pob

Thanks gents. It seems like I am passing perilously close to two Bass Pro stores, and they stock the Kicks High Flyer for the Xtrema2 for under £40. Now to choose some waders.......

Were they in otherwise good condition? (Mine were)

Gents I'm on a road trip in the US in October and plan to stop off at Cabelas to stock up on a few items. An earlier thread had me considering an aftermarket choke. I've heard good things about the Patternmaster code black. The Cabelas site suggests that the goose choke would be a good allrounder for the extra $10. Is this true? I'm not sure that I can stretch to two of these chokes. The PatternMaster™ Code Black Choke Tubes, Item # 231260, in the short length duck model delivers full patterns with 3 in shells and modified patterns in 3.5 in shells. The long range goose tube delivers full patterns at 40yds with any shell length and velocity up to 1550 fps. I suspect however that this may not fit my gun because it has Optimachoke Plus. I'd appreciate any guidance from any owners. In case it is relevant, I like to use a 3" No.3 or 3.5" No.2 (Drylock or Remington Hi-Speed Steel) on the foreshore and 3.5" No1 (Mammoth) or BB (Remington) on the odd occasion I may encounter geese. I've had good success over decoys and at close ranges with a rather speedy No.5, but my research suggests that these chokes shouldn't be used with anything over 1550fps. The No. 5s work well enough (when I can get them) using the supplied Optimachoke Plus Modified/half choke though. Living in London I do often struggle to get hold of my preferred ammo. I'm thinking that an aftermarket choke might help smooth out the varied performance of the random 2 3/4 shells that I am sometimes forced to use.

I've been finding what I think is a lice on mallard and teal this season. I'm not sure that I've seen them before. I'd guesstimate about 30% have them, but usually just the one. I think they are in the wing feathers. Horrible things and tough to squash. Is it anything to be worried about?

Sally James for me. I remember watching on her on Saturday Scene, before Tiswas. Something was going on, but I wasn't sure quite what. Gilftastic

Another Pinewood user here. 10 years +. One simple replacement part in all that time. Very reliable and great value. I use hypaflaps. I carry a couple of 5Ah batteries that just about do me for anything but a long, windy summer's day.

+1 Seems like we live in a system that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. It's not really working for me and obviously a few on here too. Good luck to all in finding a better solution.

This will help with placement: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/153348-setting-a-pigeon-decoy-pattern/. Don't be afraid to move the rotary if you don't think it's working. Sometimes birds want to land on top of it, but if it just brings them into your standing pattern that's good enough. I do hide my battery, but avoid pulling up crop to do it. If it's a sunny day, be aware of glare off the rotating arms; it can be a highly effective bird scarer. Maybe wipe a little mud where you see glare? Hard to say if your battery will last all afternoon. It rather depends on the rotary you own. A spare battery or two can always be found in my truck. Enjoy your day and good luck. Let us know how you get on.

That's what I have always quite fancied doing, and there it is on a plate for next season. Brilliant! Thanks to Rockland Wildfowlers, BASC, Pigeonwatch and Varminator (again)

The arrays that I am seeing spring up (Norfolk, Cambridgeshire Fens) have absolutely no room for dual use. Nothing will grow under the ones I am seeing. When i studied renewables a good few years ago there were real issues with the embodied energy in building PVs and uncertain service life. Performance degraded quite markedly over the extended payback period. i do worry about the impact of lost production if the land has changed from arable use. If sugar beet production is marginal, farmer's are tempted to change, but that doesn't help overwintering geese, for example. I'm not only concerned about quarry species, but wildlife in general. Grazing land isn't such a loss though, I would suspect. I was a little surprised to hear that there were generous subsidies/feed-in tariffs still available. I thought that had drastically reduced in 2010. But at the speed they seem to be going in, clearly not.

I'm renewing with the Met at the moment. The section on offences makes no mention of rules based on whether you've mentioned them before on a previous grant or renewal. I seem to recall someone saying that you should err on the side of caution and put everything on the form, even if in any doubt. Why invite trouble if they might think that they have found something on you? That's what I have done. If you are a BASC member I'd call them though. "You must not withhold information about any conviction. This includes motoring offences, binding overs, formal written warnings, cautions and convictions in and outside Great Britain, and (by virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975) convictions which are spent under the 1974 Act. A conditional discharge and an absolute discharge both count as convictions for this purpose. Details of parking offences and fixed penalty notices do not need to be declared."

Speed of swing might be important. I noticed that I was a better shot when birds surprised me; when I shot instinctively. A coach had me delay raising my gun to incoming birds after watching me follow them in for a good long while, and then missing. It started to work and he said that my swing was much faster. After a while I built up sight pictures and knew better what the correct lead was. Give it a try. Couldn't hurt.

I aim to be in place, deeks out and settled by nautical twilight. Link here: http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/nao/miscellanea/bi_rst.html Possibly a bit early for some, but it's served me OK. I just can't seem to see anything on a late evening flight.

I wear them for everything except fowling. However, after a recent action packed trip and ringing ears, I am going to start wearing them on the marsh too. There's an obvious downside to wearing them, but there's a wealth of experience on here that proves that I should.

I'm all for it. I'm sure that most of these new voters are left leaning and the Green party will probably do well. You can get married at 16 and start paying tax, but you can't vote, which makes no sense to me. I'd hope that it will get more people engaged in politics.

Many on here are beginning to get the wrong idea. Us cockneys NEVER know our dad's real name, just what kind of sovereign ring he wore, what car he drove and what the back seat looked like. (Though they do quite often turn out to have been called Gary.)

Jim The gaiters arrived today and I am made up. They're brilliant. Thanks for such a generous gesture and for bringing a bit more fun to the forum. Good luck with next quiz. Yours in cockney brotherhood Andrew

Cushtie.

Derek (Named after that Italian footballer Derek Piero)

Thanks gents. It seems that the choice of the Eddie Nixon for pinks is a no-brainer. Any thoughts on a canada call please? The OLT800 got strong support, but doesn't seem to be generally available.

It's time to issue my birthday/Christmas wish list and I could do with goose calls for the marsh. Pinkfoot and Canada only. I don't have goose decoys. For Pinkfoot I was thinking of the Haydel's B81. For Canadas, I was thinking of the Buck Gardner Canada Hammer II. I've got a duck call of theirs and it is very easy to use, though I have had to reseat the reeds a couple of times. I'd appreciate any recommendations chaps.

I've had prologic nylon waders that served me very well for five seasons. However, the boots have finally given up, lots of leaks and I can't seem to repair them with stormsure. Might have been poor maintenance on my part, not rinsing them thoroughlly after use, but I'm happy with the service that they gave for the price. No issues until then. I prefer nylon to neoprene. Neoprene is too warm for me, especially on a September evening. But then you are in Scotland so might be better with neoprene.

That is quite incredible. Such a difference in point of aim Thank you for that advice. I learned to shoot full bore with both eyes open, to good effect, in my reckoning. I was assessed by a shotgun coach many years ago who said "close your left eye", but it seemed unnatural; I want to keep both eyes open still. I ignored that advice and that is why I still struggle to shoot as well with a shotgun as a rifle, probably. The advice above has convinced me to toe the line. Or at least to squint through my left. Does the anecdotal evidence above suggest that we should all buy left handed shotguns? (tin-hat on)

Brilliant SAKO751SG. Was your dad in the Vietcong?

The debate on this has gone on too long. The answer is simple. Nuke 'em. Turn Equitorial Africa into a glass bowl charcoal pit. But will our namby pamby so called politicians take the steps needed? I very much doubt it. What we need is an armed forces minister with the b*lls to take the necessary action. I'll tell you who'd be good. The guy who used to host that property buying show, late 30's going a bit thin on top. What's his name again? (P.S. IMHO a hero)