.17 HMR Added To The Cabinet

I went to my local RFD to get some ammo for the .22 and asked him if he did package deals as I was planning a HMR in March.
Turns out that he had just got a second hand one in that morning and it was available soon for a pretty decent price. After seeing it I put down a deposit there and then :)

Here it is.

It's a CZ 455 16" Varmint with a lovely Thumbhole stock. Also included was a SAK moderator and a Nikko Sterling 6-24x50 scope.
I was lucky that we had a couple of days of settled weather and managed to get it zeroes in at 100 metres.

The next lamping session didn't prove too successful when I tried a shot at a 91m shot at a bunny and missed completely. I hadn't compensated for the wind drift !
I returned to the same spot a day or so later and recreated the shot in slightly less windy conditions from the original miss.

The target is on the white plastic container 91m away, wind is about unsteadily between 5-11mph.

The shot falls to the right of aim point. Adjusting 3/4 of a mil dot allowed me to hit the red bull. Some internet searches and the phone app Strelok allowed me to make up a table to compensate for the wind. I made one up for the .22lr aswell.

Next time I should be ready. 

Shotgun, Hide, Decoy

Well I got a good deal on an old shotgun. Its a Francais D'Armes Robust No26.
Any information you have on above gun would be appreciated as there's not much out there in interweb land.

It's pictured here with a BSA Sportsman 5 .22lr rimfire rifle which was thrown in with the shotgun ! I told you it was a good deal !
Theres a piece missing from the shotgun butt which used to be a cheekpiece, I fixed this with a piece from an old BSA walnut stock given to me by John Macrae of Tain Rifle and Pistol Club.

So it went from this:

 To this :

It's had some more sanding and oiling since then too.

So, I bought some FUD pigeon decoys and a hide and set off on some trials, setting up in a stubble field at first and bagging a bird that actually landed.

We moved to an Oil Seed Rape Field

Yes kids, those pigeons are Fold Up Decoys and should not be shot and eaten.

This is the view back to the hide

Here are my decoys being attacked by a Buzzard !

and here is the first pigeon I have shot on the wing when I moved the setup into the adjacent stubble field.

If you haven't tried Wood pigeon and know where you can get one, then try it.

Pigeons

I like pigeon. Not the feral pigeons that hang around the distilleries munching on all the grain and making a mess by crapping everywhere. These I don't eat I just shoot.

The Wood Pigeon on the other hand is a much better bag. Now I'll try to eat anything within reason and so I have cooked some feral pigeon to see what they taste like, and the breast meat has a texture I don't like similar to liver.
Wood pigeon breast fried is lovely, more like a good steak than poultry.

 I had managed to shoot a few 'Woodies' with the BSA Ultra but got a good deal on an old shotgun and decided to have a go with it.

Shotgun story to follow...

Zero

Had no luck with the first scope I bought, it originally went on the rifle we found in the garage but whilst zeroing the rifle fell off the rest and landed on the scope disabling the vertical adjustmnent.

Another one was purchased and the zeroing took place.

As you can see, I went with the AA Diablo Field pellets after trying two other types.

Happy with the accuracy it was time to venture out. When I eventually found where the rabbits live I managed to get one with a 25m standing shot.

You can see that I've 'camo taped' the moderator and some of the barrel, this is to hide it from the pigeon and it helps to soften the report.

Yes the sound moderator or silencer does make a huge difference on this rifle.

Other helpful accesories have to include a pair of homemade shooting sticks.