Fenlander

Good bag there mate,and nice surroundings, I was out today on some new land,only got two both had Mixy so I called it a day, you could see there were a lot there a few weeks ago by the amount of holes and scrattings, but now all the holes have little weeds growing in them and no fresh scrattings,so i left what was left in the hope that afew will survive and breed for next year. all the best Mick.

Welcome to the world of Ferreting Woodyfirst,sounds like a tricky place to learn on , if i may offer you a few words of advice,get a locator for next season,keep your ferrets well fed before you go out,and they will be fine for a days work,but a drink during the day is a good idea, keep them in as big a home as you can,with room to play and exercise,they will be fitter and more able to cope with a days work, and if they do lay up in a place you cant dig,whatever you do DON"T try and smoke them out! if you have to ,leave them,fill in all holes ,then come back in the morning and uncover the holes,i've only had to do this once in 30+years of ferreting,and got the ferret back as soon as i uncoverd the holes.(that was in a high bank of soil on top of a river bank,and i could'nt get a reading on my 15' locator) sometimes a ferret will get blocked in behind a rabbit, if it cant get out no amount of smoke will make it ,but it could very well KILL it! all the best Mick.

Well spotted Nttf ! its a lurcher,but its made of stone

forgot to say, she has got the hang of hunting up and catching birds . hope people dont think i'm bragging putting up the pics,because i'm not ,as i said she aint perfect,but I am proud of her .

Thanks for the compliments chaps , as to what is in her LB ?,well your guess is as good as mine! I got her from a rescue as a young adult,I liked the look of her and could see she was made right ,so took a chance, i've always had my dogs from pups,but as no one is at home in the day did'nt think it was right to take on a pup, but as my other two dogs are now to old for regular serious work,and I wanted another,I thought i'd take a chance, it's been hard work ,and she still is'nt up to the standard of training that she would have been if i'd had her from a pup, but hey what the hell ! i've had some fun with her and she trys to please me ,and we are mates and we get on ok . I've got her working the lamp well,she marks well,and is a fair ferreting dog,her retriving is fantastic in the house and garden ,but poor in the field :thumbs: she is not perfect by a long way , but then again neither am I . All the best Mick.

I was out this afternoon only got three,but it was nice weather and got me and the dog out so I do,nt mind, I bolted two young rabbits just after christmass ,they would have been about 10 weeks old,but they are the only ones i've come across so far, maybe some of the rabbits I have caught have been carrying young,but as i take mine to the game dealer, and he can only take them with the guts in,I can't be sure. All the best Mick. Photo from today.

303 semi's are nice guns mate ,(had one myself a few years back) pleased to here you got sorted,hope you get on well with it. All the best Mick.

As others have said look on gun trader, in particular check out what Derek Ollivant at Manor Gun Rooms in Woodhall Spar has to offer,its close to you . If i were you i'd have a ride over to look in his shop,I bought a gun from him just before christmass,and was very impressed with the amount of guns he had in, nice bloke too,even made me a cup of tea! Tell him your Budget ,and what you want the gun for ,eg clays, game ect, and he will pull out loads of guns for you to look at ,then leave you to it for as long as you like. Best gun shop i've ever been in for service and friendly help. This is'nt an advert for the above shop,just my personal recommendation after having a good deal with him. hope it is of help, All the best Mick.

It will do the job no problem, a lot of game guns are choked just like yours,and its worth remembering that choke never existed years ago,yet birds were still shot and killed. dont shoot at birds at extreme range and you will be fine, you cant add choke to your gun ,unless you get it multi choked,and i dont think this will be viable as it wont have enough thickness at the muzzle,to take a thread safely, it could be done but it would mean cutting off a few inches of barrel to get back to the thicker wall. If i were you, i'd just use it and forget about what choke it has,take birds that are at a reasonable range,and see how it go's then if you ar'nt happy and think you need more choke,sell ,swap, or trade it for a gun with more. If you realy want an answer to your question,why not see what patterns your gun throws ,at different distances ,and experiment with different cartridges,at a pattern plate? or a bit of cradboard on a stick? I know you only get a two dimentional picture with this method ,but it will give you better answers than anyone on here can. All the best Mick.

IMHO a waste of time and money.

Hi Whitebridges, you were asking if anyone had a 525, well i did,but i've just traded it in against a Teknys,funnily enough as i see you also have one. I had a 30 inch sporter grd 1,it was a nice gun and came up well,but i just could'nt get consistant scores with it on the clays, it got to the point where i was leaving it at home and using my old Miroku trap gun ,which is hardly most sporting shooters first choice,but when i shot the Miroku my scores were high 50s to low 60s ex 75,then i'd try the 525 and see my scores drop to high 40s low 50s, it got so i had no faith in myself with the gun and so it had to go, a shame realy,as i liked every thing about it,but once its in your head you can't shoot with a gun there is no point in keeping it . With the Teknys my scores are back up there again,it's a nice hide gun ,and seems to shoot very good patterns,i use half choke nearly all the time. Well good look with yours mate ,i realy hope you do well with it ,because they are a nice gun. All the best Mick.

They are a nice gun that would last most a life time, thats a good price ,if you like the gun go for it! if you do'nt like it in a years time ,you wo'nt loose money on it. All the best Mick.

Stalking you owldy!! All the best Mick. :(

Have you looked here? http://www.guntrader.co.uk/

It all depends on how big your garden is,and how close to you other houses are, if you live on a housing estate,it would'nt be a good idea, it would'nt be a problem in mine. its no different to using an air rifle in your garden! as long as the shot dos'nt go over the boundry of your property,and you are'nt a danger and don't cause alarm to others,its not a problem .

Are you feeling a little under the weather TLE Welcome aboard Fenland this is one of the best forums going. PM me if you want the best lurcher/terrier/hunting site. LB LB would that forum be M????ers?

Most 9mm have a barrel length just under 24" , so can't be kept on a shot gun cert, so a lot of these old guns have been handed in, shells can still be got for them easily though,so there must be some still being used, the price for the last lot i bought was £9.00 for 50. They are a nice little gun for ratting,and fairly quiet,and can be used in the garden for the odd shot at a rat without alarming the neighbours,which a 410 would'nt realy be suietable for,unless you had one of the hushpower ones.They can also be used inside sheds and not do damage,which a 410 couldnt. They are a bit of a specialist tool,with many limitations,but if you have the right kind of work for them,you can't beat them. All the best Mick.

Thanks for the welcome . Yes Catamong,Sinclairs is still run by the same family,its not changed much down there,they now have a Grouse butt,and Compact layout,the sporting layout is now 75 birds,the ABT has gone and there isnt much DLT shot now, it's still flat, windy and cold there are some good numbers of Pideons,around here,but its very patchy,here one day gone the next, it's a job to make big bags,as the birds have loads of fields to choose from,and do'nt have to come back, if you walk them off when setting up. All the best Mick.

Hello , I,ve just joined and thought i better introduce myself, :thumbs: this looks like a nice busy site,with plenty of members who post ,and know what they are talking about. :wacko: I've been a shooter for 20+ years,and work lurchers and ferrets, At the moment I shoot a 391 Teknys,and an old Miroku Trap gun, If i'm not out in the fields ,or at work,I go down Sinclairs clay ground. All the the best Mick.