doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How many shoots would you attend in a year?

I'm probably not your target audience, but I'll weigh in. I go to 3-5 local shoots per year (the $50 kind), and went to my first $500+ this year (Southern). I probably would go to an expensive shoot maybe every couple years. I've had far more fun and a better experience at the local shoots than the Sourthern was

I don't have a target audience.
The shoot at my club is as big as anyone can stand it to be.
You can only stuff so much sausage through the tube, before the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

I am not even involved in it's planning or operation. I'm just a guest as anyone else is, and I may/may not try to get some people to come out, or, do a little volunteer work trimming or staging, just to help out a little.

But I think the "less than 100 people" actually crossing that economic hurdle suggestion might be accurate.

And that effects the non shooting aspects of these get togethers.

Some of us are more crazy then others. I retired in 2002 and moved from Northern Virginia to near the Washington/Idaho border. So, it has been about a 5700 mile round trip for me to attend The Vintage Cups in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 and the NE Side-by-side at Ernie Hauseman's in 2015 and 2016.

Dave, I'd surmise you cross the barrier every time you choose to attend something.
You have a much longer term view of this than I do, "How many travelers would you say there actually are?"

My experience is probably irrelevant for your research as I am in the UK.

No one single day i attend exceeds $500 in GBP equivalent.

Typically i will shoot between 8 and 10 days a season.

Shooting and beating combined i am probably involved in around 20 - 25 shoot days per season.

I also probably spend a total of a week carrying out work on land we shoot over.

My shoot days are generally low cost traditional local and social shoots as apposed to a shoot which is run as a business of the type well represented on youtube and in the sporting media.

What on earth is tower released pheasant shooting? It sounds like an abomination I am imagining guys throwing birds from a high tower?

Hauseman's? Houseman's?--one of the best in the East, so I have heard.

When I was a member of NOBS, I made the mistake of answering that question.

My answer now is "It is all you imagine, and worse."
Please ask no further about it.

I would guess the UK analogue to my question would be "How many overnight shoots does a UK shot attend in a season?" Similar cost (per GOP), similar difficulties to attend (travel, room, what not)

I know I am using the Americanized version of "shoot" referring to clay target events, and my UK friends are more referring to "game shooting days".

You have pretty much described the practice. Throwers are in a reinforced box with cages and cages of pheasants. Well, mostly pheasants; one I attended got a rhode island red hen mixed into the bunch and someone threw her out of the box.

The sports surround the tower at a distance of about 100 yards, and stand behind big hay rolls mostly for protection from other shooters. The bird box and throwers are lifted maybe 125 feet into the air by way of a scissor lift.

By the way the rhode island red hen was the smartest bird in the mix. She fluttered down to the ground and hid under the scissor lift. I was pulling for her all the way and hoping no one would shoot the old girl.

Never been back to do that again...Geo

Cheers to those for explaining the process - i don't wish to derail the thread so i think we can close any further explanations on the subject.

Far be it from be to say to others whats right or wrong, but it seems on its travel over the Atlantic Ocean there was some miscommunication on the true spirit of game shooting. Abhorrent as the idea is to me i can see why it makes an attractive and no doubt lucrative business, but at what cost.

We colonists can't afford the landed gentry estates a la Downton Abbey- and the high cost of beaters, pickers uppers and doggy handlers. Our club has about the same, we have 10 stations set back about 80 yards from the center reinforced tower. We can have a maximum of 20 shooters, whether on an open event shoot, or on a private shoot-Safety rules are 100% enforced.

Only one bird at a time is released, tossed up airborne, and no bird may be shot at (*) if if falls into the circle- and that does happen with hens every now and then. Weather is a predicate- a nice gusty overcast day with a strong luffing Westerly wind- best you can get- and no "Hun in the Sun to blind you" in the AM. Another of many reasons why we rotate clockwise with unloaded shotguns after every ten birds have been tossed skyward. Also that policy gives the dog handlers with their Labs a fair chance, until the dog comes back with a bird, dead or about to be, no other bird(s) are tossed.

We get a 200 bird release and a lunch, coffee, etc and cleaned birds bagged and tagged for $165.00 Cheaper than a trip to SD, and apres luncheon, we have a pick-up hunt, which usually adds more birds to the net bag. We had 16 shooters the last time I shot there on a mid-March Sat. 2016- and with the dogs and the pick-=up (not all tower shoot guns care for the walk to get the pick up birds and possible lay cripples), we accounted for 189 birds from 200 released from the tower- in blocks of ten.

As I am responding to a Limey, I'll borrow syntax from the fat cigar chomper (and fair painter too) Sir Winnie-- "birds that have been shot at- is not proper grammer, and Winnie was a stickler for that, as also was my late Mother, a HS English teacher with a P.hD. in English Lit. So, "Birds at which shots have been fired?" how does that grab your Limey arse? Come over to MI sometime and I'll take you as a guest- see how much of a challenge our club's Tower birdies can be in Feb. Mar. and April.

I use a 1937 12 gauge Tournament Grade Model 12 Winchester pumpgun 30" full choke (My Gough Thomas special)or a 1933 12 gauge Eagle Grade L.C. Smith live bird gun with 32" barrel and also full chokes- AA handicap trap loads with 7&1/2 high antimony chilled shot for the first shot, and Remington Express No. 6 1&1/4 for the second or back-up shot in the Model 12-- Just the AA Handicap loads in the Elsie, I don't care to shoot express loads in my L.C. Smiths- nor would I if a owned a Boss or a Holland& Holland for that matter. 1300 fps loads and fine sidelocks, mix like bangers and mash with salsa..IMO