silver_fox

Section 16(1) of the 1988 Act enables a person to borrow a rifle from the occupier of private premises and to use it on those premises in the presence of either the occupier or their servant without holding a firearm certificate in respect of that rifle... ...The term “in the presence of” is not defined in law but is generally interpreted as being within sight and earshot.

This may have been answered elsewhere, but what is the difference in quality between a German assembled S&B scope and a Hungarian assembled S&B scope, the difference in price on the 8x56 is £160.00 http://www.opticswarehouse.co.uk/products.asp?cat=258

I'm having the same problems with my new HMR. 60yd groups are fine but 100yd groups at 2". It does seem that the more rounds I put down the barrel the tighter the groups get. Should be pretty tight in a 1,000 rounds or so!

I just bought 500 rds for the hmr @ 28GBP per 100!! it will be a while till I get through that lot. I'll be using the .22 on the rats from now on. I've never used supersonic rounds with my .22 so let me know how they compare to the subs. As an aside, I took the mod off the hmr and it nearly deafened me. It's amazing how much noise that little mod eliminates. I'm really lucky with my family commitments; my wife keeps her horse on my 200m range (or as she would say, I have my range on her grazing land) so this weekend she will be out riding while I am trying out new loads for my .223 My only other job this weekend is to source a 45gal oil drum and convert it into a barbie. Cold beers and medium rare steak, what more could a man ask for? Cheers.

Ah, that's interesting cos the groups are slowly getting tighter, now down to about 1 1/2" - 2" @ 100yds after about 70 rds, (it's a new gun). Mind you, I was coming back up the field this evening and saw a rabbit at what turned out to be 160yds, I leant on a fence post and aimed at the tips of its ears and down it went, perfect head shot. So perhaps I should stop worrying about perfect groups and just concentrate on getting rabbits.

Gaz -hi, I'm having grouping problems with the HMR. At 100 yds they're about 2 - 3" groups, but at 60 yds a 2p coin could cover the holes so something is happening between 60 & 100yds. I'm off this afternoon to try and eliminate all the variables, first remove the ASE mod and fire a group, then swap scopes and mounts with my .22 fire another group, try another brand of ammo and if all this fails to improve the 100yd groups then it's back to the gun shop to complain. I really can't believe it's the gun because my other 2 CZ's can shoot the knackers off a gnat at 100yds. I managed to bag 2 rats in our chicken run last night with it but that was at only 10yds. It's amazing how well a rat explodes when it's hit with the 17grain ballistic tip, all that was left was the front feet and a bit of tail. Glad to hear you're having fun with your .22, I have the same model and it's a great looking gun. Have a great weekend.

Well? Did you pick up the gun and scope yet?

Great news, bet you cant wait till the gun shop opens tomorrow. My ticket came back yesterday with a variation for the .17 hmr so I was straight off to pick it up and had it zeroed an hour later and then promptly bagged two rabbits with it. Can't complain about that. Have fun and safe shooting.

Looks great. Were you stung for any import duty when it arrived? and what was the total sterling price? I don't really need one but I really want one NOW!

Good luck, I've just asked to have mine changed into an open ticket. I was told that there's no way it will be done until my first renewal.

No, the Bore Snake was dry, I'll give the meths a go at the weekend (and if there's any left I'll clean the barrel with it ). I've got a .17hmr arriving soon, it'll be interesting to see if I get similar results with that.Ive heard that .17's are less tollerant of dirty barrels.

I have just worked up an accurate home load so I took some to my range this afternoon and was suprised with the results. I was shooting a CZ .223 Varmint at 100 yds in calm conditions and started with a clean barrel. I first fired two fouling shots (pic 1) I then shot a 3 round group which wasn't too bad but should have been better (pic 2) My next 3 round group was much tighter (pic 3). This got me thinking about the condition of the barrel. I had let the barrel cool down for ten minutes between each group so the temp should have been pretty consistent. Out came the Bore Snake and the barrel got as good a clean as you can in the field then I shot another 3 round group. (pic4) This on was all over the place. Then my final 3 rounds produced a tighter group (pic 5) Wearing my Sherlock Holmes hat I can only deduce that it takes at least 5 rounds down the barrel before it becomes consistently accurate. Unfortunately I don't have the time and ammo to see how long before the fouled barrel produces adverse results. I'd be interested to hear if any one else out there has had similar results.

I had exactly the same decision last year and I went for the .22lr (and the .223) and I am really glad I did. The .22 is so quiet you can get hundreds of (cheap) rounds down the barrel without annoying the neighbours. If you're like me you just want to shoot your gun, and if there aint a rabbit around then just put up a target and plink away - it's great fun. I thought that with a .17hmr as a first gun I probably wouldn't shoot it as much because of the noise factor. After six months with a .22lr and a .223 I have fired over 1000 rounds through the .22lr and about 200 through the .223, I doubt that I could afford to plink away that much with a .17hmr. This morning I put a deposit on a CZ 452 American .17hmr and should hopefully pick it up next weekend. I'll let you know what it's like.

I've got a Sako mod on my 452 16" .22LR and as it's the only rimfire mod I've used I can't make a comparison, but it's very quiet with subsonic rounds. Quieter than a spring powered air rifle and I am more than happy with it.

If you're going to put a lamp on top of it can you let me know what the reflection is like from the SAK mod because I've heard that those mods can reflect a lot of light back through the scope.

That phrase is familiar, you're not in Dorset by any chance?

As the question says, if you have one what do you think of it? I've narrowed my choice down to the CZ 452 varmint - cheaper, uglier and heavier - or the Savage 93R17 BTVS - prettier, more expensive and lighter. All reviews greatfully received. Thanks in advance.

When I applied for my fac 6 months ago I asked for a .17hmr, .22lr & a .223. I was told by my feo that the .223 was no problem but I couldn't have both .17 & .22 because they were considered to be the same tool for the job, i.e rabbit control, so I chose to go for the .22lr. As he left he did mention that if my rabbits were getting out of range after 6 months he would probably grant a variation for the .17hmr. It's now 6 months on and I have just sent in my variation for the .17hmr for longer range bunnies. Lets see how it goes.

Can you get this mod proofed for .17hmr & .22lr?

Did you shoot the fox or hit it at speed with your truck?

Ah, that would explain why I could never hit a figure 11 target with a 7.62 SLR - the barrel was worn out. Wish I'd known that then, it would have saved me 50 press ups and a sprint down the range and back.

WOW!!! and I thought Dorset were good.

It may just be an ex army thing, but I can't stand seeing a dirty gun so I clean mine religiously after every outing and have never had a problem with accuracy after cleaning. It allways groups as tight as the last time and in the same place.

Hi, How did you go about getting your open ticket? Did you just send it off to the FEO with a note?

Good to hear a police force getting good feedback regarding firearms issues - it's too easy to criticise. Dorset have a similar reputation for giving good service to shooters.