- Dress comfortably for the weather, in layers you can move in freely. - Sturdy flat shoes or boots, as clay grounds can be muddy or uneven. - Avoid anything loose or bulky around the shoulder that could snag as you mount the gun. - Ear protection and shooting glasses are essential. A good ground will provide them, but ask when you book.

Do You Need a Licence to Go Clay Pigeon Shooting? Your Beginner Questions Answered

Dickie

Oct 13

3 min read

Clay pigeon shooting is one of the easiest field sports to try in the UK, and the same handful of questions come up every time someone books a first session. Here are the answers in plain English.

Do I need a licence to go clay pigeon shooting?

Not for a beginner session. At most clay grounds you can borrow a gun, buy cartridges on site and shoot under the supervision of an instructor, so you need no previous experience and no certificate of your own. A shotgun certificate only comes into the picture when you want to own a shotgun. If you are thinking of buying one, talk to your instructor first and then to your local police firearms licensing team.

Do I need lessons, or my own gun?

Start with lessons from a qualified instructor so you do not pick up bad habits. The Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (CPSA) can point you to instructors near you. Many grounds offer two price options: one if you bring your own gun and one if you are starting from scratch with everything provided. When you eventually look at buying a gun, ask your coach for advice first, because fit matters far more than the badge on the barrel.

What should I wear?

Dress comfortably for the weather, in layers you can move in freely.
Sturdy flat shoes or boots, as clay grounds can be muddy or uneven.
Avoid anything loose or bulky around the shoulder that could snag as you mount the gun.
Ear protection and shooting glasses are essential. A good ground will provide them, but ask when you book.

Is it safe, and does it hurt?

Clay shooting is safe when the rules are followed, and a good instructor spends the start of the session on gun handling: the gun is kept broken open or pointed in a safe direction at all times, loaded only on the stand when you are told to, and you only call for a target when the area is clear.

Recoil surprises a lot of first timers, but a properly fitted gun held firmly into the shoulder should not hurt. If it does, tell your instructor, because it usually means the fit or the mount needs adjusting. Because of the noise and recoil, it is not advisable to shoot while pregnant.

Is there a minimum age?

Many grounds do not set a strict minimum age, but very small children can struggle to find a gun that fits them, and every ground has its own policy. Ring ahead and ask before you book.

What happens after your first session?

Plenty of people are hooked by the end of the first 25 clays. From there you can try the different disciplines such as trap, skeet and sporting, join a club, and start shooting registered rounds, where your scores build towards a CPSA classification.

The moment you start taking it seriously, you will want to keep a record of every round. Clay Buster, from RP Digital Studio Ltd, is a clay shooting scoring app built for exactly that. It works fully offline at the ground with no phone signal needed, it is a one-off purchase with lifetime updates, and it tracks none of your data. Search for Clay Buster on the App Store or Google Play.

This article is general information for beginners and is not legal advice. Always follow the instructions of the ground and your instructor.