It’s no secret that the UK faces the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, with inflation currently over 9% and households across the country feeling the pinch and looking for ways to reduce their monthly outgoings. Nine in 10 adults continue to report that their cost of living has increased, with everything from petrol to pasta seeing eye-watering price increases.
Fuel prices rose by 11.5% in the year leading up to December 2022, while domestic gas and electricity increased by 129% and 65% respectively. Many lower income households are now making the choice between heating their homes and feeding their families, with 93% of food banks surveyed by IFAN reporting an increase in the need for their services since the start of 2022.
Aside from making for some very depressing reading, how does all this affect shooters, and their ability to partake in the sport they love? Of the adults that had seen their living costs increase, 57% spent less on non-essentials, 65% are planning fewer paid-for entertainment or leisure activities, and 64% plan to stay closer to home for entertainment and leisure.
For most of us, shooting represents a hobby – a leisure activity or sport which we enjoy immensely but which is not strictly essential when compared to heating our homes or feeding our families (although some may disagree with the latter in that statement!).
However, in dark times, personal well-being is vital, and we all know that exercise, social interaction, fresh air and a sense of community are huge contributors to our overall sense of well-being.
So, here we have provided money-saving tips and advice to help you continue to enjoy your sport, whatever happens to our ever more unstable economy.
(Our figures come from: Office for National Statistics; CultureHive; and House of Commons Library).
Guns
If you have a crowded cabinet, consider parting with some of your guns. You can trade them in or even sell them to release some money, which can be put towards shooting more with your favoured gun.
There are some brilliant brands available brand-new that won’t break the bank, such as Webley & Scott, or you can look into the second-hand market where there are some incredible bargains to be had.
Bill Elderkin of Elderkin & Sons Gunmakers Ltd offered the following advice: “The selection of budget guns from any reputable gun shop should be quite extensive. A very serviceable side-by-side could cost from as little as £100, and an over-and-under is likely to be from £150 upwards. If purchasing an over-and-under single trigger, make sure it has been shot and tested by a gunsmith and comes with a guarantee (we guarantee for two years on our budget guns). If there is a problem with a single trigger it can be trickier to rectify.
“Other things to check are that the woodwork is sound and not cracked. Look for marks, bulges or dents in the barrels, and check that the action is tight. With a gun in this price bracket there should be no reason why they shouldn’t give you good service for years to come.
“To give an example, we sell an AYA Yeoman s/s for around £100 and we have Rizzini and Lanbers from £150. Baikals in s/s or o/u, if not messed around with, are always a good buy which you can pick up for approximately £75-£100.
“I would suggest that you go into your local dealer and talk to them about what you are looking for and set your budget. Make sure they offer a guarantee, and let them check the fit of the gun for you, which they may charge for. With the onset of non-toxic cartridges, check the chokes are Half choke or wider if fixed, and that the gun is then suitable for steel.”
Simpsons Brothers gun shop in Cambridgeshire offered advice for newcomers to the sport: “Firstly, set your budget, and spend money on the lessons and fit. For example, if your budget is £800, spend £500 on the gun and £300 on fitting and lessons. That way, you get more out of the gun and are further along in your shooting journey than if you’d spent the entire budget just on the gun.
“A £500 budget will see you with a new Turkish gun, or a 10 to 25-year-old Beretta that has done very little work. The Silver Pigeon and any 687 are highly reliable and a safe bet for any beginner.”
Clothing and footwear
Whether you shoot game or clays, there’s really no need to constantly buy the latest stuff. Most clothing designed for shooting is high quality and built to last, far more so than the content of your regular high street shops. Ask yourself – do you really need that new coat or will the one you’ve got suffice, perhaps with a little mending or waxing to boost the waterproofing?
If you do really need something, it’s always worth checking out the second-hand market. You can often find good quality items on Facebook Marketplace and eBay for a fraction of what you’d spend buying brand new.
Footwear is a tricky area, as there’s nothing that will ruin your day in the field like a poorly fitting pair of boots that don’t keep your feet warm and dry. However, looking after your boots properly really will prolong their life, particularly if they are made of leather. Always clean the mud off them and then allow them to dry naturally, not near a heater, before oiling the leather to keep it supple and prevent cracking. If they are on their last legs, look into having them mended and resoled before taking the plunge on a new pair.
Game shooting
If you aren’t already part of one, look to join a DIY syndicate. There is usually a year-round commitment with this sort of shooting, as there tends to be no professional gamekeeper – but that can be part of the fun, and it makes the shooting at the end of it all the more enjoyable. DIY syndicates usually offer full or half Guns, and prices range from around £500 to £1,000 for the season. Some syndicates, like the Rough Rovers, specialise in finding walked-up and mini-driven days, which are kinder on the wallet than big driven days. This sort of shooting can be harder to find, however, so make the most of your contacts.
It's also worth keeping an eye out for leftover days on shooting websites – you may be able to snap up a bargain, although the downside is you probably won’t know the other Guns you are shooting with. On the plus side, it can be a great way to meet more like-minded folk! Check out Guns on Pegs for availability.
Look for walk-one, stand-one days, and boundary days on some of the bigger shoots. Because these days require fewer beaters and fewer birds to make the bag, they tend to be a lot cheaper than your normal driven day. The keeper is often happy to put on these days at the start or end of the season to help push birds back into the estate.
Peg sharing, and thus halving the cost of a game day, is a great option if you have a good friend or a partner who also shoots. Yes, you will get half the shooting on the day, but it’s great fun and often more enjoyable to have some moral support and someone to help you load and spot the birds.
If you are still struggling to afford the sport, why not choose one or two days you really want to go to, and spend the rest of the season beating or picking up? You will still benefit from the fresh air, exercise and social elements of game shooting, plus you should receive a little cash for your efforts – and who knows, you may even get an invitation to Beaters Day at the end of the season.
If it is all about the shooting for you, look into halving your game days and introducing some simulated game throughout the summer months to compensate. Although they are not cheap, simulated game days are often significantly less expensive than a proper game day, and it’ll also get your eye in so you make the most of the game days you can afford.
Cartridges
They’re a necessary expense, there’s no doubt about it, but there are savings to be made. Consider talking to friends and buying cartridges in bulk if you can, splitting the cost between the group.
Check out Just Cartridges, where you get a discount for buying 1,000 cartridges, and where they also have sales from time to time which you can take advantage of.
If you shoot a lot of clays, consider choosing a 21g training load if you do not already use one; these are often priced lower than the really snazzy competition loads, and are more than good enough for fun practice throughout the summer to get your eye in for the season.
Clays
The cost of clays has increased slightly, but in many cases this represents the first price rise in six years, so try not to feel grumpy about it – the rising cost of goods affects everyone, including ground owners! There are definitely things you can do to reduce your spend though…
Firstly, practise your dry mounting at home so that, when you get to the ground, you are only working on things that really require a target! Start with a nice straight going-away target, to replicate the practice you’ve been doing at home, and go from there.
You can try shooting fewer clays (50 instead of 100) by structuring your session better. Arrive with a plan of which targets you want to shoot and which elements of your technique you want to work on, rather than just aimlessly blasting bitumen and using up cartridges. Take a break halfway through, evaluate, and continue.
Howard Kirby of Lains Shooting School added: “Ensure you make the best of your time with your shotgun in hand. I think I can speak for most of us when I say that we get the most enjoyment from being successful. Breaking clays gives us a real buzz, so when spending your hard-earned cash at your local clay shoot try to plan the stands you choose to shoot. Start on stands that build your confidence and make you feel good, and don’t keep plugging away at targets that you just can’t hit. Maybe work on those more testing targets when you’re stood with an experienced friend or instructor.”
If you usually have lunch or breakfast in the clubhouse, with a little forward planning you can take a flask and some sandwiches instead, saving yourself some cash. It's also worth looking into membership at your local ground, and what benefits/discounts this brings. Based on your volume of shooting and the specific membership benefits, it could save you money annually.
Finally, if you do happen to have a bit of ground and it is safe and legal to shoot on it, look into clubbing together with your friends and buying a second-hand trap to practise with. However, you MUST be able to operate it safely! If you are not sure, don’t guess; get someone who does know to train you up.