EMT

Great write up and its great that you found it useful. I have the Mrs booked in for a 2 hour lesson tomorrow so fingers crossed she will benefit from it as well.

Out.

Don't worry, they don't charge corkage.

Good tip, make sure you take plenty of FIBRE cartridges with you. The ground is fibre only and for 20b cartridges they charged something like £9.80 a box.

The Mrs uses them and absolutely loves them. She can't get on with normal cuff type ear defenders and she didn't like the napier pro9 either.

The biggest problem is the coat. Unless you keep it in immaculate condition it would very quickly turn into one big mat going in and out of the water.

Here is a very good youtube video with the answer.

I absolutely love mine for clay shooting and have used it for everything from pigeons to wildfowling but I do find it a bit heavy for driven days.

I use an arrow laser shot so I can check I am mounting the gun correctly but I find it needs to be at least 15m for it to be accurate.

When I worked for the ambulance service some of the calls we attended on blue lights were for : The careers had put odd socks on the patient. The patient was bed bound and had dropped the TV remote. To close a window. Because a patient wanted a rest and there were no seats in the town centre. Because a patients soup was too hot. I could probably create a list of at least 50 similar calls and I know there are some other paramedics on this forum that could come up with 50 of their own.

I have just bought the Mrs a 20b silver pigeon and used it recently on a game day and what a difference! I've also got a 682 gold e and I have used it for everything in the past but I don't think I will ever use it for anything other than clays now. The 20b was a joy to hold whilst waiting for the drive to start and you hardly knew you were carrying it when in the slip. I even took the 20b to shoot at high lodge rather than the 12b because I knew it would be an all day event. Maybe I am just becoming a weedling as I am getting older, who knows.

As a complete nobstick when it comes to snaring foxes I am curious as to what he did wrong or what he could have done better. I can appreciate the benefits of trying to leave as little scent as possible but what else should have been in / out of the video?

I have just worked out the figures for the revenue generated by certificate grants and renewals for both shotguns and firearms as well as firearms variations for the 2014/2015 period. I got the figures from the gov website and used the latest prices. It works out for one year an income of £162034.

I used laboklin on one bitch and I have it the wrong way round. I had her tested for pra and cnm at the same time but if you check on the kennel club website for Gloveslane Chachacha she will only show as CNM clear. The Pra doesn't show.

Now this really is a can of worms. There are certain companies that will test for different genetic diseases such as Pra, CNM etc. Now depending on which company you use, depends on weather your results are sent to the kennel club. If the kennel club get the results they are available to anyone through their website. You can also check the results of offspring etc. At one time the only companies available to carry out the tests automatically sent the results to the kennel club, but now you can get other companies to do the test that won't. So in theory you could have a sneaky test done and if it's a clear result submit it or have it retested by an affiliated testing centre. If it it's a carrier you could keep your gob shut. Now I am not saying this happens but it is possible. If you look up one of my bitches on the kennel club website she will show as a carrier for Pra but won't show for CNM even though she has been tested and is clear.

Lol. There is a tiny bit more to choosing a dog than a photo but I do have a soft spot for a good looking labrador. :-) Don't get me wrong I own some really ugly ******* but I looked past that for fantastic breeding.

Bigbird can I ask who he is out of. He is about as close to perfection looks wise in a labrador as you are going to get. I know everyone likes different types of labs but for me he would do just fine. He would go lovely with my collection lol.

Now that is how a lab should look. Absolutely bloody gorgeous.

Yes, I tried both of them. It looks they are about to be replaced by the new gamebore regal so I have got some rc sipe instead.

It all depends on the untested bitch. The possible results are: Dam is clear - all pups will be clear. Dam is a carrier - approximately 50% clear & 50 % carriers Dam is affected - all pups will be carriers. It is possible that the dam could be affected but as yet is not showing any symptoms. A clear eye cert will help but it is no guarantee.

I know what you mean. I have a bitch from one of the most famous names in labradors ( i won't say which one) though it was a 12 hour round trip to get her. The breeding is as good as you can get and she is absolutely ******* useless. She is steady as a rock, stops like you have shot her to the stop whisle, hand signals are spot on, but she will never make a decent gundog as long as I have a hole in my ****. Now I am not saying all dogs from this kennels are useless as their field trial results prove, but it also shows that the best breeding in the world does not guarantee a good dog. Again its probably no coincidence that I got the last pup from the litter.

I must admit I seriously considered breeding from her as I desperately wanted a pup from her. I was going to have all the pups tested after they were born but it's a bit of a pain as you have to have a blood test at that age because they are not weaned. I wanted to keep a bitch but it would have just been my luck that all the bitches would be carriers. Its ironic that the trialing community are so hot on the tests yet FTCh Levenghyl Silvercloud of Drakeshead which was probably the best bitch in the country at one time was a carrier and Sandra had no problems selling any of her pups.

Just another point to add to the already good advice. I would much prefer to have pick of the litter from a bitch that is a good worker than get the last pup from a litter of the best bred field trial winners. I am speaking from experience of both buying dogs as well as breeding myself and the pick of the litter is worth its weight in gold. Yes you may get lucky with the last pup from the litter but given the chance I would much rather have the choice. If you are buying from a TOP breeder most of the litter will be accounted for before they are born. Most going to other breeders or their trialing friends. What you will often be offered is the pup nobody else wanted and that is usually for a reason. The points others make about the coat is very valid. A double coat can make a big difference if you plan on using the dog for any kind of water work. I have various labs with both types of coat and I can pick up after a duck flight, with the dogs in and out of the water for up to an hour and the double coat dogs are still dry underneath. As for health tests it's a double edge sword. I currently have one of the best bitches I have ever had my hands on. Great hips, 0/0 elbows, CNM clear but she is a PRA carrier. If I use a clear dog 50% of the litter will be clear and 50% carriers. Non will be effected but I won't breed from her because I don't think it's right. Do I sometimes regret having the test, you bet I do.

I have just bought a new 20b SP for the Mrs and would like to get her some Gamebore pure gold 20b. I have checked the websites of Eastern Sporting and Essex gun and neither stock them. I have emailed Gamebore to see if they have a list of stores but I am still waiting for a reply. Does anyone know of a shop in Essex that stocks them.

I think they have changed the lining in the heel area. Was looking at replacing my old pair, there is nowt wrong with them but they are 9 years old this year. Looking at a pair today and I noticed what looked like cream coloured rubber on the inside of the heel which put me off.