adzyvilla

thanks for the replies guys, I will let him know tomorrow.

The land has already been approved for FAC as his father controls rabbits with a .22 there (or at least he used to, I do most of the pest control there now). My friend would not require any sort of variation, just what his father already owns.

Hi all I have a question to ask on behalf of a friend of mine, and any advice/personal experience would be greatly appreciated. The friend in question is a farmer of some 90 acres in Norfolk for whom I do a bit of pest control and decoying. He has never been interested in shooting, but his father, who he shares the running of the farm with has both shotguns and rifles for use on the farm. Now I have been on to him for some time about getting at least his shotgun certificate. His father is in his 70s and is gradually withdrawing from working on the farm and will one day retire, potentially leaving my friend without access to the guns. So, upon further badgering he has finally agreed to do something about it. So my question is thus: should he apply for the shotgun certificate and obtain that first, before going for his FAC at a later date, or apply for them both at the same time? I dont know how he would stand going straight in for both. I have no doubt he would get a shotgun certificate without problems, but i know the process for the FAC is more stringent, especially for new firearms owners.. I hope someone out there can shed some light on the situation Regards Adam.

my old boss had a pair of beretta 20b eell guns with 30" barrels and they were lovely to shoot both game or clays when he let me borrow them. I had a 32" mk38 sporterised trap which was wonderful for clays but useless on live quarry. I now have a 32" browning b525 which I seem to be pretty hopeless with whatever I shoot at, even though the two guns were pretty similar. But i will always come back to my dads old 20b miroku 800 as a hide gun, can't be beaten in my opinion for weight, handling, pointablility and fit.

Hi Ditchman Had 9 windows done by Total Home (Norwich) which was less than you quote for 1 door! We are very happy with them and would highly recommend. all the best

Composite laminator in motorsports and aerospace

Went along today, got there just after 8:30, left just after 10:30 and I wasn't rushing either. Third and last time I will be going. £17 is quite a bit to pay for what is essentially a glorified car boot sale, especially when the prices are 50% higher for most things than they would normally be, We've all seen the chainsaw demos and all the other usual things so its not even worth going for the entertainment value. I blame both the showground and the vendors for the 'show inflation', speaking to a few of the exhibitors, the costs are huge, so are passed on to the punters (£4 for a bacon roll?!?). Gunmakers row is always a supreme disappointment at the smaller shows, just not worth the expense for them. Still the mrs bought some clothes and was happy mooching and trying all the booze samples. CLA way too expensive now, Sandringham too small. Its a shame as I used to really enjoy going to country shows when I was a kid, so I too would be intersted to see where everyone else is going.

I moved up to Norfolk from Guildford for work in 2009, we rented a house in a village around 4 miles south of Norwich called Stoke Holy Cross for the first 2 years, and then bought in Dereham. My wife has worked in and around Norwich (Bowthorpe, City Centre and Plumstead) since we came up here and has had very few problems getting in and out of the City at peak times. I found it very easy to fit in here because most of my family already lived up here (my dad came back after 50 years away) but on the whole have found most people are friendly and providing you have a good sense of humour you should fit in too. I work in Wymondham and find that is a lovely place, also has a main line train station and good schools. I'm not overly familiar with Norwich and surroundings as a place to live, but talking with others, I'd say places to avoid would be Bowthorpe, Costessy and Drayton which are very crowded and there are the odd diddycoy camp around. Trowse, Bawburgh and Horsford have always looked ok when travelling through, but inside the ringroad, I don't really know. My sister lived on the Unthank road in a great big victorian house that had been converted to flats, but thats mostly students around there. Being a country boy, I wouldn't like living in a city, and there are some really nice villages a stones throw from Norwich which are worth a look, but whatever you decide I wish you good luck and hope I have helped.

don't discount Reading or Basingstoke. They will be a bit cheaper (but still expensive) house wise than the greater london locations you are looking at, will be more rural on the outskirts and are within commuting range. Good sized towns with good rail links if you like that sort of thing... Also, dunno if it would be a bit too far (more M3 corridor) but my home town Woking and surrounding areas aren't massively far away.

Thats exactly what I did, FLO loved it, and it makes a useful storage space for all my shooting kit and clothing too.

I have some hunter balmorals with full length zip. I'm a size 12, and the boots are a snug fit in size 12, thick socks included, but no worse than my old le chameaus. My wife however also has hunters and struggles with calf width when wearing thick socks. I think the ladies boots are shaped slightly differently though. My advice is try before you buy. Good luck Adam.

i'm going to my first one of these, and i haven't shot for a while so i look forward to seeing you all there.

Dont be rediculous..... they will never get off their fat lazy benefit scrounging ***** long enough to do any of those things. :)

I grew up in Guildford and there are quite a few private schools in that area (Charterhouse, King Edward VIII etc.). I went to my local comprehensive and we regularly played competitive sports against them (I played football, rugby and cricket), and we usually got stuffed I might add. This was 15-20 years ago now, but i'm fairly sure it still goes on. As a point of interest, my school boasted a dry ski slope and a table tennis centre, and many local schools (fee paying and state) used to use our facilites. I don't remember us ever using any of their facilities though.

I used to work on the ranges at Bisley and I saw a pair once on the track behind the century butts. I knew exactly what they were because my dad kept quail and other birds when i was a nipper. They may well have been feral ones as that isn't exactly quail territory but it certainly surprised me.

thanks for the replys guys, i have shot at mid norfolk (taverham) before, but i think I would prefer to have a go at one of the local ones. so i will look into your suggestions. I also think I have seen that one in Beeston (fair clays), so I might have a gander at that.

Its just the way he is. I'm sure I haven't got the patience for all the nagging it would take to get him down the range. If it was real pigeons, that would be a different matter.....

I'm looking to get back into shooting after a bit of a break and was wondering if there is anyone out there in the mid norfolk area who wants to do a bit of clay practice some time? I'd ask my old man but he is very grumpy

I am probably a little biased but the quality of coaching and facilities at Bisley are extremly good, probably worth any extra money (although I think you will find it's not as expensive as you think). I worked there for 5 years as groundstaff, and I have seen a few different grounds all over the country and none have been quite as good for range and type of targets. That said, southdown are also very good. I can recommend a coach if you are interested.

i'm starting to think theres no other type of bird in norfolk......

Hi there I am new to the forums, but not shooting. Thought it was time to join in so here I am. . Had a bit of time off from shooting in the last few years, more through circumstances than choice (although I have kept my hand in), but i'm looking to get back into it again a bit more. Game and pigeon shooting are my main loves, but I worked at a clay ground for 5 years, so I like a bit of sporting too. Anyone in mid norfolk who wants a shooting buddy and would like to help someone get back into the sport, let me know. Hopefully I can contribute to the forums and I look forward to talking to you all in the future. Regards, Adam