4eyes

me too, thought it might have looked a hell of a lot worse than that, not that it looks too health either mind! All the best with a speedy recovery

For anyone um-ing and ar-ing about these days I can throughly recommend them! Unfortunately I can't make this date or I'd be there again without hesitation (a pair of those boots in the background is mine). Dan and Lee are spot on, as is the land the shooting is over. FantasticAly cheap day and gutted I can't make it this time.

I too have been out number of times with Ian and can honestly say what a top bloke he is. Hope anyone taking his generous offer has a great day and gives him the respect deserved!

If your a fan of the the Nagga I can reccomend this: http://www.mrvikkis.co.uk/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=king-naga&sid=n9l4018u808125rcf75moiek8508gy35 Always pick up a few jars when I'm in the lakes as its awsome. That, and their chilli Jam; goes well with a bag of chips

Owch, a whole year Tom?!? Still, its better than the 'not being able to shoot again' scenario as you first thought. All the best for a speedy recovery!

Yes please. PM sent

Yeah, great day out Lee, thank you. Great to meet some more members/like minded people; some good banter too! Looking forward to the next one cos at the money you cant fault it!

Forgot that was today - All the best Tom! Hope it's gone OK. Well on your way to becoming some kind of Darth Vader wannabe now. First its the mechanical arm...

Ahhhhh Thats what that's for then, cheers for clearing that up for me. The "S" meaning "good to Shoot" right? Or is that "Safteys still on stupid!" :-(

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that lol. He almost booted it before it got up he was that close. I didn't bother even lifting my gun because I was so sure he would bag it. Stevie wonder could have hit it it was that close. But no, safatey catch caught him out, much to everyone's amusement. We traded insults about that on the way home too, but I think I came off a lot worse for the day. Still, atleast you know we use the safety, even if it does cost some sitters :-(

Yeah, good morning out Tom, Thank you. Nice to meet some more friendly members too, even if I did take a bit of a beating from you (well deserved though) As for the monumental **** up - well, best fess up. Although, in my defence, I can't be accused of not being a 'safe' shot, and when I did manage to put some lead up I connected, but its no excuse for the schoolboy error. So... On the last drive Tom spooked up about a dozen partridge from my right out about 40yrds. So I shouldered my gun, singled out my target and BANG - ploom of feathers. Bird headed for the deck and I was watching where it landed, or so I though. Turns out it was not as clean a shot as it could have been and the bird flew a few more yard before Stu finished it off. During the brief pause that ensued I put the safety back on and forgot about the now empty bottom barrel. We then started walking again and half a dozen or so birds immediately presented from the left. Picked out my target, pulled the trigger - **** (insert your choice of expletive here) - I'd only gone and left the blo0dy safety oon, and by the time I'd figured out what was wrong the birds were out of range. Opportunity missed - gutted! Obviously this was met with the usual well done Richard head comments from the guys. But just when I thought it could not get any worse it did... As I was taking the abuse I remembered bottom barrels empty, so crack open the gun to reload it. No sooner had the empty cartridge left the chamber then Tom starts jumping up and down shouting some encouraging word to the effect of 'oh golly, look, a boat load coming right for you'. I looked up, and decided there was no way I was gonna get another cartridge in the gun before they would be out of range, but I still had one in the gun so was good for one shot. So quickly slammed it shut, picked out a lovely high bird and pulled the trigger - Click. ARGHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, forgot to change the blo0dy barrel over hadn't I, so ended up firing the now empty bottom barrel. By the time I had engaged the safety and took it back off again to fire the second barrel they were well gone. So in the space of what was literately no more than a minute I had given the guys all the **** taking ammo they need for the rest of the season - great! To say I was not impressed is an understatement, but cheers lads for reminding me just how stupid I am. Hopefully lesson learnt, and looking forward to the next time where I hope I don't provide such a high level of entertainment.

MoreThan are the same too. I just told them I had them, to be on the safe side, and there was no issue at all. I did however add them to my 'away from home' cover and that added a tenner to the annual premium, but that's no big issue. So all above bored (sp) and covered for any accidents/theft away from home too.

PM'ed also

Dates too please

A tad older than yours is, but when I last had a HDi I had an issue that sounds exactly the same as you describe. It turned out to be the crank pulley. Not sure if they have changed the design but it turned out to be a pretty common fault on the HDi engines. Basicaly, the crank pully is metal bonded to rubber to dampen vibrations. Over time, as expected, the rubber deteriorates (sp) resulting in the knocking sound. Part was about £70 if I rememebr right.

Top read, enjoyed that, and by the sounds of it a good week too!

91,600

Thanks once again guys. A few bits to think about there. I'll have a go this week/weekend to see how I get on and come back with an update. The more I think about it the bruising has only happened latley, not since I got the gun. The only thing I have changed is what I'm wearing to shoot so I'm starting to think thats got more than anything else to do with it. I'll have a practice this week/weekend mounting up the gun and see if I can figure out whats wrong. If not, I'll arrange to go see Andy and get it sorted. Cheers

Thanks once again guys, starting to make a bit more sense now. I'll experiement a little over weekend with some comb risers (neoprene and tape for now) and see how I get on. If that does not work and I get time next week I think I'll be off down to Dove Ridge to have a chat with the gun fitter.

Thanks guys for the replies, certainly some food for thought. £160 is sort of in the realm of what I expected. Dove Ridge is not too far away so might have to bob down there next week and have a chat about it all. The 425 is a little longer than my previous gun but I was not aware that the stock length could have an impact like this. I assume the length, if too long would make the gun unwieldy and difficult to shoot, not beat me up. Any idea of a quick gauge to check the stock length and if its too long? Obviously the fitter would be able to tell me this, but I'd like to have some sort of idea to put me out of my misery this week. Also, good point about the butt plate. Recently only been shooting with a shirt on, not my shooting vest, so maybe there is something in that. I think an outing back end of the week is required (when the current bruise has died down a little. ) Thanks again. Steve

Morning guys and gals. I have a bit of a problem that I'm after a bit of advice on. I have Browning 425 that I shoot pretty regular with. I bought it to replace the Bettinsoli I started out with, and after a while I'm now shooting quite well with it. Only donwside is that while hitting the target more than I used to, I keep bruising my cheek. Now I ain't no jessy, but looking like I've been in a fight all the time aint so good for work, so I need to sort it out. That, and the Mrs is getting pretty fed up with me telling eveyone that asks "its her, she beats me!". It has to be a gun fitting issue, but what aspect I'm not sure. So I'm left with two options: Flog the gun and get something else or have it properly fitted. If I flog it on I don't want a repeat so want to know whats wrong. So, does anyone have any ideas what I'm doing wrong to cause this (other than winding the Mrs up too much)? or have any idea how much its likley to cost to get the gun adjusted to suit? and on that note reccomend anyone in the Yorkshire area so I can work out if its worthwhile. If not then there may be a 425 Grade 1 in the 'for sale' section very soon... Cheers Steve

No. Balancing is of the wheel, so it does not matter what axel it's on. Other than checking that both front and back are the same size you should be OK. Also make sure that when you do the swap you swap offside front to back and vice versa, and near side front to back, and vice versa so that you keep the rotations the correct way.

More recent Muse with Hysteria. But stepping back a little, so many to choose from... Crazy Train - Ozzy Hells Bells All along the Watch tower - Hendrix The list could go on. This one is going to take some 'serious' debate in the pub tonight!

Amazing video, kinda scary when you think just how many planes are up at once. Also, if you want to be really nerdy, and have an iPhone, there is an app called Plane Finder that allows you to track planes currently in the air. Its basicaly a map of the world and shows each plane currntly flying as a little plane grafic where ever it currently is in the world. You can zoom in at any point on the map and you can click on the planes and get the details of the flight - plane type, flight number etc. Or, as I use it, search for a flight number and find out where it is. Bit handy if your stuck in the airpot and have no idea why your delayed, or are picking up family/friends from the airport.