Colster

Been through shed loads of scopes on my .22LR but I am now firmly in the 6x42 camp, I bought a second hand Leupold FX-III and it's not coming off now. So sharp and bright under the lamp, I'd had plenty of scopes on there that I was happy with but the Leup is in a different league to Hawke/MTC etc. As said above, if you can find a nice Meopta, Schibby, Pecar, Leupold (or Redfield) in fixed mag for a price you're willing to pay, then you won't beat that.

A friend who has a number of shotties including an Aya, Benelli Semi, 2 Berettas and a Bettinsoli also has a Baikal OU. Typically when we go rough shooting or ferreting it's the Baikal that comes out the cabinet for him.

I've had some MacWets for a couple of years now and always found them warm enough and the dexterity you retain is great, I can reload my FAC Air or roll a smoke without taking them off.

My HMR generally gets used for laying up so I leave the bolt open after each shot and let the smoke blow through... find the mod stays a lot cleaner that way. When it needs cleaning, WD40 cleans it up nicely.

I've had one a couple of years now, never had a problem with it. Ideal for lamping bunnies and lots cheaper than a Lightforce.

I have a few Opinels and Mora's but the one I never go off a'huntin without is my Marquette - http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/marquette-1686-p.asp Unlike the Opinel, it never shuts on me when I least expect it and it stays sharp a lot longer. I also think the blade is a better shape for rabbit gutting.

My other half has a friend who runs a wine company and we swap meat for wine (self sufficiency nirvana!), to give a comparative value for the meat we worked out a crowned wood pigeon at £2.50. I would think if you're selling to an end-user, so to speak, that £1 a breast is reasonable (they are delicious after all).

I use a Deben Cyclops, 100W Bulb and about £40 inc a red filter. I'd strongly advise with any lamp (particularly ones with 100W Bulbs) that you don't use the cigarette lighter plug... cut it off and wire it back directly to the battery.

Can't see it being an issue, other half's sister went along with her chap to Shadwell. I don't think she shot but no one had an issue with her standing by him.

As said above it depends on what you want to shoot there, typically pest control will be the responsibility of the tenant, although I shoot on a farm where the farmer's main interest is cattle and he rents out the arable land to a contractor, however he retains both sporting rights and the responsibility to control the vermin FOR the contractor.

Have to say I agree, pigeons I find like ducks to pluck in that you can be quite brutal. One year after plucking our ducks that we'd been fattening I then proceeded onto a hen pheasant and ripped it to pieces as I was still in "duck mode". The advantage with pigeons is they don't have all those pin feathers that take ages to remove completely from a duck. I'd probably say pigeons were the easiest and quickest to pluck of any bird I've ever tried, although I've never tried plucking one that has been frozen. Usually breast or crown mine before freezing them.

There's a gun shop in Taverham?? Where?

I agree with Dekers, spend more and buy an Annie/Sako etc if that's what you want and it feels better to you but don't do it because you think it will be more accurate. I first bought a CZ in .22LR (Silhouette) in 16" as my main lamping gun, then when I bought the HMR I stuck with CZ and the Silhouette but the cost difference between 20" and 16" was about £60 (it was about £20 when I bought my LR) and as the HMR would be used more for laying up in the summer months, I went with the 20". I do find the 16" LR very easy to use from a vehicle but the 20" is still doable. The main reason I like the 20" in HMR though is that I like to take the mod off when its in the cabinet and at 16" without a mod it would fall over. As far as scopes go, it took me an age to settle on one for the LR but finally I stumped up the funds for a Leupold FX-III 6x42 and I wouldn't change it now. In the pic, they are both wearing Hawkes (MAP Pro on the LR and an Endurance 30IR on the HMR) and they're fine for the money but if you spend around £200 second hand on a decent Leup, Redfield, Meopta etc you will notice the difference. The HMR has had less in the way of changes wearing a Zieler 3-9x56 for most of it's life but now has a Pecar Berlin 4-10x50 on it, not sure I'll keep that on there as the reticle is a little big for rabbits (more suited to fox/deer) so I may sell/swap it for something of similar quality but with a more traditional duplex ret. Another point that maybe worth considering, you'll often find 10shot CZ Mags for sale and having 2 or 3 loaded and ready can be handy especially when lamping but you rarely see mags for Annies for sale and definitely not for £15 each.

Its basically WD40 by another name, I use it for cleaning my SAK's but just gun oil on the guns themselves.

If its from a vehicle or with a lamp man, I don't think you'll beat a Cyclops. A proper bulb (not LED) and change from £40. More than enough range for me when lamping even with the HMR.

No floor plate on the X-Bolt? I think one of the best things about the A-Bolt is the combination of box mag and floor plate, if they abandoned it on the X-Bolt, I'd rather have the A anyday. I'm quite fussy about triggers but the one on my A-Bolt I was more than happy with, never felt the need to tweak it.

Same here.

iirc the bolt can be removed while the safety is on... think that's it tbh

Just my personal opinion (tin hat at the ready) but I think choke size is sooo much less important than fit (to the point of being irrelevant). Yes, if you're starting out on clays a more open choke will give you a bigger, weaker shot pattern that is ideal for clays as it doesn't take much to break them but I wouldn't mess about with them, you'll learn to shoot with what you have. If the gun fits, it will do you just fine.

I'd go for the A-Bolt, in fact I did! I have one in .243 and it's a cracking rifle. Well balanced and fairly light, good trigger and having the combination of a 4 shot box mag and a floor plate is a real bonus.

FAC Shotguns "should" be granted as open from the start. I say "should" as the Home Office advises FLO's to do this but we know we live in a postcode lottery when it comes to FLO's.

You're better off getting decent inserts (eg Superfeet) that support the arch and take them with you when you go boot shopping. I use inserts in my boots and wellies.

LED is a very white light (not a lot of other colours in it) so a red filter will really batter its range You can get CR123's from Dealextreme - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/lir-3-6v-cr123a-batteries-2-pack-722 - Just over £2 for a pair of rechargeables.

Hmm that would leave you a Meopta going spare, I could help you with that!

All paid for items were posted today. Cheers, Col.