A highly experienced APSI instructor, Philip joined the Thimbleby team in December 2019 as Senior Instructor and Shoot Ground Manager.

Well respected and with a strong background in the shooting industry, Philip has previously instructed at grounds throughout the North of England and run his own successful shooting business with a number of high profile, international clients.

An experienced infield instructor, during the game the season you’ll find Philip instructing clients on shoot days across the country.

As well as being our Senior Instructor, Philip has also been instrumental in developing the ground and our new Simulated Game days.

Craig “Barney” Bainbridge is the most recent instructor to join our team here at Thimbleby, and he come to us following his retirement from the armed response wing of the police. We like the sound of a retirement spent sharing your passion for clay shooting with more people! Craig worked in the police service for 16 years and prior to that served in the military, where he also taught clay shooting. He also learnt to shoot as a child so we can’t possibly tell you how many years he’s been shooting for as that would mean sharing his age…

Russ had a 30+ year career in the police force where he worked his way up from policing armed crime to being an instructor, armourer and expert witness in firearm-related matters. During his time teaching in the force, Russ also became very interested in the psychology of learning and began to study in his own time to develop his teaching techniques. Over a period of around four years, he gained an Advanced Certificate in Education, a post graduate diploma and a degree at Masters level in training and evaluation, and uses this extensive knowledge to help all our customers progress despite their varying learning needs and developmental requirements.

Russ is a CPSA qualified instructor and is a member of the Institute of Clay Shooting Instructors and is a very popular choice with our customers of all levels, helping on simulated game days, regular lessons and ground events. His favourite pastimes, when he isn’t teaching people to shoot, are enjoying simulated game days and helping prepare and run local driven game shoots. Russ learnt to shoot at the age of 12 and remembers his family raising and releasing birds when he was just six or seven years old, so it’s safe to say shooting is a lifelong passion for him.