I was a member of a walking club for many years and we would go out for a walk in a different part of the Leicestershire or Derbyshire countryside every month, and once a year we would have a weekend in SNOWDON usually in January or February.

As you can see I do a bit of fishing - I fish for sport rather than match fishing so I like to tackle the predators, mainly PIKE and ZANDER.

You might notice from my general attire and surroundings, that I am an all weather fisherman......

......equally at home in the bleak cold winter......

......and in the heat of summer......

...... when I just coarse fish though I still like to have a go for the bigger fish that give the most sport......

......rather than just filling a keep-net with lots of little tiddlers.

Fishing can be very relaxing, sitting by the waterside watching the wildlife when suddenly that telltale twitch on the line means that a burst of action is about to erupt! Before long it all goes tranquil again when the fish has been carefully played, landed, weighed and checked over, returned safely and the tackle set up ready for the next one.

I got to use my first real Air rifle when I was still at school, a DIANA model 25 .177 (lower rifle in the picture) I proved I was safe and responsible enough for my Father to purchase for my birthday the other rifle shown a BSA METEOR SUPER .22 as I was by then over 14 and could legally own a gun purchased for me. For information on Airgun law in the UK visit my AIRGUN LAW page. It was due to this gun that I was profficient enough to win a prize for marksmanship at the school shooting club. I just happened to have the very same rifle that the club used for 10 metre target shooting. This also led to my first Pest Control experience when I used it at my fathers request, to despatch a rat that was eating off our garden bird table. I also found out that one of my neighbours was the great Airgun Boffin Gerald Cardew and through him and his son Mike I was introduced to the technical side of Airgunning, though I later moved away from them and lost contact. Further on my career led me to a job that included the role of Pest Control Officer. This included formal Pest Control Training in identifying Pests and Vermin and the measures that are used to control them. And yes - it includes the use of Air Rifles to provide an instant "KILL" for the right type of vermin. For more information on Pest Control visit my PEST CONTROL page. I therefore found a new lease of life for my shooting interests. I looked at the latest in air rifles and was amazed at the improvements and sheer range available in a modern air gun. Pneumatic guns with no recoil, "Gas ram" instead of springs and the smoothness of a modern tuned "traditional" Spring gun. I visited my local gunshop and found an AIR ARMS TX200 .22 on the second hand rack, complete with a 4 x 32 telescopic sight, mount and gun bag. I purchased it immediately and went home to set the sights and practice.

The Air Arms TX200 is very accurate and consistant but I soon realised that it was a bit too heavy for me for the type of shooting I was doing and started looking for a gun that was less of a chore to carry in the field. As luck would have it Air Arms brought out a Hunter Carbine version of the TX200 which being more compact had the weight further back, giving it better balance on the shoulder, it had a Walnut Stock and included a more efficient moderator, so I bought one and carried on using that gun.

As this gun was also a .22 I decide to send my original TX200 back to Air Arms to have it converted to .177 calibre. This meant that I could have two guns zeroed in at different ranges 30 metres and 45 metres so I would have a choice if I needed to take a long distance shot. I those cases I could use Field Target Shooting Techniques to take a precise shot. For more information on field target shooting visit my FIELD TARGET SHOOTING page. By then I was maintaining, tuning and restoring my own rifles and for a few other people as well. I had also became interested in precharged pneumatic guns when through one of these contacts I was told of a BROCOCK PREDATOR for sale. I contacted the vendor who turned out to have worked for BROCOCK and had built the rifle himself so it was a bit special, and he was willing to sell at a reasonable price knowing it was going to an airgun enthusiast.

The PREDATOR is a bolt action six shot repeater rifle that uses "TAC's" Tandem Air Cartridges. However I soon found the disadvantage of a bolt action repeater when I lost one of my air cartridges in a field, the bolt ejects the used cartridge and loads a fresh one when it is worked, and if you don't keep an eye on where the ejected cartridge lands - well it was dark. None the less I was impressed with the light weight and recoilless qualities of precharged guns so decided to see what else I could get. I settled in the end for a FALCON FN19-SB .22 complete with combined silencer and quickfill adapter and part exchanged the TX200HC for it.

This rifle has served me well for the last three years or so and is the one I used for a feral pigeon clearance job in a city centre location when their roosting caused a health hazard to the building occupants. ( An example of practical pest control using an Air Rifle ) as well as accounting for numerous rabbits.

I have been lucky enough recently to purchase a second hand Theoben Sirocco 2000 in .22 calibre, despite this being the latest of their gas ram break barrel rifles. Gas rams work on the same principle as a spring gun but the compressed gas acts a lot faster than a spring, which means that the pellet is on its way before the recoil has a chance to affect its flight.

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