My Passion With Judith Hanson

I never considered shooting as a hobby until around four years ago, when I was introduced to it by a friend.

My passion for the sport has grown beyond belief and I seem to have a natural ability for it. I now have my eyes set on winning titles. I remember my first try at clay shooting, I was petrified. I don’t come from a shooting background, so when my friend, who had been a gamekeeper, suggested me having a go I was understandably nervous.

The gun felt too heavy, the recoil almost knocked me over and it all seemed very unnatural.

Obviously, guns can be dangerous if not handled correctly and gun safety is paramount.

Once I understood all these aspects it became a lot easier to focus. It is now second nature to me.

I became a member of the Nottingham & District Gun Club three years ago, a year after picking up my first 12 bore, and have been shooting Down The Line (DTL) for Derbyshire at County Level for a year.

The club has excellent facilities and clay pigeon layouts but focus mainly on DTL which is a variation of trap shooting.

Shooting can be an expensive hobby, the equipment and cartridges are not cheap but the only way to improve is to practice if you want to become successful.

I won the ladies Bronze in the DTL West Midlands Area Championships held in Nottingham, earlier this year, but to be honest I was quite disappointed.

I shot well in my first two rounds, but my second two let me down and I know I could have done better. I can’t afford to drop points like I did.

I got through to the shoot off in the lucky numbers at the Krieghoff Championships in Wales in June and then finished second in my class at the DTL weekend at Bywell in Northumbria. I was quite happy despite spending the weekend up to my knees in mud!   

The people I shoot with are a huge inspiration to me. My shooting partner and a number of my friends shoot for England and I will be going along to support them at the World DTL Championships which are to be held in the UK at the Mid Wales Shooting Ground this year.

Although DTL is not a discipline featured in the Olympics I am still looking forward to how Team GB shoot.

Ultimately, I would love to be an AA Class shooter and to get 100/300 – the perfect score and qualify for the Ladies England Selection shoots. With more help and practice I’m sure this will be possible.

All of my friends and family are very supportive of my strange choice of a hobby. My husband has shot with me a few times, he enjoys it but he definitely prefers golf. It’s not quite as noisy.