DeepThought

Hi all We'll be bringing home our first working springer in a few weeks and I'm starting to think about training. It's been a good few years since I trained a dog and the first time I've ever trained a gundog so was looking for a decent book on the matter. There are loads out there, all of them with good reviews and I'm not sure which one to get. Ideally I'd like something that will set up a good foundation for his gundog training when he starts it and uses similar methods regarding reward and discipline. I guess I'm more of a Barbara Woodhouse than a Cesar Millan in my approach to training but happy to adapt to more modern ways if that's the current thinking. I'd be grateful for any recommendations you have. Cheers

Good idea I'll check with the RFD. Out of interest how do you mark the return on the ticket? I see sold, let on hire, given and lent on there but no "returned".

Hi I'm going away for a couple of weeks and have agreed to stick my guns in someone else's cabinet while I'm gone for peace of mind as I live in a fairly high crime area. Do I just write it up on his ticket as a loan or do I need to put something on my own to say I'm not in possession of it for the period I'm away too? Also does he need to notify the firearms team of the transfer and do we need to do anything when I take it back? Bit confused by the whole process really, it'd be easier if I just sold them to him and bought them back. Don't want to write too much up on my certificate unnecessarily, there's only half a dozen slots on the thing as it is and I'm not kidding myself into thinking I'm done buying guns. Cheers

I think the article shows a complete lack of perspective. Obviously 100k poisoned birds is not a good thing but it is a relatively low figure compared to those lost to things like cats and road deaths. Presumably these are mostly wetland birds churning up lead shot from before the ban, therefore surely the ban on lead for wildfowling is doing everything it can, I can't see what help banning lead over land will achieve. Personally I'd prefer a change to the law to reflect the Scottish system where the land you shoot over determines the type of shot you use rather than the quarry species. Currently in England could quite legally shoot a pigeon with lead where the shot falls over wetlands but would have to use steel to shoot a duck over a field.

As of this morning the BBC is running this article: Lead poisons '100,000 birds annually' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34861602 Looks more than a little one sided to me, someone's definitely pushing an agenda. The argument against gets about half a paragraph and no mention whatsoever that there happens to be a 16,000+ signature petition in place.

What cartridges did you use? I ran my Beretta semi in with Gamebore Black Gold cartridges. They were the punchiest 28g load I could get and they loosened up the action nicely. I have since acquired an Armsan A612 for wildfowling and found it cycled those horrible English Sporter things without issue from the outset. A punchy 28g load will work the action easily as well as a regular 32g.

Greetings fellow Portsmouthian from the Baffins contingent. Looks like there's more of us than I thought.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've ordered a pair of Ocean thigh waders. Hopefully they'll hit the mark.

Page 11 of this document from BASC has details about wildfowling permits on Lindisfarne. http://basc.org.uk/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=806 The link should be to a PDF document.

Thanks, that's a few suggestions to be getting on with. Can anyone tell me the difference between Vass 600 and Vass 700 (apart from "about 40 quid")? Is it just that one is a chest wader and one a thigh wader or is there something in the quality? Cheers

Hi I wondered if anyone could recommend a decent yet not bank breaking pair of thigh waders? Every pair I look at, cheap or otherwise, seems to come with a story about how they leaked on the second outing or similar. I'm not too fussed about how warm they are, I just want something that won't leak. I'm open to suggestions. Cheers

Hi I'm sorry if this subject has been done to death lately, but I'm hopefully finally getting myself out on the mud this weekend and wanted some advice about cartridges. Firstly, the only gun I currently have is chambered at 3", does this rule out taking geese with steel shot or would a 36g size 1 load be sufficient? Secondly, does anyone know where to buy them on the south coast around Portsmouth and the surrounding areas? Many Thanks DT

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll make a few tweaks to my technique and see how I get on.

Hi I'm noticing a theme in my clay shooting in that I am reliably missing low quartering targets. Anything above eye level I seem to be fine with, but as soon as the target is level with or beneath me I can't hit them for toffee. My cards are generally looking OK everywhere else but these stands are putting my averages way down. Oddly I don't seem to have this problem with the rabbit stands, though I'm not sure how they're really much different. Does anyone have any ideas where I could be going wrong? I'm wondering if my gun mount is different when I'm looking down on the target or maybe I'm just putting the bead in the wrong place. Cheers

Hi Just wondered if anyone knew anything about these? http://www.ra-sport.it/it/Sovrapposti%20Eos.php Just seen a load of them appear on Gun Trader but can't find out much about them. They're about £800 and Italian, that's all I've managed to find out. I'm not necessarily looking to buy one, it just always interests me when a budget manufacturer turns up, looks like a direct competitor to Bettinsoli... or equally likely the same company.

Good for you. I don't know what Northumbria are like turning these things around but hopefully they won't make you sweat for too long. I can remember all too well how torturous it is trawling longingly through gun trader whilst waiting for that brown envelope to arrive.

Maybe I'm being a little cynical here but I think I'd rather have 3 rounds that cycle reliably than 4 with an increased chance of jamming on the second.

Hi As we have a fair few knife experts among us this looks as good a place to ask as any. My cherished Wüsthof cook's knife has been slowly losing its edge over the last few months to the point I just can't hone it with the steel like I used to and I think it needs something a little stronger. Can anyone recommend a decent combination whetstone for general use? I've looked around online but I'm completely blinded by choice. Thanks

I'm just going by what others have said before, I did acknowledge that I could be being a bit precious about it.

I suppose that raises the question, is the Escort any more disposable than the SX3? Maybe I'm being a bit too precious about the effect of wildfowling on a gun. What sort of lifespan can I expect to get out of a gun that has had a hard life on the marsh? I don't mind spending a little more if I'm going to see that investment turn into a notably longer lifespan rather than just ruining a better quality gun.

Thanks for the replies, seems I still have a lot to consider. I must admit I was only interested in the SXP because it's the most cost effective gun with a 3.5" chamber. If there are 3" shells out there that'll do a decent job of geese without breaking the bank then that opens up a world of budget semi auto, or even O/U options too. I'm treading a fine line between getting a gun of reasonable enough quality whilst also being mindful that it's going to be exposed to the salt marsh on a regular basis.

Well I haven't purchased anything yet but when I have felt tenderised by recoil it's always been in the shoulder. That said it has usually been as a result of 50 shots an hour on clays with cheap cartridges. If I managed to get 50 shots off on the foreshore I'd be writing books on wildfowling.

Hi I'm looking for a cheap... perhaps almost disposable... wildfowling gun for use on the salt marsh.. After much research one of the options that stands out to me is the Winchester SXP Waterfowl. I wondered if anyone who owns one could tell me what the recoil is like with heavy steel loads like the 3.5 inch Mammouth cartridge? I want a gun that can kill geese effectively without having to use cartridges that cost £3 a bang but I'm dubious about what a 3.5 inch cartridge in a 7lb pump is going to do to my shoulder. I do appreciate that a soft shooting, hard hitting wildfowling gun for under £400 is a big ask, and maybe a little unrealistic, so I'm open to other ideas. Cheers

Yes I unblocked it straight away, just thought it was amusing that Gun Trader was considered an adult site. If they want to see what a proper adult site looks like they're welcome to check my browser history.

Well this is a new development. The guys at Sky Broadband have started blocking "adult" websites before 9pm. http://i.imgur.com/3udoMVx.jpg You can unblock it easily enough but it grates a little that Gun Trader can be somehow considered an adult website. My lad is on there all the time since I implied I might kit him out with a .410. I'm feeling a bit misunderstood.