Hammergun

I have a gun where the firing pins are free moving. What make of .410 is it? I would ask your gunsmith anyway and he will be able to tell you for sure.

Is anyone bothering with the chat room? When is anyone there as every time I've looked, there's nobody else!

Anyone in the North Yorkshire / Cleveland area. Meet up for a shoot or a pint?

Have you considered forgetting gloves altogether and buying a pocket warmer? I know they are a reall mess on lighting them, but they are great when the weather is cold. I could never wear gloves for shooting.

I have an Air Arms S200 which I bought to replace my old spring gun. It came complete with silencer, and I fitted it with a Nikko Stirling Mountmaster scope. I should have replaced my old gun sooner as there's absolutely no comparison. It's great for sitting pigeons, rabbits, and rats. After clearing away for the night, I have a walk around and see if I can get any rats. Once I shot at a rat, missed, reloaded and shot the rat and killed it. The gun was so qiet that the rat never heard the first shot and didn't move. I find that it is very accurate for what I use it for, and if I rest it on a fence, I can pull off some really long shots. When the scope is set up correctly, I can get a really tight grouping when target practicing.

If you've not got much to do, I can lend you a checkering tool for a few days (as long as I get it back quickly! ) I may be able to fix you up with the finishing oils if you need them too. :(

Happy Birthday!

Don't do that! The wire wool will remove the wood alongside the grooves and you will still end up with a flat surface. Unfortunately, there is no other way to do it other than with a chequering tool. You could try Nitromors stripper on it but this may spoil the wood and affect any future finish so I wouldn't recommend it. Rather than try anything other than a chequering tool, I would leave it as it is.

You need to go over the chequering with a chequering tool to get the old varnish out. There are several sites selling chequering tools on the net and there are different sizes and widths of tool cutters depending on the distance between grooves. Most chequering heads have two "v's", one of which cuts and the other which guides the cutter in the previous groove, making sure all the grooves are parallel. (the Americans spell it "checkering"). My advice is go for the coarse cutter as small amounts of grit in the old chequering wear away the fine one too quickly. Chequering is easy to do, but you must do it in good light, and the stock should be held firmly. Just make small cuts to start with until you get the groove established. that way, if you make a mistake, you can correct it without spoiling the finish. Cut the groove to the desired depth before moving on to the next. If starting chequering from scratch, it is vitally important that you plan your design properly and draw it onto the woodwork with a fine dark pen so you can see it to follow the pattern.

Oiling a stock, if done carefully will give great results. You must take care to ensure that all the old finish is removed, and that you rub the stock down well, finishing with very fine wet and dry paper (400 grade), wetting the stock to raise the grain, then rub down again, then finish off with fine wire wool. There should not be any remaining sandpaper scratch marks before you start applying the coating. For an oiled stock, you will need: Grain sealer Oil of Alkanet (Red Root Oil) - gives the rich red colour to the stock Drying oil ("Rapid Oil") for the final finish. These are available in a range called "Trade Secret" and another called "CCL" products. This has been discussed under >general>other types of shooting>oiled stocks.. and I have given a brief description there. (Link below if it works:) http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/cgi-bin....=4;t=50 If your stock is made from Walnut, this method will give good results with a little patience. With Beechwood, it should still work, but I've never tried it.

Here are some links to cartridge manufacturers websites: http://www.lyalvaleexpress.com http://www.hullcartridge.co.uk http://www.gamebore.co.uk http://www.eleyhawk.com http://www.victorycom.com http://www.sellier-bellot.cz

Since last week, I've noticed a few more pigeons about but they aren't on the rape yet. There have been a few on the bits of set-aside were wheat was grown this year. The crop of the bird I shot last week was full of grain (no rape).

Just a few safety notes I feel should be posted regarding hammerguns. Some people have the idea that hammerguns are less safe than hammerless, but this is not the case if correct procedure is followed. Hammerless guns are just as likely, if not more likely to go off if dropped. For safety's sake, if using a hammergun,when cocking or letting down the hammers, always point it up in the air in the approximate direction you will be shooting, well away from any people. If your hammergun is an underlever, or if it is a top lever and will open without lowering the right hammer, then open it first and remove the cartridges before letting down the hammers. Always point upwards in a safe direction. If you slip when pointing it downwards, you may well put a hole in someone's spaniel, or worse. Always let down the hammers if you do not take the shot. Some early hammerguns do not have rebounding locks (i.e. the firing pin can be depressed without having to press the trigger). With these, it is vitally important to remove the cartridges before doing anything else.

Happy Birthday Big Dave!

I like my Greener GP. Very solid and able to withstand abuse. If you miss, you can always grab hold of it by the other end and club your pigeon to death! :thumbs:

The chap who is lettimg me shoot pigeons on his land saw lots of pigeons in his rape field last week. However when I set up this weekend, there were few to be seen and I finished with the grand total of 1, which was flying overhead when I brought it down. Frustrated, I rounded off the day by spending an our or so around the edge of the farm and shot a number of rats instead. Crafty things, pigeons - that's part of the fun! :=)

Buy yourself a tin of Rangoon oil from your gunshop. It is made by Parker Hale and is usually about £1.75 a tin. This is a very heavy oil which waterproofs exterior metalwork of your gun and is resistant to fingermarks. Rub some on your barrel and other metal parts with a rag and wipe off well any excess. Be careful not to get any on the wood or on the seals where the pellets go in.

Classic Pigeon Buster Number 2 - WR Pape, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

I would call the vet as soon as possible. If unsure, waiting to see can sometimes make matters much worse. Check to see if the horse has a temperature. I know of someone last year whose horse suffered from a similar complaint, with a temperature. It turned out to be grass sickness, which is extremely serious. Get the vet immediately!

I used to use Sellier and Bellot cartridges quite a lot in the past but nobody seens to stock them anymore. Can you still get Baikal cartridges. I've not seen them for ages? Weren't they Black Powder?

I'm not sure as I am still on what I got last year. With the FMD, our supplier had a surplus and I got them for about £28 for a box of 250. I don't know how much they are normally but we generally get them discounted on account from our farm wholesaler. I hadn't enough with me last month when I was visiting a friend in W Yorks, and I got Express Game and Pigeon Special from a gunshop there which were cheap enough and I was pleased with the results (but the pigeons weren't!).

Hi! I always use Eley Grand Prix 6 shot for general purpose shooting. The recoil is not too bad and they have good hitting power. Sometimes I use Hull Three Crowns 30g 7 shot for general purpose.

Thanks for the info. What I am looking for is do you know which of the types mentioned gives the best performance. I don't really want to spend more than for these types as it's not my main interest. On another point, I understand that some of these lamps could clamp around the barrel of my Greener GP, or a .410. Is this a good idea, or could it damage the lamp? Thanks.

Hi! I am looking to buy a air rifle lamping kit, mainly for use on rats and rabbits. I have been considering the Logun Smart Lamp, Deben Tracer Compact and Tracer Mini. Can anyone point out any merits / problems of each? Which one should I go for? (or have you any other suggestions) Any comment appreciated. Thanks.