jonno

I like the idea of the liquid bait, that's got to help keep them still.

I used H&N Green (also very expensive!). The animals are free range chickens. He said one farm has lost its contract to supply eggs to a supermarket because of high lead content in their eggs and they put that down to shotgun pellets. He is paying but, at £5 to shoot 4 rats, that puts the cost way up.

Has anyone with a Hushpower Baikal 410 tried any lead free cartridges? The Eley VIP EVO Bismuth look gun safe but are *VERY* expensive at £1.25 per shot! Also, they are not sub-sonic so will that make the Hushpower bit pointless? I need to use it for rats in a zone with animals so I need a quiet solution and lead free. We tried air rifles but it is all outside and the little devils don't stay still long enough for a good shot. The land owner doesn't want to use poison and the traps he tried only caught one in a month! Buying a Hushpower 410 is a last resort but I only want to do that if it will work.

I have used CCI Quiet-22 in the US and they were very accurate to 20 yards - 45ft-lbs, segmenting and a heavier bullet than the CB Longs. (I haven't seen them in the UK but I'm sure someone on PW will know if they are available here). A springer air rifle would be much louder! If you use a moderator (not allowed where I was in the US) none of the neighbours would even know what you were doing!

Before I ask a crazy question, is there a 'Beginners Guide' to reloading 410's written anywhere I could read? Thanks.

My first FAC is due to be renewed in December and I'm based in Hampshire. Does anyone know if the 'only on land' condition is automatically removed to make it open or is that discussed at the renewal interview?

Make that +2 for Adrian Flux. £450 from them, £650 for a renewal from NFU. It's a shame as NFU seem a really good company to deal with - if it had only been £100 difference I would have stayed with them for total peace of mind.

I thought only armed police in the UK were trained to use Tasers?

Put me down for one of those as well please!

I'll second that!

Have you tried target shooting in the Lightweight Sporting Rifle leagues? One rifle will do both jobs then. Jonno

Do you have to specifically ask for an open ticket when you renew your licence? I'm about to put in my renewal so do you have to bring it up during the FEO's visit or request it in writing or do you get it automatically? (I can hear the laughter already!) Thanks.

And the cost of diesel, and the cost to buy and service the van, and the cost of the high pressure pump & other kit, and the cost to buy into the franchise, and the percentage paid to the franchise owner!

I made one of these, sized to use with a standard trap. It worked very well without any bait. http://www.protrapper.co.uk/mink-raft.php Jonno

Just to say I have heard back from H&N and they are planning to release H&N Baracuda Green pellets in .22 in a few months time. I look forward to trying them!

'Great minds' as they say! I have just spent the morning clearing up - no lead left there now I have also built an off-ground platform for the trap. The plan is to bait it up in two stages until they get used to it and then just bait the trap at the top. A cunning plan! Jonno

The vet said he was 99% certain from the symptoms and recommended not to bother - blindness, very weak, wasting and watery green diarrhea. He could be wrong but 'Err indoors will give me a hard time if I don't change to lead free. Jonno

I'm open to all suggestions - just looking for recommendations from people that have used something lead free in a similar sort of gun at 10 yards. Your suggestions of Gamo Raptor and RWS Hypermax sound good - have you used them? Jonno.

I've put out a rabbit trap and a mink trap side by side in the past. I've only caught 3 and all in the larger rabbit trap, none in the smaller mink trap. The only problem is I must have caught at least six pheasants in the rabbit trap over the same time period (or it's really stupid and it's the same one six times!) and they tend to hurt themselves in a matter of moments - so I don't use it now. I also tended to go soft when I've caught the squirrels and have 'relocated' them a few miles away - and I'm not sure if that is legal......

I looked at H&N Greens but they don't seem to make them in .22 Jonno

I have just been told that a couple of my chickens have died due to lead poisoning. There is only one small area in the garden where I dispatch squirrels and it has a solid wall as a backstop. The chickens love to scratch around by the wall (which I have now temporarily fenced off) so my guess is they have eaten some of the pellets. I have been looking for lead-free alternatives and have seen Prometheus pellets which have received some bad press. My question is - would they be OK for dispatching squirrels from a maximum range of 10 yards from a full power .22 springer (Weihrauch)? Thanks.

Do you end up with nice shiny brass or is it just free from powder residue?

Does anyone here use an ultrasonic cleaner on their used brass and, if so, what chemicals do you use?

Sorry if the answer to this is already on the thread, but I didn't spot it! Do we know when the Home Affairs Committee is due to make their report/recommendations public?

I had almost exactly the same thing (but in the wilds of Berkshire!) with the RAC. Would any of the other companies have covered it?