When it comes to taking aim, patiently awaiting the perfect moment and firing at a target, there’s no better place in the country than Nottinghamshire. Any story of marksmanship in the British Isles must begin with Robin Hood, the legendary outlaw whose accuracy, daring and charisma made fools of his enemies, chief among them the Sheriff of Nottingham, and redistributed wealth from their treasure troves to the poor. But the tools of this folk hero’s trade, the bow and arrow, have become superseded in centuries since he is supposed to have lived. The sharpshooters of our time prefer the shotgun, and take aim at clay pigeons.

This target sport has many advantages. First of all, it’s a dynamic activity involving moving targets: launched from a machine known as a trap, spinning disks (the “pigeons” or “clays”) trace an arc through the air. Shotguns are used to shoot them down which, unlike traditional longbows, don’t require bulging biceps to fire. You’ll feel like the heir to Robin Hood as you get the pigeon between your sights, squeeze the trigger and blast it to smithereens - it’s a satisfaction that’s hard to beat! The woodlands of Nottinghamshire are not as wide as they were when outlaws could hide out in Sherwood forest, but along with open spaces and valleys, make this a perfect area for an outdoor clay pigeon shoot.

Where are the best places to go clay pigeon shooting in Nottinghamshire?

• Nottingham: home to the Sheriff of Nottingham to this day, though occupying a more ceremonial role than during the middle ages, this city has clay pigeon shooting within easy reach. You’ll receive a warm welcome at the shooting ranges whether you’re an absolute beginner or a seasoned sniper. As well as standard range shooting, you can have a go at simulated game shooting, taking place in woodland or fields, clays spring out from hidden traps in a variety of trajectories, mimicking the flight of birds. All you have to do is hit them before they disappear from sight.

• Orston: Not far from the city is the village Orston, where you’ll find some of the best clay pigeon shooting in the region. This arena has a variety of layouts to put your aim to the test, including traditional “Down the Line” and “Skeet” arrangements, as well as a tower based trap that shoots clays in the style of pheasant and partridge flight. The clays come from all angles at Orston, so keep a cool head to make your shots count.

• Farnsfield: near the town of Newark and on the fringes of Sherwood forest you’ll find a clay pigeon shoot to get your imagination working. This traditional fun can be combined with other outdoor pursuits here, touring for ancient forest in a 4x4 for example will bring the legends of Robin Hood to life before you channel his spirit to hit the clays on the range.

• Blidworth: in the heart of the region, the skills of marksmanship are kept alive at a top quality shooting range. A wide variety of different shapes and sizes of shotgun means there’s something for everyone - young, old, expert or novice.

• Gainsborough: farmland and old English oaks will be your if you come shooting at Hayton Castle Farm near Gainsborough. If you can bring yourself to leave the comfortable purpose-built shooting lodge, you’ll be rewarded with expert tuition (including from Olympic medal winners) and the chance to take down a lot of clays, shattering them in mid air.

Shooting experiences that you can choose

Far from a repetitive point and shoot exercise, clay pigeon shooting is an engaging sport with almost limitless variations to enjoy. The classic formats are Down the Line and Skeet shoots, in which clays are launched across the line of sight of the shooters. The shooters change alternate positions along the length of the shooting stand, meaning that each has a chance to get first shot at a target. From this simple set-up, the limits are the creativity of the shooting range team and this area has some of the most imaginative. Different angles, speeds, shooting rates and shooter positions can be combined to make sure you never get bored of this sport, even if you’ve already been doing it all your life. Simulated game shooting takes all this one step further by moving the action off-piste and recreating the atmosphere of a real hunt.

The other consideration is how much time you want to spend on the range - or perhaps a better question is how many shots you want to take. Sessions can be organised by time, or by the number of shots that you buy. In general, it takes about an hour to shoot 25 times and you can usually book 25, 50 or sometimes 75. For a quick taste of the sport, you can also choose a 15 minute experience, but we recommend that 30 minutes is better to get a proper idea of what it’s all about.

Who can do this activity?

Robin Hood had his Merry Men to help him out in his missions and, presumably, to have a good time with - and that’s why we suggest that you bring your own gang to make this a legendary experience. This sport is best experienced as a group, and ranges are set up to accommodate various shooters at the same time, sometimes firing at the same flying clay. For a day out with family and friends you can’t go wrong, or why not combine business with pleasure by bringing your coworkers for a team building activity, or a client to break the ice in a negotiation?

Iis a very safe sport for pigeons, who have happily been replaced by clay disks, and people. Safety regulations are in place, and your instructors will take these as seriously as they’ll take their responsibility to make sure you enjoy yourself. That said, handling a gun does require a certain strength and stature and so ranges have minimum ages for participation depending on the guns that are available. In general if you’re over 10 or 12 years old, you’ll be able to get involved in this target sport.

This experince is a guaranteed good day out for all, and you won’t need to take from the rich to finance this adventure. Just let us know what you fancy and we’ll take care of the rest.