Andy_Roo

Hi all, Thanks for the replies. All sorted, just showed the copy I made which was fine as they only needed to note down license number. Thanks again for all who replied with useful info. Andy

Hi All, Just a quick question I want to put out there to the PW massive. I have recently moved address, and being a responsible SGC owner, moved cabinet, sent notification to issuing force (West Mercia) via their website as well as posting license back with covering letter detailing old and new addresses. What I didn't do was stock to ammo cupboard before doing this!! I have a colour photocopy of my 'old' license as well as copies of all the communication sent to West Mercia. According to their website, amendments are currently taking approx 50 days to complete (but I can't wait that long!). Aside from the obvious 'ask a friend to buy on their cert' (which is an option), has anyone done a similar thing in the past and be able to still buy using the details on their 'old' cert? Whenever I have bought carts in the past, the RFD normally just glance at license (it's in a wallet) to check valid dates and note down license number on there system etc. I won't be trying to pull a fast one, but wondered what general thoughts were on just presenting the copy in my holder and saying nothing to RFD versus being open and honest (my preferred tactic) and providing all paperwork to support, or just ask a mate and wait for new cert to arrive? Any thoughts ladies and gents? Andy

Licences held before 1 January 1997 If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997 you’re usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg MAM. View your driving licence information to check. You’re also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM. Source: https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/driving-licence-rules-and-what-you-can-tow

All practical, you need to know the 'theory' behind safe loads, how to secure trailer correctly (which will be part of the test as well). Just like the car test the examiner will ask you about general car maintenance when on test such as washer res location, tyre tread depth etc. The Prac test is more about how you handle trailer on road, positioning and safety etc. Hope that helps! Andy

Gonna throw Grffin Lloyd just outside Knighton in the mix as well, should be an easy run from Shrewsbury 😀 Gonna throw Grffin Lloyd just outside Knighton in the mix as well, should be an easy run from Shrewsbury 😀

Get yourself down to pound land or savers and buy the blue cleaning rags that come on a huge roll, take one sheet and cut into 4 patches. Each patch can be folded in half length ways then wrapped around the bronze brush (after a good barrel scrub with plenty of cleaner). I personally find passing around 6 - 8 of these patches per barrel gets all the residual gunk out and leaves the barrel very clean, I then pass the wool mop through twice with Legia spray. Have been using the same wool mop for about a year now and it looks almost as clean as new, never been washed but used in the correct way after a good cleaning of the barrel and the mop should last a long time. Andy

Did mine last year after finding the same out (ie passed driving test in '97 but missed the Jan cut off by a few months). If you have previous trailer experience then the practical should be easy enough. Just need to show the examiner the correct way to hitch and unhitch. It's all formal stuff like the car test, correct approach to trailer, safe loading, hitching sequence and trailer awareness. I'm sure if you towed before then you'll be fine, might be worth a quick lesson prior to any test just to make sure If you passed your car test pre Jan '97 then you're fine, if after then you are restricted to 750kg braked until you have B+E entitlement.

That's good for a 'first' outing! I remember my very first proper sporting day out.... Think it was around 20 from 100 but I had a great day from memory. As long as you enjoyed your day, stayed safe and left with a sense of wanting to do it all again then it was a success! Many many more days out to be had in sure 😀

Have used these on clays many times and found them to be a good cheap effective cart. As others have said (poss read on other posts), a load like this (28g 7.5's from memory??) should do the job nicely.

That's the benefit of a claymate system (or similar) used by some grounds I shoot at (Griffin lloyd as mentioned by Buze). Everytime you call for a bird it adds 1 to the tally, you pay at the end (minus any no birds which I always note down + location). On other shoots I have been to it's a pay before scenario and then off you go. This has the benefit of allowing you to 'look' at a pair for 'nothing' before shooting but can be open to abuse as well. If the community of shooters look after the ground and do not take the P**S then surely we all win in the end? Maybe the shooters in the OP are new to things, or just chancing. Perhaps after the quite word they will return with a more understanding approach :-)

Had a very old outdoor coat (non waterproof) which reacted very well to the 2 stage washing machine approach of using the NikWax TX products. It's now waterproof and has been used quite a few times recently without any leakage (label says its a poly cotton mix but that's all). Just make sure no taped seams as they can come unstuck! All the best with your 'project' Andy

I have an MK38 owned from new since Feb 2015. Mainly clays with this one, would estimate 6000 shells through it (1000 English Sporter's, 5000 Hull SuperFast). Recently bought a 1952 Belgian SXS which has had around 500 shells through (Hull Superfast) all clay.

Not much help but never used them, always found CPC or promatic ones to be all I need (promatic trap). Have used CCI in the past but they tended to have the occasional shatter from being knocked by the knife when loading. Try a box and see how they perform, be sure to adjust any knife separators (if applicable) on th trap as different clays can vary some in dimensions (enough to cause issues with consistency anyway!). Andy

Glad you enjoyed the outing 😄 I had a solo run over there yesterday as well and had a good time, few silly misses but the weather was superb which helped me forget all about the missed clays and enjoy the views from the top end of the valley.

You can buy MS office for Mac but it's rather pricey, I prefer to use iWork's which gives all equivalent packages but at a cheaper price (Word > Pages, Excel > Numbers, PowerPoint > Keynote). All iWork's packages can export formats that can be read by MS office products but with much more usability. All existing MS office packages can be opened using the equivalent in iWork's. I regularly send word docs home from work and open in Pages to edit then send back.

Agree with above posts, have had my MacBook Pro for the last 7 years and it's been hassle free. Used many windows laptops before then which always needed replacing every couple of years or so. As long as it's looked after, a decent macbook will last for years.

Thanks for all the advice peeps, much appreciated! Andy

Move along..... Nothing to see here.... Maybe just being paranoid / responsible gun owner, only seeking advice.... Not having a meltdown yet!

Thanks for that info Phil, just in the early phases of getting house ready but keen for advice on those that have been there before. Cabinet is in a cupboard in house but not locked, could always hide it with an old dust sheet!

As title says, will be holding some open house viewings in the very near future, my cabinet is hidden away but am a little concerned that snooping eyes may stumble across it (I know what I was like when viewing to buy house). Should I inform FEO or just stay close to peeps viewing and not let them go off by themselves? Any advice welcome! Cheers Andy

I have a couple of motorbike cable locks that fit through the barrel of my shotgun. If I plan to shoot after work during the week, I take gun to work and lock barrel in boot with a cable passed from breech end to choke end then secured around a metal loop inside boot (one used for luggage nets etc). Forend comes with me in a back pack and is locked in desk draw. Stock / receiver is locked with trigger lock and then hidden in boot as well. I've never 'advertised' my pastime to work colleagues and made sure my security is always done away from prying eyes (ie either on drive on morning or corner of car park being mindful of surroundings). It's about taking reasonable precautions to make your firearm as inaccessible as possible.

I can feel a PW meet up looming...... Who's interested???

Have been going there for the last 6 months or so (once every few weekends) and can't recommend it enough! Very relaxed shooting, great variation of targets, plenty of traps to choose, superb vista as well. There's a nice little 'novice' area when you first go to the sporting section, nice to get your eye in on. Once you start off up the valley, the presentations get more demanding but there's plenty to choose from. Targets danger from standard, mini, midi and rabbit. Priced well, free coffee in club house too. It's a cash only premisis so go prepared. Also no food other then some kitkats unless they have a big event on. They also have ABT / DTL and Skeet setups which host regular compa for those interested. Well worth a visit in my opinion! Andy

Have always been a 'manual' driver but current car is BMW X1 Xdrive Auto and its superb. Great for towing horse box, great off road as well s in city driving. Fuel economy is slightly less than manual (approx 42 V 46 mpg) which a good friend runs. Bonus is much easier to drive and actually more fun in some ways with and 8 speed auto box. Guess it's down to individual choice. Andy

Only a thought, how do you fair on clays? With the different presentations you can see on a sporting layout, do you still have the same issues with driven / crossing / away birds?