Hammergun

Here's a pic of my horse. Pretty mad too!!

Robo - why don't you just buy a box of black powder loaded cartridges - you will still get a nice "boom" and they are easy enough to get. Gamebore make some as do others.

Or sometimes get a mate to come along and shine the torch!! Before I got the Logun lamp, I strapped a midsize maglite under the barrels with gaffa tape - looked **** but put holes in plenty of bunnies!

The tightness of the pattern has nothing to do with the bore size, but rather the choke. With a comparable choked 12 and 20 bore, you are less rather than more likely to kill cleanly (as there's less pellets). You need to find out what the chokes are on your present gun. Pellet velocity is mainly due to the type and load of the cartridge and nothing to do with the gun construction. Different cartridges contain different types and power of propellant, which all affect pellet velocity. Competition cartridges will hit differently to game cartridges as they have a different composition - game pellets are soft and deform, competition pellets are hard for smashing clays. The reason for choosing a 20 bore is due to weight alone. You need to be more skilled to use it. A 16 bore is a bit lighter but you wouldn't notice the difference as much as with a 20 bore. Don't forget you have less choice of cartridges and they are more expensive if you get anything other than a 12 bore. At the end of it all, a shotgun is just a pair of tubes fastened together with a mechanism and a bit of wood at the end. You need something that is right for you - i.e. that you shoot well and are comfortable with, and to a certain extent, like the look of.

I thought only old drunks and dossers drank Lowenbrau? :*) :*)

I use a Logun lamp and have made a clip from some thin sheet steel to fit onto my SBS. Works perfectly.

Shop about. Have a look at several different gun shops.

I started off with a Webley Xocet. The spring kept knocking the scope out. Upgraded to CZ200 (pre charged). Nice and lightweight. Never looked back. As I mainly do ratting with it, I downrated the gun to about 9lbf (that way I don't put holes in the barn) No point in changing your xocet unless its for a pre-charged gun!

Have a look at the stuff in a gun shop first to see if it's exactly what you want. You may find that the website is no cheaper. (watch for website prices as they sometimes do not include the VAT)

Your 1,000,000 candlepower lamp is far too bright and it makes them bolt. Make a red filter to go over it. If it is still too bright, add a second filter. You only need to reflect their eyes.

This section was covered earlier this year. Go to: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...?showtopic=2021

Bisley Pest Control, and hollow point are only suitable for short ranges as they are not very accurate. Pointed pellets are hopeless in any weapon. In fact I don't know why anyone should ever want to buy them. Best to try a few different types. The better made they are, the more accurate they will be as they will be more evenly balanced. You could start by trying accupell or similar.

If you do not go shooting often, without practice on clays before each session you will never be able to shoot well.

RS - I hope you are getting the air cylinder proof-tested and stamped-up before you sell it on to some poor unsuspecting yorkshireman!!!!!

Got a nice new gun slip, and a Britool socket set and torque wrench for when I start on my Land Rover project!!!!! .......oh and of course the obligatory aftershave, socks and shower gel. PS - thanks for telling me the originator of my signature quotation!

Colared doves are really tasty too!!!!!

I always use a game-carrier - you can get about a dozen rabbits heads through one and sling ot over your shoulder. Easiest thing by far.

You can't beat gutting a freshly killed bunny for warming your hands on a cold night!!!!!

Gut your rabbits as quickly as possible after shooting them. I do it as soon as I pick them up. Rabbits do not fry or grill well - it tends to make the meat tough. If you do want fried rabbit, for it to be edible you need to boil them for 1/2 hr, remove the meat, coat it in breadcumbs and fry it. Rather than grilling, a rabbit is best roasted. This method cooks a rabbit to perfection every time: Gut and skin it without removing the belly flap, lay it in salted water for at least an hour, stuff it with Paxo or sausagemeat, then place it in a roasting tin belly-up and lay fat bacon and bay leaves over it, with a halved onion alongside. Cover with tinfoil and cook in a medium oven for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 1/4 hr. Remove tinfoil and cook for a further 20 minutes, basting regularly. The stock makes good gravy. Carve and serve immediately. Rosemary or thyme can be used instead of Bay. Rabbit and hare is much improved if you soak it in milk overnight.

With all due respect, members of this forum will also be looking for shooting sites, and as such, if is unreasonable to ask them for land. Instead, you should use your own initiative. You should contact local farmers, particularly where you see numbers of pigeons and / or rabbits. Ideally the best time to approach them is when pests can be seen doing damage.

No question that original Hushpower guns are good in their own right. With subsonic cartridges, the give off about the same noise as a hand clap. However, it's a bit like lugging around a gun with a bit of steel drainpipe on the end, heavy and awkward. Plus that you only get one shot. When I last looked, a 12bore huspower was about £400.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you need a FAC for a 3-shot semi?

I've heard of Black Powder burning slower in extreme cold, but Nitro powder should not be affected.

Using subsonic / magnasonic cartridges makes much less disturbance when rabbiting at night, and are still well capable of felling rabbits on the ground. You still need a hand lamp for retrieving shot or wounded rabbits when out of the vehicle.

Wood stain is good on antlers. I would be tempted to use Araldite rather than silicone as silicone isn't very strong and the teeth could get knocked again. Washing soda is probably better than wash powder, but caustic soda (NaOH as RS correctly states) is the best for removing grease and fat and to whiten it (careful not to leave it in too long or it waill start to degrade the bone, and careful handling it).