Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

Game Fair preview

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 77

(cartridgesnotincluded)orspend£10
toentera 25-birdsport-trapchallenge
andcompetetowindailycashprizes.
There’salsotheGameFair
Challengeinthemainarena,which
madeitspopulardebutlastyear.Clay
shootershavethechancetowina
dailyTopGuncashprize.Theevent
is a 40-targetEnglishSportingclay
contestona GeorgeDigweed-devised
layout.Entryat theregistrationtent
willcost£20,or£15forre-entry.
Shootersmustusetheirowngunand
cartridgesandtheoverallwinnerwill
collecta prizeonSundayafternoon.
Anotheropportunitytowatch
andlearnfromtopShotscomes
intheChampionofChampions
competition,runbytheClayPigeon
ShootingAssociation(CPSA),again
takingplaceinthemainarena.
Thechampionshooterfromeach
countyis invitedtotestthemselves
ina thrillingeventthataimsto
determinewhois England’s best.

SportingColts
A furtherCPSAinitiativeis theColts
Challenge,a competitionthatgives
thebestunder-16shootersinthe
businessthechancetoimpressunder
pressure.Watchthetop 10 English
SportingColtsinthecountry battling
it outinthemainarena.
TheGameFairis alsoanexcellent
placetotryshootingforthefirsttime
orhoneyourskills.TheCPSAwillbe
runningfourhave-a-gostandsonthe
claylines.Thesecost£12or£10for
under-16s,andinclude 10 minutesof
expertinstructioninclayshooting
froma CPSA-qualifiedcoach.If you’re
a moreexperiencedShot,expertswill
offertipstoimproveyourtechnique.
NexttotheGameFair’sranges,
you’llfindexpertsfromtheBASC,
withevenmoretargetstotryfor.
Theexpertswillbeofferingadvice,
guidanceandtraining,andyoucan
findoutmoreabouttheorganisation’s
work.Beinga memberofBASCalso
getsyoucomplimentaryentryto the
GameFaironallthreedays.
If you’reanairgunnerorwouldlike
tobe,a visittotheAirgunZoneis
a must.Beginnerscanhavea go
undertheguidanceofexperienced
coachesorcanpickupsomehandy
shootingtips.A challengingairgun
competitionis alsoplanned.
ShootingTimescontributorMat
Manningsays:“Thehave-a-goairgun
standsat theGameFairprovide
a great opportunity for new airgun

shooterstotrythesportunder

expertguidance.Theyalsooffer

a rarechancetoshoota widevariety

ofdifferentairguns,whichis very

helpfulif you’rethinking about

buy i ngone.”

Newforthisyear,WaltonLions

AirgunClubfromBirminghamwill

besettingupitsownstandnexttothe

rangesforvisitorstofindoutmore

aboutthesport,thelawsurrounding

airgunsandthevariousOlympic

disciplines,beforehavinga goat some

ofthemyourself.Youcaneventackle

thelatestsolar-poweredtargets,

whichmakethesporteco-friendly.

Bestandnewest

Finally,Gunmakers’Rowis the

placewhereallshooterswillwant

tospendsometime.It featuresthe

bestandnewestproductsfrom

Britishgunmakersandrenowned

internationalofferings.You’llfind

allthepremiershooting-related

companieshere,offeringevery

accessoryimaginablefromknivesto

clothing.Havea catch-upandrelax

withfriendsbysharinga beer in the

Gunmakers’Pub,too.

Shootingisn’twithoutits

controversies.Watchdebatesinthe

CarterJonasGameFairTheatre,

includingtopicssuchas“Shouldn’t

vegetariansactuallybehunting?”,

NaturalEngland’srecentdecision

ongenerallicences,grousemoor

management,rewildingandBritain’s

deer and salmon farming.

TheGameFair 2019 takesplace

atHatfieldHouse,Hertfordshire

fromFriday, 26 to Sunday,

28 July.

Early-birdticketsfortheGame

Fair 2019 areonsalenowat

http://www.thegamefair.orgorby

calling 0844 8 586759.Onthe

gate,adultticketscost£34and

childtickets£10foroneday.

Accompaniedchildrenaged

eightandunderarefree.

MembersoftheNational

Gamekeepers’Organisation,

CountrysideAlliance,Country

LandandBusinessAssociation

andtheKennelClubareentitled

toa promotionalrate.

AllmembersoftheBASC

areentitledtocomplimentary

entryonallthreedays—guest

ticketscanbebought at a

discountedrate.

Upgradeyourtickettoinclude

exclusiveaccesstohospitality

areasaswellas luxury food

anddrinks.

Advancepremiumparking

costs£20perday,whilein-show

parkingcanbebought in advance

for£40a day.

Campingtickets,whichdonot

includeentrytotheGameFair,

areavailabletobookforthree

orfivenightson10mby10m

plots.Withoutelectrichook-up,

a campingticketis £125for

threenightsor£155forfive.

Withelectrichook-up,a camping

ticketis £215for three nights or

£ 2 4 5 f o r fi v e.

Need to know

Finally,don’tforgettocomealong

tostandnumberN1443tosayhello

totheteamatShootingTimes. We

have1,000copiestogiveawayand

you’llgeta 40percentdiscounton

each issue when you subscribe.

D O N’T F O R G E T

Therewillbeplentyofchancestopractise

your technique at clay stands at the fair