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The only two shops I have used really are Crawford Sports in Maghera and Groggan Guns in Randalstown. I bought a Browning Ultra XS off Steven at Crawfords and have been in a few times to pick up other bits and bobs, always found him very down to earth and easy to speak to and reasonable prices. Not scared of the big "D" word either! Good selection of branded fishing gear too and loads of country clothing. Recently traded the above gun in with Harold Ewart of Groggan Guns in Randalstown. He really only does it part time as a hobby and seems to specialise mainly in AYA guns, I was able to browse 5 different No.2's before picking my lovely 1997 made single trigger with Prince of Wales stock. The same gun is making almost £2k even on the mainland but I picked it up for a snip at £1500 (the same price Tannyoky and McCloys were looking for similar guns made in the 70s/80s). My only negative is that he wasn't too clued up on the paperwork side of things and made bit of a mistake with my one-on/one-off transfer (I have the gun on loan from my father) but apart from that he was spot on. Does anyone know where I could cartridges a bit closer to Londonderry though? Bit of a treck heading to Maghera

I have to say my Hunter Balmoral Neo's are superb and at £75 a lot less than most neopenes, seriously comfy too.

I have a belt which I use the odd time when just poking about, but I find it a bit of a fiddle to pluck the cartridges out of when reloading a lot, so prefer to use a full box in each coat pocket!

Well I finally managed to catch up with the peelers.. they advised we both need to fill in 30-1 forms (available online) and apply to vary both our licences, so that mine goes from On Loan to Permanent and dad's goes from Permanent to On Loan.

I recently looked into a lot of neoprene wellies and settled for Hunter Balmoral Neos, they cost me £75 (rrp 90) and I have to say I am chuffed to bits, they are very comfy and keep the feet warm without getting sweaty. I could wear them all day long quite happily. The only thing is the big white Hunter logo but I can get over that! Maybe some day I'll go Le Chameau but I just couldn't justify double the price for a similar enough product.

I traded my XS in there as it was a bit on the heavy side for me, I am only 5'6 and don't do many clays so opted something a bit lighter.

I recently changed my Browning OU for an AYA No.2 - I used Groggan Guns in Randalstown and found him very reasonable in price but didn't have much idea on the paperwork side of things. I was told by a few other local shops though that it is straight forward to buy/sell guns in NI or across the water, you just need to do it through a dealer to complete the paperwork. A local shop quoted me £25 to do this and another £25 to post my gun to England.

Hi guys, I have a shotgun and hundreds of acres of land to shoot over (barley and wheat) but I have no pigeon shooting gear. A relative has asked me for some Christmas present ideas and this got me thinking on maybe gathering up a few bits. I'm sure there's a million different types of decoy out there and I have seen various poles and rotary devices for elevating them.... Can anyone recommend a few wee things to get me started? Over time I can add to it. Cheers

Makes you sick when read stuff like this - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8349136.stm Seriously just ***, have some respect!

Hi guys, Today I traded in our Browning Ultra XS for a lovely AYA No.2 At present, the Browning is held by my dad on his FAC and my FAC shows it as being on loan from him. So far we are going through the "One-on/One-off" procedure to get the AYA put on in place of the old gun. However, to complicate matters, we would like to change it around so that I hold the gun on my FAC and he has it on loan from me. Is this going to be tricky to do? Can anyone advise on the PSNI paperwork or procedures to complete all of this? The guy I bought the gun from is reaching retirement and doesn't seem fully clued up on the paperwork side of things, other than the standard one on/one off transfer. Ps, I live in Northern Ireland and obviously our FAC's are PSNI. Cheers

Done deal, the above AYA is now mine :blink: Head down on Friday to pick it up, can't wait

I have an immaculate Browning Ultra XS 30" adjustable stock multichoke with 4x adjustable chokes and 3x spare triggers, £1200 if you are interested drop me a pm.

Yes and Spide = Northern Ireland :blink:

Well guys, having rang over 30 gun shops in Northern Ireland and just at the point where I could find nobody else to ring and was giving up hope... I thought why not check the AYA website and by complete chance I had missed our only two authorised dealers :blink: The first had an XXV, which I decided I would pass on.. the next guy was out shooting and would be back in later, so I phoned there at 5pm and to my absolute shock he said he had 5 different No.2s in stock - RESULT! So I raced down and met him just an hour ago, to which he showed me all the guns which ranged from £700 - £4,500 and the various options available - case colour hardened or silver case, straight stock, half pistol and full pistol grips, round and square action, normal and premium grade wood. And all in 28" barrell length, which I immediately felt comfortable with when held against my big Browning OU. My eyes lit up when he produced a lovely gun made in 1997, with optional half pistol grip and single trigger, both ordered from the factory when he himself sold it to the original owner. The gun looks like it has never fired a shot, loads of case colour hardening and not a mark on the whole gun And at only £400 plus my Ultra XS, it was well priced too. The only problem, and it could be a BIG problem, is that someone else has expressed their interest and I am second in line. However the other person is messing around and with some luck, I may just get the little beauty, which would be even better than I had originally hoped for. I'll know my fate come Wednesday... fingers crossed!!

It would be easily sand blasted and painted, but I'll let it sell as it is. Cheers for the info guys, keep it coming :blink:

Hi guys, having read all the way throgh this thread and spoken to numerous local shops here in my quest for a no.2, reading between the lines I think I will hold out for a 28" barrell to give me a bit more flexibility with the gun. Incidentally, I've been offered one with a semi pistol grip and factory optional 3" magnum chambers, but I think I'd prefer a "standard" spec, plus there isn't much colour hardening left which puts me off a bit too. I'm in no rush at all - the search continues :blink:

Wow didn't know that!!! Do you know how the best way would be to offload it to someone? I have no reason to doubt whether it works. I wouldn't want it to go on eBay and go for peanuts... (All of the above are going to contribute to my next gun!)

Hi guys, I am in the process of clearing out an old farm outbuilding to convert into a garage and amongst all the scrap I stumbled across some unusual parts from years gone by. Some of them I have a vague idea what they are, whilst others I haven't got a clue! They are all in reasonable used condition but I would imagine they could be worth a few bob to the right person who collects this kind of thing. Problem is, I don't know what half of it is and other than eBay or throwing them in a skip, I don't know what to do with half of it! So I thought I'd post some pics up and see what you guys think, maybe you could help me diagnose exactly what some of the unknown items are and whether any of it is worth anything or is it just old tat? Also thought some of you might enjoy seeing a few quirky wee things like the engine tester and moisture testing kit. 1. Antique horse drawn implement... not sure exactly what though? Is it a harrow for potato drills maybe? I know some people paint these up and stick them in their front gardens, I'm just not totally sure what it is called. 2. Some sort of gauge, rated in mmWS units from 0-1600, no idea what it is though? 3. Brass pressure gauge, though not sure what its specific use would be 4. Quirky little engine tester - it says to connect it to a carburettor and then states various symptoms for the engine depending on the state of the needle. Seems to be in decent condition and not something I've ever seen before! 5. I think this is some sort of thermometer, it is made by A.R.I.C Surrey, England. It is 6" in diameter and rated from 150-300 deg, but it doesn't designate what units this is in (Fahrenheit, Celsius, kelvin?). Comes with a brass (?) probe. As we live on a farm, I was wondering if this could have been part of our grain dryer but my dad unfortunately hasn't got a clue where it came from! 6. Industrial thermostat, again no idea what its purpose could be/have been. Complete with long brass probe from the rear 7. Some sort of electrical gauges from the 70s - comes in a little wooden box with a service tag attached stamped 1971. The box is stamped Erma Limited, Wembley, England. The tool inside is stamped with an american company from New Jersey. The kit contains a series of little gauges and a couple of other hand held tools but I have absolutely no clue what it is or was used for. Case and gauges are in good condition but tool itself is showing a little corrosion on the alloy. 8. Moisture testing kit, made by Thomas Ashworth & Co Ltd, Burnley, England. Comes in a nice wooden box complete with various utensils, the main moisture tester itself and a tube of calcium carbide. From what I can see, the test material is placed into the moisture tester along with a quantity of calcium carbide, and the gauge is able to display the level of moisture. Again, I have a feeling this was used for measuring the level of moisture in grain, but no idea what period it dates to and whether it would be of interest to anyone nowadays. Cheers - enjoy!

Mudpattern, you would be correct, the shop owner has advised that the gun has a rasied rib like a Churchill. The gun also has a slightly longer stock at 14 3/4".

Some great advice here guys, keeping the options open in both directions! I am seriously tempted by the 25" as it is nearby, great condition and a lot cheaper than most, however the thought of higher recoil might put me off a bit. I'll see if the shop is able to let me try it out alongside my current 31" Browning and see how it feels! Keep the comments flowing - I'm going gun shopping this Saturday.

I should have added I am a fairly small physique - 5'6 and 10st. Maybe the shorter length will be of benefit? I currently shoot a 31" gun which is quite heavy, so dropping 6 inches will be a bit of a change!

Well I was really just hoping to see what some other people's experiences had been - I won't get a chance to shoot before I buy other than swinging them around in the shop. The 25" gun is £1,050 and the 26" is £1,500, so I don't want to make the wrong decision! I would really like to buy the cheaper gun, but not if it will be harder to shoot with and harder to sell down the line..

Hi guys Further to my prior post about changing my gun to a side by side, I have another question. I have my eye on a couple of AYA No.2's in local shops, one in 25" (which is immaculate and quite cheap at £1k) and the other is 26" and a bit more expensive. My question is, what length should I go for? The trend seems to be that people prefer 28" length; I have asked the shops and they say that a shorter gun will shoot the same distance but it is slightly more difficult to shoot as it loses momentum quicker when being swung following the target. Any thoughts??

I'm in Northern Ireland, our rules are a bit different to GB in that we need a FAC to carry any air rifle regardless of power. I would quite like a charged gun, but didn't know if my budget would be working against me? I should have no problem picking up an old diving cylinder, but would I be able to buy a powerful enough gun at that money?

Hi guys, I live on a farm which we converted into a golf course some time ago - this almost entirely rules out me using my shotgun and .22lr rifle for fear of disturbing the golfers. I have been toying with the idea of adding an airrifle to my arsenal as they are quiet and a stray pellet won't be the end of the world in comparison with my .22lr! The only thing is that I don't have a huge budget; £250 - £300 max would be about the height of it - though I don't mind buying second hand. My main quarry would probably be static pigeons, magpies, crows, rabbits, and if I can figure out how to sight them, RATS. I obviously already have a Firearms Certificate so I want something powerful. What can you suggest? I have only ever shot an ancient spring loaded air rifle before, so I have no experience with modern versions at all, be it spring loaded or gas charged. I have seen lots of posts of Weihrauch, Air Arms, BSA etc but I'm just not really sure where to start! Cheers, Rob