Exudate

Any particular barrel length or gauge?

I've never tried it myself, but it can't hurt to have a go!

Correct. Section 2 shotgun caliber is irrelevant.

Go and get it today, you know you want to! Glad to her that you're almost sorted. Half the fun is deciding what gun to get.

Don't get hung up on the marketing. At the end of the day, they're all 12g shotguns, they can all break clays and kill live quarry. Buy whichever one 'feels' best to you when you shoulder it.

Erm.......pest control, maybe?

The only negative I have about the A400 Xcel is the same one I have with other gas-operated semi-autos, and that is, compared to my inertia driven Benelli M2, it takes much longer to clean. Then again, I have a self-imposed rule of cleaning my guns fully every time I use them. This is almost certainly unnecessary, but I like to do it. Don't get me wrong, I love my A400 and it's an excellent gun, BUT, if I could only own 1 gun, it would have to be the Benelli.

I have an A400 Xcel with a kick-off. I like it a lot, but then again I also like my Benelli M2, which is inertia driven with no kick-off. In practical terms, I can't honestly say that I perceive the Beretta with kick-off to recoil less than the M2, even though in theory the kick-off should reduce recoil. Just something to bear in mind.

The Only Way is Essex!

Start off with the horse-shoe, and see how it works. If birds fly-by and don' t commit, change it to something else and see what happens. Keep changing it, if necessary. Of course, the various patterns aside, the real trick is to set up where the birds want to feed in the first place!

Evolution, gents. Evolution.

I use CENS passive, and think they're brilliant. I can still hear ambient sounds fine.

It's a good job that shooting a semi-auto isn't a protected characteristic. There'd be a lot of discrimination cases, if so. Jees.....

It is if they don't realise what to look out for, and as in this case the wad is left in the barrel. That will cause a blockage, causing a massive increase in pressure when the next cartridge is fired, which could cause the barrels to explode and seriously injure or maybe even kill the shooter or bystanders. At the very best, your gun will be ruined. Posts such as this raise awareness, and are absolutely the right thing to do.

No reason at all why you shouldn't use one for driven game. People frown upon them through a mixture of tradition and snobbery. At one time, O/Us were also frowned upon, but they're accepted these days. If you want to use a semi-auto for driven game, then just use one. That's what I did. If someone challenges you, just ask them politely for a credible, soild, common sense reason why you can't. I bet they won't have a good one, one without an equally good counter-argument. The guys where I used to shoot driven game didn't, anyway, and I was allowed to carry on. But then again, I'm very pro-semi-auto!

Thanks for that, Wingman! I know what you mean about HF antennas. I used to be into CB, when I lived in Derbyshire, and had a Shakespeare Big Stick antenna in the back garden. It was unsightly and didn't impress the Mrs at all. The radio I've bought to get started in amateur is 2m/70cm, and I've put an X30 antenna in the loft. Much easier to manage and Mrs friendly than HF. Plenty of contacts and nets going on here on 70cm, so for now I'm happy with my Yaesu HT. There are also several repeaters easily in range of Milton Keynes, where my pigeon shooting permission is, so I can also use the radio in the hide, during quiet periods. I've been looking at the Icom DSTAR system and it looks awesome. If you ever want to sell yours, then do please let me know! Thanks! 73s.

There's a minimum inertia required to operate the system. Although some guns can cycle 24g, I think it states somewhere in the manual that 28g is the minimum that is recommended.

Is it brand new? If so, it might not be broken in enough to cycle them, yet. If it's not new, did it cycle them ok before, or is this the first time you've tried them? They simply might not be producing enough recoil to successfully cycle the inertia action. If 28s are ok then just stick with them.

Certainly at the radio club I've started going to, the youngest member is in his late 30s, then there's about 3 of us in our 40s, then a big jump up to 60+. They're a perfectly friendly bunch, but you can see why a youngster would be put right off. Going to the radio club meeting is a bit like visiting your grandparents for the day!

Already drives my wife bonkers, and Ive only been listening to local nets for a few weeks!

My exam is booked in for the end of November, and I've already started the distance learning for my intermediate licence. I've bought a Yaesu FT-60e HT and a guy from my local club is sorting me out with an X-30 antenna. There are several 2m/70cm repeaters easily within range. There are also a few which should be in range from where I pigeon shoot. Looking forward to being able to push the PTT and join in the local nets. I'll let you know how I get on!

Thanks, TaxiDriver!

I'm just in the process of studying for my foundation license. Are there any other hams on here, especially in my region (Cambridge / Bedford / Milton Keynes)?

Awesome job, well done!

That's a very difficult question to answer! It would all depend on budget, whether you prefer side-by-side, over-under or semi-auto, and how well your short-listed guns fit you.