86inch

I thought you meant THIS Johnnie Walker..... Now he was a real hero, possibly without whom we may not have defeated the U-boat menace.....

I think you'll find that Cyclists who are members of organisations such as the CTC and clubs affiliated to the BCF are covered by third party insurance for this very reason. I'd say a very large proportion of those you are likely to meet on the lanes will be so covered.

Comparing Jimny's & Defenders is a rediculous pursuit... Defenders are larger, much heavier, built for load-carrying off road and on, coupled with a massive towing capability - which if you need it is beyond compare for the task. A Jimny is a simple, light 4x4 built as a hairdressers runaround, which just happens to be very good off road too. Off road they were comparable with my 86inch S1. Defenders are expensive, and not-so-cheap to run, but contrary to popular opinion, they are not unreliable provided you follow the maintenance recommended by the factory. But they will last longer and have a much higher residual value when you come to sell. For a cheap runaround a shoot, and relatively cheap motoring a Jimny is almost certainly the right choice... but if you need to carry a load or do heavy stuff, it just will not last.

I'd suggest using the type of mastic sealant that comes on a roll, you can get it from Caravan spares suppliers. As to the water, i wouldn't worry about it - the carpets will soak it up

I have wide feet and picked up a pair of Harkila Mountain GTX 8" boots at a very good price. After having worn them for lots of short periods they have broken in nicely and are very comfortable. The Harkila footbeds weren't much cop for my feet though, so i ditched them and put in some from my old Salomons and they are now much better.

Fantastic gun, from a top man.. Thanks Ian, i'm over the moon with it

Stilton - without doubt my favourite cheese, but any lover of Stilton MUST try Stichelton cheese made in Welbeck, Nottinghamshire. Stichelton is pretty much what Stilton used to be many years ago, as its made from unpasteurised milk. A bit richer and tangier than Stilton. Yum, yum

Here is a good site for hand painting pointers, even if we can't be bothered to go to his lengths and get a perfect finish...

The worst for me was a truly horrific air-cooled T25 camper... incredibly slow & unreliable. Thank heavens for the AA. a double-whammy because being towed home by the AA usually meant you got home quicker than the wretched thing could manage under its own power

I have the same cabinet that the OP put in the Ebay link. I got mine direct from GDK, and its top-quality My FEO said "you can get 4 guns in there, no problem.." For cartridges i bought a cheap second-hand locking filing cabinet. Perfect for the job, you can get 1000 carts in per drawer.

For £7K, you might pick up a half-decent TD5 County or maybe even XS station wagon. Or you might find a really nice 300TDI. You aren't in TDCI budget and whatever you go for, my advice would be to shop carefully and buy on condition, more than engine type. If you want a Station Wagon, i'd also advise only to buy a genuine factory station wagon and not a converted hard top. It will hold its value better and likely have a much better interior finish, and almost certainly worked less hard than a converted hard-top. Good luck with the search!

They can be a real pain if the master cylinder isn't properly primed, and air can be stubborn in the slave cylinder. There is a neat trick for bleeding Land Rover clutches though... Drain it down, then get a large, clean syringe from a chemist, put a suitable flexible pipe on the end that will fit on the bleed nipple, then slowly fill the system from the bottom, and all the air gets pushed out of the top. Hope this helps!

My 525 is a game gun, and no Brownings are now sold with auto-safety enabled, certainly in the UK. But i agree with you, there is much more to safety than auto-safe! which is why i don't want mine converting.

I too have a 525, i'm perfectly happy with the manual safety for game use, and it certainly makes it easier for claying. However, i do believe that the parts are available to convert to auto-safety. The lack of auto-safety is to do with the American market to stop people shooting themselves and blaming the manufacturer..... "Its Browning's fault because you said the safety is automatic...." etc etc.. Any good gunsmith will be able to convert it for you.

There's certainly a Boyes in Newark and Kirkby-in-Ashfied, Notts. The one in Newark is pretty good - huge range of fishing tackle..

I have a pair of ACS custom valves.. i have to say, i'm mighty impressed with them, despite reading some variable reviews. And i can still wear a brimmed hat

The local water company will be responsible for the pipes, and will have right of access to them, wherever they are. I would contact the water company and start a discussion about what those rights of access mean to you if you buy the land, and detailing that they aren't where they think they are. They will probably want to resurvey to ensure their location maps are correct. Once that is established, then i believe that if you damage them, then the responsibilty is yours. I certainly wouldn't want to buy land without establishing who has rights over it. Shouldn't be difficult, and presumably they have laid plastic pipe so i wouldn't worry too much about them ever actually requiring access.. I doubt they will ever want to dig up your land to get at them. Good luck!

I can heartily recommend Nevilles at Alfreton, I too am a newbie, and they were really great! A proper gunshop with good advice and nice guys to deal with. A fair trek for me, but we have family and friends in the area. I'd go back to them again no problem.

I like roasted whole pigeon (when i can be bothered to pluck them). Put a knob of butter inside, and on the top, salt/pepper and possibly some streaky bacon on top too if you have it, Stand it on a small slice of dry toast then put in an oven at 200 degrees for no more than 25 minutes! The toast catches all the lovely tasty dripping... delicious If i cook breasts i tend to marinade them whole in honey for a while then fry in melted butter on medium/high heat for about 3-4 mins per side... Marinated in a mixture of sherry and figs also works well, fry the whole lot in butter for the same amount of time and you get a nice sherry/fig sauce too

Cracking - thanks guys!

My local farmer has a field of germinating barley (very small shoots at present), i have read that pigeons will often feed on this by pulling up the seedlings - is this true? would i likely have any joy decoying birds onto this?

Deep joy! My certificate turned up today So finally picked up the Browning and so i'll be off to the clay ground tomorrow!

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys... I'm from the Witham Valley (less a valley, more a flood plain!!) area, between Newark & Lincoln... I know my SGC is completed, and just waiting for a signature. As it has been for over a week now. According to the FA dept it should be sent out this week, but in reality, who knows!! but i can't wait to get out as you can imagine

Hello all! As per the title, i'm from Lincs and new to shooting. SGC should be here this week, whereupon i'll be able to collect my Browning i have my deposit on (Can't come quick enough!). Been having clay lessons, but game/vermin (Rabbit & Pigeon) is what i'm really intending to do most of. Already picked up lots of tips from the pages, so i'm sure you guys are going to be lots of further help