Trent

Have recently moved to Newark-on-Trent and am having trouble finding where the local clubs are, if any. So far all I've found is cockett farm clay shooting, which I like, but I'd like alternatives and places to shoot rifles etc. Does anyone know if there's any such places near Newark? Thanks, Trent.

Hi, Does anyone know what the proper procedure is for storage of firearms if you're going to be out of the country for six months? The house is still going to be occupied by relatives but I doubt it'd be allowed to take the keys and leave them locked in the safe? I heard a rumour that police will look after your guns for free, but I suspect instead you'd have to pay an RFD to keep them for you? Anyone know what should be done in this kind of scenario? Need to store a couple of section 2 shotguns, section 1 shotgun, and section 1 rifle. Thanks in advance.

nt

LOL Koz - that guys arms are almost as big as yours - where'd you find these guys

I made my first mistake in cleaning my semi-auto the other day: I always fully clean my gun after every outing, but this time I applied a drop of oil to every moving part. But being new, I didn't realise that you're not supposed to oil the gas piston, as it can combine with the soot and get stuck up, causing it to jam. And sure enough, this is exactly what hapenened. So I was wondering: What's the best way to clean the sticky oil/soot mix off the gas piston? I have some M-Pro-7 for removing the powder residue, but wasn't sure if this would also remove the oil effectively. Or would I be best just using damp cloths until no more blackness comes off and then drying it? Thanks.

OK, I did it this morning on the patio - in a thin line using a long splint... hardly even made a hiss or any smoke, just a nice bright flame. Thanks again.

Hi there, A friend's grandfather died, and since my friend knew I had a license, he gave me his old shell-reloading kit for safe keeping. I don't plan on reloading shells myself yet, but part of what I was given was an old unlabelled bottle of the explosive powder. Since I have no idea how old it is and there's only about two teaspoons of powder left in the bottle anyway, I want to render it safe for disposal, and was wondering what is the best way to do this. I was thinking of just filling the bottle with water, which would mean there would be about 50 parts water to one part explosive powder - would this render most kinds of powder inert? Many Thanks, Trent.

Yeah, I'd love to see what can be done with one. Noob question: BTW, who is DaveK?

Sweet, thanks for all the information guys. Nice. Is there a benefit to extended chokes over the internal ones, or is it just preference?

What do people say is the best make of semi-auto? I realise this will be slightly subjective, just want to get as much feedback as I can before buying my second gun. For my first gun I bought a Hatsan because it was good value for money, and it does the job fine, I have no complaints, but sooner or later I think I'd like one from a really good manufacturer, to learn what difference it makes.

Nice one Koz. Let me know if you discover that can be done with a Hatsan.

Hi people, just wondering what the name is of the grease that is best to put a drop of on the choke threads - I know apparently you're not supposed to use gun oil there, and I was wondering, when I clean the barrel with the patches saturated with powder solvent, is it best to clean it with the choke in or out? Perhaps there's a tutorial somewhere online that you know about that would help me? Cheers.

That works perfectly, thanks!

In the manual for my Hatsan it suggests dry firing the gun after use to drop the hammer back (presumably so the spring doesn't lose it's strength) but a friend tells me dry firing can be bad for some guns, I suppose because the hammer would be designed to be stopped by the resistance of hitting the primer, but in dry firing it might over shoot, what with their being nothing to stop it. I also know that for these reasons some people use snap caps, and I was thinking of buying some, although not sure whether brass or the plastic+spring type was better, but I also am soon to buy one of those orange flags to put in the breach (not sure of the correct name for those yet) so that people can see the gun is unloaded/safe, and someone at the range suggested I wouldn't need a snap cap if I had this, as I could just fire the firing pin against the plastic of the flag, but I wouldn't want little bits of plastic getting into any of the workings... So, am I ok to use the plastic backing of a safety flag as a subsitute for a snap cap, or do I not even need to worry about it with this particular model of shotgun? Many Thanks

So far I've mainly been shooting at Lowe's Lane, since it's closest to me, but I've also been to Cockett farm and some ranges as far afield as Kent whilst on my travels. Lowe's lane is pretty much my "local" - although sadly my off-work days are mon-tue and it's closed those days (D'oh) which is why I went to Cockett farm (North Notts). Bargain Yeah maybe, although I must admit, so far I'm a terrible shot - DTL I find easier, but the fast crossers on skeet/sporting I am having trouble with. Yeah, I had used a friend's hatsan a few times and found it never failed me. According to the manual it's not recommended for cartridges below 24g, presumably because the manufacturer thought they might not have the power to cycle the heavy bolt spring and load the next round, but I fired a whole box of 65mm 21g carts off in quick succession once and it never missed a beat. I admit tho there is a lot of intricate engineering in a semi-auto, so it's not suprising that sometimes things will go wrong, but I imagine it's like any other machine: keep it in good nick and it should work better. :yp: Unfortunately, I'm enjoying it too much - it's taking up all my free cash LOL. But I suppose life's there for living. :yp: