supergame

I've done my fair share of bass fishing mainly in Cornwall. My favoured methods are Plugging and night time surf fishing. If I had to choose between the two methods it would have to be plugging. You cant beat travelling light with minimal tackle and rockhoppping the Cornish coastline, casting into likely looking gullies and bays here and there.

I shot field target competitions a few times about 4 years ago. Its very intense in the concentration department,trying to hit a 5cm disk on a knockover target is not easy in a wind at 55 yards. It wasn't really me but i had some success. It did improve my understanding of airguns no end, which I carried over to live quarry shooting. With the write scope and rifle it is amazing what a .177 cal air rifle is capable of.

Took the gun with me whilst checking rabbit snares and fenn traps. Only spotted one woody, got it first barrel. Went clayshooting pm and had three round of compak sporting and 50 off the high tower, all good practice for when I start on the sowings.

I got some ear plugs from a sports shop. They were originally for swimmers, but they do a grand job when I'm clayshooting. I've only just started wearing them for pigeon shooting. I will continue to wear them because they have helped prevent that shell shocked feeling at the end of a busy day in the pigeon hide. Feeling better at the end of the day probably means you have shot better throughout the day which is worth bearing in mind me thinks.

The man has no shame :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

It has to be dry fly fishing for brown trout, nothing beats it for me. In the past I did a lot of pike fishing with livebaits and had them up to 24lb. I still enjoy lure fishing occasionally but the fly rod takes preference. I do a fair bit of sea fishing in the summer off the Cornish coast for Pollack, Bass and Big Ballan Wrasse. There isn't many fish arround to beat the initial power surges a Ballan Wrasse gives when first hooked. I've Had Ballans to nearly 6lb on float fished live hardback crab.

I've had Buzzards circle my decoys on a few occasions, but never attack. On numerous occasions I've had Sparrowhawks hit decoys and on one occasion one hit the magnet ripping the pigeons wing clean off. Last winter a female Peregrine swooped through my decoy pattern and almost through the hide.

Not shot a pigeon on rape in Lancashire for years. Over the past five years the majority of the pigeons I've shot have been on uncut wheat fields, stubbles under flightlines and on grazed fields with clover. Since January 1st I've shot 500 in 8 trips on a wheat stubble near to an uncut wheat field. Its far easier shooting than chasing them round rape fields. This winter I have shot no more than 10 birds containing rape. Fortunately there are very few rape fields in my neck of the woods these days.

I tend to agree with Gary on the magnets uses. Don't put to much emphesis on the magnet. They can make shooting difficult more often than make it easy. As Gary says they are more of an attractor. I find that decoys used properly, with sufficient numbers are better than a magnet more often than not. Certainly agree that you don,t need a magnet when its still, they will pile in from miles up if your pattern looks right. These days I use the magnet about 1 in 5 trips. I must admit I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to pigeon decoying and prefer to use a floater at the front or side of the pattern. Don't get me wrong the magnet has worked wonders for a lot of pigeon shooters and has made many hard days easier, but I think theres a lot to be said for a good decoy pattern.

A mate of mine had a couple of ferrets from my jils litter. He used them solely on rats because his farm was riddled with them. The ferrets turned out to be the nastiest beasts I've ever seen. They were fired up permanently. He used them like gaurd dogs and just let them roam the farm unattended and they would return to the hutch to kip. Both those ferrets had a superb temperament until I gave them to him and then they went phyco and were unapproachable by anyone but my mate. One things certain though they could hammer rats for fun. I tried my ferrets on rats but wasn't keen on them getting nipped so i stopped after a couple of trips, with my mates ferrets in mind I thought it was for the best.

Hi Sean, A few mates have fished kentmere for brownies and have done very well. They said the best flies were Bibio and most black dry flies. Early season, I believe it fishes well on black and green stick fly and montanas.

Cheers Sean, I fancy kentmere at some point I nearly went last year. Kentmere has Brownies as well and the rainbow section is netted of isn't it? Glad you mentioned Crummock water, I've read about it and its sounds grand. I'll gladly meet up for a day at Kentmere when the weather warms a touch. Any idea where I could get the book you mentioned?

I notice Cranfield hadn't had a perch on a surface lure. I would agree that they don't normally take surface lures. I did once manage a perch of 1lb 8oz on a lucky 13 in fire tiger. This was during a trip to a lakeland tarn which was having a mental day and every fish, pike included was feeding furiously. I'll never forget watching the poor hapless toads getting snapped of the surface, and if you didn't see them dissapear you certainly heard them. I'll be fishing that tarn soon with lures just as the pike are thinking of spawning. The sport is usually electric. I'll be taking the fly rod and fishing some big surface froggy flies or anything that creates a wake.

Sean. I intend to do a fair bit of fishing this season up in cumbria. Which of the lakes would you suggest. I would be shore fishing the majority of the time. When do find the lake district waters tend to come to life, from what I've read they are generally that bit later and the season is relatively short as the trout soon move out to deeper water as soon as june ends. Previously I have only fished ullswater with the fly rod, but that was July and it was bl***y hard work. Is Windermere worth a crack during the early morning? I've heard the windermere trout are not as numerous but are a better average size.

I have read somewhere in the past that the less lead in your cartridge the better the pattern. This I pressume is caused by less pellets being damaged when they are forced through the choke, consequently better condition pellets will fly straighter. I tried some 24 gram loads on sunday on some very long crossing midi clays. I was suprised to say the least how consistently I was hitting them.

I've never had a problem identifying them, Blackbacks are huge in comparison to other gulls as are herring gulls. I havn't shot many in the past but I am seriously considering giving them some lead. BLackbacks are shot as much as carrion crows on grouse moors as are Herring gulls. Next time one floats over you consider the disease, ****e they spread chicks they slaughter and eggs they eat. Fllowing that consideration drop em with a pigeon special

I noticed in Sporting Gun a photo of someone with a bag of woodies and a Herring Gull. Obviously Herring and Blackback Gulls are classed as vermin. Do any of the forum users shoot them on a regular basis.

I felt ther were a bit on the weak side. I used Clear Pigeon on a couple of trips and fired a fair few, but I just didn't have any confidence in them. I find the express loads faster which is what I prefer. I shoot a lot of clays with Express which is why I tend to stick with them on pigeons. When I've used gamebore on clays it was noticeable that I had to give more lead. Its each to their own on cartridges, but I feel it makes sense to stick with one type and get used to them. I certainly hope Winchester start importing Westerns again. Westerns on pigeons are for me the best load.

The best cartridge I've used on pigeon are Winchester Westons, Can't get hold of any up here either. Following westerns has got to be Express Super game 32gram, I used 36 gram super game out of my auto and they were devastating. I shot Express pigeon specials before the supergame. I've found the majority of Express cartridges superb on pigeon, their loads seem to be that bit faster than most. Worst cartridge has got to be Gamebore clear pigeon and for clay shooting Gamebore Rat power Blue Diamonds.

Get rid of the auto, put your mind at rest. You know it makes sense. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Went first light. Set up on a Flightline/stubble and managed 14 woodies 5 jackdaws and a maggie in 3 hours. Only went to try my new 686E. It seems to shoot great anyway, only missed 5 pigeon and a jackdaw. Not many birds in my area. Saw one big flock of 500 leave roost woods, but thats about it.

Been out today for a while, shot 14. One of the birds was an immature bird with no white flashes on the neck. Probably born nov/dec. Never shot any young birds without the white wing flashes. I have shot one at the end of febuary that had yellow down still attached to its feathers, poor little chap must have just flown the nest.

.22 is fine for rabbits, but .177 is far better for longer range head shots. The flatter trajectory .177 will put bunnies lights out consistently to 60 yards in the right hands. .22 has a larger curved trajectory which at longer ranges can make your pellet look like a dropping cannonball and is not great for dead cert head shots, essential with airguns on bunnies. There are many s/h airguns about. Personally I would look no further than Air Arms, Daystate or Weihrauch. As regards scopes get a semi decent one as this will makre th job a lot easier. I would look no further than a Tasco or Simmons. A magnification of anything arround 6 upwards is grand.

Woodies go ape droppings fpr linseed. You should get a good crack at them when its first sowed and again when laid, cut and stubble. Its very similar to oilseed for the pigeon shooter, more so in its latter stages.

Buzzer, you sound like your going through exactly what I went through with my Remi 1100. Trying loads of different cartridges, different lenghths weights etc. Put your mind at rest and get rid of it, it shouldn't be up to you to spend hours of frustrating testing just to get a couple of barrels or three barrels off when you want to. I didn't mention in an earlier post that a mate of mine, who happens to be an international clay shot owned a browning gold for one day. He took it out on a duck flight and it jammed on every attempt at more than one shot. It was back at the gunshop the next day and he then got a beretta 390. Having had a remi 1100 mess me about I got a beretta 391. I found this to be superb, but again even with great care taken when cleaning occasionally it would jam. Thats just been traded in for a beretta 686 E sporter and I couldn't be happier and don't need to spend ages cleaning it.