Introductions by Beretta

(by Matt Rutherford - contributor)

For my first post on Beretta.com, I thought about introducing myself, telling everyone about my fantastic life shooting Sporting Clays in the UK. As I pondered how to start, I began thinking of all the fantastic people I have met since starting shooting just two years ago. For the first few months, I used my friends Beretta 682 Gold. We went to a monthly club in a farmer’s field, about ten or twelve guys shooting 50 targets from manual traps. I came last at first, but more importantly I was making friends. These guys are my monthly anchor, as my shooting develops, I am still coming back to see them. Every month without fail, we meet in the farmers field, drink some coffee (or something stronger at Christmas) and shoot those 50 targets again.

After a while I bought my gun, a Beretta 686 E Sporter and started getting out to more shoots, with harder targets and more experienced shooters. At the same time, I started my website, to capture all the information I was hungrily learning about Sporting Clays, I started to meet shooters from further afield, right across the UK and beyond. I went to the Beretta World Sporting Championship in the UK in July and shot with people I hadn’t met before, learning about the kind of targets presented in competition and watching hundreds of Beretta owners tackling a challenging shoot.

So, my shooting is improving, but so is my social life. I’ve made new friends, started my own website and travelled further to shoot with more people. All down to buying my Beretta. My 686 E has taken me places I couldn’t imagine. As I look forward to I can see more out there – more meet-ups from the people on my website, more competitions to shoot and hopefully, continued progress up the classifications.

Thanks Beretta.