Sharp shooters on target as Hartlepool club hosts England selection event

The England team North Region selection Clay pigeon shoot, took place at the Oak Lodge Shooting Ground, Brierton Lane, Hartlepool.

The town’s Oak Lodge Shooting Ground set in 20 acres of countryside at Brierton welcomed hundreds of clay pigeon shooters on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 after being selected to hold the north region's England Team Selection shoot.

Men, women and children took to the range and took aim at 100 clay pigeon targets.

It was one of six regional qualifying heats held all over the country to find the top 15 people to represent England at major upcoming events including the England and Home Internationals in Ireland.

Hartlepool born Les Sinden, now of Billingham, at the England team North Region selection Clay pigeon shoot, took place at the Oak Lodge Shooting Ground.

Kelly Calvert, who runs the Oak Lodge Shooting Ground with her husband Andrew, said: “It was absolutely excellent. We had a really good turnout and received brilliant feedback.

“In all we had about 300 people including 200 competitors in addition to local shooters.

“Some people came from London and travelled five hours on the day. We also had three Americans and two Australians at the event.

“There was a higher percentage of men taking part but also quite a few juniors and ladies.”

The England team North Region selection Clay pigeon shoot, took place at the Oak Lodge Shooting Ground in Hartlepool.

The weekend saw some exceptional scores with Stuart Emms producing an outstanding high gun performance with 95 out of 100 clay pigeon targets.

The top three Veterans scores on the Saturday were AB Gair in first who hit 91 out of 100, followed by A Loving in second with 90 and WG Gray in third place with 89.

And in the Juniors category, J Bennion had the highest score at 91, followed by J Triffitt with a score of 78 and GB Bennett with 59.

Organisers thanked their helpers and referees for their work and braving Saturday’s downpours.

One competitor said of the weekend: “Great targets as always and thoroughly enjoyed the shoot.”

Another said it was: “A good sensible shoot, really enjoyed the course...thankyou!”

Oak Lodge was chosen to host the event after holding other successful events for the sports governing body, the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association.

Mitsubishi attended to showcase the new L200 series and Shogun Sport along with AudioGuard solutions custom hearing protection suppliers.