Ladygun

As I was elected I very much hope so. It’s not a begging bowl, it’s existing resources ringfenced to fight the ‘lawfare’ being waged by the antis. For your information, Oliver McCullough retained the Northern Ireland seat and Al Gabriel was elected to the other vacancy.

I sympathise. As someone who has been shooting for 6 seasons but shoots with a bunch of chaps who have been shooting for ~ 4 decades, it's easy to shoot like a moron. And get obsessed with cartridge to kill ratios. My advice - practise mounting and swinging the gun (not loaded obviously) outside if possible, onto anything - midges, chimney pots, little birds, passing clouds. Go to the clay ground and shoot at clays which look like the real thing. If you still can't hit anything, have a lesson with a good coach and make sure the gun fits properly and your eyesight is OK. I also took up deer stalking. Totally different, but it is easier to shoot at stationary targets! Even if they do not stay still for long. Good luck and good shooting.

Pringles, wine and chocolate

Ms Price has a seriously physically and mentally disabled child. The most charitable interpretation of her antics is that she is hoping to provide for his future. Even so, being lots of men's crumpet is not much good when your relationships fall apart - children do need a father so let's hope Pete can come up with the goods. Let's also hope that Ms Price like real mothers can prioritise her existing three children over her desire to present her current squeeze with a baby asap. Were it not for her celebrity status one feels that the child protection social services could take quite an interest in this mother and whether she is providing good enough parenting. A child is for life, not just the next edition of 'Hello!'

CRB check is much more likely to identify people who who should not have guns than the medical profession. The best guide to future violence is previous violence, whether you have mental disorder or not. GPs do not know their patients like they used to, and most doctors know next to nothing about guns. Neither do most GPs have the expertise to evaluate the kind of personality disorder, psychosis or depression which make someone dangerous in the short term or the long term. Having been a psychiatrist for nearly 30 years I would have reasonable confidence in carrying out this sort of work but would not be too keen on the possibility of retribution from anyone about whom I was less than positive! No doubt none of us want to be regulated and monitored any more than we are already (us medics are having to get used to it thanks to Harold Shipman) unfortunately that's the current trend across many areas. BASC are always responding to restrictive proposals - with some success apparently.

Ryan, the most important thing about any shotgun you buy is that it should fit. Otherwise you'll never hit anything. I would not recommend acquiring one without the assistance of a decent shotgun coach or instructor. My first gun was sold to me despite fitting very poorly and like you I did not know any better at the time. It required extensive adjustments which cost quite a bit but at least I now know that the barrels are pointing where I think they are. If you can get to a clay ground which has a gun shop on site and a helpful coach that would be a start. Despite the huge variation in price, shotguns are remarkably similar when you pull the trigger. Choices include over/under or side by side (consensus seems to be o/u are easier to shoot accurately) automatic safety catch on when you close the gun (probably a good idea) automatic ejectors (ditto). Keep things simple - you can get guns with 2 triggers - maybe not a good idea for the novice. Whether to buy 20 or 12 bore, use of chokes etc, depends on use. If you want to shoot stratospheric driven game you probably want a 12 bore, if you want to go wildfowling you probably want a 12 bore with tighter chokes. If you want to shoot clays a 20 bore would be good to learn on. Get one with a recoil pad anyway. Best of luck and don't get ripped off!!