strix

I live in Hampshire I applied for a Coterminous Licence near the end of May '15, asked in August about the delay and was interviewed on Sept 3. Officer said no problems (gun cabinet and position was OK'd) and the application and licence would be received in 4-8 weeks. Now 24 November '15. Emailed last week for news and told that Officer's report had only been received in their office at end of October. Given apologies and told of backlog. Won't complain for fear of increasing the delay or jeopardising my application so will just sit on my hands and be patient. Looking on other websites it would seem Hampshire had this slow processing problem back in 2012 and at that time promised to improve their service. Ho, bloody ho.

Interesting analogy, malkiserow, or should I opine contradiction!! Thanks for the red flag.

See this link: http://www.midfieldandco.com Clever and very simple Looks like a trip down to B&Q/Wickes/HomeBase is on for some dowelling! Worth having an experiment.

I am waiting on gaining a FAC but here is my shopping list (that is if I can't get it all "ready-made" secondhand off one of you guys !) The list has been compiled by going over and researching all other members' postings and suggestions on this subject CZ452 Varmint 16" SAK mod Nikko Sterling Platinum Nighteater 30mm 6-24x56 or, depending on funds Nikko Gameking 4-16x50 Edgar Bros 9.5"-13.5" Bipod oh, forgot to add - Rimfire Magic Trigger Kit

Good luck, wymberley! Not difficult now to work out who you are referring to!! In the case of further disappointment perhaps you could threaten them with raising the ghost of the local hero - Judge Jeffries!!!

My 2+2=7 is that a well known chain of gunsmiths that has a branch on the top of a hill between Dorchester and Yeovil is the only one of the chain not to stock the items that wymberley is after.

Sorry to butt in but to add to the debate. Say you are aiming for bunny head shots what mag would you be looking to use on your scope if the little furry darlings are at 75 - 100 metres with a .17 hmr? 6? 9? 12?

He says he is a first year Architecture student, which either means he has just finished first year and is about to start second year or he is about to start his first year. Either way it makes no difference as I admire you naïvety! Whatever makes you think that Schools of Architecture teach their students anything practical?? p.s. I am an Architect !!!

malkiserow I too am waiting on a FAC and in the meantime I have put together this list (trouble being a novice at this rifle lark I have probably got something wrong with the list! However I rest assured that someone on Pigeon Watch will point out the error of my ways!!) I have applied for both a .22lr and a .17hmr and have picked on: CZ 16" Varmint for both calibres. SAK mod Rim Fire Magic trigger kit Harris 9-13 bipod S-L Scope: Nikko Stirling Platinum Nighteater 30mm 6-24x56 (I suspect I will be told off that I will not need anything over 12 mag!) That is what I would buy if I could not find, on this site or on Guntrader, a second-hand set of kit roughly matching that list. Good luck and I look forward to seeing what the seasoned warriors have to say!! :-))

Yet another example of Rip-Off Britain. The shorter of the Rubysights (71mm) is £17.00 ex postage Easy Hit in the UK £30 ALL lengths of Easy Hit in the U.S.A. www.championtarget.com $21.49 = c. £14.00

kent, that about o/u not being acceptable is just plain stupid. I had a friend (he died about 10 years ago) with blood so blue it was almost Royal (well, he was a bit) who had an early Boss o/u and he shot with it as a guest at most of the best known country house estates in Britain with no criticism of it and him at all.

That article does say: "It is common knowledge in the trade that all four brands of .17 HMR ammunition are being produced by CCI in their Idaho factory. The load specifications and bullets used in the various brands vary, however, so it would be a mistake to assume that all four brands will shoot equally well in any given rifle." It also says: "Remington's Premium "Gold Box" load offers a 17 grain AccuTip-V varmint bullet at a MV of 2550 fps and ME of 245 ft. lbs. The claimed 100 yard figures are 1901 fps and 136 ft. lbs. This bullet is identical to the Hornady V-MAX projectile, except it has a gold plastic tip instead of a red one." It makes no reference to the blue tip ammo.

This may be of interest extracted from: Compared: .17 HMR Varmint Ammunition By Chuck Hawks Chronograph results CCI - high 2613 fps; low 2517 fps; extreme spread 96 fps; average = 2559 fps. FEDERAL - high 2631 fps; low 2539 fps; extreme spread 92 fps; average = 2595 fps. REMINGTON - high 2626 fps; low 2591 fps; extreme spread 35 fps; average = 2609 fps. HORNADY - high 2698 fps; low 2621 fps; extreme spread 77 fps; average = 2658 fps. The most unusual result from our chronographing is that all four brands of .17 HMR ammunition delivered significantly higher average velocities than the factory specifications call for. The CCI ammo exceed its advertised MV by 34 fps, the Federal load exceeded its published MV by 45 fps, the Remington load exceeded its published MV by 59 fps, and the Hornady ammo exceeded its catalog MV by a whopping 108 fps. And this is based on instrumental velocity at 10' (rather than actual MV) from a chronograph that is historically on the stingy side. This result is almost unheard of in all my years of chronograph testing. Shooting results It's interesting to see actual velocity figures for different brand of ammunition, but to me the most interesting part of this comparison is the range results. Certainly it was the most difficult to compile. Fortunately, shooting .17 HMR rifles is really fun. They are accurate, flat shooting, quiet, and have practically no recoil. HORNADY - smallest group 5/8"; largest group 1 3/4"; mean average group = 1 1/8". REMINGTON - smallest group 13/16"; largest group 2 3/8"; mean average group = 1 13/32". FEDERAL - smallest group 11/16"; largest group 2 3/4"; mean average group = 1 13/32". CCI - smallest group 1/2"; largest group 2 1/4"; mean average group = 1 17/32". These results speak for themselves. With the smallest 100 yard groups running from .5 minute of angle (MOA) to .8125 MOA and the average group size between 1.125 MOA and 1.531 MOA across all four brands, this is obviously very accurate factory loaded ammunition. FOR FULL ARTICLE USE THIS LINK: http://www.chuckhawks.com/compared_17HMR_ammo.htm

Yes, without doubt, you can buy things in the USA for much less than here in the UK but the only way you can really beat the system is to have a friend over there to buy it for you and to mail it to you by the cheapest method available. Even then you can get hit by Import tax and VAT duty and then it may no longer seem such a bargain. But if you know someone who is coming over here for a visit, on holiday etc then you will win out. See these two examples of things which are on sale offer (at the moment) in the States but for which no one in the UK could or would match the prices: First the Simmons WTC from Midwayusa.com Simmons Whitetail Classic Rifle Scope 6.5-20x 50mm Adjustable Objective Truplex Reticle Matte Product #: 746570 Status: Available 4.80 stars $249.99 $109.99 Save $140.00 (=£70.68) For genuine Wrangler jeans (and they are top quality denim - heavy duty and made in America not in the far East) from Sheplers: www.sheplers.com/ Wrangler Jeans - 936 Slim Fit Rigid + Add to Wish List Item # 010367 Original Price $24.99 $22.99 Save $2! Regularly $24.99 Buy 2 $17.99 w/ Rebate (for 2 pairs = £ 23.35 total)

I don't know if this is of any use it is from The Field, 6 November, 2007 "What is the best gun in the world? I shall fudge the answer by putting it in the context of price. If I had up to £1,500 to spend my choice would be a plain grade Beretta Silver Pigeon 12- or 20-bore. If I had between £3,000 and £4,000 to spend, I'd buy a Beretta EELL or side-plated Caesar Guerini. With £5,000 or so in the bank, I would opt for a Perazzi or Kemen (the latter being an exceptional high-bird gun as noted). Remanufactured vintage guns from Atkin, Grant & Lang represent excellent value and allow for the confident everyday use of a hundred-year-old gun built to your exact requirements. Bosis side-by-sides also represent excellent value when one begins to consider capital expenditure. With unlimited funds, I would go for a new Holland Royal side-by-side or over-and-under in 12- and 20-bore respectively, or a Purdey pigeon-gun. If I were Italian, though, it might well have been a Fabbri. One gun on a desert island for the next 20 years? To use the vernacular, that's a no-brainer: the plain Jane Beretta Silver Pigeon simply could not be bettered. It offers the most reliable bang for the least buck. I would have a 28in-barrelled 20-bore if cartridges were available (because the handling qualities mimic those of a much more expensive gun), or a 12-bore if they were not." For full article: http://www.thefield.co.uk/features/153911/...t_shotguns.html

I am just about to send off my application form (it has taken time to get hold of my referees - they have been away on holidays!). I am applying for both .17HMR and .22lr but I don't know what is a sensible of reasonable amount of ammunition to put down on the form for a) in my possession at any one time b)to be purchased at any one time. Any advice gratefully received - I will mainly be shooting over the 80+ acres we have here (horse pasture infested with rabbits) plus have permission to shoot on the two bordering farms totalling many hundreds of acres (one of which is keepered so won't be shooting there much). I don't want to seem extravagant in the application but at the same time I don't want to stint myself and find myself short at years end. By the way I am doing a coterminous application for a 12g o/u and a 20g o/u although all I can only actually afford initially is the .17HMR initially but a couple of months later the .22lr but thought I might as well apply for as many types of gun as poss!! Thank you Strix

BLACKBERRY VODKA 1 litre wide-mouth bottle 12oz 350g blackberries (take care not to bruise/crush them or you will get a blackberry/vodka smoothie!) 2 or 3 cloves 1" 25ml cinnamon stick 4oz 125g caster sugar I bottle of cheap vodka Some fruit in the bottle then some sugar some more fruit more sugar, at some point put in the spices, repeat and then pour in the vodka. Stopper it and leave alone for as long as you can resist temptation. Enjoy.

an illuminated rectile is someone who thinks the sun shines out of their...........

Being new to this site and having previously admitted my ignorance you will, perhaps, forgive me for my stupid postings. Being previously unaware of the Kreigboffer doppelbanger bling birdbasher I thought I ought to do some research and improve my knowledge and this is what I found in Shootinguk: Overall weight of this competition thoroughbred is 9lb 1oz Crikey, each of my children weighed less than that at birth! This is a beautifully built and balanced gun that will suit the most demanding competition Sporting shooter right down to the ground - but don't take it on a pukka driven pheasant shoot unless you're an exhibitionist or dying to be hung from trees by your socks! I assume the hosiery is also Kriegknitted?

Thanks to both of you, will apply for both as well as have a conversation with my region's FLO. Strix

Dekers, you are talking beyond my level of knowledge! So I apologise for being ignorant. When I posted "As we are on chalk and flint and too close to a large town I don't stand a chance of getting a .22" and saying that I would, therefore, be going for a .17HMR I take your point "sometimes a little knowledge is a bad thing" which is why I had turned for advice to two professional shooters both employed by Hampshire County Council etc for Deer vermin control who have both shot here on our land and who told me this, the .17HMR, was the best rifle for the land here. I am on this site, admitting my igonrance, which is I am asking for advice and I am not stating empirically what I will apply for and would grateful be if you or any others can educate and advise me further. Are you, Dekers, saying that if I specified Segment Hollow point for a .22lr this would be safer and more sensible on the land here? I see that you are in Berkshire so I guess you are pretty much on the same sort of land here (we are about 12 miles due south of Hungerford). Advice from you and any others gratefully received. Strix p.s. I don't understand this sentence "Talk you rour region if you want a .22lr!"

Thanks guys for replying so fast and for the common sense in all of your replies. As to the gun following john_r's and kent's opinion I will opt for 16" with a SAK mod And, kent, thank you for the fact that the Nikko 6-24x56 with Mil Dot is OTT. Does anyone have a particular recommendation for a 3-9 or 3-12 scope for a .17HMR? And does anyone have a view on the Nikko Laserking or is it just a gizmo too far and not for rifles? Also, kent, I take your point about shooting distance (wind etc) with a .17HMR - the last thing I want is to have to go charging round the countryside after rabbits with three legs! Thank you Strix

Hello, I'm a new boy here but have been reading this site for some months. I am waiting for my FAC but am researching exactly what I will eventually buy and I would like some advice and opinions from you all. I will be buying (FAC permitting) a CZ 452 .17HMR and shooting on our own land in North Hampshire. As we are on chalk and flint and too close to a large town I don't stand a chance of getting a .22. So question 1) I will not be driving round the land nor travelling elsewhere with the gun so not shooting out of a LR window! Considering this I don't think I need to go for a short barrel and am looking at either a 20" Varmint or a 22.5" American. Does anyone have a preference for one over the other and if so why? Or do you think that that barrel length is unnecessary as I will not be shooting further than 150-175 yards. Question 2) The vexed question of budget optics. I can't justify the expense of Leupold/Zeiss/Svaroski just to shoot bunnies and magpies (which is what I will be shooting). My preferred choice at the moment is the Nikko Sterling Nighteater 6-24x56 IR with Mil Dot. Or does anyone think any of the Bushnell/Hawke alternatives on a circa £200 budget would be better? Question 3) I've read through many pages of this forum about Sound Mods and gather that on a .17HMR there is not much point on buying anything more expensive than the SAK. Agreed? Additionally I will get the trigger kit from Rimfire Magic and a bi-pod. Last Question) The land here has already had a FAO over the land been OK'd for a friend to shoot a .17HMR here. I have no "form" (as they say) and my wife is the landowner - do you think this will help speed the FAC up? Or does it always take an age? And how long has that age been for some you? Sorry to have banged on at such length (maybe it is I who needs the Sound Mod!) but thank in advance for your advice. Strix