minghis

A limited slip diff will give better traction than a standard, non limited slip diff.

Sorry, I meant to say limited slip diff, not diff locks. To be honest I don't even know what a diff lock is, however I do know that a limited slip diff will give better traction. I guess plenty of vehicles have LSD's, including my shooting hack Maverick.

In my opinion no. Poor ground clearance and no low range or diff locks. However, if you stick to muddy lanes and nothing too sticky or rutted it'll be OK.

Exactly the same thing with my Rizzini (don't recall if it was an 'E') so I kept it for all of a week. Yes, I could have got it repaired but I did do some searching on line and found that it was by no means an isolated case - as backed up by this thread. Dangerous horrible thing. It hurt, too. For a few quid more I could have (and have since) got a good old used Beretta which do seem to be more reliable. And mine is - never cleaned, chucked in the back of the truck wet or dry, covered in dirt, blood and fur and never misses a beat. I like it so much I may even get it serviced and cleaned soon!

For your budget you could get a decent Nissan Terrano / Ford Maverick (same thing..). You'll get a good 2.7 Turbo Diesel engine, decent ride and economy and a proper 4X4 set up with high and low range. You'll also be able to go nearly as many places as a defender and spend a lot less on repairs than a Discovery will cost you. Have a look, you'll be surprised at what they are like and how capable (for the money) they are.

Looks good. I had one of these a few years ago. Good to drive and very practical. Watch out for the fuel consumption though - mine only did about 20mpg running around locally. Other than that, ideal.

I sadly have to agree. Their shirts are all over the place with the sizings and they shrink at least a size. The more 'technical' offerings from the likes of Musto (a brand which I buy) are far superior.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=269 My own advice would be just be careful with how much you pay. They (none of them) shouldn't be too expensive as they depreciate a lot. In other words, great value for money...

A very thought provoking post. In my opinion you did the right thing by not rising to his threats - staying calm and even submissive when you have a gun in your hand is surely the right thing to do. Yes, I appreciate that he was the one waving the weapon about and damaging your car, but the fact remains that you without doubt did the right thing. You proved that the whole selection process about who has a gun license and who does not worked in this case! Thanks god he doesn't have one... I assume... As for the issue of what you could/should have done if this bloke had started getting physical well it's only possible to speculate, unless you're there and it's happening to you then the rest is just hindsight. I find myself running through exactly these type of scenarios though - especially at night and if I'm out alone with the gun. There's prevention - the farmer ALWAYS knows when I'm out - if I can't get hold of him I don't go out, simple as that. I now ALWAYS keep my mobile with me. I always have a wander around to see if anyone else is about - my land has several old Pill Boxes which attract some people for good and bad reasons. I will always see them before they see me and I can then assess whether I should carry on or avoid. They could be antis after all. I never assume that just because I have a gun people will be afraid and not challenge me. I always used to feel invincible believing that no one would ever threaten me as I had a gun. Sadly, as proven by the original poster that just doesn't work anymore! Having run through the scenario if it had happened to me, assuming I was out on my own, I would have done exactly the same as the OP, tried to reason, accepted that the bloke was obviously a nutter and tried to simply remove myself from it. If however I felt that the situation was going to result in him actually harming me or grabbing the gun (and this is a split second realisation that no-one could forsee, it would be simply an instinctive reaction) I would point the gun away, pull the trigger (two reasons, one to get rid of the bullet in the breech and two to possibly frighten him off) and then use the gun as a club and try to incapacatate him. Depending on his size/fitness/demeanour/threat I would consider shooting him in the leg if I felt I had no other way and the risk was severe. I would hope and trust that whatever happens, even the bloke getting shot in the leg, the police would understand why I did what I felt I had to do. The consequences of some nutter getting hold of my gun (and that's the line you'd have to take, and that line only) and then potentially going off and doing a Michael R**n does not bear thinking about. Let's just hope in never happens.

Well there is. Noise, economy, hassle and choice! I'm quite happy as I am, thanks. As are, I guess, thousands of others..

Could you elaborate on this - I had no idea this could happen and yes, I am now using nothing other than HV's and I didn't think of taking the moderator off. What's the worst case scenario - anything dangerous?

I too would have to say that CCI Mini Mags are the best for my rifle, a Sako Finnfire. Many say they are rubbish, but as has been said here before it does really seem that every rifle has it's favourite HV round. I've just bought a brick of Winchester Lazers and tried a handfull at the same zero (90 good paces) as the Mini Mags. They were 2" higher and all over the place left and right - they were virtualy unuseable. Both I understand are 36 grains, so I would have expected them to be somewhere near the zero of the CCI's but it was not to be. I would say though that if I were to persevere and put another 50 through the gun they would get better. You know how in motor racing they say 'the track comes to them the more rubber gets laid down'? Well I reckon it's the same with our rimfire rounds, the more you use the better the barrel likes them. Persevere with one type, whether it's the cheap and cheerful CCI's or the high end Winchesters - then stick with them!

Don't forget the Kia Sorento - plenty of space and decent engines. I hear they're very reliable, too.

The Jeep. As for the Outlander, remember only petrol auto's (unless you mean the 2007 onwards model) so economy not overly good. Reliable and well equipped, go for the ones with leather to aid resale. No idea about off road ability but my guess is that that's not your main concern anyway. It won't be that bad, in fact it'll be at least twice as good as any non 4 - wheel drive car. http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=564 for the Jeep http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=814 for the Outlander

I had one for a while, horrible thing. Daft driving position with the throttle pedal being too far away meaning you had to have the seat too far forward for the brake and the steering wheel, horrendous MPG (I got, however gentle I drove, an average of 19mpg) and the most gutless noisy diesel engine ever. Looked good, but that's all. Avoid.

Another vote for the CCI Mini Mags. I zero at 90 yds (well, 90 good paces...) and genuinely get 1" groups. It's not too loud but really does give the extra distance over subs. I haven't looked back after deciding to ditch the subs and go down the HV route. Mini Mags are cheap, too.

Agred, perfect for my Finnfire. Sub 2" groups 90yds and cycle extremely well. Use them all the time, haven't bothered with subs since spring and can't see me going back to them either.

They are the hollow point 40grain ones? I use HVs now but never had a problem with the Winchester Subs - in fact everyone around here swears by them.

All sorted now, found someone (not from the forum) for next weekend. minghis.

All sorted now, got someone locally (not via the forum) for next weekend. minghis.

I could offer someone at least a days ferreting at one of my farms, near Taunton. I need someone to actually do the ferreting, in other words, bring ferrets and whatever equipment needed. There will be plenty of rabbits I'm sure. If you're interested PM me and I'll see what I can do. Mark.

I could offer someone at least a days ferreting at one of my farms, near Taunton. I need someone to actually do the ferreting, in other words, bring ferrets and whatever equipment needed. There will be plenty of rabbits I'm sure. If you're interested PM me and I'll see what I can do. Mark.

Taunton for me. By the way, I could offer someone at least a day's ferreting on one of my permissions. Anyone interested?

Oh dear - it looks like I've bought the wrong ones - still, they were cheap. I'll go out over the weekend and see what groups I can get with a couple of targets before I use them for the bunnies. Thanks everyone for your replies!

Popped into the gun shop today for some rabbit ammo and they didn't have any Remington .22 HV's so came away with some CCI MiniMag instead - HV's, hollow point 36gram - and paid £12.50 for 500. Anyone ever used them and did I get a good price? They seemed too cheap, or am I just out of touch with prices?