Salopian

Had a fantastic day yesterday, purely by chance (fieldcraft?) found the pigeon at the edge of a wood madly feeding on maize stubble, I took a few shots and they still continued to come in so I settled down and took out 83 in just over 4 hours.It goes to show how watching the fields pays off, but I still have to be off work at the right time!!!!! Salopian

Red Stag, I think you may be talking about the slip on stock extension, marketed in rubber and leather versions,I agree the leather version is far superior, but I was talking about permanent fixtures. Salopian

Sparky, There are any number of pads available to suit every purpose, all claiming various properties, if when you have your gun fitted it is necessary to change the stock length you can fit what ever pad you like.This usually costs about £80 inc. if however you do not need to alter your length and you say you are happy with your present pad, you could try wearing a coat/vest with a vinyl shoulder pad, round off the heel & toe of your absorball pad or refinish your pad by polishing with silicone carbide paper lubricated with water until you get rid of all surface imperfections.Alternative pads available include Pachmyr, Kickeez, Gooey,Sorbothane, and perhaps the most popular The good old Silvers, this pad would certainly cure your present problem as it has an insert let into the heel of the pad to assist your gunmount.Hope this helps PM me if not sure. Salopian

Angelo, When setting out your pattern you must take into account the wind direction for instance if it is 90 degrees left or right you may find an L shape works well with the bouncer at the open end of the horizontal leg.If the birds take a look but don't commit look at your pattern, something is not right and putting them off.Salopian

Have a look at the McNab range there is probably something to suit all tastes.If I were you I would buy another 686 so that I had a pair for my double gun days. (This medication for my alucinations does not seem to be working) Salopian.

A 20 gauge will kill effectively at similar ranges to 12 gauge, it's normal advantage is it's light weight for walking up.From your message it appears you are primarily concerned with damage limitation at close range.So the answer may be to use 7/8th ounce/24gram shells = less damage, less recoil more pleasurable to shoot, it keeps your money in the bank, or perish the thought more new dresses & shoes (No not for me before you smart alec's reply) Salopian

Choke size is a very interesting topic and probably will never be satisfactorily resolved to suit all people.There is no doubt that we all eventually settle after much experimentation, so for what it is worth here is my opinion.To effectively kill upto 35 yards 1/4 choke is sufficient, BASC research has proved the most effective choking THEORETICALLY is 1/2 choke (it's performance envelope is greater statistically) I shoot 1/2 & 1/2 and judge the close range so as not to shred the bird. But if you are on it you will kill it with true cylinder so stop dithering get out and shoot and make your own mind up.Good hunting. Salopian

Yes Range Rover is everything you said it is but we should also consider what we are using the 4x4 for.Most of us require a vehicle to schlep all the kit we have accumalated to the far side of the land we are shooting which is normally down a green lane or across a meadow, so it needs to be cheap, smallish, economical to run so Suzuki 410 or 413 is ideal.Salopian

Columba Livia, If you are who I think you are you drive me up the wall sometimes. But I have to say you can shoot pigeon, but do not use your Indy Shadow it's rubbish. Salopian

Kreighoff, A German manufactured gun, the design was evolved from the Remington 21 which was a great favourite.A very well made gun, quite pricey, although intelligently marketed by the manufacturer through is agent Alan Rhone of Wrexham.George used to shoot Kemen made in Spain, but as he said "I'll shoot anything if the price is right" Salopian

I find 1/2 & 1/2 is perfect for me with everything.Open enough not to spoil game if shot at sensible ranges & tight enough for going away birds.Those of you that shoot clays should always remember the maxim "99 clays blown to bits does not beat 100 chips" Salopian

Remove Butt pad, undo stock retaining bolt, CAREFULLY pull stock of the action, wash off mechanismn with WD40 (water displacement oil) sparingly re-oil with light oil and then re-assemble.

Sniper , Any more DOWN puns & you will be up before the Beak Win 1400 I have one, very good value, good gun. A friend of mine had one didn't clean it at all so it occasionally jammed or failed to cycle the odd cartridge,having a very low patience threshold he decided to deliberately break it and claim on his insurance.Place gun on house brick drive over it = split stock.Insurance paid out no quibble, he gives me gun for free,I repair stock = I have 2 Winchester 1400.Mate buys Rem 11-87 new it breaks about once a month + 3 trips to Hull who were the importers = really fed up mate especially as I have totally refurbed his old Win & he sees it every week never missing a beat. Salopian

Whizzo, I also have a similar gun, I was given it in exchange for a duck I had shot and the owner loved eating duck.Check the proof marks they will give you an idea of country of manufacture and it may only be proofed for black powder.Value would be £60ish for 1 in good condition. Salopian

Lots of thin layers to trap the air inside, ex-army thermals are cheap then a windproof cover preferably goretex if funds allow for the feet, try neoprene lined wellies ( TREDDERS price £12-99 ) + a couple of pairs of socks. It is important to keep your hands warm so find what suits you here, handwarmer, mittens, gloves etc., Years ago I had a good day in bitter cold (icy) whilst standing by a fire we had lit. I never have tried using a bonfire instead of decoys? But I bet some know it all has. Good decoying Salopian

Gentlemen/Ladies, This may not be the correct place to air my views but here goes anyway. I log on to this site because I am interested in pigeon shooting and anything to do with shooting.I am not interested in the childish bickering that goes on between various traders (you know who you are) or cheap/snide remarks slagging everyman & his/her dog off so please stop.Use the site properly. Technical. In BASC's Shooting & Conservation Magazine July/August 2004 there is an interesting article about Fibre/Plastic cartridges read & enjoy. Salopian

Crookie, You asked for comments, I am old enough to have decoyed with Major Coates and on occasions he used shoe insoles painted grey, shell decoys, and full bodied, John Batley as used artificials extensively, I personally always use shells because I always travel light. For what it is worth I always peg out my dead birds but I don't know for sure if it helps except it seems to make sense to make the biggest pattern possible because we all know pigeons are gluttons. Salopian

Cranfield, I note your comment on GMK service, speaking personally I have only ever had good (excellant) service.But if you want fantastic service at reasonable cost you need look no further than John Wiseman at Wiseman's of Cannock.

Well put Cranfield, The Gunfit device does look to be a usefull piece of kit, perhaps a little overpriced me thinks.I personally prefer to use a £1 coin to do the same job. Please enclose cheques or money orders for £5 for full details.Salopian.

Oh ye of little faith, the device works perfectly well on astro turf, so all you need to do is sprinkle a little clover & cress seeds, water & wait, if your astro turf is indoors ,such as in a sports hall be sure to open the windows to enable the pigeon to drop into your pattern.As I have said on numerous posts, my kit invariably consists of either a few shell deeks or dead woodies,gun, cartridges. I really can,t be ***** to schlepp the kitchen sink around.But yes Tony Orchards Apple floaters take some beating. Salopian.

Jimdfish, Difficult to answer, I can only suggest do reconnaissance, it always pays. What is certain is that if there is an attractive alternative foodsource they will be off at the first gunshot.To get a good day the birds have to be committed to feeding there, recce a lot shoot a little. Good luck.

Cranfield, I did not see the local chap, if I had he would have been shown the error of his ways and I would make sure he was "blacked" around here. The Manchester boys had been given permission by the contractor NOT the landowner or person holding the shooting rights, (this act of shooting without the permission of farmer/landowner may be used to prosecute and the charge could be armed trespass).The point I was trying to make is, "What chance have any of us got to shoot if we do our recce, gain correct permission and then on the chosen day you find people are travelling hundreds of miles to shoot your land just on the say so of a mate/contractor,friend of the wife, etc.," If we are all not very careful we will loose the lot. Salopian

Thought you may like to hear a story about what happened today. Went out at 9 to do a few jobs and then go decoying, passed a field where I have permission to shoot,2 blokes already shooting.Came back at 11 walked across to say hello, 2 really nice blokes from Manchester ( 60 miles away) they tell me how hacked off they are because they had to move a local off who had been there since 5 this morning, he had decided to go for breakfast at 10 at a local cafe leaving his gear behind TO KEEP HIS PLACE? I asked them how they had got permission to shoot? They had been given permission by the combine contractor NOT the farmer or landowner.If things carry on like this we may have to go to Argentina to shoot pigeons or doves.P.S. The local guy had stuffed cartridge cases and dead pigeons in the hedge row and rabbit holes.

Hello, I mentioned the Cynergy in a posting in talk from the field under "cartridges for woodies" page 2. In my opinion it is an overpriced piece of junk.I have shot one for over a week (1000 shells) it shoots fine but so does a Baikal, Huglu, etc., my opinion is the stock shape whilst innovative is poorly executed, Greener,s Rationale did not catch on although it had some good points.The Cynergy,s butt pad is too sticky with no provision for someone who wants to shorten the stock, the fore end/ejector mechanismn housing is manufactured from japanese wood (plastic/ polypropelene) I hope the design team are confident of this material,s durability? overall it did not inspire confidence.As a footnote do you think it would be a good idea to give HONEST opinions on products? because when you read magazine tests of products everything is good, value for money, well made, etc., etc., then a few pages later you read a full page advert or even more adverts through the magazine for the test items parent cmpany.Obviously slag off a product = no adverts = no magazine due to production costs. We need a Jeremy Clarkson type person to evaluate products before we part with our cash. Salopian or should I say Solly opian?

If I can add my threepenneth, I like Gamebore Blue Diamonds Fibre wad 28grm 6s & 7s anything over 35yards I use 6s, Hull Soveriegn Fibres are superb, Eley VIP are also excellent, but to be frank I don,t think there is a bad cartridge, unless of course you guys (and gals) Know better? Whilst on the subject of poor products, Has anyone got a Browning Cynergy? £1600? They are having a laugh? (Aren,t they?) Not my cup of tea.