jimmyk

Right...I'm going to have to start off by confessing a personal interest, having just booked a day out with the aforementioned Mr Beasley. One thing that hasn't been said so far is that if you have done the hard work and secured your permission, you have to be prepared to work just as hard to keep it. What pigeon guides and sporting agents provide is flexibility - I can arrange a day shooting with a guide on whatever day suits me (within reason). For that convenience I have to pay a fee. By all accounts those shooters that have earned permissions need to be prepared to respond to the farmers demands - if you offer a pest control service, you need to actively control the pests not just turn up when you fancy it or only when the sun's out. So what's worse - paying an agent to organise a days shooting at your convenience (where all parties benefit) or putting in the long hours knocking on doors only to let the farmer down when he needs you?

Another thumbs up for Broomhills from me. I know some shooters don't like the claymate system they use there, but it was one of the reasons I first started going. Basically you can turn up whenever suits and shoot a round in your own time avoiding targets you find easy and concentrating on the ones where you need a bit of practice (or the other way round if you fancy massaging your own ego). I usually go during the week and it never seems overly busy - you can always get on a stand without waiting around. Also the staff are always friendly and helpful and never argue the toss if you have a problem with a trap firing broken or no birds.

Yep - count me in for a meet up. If we don't have enough/any land between us we could always meet up and have a crack at a few clays? Oxford Gun Co meet most Saturdays for a 50 bird sporting - there based in Oakley, Bucks just down the road from most of us.

Not quite Bucks, but not far away just over the border into Oxon.

I would advise that you ensure the "cupboard" has adequate ventilation rather than spending a lot of money on a dehumidifier or oil radiator. My garage also suffers from damp coming through the walls and I have previously had problems with mildew and condesation forming on boots/clothes etc. but the problem was solved by leaving the window open slightly, thereby allowing a constant flow of air through the room. Clearly if you are using the cupboard for gun/ammo storage you need to ensure security isn't compromised. Hope that helps.

I've always liked the combination of pork and leek, although anything with chilli in is also a winner

Sounds interesting, but a bit too far west for me.

My first attempt at growing chillies was a complete non-starter this year - none of the seeds germinated. I put them in potting compost in spring and kept them in a cold frame to protect from frost but sod all happened - next year am i better to put them in the airing cupboard as Piebob suggets? Jim

When I started clay shooting I joined the CPSA, but I let my membership lapse after the first year as I didn't really get much out of it. I am already insured through the BASC and to be honest I found the membership magazine "Pull" a bit of a yawn. The fact that "to shoot for your county you need to be a full member" doesn't really worry me - not being able to hit the bloody clays is much more of a barrier to my dreams of Olympic Gold in 2012...

I used to live in a Grade II listed building until last September and would echo what others have said. We replaced all of the windows in our mid-terrace cottage and the Council were OK so long as the work was genuinely "like for like". We had a much more modern (1960's) kitchen extension out the back and sought to replace the old rotten wooden windows with double glazed uPVC. We got knocked back although the Council did accept (reluctantly) a change to double glazed. In the older C17th part of the building the box sash windows had to be an exact replica of the originals as far as possible - no double glazing and all dimensions the same right down to the width of the glazing bars. My advice would be to hire a good architect who has worked on listed buildings in the local area and knows the people at the council planning department. It goes without saying that you should be nice to the Conservation/Planning officer who comes out to have a look at the work - if you are stroppy or argumentative with them they can make life very difficult indeed.

Not so sure about making it a requirement to have land to shoot over before you are entitle to own an air rifle. I don't know about anyone else but an air rifle was my introduction to shooting aged 15 in the back garden, plinking away at tins cans and the like. From there I joined a small-bore rifle club, then got into clay shooting and the whole thing has escalated into the hobby (obsession!) that it is now. Whilst I would have no objection to some kind of licensing regime to prevent these kind of incidents, as a shooting community we don't want to make it so bloody hard for kids to get involved that the whole sport stagnates and dies on its ****. Just my opinion

I'm surprised you have no takers I own a Fabarm O/U and they're well built guns from a respected Italian maker - £350 sounds like a bit of a bargain to me...shame I spent my spare cash on a Baikal MP153 last month.

One reason the red kites in South Oxon/Bucks were originally reluctant to move on is when they first became established certain members of the public started to feed them. One old dear regularly put out cat food in her back garden to attract them down - the RSPCA had to put a letter in the local paper asking people to stop! That said, they are magnificent birds and I always enjoy watching them circling over the fields behind my house.

I have a similar problem and found that a Browning Magic Dot stuck onto the left lens of my shooting glasses helps me get on the correct line for the bird. They come in a pack of 5 or so different colours and you can get them quite cheaply on ebay - just type in "Browning Magic Dot" into the search box.

Hi Carpaddicted, Can you post an update once you know what the score with the NPPC land is? I live in Oxfordshire and have wondered whether the NPPC land in Northants was extensive enough to make it worth joining. Tabs - Hope you don't mind me hijacking your kind offer to Carpaddicted, but I would be interested in finding out more about the club you mention further south. I regularly travel over that way to shoot clays at the Broomhills ground, so if there's an opportunity to join a pigeon shooting club in the same area that would be great - I've sent you a PM. Cheers Jim