Old Boggy

Ever given any thought to a Hyundai Tucson. I had one for five years, did 130k mainly motorway driving so the DPF wasn't a problem and used it occasionally off-road although I also had a Shogun Pinin which was great off-road. You should be able to get one of the first shape Tucsons for your budget but make sure it's later than 55 plate as they changed to 6 gears after that and were more economical.I used to get 50mph and had nothing at all go wrong. I know that it's not as good off-road as an X-Trail but did have selectable 4 wheel drive and always performed pretty well on and off-road and had reasonable ground clearance. Just a thought. OB

Best of luck, hopefully they are still trading. OB

+1 for the padded top off a swivel bucket seat. Also it still fits in the begara bag. OB

Have you looked at the Jack Pyke 120 Ltr Maxi decoy bag ? They go for about £37 and are brilliant. They do them in plain green or camo. I've had a plain green one for about 5 years and cannot fault it. Well made, comfortable with well padded adjustable shoulder straps, strong and lightweight. Well worth a look. OB

I only saw the single plus the right and left when in slow motion. Think that I must go to Specsavers ! OB

That's OK Jaf4fa. Oh sorry, thought you said thanks for the info !! OB

I remember seeing that sign in Icmeler when we were staying just round the corner in Turunc. It makes you wish that you'd taken a photo of it. OB

Not surprised that it is now sold. Good price for a cracking gun. The buyer has got a bargain. OB

Apparently they made, or still make high quality shotguns and rifles to order, probably only about 20 a year. They do not appear to have a website but used to be able to be contacted at the following address -: Armitalia Luccini Sandro & C Italy Via Petrarca, 75 Sarezzo 25068 Bs There was a phone number of 3930832829, but not sure if they are still trading or the phone code if theyare. Hope this helps and best of luck. Any chance of posting some pictures of the gun ? OB

We spent this last weekend on the Broads and stayed at Sutton Staithe Hotel for a friends 70th.Birthday party. To see the Staithe completely frozen over and all the boats ice-locked was something else. Not sure whether this happens very often. Sorry cannot advise on anywhere to visit but our womenfolk did find stuff to buy at Lathams in Potter Heigham and I came away with some stuff for the man cave like cheap paint brushes,tools etc etc. OB

I use 25 or 28gm RC Sipe fibre wads in my 20 bore Highlander with fixed 1/4 & 1/2 chokes and always have clean kills and cannot fault them. OB

We have enormous amounts of cormorants fly over to lakes at Westbere in Kent. On my pretty unsuccessful decoying session last week I sat and counted well in excess of 1000 flying over within about an hour. My friend who has the shooting on an adjacent inland marsh has a licence to cull 4 ! That really is going to make serious inroads into their numbers !!! OB

As the title, if there is anyone who currently owns a shotgun (or rifle) by W.R. Leeson and wishes to learn more of this Kentish gunmaker, then there is a great website established by a good friend of mine, which lists approximately 180 of his guns, most with excellent pictures. If your gun is not listed, then I am sure that the author of this website would be most interested to add your gun to his list, if you so require. W.R.Leeson started with his works in Ashford, Kent and opened an office in London, as was a common practice for provincial gunmakers in order for them to have a London address in order to command London prices. For more information go to www.wrleeson.co.uk Thanks for reading, OB

As has been said, if the clicking noise is coming from the middle of the rad and is fairly recent, then it does sound like a breakdown of the plastic clip on the rad bracket and is down to expansion and contraction. If fitted with a TRV this would open and shut under normal operation and the rad would therefore cool down and heat up accordingly. Sometimes noise can be emitted from a non bi-directional TRV if this has been fitted on the return instead of the flow, but this would emit noise from day one so this would appear not an issue in this case. Something (i.e. Plastic) put between the rad bracket and rad hook (the bit welded on the back of the rad) should cure the problem. Hope this helps. OB

They do look good I can almost taste them by just looking at them ! OB

A good video and some good shooting there. Also a good lesson in totally ignoring the branches when roost shooting. Agree, not a good idea for the dog to run in especially if shooting, crows as they have a nasty habit of going for the dogs eyes if not dead. I've seen this and it's not a pretty sight. Thanks for posting. OB

I have shot a fair few goldies in the past and can confirm that they make excellent eating. Have even successfully used the old trick if they are flying high, of firing a shot and they dive down into range. Enjoy them JDog. OB

Hi Ben, Are you a `Man of Kent` or a `Kentish Man` ? OB (Man of Kent i.e. south of the Medway) Sorry, welcome to pigeon watch, by the way. OB

Have I missed something here. The shoot was today and your post was 10 minutes ago. Have you got the right day ? OB

Cannot recommend Dan Bromley (Barrelblacker) highly enough. He takes pride in his work which is always excellent, is a great guy to deal with and very competitively priced. He blacked a set of barrels for meand they were unrecognisable from the dented and worn set that I took into him. As you are in Kent and as previously said, Dan is in Ashford, why not keep the trade local. You won`t be disappointed. OB

There's one in the Holts sealed bid auction on Thursday Lot No.2732. Guide price £80-£120. OB

I`ll give it a go later and let you know how I get on. OB

Thanks Gordon, I too have a 20 bore Macnab slide plated Highlander and have always wondered if there was an easy way to remove the ejectors. It appears that there is and thanks to you, I now know. Many thanks OB

As Steve said, the weighted (solid) end fits into the hollow end of the lofting pole. Once all poles are gradually joined together and hoisted up, the hook is then hooked over a branch and the poles can be removed to put another decoy in place. Removal can be made easier by putting or taping a funnel into the top pole. This way it is easier to locate the weighted bit into the funnel, raise it up to clear the hook and then bring it down. Instead of a funnel, I use a bit of 2mm wire doubled up to go into the hollow part of the top pole with a ring about 4 inches in diameter formed horizontally out from the top of the pole. Easier to draw and make than to explain in words ! Hope that this helps. OB