Wildfowler12

Welcome back

Well I've just got back home having spent the morning sorting the mess out. I'm feeling abit better about it all now. The wife was kind enough to join me last night, and as it's been dry, we actually managed to salvage almost all of the feed. It's been rebagged and moved back to my garage The damaged hide is repaired - maybe this was a folly move, but I just couldn't help myself! I figured if it was kids, they'll be back at school next week, so perhaps we're over the worst of it. The only thing that makes me question that is why they tied the empty feed bags to the other hides? Surely kids would have just trashed the lot? I go there every night to feed and check on things. The pond is close to home, and is on my dog walking route, so the 'little and often' approach shouldn't be too difficult. Thinking again with a clear head, I don't think I want to risk losing our trailcams to the pond - so I think I'll just persevere. And regards the farmer - I have decided not to bring it up. The less stress for him the better I would have thought. It's been a difficult enough few weeks as it is with the pigeon shooter snotting the Canada's without his permission. One of which dropped onto the canal next door and smashed a mast on one of the sail boats The sailing club are understandably furious about it, so I suspect all shooters are on thin ice as it is.

There's a footpath nearby, but since the farmer cut the field (silage this year), it has been covered in dog walkers who believe they can wander wherever they want. Inevitably, they will have seen the hides. I put some 'keep to the footpath' signs up, but they were all destroyed within 2 days too 😔

Thanks digger. There is a public footpath adjacent to the field that the pond is located in. I'm certain of the way in, as they've cut a hole in the hedge and trampled through the silage field, but it's all on foot so I won't have any luck with reg plates. I do like the look of the poacher alarm things (blank cartridge) though

Sorry folks, but I need to rant... After pleading with a local farmer for the past 2 years, he eventually gave me and a friend permission to feed one of his ponds for some duck shooting - for a small fee of course. Inevitably, this turned into a big project. We spent 4 weekends felling some trees to thin it out, removed invasive weeds and generally tidying it up. Then we built 3 'luxury' pallet hides, cleared some pathways, put down some hardcore, erected bird boxes, and lots of unnecessary jobs too that just made us feel really excited about the place, and the prospect of having our own little duck pond. We also put some feed bins about the place, though we have/had no intention of shooting the game birds. We've been lucky enough to see a couple of coveys of grey partridge, and there are wild pheasant a plenty around the farm. This weekend however, we have been hit by an 'anti scumbag', perhaps even more than one? One of the hides has been destroyed, as has all the feeder bins. Both of our storage lock ups were raided, and about £60's worth of wheat and barley has been cut open and thrown about the place. The ******/s tied all the empty bags to the 2 remaining hides - perhaps as a warning that they will be back? I feel so deflated. I wouldn't mind if I was doing something illegal, but having spent most weekends since February working down there, I feel so bad that some self righteous fool has done this to us. I reported the incident to the police. But whilst they were polite, they weren't interested in the slightest. And said without any CCTV footage, they would not take it further - of course I didn't expect them to be able to do anything at all. Trail cameras WILL be going up this week. Am I kidding myself thinking this could be a one off, or is it time to throw in the towel? Has anyone been through this before? Any tips / advice as to the next steps?

8ft boat with outboard and a few extras - see picture. £200 collected from Warrington, Cheshire. PM for more info.

Just making some space for new ones pal

2x used Mallard - Magnum size, finished in UV paint (1 drake, 1 hen). 2x brand new teal - Foam filled, HD paint (2 hens). 2x brand new teal - (2 drakes). 2x used teal - (2 hens). £30 collected from Warrington, or I'll post at cost.

Dasher, I'm 10 weeks post surgery for a Bankart Labral Tear repair. Whilst it's not the same op, it is an arthroscopy shoulder stabilisation. It has been horrific. I would politely tell you not to expect to be shooting anytime soon. I couldn't even lift my arm unsupported for the first 3 weeks, and was in a sling for a good month or so. At about 7 weeks I was able to mount and swing an unloaded shotgun, but I suspect I'm still a long way off having a shot. The goal is to be back in action by September 1st - but hopefully I'll get a couple of short sessions on the clays before then, allbeit with lighter loads. Everyone will tell you this, but MAKE SURE you do ALL the physio. I stopped doing it at week 4, possibly because I subconciously thought I was healed (my sling came off), but most likely due to pure laziness, and my recovery flatlined for 3 weeks until I started again. In truth, it seemed to get worse over that period of time! Sorry if that all sounds rubbish. But it's probably an accurate reflection on what you can expect. Hope the op goes well. Good luck

SOLD

3x used teal decoys, with line (brickies), stake and lead anchor bomb - rigged and ready to go. PLUS 4x wigeon decoys, new and unused. £15 for the lot - collected from Warrington, or I'll post at the buyers cost.

That's a carp joke... Ba'dum

Newbury WC from B&Q. Bought as part of a full bath suite but the toilet was not needed. Includes pan, cistern, flush and valve system, seat and fitting instructions. £20 collected from Warrington, Cheshire.

NOW SOLD - cheers.

HUGE Price drop: Update - a friend of mine is buying his first car and offered me the option to use this as a part exchange. The dealer offered him £2000 for it, which of course he was going to pass back to me. He's not picking his new car up until Thursday so if anybody is interested, you can have it for £2k too - otherwise it'll be his P/X. Thanks, Todd

Kia Sportage 2.0i Special Ed -TITAN (LPG Convert), for sale at £3750. It is with regret that I have to part with my trusty 4x4 - a company car forces a reluctant sale. The car is finished in metallic black paint, and the specification includes - ABS, Air bags (front, rear, side), Air con with climate control, Alarm, Alloys, Bluetooth, Body coloured bumpers, CD player, Cruise control, Electric mirrors, Electric sunroof, Folding rear seats, Electric windows, Front fog lights, Heated seats, Height adjustable drivers seat, IPod / USB / AUX input, Isofix child seat anchor points, Leather seats, LPG Conversion, Metallic Paint, Parrot hands-free kit, PAS, Remote locking, Roof rails, Side/front/rear airbags, Steering wheel adjustment, Traction control, Voice recognition calling. It has cover 114,000 miles, most of which have been done by me, and 90% of these miles have been racked up on the motorway - I live in Warrington and work in Penrith, 200miles/day on the M6. The LPG conversion was completed by a UK LPG approved installer (Gas Tech), and the vehicle has been formlly changed to a dual fuel on the log book, resulting in a small discount on the car tax. The donut gas tank is fitted in the spare wheel well, so no boot space has been compromised. All of the conversion equiptment (tank, valves, hoses etc) are hidden apart from a small gas-fuel indicator on the dash. The conversion is a KME multi point injection system, which cost £1280, and I also had the flash lube system installed, even though the vehicle was not on the lubricant required list - peace of mind. Ive also had a Parrot MKi 9100 hands free kit professionally installed. This allows you to stream music through the cars sound system via Bluetooth, but also has Aux/iPod/USB connection too. I have owned this car for 5 years and I have an extensive amount of repair documents, receipts and full service history. It has been extremely well looked after and is mechanically sound. As my employer pays for the mechanical maintenance of my vehicle, whenever anything has shown signs of failure, it has been replaced immediately. You will even notice that some of the major work (cam belt etc) has even been done ahead of the manufacturers schedule. Service History: ·03/07/08 Full Service @ 11,442. ·12/07/09 Full Service @ 19,248. ·05/05/10 Full Service @ 28,111. ·16/03/11 Full Service @ 34,654. ·12/06/12 Full Service @ 44,582. ·01/06/13 Full Service @ 55,597. ·27/11/13 LPG Service @ 60,000. ·15/05/14 Full Service @ 72,542. ·10/11/14 LPG Service @ 83,107. ·10/12/14 Interim Service @ 85,101. ·06/08/15 Full Service @ 99,008. ·20/08/15 LPG Service @ 99,799. ·10/05/16 LPG Service @ 110,200. Other Major Work: ·24/11/12 LPG Conversion @ 48,283. ·01/06/13 Timing kit replacement, tensioners, waterpump, all associated belts @ 55,598. ·13/03/15 Clutch replacement and gearbox/crankshaft oil seals @ 91,604. ·02/09/15 Brake discs and pads replaced all round @ 101,033. ·15/03/16 Rear Exhaust at 107,000. ·30/03/16 2 new rear tyres @ 107,310. ·10/05/16 LPG system inspected for re-sale @ 110,200, new multivalves fitted. Despite Kia's published economy figures being in the mid 30s, the car actually returns 21-25MPG. But as LPG costs only 49.9p/litre at the moment, this equates to 10p/mile to run the car, it is exceptionally cheap - hence why I have kept hold of it for so long. The bad bits... As well as being my work vehicle, the car has doubled up as the shoot bus / occasional tip runner. As such, it has the usual light scuffs on the interior, and some scratches to the bodywork. The alloy wheels are showing signs of flaking - I will photgraph the worst of it. The only known problem it has is with a fault on the brake switch, that very occasionally causes the ESP light to illuminate, OR inhibit the cruise control set speed function. This happens maybe 2 or 3 times a year, and turning the ignition off then back on solves it. The fault was subject to a re-call, but I missed the window to have it fixed. The brake switch costs exactly £23.50 from KIA, and the online guidance suggests its a 5 minute job to replace - screw out screw in. I've also noticed a tiny 'whirring' sound when driving on a graduated bend. I'm inclined to think this could be a sign that a wheel bearing / bush is worn, but the mechanic could hear or see anything untoward when I asked him to check it out. The glasses valuation of the vehicle is £3400 - £4100 for a private sale, but that doesn't take into account the modifications, and dealer sale special edition models (TITAN) on Autotrader are listed at around £5k. I'm conscious that the timing belt replacement is due again in the near future, and the MOT / service are due by July, which might put some buyers off. So... I'm proposing this. IF my asking price of £3750 is met (the valuation mid-point), I will personally pay for the timing belt kit to be changed, OR, I will pay for a full service and MOT (your choice). It will be done by my usual mechanic and will of course come will full receipts. Any questions please ask, and I will do my best to respond. Please note however, that I am away on business until the weekend.

Lovely

I'll give the steam room a try The nerve block wasn't a problem for me, it was the codine + tremadol combo that did. The side effects were insane! I stopped taking them after 1 day

Is that 3 days or 3 weeks? I have to wear a sling for a month minimum so there's no chance of that for some time yet. I literally can't even raise my arm yet. The physio can't even get it past 90 degrees. Wishing you a full and speedy recovery

Ahh, I see. Thanks for the info, it makes sense

I was going to say that I have no idea what you are talking about, but then I consulted Google... And my operation notes If I'm understanding them, the tear was between 3 and 5.30, which is from the front middle to the bottom. I could see why recoil might affect/impact that area? Of course, I could be completely wrong. Better take it up with the physio tomorrow

Evening all, I'm currently recovering from a shoulder operation, and the specialist has today informed me that I'm unlikely to return to shooting until at least August - hopefully I'll be fit for the opening of the fowling season! I had a Labral tear (Bankart) which although not proven, was almost certainly due to shooting. I think the non-complicated explanation was a rip in the shoulder membrane. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. It was, and continues to be... Horrific. I've been wondering whether anyone else on here has experienced such an injury. Surely I'm not the only one? I'd be interested to hear what the recovery was like for you, and hopefully you could give me some reassurance that I'll be able to shoot again after all Did you have you had to make any special provisions on returning to shooting? I was thinking 21g loads on the clays to start, and I've got Welshwarrior fitting an Isis X-Pad on my stock, which should help. 2 weeks on, and I still can't lift my arm away from my side without assistance :( Moan/rant/self pity over. Chin up Cheers, W12

Enjoyed that, cheers

NOW SOLD.