too were struggling with the targets.

Mike won the toss and shot first, missing the nasty distant crosser. Martin broke it in fine style to take the trophy and the High Gun cup for the day.

Results (Competition and non comp):

Next Meetings:

Our next muzzle loading shoot is on Sunday 18th November at Cambridge gun club for the Hammer Gun Tankard, which is 40 targets as pairs using black powder cartridges only. For those not wishing to shoot the competition, bring and shoot whatever you will.

A Mike (pigless again!) and Bev production

A dry, cool, still and sunny morn greeted the 20 shooters, which was an excellent turnout. The mornings shooting was primarily for the Hammer Gun Tankard, 40 targets as pairs. 14 of the shooters took part in this, 2 more shooting nitro in modern guns and the other 4 opting for their muzzle loaders and shooting 30 targets. A keen young Henry joined us again and had a few shots with a selection of our guns. He shows great promise and put a few of us old hands to shame! We split into two squads and shot stand 5 up t’concrete path, stands 3 and 4 around the corner against the high bank, and newly created driven stands 1 and 2 around another corner from stand 3. There were some fine old breech loaders by some great makers being used, I spotted a Purdey and Boss amongst the selection! Kevin brought along his fine Daw, which was no doubt the earliest breech loader there. Several shooters stayed on for the afternoon session, most attempting to crack the birds they had missed so consistently in the morning! Most managed to get them in the end, which was great to see and very worthwhile.

Sandra’s Squad report:

We started on stand 5 to face a pair of bunnies. The still damp day led to the smoke hanging and rabbits as o/r pairs being virtually impossible to see. Single bunnies were needed with a substantial gap between shots! The low sun also caused problems for the second pair of low flying birds, but we soldiered on! We left the stand with Mike having shot all 12, martin and Sam on 9 and the rest around 50%. Stand 4 gave us a very fast r/l quartering away mini followed by a fast l/r battue. One or the other, or indeed both of these caused everyone problems! 50% here was a good score!

On to stand 3 with that high l/r quartering away bird followed by the r/l looper. Only Martin got to grips with the first bird and he says that was only by chance! and came away with all 8 kills. Mike got the looper ok but missed all of the other target. Everyone else was 1’s and 2’s, a very testing stand!

Around the corner to the new stands, and the game shooters amongst us were delighted to see on stand 2 a fine brace of fast driven partridge to be taken a sim pair. It was not possible however, and an o/r pair proved hard enough! Most got to grips with these, but Archie and Tim struggled especially with the second faster bird. Martin and Mike were neck and neck at this point.

Finally stand 1, a driven pair of pheasant at a reasonable height! How could we possibly miss them?

Well most managed to get a good number of the birds, Martin smashing all 8 in fine style to secure the Tankard with a splendid total of 33/40. What of Mike? Cough, splutter, a most embarrassing single kill was all he managed, forward allowance, or lack of enough of it, was the issue. Another shoot-off between the two of them was not to be, although Martin did encourage Mike with some words of wisdom: “If you don’t change what you’re doing, the outcome will always be the same. Very wise words indeed!!

And what of the muzzle loaders? Catherine is getting well into the muzzle loading and has carried on improving her scores at each meeting. Fred shot his double and despite a parting muzzle end rib, managed a fine score of 20/30, shooting some very good pairs along the way. Big thanks go to Sandra who trapped and scored for us, it is appreciated as always.

Clare’s Squad report:

We had a real mixture in our squad. Out of the 8 shooters using breech loaders only 6 were using hammer guns. Dick, because of a medical condition, was using his over and under .410 with nitro cartridges. Paul Revere had brought along his dad Brian who, using a modern gun, shot some of the targets but was restricted as to what he could comfortably shoot because of a recurring medical condition. We also had 2 muzzleloaders, Clare and Paul Revere who were both using single barrel guns. Tony B was also shooting with us but had to retire after a couple of stands because of physical discomfort. Derek, because of another medical condition, was restricting himself to a load of ½ oz. This enabled him to compete and remain vertical throughout, but obviously had an effect on his performance. Anyway out of the remaining competition shooters it was tight at the top (nothing to do with the retention of money, although some may disagree!) with Tony R, Bushy and Bev vying for the top spot in this squad. The nemesis for all of us was stand 3 where try as we might none of us could connect with the left to right high quartering bird and to a lesser extent stand 4 where only Phil made any significant impression getting 4 from the 6 targets, the rest of us were floundering with a score of 3 or in most cases less. Most of the squad had moderate success on stand 5, although the sun and the smoke made it difficult to see some of the targets. The driven targets were handled well by some, in particular Tony R who only missed only 1 of the targets on the 2 driven stands, and not so well by others, no names no pack drill. Highest scorer in this squad was Bev with 28 which put him in 2nd position overall, closely followed by Bushy and Tony R with 27.

In the muzzle loading contingent Clare scored 15 out of the 30 single targets and Paul 10. Paul was using his flintlock gun which in the past has had major ignition problems. It has been to Bev’s hospital where it has undergone major surgery. We are pleased to report that when loaded correctly (the procedure being succinctly laid out in Bev’s A4 sheet entitled ‘How Paul should load his flintlock to get a fast ignition’) goes off really well. In the clubhouse after the shoot and in front of the whole ensemble, Catherine had a lovely surprise for Bev. After the most touching of speeches, she presented him with a beautifully crocheted scarf in the most fetching of colours. Bev said he was very grateful and will throw away the rag he normally wears!

Results (Competition and non comp):

Next Meetings:

Saturday 8th December at Cambridge gun club for the Powder Horn Trophy, 30 targets as singles. For those not wishing to shoot the competition, bring and shoot whatever you will.

This will be followed by the annual AML Christmas meal and surprise festive raffle. Let Clare know asap if you wish to attend and haven’t already done so and for everyone shooting that day, please remember to bring a gift for the raffle.

A Mike and Bev production

A dry, cool, windy and sunny morn greeted the 18 shooters, which was another excellent turnout for the final meeting of 2018. AML welcomed newcomer Mark to the club and we hope to see him again next year. The morning's shooting was for the Brad Randall Powder Horn Trophy, shot over 30 single targets. 17 of the shooters took part in this, with Dick shooting nitro at the same targets.

We split into two squads and shot stands 5 and 6 up t’ concrete path and stands 4, 2 and 1 against the high bank. Eagle eyed readers will have noted that the stands were similar to those used for the last meeting, availability of other stands and the very low sun facing the shooters would have made any others somewhat difficult to shoot. The brisk wind did change the flight of most of the clays to a greater or lesser extent however.  Several shooters stayed on for the afternoon session, shooting a variety of guns at some very tricky targets on the pond stand. Tony G, despite his morning performance, shot very well with his 11 bore single muzzler.  Bev also shot superbly well with his trusty flintlock.  It was also fantastic to have SP Pete join us for the afternoon and we are looking forward to him joining us for some muzzle loading again soon.

Sandra’s Squad report:

We started on stand 6, 2 crossing targets which needed shooting quickly before they reached the sun! Good starts were made by Dave E, Viking, Phil and Mike. Little Dave struggling to get on the card on his first day at loading his gun.

Stand 5 had 4 different targets all low and problematical with the low sun. Little Dave got going on this one with a good 6/8 much to his relief! Tim, much to his surprise and delight, also shot 6. Viking shot a fine 7. On to Stand 4 and the fast r/l quartering away mini snipe and the very fast l/r battue. Due to the wind, the snipe lifted significantly upon reaching the top of the bank, and if left alone (or missed) doubled back towards the cage! Tim started to suffer with misfires which no doubt affected his performance after a good start. 50% here was good, Mike managed 3/4 to leave the stand level with the Viking.

On approaching stand 2, we met up with the other squad who having just shot both driven stands, had big smiles on their faces and an air of confidence about them, but they hadn’t seen stands 5 & 6 yet! Tim, having sorted his gun out, got going with the driven partridge stand for a good 5/6 as did Dave E shooting his trusty flintlock. Archie and Cath were struggling to swing the gun through these fast birds. Viking and Mike shot them all to remain neck and neck.

And finally stand 1, the driven pheasant! Dave E taking 5/6 in fine style, Dave Jnr taking 4, a bit of family competition going on here! But the old ‘un came through winning  21 v 16. Archie, Cath and Phil struggling on these, Viking and Mike dropping 1 each to stay equal scored and joint 3rd with Martin from the other squad.

Thanks again to Sandra who trapped, scored and kept the unruly squad in check! it is appreciated as always.

Clare’s Squad report:

We had 9 shooters on Clare’s squad including newcomer Mark who was shooting his single barrel muzzleloader which has absolutely stunning wood. This was to be the first time he had fired the gun. Bev had elected to use his flint gun with a newly replaced touchhole insert and Clare used her single barrel gun with a newly-fitted Dave Marland design & Allan Wellings manufactured nipple in the hope that it would cure the ignition problems she has suffered in the past.

The squad started off on stand 4. The mini ‘snipe’ had to be shot extremely quickly for if it cleared the bank as it was severely wind-affected. Paul R noticed that the clay, after reaching its apex flew back toward the shooter giving the opportunity of a shot on its return journey. He naturally cashed in on this killing one of his 2 birds just before it made its landing. Most of the squad made a reasonable fist of the battue target. It was a baptism of fire for poor Mark who was familiarizing himself with the idiosyncrasies of his gun and muzzle loading in general. Martin, Clare, Bev and Paul R managed to hit 3 targets on this stand putting themselves in the driving seat. We then moved on to the 2 driven stands. Tony G decided not to shoot these as shooting these overhead birds irritated a back problem. Clare and Bushy excelled themselves here missing only 1 target each. Clare was now alone in the driving seat. Bev initially struggled with these as the gun and shooter became inconsistent, but by the end of driven section the penny had finally dropped and he realised that his gun needed the pan to be filled right up with primer to operate consistently on these overhead targets. On to stand 5 where the sun shone brightly in our faces, lovely for sun bathing but not shooting, even so the majority of the group shot these well with Bev and Bushy only missing one each, Martin and Paul R two. Clare lost a little bit of ground here missing three. Derek, Tony R and Tony G did not fare quite so well getting half marks or less. It was getting hot at the top with Clare and Bushy fighting for the lead in our squad and only one stand to go. Stand 6 saw some really top class shooting with Martin, Clare, Bushy, Paul R hitting all the targets, Bev missing one, Tony R and Derek two. Mark doubled his score on this stand so he finished on a high!

Anyway after many count-ups and recount-ups Bushy had pipped Clare by just one target achieving the top score of the day of 26 from the 30 targets, the second year in succession he has won the trophy. Martin shot a 24, Bev a 23 and Paul R a 22, all very close.

As for Bev’s touchhole and Clare’s nipple, well, both seemed very content!

Post Shoot:

Following the mornings shooting, we returned to the clubhouse for the trophy presentation and the “bring and take” Christmas raffle. Sandra, our stalwart trapper and scorer, receiving a fine hamper for her efforts throughout the year.  Thanks go to Viking for putting it all together.  Following our afternoon’s shooting session, we returned very hungry to the clubhouse, eagerly awaiting the Christmas meal and what a meal it was! Twenty of us sat down to a turkey roast with all the trimmings, followed by Xmas pud, coffee and mints. Excellent grub! A big thank you to Cambridge Gun Club for putting this on and having us during the year, and we all look forward to shooting there in 2019.

Results: (Competition and non comp):

Next Meetings:

Sunday 13th January 2019 at Cambridge gun club, non-competition meeting so bring and shoot whatever you will. 30 bird singles and 40 bird doubles targets will be set.

Followed by Saturday 16th February.

A Mike and Bev production