Woodland Frosty Walk

This morning I went down to a woodland area where I shoot quite regularly for an hour and bagged myself a few birds with my Midlands Gun Co over and under 12 bore/gauge. I didn't bother with decoys or getting in the hide I just used the natural cover of the wood to pick my shots. There was a stiff frost on ground and when I left it was -1C so I was layered up and had the flask on stand by.

As you can see the woodland edge where rabbits break cover

open canopy makes great for shooting

A few pheasant having a early feed 

RC Titiano Caccia game cartridges 31g 6 Shot

Midland Gun Co over and under

Overall a nice mornings work with a magpie and two crows, the landowner has a real magpie problem and I've not had the opportunity to shot them yet until today. When shooting in a wood you really have to stay vigilant and have the gun at the ready because you don't get much time to react.

Tom

Outdoor & More

Air Arms TX200 - 'Perfect out of the box'

Air Arms have produced some impressive air rifles over the years, my two have been nothing but reliable, accurate and always pack a punch. Today I'm going to tell you about my little beauty.

The TX200 is a underlever air rifle and is packed with many good features, as far as springers go I would always recommend a TX200 under lever for several reasons. Mainly the barrel is constantly fixed in position meaning there is no movement from the loading action which over time can cause the rifle to be off target every shot. I personally think underlever will be accurate for life over break barrels (not fixed). 

The barrel houses a anti bear trap, basically a device that when loading you can't trap your finger. This has a small press to release button on the side of the gun so there is no chance of any unfortunate accidents.

Anti bear trap

Anti bear trap release button

The next is the automatic safety switch located the the end of the barrel above the trigger mechanism  this switches itself on when the gun is cocked automatically. This is a great idea to have with all fire arms whether that be air rifle to shotgun because safety is priority.

Automatic safety button

As well as these great features you have to admire the quality of material used to make this gun and the workmanship from the guys at Air Arms. In terms of looks for a springer air rifle its 10/10!

The gun retails at around £375 new but you can pick up a decent secondhand ones for £200 if you look online (GunTrader/Gunstar). I can guarantee you will be disappointed with it, I know I haven't been. In terms of pellet I always us H&N 'Field Target Trophys'. I seem to get the best results with these with a 10p sized grouping at 30 yards. These retail at around £13 for 500 pellets

As I've said the TX200 is a great springer which I highly recommend if you're thinking of getting into the sport. If you any other questions regarding the gun just leave a comment below.

My Air Arms TX200 .22 with a Golden Antler scope, great on the range and the field

H&N 'Field Target Trophys'


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Boat fishing in the North Sea

This summer i had some great days out fishing and shooting, i was also lucky enough to get the boat out (doesn't happen much). My dad and i fish out on the North Sea off the east coast where the sea can be very unforgiving so finding a window of opportunity is rare so we had to take it.

We use boat rods with feathers and worm going for what ever we can. I personally use feather and go for Mackerel. Mackerel are a delicious fish and is one of my favourites. On the BBQ with a bit of salt and pepper topped off with a splash of lemon juice. Cant beat it! The catch was decent with around 13 mackerel in the bag. Obviously a few were eaten on the evening with a cold beer but you have to enjoy it whilst its fresh. The rest are in the freezer to eat at a later date or kept for bait which i use for Pike fishing. Pike love oily fish and Mackerel is a brilliant dead bait. My dad also caught a lovely Sea Bass on Worm weighting around 7lb. A beautiful fish and another great taster. Here some photos from the trip.

Mackerel

Myself and the Old man

Sea Bass 7lb