I went clay pigeon shooting at the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

i'm now looking in to getting my shotgun licence, cabinet and shotgun.

so any advice or anything i should be aware of?

I love shooting. I've been shooting since I was about 5 YO. I used to shoot competitively, but it got to be too much work, so I've stepped away from that - at least for now. My two hobbies are bikes and guns. My advice to you is to move to the US, pick a state that doesn't treat you like a criminal for liking to shoot, i.e., not Kalifornia, Hawaii or Mass a two shits, and shoot anything you want - pistols, rifles, shotguns, and even machine guns.

Not a quick process getting a shotgun certificate, lot of ball ache, paperwork, Police visit etc.

Cabinet has to be hidden and out of view from windows/doors, best place in wardrobe, has to be properly secured down too.

I used to do a fair few shotgun renewals, some people have too much money, this one guy had one worth 30k

Just a cheap one then?
Some English hand made guns are simply huge money.
Guy I shoot with has had a pair of Boss made for him @ £80,000 each. That's each mind!
I'd like to say he's a crap shot but he's not: ex international sportsman and he's superb.
I make do with 3 guns: a Beretta 686 for clays - an old gun but refurbished for me a couple of years ago and still superb, a Browning lightweight for walked up and a 1908 Army and Navy side by side for those special driven days.
I shoot clays but its only practice for the real thing which for me is walked up and the very occasional driven day.

One reason I live in AZ I can have everything plus a carry permit which I always do.None of this 5 round mags shit.Calif is nuts
I got 2 AR15's that I bought from a gun store twenty years ago I can not move back to Calif with my guns or I go to Jail.

I used to live in Simi Valley When I left they had 6 stores .Now I hear they have 1.

In Calif only the gang bangers can have guns.If you shoot someone that trys to rob you .You go to jail for having the gun.

We don't have too much home invasion stuff here.The bad guys get filled full of lead.
Crotch you have to make a trip out here to Laughlin I will take you out for some cool rides plus we can go blow shit up I got stuff the L A swat team would druel over. Plus there are a bunch of us that shoot some of them have class 3 .Now thats a fun time.
Now That I know we can talk more at Chucky I got a ride that your BMW will love.I did it on my RC8R It was a blast.

I would like a gun so i can gun down 99% of the users of ktm forum. Bunch of twats (apart from the other 1%)

I did shooting in the air cadets when i was young, got my marksman certificate. Then i started drinking coffee, my eyes failed and i got the jitters....

Loved it.

Wouldn't it be cool if your job was to shoot guns and ride motorcycles?

I used to shoot american trap competitively. I'm not sure what is popular in the UK, but Olympic bunker is probably the closet thing to american trap. Get a good over-under with 32" barrels and choke system. Setup your under barrel with a modified choke, and the over barrel with full choke. With olympic bunker you can take two shots at the pigeon because it travels much faster than other pigeon sports. So, the under barrel goes off first with wide spread, then you have reach for the second shot with over barrel and full choke. Always keep your face cheek planted against the comb of the stock, that way the barrel is always in line with where you are looking. So many people miss shots because they pull their head away too soon, most common mistake.

BTW: Is a shotgun license required in all communist nations?

I thought us Cali boys had it bad but you euro folks got it jammed in your asses from the law. California you can only have a 10rnd clip cali approved gun(not 5 rounds Vic). The big weapons have to have a 10rnd also with a clip that has a speacial tool to release the mags(bullet button). I too have my concealed permit for like 40 states. I live in California however and can't carry while I'm here. Hopefully the laws will change as they are fooking our civil rights.

Yes...but only a couple of times a year....

Used to have a shotgun, but I was hopeless with it - right handed, but left eye dominant. I used it for shooting rabbits, only most of the time I missed the buggers. Got rid of the shotgun and replaced it with a firearm cert. Got a Walther G22 semi-auto rifle and my rabbit score has improved markedly. I never seem to get any time to go shooting now, but enjoy it when I do.