Fishh

I've got a pal that offered me a good deal on a Ram at the shop he works for. I was tempted until I saw the plastic shoulder pads. I've been borrowing my fathers advantage camo duck dry for the meantime and have found it very warm in the winter, lacks decent pockets though.

So jack of all trades but master of none eh? Well that figures as the anchors that the ducks come with do look a little on the small side. I was playing with some 'antique' mallard deeks at the kelmarsh show on Sunday and commented how heavy carved deeks were. I suppose the old fashioned methods still stand up well against more modern offerings. Has anyone played with the geese versions. I saw the crow versions on decoyuk's stand and they looked pretty naff.

I'm yet to see any silo socks in use. I was on the cusp of buying some as it seemed that the FUDs weren't readily available at the time. I was put off by three things 1) cost relative to quality- in my mind I couldn't reconcile the expense for thin polythene socks. 2) I'd read several comments as to they're lack of robustnesses 3) Dead calm days could potentially pose a problem. I'll be the first to acknowledge that these points are perceptions and not based upon experience. I'll have to borrow some off a pal and try them out soon though as 24 in the seat and no weight is appealing. Are they shiny when wet?

Well additionally they allow for alternative field arrangement from sentry, and normal standing positions to feeding. So you have a degree of flexibility over other deeks, where a choice has to be made for shell feeders, full body feeders and full body uprights....but you're (chrispti) no-doubt already familar with their specifications and distributor claims. I think they give good vfm if you consider that to achieve a mixed pattern of feeders and sentry birds you'd require a range of plastic deeks to achieve the same. The Fud's would have been even better if they had been developed with some movement. I'd think this may have more to do with the brief being more for a multipurpose deek which would perform well on the water. I'd really like to read reviews from wildfowlers where they've been used on water as it's clear that their broad and robust metal pegs have a clear keel shape and enclosed universal instructions give a good deal of information on their use on the water. Perhaps in time when the NRA recognise that the woodpigeon variant is most popular with the UK market we'll see some further development of the land based defcoys. I'd personally be in favor of some sort of wobble stick to convey movement in the pattern and much brighter White collar and wing markings. That's my considered, objective stance on the FUDs...keep shooting down pigeons not opinions.

I've been using FUDS since February, and IMHO I think they'e less convincing than flocked shells, although because of their pack flat foam design, I can just about squeeze 16 plus 125 shells, gloves and hat into my 5 gallon fermenting bucket which is a huge advantage when carting your kit around. I'm now of the opinion that my pattern lacks movement, having experimented over cut maize 3wks ago and found that my FUDs and dead bird bouncer set-up just wasn't pulling in the birds. I had hundreds of birds flying along the edge of the maize crop but none would come close enough to shoot at. Eventually the gamekeeper, Tony kindly lent me his rotatry magnet and we were in business. The FUDs initially performed well whilst shooting over a drilled field of peas early March, although I think that grey breeze blocks would have been equally succesful given that Woodpigeons are quick to spot feeding opportunities. Having watched Chris Green's Pigeon Shooting Volume 1, which I picked up at the Kelmarsh show on Ester Sunday, I'm giving serious thought to adding some Traitor Decoys to my pattern, which should dangle in the breeze and add the movement that the pattern is currently lacking. I'm less inclined to buy a rotary as I really can't be doing with lugging kit around...plus there's something a little disturbing about them! With reference to the FUDs build quality, I was a little disappointed to find that one of the eighteen FUDs purchased from Sportarm, Dorchester arrived missing a plastic rivet. I've since used a couple of transparant plastic buttons and a paperclip to replace the missing fitting, which looks smart and holds well. I've now sat in front of shell deeks, full bodied deeks, rotary's, FUDs, bouncers and flappers and they've all performed well at times and not so at others. I think ultimately there's no subsititute for getting yourself as near too the birds flightline as possible and watching closely for their reaction.

I'd suggest you seek some advice from BASC, there understanding on these mattters is second to none. Putting it simply, should your neighbours lodge a formal complaint with regards to the disturbance or worse still report your activities to the police in such a manner which would warrant a visit then you might find yourself on the back foot. By contacting BASC you will have demonstrated a responsible approach to dealing with the matter.

Pigeon foremost, some wildfowling and a little driven game. Cut my teeth on a Wierach HW80 from childhood, since then I've moved onto a customised Airarms S200 10 shot mag and the biggest Simmons WTC scope going. When I'm not sniping plump woodies out of fir trees for my tea, I'm either at my local clay ground or shooting wildly at the sky with my silver pigeon. Once I calm down I'm hoping to connect with a few more...bum beak..bum beak then bang and the pigeon is gone!

Hello welcome to a thoroughly knowledgeable community.

Hello to all. I've been trawling the forum for a few days now gathering tips and wading in with my advice where appropriate. Looking forward to learning and meeting fellow members whilst enjoying our fantastic countryside and the diverse sport it has to offer. Ttfn

I have a Mk 1 Fore-End Piece in excellent condition, of the early type with the clear plastic resevoir sleeve at the front; having converted to the Mk 1 T forend. If this is what your after then PM me with an offer.

I'm a uk all weather scuba diver and find my extremeties suffer from the cold. If i'm diving early in the year and the water temps going to be in single figures, I'll hand my dry suit up in the airing cupboard and do the same with my undersuits. Taking a hot shower before suiting up will raise your core temp. My advice then if your feet suffer is to bring your wellies indoors the night before and get them warm before use, take a hot shower and if you still suffer, try some Weezle Underboot Socks or Xerotherm Arctic socks from Fourth Element, these are like sleeping bag material and will trap air around your tootsies. I'd wish i practiced what I preached though, the other week I couldn't shoot straight such was the pain from my toes...or at least that's the excuse I'm using!

Ref Blade good images of the FUD's. Three boxes arrived from a major retailer in Exeter on Thursday, having spent two weeks trying to track some down. Blade, you may want to pull down on the red metal anchors a little more, so they don't show in the field. They will abut to the middle plastic rivet leaving nothing on show at the top, although I think this should be done with care. I don't think these FUDs will take kindly to robust handling. As my girlfriend won't let me out to play today, I'd thought I'd stake mine out in the garden to see if it'll bring any woodies into land. Better get cooking...have a pigeon pastilla to make.