nickofh

Hello there everyone , fairly new to the forum and wondered if I could join pump club too. Had a little bit of stick for going for a pump as my first shotgun , as I was advised to get an O/U for safety reasons. But I also needed something to be guaranteed to shoot steel as my shooting partner often feeds what he has shot to his hawks. So a cheap pump action seemed a good choice as in my head it should be more reliable and safer than a semi. Here it is , Hatsan escort pump ex display. Very pleased with it. http://|http://thumbsnap.com/uYofHA7n

Yes I fully agree , whilst I have only had my shotgun for a week ( and fired about 10 rounds at a static target ) I have been comparing covers and clubs such as BASC , SACS , Countryside alliance , ssa etc. So far it seems to me that SACS seems a reasonable cost and a good package. I do think I have some cover with my comprehensive home insurance. Included is £2million Public Liability. Having read my policy wording carefully in the last few days they cover the private pursuits of me and my family. Under the not covered section it reads " The use of firearms other than sporting guns used for sporting purposes " I know that this is not as good as BACS for example , but what do you think of it ? I fully intend to join a shooting club in the future with more cover as I consider myself to be a responsible person , I would also imagine being able to get more permissions with a more recognised cover , joining BACS or SACS etc also helps protect this sport doesn't it? Thanks again Nick

My home insurance covers Home emergency( including boiler and central heating ) for up to £1000. Which is a damn good help if needed, the insurance is with AXA and was not anymore expensive than most covers without it ! As my boiler is five years old now been thinking about getting it serviced and homeserve include a service in their boiler cover that starts from £2.00 per month. You would be mad not to have any cover at that price.

I find ebay often takes some beating for the price on batteries. I you do use Euro car parts - who I often do make sure you use every discount code going to get the best price possible! Put your number plate into ECP and get the battery number , then do a search for the batt number on ebay and you got a good comparison there! Good luck!

Duckman91 & HDAV Some real good advice, thank you and the rest of you! A used o/u it is I reckon and on the land subject , as I rent a unit out on the land maybe this kind of makes me an occupier with the permission in writing too hopefully it would be ok if I did introduce him. I like to share so probably wouldn't have the heart to say no! :-)

Thank you so much for this advice, maybe you have stopped me getting into bother as I was thinking that I could borrow the land owner my shotgun in my presence. They are a good family and good friends so they will understand. For the moment then I think I will show him my .22 air rifle ( with scope and laser ) I think he will be happy enough with that for now!

This was exactly what I was thinking. I am not worried about getting my hatsan escort dirty in the field , that is what I bought it for and I wanted to know for sure that I could shoot steel no worries. Perhaps I am wrong to think a pump is safer than a semi. I just imagined that since I have to manually load the next round I would be a little more in control than with a semi. Thanks so much everyone I cannot believe the level of support and advice you have all provided me with on my very first post. You could teach some of the guys on the motoring forums a thing or two! Plus no one has laid into any of my posts yet either! Let me ask you one other thing. The land owner where I have my first permission ( I work their ) has kind of asked if his 13 y/o grandson can have a shot with my shotgun , whilst I am there of course. I will of course explain safe handling , how to stand , use the lightest load I have and only load one cartridge in at first. Would it be legal for him and the land owner to do this ? Thanks again!

I think that is a lovely looking gun , probably at the top of my list if I went for a semi. Maybe a fusion evolve too..

Glad you asked really. My friend who has very kindly offered to take me on his permissions ( who is a former game keeper ) suggested an over under as a starting shotgun , for mainly the safety reasons I think. He was also the one who kind of pushed me to move from a .22 air rifle to a SGC I needed a gun that I know I could shoot steel through as he uses the pigeons shot to feed his hawks with. I could not afford an over under that was proofed for steel until my birthday gift ( 1st child on the way ). So looking round , pumps were the cheapest with a full warranty and I would think are slightly safer than a semi auto. I can't also deny that I do like the pump action too. I also think that in my limited experience a sem iauto isn't quite as good of a hand me down as an over under. So I think I will keep my eye out for a used premium brand. I fully get the car analogy and would much rather have a better used car than a poor new one. But it is because I have quite a few used things that I fancied a new one for this special gift. Thanks again for the advice , I think you have convinced me. Does my reasons for a pump make sense though?!

Thanks again for the sound advise. I really am torn at the moment, please don't think of me as a snob for wanting a new one. I am more than happy to have many things used in life but because this was something I intended to have forever I thought it would be a bit more personal if it were only in my family. Not sure to go new or used just yet or maybe a new semi auto from browning - maybe fusion evolve , what do you think? thanks again everyone for your replies and warm welcome's!

Hello everyone , thanks for the warm welcome! I know this is a shooting forum but I was blown away ( oh dear ) my the quantity and quality of the advice you have all given me. I particularly like the idea if I can find something from 1984 and if that something were made in Japan I would be really pleased. Perhaps I should stick to one of the used named brands that you all suggest. But if you could only buy new with £900 MAX to spend , which would you go for and why ?

Hello everyone. Just wanted to say hello as I am new to the forum and to a degree this kind of hobby ( a hobby for me ). I was recently granted my licence and to get started I purchased an ex display hatsan escort pump, which I'm thrilled with. I have been lucky in that my friend has some permissions already and his partner is a gundog trainer who we have had a lovely little working cocker from. As I have a my rough shooting gun I would like a bit of advise on my next one. My 30th is coming up soon and my dad is really keen on the idea of getting me something to keep / hand down etc, So I have said a shotgun would be perfect. He thinks this is a great idea too! Problem is I don't really know where to begin with it. I know I want a brand new gun, the budget at the MAX will be £900 and I think an over under would suit me and the purpose well. What brand is the best bang for buck , that offers good quality, reliability and will outlast me? Brands I have looked on the net. Lanber , Franchi, Lincoln , Webley & Scott , Bettinsoli , Revo, Hubertus , Silma. Please help me choose between them. I like the look of bettinsoli I think and would like one that's made in Europe ( Italy or Germany , UK ideally! ) Thanks very much