We celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the club with a clay shoot and then lunch at Ludgershall hosted by DB Guns. The shoot was a forty bird clay shoot, results below, a flurry and the use of some black powder guns provided by Blackpowder John. After the shoot, there was a demonstration of shooting by Mickey Rouse which included shooting eggs, cabbages and watermelons. The video below has a few slow-motion shots of the black powder guns and then the Mickey Rowse trick shooting demo with exploding eggs, cabbage and an exploding watermelon.

After the shooting, we headed over to the home of Dawn and Brian, the owners of DB Guns, for an excellent meal in their garden. A very good roast of Pork, Beef and Brisket followed by a delicious choice of sweets. Prize presentations followed and then speeches from the Chairman and then Pete Sherriff.

A metal pin badge was presented to all guests commemorating the 40th anniversary.

The Chairmans Address

Kingswood Gun Club Speech 25^th July 2021

It is a privilege and an honour to be in the position of presiding over the club on such a momentous occasion of the 40th anniversary since its inception. I was not around at the origination of the club which was formed by Barry Johnson, Austin Lovell, Robert Richardson, Fred Dymock and Graham Hill back in 1981. This was after a successful clay shoot was arranged for the village fete and, as in the best of traditions, a debrief was held in the pub leading to the club coming into fruition no doubt over a pint or 2. I understand from talking with some of the club originators that the initial shoots comprised of one trap that was used on land behind Lodge Garage in Kingswood.

It is a great pleasure to have so many of the original founders at today’s event to see how the club has developed since then going from strength to strength. This has been due to several factors comprising of:

• The friendly manner and approach to new members, many who have never shot before. The club has always retained an active introducing and training policy – this is how I joined on phoning Pete Sheriff and being invited along to “have-a-go-day” back in 1987 which ignited my passion for the sport. I am pleased to say this core value had been retained within the club and we are now seeing many more junior and new members taking up the sport with great enthusiasm. This has and remains one of the founding principles of the club.

• The demise of many local gun clubs that were tied to one shooting ground. Our club has been very fortunate with the generosity of local landowners to enable us to have 3 shooting grounds at any one time. These have varied over the years but provide us with great flexibility and choice of landscape scenarios to set up different sporting layouts. I would like to thank all the landowners for their generosity in making their land available to us which is greatly appreciated. Currently the club shoots on land owned by Arthur, Pam & Jonathan Hall at Doddershall, Frank, Edna & Kevin Goss & Dina at Quainton and Colin East at Ludgershall.  Previously the club has been able to use Pear tree Farm, Collet Farm, Tetchwick Farm and land behind Lodge Garage in Kingswood along with some other “one-off” venues.

• The committee, past and present, who work tirelessly in providing valuable insight and feedback in many forms as to how best develop the club; we then discuss the points informally before taking a decision. By collecting the thoughts and ideas from all club members and pooling this information it allows the committee to ensure the club is still run smoothly and to everyone’s approval.

• Brian and Dawn for setting up the shoot along with their loyal band of helpers that make each shoot so enjoyable. Special thanks go to Dawn for providing refreshments at tea break time which for many years was run by Ann Holt, who introduced us all to her wonderful baking skills, and prior to that Sandra Hill. The club is very appreciative of the time and effort put in to make each shoot run smoothly and efficiently.

• All the members who continue to make the club fun exciting and each shoot a pleasant experience. Everyone is keen to assist any struggling shooters on “off days” (me included) and encourage beginners to improve with impartial and friendly advice that does not come across as overbearing. At the end of each shoot everyone helps with the tidying up of the respective grounds so that no litter is left to affect any livestock or crops.

Over the years the club has had a very strong social presence, and this has appeared in a number of guises including:

• In the early days there was considerable amount of fund raising with charity shoots for the acute Myeloid Leukaemia trust which raised over £5,000 over several shoots generously supported by local sponsors.   
• Links with other shooting clubs including one in Bexhill and one in Bridgend, where each other’s grounds were visited during the year and a friendly competitive shoot between the clubs were held. After each shoot a follow up meal was held in a local hostelry so everyone could catch up over a “pie and pint” as the saying goes
• Annual dinner and dances that were held in Grendon Underwood Village Hall.
• Participation in the local summer and winter league shoots
• Sea shoots off the back of ferries during day trips to France between Portsmouth and Cherbourg.
• And more recently an annual BBQ held in Ludgershall Village Hall held after a friendly competitive shoot.

And finally, I would like to thank everyone past and present who have helped formulate, shape and drive the club forward from its origins to its current position and ensure its continuing success.

To celebrate this event, we have had a pin badge made for all club members past and present and the landowners to receive that will be handed out shortly.

Many thanks and here’s looking forward to the future of the club.

The Shoot and Demonstration Shoot by Mickey Rouse

The Shooting Results

Tod           33
Nick C        32
Adrian        31
Lewis         30
Callum        30
Mark H        30
John E        29
Graham C      29
John W        28
Mark C        28
Charlotte     28
Paul B        28
Logan         28
Ian A         27
Richard C     27
Dawn          26
Josh C        26
Tim           25
Simon P       25
Celia         25
Geoff E       23
Finn          22
Jennifer      21
John A        21
Steve B       21
Shirley       21
Jade          21
Anne          21
Jim           20
Richard T     19
Tony H        19
Dennis        19
Daniel        17
Chelsey       17
Anthea        15
Kelsey        11
Lee P        10