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2009 News / Reports and links to events

October RNLI Charity Shoot A better turn out from 2008 - 12 teams competed with "A Rose Between Two Thorns" taking 1st position. There was a shoot off for The Annual RNLI Glass Trophy with Paul Hollamby winning after a shoot off with Peter Campion. Leon Jaeggi pipped Chris Scott for the SxS award and Bert French took the Veteran Trophy. Raised Ł2,265.76 Full Results - click here - The day remained dry until after lunch when the heavens opened which unfortunately meant that the flush teams got a little bit wet, but this did dampen their enthusiasm and some very high scores. A Ploughmans lunch was once again served for the team shooters A thank you to Harry Collins & Sons for the continued support to this Charity Hurlingham Cup (Helice SXS Shoot) An over cast day, but at least it stayed dry. A good turn out for the 19th Annual Hurlingham Cup. Everyone dressed in their game attire and sporting their prized side by sides. The West Kent Shooting School "On The Side" Club also attended marking this their first shoot of the season. Andy Gibb from Norfolk won the Hurlingham Cup Linda Metson ladies trophy was won after a shoot off with Dionne Rogers by Sylvie Smith, who was shaking with excitement after her shoot off. The tony Skinner Memorial trophy which had been lost for the past three years (found at the back of a cupboard) was won by Martin Crix. Ron Smith won the Gun Salver And Andy Gibb walked away with the Eric Aldrich best score of the day A game pie was served after the shoot with dessert, cheese and port to finish of the days event.	November Tim Greenwood - Gunsmith Remember our Webshop for all your Christmas ideas www.wksswebshop.co.uk	December Christmas lunch and shoot - book early - spaces filling fast Annual Mailshot Many of you will have received our postcard mailshot this weekend, and if not it is on its way. However please note that this will be the last mailshot (except members) via "snail mail" all future promotions and news etc can be found on this website or will be sent via email - email your details to us so that you don't miss out mailshot@wkss.demon.co.uk CHRISTMAS OPENING TIMES & RESTRICTIONS Monday 21^st December 2009 Tuesday 22^nd December 2009 Wednesday 23^rd December 2009 Thursday 24^th December 2009 Tuesday 29^th December 2009 Wednesday 30^th December 2009 As with the last two Christmas periods we will have restrictions on our sporting layout. on Tuesday 29 December, Wednesday 30 December and Thursday 31 December. There will be five manned stands. English Skeet will also be available but will be operated by a button pusher. This is to allow us to control the noise levels during this holiday period and keeps our neighbours happy. We thank you for your assistance over these three days. It is advisable to book early any lessons during the Christmas and New Year Period.
July Patrick Lynch 72, founder of the West Kent Shooting School sadly passed away in Portugal on Sunday 5 July after a short illness. Patrick discovered his passion for clay target shotgun shooting coming from the unlikely background of his military use of firearms. In the late 50’s he joined the Royal Marines and displayed a unique skill with all the infantry weapons, ie: rifle, sub machine gun and light machine gun which earned him the coveted Cross Rifles Badge of the Marksman. Awarded his Green Beret at the Commando School on Dartmoor. He joined the 3^rd Commando Brigade and spent two years as a machine gunner serving in the near and middle east with 40 Commando on anti-terrorist duties which included the now nearly forgotten first oil war, the Suez Campaign Returning to civilian life he became a Police Officer in the Kent County Force and was in the very first group of Kent Officers to attend the Army small arms school to qualify to carry weapons. He joined the CPSA in 1969 and for the next 10 years was closely involved with the organisation of several gun clubs which included Invicta, and The Southern Trap Club and in 1974 he qualified as an Association Shooting Instructor with a merit rating and started the now internationally known West Kent Shooting School. He went into International Shooting Team Management in 1976 when he qualified as an ISU Referee for Olympic Trap and Universal Trench and then for a period of 7 years was the British Team Manager for these two disciplines until in 1983 he turned his attention to ‘ZZ’ Helice. This became a very enjoyable time for him until he retired from the Shooting scene in 1996 when he went to live in the Algarve. KENT POLICE RESULTS	August Need to brush up for the coming Game season or a refresher on the do's and don'ts of the day click below for tailor made sessions - Syndicates Morning Sessions - - Etiquette Courses -	September Side by Side Grand Masters Results 2009 click here for results and photos
April Young Shots Another full house of lively kids - with an significant increase in the number of girls in the group this time. The threat of rain hovered over us, but all stayed dry and had an enjoyable day with us with 100% pass rate on the end of day quiz.	May May Madness - have a go at clay pigeon shooting month in line with National Shooting Week Ladies Day - Thursday 14 May Have A Go - Tuesday 26 May Young Shots Day - Thursday 28 May Keech Cottage On 8 May we held a Charity Event hosted by John Laing Partnership. Their chosen charity this year was Keech Cottage Children's hospice. The weather let us down first thing, but things soon brightened up and a total of Ł3,120 was raised for the charity.	June Don't Forget Father's Day - 21st June We have plenty of gift ideas - click below *- - Father's Day Specials - * - - * - Webshop - * -**
January MONDAY MADNESS Please note that we are still doing Monday Madness's and these groups will take priority over any practice taking place on the ground - click here for more details	February Valentine Offer A Happy Valentine to all those couples who came and took advantage of our valentine offer - there are still some romantics around! Young Shots Another sell out day and touch of spring weather to compliment it. Fun had by all and a 100% result on the mini exam during lunch - well done. Pictures of the group can be found here Induction Day - the day is designed to be a very informal day's introduction to clay pigeon shooting, including instruction, clays, cartridges, finishing on an adrenaline flush and buffet lunch	March Members Day Fun had by all - again the sun was out in full force and lunch of lasagne, belly of pork, ribs, and chicken and chips were soon devoured by the members. Next day is booked for hopefully a sunny 1 July Trevor Koch Memorial Shoot Trevor was an avid shooter who died in 2008. His family wanted to raise funds for the Harris HospisCare in Orpington who cared for Trevor during his final days. A total of Ł1,142.33 was raised for the Hospice
2008 News / Reports and Links to Events
October RNLI Charity Shoot this was a disappointing year with our lowest entry from the City - due to the recent credit crashes. However the weather stayed with us and the enthusiasm was still alive even low in numbers. - Full results and pictures click here - approximately Ł2,000 was raised - a thanks to everyone- RESULTS	November Crane becomes a midi come and have a go at the new midi off the crane and we have also started our revamp of our claymate boxes to incorporate a B1 and B2 option giving a even more wider range of targets. More on its way.	December Newsletter - click here Christmas shoot & Lunch Sorry forgot the camera! Our biggest year yet - a very cold day, but the sun did try and warm us through. Fun had by all and next year already pencilled in for 9 December 2009. Congratulation to Richard King with a very impressive 58/60
July Kent Police Shoot results click here	August Young Shots - small in numbers due to holiday commitments - but sun shone, and everyone left with beaming smiles Etiquette Course - been invited on a game shoot - not sure of the procedures or just want a refresher - this half day course is ideal for you -click here- Brushing Up Sessions - our SMS's are back "Syndicates Morning Session" - exclusive use of the tower and crane, finishing with a flush (groups of six) -click here- Induction Day - the day is designed to be a very informal day's introduction to clay pigeon shooting, including instruction, clays, cartridges, finishing on an adrenaline flush and buffet lunch	September Is your gun ready for the season? Remember Paul is our resident Gunsmith - click here for details - 4th Annual side by side Grand Masters RESULTS Another successful day with the weather once again shining down on us. NO Mal Grant this year to shoot against Tony Manvell and Chris Baker, but Tony was on top form and for the third year won the event over all with a 92, winning also the Hammer and Hammerless classes with 90, 92 respectively. Chris winning the 20 Bore Class. Our thanks to Lyalvale Express for the cartridges prize donation and to The Clay Pigeon Company for their continued support. Also a thanks to KWG and Viking Arms (Fabarm) for their support with many shooters taking up the chance to try not only side by side but the new over and under Fabarms, with positive responses. A BBQ lunch was served and enjoyed by all in the September sun. See you all next year. Ladies Day I quiet event but we had smiling faces and some good scores - followed by a hearty lunch
April ENTER WKSS NEW WEBSHOP We stock a range of shooting clothing and accessories and cleaning equipment - buy on line with the minimum of package and postage costs - every little saving helps!	May Young Shots Day 29 May The day started sunny and full of enthusiasm, and after lunch despite the rain smiling faces collected their certificates and information bags - next Young Shots 4 August - Book Early - limited spaces Ladies Day 1 May The beginning of summer arrived and the sun showed all its glory. A large contingency from Women in Property attended the day, together with some local participants. However the day was doomed with a power cut to the ground and surrounding areas for the day - thus having to operate on a generator and battery traps - We pulled through. the scores may have been a bit low due to the high winds and harder targets because to the power cut, but everyone enjoyed themselves and soon relaxed with a glass of bubbly and buffet lunch. National Shooting week - Have A Go Another successful have a go day at West Kent, even though this years we did not have the television crew of Meridian News we still had a large flow of "have a go" shooters throughout the day - with lots of enthusiasm and surprises when they hit one!	June Ladies Day - Small in numbers but large in enthusiasm, sunshine and laughter.
January WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR GENERAL PRACTICE MONDAY TO FRIDAY MONDAY MADNESS Please note that we are still doing Monday Madness's and these groups will take priority over any practice taking place on the ground - click here for more details	February Ashford Guns @KWG Sponsor West Kent Shooting School Valentine Offer A Happy Valentine to all those couples who came and took advantage of our valentine offer - there are still some romantics around!	March Please remember that we are not open Good Friday or Easter Monday Members Day A thank you to our members The rained staff off - if a bit chilly but a fun morning was had by all a 50 bird layout over six stands - with what I understand lots of jovial banter, then back to the clubhouse for a hot finger buffet of toad in the hole, liver & bacon, chilli, hotdogs and fish n chips followed by "jelly n ice-cream to name a few - all left with smiling faces and full bellies - thanks High Gun - Brian 42 High Gun Guest - Ian 32 WEBSHOP Watch this space as our NEW WEBSHOP will be going live shortly
2007 News / Reports
January Extension to Clubhouse The start of another exciting year. Building Regulations are now in place so as soon as the dry weather is upon us the extension to the clubhouse will proceed. Tower Challenge Final touches are being made to the cradles to support the traps up the new Tower and there are strong possibilities this will be operational in the very near future	February Powered by Claymate Claymate became live on Tuesday 19 February. Compact Sporting and High Pheasant Flushes are no longer available as part of the practice facilities More information click here New Sporting Layout We are in a transitional stage with moving traps, implementing claymate, creating a more varied sporting layout and finalising the High Tower Challange. This will for a short period of time mean some traps and areas not operating to their full potential. We thank you for your patience. Young Shots Day The first of another full programme of Young Shots Days	March New Sporting Layout We have now placed the battue (very low and fast) on the trap layout and have a killer teal on the new duck layout, together with a tricky left to right on the Dove layout Skeet Claymate We are aware that the Claymate box on our skeet layout is only temporary. Claymate's Skeet credit system box only activates two traps and as many customers are aware we have Superskeet incorporating the High Tower. Claymate are therefore in the process of customising a box to facilitate this and the credit system. We thank all skeet shooters for their patience during this waiting period.
April Super Tower Two traps are now on the "Crane", one going left to right across the skeet layout the other a driven over the tower stand - this is a temporary arrangements and the tower will not be up every day - it is subject to wind and demand. These will be on the claymate hopefully by the end of April if not before. Skeet Claymate has now customised a credit box for us so that skeet and superskeet can be shot on various counters - thanks Claymate New Stands We now have a claymate system on "Gillys" stand and have created a new stand on the Duck layout (old compact) making the tower and teal birds a bit of a challenge. We are in the process of clearing an area around the tower layout ready for the High Tower Challenge - watch this space New Staff Daniel McKenzie joined us as ground staff in January and Emma Hilding has joined us in the Clubhouse alongside Sara and Martine - we welcome them both Young Shots Another sold out success Young Guns A 60 bird competition for more experienced young shots - congratulations to Jack Wackham from Wiltshire who shot a very good 42/60	May Club House Extension At last the extension is on its way - the new building arrives the week commencing 28 May Heart of Kent Hospice Shoot Thanks to all the participants - Ł330 was raised on the day National Shooting Week This is part of a nationwide event to promote shooting in the UK be it shot guns, rifles or air guns. We have been lucky enough to arrange for ITV Meridian news and George Digweed to attend the morning session so book early to see the World Champion Young Shots Another successful event	June Clubhouse/shop extension arrives - Ladies Day A little overcast but fun had by all. With a large contingency from WIP - Women in Property their were plenty of cheers and laughter around the range relating to the various hits and misses! Lunch of a summer buffet was served in the marquee with a glass of bubbly Father's Day Special We had many takers on our week offer for Father Day - Happy Fathers Day to them all Website Apologies to those who tried to log onto our website the past week - the error was caused by Demon, my server provider, while they tried to "migrate homepages to a new platform" - hopefully we will stay up now things have been sorted Cartridges We now supply Hull, RC and Lyalvale Express Cartridges in bulk form. Please call the ground for current prices and orders On the Side Club Results of European Championships
July BASC Ladies Day Clubhouse/shop extension - see work in progress - click here Kent Police Shoot - following wet weather the sun shone all day - results click here - pictures and report to follow Friends of the Wisdom Shoot - the sun once again showed its head and the 20+ guests had an enjoyable day raising around Ł500+ - thank you	August Helice British Grand Prix Congratulations to Howard Batt & Tracey Jeffrey click here for results Young Shots Young Guns Congratulations to Thomas Denning Have a Go With over 35 novices attending the day despite the overcast and sometimes wet day everyone had an enjoyable day with hopefully some new enthusiast joining the sporting. ******* New Shop Opens ******** We now stock a range of shooting clothing and accessories and cleaning equipment Please note we DO NOT stock Shotguns, Rifles or Air Guns -click here to see more-**	September Side by Side Grand Masters Full Results click here Once again the sun shone the wind stayed calm and an enjoyable day was had by all at West Kent's 3rd Side by Side Grand Masters With shooters once again travelling from Suffolk, Somerset, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire as well the local counties the atmosphere was relaxed and jovil - with Peter Campion a regular at West Kent unfortunately being pipped at the post in both of his classes by the gents from Suffolk We would like to say a big thanks once again to Lyalvale Express and Clay Pigeon Company/Laporte and Chris Potter Country Sports for their support again this year. Congratulations THE CHRIS POTTER COUNTRY SPORTS ANNUAL HIGH GUN TROPHY WAS WON FOR A SECOND SUCCESSIVE YEAR BY TONY MANVELL Countryside Alliance and Hunt Shoot Congratulations to the Woodchurch Old Boys for being the winning team with a very good 231/320 High Gun: Brian Hodges 2nd Bert French 3rd Barry Tynan
October Don't forget to book your brushing up sessions early to save disappointment RNLI Charity Shoot Every year the sun shines for this event and it was no exception this year - thanks to everyone we raised with the sponsorship Ł2250 - well done click here for results and pictures Helice Hurlingham Cup - results	November REMEMBER WE HAVE A 100FT TOWER TO BRUSH UP YOUR GAME SHOOTING SKILLS	December WE ARE OPEN MONDAY 24TH AND MONDAY 31ST DECEMBER PLEASE NOTE THAT 27th and 28th DECEMBER RESTRICTIONS WILL BE IN PLACE ON OUR SPORTING LAYOUT - THERE WILL BE FIVE MANNED STANDS (50 BIRD COURSE) AND SKEET ONLY We apologise for any inconvenience caused 2007 Newsletter - didn't get one? Click here to read and then register your name and address here to be placed on our database so you don't miss out next time

Shooting Industry Awards

The annual Shooting Industry Awards were held at Royal Berkshire Shooting Ground on Tuesday 21 June where all aspects of the shooting industry are nominated, short listed and award various achievements in their field.

The West Kent Shooting School was presented with

“Highly Commended Best Shooting Ground 2006”

The shooting school has seen some dramatic changes over the past four years since Michael and Gillian Lynch brought the family business.

The new clubhouse was opened in May 2004 and the shooting facilities increased to a standard that was honoured with a “Premier Plus Shooting Ground” by clay shootings governing body, being one of only eleven in England.

The judges cited the Schools professionalism and enthusiasm in the sport, encouraging new shooters in safe and professional surroundings.

West Kent Shooting School has in place a very well established Young Shots Programme, where children between the ages of 9-16yr are taught in the classroom and field – safety, history and how to shoot.

The School holds “Have A Go” and “Ladies Day” to encourage more people to a sport which is on the increase throughout the country.

Their team of qualified instructors has dramatically increased with the number of lessons now held at the School.

Michael and Gillian Lynch are very proud of their recent accomplishments which could not have been achieved without the efforts of its staff and loyal customers.

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Christmas Newsletters are sent out to all our Customers who took the time to fill in one of our address forms at the Shooting School.

As our customers will know, we have for the past nine years sent a yearly Newsletter telling them the changes we have made or are hoping to make for the coming year.

And as a thank you for their custom, each customer is issued with a voucher towards a form of discounted or free shooting at the Shooting School.

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