London Best

Have a yellow wizard, but it’s,er, yellow. I remember using them in the 60’s but can’t remember where I got them from.

Thank you Gunman, I admit to not knowing how the safety on an O/U worked, never had one to bits. What I think is sad, being old school, is that people are being taught to shoot and not taught that the safety catch is on before you load the chambers and is pushed off as part of the gun mount. Years ago that was the only acceptable way.

As you already know, a safety catch only locks the trigger/s. That in itself could possibly prevent a negligent discharge in the event of a trigger being accidentally tapped or caught by something. Someone has already pointed out that no safety catch can compensate for stupidity. I think, better to have one and use it than not. Belt and braces sort of thing. In the final analysis, muzzle awareness is everything.

I shot one day last season on a small walk-up/knockabout day. Three of the other guests were from a gun dealers. Each of them loaded his gun as soon as it came out of his car and placed it, broken but loaded, over his shoulder. Their guns were carried like that the whole day except when expecting a shot, even throughout elevenses. At one point one of them handed me his gun to climb a fence. I took the opportunity to upend it and tip his two cartridges in the mud. He sort of got the message and didn’t hand me a loaded gun again, but continued to stand chatting with the gun held the same way all day. Unacceptable? Is it just me or is this OK behaviour for the modern clay/game shot? PS I won’t be going again!

That’s another pet hate, scarf substitute. Totally unacceptable.

Nobody should RELY on a safety catch, but I have yet to see anyone with a non-auto safety catch that ever uses it.

And then when the clay shooters shoot game .......most of them still don’t use the ruddy safety catch! One of my pet hates, seeing people who want to stand on a drive with the gun broken and when a bird comes close the barrels to the stock as they mount the gun. Straight through the beating line.

A gold medal buck when he’s clean.

A very clever way of showing that, thank you. It is a phenomenon of which I was not aware. Very interesting.

Don’t forget that American 6 shot is Uk no.5

Guns never murdered anyone, it’s the people behind them.

A good friend of mine, who owns a large gun dealership, told me that his best-selling .22 is a semi auto Ruger 10/22 that looks like an AR15. I was shocked and disgusted. I thought, who on earth would want a .22 that looks like an assault rifle. Then I realised.............wannabe Rambos.

Yes! All day long.

There was nothing wrong with the shot. It was the target which was wrong.

I just think that being seen with ‘military look’ firearms does our (UK) image as sportsmen no good at all.