Robin Hood country show

I must start by thanking the Aztec Events team especially Maddie with the speed it took to send me over my presspass due to me sorting everything out to late.

Entrance to the show was very swift and well organised but once inside I did find it a bit confusing as the layout didn't seem quite like the picture in the programme.

There was various ranges including cork rifles, where you could win money, a catapult range, archery, darts and paintball. There was also a small paintball course.


The birds of prey were well worth going to see, with three stalls with many different species of birds of prey from Barn Owls to Harris Hawks. The Harris Hawk on the demo was amazing he was at least 500 yards away at the stand and he managed to spot the man swinging his treat around at the main arena and flew over, circled around, and then dived down to his treat. This is well worth seeing, it made me decide to find out more about falconry and is something Im now looking into starting up in the future, it is definately something I am looking forward to researching and finding out more about it.

The demos as far as I can see are to give people who dont know an insight to what the sport entails. This is something Simon Whitehead from Pakefield ferrets has managed to get down to a fine art, with a great demo that show what the ferrets do under ground and the different equipment used for the sport of ferreting. Everything was explained to the point where the simplist of people could understand.

The gundog demo was gave a real insight into what it takes to train a gundog and what they really do, if I didnt already know alot about through my participation in countrysports and my through my research I would of walked away a more knowledgable person.


I only caught a bit of the Essex dog display teams demo and that was agility up and down two ramps and then through a square hoop, the ramps had poles on the tops which were on fire and the hoop was also on fire and dogs were doing the course while carrying a dumbell which was also on fire, all very exciting and entertaining to the public but I thought it was quite irresponsible considering the size of the plates on the dumbell protecting the dogs (they were far to small) and the fact that a dogs coat is fur. I bet you wouldnt get the Essex dog display team owners doing it so why should their dog.

The archery demo was a robin hood themed archery competition, with all the characters from the story competing for the chance to go head to head with Robin Hood, very entertaining.

I spent along time talking to Jenny from the Ferret friends rescue, very nice lady absolutely love ferrets and has some amazing ferrets including the long haired angora ferrets, during this time talking to Jenny I found out that people feed there ferrets cat food I new it happened but I thought I was the only person that had experienced it I rescued the last of four ferrets three of which had died due to being fed cat food, I didnt realise how common this is. The ferret friends rescue board, rescue and rehome ferrets.
If you ever see them at a show be sure to go and have a chat, they really are very nice people.
They also have a blind albino ferret called Barney who took part in recreating a Da Vinci picture the Lady with Ermine and also a two page spread in the Daily Mail. Barney was also at the show this year, so if you see them at a show at least pop over to see Barney probably the most famous ferret in the country.
Here is a link to their website so you can visit and see more about what they do.


www.ferretfriendsrescue.info

NOBs where there selling memberships. NOBs stands for National Organisation of Beaters and Pickers up. They are the link between gamekeepers and beaters. If a shoot organiser was two beater down for his pheasant shoot, it was in your area and you are a member you maybe able to go and beat on that shoot.
Its £5.00 a year to sign up for a basic membership or £20.00  a year for the insurance membership package, Im not going to go into detail of the insurance but i'll put the web address below. This is not to be missed it really is the best insurance package I have ever seen.


www.nobs.org.uk


There was a trailer with different stands on it each different stand had a different breed of sheep. You don't realize how different, different breeds of sheep look to each other. Throughout the day there was a man giving sheep sheering demos.


The mobile farm experience. This is a really nice idea, great for the children. Basically the come to your home or wherever you want them to go and bring the animals with them. Great for children's parties. It is suitable for any environment.
My two year old son came along with me and he loved it. He basically had a lamb on his lap, and he held a two day old duckling. Apart from the ducklings and lambs they had a cockerel, goats, two fully grown ducks and a Shetland pony. A fantastic idea my boy loved it.


www.gemmasfarm.co.uk

It was great to see that the All About Dogs show is still running although it is a bit of a shame its part of another show and nothing like the scale it has been in past years. It consisted of many trade stand's and the same amount of rescue centres all trying to raise money and awareness for there cause.
Events throughout the day were-

• Mad tyke dog rally-o.
• The Deaf Dogs demo.
• AMK9 dog display team.
• Tierney and Missy crufts winners heel work to music.
• Billericay dog display team.
• Marie Miller.
• Canine performers heelwork to music.
• and dog docks which is always worth a watch, as dogs run up the dock and then stop at the end while an embarrassed dog owners tries frantically to get there dog to jump in. Stick with it because you will see a brave dog run up the dock and just leap out into the water (normally soaking the people who got to close).

For the kids there was zorbing, boating and a massive inflatable fun centre that even I wanted to go on.

The knights were amazing, competing in a jousting competition and ending up having plenty of fights with hints to the Olympics, archery, sword fights, spear throwing and spectacular stunts throughout. This is a must see if you have kids, I cant stand horses and I loved it.

Upcoming events.

Southend 7th-8th July.

Suffolk 6th-7th October.

Newark 13th-14th October.

• www.robinhoodcountryshow.co.uk

new shoot day 2

I parked my car in one of the farm buildings out of the way, retreived my game bag from the boot, took my rifle from its slip and removed the trigger lock andheaded out inbetween two farm buildings and out into the first of the wheat feilds the idea being of coarse to suss the place out where to find what and generally get to know the land a bit.

So I walked to the right, round the edge of the field and down towards the bottom. half way down the ride I noticed a rabbit have a spot of breakfast in the form of wheat crop, so I started my stalk towards shooting range, sticking tight into the hedgerow, it hadnt seen me yet but it knew I was there as it stopped eating to look around trying to find me. Eventually it put its head back down to resume its meal. So I started to crawl, I got within about twenty five yards an started to slowly raise my gun to my shoulder, rested my cheek on the stock and peered through the scope, the scope reached my eye just in time to see the rabbits white tail dissapearing into the hedgerow.

I found nothing else around this field apart from two woodies and a magpie in the trees at the bottom but they were of across the field before I even knew they were there.

I headed towards the woods, the outside line was litterally scattered with rabbits, I moved slightly to block me from the rabbits view by a tree also blocking my view of the rabbits, I stalked up to the tree and then round it to the right, keeping my footstep as quiet and as soft as possible, I leant against the tree to steady my aim, I held my breathe to steady my aim even more and a small pop and then the familiar skull penetrating crack as the rabbit flipped onto its back sending all the rabbits running for cover. Two stopped on the edge of the bramble, I took aim on the biggest of the two and he took a accupel pellet as well and eventually ending up in the game bag.

As I was to head back to the car I decided to gut the rabbits there and then, I put all the inners in a ditch hiden from the view of anyone walking by, the foxes will finish this up tonight.

Being my first real shoot here its only right I hand the rabbits over to the farmer to say thankyou. after all it is his land.....

update to vfg cleaning pellet review

On a visit to my local gun shop where I went in search of a new rifle sling and came out with a new rifle. I found that this shop sold the vfg cleaning pellets that I reviewed when I first started this blog, I was told not that they do not any damage to break barrels and that it is not anywhere near dry firering but that they clean the barrel just a bit more than lead pellets.

hunting on the high street(sainsburys)

I have two products which I use on a regular basis from sainsburys but unfortunately I cannot find pictures on their website so ill update this when I get a chance to go into sainsburys and take photographs so you can see the packaging and everything.

Garden multi tool

I use this as a hide tool why pay £29.99 when you can pay £5.00 for what is essentially the same thing.
It comes with serrated edge knife, saw, knife, a set of secateers and one other item that im not sure about and have never used, I will make sure I include a picture of it so you can see what it is. This also comes in its own case with a belt loop.

Knife set.

This is a set of five knives, chopping board and a knife sharpener similar to the ones that come with the outdoor edge butchery kits. This is my butchery kit but I sharpen all my knives with the knife sharpener.

Pictures still to come.

hunting on the highstreet(wilkinsons)

Latex Gloves.


Useful for a variety of household & messy DIY tasks. Embossed textured surface helps provide a better grip. One size, foits up to hand size 8.
£0.64
I use these to control the smell of rabbit. Gutting a rabbit stinks and the smell seems to stick around for ages. These come in packs of 25.

Paint hooks

These hooks are great for hanging up rabbits if you hang your rabbits, I hang them when I got more than one purely so im not leaving a gutted rabbit on the floor to get dirty to long.

Elastic bands

I use elastc bands to hold almost anything together that is two big to put in bags. including nets and snares.

Non slip car mat

Cut these into Atwo inch strips fill all the hole with pellet going about two inches in from either side, then you can hand it inbetween your scope mounts with the pellets hanging on either side. from wilkinsons they do fit .22 pellets but they are very tight it fits .177 alot better. shop about though as the holes come up bigger or smaller in different shops.

Head lamp

Ahead lamp is a great way to find your to and from the feild.

Garden Wire

I use this wire to make my tealers for my snares it does the job well. I will create a blog post eplaining how to make them.

Stapler

I use this stapler to staple signs example free ferreting adverts which actually are quite productive. I also use it to dry out pelts. stretch them out and staple to a pallet of something similar which will let the air flow round the back as well.





Thread cutters

The are a massive help when it comes to making nets and snares for that matter I find them easier to use than scissors.

Folding Saw.

This is great little tool for the kit bag. I use mine in hide building and for cutting hazel pegs. make sure you have permission before you start cutting down hazel.

Gel pens

I find these pens the perfect size for .22 pellets, simply empty the insides out put the metal end back, take the end t of the top of the pen and fill with pellet then simply put the lid back on the pen.







hunting on the highstreet(halfords)

Halfords
 Rechargable 1 Million Candlepower Torch
The Halfords Rechargable 1 Million Candlepower Torch has a swivel handle and stand which allow you to position the torch however you need it, and this makes it a very versatile product for when you are working as it allows you to keep your hands free.
The torch has a continuous use time of 45 minutes from a single charge and can be recharged before the battery runs out. If the charge is very low the battery will take approximately 8-10 hours to reach maximum capacity when using the mains adaptor supplied. However, a 4 hour charge period will provide a useable amount of charge in the battery.

I have used this torch to lamp rabbits to dogs and it works really well.



gun tuff gun mount laser.

I have been wanting to test one of these lasers for along time now, but I have always been abit unsure about hunting with one.

The laser itself come with three batteries, two allen keys (one to adjust the laser itself and one to do up or undo the mount) one rifle mount and one scope mount, a push button switch (which goes on the back of the laser) and a pressure pad switch which has a long enough cable to mount almost anywhere on the gun.

The first thing I did was to mount the laser to my scope and stick the pressure pad to my rifle stock. I adjusted the laser until it lined up with my scope at thirty yards and then took a few shots. I found having the laser on there made finding the target quicker it also meant I could shoot in low light without any problems.

It is also great for range finding because it will match the crosshairs at thirty yard (or whatever distance you zero your scope and laser at). If you aim at your target and the laser dot is above your crosshair its more than thirty feet away, if you aim at your target and its less than thirty feet away your laser dot will be slightly under.

The gun tuffs laser also comes in a neat little presentation box and is very cheap for what you'd expect.

Stoager X20

The model on review is the .22 in the camouflage stock. The realtree synthetic stock is made from high impact polymer, it comes as standard with fully adjustable fibre optic open sights, adjustable for both elevation and windage, the forend fibre optic sight is protected by a plastic casing, the fibre optic itself is red and at the rear sight it is green making it easier and faster to aim.

          At the other end of the rifle you have a black rubber recoil pad and an ambidextious stock and automatic  thumb push safety catch which engages when you break the barrel, when the safety is engaged there is a small white line on the top of the catch to let you know it has been engaged. There is also a two stage adjustable trigger which is protected by a stylish trigger guard and a monte carlo cheek peice at at the buy end and chequered grip and forend.
         Back at the business end this rifle is topped with a small stylish sound moderator which also acts as something to grip when cocking the rifle.
         This rifle comes in either .177 or .22 and has the stock option of synthetic camo, synthetic black or wooden. It ways just 7.5lb and has an overall length of 42.75 inches with a power outage of just under 12lb/ft and costs just £265.
         The recoil on this rifle is quite harsh, it is starting to settle down abit and is managing to make this rifle abit more of a pleasure to shoot.
         Being used to a much smaller, more compact little rifle you really do feel the weight after a long stalk but after a while you soon get used to handling this rifle. This rifle has a bit more of a caveman type feel about it than some of our other modern day rifles.

I apoligize

I am very sorry I have not blogged for a long time, I have had some personal problems and have had to get all that out of the way before I can start to blog again. This morning I received five products to review and I will be getting them on as soon as possible, I also have been working on a view to put up, ill start tomorrow.
Happy hunting
Ben Holmes

Jack pyke sure fit shooters gloves

These gloves come in one size which is great if like me you haven't got a clue whether a small, medium or large glove fits your hand.
           The come in English Oak camouflage pattern. They are very thin which I find great to give you the extra sensitivity in your hands you need when gun handling.
           They have thumb and palm rubber dot grip which is also amazing for handling your gun although I have noticed they mark the bluing on your rifle but its only temporary markings as it has disappeared with in an hour or so.
All-in-all a great little product and I would never embark on any hunting trip with out a pair in my pocket or game bag.

Get ready for snow.

 With weather warning being issued and the BBC talking of snow "Rain will spread eastwards after midnight, turning into sleet and snow mainly across the higher ground of Scotland and the Pennines" I thought now would be a good idea to tell you about the Swedteam snow range.


Rucksack HW-snow

This rucksack has a snow camouflage pattern and the Swedteam air flex system.

          A large inside pocket that fastens at the top with a plastic buckle and unzips at the bottom for easy cleaning of the inside ( this is a great feature if you use this rucksack to carry  shot game).

          The rucksack has a built in stool, two large zipped storage pockets, a small zipped pocket on the bottom and a bellows pocket on either side. The rucksacks is 36 litres in capacity.

Pilot cap HW-snow.

This hat is lined with synthetic fur and has a hardwood snow comouflage pattern. This warm hat comes in sizes Medium to extra large.

HIPORA HW-snow gloves.

These gloves come in sizes ranging from small to extra large. They are made from a silent and flexible micro fabric with a thinsulate lining and a HIPORA membrane to make these gloves wind and water proof.

            The trigger finger is made using a thin and flexible stretchy material for extra sensitivity. These gloves are also in the hardwood snow camouflage pattern.

Cool Thermo suit

 

This set is your base layer including a top, long johns and boxers.

              Made using Coolmax technical fabric to help to regulate your body temperature. coming in sizes ranging from small to triple XL.

Snow APS camouflage oversuit.

This lightweight suit is thin and flexible. The jacket has two large storage pockets, a two way zip and a sewn in hood that does up using drawstrings. The trousers are elasticated at the waist and ankles and zips for access to pockets.

              This suit is not waterproof and comes in sizes ranging from small to triple XL.

Snow Balaclava.

This balaclava come in one size and is very warm to wear great for the snowy winter weather.

Time off micro fleece set.

This is your mid layer, the set comprises of a top and trousers. It is made using soft micro fleece. Comes in sizes ranging from small to triple XL.

For more information on these products and any other Swedteam products follow the link.

http://www.swedteam.eu/

Keeping In Touch With You.

We have a few other pages. We feel you should know about, Ways that we use to keep in touch with you.


Hunting CPUK
Hunting CPUK is one of our facebook pages, it to be used as an advice page. Like it, ask your question and wait for the answers to flow in, either from us or others that use the page, or just share your knowledge with others seeking advice. Once a month we will put all the questions and answers into a blog post along with your name so everyone gets there appreciation for there input.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hunting-cpuk/155077227914972


Country Pursuits UK review page.
This is also a facebook page where we link all our blog posts, it is also the place to suggest a blog post topic or a product to be reviewed, we will beg, borrow, or steal to get hold of the product you request.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Country-Pursuits-UK-Reviews/277861625592357


Twitter
Our twitter page is our main page to link our blog posts and tell you about all our up and coming projects we have.


https://twitter.com/#!/cpuk-ben


Be sure  to like and follow all our pages to really get the most out of us. You can also follow this blog

New shoot day1

  Today was my first trip to a new shoot permission. I arrived at ten o'clock to meet the landowner and go through the usual routine, what can be shot? what can be? where are the boundaries? where to park the car?
where not to go? etc..
   I soon realised the landowner didn't know a lot about the air gunning and the way things should be done. He is expecting big numbers which is often not the case with air-gunning. He also asked for squirrels to be controlled on a lane which is a public footpath and used by a lot of dog walkers, so by law this cannot be done.
   I am allowed to shoot rabbits, rats and squirrels. He doesn't see pigeons as a problem so I'm concentrating on the above three. He also asked me to control foxes, I explained to him that foxes do not qualify as airgun quarry and as he is only allowing me to use the airgun for the time being the foxes will have to wait until he lets me use different methods in the future.
  The landowner gave me a map with the boundaries highlighted on the back was my permission letter, he gave me a photocopy and the original document a copy to keep at home and a copy to keep in the car.

BSA Lightening XL Tactical .22

This rifle comes in .22, .177 and .25 calibres and weighs just 6.7lbs. Its overall length is is just thirty seven inches making it a fairly compact rifle and has a barrel length of just ten inches.The lightning XL has an average velocity of 608 feet per second using RWS Superdome pellets with an energy of 11.9ft/lb. All this and its only priced at around £255 and is also available in a beech stock for a little bit more.
        The stock type of the BSA is a synthetic sporter which is made from hi-impact polymer and was designed by John Sykes.

The imprinted logo sorry the pics not to good

notice the cheek piece, logo and recoil pad

safety catch and two stage trigger

Thumb indentations

       The guns features include a rubber recoil pad on the stock and a surprisingly comfortable cheek piece. Studs which are already attached to the stock and barrel ready for you to add your swivels and gun sling. The BSA also has an adjustable two stage trigger, built in BSA sound moderator making this rifle very quiet indeed, a very comfortable thumb and fore finger indentations on the stock and an easy push safety catch which can be pushed from your shooting position just by moving your trigger finger. All feature combined together make the BSA LIghtning XL an absolute pleasure to shoot.
      The BSA logo is imprinted into the stock in two places and engraved along the barrel are the words "BSA UK LTD ENGLAND(the BSA logo) .22".

Built in stud

sound moderator and built in stud

synthetic stock

      The action of this rifle is break barrel / spring piston.
      The box was just a plain brown box with no large pictures or lettering printed on it. I think this is a good idea as the area where I picked the gun up from is not a particularly nice one and has a reputation for being rough, Also I like to keep it quiet when I bring a new rifle home, and a brown box keeps the neighbours guessing when transporting it from the car to my home, I know I then give the game away by going to the car the next day in camouflage gear carrying a rifle slip but hey.
      Once I had mounted my scope on this beautiful little rifle it was time to get some practice.
      Zeroing the scope took a while because the recoil is a bit harsh  but after a while the recoil calms down and it is a pleasant rifle to shoot.
      I took the rifle for a few field tests and found it to be a great little hunter.
     The cocking is a little on the stiff side but once you have the knack of it  its relatively easy. I think everybody should learn to shoot using a springer before moving onto a pre-charged pneumatic recoilless rifle and this is a great rifle to learn to shoot with, but the BSA is not just a great beginners rifle, it it great gun for anyone who wants to shoot a springer and at £255 its a bargain. 

Rocky APG Jacket

The Rocky APG Jacket comes in three sizes small , medium and large. It is waterproof and made mainly from polyester with a warm comfy fleece lining. The jacket does up using poppers and has two outside pockets that also does up using poppers. A warm hood that pulls tight using a pull string.

         The Rocky APG jackets downfalls for me outweigh its good points. This jacket is noisy making a long, hard stalk even harder and most of the time leading to poor results. If it doesn't scare off your quarry by its noise then it will by the way it shines. On sunny days it shows up from across the field worse than a shiny bald head with the sun on it.
        I have just taken this jacket out with me again this morning and after getting the pocket caught on a branch it has ripped the pocket. overall this jacket is not worth buying, I'm not going to put the link up for where to buy it because I don't want to be responsible for anyone purchasing this jacket.

Essex Guns Gun Slip

The gun slip actually made by a company called AC Supplies it just has the  Essex Guns label on the front.

This gun slip looks great and has a nice soft thick fleece lining which I think is Great, I don’t know why but I have it in my head that my rifle will perform better if the metal work is warmer.

          For me it has the perfect shoulder strap, I have a tendency to be a bit clumsy and not always zip my rifle bag up all the way. The strap on this bag is positioned on the bag so that you have to carry it upside down so there is no way the rifle can fall out.

          I found that it does moult a bit but its not something that really affects me as it is only a bit.

For information on the Essex Guns shops or the products they sell go to http://www.essexgun.com/index2.html

Poachers curse

After I recently read the two part series the poachers curse in the countryman's weekly. A tale where a group of poachers one which is caught in a mantrap set by the head keeper and is slowly bleeding to death, the rest find the keeper he shot one then the rest caught him and put his head in the man trap turning it into a guillotine. After being caught, tried and sentenced to be hung, they vowed to haunt the woods on the estate where the keeper set the mantrap and that keeper would not be the last person to die in them woods. This night 150 years later an elderly man see a repeat performance up at the woods and is found dead in the morning.

      I do not know whether or not this story is true, all though I suspect in to be fiction. I have researched this story and apart from that article in the countryman's weekly I cant find it anywhere.
     Never the less, this amazing story inspired me to conduct research in to ghost stories involving poachers or hunters.
    I haven't found anything similar to this story or anything as long but I have found two stories both very short.


   In Wadhurst (Sussex) at the Beggersbush/Bestbeech Hill crossroad area, there is a haunting manifestation of a man. This ghostly figure in a tan coloured coat is seen to be struggling along the road, his brown sack bulging with his harvest. This is presumed to be that of a poacher.


   The other story is set in Myrtle Cottage down the road from Balingey in Perranworth.
   Apparently a poacher has been seen dressed in leather gaiters and rough clothing walking through the wall where the cottages front door used to be, he carries a rabbit and heads over to the fireplace.
   The next door neighbours have also seen a man of the same description taking a short cut across there front garden towards the cottage.
   It is suspected that the poacher is Mr Stephens  (husband to Mrs Stephens and father to a boy who was eleven at the time of his fathers death). Mr stephens was killed while working in the mines.


   I do not know if any of these stories are true. I am dissapointed that I cant find any other stories to tell you so I will be continuing my research and I will find more to post at a later date.

Jack Pyke Field Trousers

I love these trousers; the English oak camouflage print is really well done. Jack pyke have managed to get the autumn leaf colour spot on, which is something I have noticed a lot of other companies have not yet managed.

                They are made from rip stop material which is always a great when it comes to repairing ripped trousers as they normally only rip in straight lines.

                The pockets in these trousers are amazing, massive deep pockets with plenty of room to store your essential kit, Two big back pockets, two deep front pockets and two leg pockets.

                The only downside I have found to these are the buckles on either side of the waist band for tightening the waist, but if you are carrying a gun on a rifle sling the buckle rubs against the stock not a problem for me as I have a synthetic stock so I just had to deal with the noise of them knocking together but if I had a wooden stock the rubbing of these buckles on the stock would probably result in scratches in your precious wood work.  To rectify this problem I have simply taped the buckles up with a piece of camouflage duck tape.

To order your pair go to http://www.jackpykeshop.co.uk/ today

Bisley .177 and .22 cleaning kit.

This product is great value for money and excellent if you have a low budget. It caters for both .177 and .22 calibres.
    It comes in a polystyrene box with a plastic lid, inside the box you will find a 3 peice cleaning rod, .22 brass brush, a .22 wool mop, a .177 brass brush, a .177 wool mop and a jag..
   I have only used the .22 parts as i don't have a .177 rifle as of yet, but these clean my little beauty very well.
   A descent piece of kit for anyone on a budget. The only downside I had found was that this kit has a fixed handle, but on the other hand it only costs £9.99. I'm sure Bisley could put bearing into this handle but it would push the price up by five or ten pound.
   I think it should have some instructions to cleaning a rifle on it some where so that beginners can see how to clean their rifle, after all if you look on the internet there are forums that tell not to clean your gun at all and 
you tube videos that tell you just to clean the outside.


http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/mvf/store/products/bisley-airgun-rifle-and-pistol-cleaning-kit-17722

Abbey Gun and rifle Oil.

   This oil comes in a can similar to the can 3 in 1 oil comes in, which means you have to cut the nozzle off very small or you will have the oil come out very fast, believe me I have found this out the hard way.

   This product has a rust inhibitor in the oil for even more protection.
   It seems to work very well indeed, I have a small chip in the paint on my sound moderator exposing a small patch of bare metal and this has not started to rust yet.
  I use it weekly on both my rifles, down the barrel and then a wipe over on all metal work. This really is a great gun oil.
  For more information on Abbey gun and rifle oil go to:
http://www.abbeysupply.com/product18.html


Picture from
eyespygifts.com


military1st.co.uk