Poor Shot

I see it as more of FITASC shooting themselves in the foot. Accredited staff and grounds that are willing to hold FITASC events for the everyday individual are already dwindling. Threatening staff and grounds with a punitive ultimatum is a pretty stupid thing to do if their aim is to further grow the sport and ensure it's future in the UK. Steve Lovatt of Westfield and Garlands shooting grounds, who are a significant part of the FITASC scene in this part of the UK, has given FITASC events the boot following this announcement. He seems like a pretty principled man who won't soon forget this and being a farmer, I'm sure the more profitable super sporting and ESP events he can now hold in place of FITASC will be much preferable. It seems like its just some petty frenchmen throwing their toys out of the pram because some arab oil money is being spent on holding a super sporting event rather than a FITASC event. These high level, elite and ultra exclusive events will come and go but the staff and grounds that run the day to day events they have potentially alienated over this will be a bit harder to regain. The threat in the later part of the letter to shooters taking part in super sporting (most likely aimed at GD for endorsing the FMSC super sporting event) is pathetic. Do they really think that potentially making pro shooters who take part in super sporting events no longer welcome or eligible for FITASC events is strengthening the interest in FITASC? GD has a god like following amongst some in the UK and it would be really easy to alienate all of them by barring him from future FITASC events over this. Ultimately It's their ball and they can do what they like with it but they can't then complain when nobody wants to play with them anymore.

Yeah, I'll be out before first light for the first flight of the season. Unfortunately, following this cold (relatively), wet and windy weekend next weekend is forecast to be 23 degrees, bright sunshine and little wind so not ideal conditions. We also have the 1st being on a Sunday this year which will preclude many from shooting where Sunday shooting is restricted. Our clubs marsh spans the boarder of two counties in which Sunday shooting is only permissible in one county meaning anyone from the club going out is confined to the less productive half of the available marsh. Hopefully there will be a few Mallard and Canadas about to make the trip worth while.

The wildfowling club I am a member of handles the whole meeting scenario quite well. There are monthly meetings but the only mandatory meetings are the AGM and August permitting meeting. Meetings are strictly formal and related only to last meeting minutes, current agenda and any other business. There are no informal chats, no circles of oldies swigging ale and telling tales and we are pretty much in and out within an hour. They have a closed Whatsapp group for anything raised in between meetings which is strictly moderated and anyone reposting jokes, memes, pornography etc are immediately clamped down on. Suits me perfectly as I really couldn't give a toss about fowling in the 70's and tales of times gone by. I'm all about the shooting and nothing more. That said, there is a Christmas quiz evening which is quite enjoyable which I make an effort to attend every year. Members wise the club holds a pretty consistent membership level with new associates every year. Retention rate of associates is a bit poor but I suppose that's the nature of wildfowling. Being crouched in a smelly reen, up the knees in mud with no guarantee of even getting a shot off isn't for everyone but those who love it tend to stay long term. The cost of annual membership is less than a 30 bird driven day but even with less than ideal tides and weather you can still average 15+ flights per season. Good value IMO.

Just Cartridges have always been a lot more expensive than other retailers and you also have the £20 delivery charge on top. As an example, Fiocchi F3s 7.5 28g plastic: Local RFD - £291 per 1000 J/C - £311 per 1000 or £331 delivered. I'm not sure if it's because J/C are based near London and people are used to being ripped off with London rates for things but £20 more than the average RFD is a bit OTT.

My thoughts also. It's exactly what NatureScott and Scottish government wanted when they introduced the licensing scheme. First to go will be the smaller, private shoots as licensing would be too much of a hassle to make it worth while followed by the bigger shoots when licensing become more and more onerous as time goes by. Eventually grouse shooting goes the same way as fox hunting and is consigned to the history books. The same as the game bird release licensing scheme in Wales. Just a method of banning shooting without outright banning shooting and one day we'll all look back and wonder *** happened and where did it go?

I would have thought the key is to find a cartridge that works for you in so far as they fit within your budget, are available locally and instill you with confidence when you use them. Fiocchi tick all three boxes for me. Some find them to be thumpy but I'm not that recoil sensitive and I like a good shove in the shoulder. It makes me feel that the cartridge works and is getting the job done. I shot the Pro One Challenge at Barbury yesterday and there were a lot of Fiocchi cases and boxes in the bins (I quite like to look through the bins during breakdowns and delays). Out of my squad of six shooters, four of them were using Fiocchis from TT1s to F3s and Official Rossas. Fblu 24gram 7.5s are a brilliant cartridge and I use them for most practice and coaching sessions. I've broken some surprisingly long targets with them when using them as a second barrel in FITASC shoots. Only issue is that they are plastic wad only so use is restricted to grounds that don't have wad restrictions. Fiocchi litespeeds are a good fibre alternative that perform well and don't break the bank. If available in your area, Cheddite Rapide 27g 7.5s are also a good alternative. A cheaper copy of the Hull superfast with almost identical performance characteristics.

Yes, with respect and kindness. Take a look at the spent cartridges in the bins of any open competition that took place this summer. At least 40%, if not more, will have been Fiocchi. The reason you don't see top level shots using Fiocchi is simply down to sponsorship. Most AAA class sporting shots with a half decent social media presence will be sponsored by Hull, Gamebore, B&P etc. They are paid to promote the brands and will be doing so at every possible opportunity. Even If competition rules state a particular cartridge is to be used, they'll still ensure that they're photographed with a box of their sponsored shells, thank their sponsor in social media posts etc. It's one thing the UK brands do well is ensuring that they are well marketed and well exposed. Max Tarr (a well known AAA class sporting shot) is sponsored by Lyalvale Express, Jonny Carter (TGS YouTube) by Hull, George Digweed by Gamebore and Richard Faulds by Eley for example. Being an Italian company it's no surprise that the majority of their sponsored shooters are Italy based. They do have one sponsored shooter in UK ****** *****. Personally I use the Fiocchi F3 range for all competition shooting. On par if not better than the Hull Pro range IME and about £40/1000 cheaper. Their F3 piston 8.5s are particularly good and I use them for 85% of targets on a sporting layout. Everything else gets the standard F3 7.5s. For practise I use the FBlue or Fblack range. Both are around £260/1000 at a local RFD and have never left me wanting. I can't speak for the quality issues experienced here. The only misfires I've ever had have been the old Fiocchi and Browing bottom firing pin combination. Those shells always then fired in the top barrel. Since I moved to Beretta I've not had a single issue in around 1.5k carts in 2 months.

Can you not take the part number off of the existing pads and google a replacement that way? It's very unlikely that the parts will be bespoke to the EQC400 and very likely that they are fitted to another MB car that will have readily available spares in a motor factors or a third party OEM equivalent. If the existing pads don't have a part number then take the part number off of the new pads box, google it to ensure a replacement is available and then hand back to the parts desk clerk. Sod paying £135 more than you need to just because you're going via a dealer parts desk. I'd also be asking questions of the service manager of the dealer that carried out the servicing and asking him why his staff are recommending replacement of only part worn pads and discs.

There are slight variations to consider such as the antimony content of the shot and the delivery method (some fibre wads are better than other with quad seal etc) that controls the spread of the pattern at distance. I'd say that when people consider one cartridge harder hitting than others, it's more to do with the spread of the pattern at distance than anything else. It's well known that pattern can vary between manufactures given the same shot size and velocity and a tighter pattern will appear to be harder hitting because you've more pellets on target. That said, I'm not an avid user of expensive cartridges and am firmly in the camp of one that cannot tell the difference between cartridges in a blind test. My opening line at the gun shop is usually 'what's the cheapest you have in a 8 shot 28g plastic wad? I'll have a 1000 of those please'. In a recent coaching session I used a bag of leftovers for the session with anything from a 24g 7.5 to a 28g 9 with a piston wad and used them as they came out of my pocket. I can't say a 24g 7.5 closed cup plastic wad was any different on a 60 yard battue than a 28g 8.5 piston or bior type plastic wad. They all took the same amount of lead on the target and all produced hits that varied from slight chips to complete dust. Similarly, on last years syndicate game days I was using whatever came out of the cartridge bag whether that be a 32g 5 Hull High Pheasant Extreme, a 29g 6 pigeon load or some leftover 36g steel 3's I had in there from wildfowling. I couldn't have told you which one was which based on the hits alone. Near enough everything came down providing I did everything right on my end.

I've no experience of highways and local gov level spending but I do work with (not for, don't tar me with that brush) a civil service dept. Some of our project spending and contract awards where ministerial approval was required were paused on the dissolvement of parliament and are now starting to proceed again with the appointment of a new government and relevant ministers. If local gov contract award and capital expenditure is dependent on ministerial approval then it is possible that a lot of planned works or the appointment of a highways maintenance and construction contract was pending then it may be the case that the increased level of works due to the general election and resultant pause are now more visible as the backlog is being worked on as well as current scheduled works. It's very unlikely that low level spending would be subject to ministerial approval but major infrastructure and high level spending could possibly be which may include an area wide improvement plan spanning many millions of pounds. I can't say that I've noticed an increase in road works local to myself but then again, even a large increase on bog all would go unnoticed.

Thanks. I'll look into that when the inevitable time comes.

I would 100% not recommend CFGs. Horrendously unreliable as noted by others in the thread and CFG are very adamant that they cover the product for 1 year and no more with anything outside of this (including their own repair and replacements) not being covered regardless of what the issue with their shoddy product is. I'm currently on my fourth set of repaired and/or replaced electronic plugs and the plugs have spent near enough 50% of the time that I've owned them with CFG for repair, remanufacture or replacement. I seem to get about 6-8 months out of them before they break down. I shoot near enough 3 times a week year round and I'm not using them 8 hours at a time as shooting coach etc.. Not exactly hard usage. The latest set are the new model with the micro sized batteries (typically I bought 100's of the old type before the last failure and replacement) and after waiting 4 months for them to be manufactured, they have arrived with both plugs having a very annoying electronic background buzzing. I'm not going to bother sending them back as they'll likely want to charge me for the work and take forever and a day to it. The battery tray on the new model is very flimsy and I'd be surprised if they last more than a few months without breaking. When the latest set breaks (probably Aug 31st or a few days before the game shooting season starts) my next investment will be a set of CENS which are more expensive but reportedly a much better product. Electronic plugs are really useful though. Being able to hear the commotion of a flushing pheasant before it breaks cover is really useful as is being able to hear wingbeats in the low light from a distance when wildfowling. I will not, under any circumstance shoot or be in the proximity of a shot without hearing protection so electronic plugs are a must have item for me.

The Met Office has been particularly sketchy in it's accuracy these past few months with drastic changes in forecast happening from one day to the next. I had a FITASC shoot this past Sunday and on checking the weather on Saturday evening it showed torrential rain and thunderstorms for most of Sunday. On this advice I loaded up the car with weatherproofs and gave the gunstock a good waxing to help with the wood soaking up moisture. I checked again Sunday AM while on route and the forecast had changed to light drizzle till 10:30 improving to sun thereafter. I had to withstand most of the day sweating in waterproof trousers in bright sunshine. How could they get it so wrong with just 12 hours to go?

Class war/ urban vs rural, it's all roughly the same thing. It's based entirely around ignorance as to how peoples way of life differs depending on where they live. To people who live in the city, the idea that animals need to be controlled is abhorrent and chuck in the fact that it's sometimes done by wealthy Tory voters who dress up in red coats and ride horses and do so for sport is their antithesis. Same with the hate for private personal transport. A large percentage of people who live within central London who use solely public transport because it functions well where they live who cannot fathom why anyone would every need a driving license and their own car. I live in a fairly 50/50 rural and urban constituency. Due to the industrial past, it's firmly a Labour seat so much so Hitler, Mugabe, Pol Pot, Mao and Stalin could all rise from the dead, don a red rosette and still find themselves with healthy share of the vote here in the valleys. I'm not comparing the politics of these individuals to the politics of the Labour party but merely highlighting the red or dead dominance we have here and that a lot of people would vote for a potted house plant providing it was representing the Labour party. Despite near enough all farmland within our constituency consisting of livestock and poultry with little to no other types of agriculture, our Labour MS (and former MP prior to the boundary change) still lobbied aggressively for and was one of the spearheads to the humane cable restraint ban in Wales. They cared not that they had people here who relied on this method of control for their livelihoods. They cared only for how they were perceived by people who have never seen a chicken carcass with it's feathers still on. A steak still attached to the body of the animal. People who's biggest obstacle from enjoying some beef is the cellophane packaging or the queue at the McDonalds drive through.

Apart from the increase in licensing fees I don't really think so (not that I'm an authority in politics and shooting). The Labour vs shooting thing is a class war pure and simple. At it's most basic level they perceive all forms of live quarry shooting as being done by toffs in posh tweeds who need to be punished for being upper class. We all know that apart from the top 0.5% of shooting this isn't the truth and the large percentage of live quarry shooting is done so by ordinary working people. We also have the vegan and animal rights opposition to worry about of which there are lots more of amongst the Labour members and supporters. Apart from those with low 70's IQs who believe that clay pigeons are an actual bird species then clay target shooters don't need to worry about that aspect. I don't think the Labour masses really acknowledge that clay target shooting is a thing limited to the upper classes. There is a greater number of Labour members and supporters who think private firearm ownership should be abolished so we may start to see proposals for the restriction of firearms ownership but sporting shotguns would be the last thing on the list. I wrote a long post on here some time ago about the overall effect that the banning of live quarry shooting would have on the sport as a whole (from target to live quarry) and losing live quarry shooting would be disastrous and possibly the end of shooting in all its forms in the UK. In very brief form, the loss of live quarry shooting would result in the UK market becoming unsustainable for nearly every supplier which would drive costs through the roof and out of reach of the everyday clay target shooter and mean availability of everything from guns to ammunition would become a problem. I'd like to see substantiated evidence of that claim and not just anecdotes. Perhaps in the form of a separate thread to prevent this one veering off course. You may not like BASC for the claimed lead shot ban (which BASC did not propose in any form but merely bet on a 'change before we forced to change' strategy which may or may not have worked) that was brought forward by the HSE but they are our best bet. We need to remember that BASC aren't anything other than an association of members and they have very little to no legal mechanisms to affect any sort of change. All they can do is lobby and the more members they can claim to represent and the bigger budgets they have to do so then the better off we all will be. Like it or not, BASC are the most recognised of the shooting organisations and are likely the only shooting organisation that will be entertained by anyone in the Labour party when it comes to being a stakeholder in important discussions. Take the work they did around the licensing of gamebirds in Wales for example. Possibly the single biggest threat to shooting in the UK that we have seen in decades and BASC were able to field a huge response from members which near enough blocked up the bureaucratic capacity of NRW to enact a shadow ban via 10's of thousands of responses to the consultation. Personally, as a member of a wildfowling club and a game shooting syndicate. BASC have been worth their weight in gold for the help and support they are able to provide. From loans to buy land and secure sporting rights in my wildfowling club to the hand holding they have given the syndicate during a very trying time for us. They have been immensely helpful.

I would predict that Labour will follow the exact path that Welsh Labour have in Wales and almost immediately target a licensing scheme for game bird release via Natural England. If you have a renewal coming up for either a SGC or FAC then now would be a good time to stump up the extra few ££'s for a coterminous renewal. Within a year you'll be facing a charge of £400+ per renewal. I would also recommend a BASC membership if you don't already have one. Like them or not, BASC are going to be the single most important asset that shooters will have over the next 4 years.

Is it really worth young shooters getting their own certificates when they aren't old enough to shoot solo anyway? I'm guessing a lot of young shooters forego the cost and 12 month wait for an SGC grant and just use a gun on their parents certificate. They can't shoot without supervision anyway so what's the point? They are also very unlikely to have a dedicated cabinet or a means of supporting the hobby. I was a kid from a non shooting household so I could have air rifles and ferrets but there was no way I was bringing firearms into the house. I lost interest when I figured out that my penis wasn't just for ******* through and beer started to taste less like urine. I didn't get back into it until later in life so I was 28 when I had my first SGC and FAC at 30. A 100 target registered clay shoot can set you back £90 in entry and cartridges alone. Unless they are being supported by parents then there's no chance that young people could afford it. Those that make it to 18 and are lucky enough to be able to afford it are probably then immediately put off by having to wait 12+ months just for the certificate. 12 months is a long time when you're 18, have your own car and money to spend. There are a lot of alternative hobbies that don't have anywhere near the same barriers to entry that shooting has. Huge number of 18-21 year olds are seriously addicted to golf which is just as expensive as clay target shooting overall, requires near the same level of skill and ability but doesn't have the associated ******** that shooting does so is more popular as a result. It is a sport dominated by 50+ year old men and there's no sign of that changing.

Possibly related but it was discussed earlier this week amongst fellow wildfowlers that there is an unusually high number of mature Mallard ducks sat out roosting on the marsh this year whereas they would normally be inland sat on a nest or raising a brood at this time of the year. I don't think it's been a very good year for the wildlife with it being basically a 4 month long March which has only really warmed up and dried up in the last week or so. Also an usual amount of homes locally with wood burners have had them lit during the day in last few weeks where they would have normally been cleaned out and 'packed up' for the summer by this point. It's been a very poor year weather wise so far.

A mixture of both gun up and gun down depending on the target presentation is the correct answer. If you are serious about scores when clay target shooting then I wouldn't take too much notice of anyone who shoot clays purely for game shooting practice or anyone that says that people who shoot gun up can't shoot. Any AAA sporting shooter would wipe the floor with anyone on the forum no matter what the target but will still shoot gun up for the majority of sporting targets because it gives you an obvious advantage. Dave Carrie is/ was a champion shooter and is probably still a AA or AAA shot and will shoot every target that benefits from being shot gun up in a gun up fashion. Not a single person here can argue against his overall shooting ability. I'm no George Digweed but I do take clay shooting serious and shoot registered competitions in english sporting, FITASC, super sporting etc. I also shoot game, pest control and enjoy wildfowling so a good mix. Personally, I try to tailor my approach to each stand depending on the first target being presented. If it's a fast moving crosser, has a limited window of opportunity, a going away or quartering trap style target then I'll always shoot gun up. Where a target has a long time in the air like a crow or big crosser, looper or battue target and there is risk that I can start hanging onto or trying to measure a target then I will start with a FITASC style gun down position. Some targets are taken with a half up/ half down, cheek off the stock and head turned to see the target type approach. If you're shooting FITASC then you've no choice and all targets must start from a gun down position. When shooting live birds it can vary from the butt of the gun resting on my hip with the barrels pointing straight up when on peg to being sat crouched in a reen with the gun barrels pointing down in front when on the marsh. I can effectively mount from near any position but I wouldn't dream of doing any of these on a sporting stand for a variety of reasons. It's whatever works for the individual and you can spend years trying to find what works best for you. First and foremost you should be able to correctly shoulder a gun, identify where your going to see the target, where your going to hold the gun and where your going to shoot the target. Without these you are just guessing each and every time you call pull. If you're a long term DTL shooter then you should be able to do the former but not necessarily the latter. Always try and get a good look at the targets before you shoot. If there is someone in the stand before you then get up behind them and position yourself in a line with where you'll be standing and start planning from there. You'll have at least 3 pairs to observe and create a plan of attack. Obviously be careful and respectful to the shooter already in the stand but chances are they'll be locked into the task at hand and won't notice you're there unless you're standing virtually on top of them. If you're first in the stand then always ask the ref to show you a pair and let him know you want to see A target first and then B target on your command. Don't let them fling two targets out at random as you won't get a chance to plan effectively. On a simultaneous pair, you can ask for two pairs taking note of the A target on the first pair and B target on the second. You can then decide in which order you will attack them and where. More often than not, even if you aren't first in the stand you can ask to see a pair when you get in and the ref will oblige. The worst they can say is no and some grounds will state on the stands target board whether this is permitted or not. Also worth knowing the rules inside and out. 90% of refs, even in registered competitions, are low or unpaid volunteers which don't have a clue about the rules and are given training on the morning of the shoot in the case of first timers. Knowing when you claim for no targets, distractions etc can gain you that extra one or two points over a 100 target course. On last weekends competition for example, I lost one point on a stand where a pigeon crossed directly in front of me as the target was presented taking my focus off of the target resulting in a lost target. I should have not taken the shot, lowered the gun, called distraction and taken the pair again. I'm not a AA or AAA class shooter but at that level one target can make the difference between you coming 1st or 21st. Taking the pigeon did cross my mind but It would have resulted in possibly a yellow card and lost target anyway for those who are wondering. I also wouldn't have been able to retrieve it so a bit pointless really. Don't worry about chokes or cartridges. 1/4 choke in each barrel and 24g 7.5s or 8s will take 95% of targets that you'll see on a UK english sporting layout. I use skeet and 1/4 with 28g english 8's and I can recall one time that I've altered this in the last 10 registered sporting comps. It was for a 65 yard (confirmed by the ground) battue target and only then I changed to a 1/2 choke with a 28g Italian 7.5 (english 7 shot) which broke the target convincingly.

Can the two parts not be glued or epoxied into a single piece to allow you to insert a flat blade against the two 'good' edges or the original bar to open? Failing that, glue something like a piece of dowel into the bit so that the rotating pressure is distributed fairly around the broken bit. Is there a way to access the mechanism that is keeping the latch pressed into the keep?

Yes. Any pigeon cartridge will do the job. What I would consider my best ever shot on a pheasant was carried out using Eley Pigeon Selects. 30g of 6 shot is roughly the same no matter what bird the box has printed on the front.

We had a walk back teal on one shoot. Set up a teal trap with cones set out at 10, 20, 30 yards etc up to 70-80 yards away and prize for the person who gets that farthest away from the trap.

Unlimited entry clay snooker or pool shoot. £10 or £12 for 25 birds with as many eentries as you like. People are often put off by travelling out to shoot just 60 birds. Having an additional shoot makes it worth their while. A pool shoot is also minimal impact on setup with only 5 traps and 3-4 hoops or stands needed depending on setup.

All sold.

They are 12g (I'll edit the post to suit) and both are 1/4 or improved cylinder.