STAFF REVIEW: MIXED SHOOTING EXPERIENCE FOR TWO IN BRIGHTON

|    Staff Review

I’ve always been curious about target shooting, so both Kaia and I were delighted to be invited to Polowood Shooting Ground to participate in their Mixed Shooting Experience.

As we were both beginners and this was our first time trying out clay pigeon shooting, axe throwing and archery, we were intrigued to learn some new skills. Even though it was raining, we weren’t going to let that dampen our day. We headed off on a short 20 minute drive down the road from Brighton centre, and arrived at the Polowood Shooting Ground car park!

We parked up and saw a sign that told us to wait to be collected, so we stayed in the car until we saw an instructor drive towards us in a minibus. We were greeted by George, who explained that we would have a short 3 minute drive up to where the activities take place.

Adhering to the COVID-19 safety procedures, we put our face coverings on and excitedly jumped into the mini bus. As I looked over the peaceful 10 acres of land, it didn’t feel as though we were only 20 minutes away from the hectic Brighton centre. 

Although I had my waterproof jacket on and Kaia had her welly boots on, we decided to sit in the waiting room and wait for the rain to calm down a little, enjoying the free tea or coffee included with the experience. 

|    Clay Pigeon Shooting

After our brief tea break, George happily showed us around the grounds where we would be participating in the activities. We saw other people taking part and we couldn’t wait to get stuck in ourselves. You could see that the grounds catered to people of different levels with different targets offered, which is great for beginners or experts.   

We began with the clay pigeon shooting, which was completely new to me as I had never held a gun before. Martin instructed us on how to stand whilst trying to get the perfect shot, and how exactly to hold the gun. As someone with little arm strength, when Martin started to let go of the gun and I took all the weight, my arms were shaking. 

I shouted ‘PULL!’ and Martin let the target off into the air, where I followed it with the gun. BANG…. I HIT IT! I couldn’t believe that I managed to get the first target. As I watched it disintegrate, I felt that this was an achievement in itself, even if it was just beginner’s luck. 

|    Tea Break

Martin suggested we take another short tea break to get out of the rain and warm up. I didn’t even realise it was still raining at this point, I was concentrating too much on the shooting. I had a cup of tea whilst Gary shared some stories with us about the shooting ground.  

|    Axe Throwing 

Moving onto axe throwing, we were shown all the axes and knives that we were about to throw at the wooden targets. We were instructed on how to hold the weapons; you should hold the knives like a loose pen, whereas you should not grip the axes too hard. As the handles of the weapons were quite slippery, they flew out of our hands and we managed to land a few on target (as you can see from Kaia’s proud face in the picture).   

|    Archery 

Carrying on with the day, we moved onto the archery. Whilst the instructor demonstrated how to use a bow and arrow, we had a target each and tried our hardest to hit a bullseye. This was near impossible for me, whereas Kaia got the hang of it straight away. She could be the new Katniss Everdeen… let’s just say, she wouldn’t go hungry if we were hunting.

There were even fake animals lined up on the floor for us to try and hit, and it felt great to hit a bear’s leg with a bow and arrow. 

After we had tried out the three thrilling weaponry experiences, it was time for our day out to come to an end. Gary offered us one final hot drink before we hopped into his Land Rover, and headed off road across many fields to avoid trying to squeeze past other vehicles down the narrow road. Of course, the sun started to come out just as we were leaving (typical British weather).

|    Air Rifle 

Although Kaia and I did not get the opportunity to have a go at the air rifle experience, it looked extremely exhilarating and the participants did not stop smiling from hitting all the targets; I even felt proud for them!

 A huge thank you to Gary for inviting Kaia and I down to the shooting ground to experience clay pigeon shooting, axe throwing and archery as beginners for the very first time. Gary and the team were extremely friendly, and we had a fantastic day learning some new skills. This experience is a great excuse to get some fresh air in the countryside whilst perfecting your aim!   

|    Thanks for reading!