marklestrange

Thanks guys ...REALLY useful. Torque reaction + badly shouldered might well explain it. The stock was too short for me and it has no recoil pad of any sorts ...so that is easily fixed. The Sako I had just fired recoiled straight but that had a pad and so was the right length for me. It also felt no worse than a shotgun with slugs, the Midland has bruised my shoulder (sobs into post teaching wine - straight from bottle.) I haven't handed any money over yet, but have shaken hands. In my world that means I'm committed, but that's fine. I have to wait 3 months to get passed 'probationary member' and then get the plod to issue me a slot for target with a 308 [i have 2x.22 1x17hmr and shotgun atm] There should not be an issue with that, and the seller is a club range officer so he said he will wait. The club is shut (outdoors only) until April anyways. I do need to see if it feeds from the magazine though D'oh In the meantime I've got a 'Trained Hunter' course (fancy name for game hygiene I think) at Dutchy College the first Fri of half term so am on my my first steps to Deer Stalking. Re: Mods - its threaded already and I have worked with Carbon Fiber tubing before ...I think I feel a project coming on.

Morning .... My ears are not just ringing they are actually hurting and I had some blood come out of my nose in the shower. My new 'active' Caldwell headset/ears were totally inadequate by themselves with the large bore centerfires even though they are very effective with shotgun. You live and learn I guess, but I wont be doing that again without plugs in too. I think it was shooters each side of me more than the rifles I shot. I now understand comments I read on forums about shooters next to you using large calibers with muzzle brakes. Hope I haven't done too much damage as there is ****** all I can do about it now.

That's very kind Underdog, but it had mounts on it [Off to bed now got 16-19 yr olds to teach all day tomorrow]

I would like a 1st large caliber rifle I could 'play' with and not be too worried if it got a scratch. The Sako was as I said immaculate, the case the owner kept it in was worth a few hundred (not inc.) Underdog is giving me more confidence in it. I NJC - probably me but hard to tell..... the but was like a brick and I have skinny boney shoulders. I'd just fired the SAKO and the recoil didn't bother me a bit...but it had a pad on the end, the Midland 'bit' me quite hard [me= big girls blouse] So I well may not have held it right.

£250-300 would be 'doable' Maybe a bit more at a push, if it was worth it. I was offered an immaculate (300 rnd fired) Sako Forester with a Peco-Berlin scope, but that was £850 even though I lusted after it I could in no way justify that to myself ...or to the misses. ...and you are right , I WANT to spend as little as possible.

That was what I was hoping ... but I'm so keen to get SOMETHING to shoot on the range that I can use with deer that my judgment is in question

Jumping off the bag to the left?

Thankyou for the help Are they that bad? ... why? (£100 quid and local from the club range officer has a lot of appeal)

I am New to centerfire I have just tried out a Parker Hale Midland .308 I need someone with experience to give me a little advice please (Needy Newbie sorry) It has rams head (horned sheep?) and some (for me ) unapealing design on the plate and part of the trigger guard. It has been cut down a bit (couple of inches?) has a sporter barrel and is threaded with a thread protector. The rifling looks fine at both ends and from what I can see holding it up to the light is good throughout it's length with consistency through the throat and a good (maybe?) crown. The bolt has what I think is a long throw and can be wobbled a lot when at full extension out. The bolt was oily and dirty but the bore looked clean. The length was a bit short but with a recoil pad/extension I think it might fit well. The trigger had a very light pull (under 1.5 pounds I'm guessing) was crisp and had no noticeable overtravel or creep. I shot 10 shots off a bag prone with new shiney Winchester ammo and made a four inch group at 100 meters. I knew when I was spot on and knew when I wasn't so I think the rifle will do better than this, it was just I wasn't used to it. This was my first time shooting a large caliber centerfire (over .223) since I was in the CCF at school. (I'm now 50) What bothered me was the rifle jumped to the left (off the bag) on recoil. It seemed to shoot straight (well as much as I can tell - which is of course extremely limited). The barrel was free floated but sliding a note down between the barrel and the stock it snagged a little about 6 inches up from where it goes into the receiver on the left side. Looking at the stock the gap down the right side of the barrel was larger than the gap on the left, only by a bit but definitely visible. The owner shot it for the first time that day at the range as he just bought it from an auction for £75 + fees and petrol. As I'm after a rifle for both deer and 'fun' (rather than truly competitive) range target shooting (remember I'm new to this.) i asked rather impetuously if he would sell it to me for £100. He said OK but at £110 to cover the rounds I'd fired. Is the stock misalignment a problem? Is this why it jumps left? Is this a problem? I know its a 'cheap' rifle and wasn't that expensive when new I'm guessing (It sure ain't no Sako) but is this a good choice for me considering what I want to use it for? I'm pretty skint too. I like the idea of a rifle I could maybe play with... piller bed? Glass bed, refinish stock or camo paint etc so the price is good, but is the rifle? Now I'm panicking about it jumping to the left off the bag.

Cheers Scotslad, good info. The kids want pets - and they liked ferrets they saw at some shelter they got taken too. Well that was the starting point for a low level long term 'pester'. Never having trained a dog for work, my feeling was pretty much any dog could follow a scent. Dogs I had when young were well behaved and would come to heal and not require a lead, but that was the only skill I really needed them to master, I think trainning a true gun dog would be much harder but I don't need to go that far so it sounds very doable. If it isn't it's not critical for deer as you have pointed out. I may have landlord issues and/or neighbor issues with a dog so that is another potential issue. I like your take on ferrets, a good pet and a good working ferret would be the same. I'm getting closer to a decision and it's looking like a pair of ferrets.

ouch lol

******, I just spat red wine on my keyboard!

I didn't know that friend of a friend has lots of ferrets and he has an infra red bulb in his shed so I thought they needed/liked that. Well, learnt something, ta, that makes it easier still.

No wind up Flynny, the wife has said the kids can have a pet.......... So I'm trying to see if can get a pet with benefits! (or did you mean the bit about digging out dogs) ;-)

Would I then be digging out a dog?