bigjohn

To provide some feedback. I spoke to, and subsequently visited Dauntsey Guns. They were friendly and helpful. They are definitely worth a try, if you're in the Bristol/Wilts/Glos area.

I was going to give Dauntsey's a call in the morning, as they list IMR, but not 4064. Cheers.

Cheers.

I'm the Gloucester side of Bristol, to begin with. That's far better than the 150 mile round trip to Oxford. Thanks.

I need to lay my hands on a tub of IMR4064, within the next week. As Reloading Solutions (nr. Oxford) are only open Mon-Fri, these days, that means time out of work, or go somewhere else. All suggestions welcome? (Changing powder is not an option).

285/75r16 will fit. You'll have to adjust the steering stops, to stop them hitting the radius arms. Whether you have the rims to take them is a different question? (This could start a long arguement about the correct minimum rim width for these size tyres. I suggest you google a Land Rover 4x4 type forum, and take your own view).

Olim - If the battery is down on juice, whether it's been drained, or is knackered, it'll make the starter click (the solenoid engage) without actually getting the motor spinning (or it could be that the starter's on it's way out). Personally, I'd get a voltmeter across the battery, with the engine running, and check that the output is correct (13V+). Admittedly, this could be dragged down by a totally duff battery. Also, if the ouput is okay, at tickover, try turning everything on in the vehicle (main beam, full blower, rear screen) and see if it can keep the output up, under high load.

He didn't take a step, because he had 3 legs... ...and, to be fair, was looking in the opposite direction.

Dr Evil - Shall we stop now, as we're in danger of agreeing? :-)

It's also had a large chunk of the wheel arches cut away, and plastic extensions tacked on to make good. Looking at the width of the tyres, it's possibly had to have the inner arches remodelled, too, to stop the tyres hitting, when it tips on the axles. The front bumper has been changed to give, amongst other things, a better approach angle. In summary, it's had some of the **** bits of Disco cut out of the way, to make it more like a Defender. For your benefit, I'll take back the word "highly" and use "reasonably", in relation to the level of modification, but it's a pointless discussion, once you start bring modded vehicles into the equation. As for 110's. They're longer, and their ar$e sticks out further. They are compromised off road, compared to a 90, but offer better people/load lugging. I'd still have a 110, over a Disco, as they don't rot out, as fast, and can be rebuilt, mecano-style, whatever's broken/corroded.

All the Disco's (1-4) have much longer/lower rear over hangs than a Defender 90. You've shown an highly modded Disco, as proof that isn't a problem. Apply those exact same mods to Defender, at it'll be more effective 99% of the time, off-road, than the Disco. If it helps, I've got a modded Disco 1, that gets hammered off-road. I'm not blind follower of Defenders, but they are the better off road tool.

I've talk about Disco 1's, because I'd assumed few people are rich/frivolous enough to batter the $hit out of a presentable car, worth £10k+, using it for off-roading/slinging dead animals in the back? Disco 2, 3 and 4's have just the same approach and departure angle issues as the 1's The issue is that, in most directions, the Defender will keep "4 bits of rubber touching the ground" longer than a Discovery. I have praised the Disco, for various things, at the end of my last post (something you appear to have overlooked). But, at the end of the day, it is a less capable off-road tool, than the Defender.

If we're talking about off-roading, rather than driving up someone's gravel drive, the chances are we're talking about Discovery 1's. They have the same axles as the Defender, but with tyres (just under) 4" smaller, as standard. The diff is 2" closer to the ground. That is less ground clearance. The approach angle of a Disco 1 compared to a Defender is poor. The departure angle is cronic in comparison. It's compounded by the fact, that the fuel tank is sat behind the rear axle, waiting to get hammered by the rocky step you've just dropped off. This is why people bobtail Disco's and Rangey's (it's not shortening the wheelbase as suggested earlier, it's lopping the ar$e end off). If you keep getting Disco 1's soggy, they rust out, massively (even faster than normal). The base of the A, B or C pillars. The boot floor. The sills. This isn't helped by the sound deadening under the carpets which holds water for months. On the up side... they can deal with most things, that a Defender can, at a third to a quarter the cost. They're also a decent size inside, and have some creature comforts.

I've got Insa Turbo Dakars on my Disco. They're a direct copy of the BFG MT (Mud Terrain). Insa Turbo Rangers are a copy of the BFG AT (All Terrain). I'd get AT's for the road with some mud. The MT's aren't particularly reassuring, on the road, but will perform better when offroad and it gets really gloopy.

I'm 6ft7 and shoot with a MK38. I've tried a couple of Silver Pigeons, and found them to be a good fit. That said, I seem shoot better, with an LOP, that's a little on the short side, compared to text book?... Recoil pads are a good way of extending the LOP, without altering the structure of the gun. But, as mentioned above, I find they catch on clothing, if you try and mount the gun in an hurry.

I've got no complaints about them, as clay carts. Personally, I'd go with something a little meatier for rough shooting, as mentioned above, by Fruity.

I've got 265/75r16's on the Disco. They work well for me. They took a bit of balancing, but then again, the steel wheels they're on, are pretty battered. They hum a bit, at speed, but the rest of the truck is noisier, so I don't notice. They don't stop particularly reassuringly in the wet, but then they aren't road biased tyres. They're very good on mud and loose snow. Arguably, AT's are better on hard packed snow.

The glow plugs wouldn't affect the speed the starter turns the engine over, merely the time it takes to actually catch, in very cold weather. If you've changed the battery, this really just leaves something to do with the starter itself. Cleaning up the corrosion on all the connections to it (including the chassis end of the earth strap) may help. Most likely it's your starter giving up the ghost. It could be the solenoid, which is available seperately. Having gone through the same before (and wasted money on a new solenoid, in hope), and having found it was the starter motor itself, I'd just bite the bullet, and fit a new complete unit, especially as the problem is going to get ten times worse, once the temps are in the minuses, and your oil is like treacle, and the battery is sluggish.

There was one on my HMR, when I bought it. It's now been changed. I'm no fan of them. The range dial, doesn't match the actual drop. I ended up just zeroing at 100yds, and leaving it alone. I'd stay clear, personally.

I'm 6ft7. I started off with a 30", then happened to try a 28", which just worked for me. I can see the arguement, that longer, and therefore heavier barrels, create a smoother swing, but is that a problem, that you need to fix? If you are trying to improve your crow shooting, wouldn't you be better off, sticking with the tool, you're going to be shooting crows with?

Like you'd imagine a windswept field, being hit by the odd shower, to be... Still better than your experience on the same day, I'm guessing?

Not actually answering your question, but I picked up an Harris bipod, that goes up to 27", the other day. I can sit uprght(ish), and shoot, well above the tops of the majority of grass. You're welcome to borrow it, to try it out.

A lot of people tend to stick aftermarket steel wheels on. They're cheap, and come with a wider "offset", than standard landy ones. If you're feeling rich... http://mach5wheels.co.uk/index.htm#sw or google Zu wheels. They're lovely looking, but priced accordingly. If you have a "cat" on the exhaust downpipe, get one without. They're about £25-30. When I replaced the mid and rear sections of my Disco exhaust, I just got a run-of-the-mill pattern one, and you could see daylight, clear through both mid and rear boxes. It's not technically, a proper sports system, but you;d think it was pretty unrestricted? For the £60 or so it cost me. It's good enough.

That's tomorrow nights dinner sorted. There's a nice big buck, sat in the fridge, c/o the HMR. Cheers!

There's a fair few options on Midway UK, as a reference point.