Shoot to thrill: On the clay hunt in Ballynatray

Shooting trips on country manors were once the reserve of landed gentry but simulated shoots are bringing it to the masses. JOE goes blasting clay pigeons in Ballynatray.

By Robert Carry

“You’re making dust of them!” said Tom, a shooting instructor at Ballynatray – a country mansion in County Cork that recently opened its implausibly beautiful grounds to the public.

It had to be heading towards the 20th clay I’d blasted out of the sky and as a novice, I was starting to feel rather pleased with myself. “You have the makings of a shooting man alright,” added the ever-encouraging Tom as he clicked open the shotgun, blew the smoke from the barrels before reloading and handing it back to me. I thought they only did that in films.

Stalking

As well offering activities like canoeing, deer stalking, riding, archery and tennis in what has to be one of the best rural accommodation options in the province, the home’s latest owner, Henry Gwyn Jones, is aiming to draw in the punters with the launch of simulated driven shoots.

Going on a full-blown driven shoot, which involves a team of men thrashing their way through the undergrowth in a bid to scare pheasants, grouse or partridge into the air over a waiting battery of shooters, is generally prohibitively expensive.

During the simulated shoots, however, remote-controlled clay launchers are strategically placed out of sight at various points as a means of replicating a real shoot minus all the murder, the massive bills or the potential disappointment of going home without having spotted anything to shoot at.

The Frisbee-like clays fly up over the horizon at speed and in various directions before catching on the air and drifting to the ground somewhere behind you – unless you manage to blow one of them to bits. Sadly, the first half-dozen that came in my direction made it to ground completely unscathed.

Being something of a big kid who is still impressed by anything that makes a loud noise, I would have been happy to blast away at thin air for the entire day.

Just being allowed to hold the gun would have been enough to keep me content for several hours. But with a bit of further guidance from Tom, I finally loosed a shot and a clay I had fixed my sights on was left like Lego – in bits. The minor victory demonstrated that the process held another boyish joy – smashing stuff.

Swallow

With my first ‘kill’ under my belt, I started to smash all before me, taking out two and three clays in a row. It was great craic and as an activity, it didn’t suffer by virtue of the fact that it didn’t involve shooting actual animals. That said, a misguided swallow of some description flew into my field of vision at one point and it took all my willpower not to whack him.

This type of event would be ideal for a group of mates, on the likes of a 30th or a stag do, in that the competitive element would be brought to the fore. As well as the hunt for bragging rights over who wrecked the most clays, you can also fire at the targets intended for the boys standing either side of you. Hit one, and you get to point and laugh while they are left aiming at your dust.

This type of shooting has definite advantages over actual hunts. For a start, you could well spend an entire day trudging through the undergrowth in the hope of startling a bird into the air – but that doesn’t always happen. It is by no means rare for a hunting party to go out and not fire a shot.

You get to go home without any sense of maudlin regret at having taken the life of some unfortunate creature who was just trying to make its way in the world.

With simulated shoots, you know you’re going to get to blast away like you’re Yosemite Sam and you go through shells by the hundred. It also means you get to go home without any sense of maudlin regret at having taken the life of some unfortunate creature who was just trying to make its way in the world.

Those who go along to a day’s shooting hit four varied drives in pairs before a final drive to conclude the day’s shooting. You also get lunch and refreshments thrown in and if the feed we were treated to is anything to go by, this will be another highlight.

The venue is none too shabby either. Located at a bend in the river Blackwater right on the border between Waterford and Cork, the lands that form Ballynatray Estate offer panoramic views with practically nothing by way of habitation to spoil the view – unless you count the remains of Templemichael Castle and the ruined Molana Abbey that perch at the waterside.

It’s easy to forget that for centuries, country mansions such as Ballynatray were only for the eyes of the landed gentry and those who made a living by serving them. It’s great to see the doors opening up and the owners welcoming in members of the public.

In fact, the number of punters set to come through the gates of this particular residence could well be about to about to explode – JOE heard a rumour that the stunning grounds could be about to play host to a music festival, so watch this space.

If you've set your sights (sorry) on a simulated driven shoot at Ballynatray, click here for more information.

Robert Carry