Salmo9

Could you not ‘break’ the gun and sell the parts on line via everyone’s favourite auction site..?? Surely, there’s more value in the sum of the parts compared to the whole.. ie a fifty pound S/S might contain enough hand made components to generate a respectable return.. Perhaps we need a section within PW for the movement of such parts..

Once again guys, many thanks for all your detailed responses. I’ve gleaned some really useful information and in some instances the info supplied supports my own opinions and beliefs. Our birds are now a lot bolder and looking good but with a few bloody bums on display too. Also spotted two of last years cocks dodging about one pen. Now, would I be right in assuming these cheeky lads have grabbed the opportunity for some high protein grub plus easy passion with, shall we say, a captive audience of young hens.?? Both cocks fully tailed when first spotted but not anymore... Hmmm..

That’s interesting Squire.. I’d heard about a sheep wormer doing the business but it was all a bit vague in description at the time. I’ll look into this if it’ll save a few bob.. Many thanks for the info..

Hi Jim - thanks for your detailed response.. I tend to arrive at the first pen about 09.30hrs and check perimeter security and HV fence status, then into the pen to grab a half bag of pellets and off to the first feeder - Those 20Kg bags are too much for me to lump about so decant them into smaller amounts.. Our birds are fed ad-lib and it’ll be the same when they’re liberated and fending for themselves. Once all feeders are topped up then it’s on to the water. Once again, grab a half full water container (25L) and onto the first drinker. Visually scanning the poults and ground as I go.. Picked a couple of corpses up today, both appeared to be victims of either buzzards or sparrow hawks. Might even be a red tailed kite. Saw one over the pen today being mobbed by a carrion crow. Keep up the good work, that crow.. The poults have been in a week now and as you suggested ravenous, scoffing pellets and supping plenty of water.. Not using electrolyte in the water but will investigate.. We’ll be worming next week with liquid additives as opposed to the usual medicated pellets. This will be a first for us.. Currently using about 50kg’s No.2 grower pellets per day for one thousand poults spread over a few pens which I would think is OK. Water is approximately 70 litres per day.. Plus, heat wave has passed for the time being, weathers overcast with showers and the woods are now a bit gloomier too.. Cheers..

Thanks guys - really appreciate all your comments. I’ll continue with my line of thought and see how things go.. we do have a syndicate member with a CF rifle scouting for Charlie so another good reason for me to be out of the way early doors. These past visits the poults have just chilled in this hot weather and dust bathing seems to be their thing. I never thought I’d say this but for once our pens look really inviting with plenty of shade and a cooling breeze. Long may it last. Also noted, they’re not hitting the water and pellets hard at all. Me thinks it’ll be due to this heat plus a bit of anxiety in their new home. I’m sure it’ll be ‘business as usual’ when this weather turns.. Cheers for now..

Folks - hoping the PW massive can assist with your opinions here please.. I’ve volunteered to look after this years pheasant poults across a number of pens located in typical mature, softwood forestry plantations. My question is what time of day do others check pen security, stock and top up water and feed.. I normally start pen visits at about 09.00hrs, knowing the poults at this time have dropped off their roost and filled their crops etc. Then another visit would be at about 16.00hrs to, once again check security, stock etc, then quietly leave allowing the poults to fuss and prepare for roost. Now, I’m being told I should be at the pens at sunrise and sunset, but why.? Surely arriving at daybreak, in darkened woods, I run the risk of pushing the poults off their roost and out of the pen, with a similar problem occurring at sunset too.. I might be missing the obvious here so all thoughts and comments appreciated.. Thanks much..

After a bit of YT research, I bought myself a ready to fly SJRC F11. Seems a sturdy bit of kit with GPS, gyro stability and smart phone connectivity plus plenty of good reviews. Also bought a second battery which should give me 40 minutes of flying time. Only flown it twice and both occasions bounced it off the holly bush (it was a bit windy, honest) no damage to either apart from my pride.. Practice - still in progress..

Many years ago, my old mate sent his jacket in for refurbishment and promptly received it back with a refusal.. something to do with health and safety and staff welfare. It did honk a bit though..

Oh, just a thought.. Im assuming the hammer gun is proofed for three inch shells, otherwise you’ll be down to maybe 14grm loads or less.. Like you, I’ve been knocking those driven pheasants down with home loaded 19 gram shells, much to the amazement and amusement of my syndicate colleagues.. still miss my share too, though.

No problem Squire.. would be very interested in the outcome of the service as I’m the happy owner of two of them. Bit like yourself, I’d managed to persuade the supreme overlord (in my domain) to grant permission for the additional purchase.. just in case.

Personally, I think you’re RFD friend will find the main hammer springs are either weakened through use/time or the usual (and expected) build up of dried grease and gum.. There’ll be very little physical aluminium to steel contact around moving parts within the action so a strip-down with new main springs would be what I’d expect to restore the gun.. Would reckon replacement main springs will be reasonably priced too for the Yildiz. Might be worth emailing the guys at Raytrade for their opinion, assume warranty is out.? Might also be worth enquiring with the Raytrade team if they’ve still got a couple of Yildiz SPZME Special Lux’s in 410.? Both models are sideplated, hand engraved with, if I’m not mistaken, grade five timber.. very tasty, with one have a straight hand stock (see Jonnies review on YT). Use your skills/talent and negotiate a ‘bargain’..

Well, I’ve had this Stanley dumpy, soup flask for some time now and all’s been well.. until I misplaced the silicon seal on the wide stopper. Thankfully, no hearty, hot soup was displaced when the discovery was made. A bit of online research took me to Stanley’s UK distributors - Burton McCall and an email was sent.. three weeks later and a brand new stopper arrived, free of charge.. Fantastic customer service and one happy fella, so a big thanks and a ‘well done’ to Burton McCall.. All the best - Salmo9.

Must admit I’m fairly smitten with mine and looking forward to bagging a few driven birds with it this weekend.. Just been checking the proof marks on my Yildiz barrels and surprised to see the CIP S stamp plus the Birmingham twin crowns sitting above SUP which I believe equates to 1320bar proof or 19140 psi..!! Kinda edging into rifle territory here, me thinks..

Thanks Walker570 - I’m tempted to loctite it all down but daren’t dismantle any of it for fear of losing all those valuable settings.. LoL..

Not yet squire.. I’ve got myself a Chrony Beta but need to get it set up plus some suitable pattern sheets and a backstop location without hinderance ie inquisitive livestock and/or dog walkers.. The tested loads (at clays) were clean burning with very little barrel residue. Factory loads always disappointed me with barrel fouling.. I believe little barrel residue might indicate high pressure though. The recoil was punchy which was to be expected and noted that a number of empties were melted at their mouths, this I understand is due to fibre use so they’ve been binned...

Well, here goes.. case: once fired Hull ‘high pheasant’. Powder: Hodgdon H110 - 14 grains.. Primer: Federal 209A. Wads: 2mm OPW plus 12mm Fibre wad. Crimp closure too.. Sorry if I appear a bit ‘officious’ here but usual caveats apply, so if you’d like to replicate, please use caution in assembly and no responsibility can be accepted if it all goes south.. I’ll add that these loads function in my OU but have not been proof house or pattern tested yet.. Earlier I’d found a published load of 21grms using 15 grains of H110 plus Fiocchi F616 primers. I’ve no access to 616 primers so substituted with what I had - Federals 209A (hottest, I know) primer and reduced powder by one grain.. Load was reduced to 20grms to get a decent crimp..

Quick update folks.. got in touch with MEC and they stated that the resizing die should have an ID of 0.470” - 0.473”. Mine sits at 0.470” so it’s going to be a bit tight. Now, they also advised ensuring the deprime punch is concentric with the resize ring which I’d assumed would have been the case, not so on my machine. So, after some additional fiddling the situation has improved. Now have a bunch of once used, high pheasant cases sporting full crimp closures Hull would be proud of, loaded with 20gms of 7’s sitting on fibre wads, driven by Federal 209A primers and Hodgdon H110 powder. Also collecting two additional chokes for the wee Yildiz today too.. Here’s one happy chappy.. Cheers..

Thanks Walker570.. as for chokes I currently run half in bottom barrel and three quarter in top and I’m collecting two more multi chokes tomorrow from my local dealer (£15.00 each, which is reasonable I suppose). Now, as for barrel proof, you’ll find this information under the forearm, as previously said, mines 10.2mm not 10.4mm as expected. Not a lot in it but I’d like to know what other Yildiz 410 users have..

Hi Walker570 - did you manage to mike up your resizing ring on the MEC yet..? Also, I’ve noticed my .410 barrels are proofed 10.2mm which is a tad smaller than the expected 10.4mm, not that it’ll have any relevance to the chamber dimensions apart from potentially higher pressures. Be interested to know what other Yildiz .410’s barrels are measured at.. Thanks.

Spot on Gas Seal.. this reloading lark needs a bit of intuition and definitely a tentative feel for how each stage functions and delivers. I find myself now gently pinching the case at the base - plastic interface during crimping in a bid to detect case collapse/bulging which for me, happens at this point on the final straight. I know then to either adjust the crimp plunger and/or cam or alter the wad size or put less shot in.. Deep joy. Thankfully, I’ve not wasted too many brand new primed Fiocchi cases but oddly enough, still enjoying these challenges..

Hi Guys - you’re probably aware of this but if you’re using new cases you’ll need a decent pre crimper such as GAEP, Siarm or Ballistic Products. These devices effectively cut/form the six or eight folds needed to produce a tidy crimp finish on unfired cases. The standard plastic MEC ‘spindex’ is good for used cases but not good enough for new in my opinion.. that’s my experience. And, when you’ve bought, installed and calibrated said device and start producing those perfect crimp finishes, please let me know how you did it.. As for used 410 cases - once used Eley and Cheddite fibre cases are binned by me and some of my twice used Fiocchi have swollen plastic cases too, after pushing fibre wads through them. Been reading some archived PW threads and the early consensus way back was - 1) new primed cases. 2) hand load components. 3) RTO finish. job done..

Thanks Walker570 - I’ve just miked my MEC resizing die and its 0.468” plus a new Fiocchi case at 0.467” however my once fired Fiocchi case is 0.470.. Like you, I shoot a Yildiz OU but wonder if my chambers are slightly larger therefore causing me grief when having to resize the ‘fire-formed’ empty. The actual resizing downstroke on my MEC is OK, it’s the upstroke that causes me lock ups and case binding then it’s a bit of dismantling and quick trip to the shed to punch the offending case out. As and when I do use a once fired hull, I have no problem with the MEC spindex and final crimp finish.. Looks as good as the pro’s...

Thanks Stonepark - sounds like a good idea.. Was trying out the new loads at Westlands on Friday - Hodgdon H110, 12mm fibre wad and 21 grams of 71/2 lead. Punchy with a clean burn, no powder residue in barrels. Broke clays too, when I did my bit. Downside was a fair bit of loose shot rolling about in me pockets.. The crimp closure on the new Fiocchi cases looks great.. apart from that bl**dy 2.5 mm hole..

Well, I’ve been struggling to resize used 410 cases with the MEC 600 junior for some time now with Eley fibre cases being the worst so they’ve all been binned. Even Hull high pheasant once fired cases can sometimes bind on me even though I’m using case lube as recommended. So.. I’ve now shifted to new 76mm Fiocchi primed cases and have purchased a Ballistic Product, super crown crimper to replace the existing spindex, if only it was that easy..!! Every completed case has a 2.5mm hole in the centre of the closed crimp. I’ve ran out of lever cam adjustment and raised and lowered the case closure plunger on the final station, all to no avail.. The super crown crimper mounted on the turret can’t be adjusted lower as it buckles the 410 case when the loader lever is at full throw. All MEC 600 junior settings have been double-checked for 3” 410 cases. Has anyone else experienced these issues..?? Me thinks it’s perhaps a USA loading machine (imperial)with after market USA bits (imperial) trying to deal with continental cases (metric). Over-shot cards are now on order and I’ve already got the GAEP RTO jobby so looks like I’ll be shooting 21 gram, fibre, RTO cartridges this season. Cheers - Salmo9.

Just a ‘heads up’.. That bottom AYA with the plastic pad might be a model 117 and not a No.2. Why be cautious.? A long time ago I was sold an AYA No.2 and discovered it was a cheaper, European 117. To his credit the RFD took it back. Serial number emailed to AYA Spain usually gets a fast response.