Keith

I use a combination of a Bushwear pop up hide with a built in seat - which gives cover from above and behind - and then four telescopic poles with ex-military camo netting strung across them in a crescent shape. Not too heavy to carry for a few hundred yards, gives cover and shelter from rain but you can leave space between the seat and the hide so you are not cramped by the pop up hide's size. As one of the guys above said, it's not just the hide, it's keeping very still until your decoys draw the birds in close enough for a sure shot. And clothing that helps break up your outline helps. My wife was as good, if not better, at clay shooting than me until she broke her shoulder in a fall and has not now shot for five months (has a nice light Beretta 12g game gun sitting in the gun safe). Good luck.

Sounds like my day shooting in Suffolk y'day. I was shooting over rape stubble and had a well placed hide, a magnet, bouncer and well spread decoys. Lack of wind and periodic misty rain seemed to keep pigeons away. No flocks around just scattered birds. So I went home with three. Still, it was a day out in the field and not in the office. Another two weeks before I can get the time to go again! But the birds are in the freezer so it wasn't a wasted day.

I'd back up the Miroku 3800 suggestion. I've got one - cost me £775 earlier this year but with a gunslip and some other accessories thrown in and a 50 bird try out session before I paid. It's quite heavy, but then I prefer a heavier to a lighter gun. 38s are good too and if you shop around I don't think you'll have trouble finding a good one for £700.

I think I've just found it - was this the story? "Councillor guilty of killing gull A Devon district councillor who shot a seagull to stop it spreading disease has been found guilty of intentionally killing a wild bird. Dr Brian Boughton, 62, of South Ford Road, Dartmouth, used an air rifle to shoot the seagull that had nested in his roof. He denied the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act section 1(1)A offence. He was conditionally discharged for a year and ordered to pay £400 costs by Totnes Magistrates on Wednesday. Dr Boughton, a Labour member in South Hams Council, said he was acting to protect public health and safety. Magistrates ruled he was not acting within the terms of a government licence that permits householders to shoot wild birds on their property in certain circumstances. " Interesting one - is a gull nesting on your roof a pest? I shall have to be careful.

I will take great care and have another word with my police mate. Thanks for the warning - I'll also try to trace the case online.

Haven't seen that eport - but I am using an air gun (not a FAC one) rather han my shotgun. Though did the teacher use an air gun and did he lose his SGC for using an air gun?

I appreciate your viewpoint and your inention o alerting me to a prblem, but have checked the Defra website - which makes no stipulation about domestic or farming land. It says the following: Licence 1. The purposes for which this licence is granted are preventing the spread of disease and for preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters. 2. Subject to the terms and conditions below, and for the purposes set out in paragraph (1) above, this licence permits: (i) any authorised person to kill or take any of the wild birds listed in this subparagraph, to take, damage or destroy their nests or to take or destroy their eggs. The wild birds are: Greater Canada Goose Branta canadensis Crow Corvus corone Dove, Collared Streptopelia decaocto Gull, Great Black-backed Larus marinus Gull, Lesser Black-backed Larus fuscus Gull, Herring Larus argentatus Jackdaw Corvus monedula Jay Garrulus glandarius Magpie Pica pica Pigeon, Feral Columba livia Rook Corvus frugilegus Woodpigeon Columba palumbus (ii) the use of a semi-automatic weapon by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above; (iii) the use of a cage trap, the dimensions of which do not satisfy the requirements of section 8(1) of the 1981 Act, by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above; (iv) in relation to the killing or taking of Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) only: (a) the use of any device for illuminating a target or any sighting device for night shooting, by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above; (B) the use of any form of artificial lighting or any mirror or other dazzling device, by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above; (v) the use, by authorised persons acting under subparagraph (2)(i) above, of any net, except the use of any net for taking birds in flight or the use for taking birds on the ground of any net which is projected or propelled otherwise than by hand. On the basis of that and the verbal advice from my rugby colleague who is a Met Firearms trainer, I'll continue wih what I'm doing. I bought the airgun specially to et rid of pest pigeons that damage my soft fruit, eat seeds I've planted and eat all the seed I put out for wild birds.

Absolutely right Pin. Luckily I get on v well with my neighbours and they know what I'm doing and have no objections, but as the pellets don't go near the road or anyone else's property, I'm OK anyway. Always good to check though and keep on the right side of people. I envy you your St Albans shoots. Permission is hard to find around Harrow. Working on some contacts in Oxfordshire and even around King's Lynn. This Friday I'm off to Suffolk to shoot through Anglia's operation there. As a former rugby player you'll like the attached link, I hope. http://www.landrover.co.uk/Microsites/engl...videofile=shirt K

It is pest control. The pigeons eat vegetable seeds I plant and cherries that I have growing in the garden. Luckily, a member of my rugby team is in the police as a firearms trainer and is on the local firearms licence committee - I asked his advice before starting. I also work with a special constable who works in the area and is a qualified air gun trainer - she said it was OK as long as I could say exactly why I'm shooting them (other than for sport and to eat them) and as long as I didn't shoot within 50 foot of a public road or into any other property. So I'm pretty sure I'm Ok on this one.

Definely have a few lessons - intersperse them with shooting with someone who has, as the others who've posted suggest - a bit moe experience. That way you an practice and tenet ay specific problems ironed out during the lessons.

This cheeky ****** was stealing food I put out for the non-vermin birds. And he took a dump on my bird table. One in the neck from my Cometa at 25 yards and the problem was over. The meat is cooling andwill go in the freezer. An advantage of a 180 foot garden, I can shoot with my air gun without any danger of pellets going into neighbourin gardens. see the attached picture

When I fixed my safe to the wall I used six long bolts (just under 6 inches) going into threaded sleeves. Before I screwed the bolts in, I squirted in some quick drying cement. I also put four long wood screws through the bottom of the safe and into the floor boards. the firearms officer who came around (true it was quite a small woman) hung off the door of the safe to try the grip and it didn't budge an inch.

I've got and would totally recommend a Cometa fenix 400S carbine. had it for a year. very accurate, powerful and good pigeon killer with a good set of scopes added. You can get one for under £175. K

Especially hunting hippo that close - they kill more people in Africa every year than any other animal. Would serve him right to get bitten in half. I'd guess by the mullet and general look that he's an Afrikaner showing of after too many brandy and cokes. I've been on 15 safaris in Africa over the last 25 years and made radio documentaries on conservation and hunting there. Like with BASC and responsible hunters here there are sound human, conservation and economic reasons for backing responsible and organised hunting in much of Africa - but lions are getting in pretty short supply and are rarely pests like foxes; and leopards are not so common, so shooting them is dodgy in my view. Buffalo and hippo are in plentiful supply, but the guy in the video was just shooting to show off. It was killing for the sake of killing. I can tell you from personal experience, that hippo meat is v good. Needs long slow cooking and don't have it rare as hippos pick up lots of waterborne parasites. I ate hippo when i was working in Malawi and local people had killed one that was raiding their maize fields.

Good shooting. Try this website - they advertise them for £12.00 plus p7p: http://www.field-sports.co.uk/shooting.asp

Head is the best - I hit three pigeons y'day. 1 in the chest and 2 in the back. all using Bisley Magnums and all at about 25 yards. To my horror, they all flew away. I know I hit them as I saw and heard the impact and saw the feathers fly. But then the birds flew too. I'll have to stick to head shots as I don't want to just injure them and leave them to die slowly when they've flown off.

One of the best films for insults. the quality of the swearing is almost as good as In the Thick of It. My favour Hartman/insults: Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: How tall are you, private? Private Cowboy: Sir, five-foot-nine, sir. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Five-foot-nine, I didn't know they stacked **** that high. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Were you born a fat, slimy, scumbag puke pieca' **** Private Pyle, or did you have to work on it?

I go to A1 most weeks and still enjoy it, but I'm still a relative newcomer. But that high tower midi is a swin to hit and can be quite dispiriting. They've also taken out some of the better targets recently and replaced them with ones that seem to break a lot of clays on launch or are so unpredictable that you give up. But I've yet to find a better ground within a reasonably distance of Harrow. The West London targets one is OK but irritating to get to from where I am. Is Claudio the tallish, quite thin, balding guy who drives around the place in a Merc estate? if so, then I've never seen him smile either.

It's a shame you can't shoot over Wormwood Scrubs playing fields. I work near there and often do an hour's walking at lunchtime. I would say on average I see 2-300 crows, 40-50 magpies and about 150 wood pigeons every lunchtime. They take little notice of people. it would be very good shooting but I think the dog walkers and prison warders might object!

Smoked venison and asparagus: 250 g of thinly sliced smoked vensison Fresh asparagus lightly boiled Sour cream paprika Lightly boiled the aspsragus and then wrap 2 spears with a slice of the vension, pour on a dollop of sour cream and shake am little paprika on top. Repeat until you've used up all your aspaeragus and venison Great starter with toasted ciabatta and a good meaty red wine. K

Wood pigeon roasted with bacon and prunes/plums: I do this whith whole, plucked and skinned pigeons but you could do it with just pigeon breasts by cutting the cooking time down: Wrap the pepared pigeon in smoked bacon (streaky is best as it is fattier) - say three rashers to aligeon. Push dried prunes or dried plums between the bacon and the pigeon. Wrap in foil (leaving the top open) and place in a roasting tin. Pour 2 glasses or either red wine or cider over the pigeon and add some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 45 mins (max - maybe check after 35 mins) at 190. Pour off liquid from cooking, add a little tomato puree, fresh thyme and some more oil and a little water to make the gravy. Serve with roast potatoes and green beans and fresh peas. Worked v well when I cooked it last night.

Amazing video mark. Never seen that before. Lions sometimes come off worse - these pictures show a big male I saw in the Kalahari in botswana last year who'd got on the wrong side of a porcupine. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=82146&id=575461418 http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=82147&id=575461418 http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=82149&id=575461418 And this lion had been killed by something else - maybe another luion - and stripped bare by vultures and jackals

Thanks guys - lots of good advice. I'll take good care of my plums - don't want them sahrivelling in this hot weather.

Thanks LB. Will try that way with the next one I bag. K

Having shot ten woodies with my air gun in my long back garden in Harrow over the last couple of weeks (the latest at 8.00 last night), I'd welcome tips on skinning them. I like to skin the whole bird - so i can roast them with smoked bacon and dried plums. My method of plucking off the breast feathers (after removing the head, tail, wings and feet), slitting the skin and peeling it back over the breasts, what remains of the legs and then off the rest of the bird works reasonably well but is fiddly and takes time. It also means pigeon feathers everywhere. Is there a quick method that I don't know of? If - when I shoot over a farm through Will Beasley later in the month - a i bag a load of birds it will take hours. Obviously just plucking the breast and slicing out the breast meat is much quicker, but I like to cook the whole bird a lot of the time. Ta K