Westward

Birchwood Casey makes a water based walnut stain which really makes the figuring light up and can be easily thinned to allow gradual darkening to get it how you want, but obviously it only works on dry, stripped wood. BTW, raw linseed will harden if you add some Terebene driers. The same stuff used by manufacturers of oil based decorating paint to accelerate drying and probably also used in 'Secret Formula' stock oils.

I'd make 2 suggestions: 1) Don't listen to range gossip. The 68x series guns are immensely reliable and the locking system hardly ever gives any trouble. 2) Go and find a proper gunsmith who will fit a new locking 'U' bolt and check the alignment and condition of the locking holes and make good if needed. At 4,000 rounds it's barely run-in. For a 686 that's about the equivalent of 4,000 miles on Volswagen Golf!

The only issue with these is the same as with the other 690s, the SV10s and also the 692s. Namely the ejectors. They are user switchable to extract and when the selector 'O' rings become worn or broken they can intermittently fail to eject and simply extract instead. This design was introduced on the SV10s back in about 2009 and immediately ran into this problem. Despite 2 or 3 re-designs Beretta has never found a permanent fix. When they aren't in denial about the problem I believe they recommend filling the selector housing with silicon grease to damp down the vibration which stresses and degrades the 'O' rings. Obviously, if you only use extract mode there's nothing to worry about.

Just for the record Beretta Optima chokes are matched for Optima bores of a nominal .732" whereas Mobil chokes are matched for the old standard Italian bores of .724". In other words Optima chokes are about 8 thou bigger at any specified designation.

Hmmm. Not convinced about any of that except perhaps marginally less felt recoil. Nigel Teague told me years ago that Beretta chokes pattern tight and with a particularly tight centre. That was certainly my experience with the Optima HP chokes (as used in the DT11). The concern is that with a less dense outer pattern, the margin for error is smaller than with a more even pattern such as a Perazzi with Teagues. Shell choice makes a big difference too. I ran 1000 Power Blues through my CG and didn't see a single smoker but as soon as I went back to my usual FOB Vipers I was getting some smokers again. Some guns like some combinarions of shells, chokes or both more than others.

Polyurethane finish was around in the 70s and it was different from the modern types in being near indestructible.

I bought a Silverline SDS Plus drill for not much money. I've used it primarily for breaking up concrete and brickwork prior to hard landscaping work around the garden. It works, it does what I want it to but although the chisel bits are fine and have lasted well, the supplied masonry bits are rubbish. I've never bought cheap hand tools and likely never will but I've no complaints about the drill.

It is a commonly held belief but in tests by shotgun geeks it seems the opposite is true. Looser chokes = longer shot string and is thought to explain why a quarter choke can break a 50yd crosser. I'm not convinced but that's what I've read.

I had one with 29" barrels for about 18 months. Made by Sabatti and functionally identical to the Browning Medallist but with upgraded wood. Didn't have any problems with mine but broken ejectors are a known weakness with this model and I recommend you inspect them very closely for signs of cracking. Otherwise they're probably about the best of the budget Italian guns from the 90s.

Longridge is usually open Saturdays for practice.

Be that as it may, if there is a problem with barrel machining tolerances known by a choke manufacturer such that a proportion of their chokes may fail then who's fault is it when it happens? Both in the US and seemingly here too, the makers point the finger at Beretta, even to the extent of publishing a picture of an allegedly near new original Beretta Optima choke which was split. Quite how that would justify the long standing reports of failed Mullers escapes me, particularly since the Beretta choke pictured had a build up of carbon indictating that it was not only far from new but had been used extensively when not fully tightened down. I don't buy the story that it's Beretta's fault. If you know there's a problem and you can't fix it, your product is not suitable to be sold.

If my house went on fire just about bottom of a long list of things that I'd be worrying about would be a couple of thousand shells. I keep them upstairs in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom and if the Fire Brigade attended I'd tell them. Think about it this way. If there were real danger of explosion from fire we'd be required by law to store them in a fire proof environment.

The stock geometry is per standard Beretta sporter. As always weight varies by an ounce or two but Greenfields in Salisbury have several in stock at a typical 7lb 12oz and they always weigh their listed guns. I used to own a rare 32" Prevail 1 and it too was that exact weight. A bit light for a clay gun, but recoil was never a problem. The colour scheme isn't to my taste but then I'm an old ***.

Had half a dozen shots with a GMK demo 30" 690 the other day. I liked the general handling, it felt exactly like the Prevail 1 which is hardly surprising since it's mechanically identical. But, as with the Prevail 1 and just like the Gold E, it's a bit too whippy for my taste in 30" and I would definitely prefer it in 32" for sporting clays. What I didn't like was the chequering. Very coarse and sharp which made it uncomfortable to shoot - and I don't have girly hands.

Whilst I agree that it has little to do with real country life I have seen them include clay shooting clips at least twice recently and without any judgemental comments. However, Adam's bloody sheep still dominate those (ever decreasing) parts of the show that aren't simply travelogs from around the country. What the BBC fails to understand, not just with Countryfile but right across the board, is that impartiality and relentless political correctness are mutually exclusive.

The software requirements are so simple that they could have hired a contractor for a week to produce it. Seems to me they operate like the public sector, the board put themselves first with no interest in the membership, no attention to cost efficiency, no proper business plan and no concern for financial waste. For example: Why do they have huge legal bills every year? Some relatively small fees are a normal part of running a ltd company, but they seem to have constant litigations going on which indicates to me that something's seriously amiss with the "management" of the organisation.

"The Siberian Husky IS the breed closest to a wolf. Recent DNA testing proves the Siberian is one of the oldest breeds in the world. The way a dog gradually came from a wolf happened like this. The early paleolithic peoples always had wolves following camp. They accepted the most docile wolves near camp. They bred the most docile wolves, with other docile wolves. And over many generations came the dog. They used a process called "selective breeding". They bred the dogs with the qualities they liked most. Like all domesticated animals, the desired qualities and traits were kept for breeding, and the rest were not allowed to reproduce. Very few domesticated dog breeds can withstand temperatures of 60 below. This can only come from the wolf."

Agree with all the above. This type of dog with it's beautiful coat, bright eyes and eager expression may look like a living, breathing, soft toy, but in reality they're not as cuddly as they look. There's plenty of wolf in their heritage which gives them tremendous endurance for dog sled work but also a strong instinct to run down and kill prey. If there's any type of dog that needs proper training and strict control it's Huskies and their derivatives. Based on what I see around, my opinion is that at least 80% of dog owners haven't the first idea about keeping dogs under control.

I may be a comparative newcomer with only 15 years of clay shooting but I can honestly say that I've never, ever heard anyone say anything complimentary about the CPSA. I agree that they are a necessary evil - and don't they know it? I think there are ways pressure can be applied to make them more accountable, but because they are totally disinterested in listening to the membership and happy to force the resignations of anyone who seeks to improve anything, that pressure would have to be external. A rival organisation isn't going to happen but we, the membership, could use various means to make their lives less comfortable. But it's a certainty that complacency isn't going to work.

That level of engraving doesn't come cheap and if Beretta can get away with dressing up the 686 and calling it the Jubilee then surely Browning can do the same with the 725 and call it B15. At least you can see what you're paying for with the B15 - unlike the Krieghoff I was looking at the other day selling for £11,000...

I'd take a wild guess that the 'JMB' stands for John Moses Browning...

At renewal time. If you get sent on an awareness course instead of a fine you won't need to mention it at all.

And what use is a shotgun to a drug peddler? If he (or she) is found in possession of stolen electronics or jewelery they get a slap and 10 hours community service which they ignore, but if found in possession of a firearm they go down. Also, assuming our drug peddler actually knows how to fence out a shotgun to the criminal fraternity, he or she will find that a Baikal is worth the same as a Krieghoff and rather less than a decent camera. If you're really worried, stick your guns in the back of your car until the viewers have all been through. You could also legally leave them with a shooting buddy for up to 3 days. My feeling is that if you involve the police they'll insist that you store the guns either with them or an RFD.

Absolutely right.

I'm mystified by the question. Secure storage is simply to prevent unauthorised access to firearms. What does it matter if a prospective buyer sees your cabinet?