Clay pigeon shooting : what’s in a name?

Clay pigeon shooting – what’s in a name? Just what we were wondering…

The other day we were writing about our latest clay pigeon shooting venue in Wiltshire, when it suddenly struck us that although we know what clay pigeon shooting is, we don’t really understand where the name came from or how the sport originated..so we got researching.

It seems in the 18th century the sport was all about shooting at live pigeons released from a cage. Then things moved on to aiming at glass balls (which look suspiciously like baubles nicked from a Christmas tree to us) filled with feathers or powder.

Eventually some clever bod came up with the clay disks which boast a flying trajectory akin to live pigeons and voila – the sport of clay pigeon shooting as we pretty much know it today was born!

Expert clay pigeon instructors will teach you all you need to know to shoot right on target

Indeed clay pigeon shooting is a fully paid up Olympic sport and there are many variations from skeet to sporting and trap shooting. With many clubs the length and breadth of the country featuring on Into the Blue’s expansive list of clay pigeon shooting venues, why not have a go at this inevitably addictive and challenging sport?

Female and child-specific guns are available at most venues (including this new one in Wiltshire), so it really is a sport open to all the family!