buze

That looks pretty handy -- with "room to grow into" it seems! :-) I was looking at a 34" perazzi in EJC gun room yesterday. I always say that if you want heavier barrels, you could just have to wear a heavier watch! But then again, I'm the guy with now 2 (wildly different era) 32" SxS :-) Yes that's what I've seen on the various shooting shows over the last few years, mostly ~1500 quid -- I MIGHT cave in for that new gun which is worth quite a bit (my most expensive gun, vastly more expensive than my reasonably fancy O/U clay gun!), but really, not for my poor "Whammy" hammer gun that is worth less that that case, unfortunately. Also, it's an old whammy, it needs an old case, with patina.

I wish! but no, I've got a lead for a case that will take a 32" SxS and doesn't come at "bespoke" £1500 but as it is, nope, no case I've been looking got 4 years for a case that will take my 32" hammer gun and haven't found one either.

That "continental" AYA model is almost perfectly identical to the Arrietta Continental, the action is pretty much the same, and of the two guns, the only /visible/ difference is the side of the fence, otherwise, they are pretty much the same model, same handling. I was lucky to swing the 3 guns, and spend quite a bit of time inspecting them, the Arrietta variation is a notch shorter, have a sligthly lower comb but seems to handle pretty much the same, the action is as beefy, finish very very similar (as they should as they are apparently finished here). Trigger might be a bit different of course - I only shot ~80 clays with the one I'm getting. There was an article in The Field about the Continental (Arrietta, from 2017) and our old favourite writter was waxing lyrical about it. Strangely (don't mark me down for this) it was pretty much spot on of my conclusion after shooting one! The reason the Arrietta is more expensive is that /that/ gun is not owned by EJC but by the owner who is selling it and not willing to move on price. I had made an offer (reasonable) -- It is a stonking gun, but, it seems, overpriced. The one I'm getting has a tiny play in the forend, and the trigger on the second pull has a tiny bit of play, nothing their competent gunsmith can't fix I'm sure. (*famous last words!*)

No this one is based on an AYA #2, AFAIK they come to the UK in the metal and get finished here. The previous generation were made by Arieta, but they got bust (I saw a Continental from that era, very very nice, but ~5K more somehow)

So, a bit of closure for the AYA#1 that failed proof story. Turns out the delays I was quoted are way too long for me to want to wait. Especially since it involved importing/exporting a gun right across the Brexit deadline. Sod it, there are plenty of other guns. So, heres what I've found. EJC Continental, 32" barrels, semi-pistol grip, single trigger, 3" chambers, slight beavertail forend. Built like a tank, it's about as heavy as my clay gun, is a perfect fit without any modifications. I've put a deposit on it, hopefulluy get it once it has been serviced. Gun is one of a pair (can't justify a pair of guns really, I don't so that sort of days!) and as been used perhaps 4 times by someone who switched to O/Us since. [img][/img] [img][/img] [img][/img]

Thanks for the last few pages guys, hadn't followed for a few days but it was a nice funny exchange, very un-pigeonwatchy! :-) You guys are getting soft, you're supposed to snipe at each others, with one liners with bad grammar :-) Still no news for my poor blown up AYA, however, I have a few lines in the water for nice SxS. Given I have a "large" amount of money that I've already spent once already, I'm quite keen to get a chance to spend it a second time on something :-)

I used to shoot CompX, I now switched to Eley Select -- they are 70mm (longer than CompX) have /perhaps/ a bit more kick, but just barelly. Extremely soft in comparison to most other I've tried. Very good value too

Now I wonder if at some point, you could get a "deal" on a new set of barrels from AYA? Could that explain that just the 2 of you have a gun with 2 barrels sets? @JohnfromUK aren't "new" AYA (the one in the catalogue, #1, is nearly 20 grand new!) come with HP proofed barrels? Also, I wonder about the 'balance' when using both sets -- is the heavier set pulling the center of gravity forward quite a bit? (mind you, I LOVE the center of gravity being forward a bit, my hammer gun is 32" damascus (!) with center of gravity perhaps 1/2" forward and I absolutely love the feeling! horses for courses!)

@JohnfromUK really no need to appologise at all, your questioning is perfectly legitimate and was very nicely put as well, which is much appreciated. Thank you for that, I think this forum could do with a lot more of civility. I wouldn't think i would want to put /super/ heavy load thru that fabled "one game gun" but since I had been 'caught short' with my damascus hammer gun on a day where quite a few lovely malards showed up and all I could do was stare and wave at them, I *wished* I had a slightly beefier gun for that sort of circumstances. Perhaps if that AYA #1 had been "my" gun for a while, I would have questioned a hell of a lot more the idea of having it reproofed, and yes, perhaps as everyone seems to say, I would have declared it "a bit too ligth for that" but at that time, it was not (yet) my gun, and I only had shot a few clays with it, all I could really do was trust the "experts". Also, my experience (not /extensive/ TBH) of "normal" steel load is underwelming. The time I picked up a duck that had been solidly broadsided, but was still alive a good 20 minutes later once we finally found her, having traveled considerable distance in a lot of pain and was going to die slowly there afterward, I was not impressed at all. Call me a softy! Thus my requirement of "HP" because since then, I've been shooting these RC3's in 32g #3s and they've been dropping ducks/geese *solid*. Luckily, perhaps I'll get the best of both world with a new set of barrels, proofed from the factory. I'll update the thread once I know a bit more. I'll also post anything else found about the failed barrels, in the interest of the nice few people on this threads who can write more than a rude one liner 😉

I was going to thank @JohnfromUK for questioning very nicely and positively the motives, but then again another "Pigeonwatch Special Needs" lands with both feet in the soup just afterward ruining the rather nice discussion so far. @JohnfromUK I went to the shop with one particular need: One game gun, SxS, steel proof, fitted. I want something for small game AND ducks geese on occasion. This particular gun did fit the bill even a bit better than I expected, as it has 30", round action, self opening etc etc. The guys at the shop (It's Sportarms, with multiple branches and gunsmith on the payroll) having measured the barrels, they declared THIS could be reopened to 1/2 1/2 (my request) and HP proofed. They have done several before (not AYA), so as far as I'm told, everyone was confident it was a "given". Note that this gun ALSO went to teague for re-chocking and they didn't flag a problem either, and they must know what they are doing... Thus the story so far. It was not "reckless", as far as I can see, it was an accident. It was an accident that makes me beleive there migth have been a defect that *might* have shown with normal/heavy lead loads in the future, so I'm quite glad this occured on a bench instead.

Thanks for all the input guys, very informative. I saw the barrels today and yes, visibly bulged. A few things I learned: + They had measured the wall thickness and they were in perfect condition, well within spec, so it was a "no brainer" that it would pass. + It was NOT a set of "lightweight barrels" as perhasp we thought Sportarms are going to get the barrels x-rayed to try to understand the problem, as they have a lot of request for re-proofing for steel from people with very expensive guns, so having a failure like that but learning about it is actually valuable in the long run. This failure could be a combination of perhaps a defect in the steel, or, perhaps, a repair that was so good as to be 'invisible' but weakened the steel anyway. So it's /possible/ it was actually out of proof /as it was/ -- a bit chiling. In any case, all is perhaps not lost, as they are going to see if a new set of barrels can be made within my lifetime (jocking) -- in which case, it could take 6-9 months, but I will get HP proof from the factory. At no cost to me, so since I already had given up on using this gun this season, I might take the plunge and wait some more!

I'm also of the school that wink as my head touches the stock. I'm left eye dominant and shoot from the right shoulder. I don't think it's a problem as you get both eyes to aquire the target, judge speed and trajectory and only go to monocular vision when you need to shoot. Binocular vision is *not* a requirement to judge distance, it helps a lot sure, but up to a rather short distance (something like 25 meters, or 30 yards tops) after that your brain uses contextual vision to judge distance, like size of stuff, background and so on. There was a rather excellent scientific paper a while back that explained all of that. The brain is in fact very clever with 'context' to judge speed and distance, which explains why single-eyed shooters can also be very good. Now, the only problem I had with my "winking" practice is that if the sun is low and from the right, a couple of times over the years I reflexedly did shut my... right eye instead of my left. To much hilarity.

I only went there once so perhaps it was a bad day. I thought the facilities were great; as mentioned if you shoot sporting MOST of the stands are facing in the sun (well, you're in wales so it might not matter as much as other part of the country!) but I thought what let the whole place down was the owner there. I thought he was quite disagreable in some way I can't really put my finger on, like he didn't really want us there or something. Sufficiently so that we never bothered returning. Completely based on a single sample on a single day, for all I know he is a wonderful chap etc etc but well if I have to drive nearly 2 hours....

We go to Dovey quite a lot, especially since Mid Wales is now a caravan park Over the last 2 years they worked a LOT on the grounds, traps, and facilities, it's really nice to see. I didn't shoot the open (I was fishing on Clewedog reservoir!) -- how were the targets? One thing which I moan about a bit is that the normal targets are a bit 'gamy' -- ie, flying flat. There's not a single battue in sight, or loopers for that matter. I mean it's still fun to shoot, but up to that point I thought they should add a few more 'modern' clay targets. Having said that, I have no idea what the Open layout was, for all I know, they added them so I might be all wrong (and quite happy to be!)

When I looked a while back they were doign something similar to Chapuis (fitting, option selection etc). Certainly "good value" if it's the case? Need to find a distributor. I had a look at the Parallelllo and I don't like it at all -- quite frankly it really looks cheap, perhaps it's the model that has been for sale at Emmet&Stone for years and others are better, but really meh.

No I just wanted HP steel; I've shot RC3's 2"3/4 for a while and they are HP, but not magnum. The gun *had* to be rechocked and therefore reproofed anyway as it was 3/4 and I'm pretty sure you can't shoot even "normal" steel in more than 1/2 anyway. And in any case, I'm glad this happened without my face on the gun -- PERHAPS the gun failed way short of the HP pressure, we'll never know.

I assume so, but I don't have the details, I'm going to see the gun tomorrow and take pics of the failed proofs, and yes, I'll forward the story to FieldSport Channel & BASC. The guys didn't beleive it when it came back, as they didn't even bother to tell anyone, just shipped it back as failed. Said they sent 8 ot 10 already and it's the first one that failed, in a way rather 'happy' that it's a "poor" man's gun that failed instead of one of their fancy stock costing £££££(£) -- but that from now on the reproofing will be at the buyer's risk!

Early in the year, I bought a #1 AYA from the 80's, specifically to have it reopened to 1/2 1/2 and proofed for steel. There were countless arguments at the time about it not being necessary etc etc etc but anyway, I wanted the proof mark... Lockdown happened, then proof house taking 4 months to do anything and I was told yesterday the gun *failed* the proof... Bulged both barrels just at the forcing cones; the theory is that it was especialy lightweight barrels, and therefore less metal. Anyway, luckily, since it was part of my order, I'm getting a refund, and I'm therefore back on the market for "my" game gun. SxS, steel proof -- I was pondering Chapuis a while back, but I'm not sure they are still /entirely/ in business, as googling find just one distro, and I'm not sure their catalogue is current... Any other option?

We are pondering having pups next year, because we want a daughter to our current dog -- but I'm a bit worried about having the rest 'for sale' to stupid idiots with money. I've been pondering ony selling to "Working" famillies, ie pet gundogs, with a discount. My worry is that yes, you sell your pups under the market price, and the buyer just resell it straight away afterward for twice the money.

I changed from "The Field" to "Fieldsport" last year, the mag is amazing in hand, the quality of the print, the pics, and the papers is just nothing short of amazing. I don't read /everything/ but it's almost a 'coffee table book' give the care and quality they put into the printing. Makes "the field" looks like a sunday newspaper gimme in comparison.

My guerini Invectus V, when new, was a nightmare to clean; required the old driver + rod + loads of work to get it sorted.... It took a while, but it's not super easy to clean somehow, with no magic, motors, or drivers. I just now use a chamber brush, and and old (stighly stacked) chamber brush to so the barrels. 10-15 go with the brush with the cleaner, then a clean(ish) bore snake to remove the remaining, and it's all good. I have no idea if it was the machining, the finish inside or a combination of both, but it DID get much much better, so perhaps don't 'invest' into tons of kit as the problem might just disapear after a few more tousands of shots.

I had a X3 for 7 years, and now have an X5, and I love them; as everyone has mentioned, the tyres makes all the difference on the terrain, the X3 had P7s which were surprisingly good on snow and mud, the X5 has P Zeros "sports" tyres which I'm not going to event going to try on anything slippy. I tried the audi, the mercs, and the land/range and I prefer the X5, for normal driving on A road, the ride and response is WAY ahead of the others. You can actually enjoy driving (even tho it's the size of a bus). The Audi and RR were particulartly dire trying to drive them, you press the pedal and can count ONE, TWO before the car starts to move, it was embarassing really. Not even mentioning trying to make a corner without getting sea-sick. TBH I havent' tried the porshe -- I just got lost on the website trying to spec one and gave up :-)

I completely agree with that. I think the "lockdown" in *this configuration* is doing more harm than good. Either you do it, or you don't do it. If B&Q can be 'open' with 'social distance' stuff on, every single shop can. However we KNOW that that 2m rule isn't really /enough/ and masks are very likely a /very good idea/ and all that jazz, but seems nobody seems to mind. They half understand a litel set of rule and then think they are safe. Also, I leave near slough and it's been looking like a bloody holiday camp for 2+ weeks, nobody seems to give a damn at all about it, and THAT is going to make the virus thrive and make it last even longer, and hurt way more shops (that aren't B&Q that is)

So what about all the other, smaller shops, why can't they open? With the same restrictions? Curerntly a lot of them are just dying; while the big ones are now open. Now and what do you tell the cops if they stop you on your way to B&Q? Is that "essential"? And if not, why are they allowing these shops to open? I think it's pretty ridiculous TBH.

There might be a surplus of buyers as well soon enough. When all the expats dump their property in Spain/Portugal/France to try to move back here after having been stuck away from the home country in sometime, medical deserts...