2017 Winner – Neil Gaff 

Career soldier Neil Gaff pitted himself against strong competition to win Talent Pool 2017.

With over 13 years in the British Army, and deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Cyprus as well as numerous trips overseas for training exercises, determination comes as standard.

Based in Wiltshire, Neil has done a lot of travelling in the last 12 months in pursuit of his passion for shooting.  From the outset of Talent Pool, Neil described himself as a novice shooter, but with the personal drive and ambition to succeed. This, coupled with a training and mentoring programme from Southdown’s Head Coach Simon Arbuckle, has seen him rise through the rankings and he is now a CPSA “A Class” shooter.

Talent Pool has made a big difference to Neil’s shooting, not only in his progression to A Class in Sporting, but also giving him the opportunity to shoot at various grounds around the country, meet lots of likeminded shooters and make new friends.  For him the best feature of the Zoli Z-Gun, included in the winner’s package, is the lack of recoil, and he reports the NSI Prima shells give really consistent breaks and are great value for money

Neil has achieved a lot over the past 12 months including consistently contributing as part of the Southdown Gun Club CPSA Premier League Team. He has reached second in class at the CPSA English Open Sportrap, hitting a score in the 90’s, as well as numerous class wins at competitions around the grounds.

Talent Pool is a unique development programme, giving someone the opportunity to take part in clay pigeon shooting, with a view to competing at a national level. The winner has the opportunity to receive free coaching, support and mentoring for a year by Southdown Gun Club’s head coach, plus a fantastic support package that includes use of a Zoli “Z-Gun” competition shotgun for a year, thousands of complimentary Nobel Sports Italia cartridges, branded apparel, completion entry fees, free Southdown practice clays and CPSA membership including insurance.  To find out more about the competition, click here