swift4me

Thanks for the help. I got lucky and found a local smith who scrounged one out of a drawer. 17 Euros for a spring. Pete

I trap here in France and use a white plastic bucket, but I am carrying foothold traps, snares, stakes, lure, etc. If I was only snaring I would think a simple backpack would work just fine. For me... keep it simple. All you need is some wire, your snares, your gloves, some pruning shears and some pliers. If you use a good stiff wire, (coat hangers work), you can wrap it around a tree or fencepost as an anchor, (I use a screw clip so I can remove or replace snares without changing my wire. The main purpose of the wire is to support the snare at the proper height. PM me if you have any questions. Pete

Hi I'm in need of a firing pin spring for a Benelli M2. Can someone suggest a stocking parts dealer in the UK? I live in France, but it is just as easy to order it there than here. Thanks in advance. Pete

No longer for sale. Thanks.

There have been such things called 2 3/4" magnums which have a higher lead payload with slightly if any extra powder. They were not very fast, but appealed to the guy who didn't own a 3" gun and wanted to go after other game. My two cents for the geese is to not get too wrapped up in the heavier loads. 3" shells are great, but more pellets are not always what they are cracked up to be. These loads are more punishing to shoot, and may not pattern well in your gun. For fox, where you're likely to be shooting much less frequently, go ahead and get the maximum pellet count you can. They key to both is to actually hit the target. When you ae shooting geese, the great tendency for many is to shoot the in the back half of the body as you either misjudged their speed, your lead or both. When you shoot geese in the front half of the body, they fall from the sky much more often. Pattern your gun as soon as you can and stick with a load once you find it. Good luck. Pete

The real key to using wool socks effectively is to wear a liner sock under them that wicks moisture away from your skin. Much the same as layering under a jacket. Some guys think this is fluff, but in the backpacking, flyfishing and hunting industry it has been well known for years. Cotton is the WORST thing to have next to your skin, whether trying to stay warm or trying to stay cool in the heat. It traps the moisture and holds it there next to your skin. A wicking liner sock moves the moisture out to the thicker sock. Check out a backpacking store for some polypro liner socks, then use your good wool socks over them. If you do not have enough room in your boots for the heavy socks, then you've got another issue, but at least get rid of the cotton. I've used them and sold them for many years, and they work. Good luck. Pete

I sold and cleaned more than a hundred 391s over a six year period, and am unaware of this "known problem". What happens when you cycle shells through the gun without firing them? I am aware of a problem with the bolt release lever, (the piece that has the button you push to close the bolt), if the trigger group has been taken out or put in without depressing the button. The solution for that is a gentle bending, but bending the shell carrier seems odd to me. I'd definitely consult the guy who did your service efore I did anything. If you know someone with another 392, you might switch trigger groups and try it. Good luck, Pete

With the outrageous prices for prescription glasses, I found some sites that sell glasses at a much better price. One of them was UK based, and was called Glasses Direct, or Eyeglasses Direct. Has anyone dealt with them? Opinions? Thanks, Pete

I'd say you just have to try it to see. If you are going to restock it anyway, you could get rid of the contact points and do a good bedding job near the recoil lug and front of the receiver, and you'll know. I've bedded a few of those stocks on the SPS. I don't know if the guy you mentioned who "jacked up" his barrel, really could call it a fair experiment. A good bedding job is very different than a quick shim job with a curved washer. I agree that not every free floated barrel is better. If you are going to have contact though, I'd rather have it in a synthetic than wood, even though I love making wood stocks. Pete

I had a customer in San Francisco whose family owned a celebrated Mexican restaurant specializing in high quality tequila. HIs brother was the US distributor for Herradura. He taught us something very good to know about tequila, that I never knew before, that can save almost all of the bad hangovers, puking, etc.. Aside from not drinking it. Most tequila, including many famous brands like Cuervo, have alot of sugar cane liquor in them as it is cheaper than the agave used in better tequila. The better tequilas are not always more expensive, and Herradura Silver is a good inexpensive one. Of course, good tequila is like scotch... you can spend what you want. Seriously, if you are drinking 100% agave tequila, you can drink as much of it as you would any other hard liquor without any of the famous tequila problems. A real margarita made with fresh limes, triple sec and good tequila is a good thing. Two is better. Pete

I just started with the chickens myself 3 weeks ago. I built a fenced run next to an old stone building and used that as the coop. It had been the pig shed for 200 years, but I'm sure the chickens spent some time in there too. I have 2 roosters and 7 hens. When I started, I made a roost with two birch limbs. One about ten inches off the ground and the other about 20 inches. After I bought more hens, I added two that were higher, between 3 and four feet off the ground, and now they all use the high roosts. You'll find that your roost location also helps to keep **** out of their food and water. I bought a 12 liter waterer so I can leave them for a few days, and I built a feeder from a plastic garbage can and a base for a planter. They both work great. I found alot of good info on a site called www.backyardchickens.com and they have LOTS of people doing what you are talking about. Good luck. You'll enjoy them I bet, not to mention the eggs. Pete

OFF is the problem word here. Rust is IN the metal. You can get the external rust off with light treatment of good penetrating oils, superfine steel or bronze wool, and in the US we used old pennies as they were pure copper and wouldn't scratch the blueing. If you use a penetrating oil, be sure to completely rinse it out of the pores with a flush of solvent to keep it from continuing to penetrate. After that, you need to continually watch the spots and apply good coating oils when needed. Short of a complete re-blue, I don't know of anything better. There are some good anti-rust treatments and I'm sure if you were to use the SEARCH function, you'd find lots of good info. Good luck, Pete

Coyote Valley has two clays courses, as you saw on the website. The upper hill course is most favored by my old clients. I've never shot there personally. The course in Sonoma is called Valley of the Moon I think. There used to be a trap club called San Geronimo just north of San Rafael, but it might not be there anymore. I doubt you'll find rental guns at either of these places. You can also call Western Sport Shop in San Rafael as they sell guns and would know of other opportunities in the Marin/Sonoma area. This time of year, west Marin is a beautiful place for a ride or drive. You can head west from either San Rafael or even Petaluma toard the coast. The road west from Petaluma, (formerly the chicken capital of America), is more rural and at the end of the road in Inverness you can eat fresh oysters that are farmed right there and also in Tomales Bay. If you go out the road from San Rafael, you'll go through a town called San Anselmo. There is an old burger place called Spanky's. Worth the effort for a real American hamburger. Pete

Same about the weather, but the French say, "...Christmas on the balcony, Easter at the hearth..."

Wow! I actually feel useful on this site. I owned a gun store in Walnut Creek, in the east bay. Near Morgan Hill, south of San Jose, is Coyote Valley. They have 2 sporting clays courses, 5 stand and skeet. It is especially beautiful in the spring. They have a pro-shop and I'm sure you can rent a gun. Near Rio Vista, east of the Bay Area, there is Bird's Landing. They have sporting clays, 5 stand and planted bird shooting. They have rental guns and a pro shop. In Martinez, there is a trap, skeet club with a few clays stands, but not like the others. Google Martinez Trap Club) In Concord, there is USI, a skeet, trap, rifle and pistol range. No real clays station, but one station set up as kind of a 5 stand. (Google Diablo Rod and Gun Club) There is a trap/skeet club in Sonoma up in the wine country. Coyote Valley is the nicest, Birds Landing is nice, and the others are closer to the Bay Area, but not as special. I may have missed one or two small clubs, but that is pretty much it. If you Google the names of the clubs, you'll get all the necessary info. PM me if you need other help. Pete