The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

It was one of the drivers for me to get out with the air rifle years ago, and one of the nice parts of spending half my life on training areas....a pleasure that is slowly working its way back as it goes.

Squirrelling often revealed deer, mad nuthatches giving me a beady eye and family groups of tree creepers that looked like a mobile cow pat moving on the tree.

The squirrels were quiet entertaining as well....till I shot them The sparrowhawks were always up to something, often right in front of you. Caught a few that were where they were not supposed to be as well....Oh how I laughed as I stood up and they damned near had hear attacks!! The girls round the stables were always a giggle for the odd "Boo"

Rabbiting, one night, I had a fox cub literally sniffing round my feet, and a green wood pecker damned near flew into my head....awesome looking bird up close.

Fell asleep once and was woken by a large black horse snffing the middle of my back, scared the hell out of each other to be fair.

The funniest thing was a Kestrel trying to take a stag beetle out of the air. Poor bird was knackered as it tried to hover taxi after this totally random bug. I had to laugh as it sat on the end of the roof opposite me panting. I was hot and nil wind so the poor bird was goosed ( ), might need to pack in the fags.

I remember sitting watching a young little own nagging its parent to feed it. In the end it nudged mum or dad off the post. It just stood there on the deck looking up at Junior with a..."WTF" look on its face. Mind you owls always seem to have a "WTF" look.

I am bloody lucky where I live as the new forest and coast are within walking distance. Took the dog out for a jog (of sorts) last night at dusk. A spooky old ground fog was forming and the nightjars were churring away. Occasionally you will catch a male having a nose, you just see the big white wing patches as it flutters about.

Lucky Man Dave, enjoy it mate.




And get those bloody bullets from Mik eh

The best part for me is being away from the noise of traffic, the last village we lived in had a constant drone of traffic from the bypass whereas here other than wildlife there may be a very occasional cow dependant on your location and that is about it. I can cope the occasional Typhoon or Spitfire and even the Tucano doing squares can be forgiven. :)

Amazing how so many of us started with air rifles..and how the times spent shooting them in the local forest remain etched in our memories..

Culling starlings in the factories and woods, nice fat woodies for the wee wummin in the top flat who liked to cook them, target practice at all angles - no scope, just open sights and good judgement..and an orange can of Webley's best .22 domed...simple stuff.

Happy days..