flippermaj

I have always used hay in the duck nesting tubes we have. However I have been given some straw, is it any good for the tubes? cheers flipper

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like he will keep his nuts which is a good thing as he is 13 and I didn't want to put him through that! Interesting what Walker570 says, implying that basically I have not been dominant enough. There may be some mileage in this as I have let the dogs have a go at each other in the hope that they would sort out some dominance order themselves but this hasn't happened. Maybe I should wade in now and lay down the law 100% Thanks for the advice Cheers Flipper

I have two cocker dogs, one is 2yrs old and the other 13yrs. The older dog has started growling and intimidating the younger dog, the younger dog will try and avoid the conflict but if picked on will fight back and beats the older dog, they are now drawing blood when they fight but 5 mins later will be best buddies.. The older dog continues to act aggresively to the younger one. It appears to be jealousy based fighting. I am thinking that I might have to castrate the older one to stop the fighting? Does anyone have any other options and would castration be of any benefit? Cheers Flipper

I use both, if I want to go light and am not expecting much of a bag the game bag is taken. If I am expecting a few geese or several duck then the rucksack as the weight is more evenly distributed so doesn't do my back in and it's just easier all round if you have any weight to carry back.

I was a bit worried about the extra weight of the Nova but I guess you get used to it? Thanks for the feedback so far.

I have a win sxp but fancy trying a benelli nova. has any one used both and if so what’s the feed back comparing them? cheers mark

I had a similar fuel starvation years back on an old petrol engine Renault 5. Took ages to track the problem down but it turned out to be the petrol cap to the fuel tank. The vent hole had become blocked so after some miles of running the vacuum built up in the tank as there was no air flowing in to replace the used fuel. Cheap replacement fuel cap fixed it.

Hi Motty, only watched it it once so far but liked it all bar the naff bit on Canada’s inland over the pond where the Welsh guy was how would you say, not a natural for the camera and the guns involved were very poor shots from what I could see. the stuff on the Tay has been done before on his other dvds but I like to see the Tay any time, good replay of him missing the greylag with the 8 bore, useful for new shoots as it shows the need to pull through an on coming bird. poole harbour canoe boat stuff all done before but as it’s an area I don’t know and a style of shooting I don’t do happy to see it again. Interesting observation on the crop content of one of the ducks he shot. your ground featured well, shame the very first flight it was too dark to see the action with the pinks. Good to see the mud and gutters of the foreshore for real as opposed to just reading about it. The trailer for the dvd showed you, Chris and another walking back along the sea wall with some birds, the other had a side by side over his shoulder, I think, but didn’t appear in the dvd if I remember rightly, would have liked to have seen him in action with the sxs. The section with you jules and some others at the end again showed shooting the like of which doesn’t exist in my area so it was good to see it for real and the action and filming was very good. the bit on reloading by jules was a sort of hit and miss, it showed the reloading process in action but didn’t go into any detail, it may warrant a more detailed section on any future dvd. a couple of questions for you! Out on the foreshore you where using your ou but on the flooded washes your semi, my guess is that the ou is more reliable in the mud? chris didn’t shoot on your epic flight, is that coz he was fed up with the pump? I noticed in the final frames where you have the bag laid out he is holding a gun but it looks like the triple he used on the last dvd? Cheers

Hey Boyd, I recon you should make a dvd or two!!! cheers flipper

I like the dvds, take them for what they are! It’s also nice to see wildfowling around the uk at places I can only read about and doubt will ever get the chance to shoot over.

Just watched the new Chris green dvd and as ever the poor chap has no luck with his guns. if anyone has seen it there is a clip where he takes a shot at a pintail while in his canoe, misses and pumps the gun ejecting the empty cleanly but when he pulls the trigger for the second shot it is empty so you see him cycle it again before getting the second shot off, did he short stroke it even though the first cartridge ejected fine? second disaster for him was jamming the pump completely, he ended with the bolt stuck in the barrel, how does that happen?. ?? cheers. Flipper

I have a black cocker and a golden sandy colour one. Come night time I can see the black one easy enough but can never see the golden sandy one until he is right in front of me.

As Motty says flighting geese on the foreshore where I am often means 45 yard plus shots. Field craft is getting actually under the flight line in these circumstances and then it’s down to the gods at what height they will cross over at. Early season I have shot geese with 32 grm no 4 over the sea wall when they are low enough but that is an exception to the rule. Gerry, I do see where you are coming from re newcomers and just picking a 3.5 inch gun cart combo and starting off on 50 yard shots, not the way to go and as you say learn your craft first. Once learned a 3.5 still comes in handy on the Scottish foreshore!

Have to agree with anser that for foreshore geese 3.5 with a good aftermarket choke is hard to beat. Where I shoot the geese regularly cross the sea wall at 45 yards plus and you need to drop them dead for any chance of a retrieve, if they plane off then they are across the other side of the firth and unreachable or in rough ground with cover 3ft tall. i had a quick look at the field and stream test and the 3 inch put 63 pellets in the circle the 3.5 put 77 in the circle. For me every pellet counts at range.

Got one in the bag though!!! we have all been there, dropped the 3rd pink out of a skein when it should have been the first?

Marsh Man, great story and a great picture of the dog and your rewards. Lets hope we are all bagging geese into our 70's!

Hi Robert, Good going with the old AYA, probably fits like a glove! What is it choked at and what carts were you stuffing through it? Really struggling to find any duck up here on the northern firths, went decoying yesterday and didn't see a single teal or widgeon, couple of seawall pigeon saved the blank though, love shooting flighting pigeons on the foreshore! Cheers Mark

I agree with motty a dog should be steady. i have two dogs, the old one is my first dog and I didn't do a good enough job and the dog runs in to the extent that I only have to raise the gun and he has moved off a couple of yards in anticipation and will spook the birds, therefore he has to be pegged down and I then have to battle to get him off the lead for a retrieve as he is all revved up. my second dog in contrast is rock steady (not sure quite how that happened!). First few times out I would shoot something and then think eh? Where's the dog as I was used to the old one running in. I would then look to my feet to see him sitting there waiting to be told to go out! Which is better, the steady dog by a country mile.

Fired hundreds of no 4 game ore steel 70 mm carts through the full choke on my old aya. Sports bob is talking rubbish about blown barrels etc, only way you are going to do that is with a blockage in the barrel and that's got nothing to do with steel! You will have no problems, just go enjoy yourself.

Hi Mitty, agreed a 3 inch steel load could look the same no matter what gun it is fired through but I would have thought 3 inch of steel through a modern auto may have produced a better pattern than through an old side by side that was never built or choked for steel? has anyone done some pattern testing with 3 inch steel goose loads out of any gun to see where they run out of range? cheers flipper

Hi Edelman, would love to see Canada's here all year round but I don't think the farmers would. I must admit I have never really understood why the canadas have never established a year round population up here.

Now here is a puzzle. I shoot the Northern Firths and we get Canadas up here over the Summer, I think they migrate up from the Lake District. They are usually all gone by the first week in Oct or earlier. This year there is a family of five, now 4 and now down to 3 birds that have stayed on one of the firths so far. Sunday morning I heard Canadas over the house. Today I am down at the local spot and I have never ever seen a Canada here in the fowling season and what do I see over a dozen Canadas! All very strange, where would they have come from as they should all have gone by now? Cheers Flipper

Sorry to disappoint if you thought you would get to see some nice patterns posted up! Does anyone have any patterns to post up of 3 inch steel goose loads shot through old side by sides, eg AYA's etc. I am interested to see where the range runs out for geese, either peoples patterns or actual experience on the foreshore. Cheers Flipper

I have an sx3 and a sxp. They both fit the same but the sxp feels more front/barrel heavy compared to the sx3. The sx3 has a much more refined trigger pull, the sxp has miles of travel in the trigger pull in comparison. The sxp has the safety in front of the trigger guard, the sx3 is behind the guard but you get used to both. The sx3 feels a more refined gun compared to the sxp. If I was just shooting clays I would get the sx3. As I mostly wildfowl in very muddy places the sxp wins for me!

Best advice I got from this forum was soak it in oil or diesel etc then the best bit, put your choke key upside down in a good solid vice. Place the barrel down over the choke key and then pushing down on the choke key turn the barrel, you get way more leverage like this. Worked for me.