harry mac

Save your shoulder, get a .308.

Both Lee and Lyman do an ingot mould. Don't bother tying to use wheel weights any more as a source of bullet alloy. The modern ones are all made from a zinc alloy. Imanaged to get a shed load of weights from my local Kwik-Fit and very few were useable, and I got filthy in the process of sorting them out. The best source I've found, other than range scrap is builder's lead flashing, but you do need to add tin to it unless you're loading for a low velocity cartridge.

Thanks for that, it was puzzling me as well.

do hope youve had the land cleared for what ever calibre youre shooting fella? Les Hmmm... wonder if he might have an open ticket?

Sorry but I think this is proof positive for a need to have qualifications BEFORE you go shooting live game. If you don't know how to deal with it you shouldn't be shooting it. In Germany, Denmark and othetr sporting nations hunters are required to prove competence and pass some pretty stringent tests before being granted a hunting licence and a FAC Sorry Highlander, I can't agree on that. I've got a German Jagdschein, and a piece of paper does not make you a better hunter or safer shot. The Germans have hunting licenses, we don't. The Germans also seem to accidentally shoot a lot more of their fellow hunters than we do, same in France, but I'm not sure of their licensing requirements. When I was based in Germany I went to a huntin', shootin' and fishin' type show called either Jagd und Hund or Pferd und Jagd in Hannover, one of those any way, one of the hunting associations had a stand there showing a graph of all the European countries showing how many "hunters" there were per 10,000 head of population. Guess which country came out tops in Europe on that graph? UK. Licensing only leads to a decrease in take up, and the only people that benefit are the people that charge a couple of hundred quid a pop for qualification courses. It costs a German a lot more than that to get a Jagdschein though, and it involves a lengthy, detailed and expensive course of study and testing. I would possibly be in favour of compulsory 3rd party liability cover, but licensing and testing would probably be the death knell for British field sports.

Pigeons necks aren't very strong and there's no need to go twirling or twisting it. Put the thumb of your left hand behind the bird's head where it joins the top of the neck, the index finger of your left hand should now be under the beak around the bird's throat. Then with the right hand push the bird's head straight back. Don't tilt it up or turn it, just straight back, keeping the beak pointing forward. After the head has gone 1 or 2 centimetres back you'll feel the neck break.

Have you ever seen 50 - 60 breasted carcases left in a field i have and so did the farmer infact the lad that did it is no longer welcome to the farm now A bit of common sense might be called for. If all you have is, say, 5 or 6 birds then chucking them under a hedgerow might not be a bad idea. Anything more than that though and I think I'd expect the farmer to be having a "quiet word" with me. The public (love 'em or loathe 'em) don't like to find heaps of mutilated birds near where they're walking fido. Especially if they find said Fido up to his ears in dead pigeons when he won't come back when called.

Value will depend on several factors. Chiefly, the general condition of the rifle. What type is it? Full length infantry rifle, cavalry carbine, or artillery carbine? Is it a British made rifle, or is it one of the rifles that has recently come out of Nepal (these were made in the Nepalese armouries)? The Nepalese ones are useable, but not quite as desirable as a British made one. The worst possible scenario is that it's a counterfiet one made in Afghanistan. If it's an Afghan one it will be worthless, and probably dangerous. A good British rifle will go for between £500-£700 in a shop, a little cheaper, maybe, in a private sale. The cartridge is on the obsolete calibre list, so the rifle can be owned off ticket provided it is kept as a curio or ornament and not for shooting. If you manage to get all the kit together for reloading and plan to shoot it then it must be entered on an FAC. I used to have a Snider cavalry carbine and it was one of those guns that made you smile every time you pulled the trigger. Big boom, big kick, lots o' smoke.

Firstly, I'll admit to being biassed, I've taken deer for the past 13 years almost exclusively with 308 and it is a very good cartridge. I'm about to take delivery of a 243 though, and I'll post my findings when I've had a chance to compare the two personally. I've also used 303 with some success, but a couple of unexplained misses made me slightly lose confidence in that calibre. Put it in the right place and a deer won't know the difference between a 222 and a 577 NE.

Cammo or dark clothing every time. Ghiilie suits are ok for wannabe snipers but they scare the locals, get caught on stuff and can interfere with gun mount.