Wookie

There seems to be a lot of ill feeling on here about this topic. Can I suggest that we all just take a deep breath and agree that cyclists who break the law, just like car drivers who break the law, are idiots? The law allows for cyclists to cycle two abreast and, if conditions suggest it is the best thing, take the primary position. As road users themselves, they should be treated as such by other users, such as cars, so any overtaking should be carried out as normal, i.e. by going onto the other side of the road and not cutting back in sharply or aggressively. On the flip side, if cyclists are being aggressive or stupid, then report them to the police in the same way that you would do a driver. What's the point of getting het up about it or, if you deliberately splash them of brake in front of them, putting yourself at risk of being prosecuted? If it's a club ride, complain to the club. If it's an organised event, complain to the organisers. I know that the ones I have been on have event rules for how to cycle. Lastly though, the "road tax" thing. Come on, seriously? It's been VED for how long now? It doesn't allow you to use the road, it goes into a big pot for other people to take money out of. Besides, I'm pretty sure most if not all of the club riders that annoy you so much will pay VED as well, so have as much right to be there as anyone else.

Except that they had not crossed over... Have you not seen the photo of the handheld Garmin unit showing the Lat/Lon of the boats when they were captured?

The change in spec is often due to the change in situation of the platform being developed. If you're fighting a conventional war, and expect to be doing s for a while, you want stuff that works in that environment. If you change to something else, the widget that you ordered might be useless and so will either have to be canned before delivery or changed before deployment. Think about how much money the RAF spent making it's whizzy new fighters capable of dropping bombs. Or putting the cannon back in that they had originally ordered, then had removed. Think Navy with the carriers' catapults and arrestors. In the meantime, the Army gets to use 30+ year old rifles with new bits bolted on and Landies.

I remember seeing telly something about new handgun/pistol sales in the US having something similar, but that may have been on CSI, so your mileage may vary on how truthful that is. To be honest, it makes a lot of sense.

I could probably find people round me that would take game off your hands on a regular basis. Nothing like the volume of a game dealer though. Maybe try Franklins of Thorncote?

Aye, petrol stations are always a good bet for things like this, although the last time I got cloned it was at a small supermarket.

Aye, but residuals are a double-edged sword. Good if you buy new and sell on, poor if you want to buy an affordable one second hand. Have you tried finding a decent one for less than 5k? I'd not considered the Expert or the Dispatch... Off to look at Autotrader right now!

Too small for bikes sadly. I see where you are going though. I've driven a Vito in the past and, whilst it's still a van, it's quite car-like in it's driving and parking. Same with the VW. However, step up to a Sprinter or an LT35 and suddenly you have to start worrying about car parks and parking spaces.

I know what you mean. I have a soft spot for the Vivaro/Traffic series of vans, but they are a bit too big and van-like for the job that I have for them. I need something a little more car-like I think.

For a while now I've been looking at buying a small van, something like a VW Transporter or a Merc Vito, that I can use as a mobile shed for when I head out with the bikes, dogs, hiking, that sort of thing. The idea is that there will be enough space to store most of the stuff I need in the back, without having to hang things off the rear that could potentially get nicked if I have to park for a few hours. At the same time, a van would allow me space to get changed and have a sit down and would give the dogs a bit more space to roam and get comfy in as well as keeping them out of the sun. VW T5's seem a decent choice and the engines are the same as in my Passat (and the wife's Golf), so parts should be relatively cheap and the Vito is a pretty comfy van to drive, even though they all seem to rot a bit more than the VW's. Both seem to be a bit expensive though and so I was wondering if there were any other vans in that sort of class that I should be looking at. Any ideas or any good places to buy either of the above from trustworthy sources for sensible money?

I went for a Remington 700 VSSF (heavy, fluted 26" barrel) in .308win. It's got a 1 in 12" twist barrel and, using 155grn 2156 Sierra Match Kings, can put five rounds into a less than 1" group at 200m. The same load will go to 1000m and I'm planning on using that for Bisley in May. The rifle itself was pretty cheap (compared to some) at roughly £800, with the scope (Leupold 6.5-25x50 LRTT) being about the same. It's a lovely rifle and relatively cheap to reload for; certainly it's cheaper than buying match ammunition at a pound a shot. I'd not want to use the rifle for stalking (but I could) as it's heavy as hell and the calibre is not ideal for long range shooting (6.5x47 would be better for example), but it suits me and it's lovely to shoot.

The article makes that clear: Training can only go so far in getting a soldier to put a round on target first time at distance. If it is cheaper to enhance a soldier's capabilities in a single technical purchase, then that is a more effective solution. No, it's not right, but we need to face facts that not all soldiers can shoot at the highest level. And I say that as an RCO.

Best go for a Large. My issue ones are large and, despite being a touch on the short side, are a decent fit for a 36" waist.

If you can head further north to Grantham/Newark way you could try Philip out at Fallowfen.

As above, what a fantastic animal! Please tell me that the head will be mounted.

Congratulation! Best wishes to your wife and new sprog, get some sleep though, you'll need it!

Third Eye Tactical do one that looks quite good. I was looking at getting one for my .308, but I'd rather spend the money on reloading kit right now. A mag conversion is a "nice to have" right now, and means messing about with a Dremmel.

Funny you should bring up wasp stings... Got stung by one of the little ****s yesterday at about 5pm. Yes, it was a hot sting, but I'm a man and can take a little pain, so thought nothing of it. Ten minutes later, the sting site is a little bit red, but not too bad. By the time I got home 90 minutes later, my hand is red and a bit swollen. By 8pm, the swelling has reached past my wrist. By now, I've had two antihistamines and have decided to see the GP the next day. After a dire night's sleep, I wake up and the swelling has reached about four inches from my elbow and it's only where I slept on my hand that it's gone away. When I finally get to see the GP, he tells me that there's nothing really to worry about, it's not infected (but here's a prescription for antibiotics just in case) and he doesn't think a referral to the allergy clinic is worth it. Basically, just tubigrip the arm and keep it elevated (impossible, it was my mouse arm) and maybe ice-pack it. I can't remember having this reaction the last time I got stung, but that was a long time ago.

Leupold. Possibly a bit out of your price range, but the 6.5-25x50 I have on my .08 is a lovely scope.

As above, why not? But, at $40 a pop, it's probably not for everyday shooting. Or everyday targets. I suspect you would need mammoth or APC on your ticket for this to be granted.

Recently purchased to be a "one ear defence to rule them all", I've found out that these nearly new Peltors will not fit under a Mk. 7 helmet and so are effectively useless for half the shooting I do and must therefore go. Despite the problem with under-helmet size, these are a superb pair of electronic ear defenders and offer what I think is the highest level of noise attenuation of the more tactical orientated Peltors with an SNR of 31. In addition to this, they come with a noise cancelling boom microphone and a 4 pin XLR connector for comms/PRR connectivity. With the right connectors, this could be set up to do hands free for a mobile phone. The official Peltor link is here: http://peltorcomms.3m.com/World/Product.asp?PageNumber=935&Product_Id=190&ProductCategory_Id=97 £75 including tracked delivery to the address of your choice, or £70 collection from the Cambridge area. Drop me a pm if you would like more photos or more information.

Lucky man. I live nine miles from a sleep town called Cambridge, but can barely scrape 3 Mb download. Our village is at the extreme end of what broadband can reach and is owned fully by BT. Alas, the area served by the exchange is too small for them to put fibre in, so we are stuck in the middle ages for broadband (well, the year 2000).

Lapua and Norma for me, probably in that order.

Ah, Falcon Raptor light hunters... I PXd my FN12 for a CZ452 and still miss it. A lovely little air rifle that.

I love the look of the long range version of those GRS stocks, but that's a hellish amount of money to pay for a stock that doesn't include a magazine floorplate. I think, for now at least, I'll stick with my modified HS Precision. It seems to work, although my next purchase will probably be a Third Eye magazine conversion.