AIMING down the barrel of the Browning 12-gauge sporting shotgun feels pretty good, but nothing prepares me for how it feels when I blow my first clay target into smithereens.

Purbeck Shooting School owner, and expert shot Graham Brown, has seen my look a thousand times before – he calls it a contraction of the chuckle muscle.

It is hard to pinpoint why blowing clay targets into dust puts such a big grin on my face – but it undoubtedly does.

I’ve travelled to the shooting school, on Puddletown Road, ahead of National Shooting Week, which began on Saturday. The 50-acre site is only a few miles from where the first-ever International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Cup took place earlier last month.

Graham, a big, affable guy who obviously has a passion for the discipline, now puts seven days a week into running his school. He started it from scratch in 1995 and many of the nation’s crack shots have honed their skills here.

“As a country, we excel in this sport. Everything you see here came out of a desire to help people, more than the wish to run a business,” explains Graham.

“This ground started because of an ability I had to shoot and people asked me to help them. It has come from nothing. I used to come up here one day a week with a couple of hand traps and I’d give people pointers on how to shoot.”

Since then, sporting stars including Commonwealth gold medallist Charlotte Kerwood and Olympic gold medallist Richard Faulds are just two of the big names to have used the facilities.

Graham said: “We are a quality outfit. We do what we do very well. I don’t want this just to be a shooting ground, I want it to be a centre of excellence.”

Graham works with top professionals – he has an ex-England team member visiting this week – but he’s also keen to attract beginners and people just looking for fun.

“We do a lot of stag and hen groups, corporate stuff and we have a great junior section,” he said. “The thing about children shooting is it’s a very controlled situation and the children learn a huge sense of responsibility, as they are dealing with a weapon that is obviously dangerous.

“In Dorset, because we are more rural, children and guns are a little more accepted – you see children walking around here, 11 or 12-year-olds, carrying their guns correctly, accompanied by adults, conducting themselves as adults.

“We get no televised shooting in this country at all, even though we’re the best in the world at it. It is frustrating. These guys are shooting at targets at all different ranges, travelling at different speeds and angles. Their co-ordination is phenomenal.”

More than 100 shooting schools will open their doors to the public as part of National Shooting Week.

Graham said: “Shooting is a very popular sport with more than one million regular participants. We’re hoping that people from all walks of life will try shooting for the first time during the week.”

* Purbeck Shooting School is offering have a go sessions at £10 for 12 shots from June 1 to June 4, from 10am-6pm. Booking is not always necessary, just pop along. The school also offers introductory lessons from £40 per person. Visit www.purbeckshootingschool.com or call 01929 405101.

* The school is holding a charity shoot on July 7 in aid of Help for Heroes. The event is open to experienced shot and complete beginners with a 100 Bird Sporting Competition in the morning, over 15 stands in teams of four. A 50 Bird have a Go session runs in the afternoon. It costs £75 and includes a hog roast. Prior booking is required. E-mail info@purbeckshootingschool.com