Mendip Gunsmith
Repair - Service - Tuition

Firearm Service and Repair

Not only can I repair and service any type of legally held firearm. I also service/repair any forms of the following:-

• Any type and make of shotgun
• Spring powered pistols and rifles.
• Air pistols and rifles.
• CO2 pistols and rifles.
• Precharged pistols and rifles.
• Gas ram air weapons.

I also have the facilities to chronograph and adjust ballistic power to comply with the current legal requirements. I also make parts to pattern for obsolete guns and repair/service all makes of automatic traps.

Coaching and Instruction

I am a CPSA (Clay Pigeon Shooting Association) registered safety officer and level 1 Instructor. As such I can provide Coaching or Corporate services at Mendip Shooting Ground located near Wells in Somerset where I am a member. I also teach air rifle shooting and archery.

My favourite form of archery is the use of the English Longbow. I make my own bows and arrows, I also make longbows, arrows & strings to order but I no longer shoot competitively, and practice purely for pleasure and demonstration purposes.

Trap Control System

I have over 35 years experience in the electronic security industry, providing consultancy, design, costing, installation and maintenance services for intruder alarms, CCTV access control and fully integrated systems. As a result of this I have the capability of taking a design from original concept all the way through the various stages to final handover.

With the increase of dishonesty amongst some of the less desirable members of the shooting community I was asked to develop a system of restricting the unauthorised use of the clay target traps. Over the last 5 years I have developed a system that is very secure and provides ground owners with useful information about trap usage and therefore assists with stock control. As a bonus staff can now be set free to keep up with any general tasks around the grounds as they do not now have to accompany shooters around the layouts.

In exchange for some form of security, shooters are provided with an electronic “key” that can be programmed with a value, or set to count up. This key is inserted in a socket at the controller which is fitted adjacent to each stand or layout. The traps will not operate unless a valid key is inserted. Each time a trap is fired, the key will either count down or up depending on how it is programmed. The value is displayed on a LCD screen on the controller. When the shooter has finished the key is returned to the club house where it is read and the shooter pays for the amount of targets released.

In the first week of introduction, the amount of clay targets used was reduced by a staggering 50%

The keys are programmed with a PIN code which is changed at regular intervals to prevent ones that are lost or stolen being used again.

Knowing the amount of targets used is also helpful for stock control purposes, and software is available to integrate this function.

I have developed controllers to cope with 2, 4, 8, or 16 traps and remote hand units that will work in conjunction with them communicating over 3 core mains cable instead of the usual multicore. These units can also cope with simultaneous pairs without needing any extra cores in the connecting cable.

The control system has also been extended to work in conjunction with wireless control systems and a fully integrated hand controller system will soon be introduced at the ground to operate the high tower mounted traps.

A spin off of these developments was a sequencer primarily designed for simulated “flush” shoots. It can sequence up to 16 traps at a time with variable time delays between each release of targets.

An audio release system is under development to allow a lone shooter go round the layouts without needing the services of a trapper.