LeedsZeppelin

That sums up my thoughts on the subject. A novice should pick the cheapest, readily available cartridge and concentrate on pointing the gun in the right direction. Just out of interest, what is your go to cartridge, @TRINITY?

Regardless of what you do whilst game shooting, it is pure laziness not to pick up empties on a clay ground. The exception been semi-auto ejections that have fallen in front of the firing line.

If you want to shoot 28g (which i would recommend to a novice), or even 24g, then surely the bargain hunter is benefitting from this model? I would suggest that a novice should look for value in getting as many cartridges for their £, not as much shot in the cartridge. After all, if a shooter misses by 3 or 4 feet what is going to be more beneficial to them - an extra couple of gram worth of shot or an extra cartridge to try again? According to CPSA rulings, the only disciplines you can use loads above 28g is Helice and FITASC for registered shoots. Maybe that changed the trend. I know some grounds allow more for practice, but I'd say almost all shooters will still use 28g. I notice recoil characteristics can vary depending on the quality of powder used, but apart from that you are spot on with how much I notice.

Can you elaborate on that? Surely 1oz of lead is 1oz of lead at any price point, unless the cheaper cartridges purposely give you less than advertised? If your saying the pellet count may not be as consistent as more expensive cartridges, would a novice notice a dozen pellets missing from nearly 400 anyway? A gust of wind probably removes more from the shot string at the kill zone.

Use a silicon treated gun sock. They will wick any moisture away from the gun. You can pick them up for less than a tenner and they also protect the gun from scratches etc. If your getting condensation inside the cabinet, put a handful of cat litter in an old pair of the missus' tights (remember to remove the missus first). It will act like a large silica pouch and can be dried again on a radiator. Nothing works better than a correctly placed cabinet, and a proper cleaning regime of your gun before you put it away though.

As a novice, the only difference you will realistically see in cartridges is the price. Find a cheap easily accessible 28g fibre wad cartridge in 7.5 and stick with it. Ignore all the marketing ploys, ignore shot speed, ignore different shot size for different targets - just stick with a cheap readily available cartridge. Thinking about the rest will be counter productive for a novice. Don't be thinking that a faster cartridge is better. Some would say a slower cartridge will pattern better and swapping speeds may lower your score. If you are missing (or hitting) the targets, it will have nothing to do with the cartridge and all to do with you. Only think about changing your cartridge if you have recoil issues, your gun doesn't like the specific cartridge, or where\what you are shooting stipulates a different cartridge. Swapping and changing all the time can negatively effect your score, and play havoc with your mental game.

I worked as a transport manager for a company that operated 3.5t LWB vans and got there through promotion with no relevant qualifications. The company grew then introduced LGVs into the fleet and things got more complicated. I sat my CPC, but was well under prepared for the increase in paperwork and stress involved. The job went from being rather enjoyable to a nightmare. I ended up leaving under mutual terms as it really started to effect my mental health. As @Smokersmith said, you need to be a special breed of person to do the job well. My father-in-law was a transport manager for a large haulage company and loved it though. How he juggled everything was beyond me.

You've got a keen eye! I went to the Blaser website to find an email address to ask them, and ended looking at the caps. They are described as "Cap with tab for the German traditional “Branch of respect” ". I guess that answers the question.

Thanks.👍 I thought they would be some tradition behind it and just having a quick look into it, that sounds like the one. Interesting stuff.

Is there a tradition to adding sprigs to hats? I can understand some styles of hat having a band to hold a sprig, but I'm struggling to believe that Blaser have taken the expense to add one to a bright orange baseball cap on the off chance someone is going to walk around a clay ground with a feather stuck out of it. Unless there is some link to tradition.

It's stitched on the right hand side of the hat or cap. It's there on several hats I own.

I've noticed a cloth loop stitched onto some of my shooting hats, but have no idea what they are for. I learnt earlier tonight that it is called a sprig band - but I'm still non the wiser to it's actual purpose. Google doesn't seem to know either. What is it for? How can I use it to improve my shooting?

I've had a pair for 6 weeks or so, and had about 200 hours in them on mixed terrain and weather. They still look and feel brand new. They are waterproof to the top of the tongue, and feel a little on the warm side. They are too warm for my liking, for this time of year. I find the fit fairly generous and a little wide if anything. Saying that, I'm wearing pretty thin socks with them being a warm boot. Maybe thicker socks will make them snug up a little. I'm finding my feet are feeling fatigued after a few hours of wearing them. The insoles are cheap and already are causing discomfort, so will be replaced when I get round to ordering some more. The soles are not the best either. Although they have plenty of grip they do tend to slip easily on wet stone. The rubber is full of imperfections and moulding lines and the badges have already fallen off. The uppers seem decent enough and well put together They give plenty of support and feel comfortable around the ankle. I can feel where compromises have been made to fit into the price point. If you are on a tight budget, they are worth a look. If you can afford a little more I would consider others.

I'm also interested in taking it, if the deal falls through.

Does the 'Pirate ship' at the far end of the bay belong to an eccentric fisherman? Or is it the boat version of owning a classic car?

Anyone have any information on AJ Rudd guns? I've been on the lookout for a SxS and spotted a Rudd at a local RFD that takes my fancy, but I know next to knack all about SxS's. Any info would be appreciated.

I'm looking for a cheap but usuable 12g over/under. Preferably 30" barrels, multi-choke, with ejectors. I may consider a SxS. I don't really want to spend more than £400, but might stretch for the right gun. I'm located in Yorkshire and can travel a reasonable distance. Let me know what you have please.

Someone is dropping their guard near me. I could go months without seeing one, now they are out on a daily basis.

Pros - more affordable than a house, usually in nice rural areas, usually have bar and restaurant plus other amenities on site, usually a better social atmosphere with neighbours. Cons - most sites make you vacate throughout February, high cost of fuel for cooking etc, badly insulated (cold in winter, hot in summer), most sites make you upgrade your caravan every 7 years or so, not as spacious as a house, lack of garage and garden.

This. I find a pre shot routine helps me keep my concentration levels up, distractions down, and helps me focus on the next pair only and not my score or previous misses. I'm the opposite. When my mind drifts away from the task in hand, my concentration drops and my score lowers. I like to visualise each shot as I load the cartridge in each barrel, take a few deep breaths to maximize oxygen levels whilst adjusting my stance, visualise the break points again whilst mounting, then call pull. Hopefully muscle memory takes over from there. Although I'm far from the best shooter, I appreciate how much the mental game plays in clay shooting. It is similar to golf in the fact that a round can be won or lost in your own head, especially if you dwell on previous mistakes.

Will this set a precedent for all the other terrorists that were stripped of their citizenship to apply to come back?

Same here, and I have two live catch traps set up in the garden. I've not caught a single rat in them - what are you using as bait? When I first spotted the rats I also noticed the doggo was sunning himself and watching the rats scurrying back and forth with very little interest! He would investigate and follow the trails occasionally. I've noticed the rats look to have disappeared now. They seem to have depleted at a similar rate to my stock of .22 pellets. 😉

That's a good way of looking at it. I suppose it shows you are using the decoys efficiently.

It sounds like they have a backlog of paperwork to get through, and are ensuring your ticket doesn't lapse before they get around to processing it. Unless your circumstances have changed which may jeopardise the renewal I wouldn't worry about it.

I find this paragraph rather uncomfortable. Unless I've read it wrong, you (working on behalf of BASC) are suggesting that the entire membership, along with friends and family, should actively engage in arguments and flame wars on social media? Do you seriously believe that mobilising an army of keyboard warriors, many of whom will have questionable literacy skills and knowledge, can be anything but a bad thing? Is this how a 'professional' organisation wants to be represented? Unfortunately, a lot of people regard the shooting community as paranoid crackpot dinosaurs and this tactic will only cement that opinion. Hopefully I've read it completely wrong and it should read something like "we need all members to report any hate speech to our highly trained and dedicated social media PR team who will challenge these through the right channels, and follow up with methods designed to educate the public and show the organisation in the best light possible." But then again, BASC will have to dip into it's newly set up legal budget to do so. In regards to the Dave Taylor situation, I commend BASC for taking action against the counsellor and hope that the opportunity has been taken to educate people about shooting. Hopefully it hasn't been handled in a way that could be seen as petty retaliation.