Island Life June July 2015 June July 2015 | Page 60

Dan’s

aiming
for the top

R

unning a shooting business and
working full time in banking
doesn’t leave Dan Bishop much
time to practice his sport – but it doesn’t
stop him scoring highly in national
competitions.
Dan’s latest success was chalking up
the highest score at the annual Clay
Shooting Handicap Classic at Royal
Berkshire Shooting School in May – and
winning the big prize of a Browning
Heritage shotgun.
Earlier this year, he was riding high
in the rankings at the Essex Masters
competition, at 8th in his class and 32nd
of the 1,700 total competitors. And now
he’s looking forward to representing the
Isle of Wight in the Island Games, taking
place in Jersey at the end of June.
Dan, who started shooting at nine years
old, now has a passion to encourage
other youngsters in the sport, which is
why three years ago he launched the 11acre Bowcombe View Shooting Ground
at Cheverton, with his father Jim and
uncle Ray Bishop.
He explains: “When I was younger we

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didn’t have many facilities for shooting
and it cost a lot to have to travel every
couple of weeks to practice. Now we
have the quality of targets here on the
Island, and it’s great to see more and
more youngsters getting involved. We
don’t charge under 18s because we don’t
want costs to hamper them”.
Working full time as a senior business
manager for NatWest in Newport, as
well as owning and running Bowcombe
View means that Dan often misses out
on his own practice time, but he says:
“It’s pleasing that I can still deliver good
results even though I might not be able
to shoot as regularly as others”.
At the family-run ground, investment
has been made in further automatic
clay traps, bringing the total to over 30
and offering an array of targets for both
club shooters and competition practice.
Coaching and tuition is available for
newcomers of all ages to the sport, as
well as corporate entertainment groups
and parties.
According to Dan, “Clay shooting on
the Island has never been more popular”.

“Clay shooting on
the Island has never
been more popular”