Standard setter

Charles Smith-Jones believes the beautifully made Miroku MK38 is a top-class gun of choice for any serious Sporting clay shooter and good value for money, too

Sporting clays, as opposed to the more readily anticipated targets featuring in Skeet or Trap shooting, offer more of the unpredictability encountered in live quarry shooting. Layouts tend to be based around 10 to 15 stands set out in a natural setting and offer a variety of targets with different ranges, speeds, trajectories, angles and target sizes.

The discipline dates back to the early 1900s, when shooting grounds looked to provide practice for driven game shooting. Since then, Sporting has evolved into the highly popular and often very competitive branch of the sport that we enjoy today.

Evolution 

Even as late as the 1970s, the serious Sporting clay shooter still had to rely on Trap or Skeet guns if they wanted to employ anything other than a game gun. Many found themselves seeking the competitive advantages offered by a longer-barrelled Trap gun, and at first Miroku simply flattened off the stock of their 3800 Trap gun to enable it to shoot more to the point of aim as opposed to high. They also opened out the chokes to make them more suitable for Sporting ranges.

Eventually, the MK38 appeared as Miroku’s purpose-made response, adding a proper Sporter stock to what were effectively a Trap action and barrels. In doing so, they created a heavier and more controllable gun to suit extended courses of shooting.