minghis

Totally agree - I've a Bushnell Banner 3-9 x 40 and it's great. £85 from a proper gun shop, off the shelf, sorted. I haven't tried hundreds of other scopes, but as far as I can tell this is perfect for the rimfire.

I had two of these recently, an 05 plate and an 07 plate. My experience was good, they are super little things. But... I really felt the benefit of the air con in the 07 plate, not so much for the cooling but more for clearing the misted up screen and windows that you tend to get with wet kit in the (rather small) boot. I think the late one had the VVT engine, it certainly went better. You're really close to the glass as they're so small, so I did find misting to be a problem. The other thing was that to bear in mind they are incredibly low geared, you can easily be in 5th gear around town so you can imagine how high it'll be revving on the motorway! I kept the back seats folded down while I had mine as the boot is small but it's a small car so no surprises there. Great off road (just not too fast, they're a bit bouncy..) and have the ability to not get beached in deep ruts as they've got a really narrow track. They ride on top of soft mud and snow without sinking, too. Didn't help with your question about the cambelt but hope the views on the cars are of some help.

I think the OP is asking about the later Maverick, not the Maverick/Terrano clone.

I was close to getting one of these recently. All good, car like road manners but with the obvious extra ground clearance and grip. Comfy, reliable but the 3 litre is thirsty - I was told low 20's average. I was going for the 2 litre Mazda equivalent, the Tribute. Even more reliable but naff looks. Have you seen http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ford/maverick-ii-2001/ and http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mazda/tribute-2001/

Honest John says: What's Good By UK standards, quite well priced at just over £16,195 for the 2.5 litre V6 5-door. 2.0 litre 86bhp Turbodiesel option with 5-door body. Seats of 5-door fold flat to make double bed. £800 clip-on tent available. 2.0 Litre 126 bhp GV2000 3-door manual or 4-speed automatic launched spring 2000 to compete with Honda's much sharper HRV. 2.0 litre 107bhp diesel with 199lb ft torque launched July 2003. Does 0-60 in 13 seconds, top speed 99.4mpg, combined consumption 38.7mpg, price £14,733. New interiors for all Grand Vitaras July 2003. Cheap deals on UK supplied and warranted Suzukis at www.buysuzukidirect.co.uk Suzuki generally 3rd lowest average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 43.23 v/s lowest 31.93) Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk All Suzukis with standard radio/CD player, driver and passenger airbags and ABS with EBD from April 2004. What's Bad Still not a great drive. 4th from Bottom in 144 car 2002 JD Power / What Car? Customer Satisfaction Survey of V and W reg cars. Three star 2003 NCAP crash test rating and no stars for pedestrian safety. What to Watch Out For Diesel versions on Bridgstone tyres scrub the insides of their front tyres. On the diesel around 1993, the mission Control Sensor Dash-Light may light up indicating a fault, limiting engine power. Sometimes re-sets by itself; sometimes requires dealer visit. In mid-2004 a modified Emission Control Board [ECB] had been fitted to all factory Suzuki Grand Vitaras, due to a problem with the original ECB, and those Grand Vitaris produced prior to mid-2004 had had their original ECBs re-placed on an "as and when needed basis": there had been no re-call. If you have the problem with a pre mid 2004 Vitara diesel then it is fitted with the old ECB and needs the modified one.

So, mate of mine who does a bit of shooting and fishing is seriously looking at an 05 plate one of these. His reasoning is - comfy and safe enough for the school run, bit of room for the guns & tackle, economical and has 4 wheel drive so less likely to get stuck than 2 wheel drive, simple as that. He's not the type to worry about looking a **** as he's been there and done that with prestige stuff but wants something less pretentious/big. Do I seriously try to put him off or does he, in some way, have a point?

Have you thought about a good used Sako Finnfire? Mine's 13 years old, never been cleaned and still refuses to go wrong or break.

Best was 165 big paces with HV's - headshot. Genuine. Probably lucky, but genuine.

I called in to the Exeter store for the first time last week - I needed a new scope and some subs. I was asked if I needed help within a minute of entering the store - the advice I was given was first rate, no pressure, just advice. Ended up buying what I wanted all with no fuss and a good price. My experience was really good.

Hmm, I have just gone through 500 of these in my Sako Finnfire and I have to say I won't be using them again. They're good value, I had no misfires or duds and they're loud which I assume means they're 'fast' but however I tried I could not get any decent accuracy with them. Example - 75 yards (ish) zero, no wind, bipod a few out of five would group within an inch. Go shoot some rabbits - lots of misses - frustration - re-zero - and on and on it went, trip after trip after trip.. The body shot was the only way of hitting the rabbits. They were so bad that I felt at one point it had to be the scope losing it's zero (creeping?) and was about to throw the thing away and buy another one. Went back to CCI Mini Mags (High Velocity, not subs) and got much better groups and more head shots. No wasting time re-zeroing, just arrive and shoot. Bliss. So, they may work for you in your gun but certainly not for me.

If that group is within about an inch (which it looks going on the size of the bullet holes) I'd say that's not too bad considering the fact it's breezy and you're not using a bipod.

My understanding is that it simply allows you to make the decision if (land for which you have permission) is suited to use the calibre of rifle you have. This saves you having to get the Firearms dept to inspect and approve the land, you take this role and make the decision as an open license holder.

Don't forget the Maverick / Terrano option - my shooting hack 1993 Maverick 2.7tdi will go pretty much anywhere a Land Rover will go, has a decent low range 'box and I haven't layed a spanner on it since I had it, over a year ago. There are a few good, well serviced ones out there and I do think you'd be surprised at just how good they are for what you want to use it for.

What exactly are you looking for, a value or a history check? If it's a trade and retail value I can do that for you from Glass's Guide but alas not a history check. If you need a history check beware of the cheap text ones, they don't always include the finance bit, just whether it's been stolen/written off or not. If you're a member of the RAC/AA they'll do 'proper' checks for discounted rates.

I'm confused by Beretta's numbering system. Is there an idiots guide to how they work - I see there are some 686's called silver pigeons, some onyx's and some are called sporters. My 686 special is a 28" fixed choke, does this mean that all 686 specials are this configuration? Anyone know why they're called 'special'? Thanks in advance!

Avon & Somerset - had the FAC for 5 years, renewal time - FEO told me he would change it to open as I'd been a good chap. Also made the FAC and Shot Gun coterminous. What I believe helped here (if any help was needed) was that FEO knows that I never shoot without phoning the landowner first. If I can't get hold of them, I don't go there, simple as that. This has been also mentioned by the landowners to the FEO as something I do that they like. This may well, of course, have no relevance to the open status.

Nail. Head Hit.

I'd always recommend the Sako Finnfire P94S if you're looking for a bolt action .22lr for vermin control. Top quality, reliable and accurate. I believe they're not made anymore so a good used one should not be too difficult to find.

Well an interesting thread. I am not a member of the BASC and haven't been since they upset and annoyed me several years ago. I have no intention of joining them in the future but this thread has made me realise that I really ought to get some insurance to cover my shooting activities.

Posting this for my brother - he's got a 2000 V Disco TD5 and every so often all the warning lights come on on the dash - engine management, ABS, everything. The car doesn't stop or go into limp mode, it just seems like a glitch. A long shot, but any Disco owners have/had the same problem and know if it's an easy fix? Thanks in advance!

I also did one at Honiton (well, Awliscombe) and thoroughly enjoyed it. What amazed me was just how well the Disco (my 'chosen' drive) performed on bog standard road tyres. Quite amazing.

215/80/15 Nankang from a local independant, £54 each fitted with a free tracking check. They are completely fine for what I need and would recommend them for local/on/off road stuff.

I fear this may well be the problem. The boots are a bit loose, and I reckon this heel thing is my problem. The wife bought them, and with the best intentions she bought a size larger to allow for extra socks and so on, but in reality the boots sizing probably already takes this into account so ultimately they're about two sizes too big if I wear just regular socks. Perhaps some nice insoles and some thicker socks will save me having to buy another pair of the right, smaller, size....

Well, someone must know the answer to the age old problem (for me, anyway) of how to stop your socks from coming off in your wellies? I don't mean when you take the boots off, I mean that annoying feeling of them working their way down when you walk along. Who has the answer?

So, the front tyres on the Maverick are being replaced with nice new ones. They were Pirelli Scorpions as are the half worn backs. The question is - should I put the new ones on the front and leave the half worn ones on the back or have the new ones on the back and put the half worns on the front? The new ones won't be Pirelli Scorpions at £100 each, they'll be the cheapest budget ones I can get due to the type of use the car gets. This means Chinese Nankangs or something similar/cheap. Opinions please?