Friday 16 June 2017

Can we Clay All Day?


One of the many benefits of working for London Gun Services is that going for regular days out shooting is a ‘mandatory’ requirement…I’m certainly not complaining. However, I only started working at LGS a month ago and believe it or not had never shot a gun until yesterday! Being the only woman in the office I am a bit of a tomboy and shooting obviously seriously appeals so I was pretty excited to have a go. At around 11am myself, Elliot and LGS Director and former world champion Tom cruised up to A1 Shooting Ground in Barnet in Tom’s rather snazzy Range Rover. Upon arrival we eased into the day with a punchy Italian coffee in the sunshine before heading out to hit up some clays

 
Tom paired me up with a nice and gentle 20 bore and we started out with some easy left to right crossers. To get me going Tom gave me some useful tips and guided me through the first few shots. Tom and Elliot then showed me how it’s done and completely nailed a straight 25. We then tried out a few other targets including High Pheasants from the Tower which I found a little more challenging...! Tom and Elliot then did a spot of speedy double-gunning and I was on buttoning duty! Finally we did a session shooting decoys which was handy to up my hit ratio! To end the day Tom and Elliot did a round on the Olympic Trap (needless to say I sat this one out, next time!!). This was great fun to watch and I certainly realised what talented shooters the boys are!



By Mary Woodhouse

Shooting for gold - Tom Ward (LGS Director)


Italy is often highly regarded as a country of innovation, passion, and exuberance which applies not only to its culture but also to its shooting scene. Tom Ward from London Gun Services can certainly be one to vouch for this having just won The Green Cup at Umbria Verde Shooting Complex last week; which is arguably one of the most challenging shooting competitions of all time.

Taking place over 2 days with the grounds located in the ancient town of Todi, which according to the mythical Quirinus Colonus was built by none other than the legendary Hercules! The competition consisted of 125 targets in total, 50 on the first day followed by 75 on the second with an additional 25 targets for the top 6 final.  With over 400 competitors including multiple Olympic medallists, world champions, and world cup medallists, Tom battled through like Hercules himself shooting a total of 45/50 on Day 1 followed by an impressive 74/75 on Day 2 winning him a strong place in the final. The final consisted of 25 targets added to the original scores, where Tom hit a perfect 25 which tied him for the lead with Russia. This resulted in a single barrelled ‘sudden death’ shoot off which after 3 targets crowned Tom as the winner. (Yes I certainly wasn’t the only one who was incredibly impressed!)

Tom trains in Italy regularly and prior to the competition spent 2 days training in Conselice, which is about a 4-hour drive north of Todi. Although in the UK we are lucky enough to have a number of renowned shooting grounds across the country, Tom loves the Italian shooting scene. He prefers the facilities and says that there is a much more diverse mix of professional shooters from around the world. Italy does produce some of the most high-class guns after all! With this in consideration, I imagine there must also be a pretty good social scene and one must admit that the beautiful Italian climate is always a bit of a bonus too!

Conveniently, a couple of days after Tom’s victory at Umbria Verde he had a friend’s wedding in the stunning city of Florence. The wedding went on for 3 days (how very continental) and I think it is safe to say that the Chianti and Montepulciano were more than steadily flowing. Tom, as any well cultured Brit would made sure he brought a taste of Italy home with him: olive oil, local red wine, parmesan...how dreamy. And most importantly he also managed to fit in a spot of well-earned sunbathing by the turquoise pool in his rather exquisite villa, no doubt while sipping an ice cold Aperol Spritz from delicate cut glass and listening to some gentle lounge music – I mean it’s always essential to round off a trip to Italy by embracing la dolce vita!


By Mary Woodhouse

End of Season Interview with Michael Sillwood - Gun Room Manager

As the season has now finished we thought it would be interesting to hear a few of the thoughts and reflections from our trusty Gun Room Man...