Hoton Clay Club, Clay pigeon shooting in Leicestershire

Hoton Clay Club is a typical small clay pigeon shooting club dedicated to safe clay shooting for all in the lovely Leicestershire countryside.

We meet on every other Sunday morning throughout the year, come rain or shine. Shooting starts at 10.00am after club members have set out a new shoot layout for each meet. Member help clear away and store the equipment for the next shoot, we are typically all finished by about 12.30 pm

We welcome visitors from other clubs and especially like to see new shooters who want to "have a go" in a safe and friendly environment. This is the grass roots of clay shooting in the UK.

We shoot English Sporting layouts most weeks which are supposed to represent all the sorts of flights you would see if you were shooting game. This is a bit of nonsense really as clays fly nothing like the real thing but you can imagine yourself shooting "driven" birds flying over your head or "teal" rising rapidly up in front of you. In truth we shoot targets that we enjoy and represent a bit of fun and a bit of a challenge too!

Clay pigeon shooting is for everyone. Some clay shooters also shoot game but many don't. Nobody will ask you about your politics or about your views on country pursuits. If you consider yourself opposed to game shooting but would like to enjoy clay target shooting you are as welcome as the next person. If your new found friends go game shooting they won't be trying to convert you either! The shooting community is very tolerant and welcoming.

Visitors to the club can shoot as guests. New shooters just need to make themselves known when they arrive and they will be looked after by a committee member. We don't run classes as such but we will ensure that new shooters are chaperoned around the shoot. They will be able to shoot on their first visit and can use a members gun under close supervision. A small extra charge on a visitors card covers the cost of including them in the clubs insurance scheme.

As a new shooter you might find some targets a bit too advanced, no problem! Your guide for the day will be happy to simplify some targets or even miss out a stand that would be disheartening and double up your targets on a more encouraging stand. That is the real benefit of a small members club over going to a commercial or competition shoot as a beginner.