MK38

I really don't understand why people can't be bothered to clean there guns, it need only take a few minutes with a basic clean... or as long as you want ...... Dirt, grit, muck and moisture can find there way into every nook and cranny , and if left will wreck ejectors, hinge pins etc. A bore snake is good for a quick clean of the bores but not much else... won't do much to remove fouling from plastic or lead.... Get yourself a decent cleaning kit, and learn to enjoy caring for your gun..... i find it very satisfying and part of my shooting day.

I personally like 30 gm 6 , but any cartridge 28- 32 gm 5,6,6.5, 7 or 7.5 will kill Pigeon or crow out to 40- 50 yds easy ....... and if you pace it out it's a long way ! I think your making it all to involved loading different shells in each barrel , just keep it simple.... I normally place my furthest decoy at 40 yds and tend not to shoot birds that are further out if i can help it. Dave

I suspect there are some on here who stretch the truth a bit , you find them in all walks of life..... But the guys on here who post good bags regulary ... PC, Motty etc. Have done the leg work , put the mileage in, found the right contacts and go often enough to get the right conditions on the right day..... the fact that they may be good shots and have good field craft probably also helps I'm sure the majority on here tell it straight.... and as such it should help us all, newbies included, to improve and learn.... Dave

The real benifit of a sxs is they are easy/comfy to carry on a walk round, as i find they sit nicely on the arm. Which one you prefer to shoot is down to the individual..... I've never suffered from excessive recoil, provided the gun fits reasonably well and you mount correctly , unless you are particualy sensitive , in which case use a lighter load. My main rough load would be 30/32gm and the usual 28gm for clays, but i have used 28gm Eley impax which i find a sweet cartridge for field and some guys use 21gm for clays at no real dissadvantage. SxS are nice to own and shoot, but my normal choice would be an O/U.... Dave

My Lab had his done on Monday, he's a rescue dog, 2 years old and had been biting the tip of his tail and legs through stress. Since i've had him ( a month) he's stopped all biting and is happy and settled, however the damage at the tip of the tail wouldn't heal because he keeps wagging it and whacking the wall,door ....anything , the vet has removed about 4"...... he doesn't seem to notice and it's causing him no discomfort so far. He's a lovely boy, and i have hopes to make him my gun dog..... but in the month i've owned him, i've spent nearly a £1000 at the vets.... the tail alone has cost £450 so far... The vet was reluctant to do it , but said there was no alternative as the tail was allready infected. Dave

Great ! see you at Mc D's at 8.45.. Dave

Andy, i'd be quite happy just going to Martin Gorse... we know it and like it ..... plus the bonus of bacon & brie What time you looking at... 8.45 at Whitfield Mc donalds? Be good to catch up and miss a few clays.. Dave

Just found out i'm available Sunday .... asked for a later start and got it !...... so i'm good to go. I take it's still on.... post seems to have gone dead...... Dave

Hi Andy, long time no see ....... or talk to Just ( last week) got back into clay shooting after yet more drama in my life ..... and would love to meet up and miss a few clays with you... Only fly in the ointment is my shift at work ..... due to start at 13.30 ... will see if i can start a bit later ..... be great to see you and the others again. Dave

Mishka gsd/husky at 8 weeks and at 4 months

This question often comes up...... Pigeon dont feed on growing wheat shoots, but they will feed on chickweed, clover or any edible weed they find. I've had many good days on the crop, but don't expect big bags.... best i've managed is 35...... and unfortunately none of my farms ever grew potatoes.. so i've never had the benifit of that. If the birds are using the flightline and you put out a good decoy pattern, they should come close enough to have a look and hopefully be in range of your gun.... even if they don't want to land. Dave

Hi Andy, Sorry mate, i've been abit tied up of late ,otherwise i would have tried to arrange a day out with you again. Good news is i've got a part-time job at last.... bad news is it's late afternoons/evening work.... still i'm sure we can work out something soon. The other bad news is the poor old Disco is ailing abit at the moment and an MOT is due .... and as usual for me , money is in short supply... still , i hope to get things sorted soon and hopefully be able to get out again .... it's been along time. Dave

Sorry chaps , just read this thread...... Been abit pre-occupied with new job and car that won't pass MOT in the next week or so..... so can't make it this time i'm afraid. Have a good day (we normally do) and i hope to see you all the next time. Dave

Sorry to hear of your troubles Andy, but i admire your restraint.... don't know if i could have shown as much. To put up with such pricks shows great courage and thought of your little un .... not to mention how much a responsible gun owner you are. Glad you are both ok, i hope it didn't upset her too much. Good luck with getting him done though, i reckon the law will just let the insurance sort the car and let him off with a caution... less work for them. Keep well, Dave

Well you certainly brought back some memories, i grew up in the 50's in a small village in Kent. My Dad had a poultry farm and my best friend had a 'Proper' farm with Pigs and Cattle... they grew only wheat and Mangels.... he must have been posh or rich as he had a Combine and a tractor! The fields were small and all bounded by mature hedges .... the stubble was left a long time before ploughing in those days.... we never had huge flocks of birds but allways plenty to keep us happy. I had my first air rifle at 7 , 9mm by 10..410 by 11 and my first 12 (a BSA Snipe) at 13.... different world then though, i could walk through the Village with a gun without causing concern and the Village Bobby would tell us where he'd seen Rabbits or Pigeon as he cycled past..... women would offer Vegtables in exchange for fresh Rabbit or Pigeon... no doors were locked and every other house had a shotgun by the back door.... so different now. Cartridges were very dear and no shots were to be wasted.... i used to buy mine at the local garage, allways Eley Grand prix though sometimes he had Impax..... all size 6. Didn't start decoying untill i got the 410 (up to then we only stalked the woods and hedges)and the first decoys i bought were made of Rubber... how modern was that!... and my first hide net was a hessian garden net with ladies stockings and strips of hessian as scrim. There were lots of Partridges in the fields, few Pheasants.... not many foxes , though they were allways shot if seen. The woods and fields provided their own bounty with nuts and Mushrooms , money was tight and we new how to forage and grow alot of our own fruit and veg . They were hard times, but everyone just got on with it and did what they could to get by. I won't say they were better times, but they were far more relaxed and civilised, and in the main people respected each other and the countryside more than they do now.... there were certaintly fewer do gooders interfering in things they don't understand. Dave

While i can see you are trying to achieve extra safety, to me it appears way over the top... surely , you only load the gun once you are in the stand and ready to shoot... so the gun should be pointing in a safe direction anyway, so loading one in chamber and one in mag would be as safe as anything you could do..... why make it harder? Dave

It looks like Rottweil still do them... but wether anyone over here will stock them i don't know. Lots of companies used to make them, but gamebore only go to SG and i cant find any info for Eley.... it was alot of years ago when i last used them , and they were the Rottweil 1oz load ... 7 or 9 pellets if i remember right..... the gun shop who sold them then reckoned they'd kill a fox at 80yds.... i'm sure they would, but the chances of hitting anything you aimed at that far away would be slim to say the least... Dave

Are you absolutely sure that your left eye dominant ? When i got back into shooting i convinced myself that i was... but an instructer pointed out that in reality what i was doing was focusing on the bead, and my brain was switching my eyes back and forth trying to make me see what i wanted... total confusion !... when all i had to do was concentrate on the target and let the periphial vision take care of the bead. Of course if you have checked that you are left eye dominant, then some of the suggestions allready stated may help. I still miss just as many.... i just do it properly Dave

Shooting Pigeons is different to shooting clays.... Pigeons are a much more reflex thing, shooting as you rise from a sitting position , while walking, crouching whatever... not the stand in a box, call the bird and get cumfy type of thing. Concentrate on the bird and you wont notice the bloody recoil.... And yes fiber wads tend to be harder on the shoulder than plastic, but unless you shoot at a couple of hundred pigeons in a session you wont notice it. Dave

I used to find SG's patterned better through open chokes... cylinder or i/c..... if you can call it a pattern ! For BB's , whatever you find suits really.. i have 1/4 3/4 in my SBS and it seems to do the job when needed, but i seldom use large shot these days. The only real answer is to pattern your gun to see what results you get for the distance you want to shoot . Dave

First thing to do is speak to the neighbours to make them aware of the problem( though they should know if they look after there birds well), then get yourself some poison rat bait.... i get a fair sized tub from Scatts/mole valley farmers. A drain pipe or plank of wood laid against the fence so they can run behind it, anchored so the dog can't get at it, place bait in pipe or behind plank and keep it topped up.... they eat lots of it (mine had a 1/2 pint mug full a day) and it will take several days of them eating it before they start dying. You can shoot a few , but to get shot of them you really have to use poison.... as long as you make sure only the rats can get it, it's a safe and clean way of solving your problem. Dave

I don't agree with all of that.... all the game shooters i know use #6 or at most #5 for Pheasants. It could be that they don't have the high birds of the West country, but #6 or #5 kills them at normal ranges just fine... don't know many who would consider shooting 50 yd birds the norm...... most are shot much closer than that. Dave

Don't know if you chaps were still going to the Folkestone meet ..... but unfortunately i can't make it this time. Hopefully things will improve for me before the next meet up. Have a good shoot.... Dave

Although cheap Sable's are a good strong gun, they are however,not steel proofed. It will last you a lifetime shooting lead..... wouldn't like to guess how long shooting steel.... don't do it ! Dave

I spoke to the farmer i get my straw from the other week, and he reckoned he'd be down about 40% this year with his Hay, wheat and rape.... and that was only if we got lots of rain from then on..... he also sowed some Kale... that's been in a couple of weeks with only a few light showers and todays heavy rain to soak it. He's up on the downs , and mostly thin soil over chalk . Dave